http:\/\/reviewermagazine.com\/justin-townes-earle-interview.html<\/p>\n
\nStanding in the shadow of a legendary father can be hard if not impossible, just ask Julian Lennon. However, Justin Townes Earle, son of outlaw country hero Steve Earle, seems to be pulling it off. The young Mr. Earle\u2019s latest release, The Good Life, is unlike the so-called country that is dominating the charts. At 26, Justin is a throwback to the days of honky-tonks, heart on your sleeve songwriting and living on the road.
\nI spoke to Justin as he was on his way to pay a speeding ticket. \u201cIt\u2019s cool\u201d he joked, \u201cthe record company pays for my tickets, it\u2019s written into my contract.\u201d
\n<\/i>
\nQ: When did you first become interested in music?
\nA:
\nI was around 13 or 14. It was around the time Nirvana put out that unplugged record and they did that Leadbelly song (Where did you sleep last night?) That\u2019s where it all kinda changed for me.
\nQ: I really didn\u2019t expect for Nirvana to cover a song like that.
\nA:
\nWell, neither did I. But looking back it all made sense when you look at the way Kurt wrote. He had one foot forward and one foot back with the early songwriters much like Springsteen did.
\nQ: Did the fact that your Dad is a musician have much bearing on you becoming a musician?
\nA:
\nYeah, sure it did. I can\u2019t say whether or not I\u2019d be doing this if he wasn\u2019t but I\u2019d like to think I would be.
\nQ: Many of the songs on The Good Life seem very personal. Do you worry about putting too much of yourself out there?
\nA:
\nNo, I don\u2019t really worry about stuff like that, I\u2019m not a bashful person in the first place. If people want to analyze me that fine but I\u2019ll tell you right now, all the analysis of me out there are wrong. There\u2019s not one writer out there that\u2019s got it right. Take for example \u201cWho Am I To Say.\u201d Everyone seems to love that one. They say, \u201cWell, that song is obviously about your father\u201d but I obviously say girl at the end so it\u2019s probably not about my father.
\nQ: Is it about any specific girl?
\nA:
\nIt\u2019s a composite character but it is heavily based in one specific person. Ya know, it does have loose fittings from other people but it\u2019s mainly about one woman. Hell, I wouldn\u2019t even call her a woman, she\u2019s a girl and still acts like one to this day.
\nQ: You mentioned Nirvana and Springsteen. Do your influences run the gamut?
\nA:
\nYeah, they definitely do. I think my influences run very wide; one thing about them is they\u2019re all reaching back, they all studied what came before them. Ya know, you can be absolutely modern as an artist but you gotta realize where the fuck it is you\u2019re coming from.
\nRight\u2026
\nFor everyone that wants to play hard rock\u2026 well, it\u2019s like I love The Strokes but The Strokes were not the first rock and roll band. They got what they do from (the band) Television, people seem to forget that part. The guitar playing is what makes those Strokes records and the style is so Tom Verlaine it ain\u2019t even funny. Well hell, and Thurston Moore (of Sonic Youth) for that matter. Those two guys changed the way a whole generation played guitar.
\nQ: Why, of all the styles that influence you, did you pick country?
\nA:
\nIt\u2019s what I\u2019ve always had the most fun playing. Period. I\u2019m from Nashville and it\u2019s a style of music I have an affinity for. I decided to make a country record because I was tired of hearing Toby Keith called country. Nothing pisses me off more than that.<\/p>\n
Q: Do you think \u201ctraditional country\u201d is making a comeback?
\nA:
\nI don\u2019t know, that\u2019s hard to gauge. America has never been very good at reaching back for its music but it seems everywhere else in the world is. America seems to think that if it\u2019s not progressive it\u2019s not worth listening to. In a cult fashion I think traditional country has a chance but I don\u2019t think old-timey bands like Old Crow Medicine Show will ever be household name big.
\nQ: Is the music you make at odds with the charts?
\nA:
\nEven though we did chart this record on Billboard, It\u2019s COMPLETELY at odds with the Keith Urbans and I have every intention of it staying that way. A lot of those guys are nice guys but there ain\u2019t a Hank Williams in the bunch. They\u2019re just not songwriters.
\nQ: Do you think more people should do their homework?
\nA:
\nDefinitely. I think that\u2019s the biggest issue with the business today. If you\u2019re trying to make a hard rock record and Limp Bizkit is your influence, you\u2019ve got problems. Nothing good is gonna come out of you simply because there\u2019s no base.
\nAt the very least, if someone wants to write songs they should have a good understanding of Woody Guthrie and own Nebraska by Springsteen.
\nQ: Your father is very political. How do you feel about politics in music?
\nA:
\nI think it\u2019s a necessary thing. I personally don\u2019t get involved in it; I can\u2019t say I never will but at this point I like having fun playing music. If I\u2019m gonna have an issue in my music it\u2019ll be personal. Look, I\u2019m only 26. People don\u2019t give a fuck what I think about politics.
\nQ: Are there, in your opinion, too many country artist anxious to crossover into the pop world?
\nA:
\nYou know what, I have a real hard time with that one. The music business is a hard one these days. People do this for a few years, they\u2019re on the road, they\u2019ve got kids, a wife at home, I can\u2019t really blame anybody for doing what they gotta do to eat. The truth is, 90% of us (musicians) can\u2019t do anything else. I can dig ditches, I\u2019m a pretty good painter and mason and I did it for years, but I just don\u2019t wanna fuckin\u2019 do it anymore.
\nDon\u2019t get me wrong, digging ditches is honorable work, I just don\u2019t want to do it anymore.
\nI\u2019d rather play music, ya know.<\/p>\n
Danny R. Phillips http:\/\/reviewermagazine.com\/justin-townes-earle-interview.html Justin Townes Earle By Danny R. Phillips Standing in the shadow of a legendary father can be hard if not impossible, just ask Julian Lennon. However, Justin Townes Earle, son of outlaw country hero Steve Earle, seems to be pulling it off. The young Mr. Earle\u2019s latest release, The Good Life, is unlike the so-called country that is dominating […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[233],"class_list":["post-489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archive","tag-justin-townes-earle-interview"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":103,"url":"https:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/2006\/07\/19\/the-big-buy-tom-de-lay%e2%80%99s-stolen-congress-dvd-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":489,"position":0},"title":"The Big Buy: Tom De Lay\u2019s Stolen Congress DVD review","author":"admin","date":"July 19, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cThe Big Buy: Tom De Lay\u2019s Stolen Congress\u201d (DVD) (Brave New Films) review by Kent Manthie Good riddance Tom Delay!!! 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\nMusic Columnist
\ndrpwords@windstream.net<\/a>
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