Janet Simpson: Can I See You Tonight?

For the last two decades, Janet Simpson has been a force to be reckoned with in the Birmingham music scene, starting the groups Teen Getaway and Delicate Cutters and forming the duo Timber with fellow songwriter Will Stewart.

In 2021, she went solo with Safe Distance and now has returned with the follow-up, Can I See You Tonight?, a rollicking collection of nine songs that blends alt-gentle, contemplative singer/songwriter, and straight-ahead rock ‘n’ roll, out now via local label, Cornelius Chapel.

We caught up with Simpson and discussed the recording process in the former Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, the record’s themes, how guitars write songs, and her upcoming release show at Seasick Records on Sunday, November 9.

Chris K. Davidson for Magic City Bands: I know you’ve been part of a lot of bands, but I think this is your second solo album. What have been the pros and cons of doing a solo album?

Janet Simpson: Back in the ’90s when I lived in Atlanta, I only played solo for several years and did a very limited solo album back then. And back then, it felt like if you were a solo female musician, you were pretty limited about where you could play, what you could do, and how people perceived you.

So when I moved to Alabama in 1999, I decided to focus on bands. That’s when I started Teen Getaway and Delicate Cutters and started playing in a few other people’s bands. What I love about playing in a band is the ensemble, where everyone contributes something, and I would say this album felt a lot more like that. I like to let the musicians who play with me do what they do and not give a ton of direction unless I have a really strong opinion about something, and then it becomes that more ensemble experience.

I handed these songs over to this incredible band of people. These are some of Birmingham’s best musicians and just let them interpret what needed to be done, and it just turned out so great. I love what they did, and I think this album is about them more than anything else.

MCB: You went up to Muscle Shoals. Can you talk about that experience? Obviously, that place has a huge history of its own.

JS: Brad Timko, who I worked with for Safe Distance, I really loved working with him on that record. He had just moved up there and started working in that old Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, which is called Cypress Moon Studios now in Sheffield. He’s just such a great innovative, intuitive engineer and a lot of fun to work with. Working in that room, which was designed from the ground up to be a recording studio, unlike a lot of places I’ve been where it’s just kind of retrofit, this room was really built for that experience.

I think it also helped that we had this great big weekend of basic tracking. I rented a cabin, we all cooked at night, hung out, there’s a hot tub. We just played around and had fun while we were making the record. It’s just a good bonding experience for all of us. Will Stewart couldn’t be with us for that part, so I went back up with Will for the weekend and just had another great weekend working on tracking with him.

I think being in that environment and being in such a beautiful studio that’s so well-designed and working with Brad just really made the whole experience fun and left a lot of room for creativity.

MCB: I got the vibe that there was this collaborative effort that was very natural. I could see these songs being played around the campfire.

JS: It definitely had that feeling. There’s a long driveway to the end of the cabin, and we would walk down to the end of the driveway at night, look at the stars, and smoke and talk. It was just really fun.

MCB: Safe Distance came out in 2021. When did these songs start to take shape?

JS: I started writing a lot of them in 2021 and 2022. “Porch” was a bit older, but it wound up fitting with the rest of the material.

MCB: Even though all of the songs have some importance, what are some songs that you really want people to check out on the album?

JS: I really love “Take Me Down.” It’s a lot of fun, especially the ridiculous a**hole guitar solo between Will Stewart and Jody Nelson. It’s just a great moment on the record. The title track is one I really worked on. I loved writing that song. I love playing that song. I made sure that was the indicator for the whole album. And “Too Close to the Fire” is a long one, but that was a lot of fun to build and feels so good every time we play it.

MCB: To me, the intro to “Used to Be” sounds like “Ooh La La” by the Faces.

JS: I definitely ripped off that song, 100 percent (laughs). And then, the band helped bring this Cheap Trick feeling to it to get it a little away from the Faces and more into that rock feel. But it was super fun.

MCB: Everyone has seemed to have put out their “COVID album” by this. What do you think we’re learning about ourselves in terms of loneliness and what this whole experience has taught us?

JS: I feel like we definitely know that we need each other as people. We need community, we need to be around people, we need to have fun. Life is precious, and I just feel like it’s so critical that we take care of each other.

MCB: I remember when we did that guitar trade a few years ago. Do you still have that Larrivee? Did you use it on the record?

JS: I ended up buying this really beautiful ‘69 Guild from Bob Tedrow, and I actually used that for the acoustic tracking on the album. I really love it.

MCB: This might be something only musicians understand, but what is it like to play a new instrument and feel like it melds to you, and you can now write new songs that you couldn’t write before?

JS: I don’t know if it’s just the way a new instrument has a slightly different timbre or feeling. One of my favorite songwriters, Kristin Hersh, says that guitars write the songs. When you have a new instrument, you start to hear things differently, even if it’s a song you’ve played for years, it starts to feel and sound different to you and you even play it a little differently. I think that’s definitely true.

MCB: I know you’re doing the Seasick Records release show on November 9, but do you have anything going on for the rest of the year?

JS: Yeah, November is jammed packed. I sang on the new Haysop record, which is so good, and they’re having their album release that night after the Seasick show (November 9) at Saturn. I’ll do a set to open their night of celebrating, and then I’m going to sing with them on a few songs during their set, so I’m definitely looking forward to that.

On November 13, I’ll be in Tuscaloosa with Haysop and playing a double bill with them at Druid City. I’ve got a show on the 22 with a bunch of Cornelius Chapel artists, including a new band called World Record, Kyle Kimbrell, Terry Ohms, at Trim Tab Brewing. Then, November 29, I’ll be playing a solo set at Cha House.

MCB: What formats is the record on?

JS: All major streaming platforms, CD, and vinyl.

MCB: What are five albums you can listen to from start to finish at any point?

JS: House Tornado by Throwing Muses
Tattoo You by Rolling Stones
Things We Lost in the Fire by Low (I save it for the rarest of occasions, but I never want it to lose the specialness to me)
Real Time by Styrofoam Winos
Car Wheels on a Gravel Road by Lucinda Williams

Janet Simpson will play her album release at Seasick Records on 11/9/25 at 4 p.m. To purchase a physical copy of the album, visit Cornelius Chapel’s website.

Recommended if you like Will Stewart or The Delicate Cutters.

Chris K. Davidson is a musician and writer in Birmingham.