Hello Alexis Strum. What’s your favourite smell?
Freshly washed man. Oh, I wasn’t expecting that! I just said the first thing that popped into my head!
Frankly, we weren’t expecting that either. What’s the best thing you’ve ever found in a hedge?
I’ve never found anything in a hedge. My childhood.
Hmm, enigmatic. Have you ever been scared by a horse?
Yes! I used to go horse riding when I was a little girl. I had an accident, and I became scared of horses after that. I was thrown off and it dented my confidence. I was only five or something. But the thing is, it just makes your bum hurt, riding a horse, and that’s scary enough, having to sit on ice the next day. Also, it’s very high up on a horse, you know. It’s not as easy as it looks. When you see people on these costume dramas, it looks so easy, but it isn’t. I don’t ride now.
We don’t blame you! So what are you ashamed of?
My roots. Not my biological roots! My hair roots. They’re mousey and not vibrant red as all my photos suggest.
Best get to the salon then! If heaven exists, what would you like God to say when you arrive?
Well, normally when people meet me, they say: "Gosh, aren’t you tall?" but I guess God would already know that. Hmm, what would I like him to say? “You were right all along” – that would nice. And “Thanks for nice tunes.”
Who’s better – Dido or Joni Mitchell?
Well, Dido has sold about 10 million, hasn’t she? So in one way I guess she is. But that’s because they didn’t have the kind of marketing and video making machines that we have now in Joni Mitchell’s day. And also Joni Mitchell was more folky, she wouldn’t have been on programmes like CD:UK, would she?
Probably not. So what’s the rudest thing you’ve ever done?
As if I’m going to tell you that! I’m thinking about it. It’s got to do with freshly washed men. Several. No! I couldn’t possibly tell you, but I enjoyed it.
Saucy! Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever vomited?
In a black cab. You really shouldn’t vomit in black cabs because they get really annoyed with you. He was really angry. He was dropping me off at my house, so I spent the next few days not leaving the house, thinking this guy’s going to come after me. I was sick on my shoes and in my bag. I’d been out in Old Street and drank loads of B52s. [A cocktail drinker writes: these are made from Baileys, Grand Marnier and Kahlua – hic!] I made it all the way home, the cab was outside the house when I threw up. My sister was with me, and luckily she leaned out of the way at the crucial moment, otherwise it would have gone all over her, too. I got paid back the other day, someone was sick in my car and I had to clean it up. Vomit karma.
Imagine! So what do we get from buying Alexis Strum records, apart from the tunes?
You get moved in an emotional way and also you listen to your own life’s experience in audio form.
Brilliant! So, if you were like a saxophone player instead of a guitarist, would you be called Alexis Blow? Ha ha! Alexis? Alexis? Oh, she’s gone…
'Bad Haircut' is out on Monday September 26.
