Joe Henry is a songwriter and performer. He’s also a well-respected producer, and when he’s working with someone else in the studio the process is “not about you and it’s not about them. It’s about it.”
Later, talking about a day in the studio:
“You could chase a song in different directions all day, but we have more work that we’re obliged to do. You don’t have endless resources and endless time. I don’t see that as an obstruction. Instead, I see it as something else that’s guiding us. Otherwise, you’ll just get really lost: ‘Okay, we have this, but what else could it be?’ It could be anything else. There are all kinds of things that it might be. But what about right now? Is the song being served and does the song then serve the whole project?”
From The Producers: Joe Henry
Interview by Stephen Deusner in The Bluegrass Situation.
Read the full interview here:
www.thebluegrasssituation.com/read/producers-joe-henry