Napolitano on:
On tequila, mentioned in several of her songs, and art:
"Tequila is hallucinogenic. I've never done a DUI, unlike the president. I don't do drugs, I don't even smoke pot
any more. I feel healthy.
"I'm an artist. I gave my TV away when 911 came on and filled my head with shit. I want to create healing feelings.
"I hate all these unimportant concerns, `do I have enough?' I don't have a cell phone. I don't care. I love to be free enough not to question myself. I'm responsible for myself, no one else. If I feel like picking up a brush I don't have to say to myself, `you shouldn't be painting at two in the afternoon and drinking. If I want to get up at 5am and
watch a movie and have a glass of wine, I can; I can go back to bed later.
"Since I was nine years old I wanted to be an artist. I couldn't have one without the other (music and art).
"I remember when I was five drawing and really digging it. At preschool all the kids were crying but I was looking around at all the crayons and pencils, going `mum, see ya later'.
"It's not something I do arbitrarily. I want to put on a really good show each year, with a strong statement.
"I've found some amazing clay in Mexico. I've got a specific idea with this clay, it will take me a year.
On Leonard Cohen:
"We covered Cohen for a soundtrack (Everybody Knows) and now I'm real into him. I'd love to open for him. His new album (Ten New Songs) is great."
On Roxy Music, an ode to whom is the first single off Group Therapy:
"Roxy is just great, amazing. Paul Thompson swore up and down they'd never get together, it's so beautiful that they did.
"I wondered if Bryan Ferry's experience on a falling jet had inspired the move. Maybe I'm just naive, Maybe they did do it just for money."
On Sound of a Woman, her unreleased solo album which scores a namecheck on Group Therapy:
"I'm putting the vibe out, it's on the middle burner, off the back burner, and hopefully might end up on the front burner. I've got a very big stove.
"I put a lot into that record. The company wasn't stable, I didn't want the record to fail. They were very good to me, it was my choice to pull it. I didn't work for a while after that."
On their tour of Australia:
"We only have one week in Australia but it's going to be a hell of a week.
"The set for down there is well thought out, there's something for everyone, something from every album.
"They'll be able to go home and say they heard something from their favourite album."
For Napolitano, it's all about giving the fans their money's worth.
" I can't believe how much tickets cost, the cost of going out. I don't go out myself, it's too much hassle. People can walk away saying 'I'm really glad I went.'
"I love Leonard Cohen's Everybody Knows, the Vampire Song is easy and fun, everyone sings along. Joey was a big hit, I feel people are there to hear it."
On their support act in Australia, Victor Martinez and The Martinez Brothers, Steve Wynn and flamenco:
"I wanted something not standard, I didn't want it to be just a rock show. I wanted something textured.
"We had flamenco for the first leg of the US tour, then Steve Wynn on acoustic. We were with Steve doing When You Smile and Ship Song, songs we recorded with him but never had the chance to perform together. It was great.
"For the tour I wanted something you don't expect. If you have three courses all the same, you'll probably be tired of it by the third course.
"Six acoustic guitars appealed to me so much, there should be a lot of energy, it should be happy.
"I love acoustic, it's a nice change, you don't need a crew, electricity, a big deal. It's very gypsy. I've been getting a lot of acoustic in flamenco lately. You can play flamenco in a field of grape pickers and make incredible music.
"I hardly listen to rock n roll and never on the road, I need a contrast – some flamenco or Deep Forest.
"Flamenco can just bring a tear to my eye, thinking of the generations of gypsy persecution. Flamenco is such a tradition."
On Australian group The Avalanches:
"The Avalanches, now there's some Aussies who know what they're doing."
On her goddaughter (of Fiona Maynard of Invivo) in Melbourne:
"The last time I was in Australia it was to visit my goddaughter, Juanita, about two-and-a-half years ago. I didn't play, it was just to see people. I brought her an antique doll, I've got for her this trip too."
On Dream 6 drummer Michael Murphy:
"The last I heard of Michael he was doing the Deconstruction album with Dave Navarro. I think he just does what he wants. He's got a daughter."
On the 2+2 CDs being sold at gigs:
"The discs are two songs my Jim and me, they're different from a CB record, experimental and fun.
"It's a lot of fun, I get to do all the artwork and put out a couple of new songs every couple of months.
"They're limited editions. If people buy them, that's great, they can collect them, swap them or whatever. I don't know what the rules are in Australia, I'll have to find out about bringing them in for sale. I think they're pretty strict about that."
On her last tour of Australia:
"Someone stole my coat in Melbourne. I don't know why they'd do that. I don't have a lot but I wore that coat everyday. I'd like it back, no questions asked."
Click here for a review of Johnette's Sketchbook #2
