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Wonderful Johnson is one of the few all-live, all-local, and predominantly original-music bands of our area. After the release of their first CD, Authentic Memphis Samwich, in 2003, they’ve been quiet on the recording front — until this week, with the long-awaited release of their follow-up CD, Twelve.

The new album features not only McGeary and the members of Wonderful Johnson (Chopper Doria, Donna Smith, Chris Cugini, and Dave Noble), but a handful of top-notch local players like bass player David Johnson, Dobro player Doug Carman, and guitarist and producer Ray Nesbit.

Front man Tim McGeary recently took a few moments to talk about the new CD, the influences that helped shape his music, and how his son, Trevor, who passed away a year ago, helped out with the album.

Q: How did you come up with the name Twelve?

A: It was originally supposed to be named 12 Special Cookies — it came from a cartoon my son Trevor had written (along with pics of stick people, male and female). It was very funny — we still get a laugh from it — but the songs on this CD are a little more serious, so we decided just to call it Twelve.

Q: Where did you record it, and how long have you worked on it?

A: We recorded the CD at Nezco in Naples. We have been in the studio for about six months. We wanted to take some time with this CD; the last one was done in only a few weeks. It had a great sound, but I wanted to put more passion in this CD, and the reality is, you can’t sing six lead tracks in a day and deliver the vocals that are filled with emotion and energy. It was coproduced with a great up-and-coming producer, Ray Nesbit, and myself. The band also put in a lot of input to make this a labor of love and pain.

Q: Is this album a departure from your earlier one?

A: This CD is very different from the Authentic Memphis Samwich CD. We really stretched to come up with a very eclectic CD. We made each song its own little piece of art and storytelling, rocking hard with numbers like Tell Me and Open the Doors to Heaven, and going to acoustic country blues, complete with resonator lead guitar (the first part of the song was done in mono to give it that Robert Johnson sound for the first verse). And then at the end of the song Say to Me, there are 50 voices harmonizing like a church choir. We were looking to get people to go beyond the aural and bring it to their visual senses and imagination.

Q: What influences or inspires you when you go to write new music or to record?

A: It is so hard to say where I get my influences, but maybe because they are so many and I am very open to all styles of music and can see the beauty, energy, and passion in all of them. I am a Beatles fan and a Peter Gabriel fan — I take a lot influences from each. My subject matter is usually something I have witnessed or was touched by.

This CD was written with my late son Trevor in mind. It was a devastating loss, and increased my spirituality and drive so much. This CD is also done with the mindset that we are one planet and one people, just energy and love. We try as a people try to separate ourselves, but in the end we are all the same. I have seen so much pain in my own life from the people I take care of (McGeary is a paramedic/firefighter) to my own personal losses, but I have also seen so much beauty, so I put both in my writing.

Q: I know you are very prolific. How long does it generally take you to write a song, and what’s the process involve for you — i.e., do you read music and write it in notation? Play it out on your guitar? Jam it with your band?

A: Some songs come so easily in 10 minutes, but others take some time. I have parts that are not a complete song, and then some months or even years later new parts come together and then I finish the song. I do not write music down. It is funny: I met a person that went to school for music and theory. He said it took him years to forget what he learned so he could write again. Most of my songs are written on my acoustic guitar; if sounds like a good song on guitar only, then I feel it has promise. I write a lot of songs. I bring them to the band, and we decide what ones we want to work on. Then we start to play, and everyone puts in their parts until we get what we call “the sound”: it is when it all comes together and the magic fills the room. We all know it when it happens — I guess it is called chemistry.

Q: Which song is closest to your heart on this CD, and why?

A: My Son. It was written for my son Trevor and the gift he gave my and family and myself. The gift of having him for 18 years. The gift of giving us hope and restoration, and the gift of helping me to achieve my new spirituality and sense of purpose.

You can pick up Twelve and the previous album, Authentic Memphis Samwich, at the band’s Web site, www.wonderfuljohnson.com, or at any of their local appearances, also listed on the Web site. The band also plans to have a release party for the album, which will be announced on the site.