Novels may have taken care of the emotional business for me, which has allowed music to be more emotional for me.

I just love putting on a show. I get a tremendous sense of community out of it.

The people you might lose are the people who look at a marquee and are like, "Oh, John Wesley Harding is playing. I went to see him play 20 years ago." But if they see Wesley Stace, they might make absolutely no link between those two things at all.

When I was writing this new bunch of songs, I was singing a lot lower, because they were more intimate in a way. I had to come up with a way to frame the music that was intimate.

With me more than anybody it seems silly having a stage name, and there wasn't any particular difference between me and John Wesley Harding. There wasn't any need to draw that line. I just happened to draw it.

The only problem with conjuring people is they insist on getting paid, unlike a writer who would do a reading for nothing.

I do find that most fans are aware of my writing career and have known my real name for many years.