A Few Minutes With Ana Popovic

Due out May 20, Trilogy features three full-length albums in one. The collection is divided up by genres and coordinating times of the day, starting with Vol 1. Morning devoted to funk and soul.

“The funk one is really to get you going,” Popovic tells Pollstar. “It’s a dancing record – you can’t stop dancing, you can’t stop grooving. [It’s] a great record to jog with. If you want something to get you going while you’re on the way to work … it’s a positive record.”

Trilogy continues with Vol. 2 Midday showcasing Popovic’s take on blues and rock, and Vol. 3 Midnight is all about jazz.  

Warren Riker, Tom Hambridge and Delfeayo Marsalis produced Morning, Midday and Midnight, respectively. Guest appearances include Joe Bonamassa, Robert Randolph, The Pudie Shuffle’s Bernard Purdie, North Mississippi Allstars’ Cody Dickinson, and rapper Al Capone.

Pollstar called up Popovic shortly after her third stint on the Experience Hendrix tour, celebrating the music and legacy of Jimi Hendrix. “The Serbian Scorcher” talked about being the only female guitarist on the outing and the camaraderie shared between the performers, which included Billy Cox, Buddy Guy, Zakk Wylde, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Jonny Lang and more.

She returns to the road next week for U.S. headline dates, followed by another trip to Europe.  

You have a new album coming out in May – it’s actually three albums in one. So, that’s really exciting.

It is! It was quite a project and for a year I’ve been busy with it. I’ve had this idea for a long time and I finally made it happen. It’s a very big project but it’s exciting and it’s different than anything I’ve done before. So yeah, we’re really happy and pleased with the results.

What inspired you to release three albums together rather than release them individually?

On every record I do, my songs are so different. There are some that are really roots blues, there are some that are so far from blues and some that are really poppy and raw and feature guitar. Some songs have very little guitar and give space to the lyrics and to the message of the song and arrangements, rather than just showing off with the guitar. They’re so different. More than a few times some of my fans would come [up to me] and say, “I made a compilation for a friend of mine who likes your jazzy stuff so I put all your jazzy songs on one record. And all the blues songs in a compilation for myself.” So I thought that’s a neat idea. I have about 10 records and you could actually make a pretty good compilation of one style of music versus what I always do. I thought maybe I should … do a pure jazz record and then do a guitar record or funk or soul. The idea for Trilogy came to possibly do it in different times but, once I finished everything, I was so happy I [had] finished everything in a year. These are three completely different sessions with completely different musicians and different styles of music and producers and studios. I kind of found a really big connection to all of these songs. They felt like they belonged to the same project.

The funk and soul one – it’s really wonderful when you listen to it in the morning. It kind of gives you that drive in the morning to get you going. And then the blues and rock one is really kind of rough and it’s got some deep blues and … it’s really like a guitar-featured record. I always thought of it as an afternoon record. You know, you have a lunch break from your work, you want to hear some hard-hitting blues and rock and guitar stuff. And then obviously the jazz is so pretty when you listen to it at night in the evening. You have a drink with your friends and you put on a jazz album. To me, it came back more often as a part of the day.  … So basically my fans are going to get a lot of music and three different sounds for the whole day of music.

With fans get three separate CDs with the physical release?

There’s going to be a booklet with information, how I came up with this idea with a lot of photos and all the lyrics and then you fold it out and there are three CDs next to each other – Vol. 1 Morning, Vol. 2 Midday and Vol. 3 Midnight. … Three Ms because it’s a trilogy. So [fans] can  can give away ones that they don’t like, they can do whatever they like with it. … There’s no compromises, I didn’t have to think, “OK, are the blues fans going to like the fact that it’s just a dance record … and just funk?” No, because that way I give the blues guys a fair share of that deep stuff and guitar stuff on Vol. 2. And the same thing for the people that are really into the easy listening thing. They can just put on the easy listening record from the beginning to the end, which is Vol. 3, to close the day. So there’s a little bit for everyone.

Is there a certain style that you connect with more than the others?

I have to say I’m really equally satisfied with all of them. They are so different and I think I attacked the specific genre that I wanted to on each one of them just because I used the musicians that really matched that particular style. A lot of times, I make different styles of songs and I record them with the same band. So I kind of expect from that one band to be able to be funky and be straight-ahead blues and rock and then even be jazzy with some jazz songs, which I think is the wrong way to go. So this time I actually went to New Orleans and I picked the A Team for a jazz record with Delfeayo Marsalis and he brought his crew … the jazz engineer, the jazz producer, the jazz band for the jazz [album]. I went to Nashville and Memphis with Tom Hambridge, an incredible producer for the blues and rock [album]. He’s really a guitar master. … And then the funk and soul one [features] a funk band from New Orleans with George Porter Jr, … and Ivan Neville from the Neville Brothers. … Funk is their main thing there. So I had them record the funk part.

So if you ask me which is my favorite, I don’t know, I can only say that maybe I was the most positively surprised with the jazz one because that’s something I’d never tried before and I was so happy to be able to work with the incredible jazz players. I don’t think they’ve recorded with a lot of blues people so for them, probably, this was a blues record because they are doing stuff with me. To me, these are high-end musicians that you can’t really find if you’re not in the jazz circuit. So if you asked me which, I guess I’m the more pleased with the jazz one because it’s such a surprise to me that it worked so well with my songs and my voice and my guitar. I studied some jazz in the past, and this time, I went back and kind of refreshed my memory from about 10 years ago, when I was studying jazz guitar. The whole approach is, of course, very different from what I do live. It’s a different guitar style; it’s a different guitar that I used and a completely different tone than people know me for. So it was also kind of pushing limits. To be funky on one, to be jazzy on the other. I think that’s what artists need to do. They have to push the limits and sometimes kill their darlings and dig deeper. So that’s really what was going on [with] this record. I said, you know what, I’m just going to dig a little deeper.

You just wrapped up a run of shows on the “Experience Hendrix” tour. How did those dates go?

It was fantastic. This was my third time. I don’t think they ever called [another] female guitar player more than one tour … so I’m pretty honored to be called back again. To be the only female guitar player on the tour is incredible. They have serious guitar players over there and that’s the idea, to present the ladies in the best possible light and showcase that ladies can stand right next to all these incredible guitar players that shred and play soulful and really be taken serious by the guitar audience. [It] is quite inspiring to me because my music was always more than just blues. … It was based on blues but really it’s very broad.

Playing more and more for the guitar audience is something that I really see myself in, because it’s kind of a timeless thing. Somehow, the music changes everywhere at all times, develops and people like different stuff, but there’s a certain guitar audience that stays. And Experience Hendrix is a perfect example of merging all these styles, because you’ve got Zakk Wylde’s heavy metal audience sitting right next to Buddy Guy’s blues guys, people that like Eric Johnson and, of course, the newcomers in blues with Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Johnny Lang. I see myself in between all of this. I mean, I was the only slide player on the tour, which was also nice for a change. … So I think I brought something different to the tour. … Obviously, there was just one song that I was playing slide. I was trying to come up with something different and equally good so I can stand right next to these great guitar players. Hopefully, not only Experience Hendrix but the rest of the guitar festivals will call. … I’m hoping to open the door to other younger girls coming up playing guitar.

And it is a very high-end tour. It’s not just a cover tour. Jimi’s family is behind it, so it’s a great deal and not just for me. I see how the rest of the guys take it very serious and come out and do their two or three songs and they really shred from note one. Everybody, including Buddy Guy, who has been on stage for 60 years. They all take it seriously and they pay tribute to one of the most important guitar players of the last 100 years.

What does Jimi Hendrix’s music mean to you personally?

I grew up listening to Jimi back in Serbia when I was growing up. I was also fascinated by his stage presences, obviously by his playing. And his lyrics. … I think he was referring to Bob Dylan on a daily basis. He was supposedly walking lots of times with Dylan’s book in his hands. He was hugely influenced by Dylan and you can hear that in his music. And I think that people play a lot of attention to his playing and underestimate a very important part of his music, which is lyrics. I always really start from lyrics and some of his songs have such a deep message. … I’m kind of more of a B-Side person. I love to discover songs like a hidden treasure or something. “Belly Button Window” is absolutely one of [those] songs. It’s very inspirational. His guitar tone and his lyrics about a baby looking through a belly button out to the world is quite unique. I don’t know anybody else [who] wrote a song about that. … That’s a very signature way [of] playing. It’s actually his guitar and voice but it’s quite unique for such a long time ago. And then obviously “House Burning Down,” it’s a very anti-war song that has a huge message back then and of course still does apply in the world today. “Can You See Me” is another song that I was playing on the Experience Hendrix tour. [And] “Crosstown Traffic,” one of my favorite songs as well, that I play sometimes in the set. Those are all incredible songs. And obviously his guitar playing because nobody plays like that now days still. So it’s an inspiration for me. 

Was it neat to reunite with some of the musicians on the Experience Hendrix tour?

It was incredible. It felt like home, like we never parted. It’s such an incredible group of people and so down to earth. You wouldn’t believe it, you wouldn’t expect it from a lineup of shredders and guitar gods. Just to hang with them, just to spend time with them and realize they’re just regular people and very down to earth and very supportive for a female guitar player sharing a bill with them. It was an absolute joy to be a part of it. … Everybody had a great time, eagerly awaiting their slot to go on and present a version of Hendrix from themselves. And I did the same. It was very inspirational to be among them and it seemed that they all get quite an inspiration from watching each other play. … Everything works like a great community where everyone is behind the same thing, which is trying to support Jimi’s legacy and do it the best way they can.

You have a bunch of dates coming up in April in the U.S. And then you head back to Europe. Are there any shows you’re especially looking forward to playing?

Well, many. First off, I’m very much looking forward to, from June on, is going to be a whole new setlist. It’s going to be all featuring Trilogy, which is going to be an interesting set because there’s going to be so many different styles of music. Starting from June we’re going to do that different set in the States. We’re starting with New York, which is a great place to release the record. And in May we’re going to release the record in Europe. … They’re still adding dates so what you see on the website is still not final, especially for June, as well for America. There will be such nice festivals in France and in the States. There’s going to be a blues cruise. So many dates to look forward to. We are very picky about dates so we don’t take everything that they offer. We only take ones that we know are going to have a good time and is going to be something different than we usually do. … We don’t do any cities too often … so that way it’s fresh and new for the audience. They get a different sound, a better sound, hopefully, than the year before so everyone is looking forward to it.

What’s your band like that backs you for your live show?

I have either a four-piece or a six-piece. There’s going to be some shows with the six-piece because Trilogy features a lot of horns on the funk part and the jazz part. Those are really great arrangements and I would love to play them live. [Many] European shows are booked with the six-piece, which would mean having drums, bass, and myself on guitar and then horns as well. A lot of those festivals are going to be six-piece. Some are going to be four-piece in the clubs. I even go sometimes to a nine-piece band, which features [backing] singers and the horns and rhythm guitar player. That’s a fantastic way to present your music as well. I don’t dislike a four-piece. I think a four-piece is what represents me [best], which is a lot of guitars and that’s what a lot of people prefer, really. A lot of people just want to hear guitar. And when you come with horns and singers they’re like, “You don’t need all that. We want to hear you.” And that’s something that also has a special charm. So I kind of like to switch back and forth between a big band and the really stripped down four-piece.

Upcoming dates for Ana Popovic:

April 8 – Colorado Springs, Colo., Stargazers Theatre And Event Center
April 9 – Golden, Colo., Buffalo Rose
April 20 – The Woodlands, Texas, Dosey Doe
April 21 – Baton Rouge, La.,, Lava Cantina
April 22 – Dallas, Texas, Gas Monkey Bar & Grill
April 24 – Lubbock, TX, The Cactus Theater
April 30 – Memphis, TN, Tom Lee Park (Beale Street Music Festival)
May 1 – Nashville, TN, City Winery Nashville
May 18 – Saint Malo, France, La Nouvelle Vague
May 19 – Brest, France, La Carene
May 20 – Lievin, France, Arc En Ciel
May 21 – Provins, France, Centre Culturel Et Sportif Saint-Ayoul
May 22 – Chelles, France, Les Cuizines
May 23 – Bucharest, Romania, Teatrul National – Sala Mare
May 24 – Macon, France, Cave A Musique
May 25 – Riom, France, La Puce L’Oreille
May 26 –  Bergerac, France, Le Rocksane
May 27 – La Ferte-Bernard, France, Centre Culturel Athena
May 28 – La Ferte-Bernard, France, Centre Culturel Athena
May 31 – Belgrade, Serbia, Hangar
June 1 – Oss, Netherlands, Groene Engel
June 02 – Leeuwarden, Netherlands, Neushoorn
June 3 – Grolloo, Netherlands, Blues In Grolloo Festival Grounds (Holland International Blues Festival)
June 4 – Hagerstown, Md., Downtown Hagerstown (Western Maryland Blues Festival)
June 5 – New York, N.Y., B.B. King Blues Club
June 6 – Teaneck, N.J., Mexicali Live
June 7 –  Woonsocket, R.I., Chan’s
June 08 –  Shirley, Mass., Bull Run Restaurant
June 09 –  Fairfield, Conn., Fairfield Theatre StageOne
June 10 –  Portland, Maine, One Longfellow Square
June 11 –  Norfolk, Conn., Infinity Hall Norfolk
June 12 –  Londonderry, N.H., Tupelo Music Hall
June 27 –  Seattle, Wash., Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley
June 28 –  Seattle, Wash., Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley
July 02 – White Rock, British Columbia, Blue Frog Studios
July 14 –  Gravenhurst, Ontario, Peter’s Players
July 17 – Boise, Idaho, Idaho Botanical Garden (Boise Blues)
July 27 – Oakland, Calif., Yoshi’s Oakland
July 28 – Oroville, Calif., Feather Falls Casino & Lodge
July 29 – Red Bluff, Calif., State Theatre For Performing Arts  
July 30 – Verdi, Nev., Boomtown Casino Hotel Reno     
Aug. 10 – Villeneuve-Sur-Lot, France, Les Mercredis De La Cale
Aug. 11 – Marciac, France, Jazz In Marciac Festival Grounds (Jazz In Marciac)
Sept. 16 – Kandanga, Australia, Mitchell Creek Rocn ‘N’ Blues Fest Grounds (Mitchell Creek Rock ‘N’ Blues Fest)
Sept. 18 – Thirroul, Australia, The Beaches Hotel
Sept. 18 – Thirroul, Australia, The Beaches Hotel  
Sept. 20 – Sydney, Australia, The Basement
Sept. 21 – Sydney, Australia, The Basement
Sept. 22 – Northcote, Australia, Northcote Social Club     
Sept. 23 – Richmond, Australia, Corner Hotel
Oct. 29-Nov. 5 – San Juan, PR, Celebrity Cruise Line – Celebrity Summit (Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise)
Nov. 9 – Cleon, France, La Traverse
Nov. 10 – Verviers, Belgium, Spirit of ’66
Nov. 11 – Bensheim, Germany, Musiktheater Rex
Nov. 12 – Dortmund, Germany, Musiktheater Piano
Nov. 13 – Rheinberg, Germany, Schwarzer Adler
Nov. 15 – Muenster, Germany, Hot Jazz Club
Nov. 16 – Aschaffenburg, Germany, Colos-Saal
Nov. 17 – Zurich, Switzerland, Moods
Nov. 18 – Rubigen, Switzerland, Muhle Hunziken

Visit AnaPopovic.com for more information.