Country Fried Rock 1504: Steve Earle's Terraplane, A Journey Through the Blues

Speaker A: 00:01:29

Welcome to Country Fried Rock. I'm your host, Sloane Spencer. Somehow this year we've ended up on a Texas blues kick.

One of those things that seems to happen to us every so often as we follow one trail down the rabbit hole.

So I'll admit that I'm not the most knowledgeable person about blues music, although I certainly appreciate the kinds with which I'm most familiar of Carolina Piedmont blues, a little bit of Delta blues, and of course, Texas blues. But I'm definitely not an expert. Thankfully, talking with Steve Earle, all I had to do was open the floor and takes the ball and runs with it.

Steve Earle's brand new record, Terraplane, is out now on New West Records. This week on Country Fried Rock, we decided to take the show on the road for a few weeks, testing out some new technology for mobile recording.

Yep, it sounded like a great idea, but unfortunately it doesn't sound that great. So don't miss a minute of the Country Fried Rock road trips on countryfriderock.org.

Speaker B: 00:02:28

My guest today on Country Fried Rock is Steve Earle with a new record called Terraplane that goes in a blues direction. Welcome.

Speaker C: 00:02:36

How are you?

Speaker B: 00:02:37

I'm doing well, thank you. I'm looking forward to chatting with you about this.

I actually spoke with Chris Masterson and Eleanor Whitmore right after or right before y' all were getting ready to do a little recording related to this.

Speaker C: 00:02:50

Well, Chris has a lot to do with it happening in the first place. I mean, since Chris and Al came along, this kind of best band I've ever had. But Chris, this is what Chris's background is in the blues anyway.

It's how he's kind of started. And the acoustic side of the stuff I'm pretty comfortable with.

I was in the same room with Mads Lipscomb and Lightning Hopkins on more than one occasion. And I've recorded stuff like that before, you know, several times over the course of my career.

But there's a thing, if you grow up in Texas, that can be a little intimidating about the electric side of it. I saw Frady King and I saw Johnny Winter. I saw, you know, the first brothers bands, the Vaughn Brothers were in. You know, I.

Rocky Hill, who's Dusty Hill or was Dusty Hill's older brother. He's gone now, but took me to see Rory Gallagher for the first time when I was 17 years old.

I know a lot about it, you know, and I was in a blues band when I was in 13 or 14. But you become. I moved away from it and did something else and it becomes A very. Look, there's. There is no LA Shuffle. There is no New York Shuffle.

There's a Texas Shuffle, and there's a Chicago Shuffle. So it's. The bar is really high on that stuff if you're from Texas. So it was intimidating to me.

But Chris being in the band and just some stuff that sort of happened organically on soundchecks over the last few years sort of, I think, led me, got me pointed towards thinking it was time to finally make this record.

Speaker B: 00:04:14

That's cool. I didn't realize that he was such an impetus to make that happen, but with his history, that makes sense as well.

Speaker C: 00:04:20

It was just. He was there, the tool was in the box. You know, he's like. It was a resource I had at my disposal that I'd never had before. He's really.

You know, and I got to see Chris with a Strat in his hands because his son sort of sworn off Stratocasters, and he kind of had to pick one up for this record.

Speaker A: 00:04:37

Hey, y'. All, this is Sloan Spencer, the host of Country Fried Rock. Those of y' all who listen on our podcasts, it's a quick hit of just the conversation.

If you want the full radio program with all the songs that we talk about, ask for it on your local radio station, joining 20 other stations across the country. Get the goods atcountry fried rock dot org.

Speaker C: 00:04:58

Hey, this is Steve Earl, and you're listening to Country Fried.

Speaker B: 00:05:01

I know that you all, as a band, tour quite a bit as well, but what led to the actual writing of these songs? Because you're not just reinterpreting Texas blues tunes. You're doing your own thing.

Speaker C: 00:05:13

We wrote them. I started writing them, touring with the band, you know, because nearly all my records start with stuff that we.

That we start, you know, playing on sound checks. And that happened with this record, too.

But then when I realized that, you know, I'm not the first singer songwriter to make a blues record, Bob Dylan's been doing it almost exclusively for a long time. He. Beginning with Bringing It All Back Home, that's kind of what he started doing.

And then the records that aren't blues records can kind of be counted on one of Billy Joe Shaver's hands. You know, it's not like there's only a few records that he. I mean, arguably, National Skyline's not. Arguably Blood on the Tracks is not.

But almost every record since, that's what he's worked with as a palette. And so, you know, it wasn't like I thought I was breaking Any new ground.

I did realize very quickly that it was still needed to be a record that sort of came up to my standards, you know, lyrically and which is, you know, that bar is kind of high. I just had really good teachers, and I expect a lot of myself, and I think the people that buy my records expect a lot of me as a lyricist.

So I worked really, really, really hard on the lyrics on this record. And I wrote like a half of the record. I finished it on a tour that I did by myself.

I would just have a lot of time because I was touring, just no crew, nobody. Just me and a guitar and a mand a backpack. And touring mostly by train in Europe last fall.

And I finished most of the songs, then went in and recorded in October.

Speaker B: 00:06:35

When you were developing those particular songs that developed when you were doing your solo thing in Europe, when you brought them back to record with the band, did you all work them up first? Did you work them up in the studio?

Speaker C: 00:06:45

There were some that we had worked up before I left, but the stuff that was brand new that they heard for the first time in the studio. There were no rehearsals, but we had enough material that we had. They did. This band's really good about doing his homework. They were all set.

Guitar and vocals. As I finished the songs, I made garageband guitar and vocal files. And I sent them off as MP3s to everybody in the band as I finished them.

Speaker B: 00:07:09

With y' all collaborating in the production role of that, how does working with someone like him help you?

Speaker C: 00:07:15

I always have a producer, you know, at least a co producer. I mean, Ray Kennedy and I made records together for a long time, and he's essentially the engineer, but he's also a co producer.

When we make records and it's just me and him, you know, I've tended towards using outside producers. I made a record with T Bone. I made a record with John King. Square Serenade Record. There's some things. The Town's record.

There was no need in working with another producer. I was doing that largely guitar, vocal, you know, by myself and the Low Highways. Really just me as a producer and Ray as an engineer.

I kind of knew exactly what I wanted to do there. And it was really about the band and the way this sounds. But this is like, you know, Bobby I've known for a long time.

He's made a lot of blues records. He's made John Mayhow records. He's made Buddy Guy records. And I just felt like I wanted that in my camp, you know, when I did this I recorded it.

So we were. Were all pretty comfortable. I knew everything would sound good.

Speaker A: 00:08:06

I'm your host, Sloan Spencer. You can keep in touch with us on Facebook.

But I really like Twitter, where we are at Country Fried Rock ending with R O K. And if you want to see pictures of my shoes, my dog and my lunch, stop by Instagram. But whatever way you like to hang out, stop by and say, hey.

Speaker C: 00:08:24

Hey. This is Steve Rowan. You can check out what me and the Dukes are doing for the rest of the year on Steve.

Speaker B: 00:08:32

When you're dealing with folks like this, it's obvious that they've got a lot in their own wheelhouse to bring to the table. But you also reference a lot of the deep Blues history. I mean, all the way back to the title of the record.

When I first saw the title, and I'm admitting my own lack of knowledge, I grew up knowing the Canned Heat version of that Robert Johnson tune.

Speaker C: 00:08:50

Well, there's a. Canned Heat is very much a part of this record. Because the second concert I ever saw was Canned Heat. That's awesome.

Speaker B: 00:08:58

I didn't know that.

Speaker C: 00:08:59

And so to me, this was as much about. There's three sonic templates for this record. One is Howlin Wolf Records. Not all Chess records, but Howlin Wolf Records in particular.

And then the other two are the first two ZZ Top records and Can Heat. And Can Heat was like the second concert I ever went to. And I loved that band. It was one of my very, very favorite bands.

Yeah, it's like in: 1968

Speaker B: 00:09:26

You mentioned Zeezy Top and their history with Texas Blues. You mentioned Rocky Hill, Dusty's brother.

Speaker C: 00:09:32

ter I went on bass for Guy in: 1975

And originally that rhythm section that became ZZ Top was a band called American Blues with Rocky. And that dissolved. And just as the moving sidewalks was breaking up, given the span. And then those guys became a ZC type when Bill put Top together.

But I knew Rocky really well. He and Towns were really close. And I knew him through towns. And like I said, the first time I saw Rory Gallagher, I went with Rocky Hill.

So I'm at Liberty hall in Houston. The North Texas thing is more of an electric thing, more of a shuffle thing.

It's Freddie King and, you know, Albert King, you know, is the biggest influence on the Vaughn brothers, especially Steve. Then Freddie King's really kind of.

When I was growing up, he was kind of the guy up there, you know, and all the people that came out of Fort Worth, you know, the Vaughns are from Dallas, Dusty and Frank are from Dallas. But people came to Houston for the most part. The Vaughns went to Austin, but because you could do that by then.

But when I was growing up and, you know, a young teenager and when I first started being, becoming interested in music, Houston was the big time in Texas. That's where Mike and Hopkins, that's where ZZ Top was. That's where it just was the big city. And Sir Douglas Quintet was my.

Where my local hometown here is in Santano, but She's About a Movie was recorded in Houston and at Sugar Hill. So I just, I gravitated towards Houston and, you know, and I knew Townes was there too.

And the Houston thing because of Lightning and Mance, that's where Top was from. And if you listen to what Billy Gibbons does, it's kind of Lightning Hopkins really loud.

And that's, you know, probably, you know, Lightning, you know, as big an influence as anybody on Billy's playing. But he's like, he's one of the greatest guitar players on the planet.

Maybe, you know, because of ZZ Top being such a thing as a band and the records in the 80s, I think people, there's a tendency to not quite give him his due as one of the greatest guitar players that's ever lived. He's really a monster. He still plays great and he's still, still does really interesting stuff. So I, I, I just, I, he's, he's the real deal.

Speaker A: 00:11:57

Hey, y', all, this is Sloan Spencer, the host of Country Fried Rock. We've had an incredible year with more people finding us on the radio and our podcast than we ever imagined. Thank you all so much.

Careful what you wish for, you just might get it.

Speaker C: 00:12:12

Hey, this is Steve Earl and my new record Terraplane is available kind of anywhere that you can get records, but I'd go buy it at your independent local record store where you can get. All right, record store day single will be a version of Terraplane Blizz, my version of Robert Johnson's Terraplane Blizz.

The main thing you have to understand about, and I think we get to that on this record, you're the best lover is Smokestack Lightning, basically. And it patterned out, it started out trying to be Lightning Hopkins, but I, but it turned into Smokestack and I just let it be that.

And I just decided to stay with the acoustic guitar because I'm pretty comfortable on that instrument and. And it just sounded cool with Chris's electric against my acoustic, and we stayed with that.

But the fact of the matter is, what it captures is the thing that blues has become this improvisational long form of music and live performance. But on records, those records, those classic records, they were jukebox records.

And you don't make a song longer than 2 minutes, 30 seconds on the jukebox because otherwise you're cheating yourself out of quarters. They were short records, you know, they were made for people to put. Keep putting money in the juice jukebox and to dance to.

Speaker B: 00:13:23

Right?

Speaker C: 00:13:24

They're essentially pop records. And the fact that the songs on Afterburner and Eliminator being big pop hits does not disqualify them from being the blues to me at all.

They're not the blues. Then Smokestack Leidman's not the Blues. Find me a Chess record longer than three minutes long.

Speaker B: 00:13:41

You mention a lot about friends in music. What, if anything, that is newer on the scene catches your ear.

Speaker C: 00:13:48

I can also be, you know, really insular and not listen to anything new and be really behind, you know, So I poke my head up every once in a while because I watch television. I don't. You know, I read and I watch HBO is normally what I do for entertainment.

I don't go out and hear music very much, you know, in the last few years, you know, I tend to notice singer songwriters when they pop up. I've championed Joe Pug for the last six or seven years, because since I've known him, because I think he's really great.

Willie Mason is another guy I think is really great. I think the Punch Brothers are the best band in the world at this moment in any kind of music, you know, I mean, any kind of music.

And it's like when they're playing bluegrass, they're not even breathing hard. And they do that as well as anybody does. I wish they would do it more, but I understand why they don't. If o' Donovan Kills Me, I think she's.

She's a bad singer songwriter and. And seeing her out on her own, I think you're gonna see something really exciting from her in the next couple. Couple years.

And, you know, I love the new. I love the new Taylor Swift record. It's a really great record, every second of it. So it's.

Yeah, when I listen to pop music, it's usually stuff like that that I Just, oh, I better listen to this or I'm gonna be. I'm really gonna be left behind. And. And, you know, I just sort of knew.

I mean, I. I was very slow pick figuring out who Taylor Swift was, as much as, you know, she was already huge. But I just, you know, I knew, okay, she's. She's a big deal. I mean, because I remember Garth Brooks coming along and being a big deal.

And I went and checked that out and they didn't mind me out. When it came right down to it, it just wasn't my deal. But the first time I saw Taylor was at the Grammys doing Mean.

And, you know, I was just nominated that year, so I had good seats. And I think she opened the show that year and. And I got it. I went po.

She's writing about her and people are relating to her experience because it's happened to them. That's what this job is. That's when I finally realized who she is and what she is. And she's a real life songwriter.

The night I met Johnny Cash, he came all the way across the stage to talk to me about Little Rock and Roller, you know, because he could relate to that experience. He'd left kids behind and been on the road, and I've had truck drivers talk to me about Little Rock and Roll and it's just as real to them.

Even though people don't necessarily want to hear you feeling sorry for yourself because you're riding around on a bus. It costs more than their house, but they can relate to the part about missing your kids.

Speaker B: 00:16:12

Are you writing any new books?

Speaker C: 00:16:14

Yeah, the one I'm working on now is like a literary memoir. It is about my life, but it's not the whole thing because that would be boring and uninteresting to me, so I wouldn't be able to get through it.

Having a hard enough time waking up in the morning and writing about nothing but me as it is. It's largely about recovery. It's called I Can't Remember if We Said Goodbye and I'm about halfway through it.

Speaker B: 00:16:34

That is actually something that this radio program has a commitment to a particular charity that works with musicians who are seeking recovery and assistance for depression. So that's something that is important to us as well.

Speaker C: 00:16:46

Helping to deliver it before, you know, and publish it before the end of the year. Yeah.

Speaker B: 00:16:50

What do you have with touring for this record?

Speaker C: 00:16:53

The tour is going to start basically in April in Louisiana or Texas, because we're playing Stagecoach is what I do know. And that's like around April 24th or 5th. 25th, something like that.

I'm also doing a benefit for Autism Speaks in LA the day before Stagecoach on My Own with Steven Stills and some other people. We both have kids with autism, so. And my youngest son, John Henry, has autism, you know.

And then we'll tour through the summer right up to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, which is sort of a natural demarcation point because we play that every year. Then we'll break and Sean Colvin and I are going to make a record while that's getting ready.

And we've been touring together some, so we're going to make a record together. And it's really a band. It's not a record of duet. It's really a band record. It's Colvin and Earl record. And Buddy Miller's going to produce it.

And we'll make that in natural. Probably in November. And then I'll go back out on the river with the Dukes to do the blues thing for the rest of the fall.

Record with Copenhagen will come out sometime in the spring, but I will have to go to Australia with my band in April of next year, which will be the very last leg of the tour, simply because that's. There's a. There's a festival there called East Coast Blues and Roots. It happens Easter weekend that we pretty much anchor our Australian tourists to.

Speaker B: 00:18:09

Thank you. Safe travels, and I very much appreciate your time.

Speaker C: 00:18:12

All right, thanks. Bye.

Speaker A: 00:18:13

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Speaker C: 00:18:57

I always have to remember. It's steverl.com isn't it? Yeah. Yeah. Because Steve, earl.net was like, is the one that the girl started when I was in jail. Okay, Right.