There are a couple reasons Mike Scott might be particularly excited to play at First Avenue in Minneapolis tonight. "I've got the best-ever lineup of the Waterboys," Scott says. "Wait till you see 'em, it's a killer band."

The other reason has to do with one of First Avenue's own legends. It turns out the Waterboys occasionally include a "Purple Rain" cover in their set list. "We've done 'Purple Rain' many times," Scott explains. "When we go off stage for the encore, I'll discuss with the band whether it's a 'Purple Rain' night or not."

Mike Scott stopped in to The Current's studio to chat with Jim McGuinn ahead of the First Avenue show in Minneapolis. McGuinn gently encourages Scott to do the cover; if anything, it's a quid pro quo. "I've heard that the being known as Prince played ['The Whole of the Moon'] at his show," Scott says. "I sure would like to hear how he treats the song."

Scott and the Waterboys are currently touring in support of their latest album, Modern Blues. Although Mike Scott lives in Dublin, the album was recorded in Nashville, Tenn. "I wanted to do it with an American swagger," Scott explains, "so I brought in the players from Nashville and from Muscle Shoals, and I think I pulled it off."

Scott's touring band reflects the album. "The band includes some great American musicians — it's a 50 percent American band," Scott says. "We've got Brother Paul from Memphis on keyboards, he's a great soul musician; we've got a soul guitarist called Zach Ernst from Austin; and we've got the great David Hood from Muscle Shoals, one of the original Swampers — man he's played with James Brown, Aretha, the Staples singers — he raises everybody's game."

Listen to the full interview to hear more about Modern Blues, about the recent compilation Fisherman's Box, about what it's like to produce one's own records, and about Mike Scott's very first U.S. network television appearance, which only happened very recently.

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• Mike Scott - The Waterboys