> Steve Earle Lets Loose on > Bluegrass and Country Music > > You'd be a damn fool if you thought a >clean > and sober, suit-wearing, hair-combing, > mandolin-picking Steve Earle had gone >soft. > Earle's career is more threatening now >than > ever. In the middle of a creative >renaissance > that featured stellar back-to-back rock >& roll > releases, Earle ditched his >distribution deal > with Warner Bros. and decided to put >out a > bluegrass album on his own E-Squared >label. > Bad idea? Guess again. The Mountain, > recorded with bluegrass titans the Del > McCoury Band, is selling faster than >any of > his Warner titles in it's first four >weeks. > > Sit down for a spell with Earle to >discuss The > Mountain, and you'll be treated to a >string of > colorful anecdotes about bluegrass >legend Bill > Monroe, history, politics and scores of >other > meaty topics. He rattles off this >chatter > between sporadic puffs on his pipe (the >"two > pack habit" he sung about in his >landmark > "Guitar Town" is a thing of the past) >as he > takes a brief breather between >soundcheck > and donning his bluegrass uniform for a >show > in New York. Despite the stories of the >angry > Steve Earle of yore, only his >conversation > seems daunting. As the saying goes, he > seems to know enough about everything >to be > dangerous. > > I met Bill Monroe several years ago. He > wrote "God bless you" on my album, then > told me to get a haircut. > > Monroe had a very dry sense of humor. >The > most famous Monroe New York story is he > went to Carnegie Deli, and they got him >a > bagel and cream cheese. And he finished >it > and said, "That's the worst donut I've >ever > had." Now Monroe had been to New York > hundreds of times, but people in >Nashville will > tell that story as if Bill Monroe was >some kind > of rube who didn't know the difference >between > a bagel and a donut. But that's the way >his > humor was, you either got it or you >didn't. > > He came out and played with you in > December, 1995. Had you met him before > then? > > I'd been introduced to him several >times over > the years. But it was when Monroe >started to > pay attention to me that it really >counted. It > didn't have anything to do with music, >it had to > do with Bill's sense of fairness. And >it had to > do with the fact that what happened was >so > public. Every time I made a >[drug-related] > court appearance it was on all three >channels > and in the newspaper. Monroe started >paying > attention to me because he felt I was >treated > unfairly by the media. And he learned >about > my music secondarily to that. > > He seemed to embody a now defunct > ideal in Nashville. > > Well that's what the deal with the >suits is. This > won't be my last bluegrass album, but I >may > not wear the suit every tour. But >Monroe did > that on purpose. He prided himself on >the fact > that they were the first band on the >Opry to > wear a coat and tie. And he was >intentionally > trying to win dignity for music that >people > marginalized and dismissed as hillbilly >music. > > Despite the bluegrass bent, The Mountain > still sounds like a Steve Earle album. >Was > the writing process different this time? > > It's all territory that I cover anyway. >But, I > wanted "Carrie Brown" on there. I wanted > something with a homicide, because I >think > that's something that's missing from >country > music that bluegrass still does. The > geographical focus of this record is >eastern as > opposed to western for the first time >in my > career. I grew up in Texas and my songs >have > had a western feel, except for >Copperhead > Road. And I've stolen from bluegrass and > mountain music for years, but there was >a > decidedly western feel to what I did, a >lot of > space. But now I've lived in Tennessee >longer > than I lived in Texas and I didn't >really notice it > 'til I'd finished the songs how much I >sort of > geographically shifted my focus to east >of the > Mississippi. > > With The Mountain selling so well, do >you > ever see yourself recording for a major > label again? > > I'm not going to go to a major label. >The > Mountain's outsold in its first three >weeks all > the albums I had out on Warner. I'm on > E-Squared for good. And E-Squared will >never > be anything but a free-standing >independent > label again. > > The Mountain features a pair of > Irish-influenced tunes. That country >seems > to suit you well. > > Oh it does. You ever flown Aer Lingus? >When > you open up the in-flight magazine >there's > fucking poetry by Seamus Heaney. It's a > country where artists are subsidized by >the > fact that they don't pay income taxes. >And it's > not done so asshole English rock stars >can > move there and buy houses, though that >does > happen. They do that because really they > believe in the artist. Even a struggling > unknown artist is a resource to be >protected. > But music is a huge part of their >culture and > so is poetry and telling stories. > > Joe Klein's Woody Guthrie bio was > recently reissued. What are your >thoughts > on his impact on popular music? > > One thing that's very important about >that > book is that Woody Guthrie saw himself >first > and foremost as a mainstream >entertainer. He > had radio shows in several cities >throughout > his career. And he did it for a living. >But the > Depression hit. And when people don't >have > money to buy food, they damn sure don't >have > money to buy tickets and records. He was > very much a product of his time. Woody >was > really fucking good, too. He was really >an > amazing songwriter. My generation grew >up, > everybody sang "This Land Is Your >Land," it's > just some of us knew what it was about >and > others didn't. I happened to grow up >knowing > what it was about. But all the other >kids I grew > up with sang it in school the way Ronald > Reagan quoted "Born in the USA." > > Have you had a chance to pass through > Reagan Airport yet? > > Well that's a big sore spot for my >family. My > father and my brother were air traffic > controllers. My brother was fired in >that strike. > So when they named that airport Ronald > Reagan Airport it was not a good night >to be > around my house. But air crews never >call it > Reagan, they always call it National >and that's > in solidarity with the controllers. >I've never > heard a flight attendant announce that >you're > arriving in Reagan National airport. I >asked an > American Airlines captain, and he said, >"We > don't do that, and it's not an >accident." > > You're touring right now with Del > McCoury. I heard he usually drives his > own tour bus. Is he driving this time > around? > > He does, but this isn't his bus. This >is from the > bus company that I always lease from. >That > way if something breaks I don't have to >pay for > it. >
