Are you looking forward to braving the UK cold for the second consecutive year?

Everyone always asks that, but here in Texas it can get pretty cold, too. I’ve never had the cold in the UK bother me in the winter, but we did a tour for the entire month of June one time and we about froze. That sucked. Then I came home and it was about 37c.

How's the new album coming along? Is it in a similar vein, rockier, rootsier? On your press release it says some of the songs were old, some new, kind of like your own personal 'Best Of' so far...is it a similar mix this time or are they all brand spangly new...oh & when's it due out, any date set yet?

We’re working on the new album now. We go back into the studio on Saturday. I would imagine it’ll come out early next year. It’s hard to tell, because so many things have to fall into place. It’ll be different than the last one, though. We’ll just have to see, I guess. They never sound on tape the way they sounded in my brain before we recorded them.

The song 'Ringmaster' - is it relating to schizophrenic delusions of Christ...like a David Koresh style cult leader, with lines like 'I raise my hands up to the sky I have just been selected...' and working on the obviously biblical 40 days and 40 nights theme, or am I several continents away?

Yes and no. It’s mostly me just being bombastic. I wrote that song years ago and I was trying to ape “Stuck in Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again” by Dylan. We were playing a very strange biker pub in Newbury the first time we ever came to England. All of the light bulbs had burned out so out stage lighting was the exit sign by the door. The place was tiny. As we played there was a homeless guy in the big plate glass window behind us dancing like there was no tomorrow. It was very surreal. The guys in my band were having some pretty major drug problems and it was a dark time for me. A lot of that imagery of Christ-like delusions came from someone else that was close to me. So to answer your question in shorter form, I just took what was going on around me and blew it way out of proportion.

Have you ever worked with Nikki Sudden, or Darrell Bath, or are there any plans to (I think you once said you know them)?

I don’t know Sudden, but one of my good friends is supposed to play bass for him when he comes back to the USA and he speaks with him a lot. There’s been some talk of cutting one of his songs, but things haven’t fallen into place yet. Maybe soon. Darrell Bath played some shows with us a few years ago. We had this crazy one in Basingstoke where Darrell threw up wine on the dance floor and nobody noticed and they were all dancing in it! Then two guys got into a fight and one of them hit another with a ball peen hammer in the face. He wobbled out of the place and the next thing I knew the riot police came charging in and shut everything down. I found out later the guy who got hit in the face with the hammer had a motorcycle wreck later and died. It was a great night musically and a crazy, tragic night other than that.

Hannah Sweets, who sings back-up vocals on the album has, I think, a stunning voice. Has she appeared on any other recordings, and does she have any records out of her own?

No, actually, strangely enough, Hannah is a chef. She was in a comedy variety show with me here in Dallas and sang old torch songs. Very talented and very sexy. She’ll be in full effect on the next album. There’s also a girl named Darla that will probably be on it – incredible voice.

How was the link forged with The Snakes, the London based band that back you up when you play over here, did you meet them when you toured with your earlier band, Swank Deluxe?

Simon (singer of the Snakes) and I met when we first started coming over and he helped us immensely when we played. We can’t bring amps over because of differences in electricity so he really helped us out on the gear side. We became friends and over the years came up with this idea for me to come over and play with his band. We’re blending it together so we’re just one band when I’m over so we play some of my songs and some of theirs. They’re one of my favorite bands so I probably get a bigger kick out of playing their songs then my own.

The press release also states that after Swank Deluxe you retreated from life of a performer. That suggests there was some disillusionment there. Was that the case, or did you just take a breather?

I was burned out. I had been touring and playing in bands since I was 14 so I needed some time to live. The band had played itself out and I didn’t have any songs left in me. So I took some time and just lived life and figured out why I started playing in the first place. I got a new group of friends who had no idea I was a musician and just thought about other things for a while. I meant to take a year off but it took longer than that. Pretty soon the songs started coming again and here I am!

3 people, dead or alive, that you'd have round for dinner, & if possible, why?

Man I hate these kind of questions… I have a strange fear of meeting my heroes. What if they’re total jerks? I prefer to keep how cool they are in my head. I like the distance.  That being said, I would have like to hang out with the beat poets. Burroughs, Kerouac, Ginsberg, and some that weren’t exactly in that group like Bukowski and Jim Carroll. Writers usually seem to have more to say than actors and musicians.

What sort of things really influenced you when you were starting to get into music?

Probably my dad #1. He used to play Hank Sr., Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan in the car on family vacations. It used to torture me! Now it’s some of my favorite stuff. I guess it sunk in slowly. I was also attracted to the flamboyant music of the late 70’s – Kiss, Aerosmith, Bowie, Queen, Stones. I guess I still have a little of that peacock in me to this day…

Following that, what's devastating the decks chez Tommy at the moment?

A friend of mine just turned me on to this CD “Bubblegum” by Mark Lanegan. Awesome! He sounds a bit like Tom Waits and the whole thing has a creepy vibe to it. PJ Harvey is on it with a bunch of other cool musicians. It puts me in a mood…

Austin's always the more renowned place in Texas, what with the North by North West festival, and I guess going back to The Elevators, Commander Cody, and Willie Nelson. You're from Dallas, is there any similarities between the two, in terms of a thriving place for music?

The only similarity is they’re both in Texas. Austin is very laid back and has a hippie vibe to it and Dallas is very glitzy and showy. Dallas doesn’t have a very good live music scene. South by Southwest is a great music conference and there’s always something going on musically in Austin. Most of the good bands from Dallas I end up seeing out on the road away from Dallas. All that bitching about how bad the Dallas music scene is aside, I love living here. It’s nice to have an oasis away from the music biz sometimes.

Are you a fan of fellow Texans like Steve Earle, Slobberbone, and Greg Trooper?

Although I don’t think he’s from Texas I like Steve Earle, but he has lost me lately. I think he needs to take a chance musically. Most of his recent stuff just sounds like a re-tread of his past glories. El Corazón is still one of my favorites, though. I like how he switches from rockin’ number to hillbilly songs and it all sounds like it should go together. Slobberbone is a good Dallas band. I see them around from time to time. I think Greg Trooper’s from Nashville. I’ve heard some of his stuff but never in depth. Maybe I should check him out in more detail. I guess when I think of Texas music I think of Willie Nelson. I was lucky enough to be able to stand on the side of the stage and watch him about a month ago. He blows me away. He’s everything I’d like to be when I grow up.

Tommy Hale and The Snakes play the following UK dates - Thurs Nov 25th, The Beehive, Swindon; Fri Nov 26th - VOODOO @ The Retro Bar, Manchester; Sat Nov 27th - The Verge, Kentish Town, London; Tue Nov 30th - The Musician, Leicester; Thurs Dec 2nd - The Prom, Bristol. email tommy@tommyhale.com for more info.

Tommy Hale website