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Being a dad tempers Jennings’ work
Shooter Jennings recalls local color in every mirror. “I got the skull on my arm at this place on Sixth Street during one SXSW,” the 30-year-old son of outlaw country icon Waylon Jennings says. “The (tattoo artist) was totally drunk and doing Groucho Marx imitations. It was creepy!” Jennings, whose new concept album “Black Ribbons” tempers haunting sociopolitical imagery with exacting wit, performs Thursday at Emo’s.
American-Statesman: Why did you choose to play ‘God Bless Alabama’ on (The Tonight Show with Jay) Leno (on March 30) instead of a heavier song? Jennings: They wanted us to do that one. I didn’t fight too hard, even though I would’ve loved to go with some of the more charged material on the record. My friend Matt Reeser wrote that song as a gift for Alabama (Jennings’ 2-year-old daughter with “Desperate Housewives” actress wife Drea de Matteo) the day she was born. ‘Bama was there with me at Leno and she loves that song. I knew she’d eat it up.
How much has being a father influenced your songwriting? Quite a bit, man. To be honest, having a child has just changed my outlook from here on out. I have this little girl who’s about to go out into this world, and I feel a certain responsibility that whatever (music) I put out there is something that she can learn from and engage in at some point. It’s also changed my chemistry. I don’t go out anymore, and I prefer to be at home.
Has fatherhood altered your idea of success? Yeah, my idea of success at 16 would have been to be on the cover of “Rolling Stone” magazine. Now, it’s to be financially stable and be home as much as I can. By association, the writing is affected, and I’m more conscious of what I’m saying.
What exactly are you saying on ‘Black Ribbons’? Well, it was inspired by what the world’s been going through: the economic decline, and the strange and scary things that were the catalysts. It’s a giant metaphor for love and truth and what I’ve learned from having a family.
It ultimately does seem optimistic. Yeah, I’m glad you hear that. It’s like we put a bunch of black paint on a wall and then painted a rainbow on it. You have to have the black paint on there to ultimately make the rest of it shine. It’s a record about truth more than government. It is optimistic! Somewhere along the line, Stephen King did a part for us (laughs).
Right. Was he your first choice (to play central character Will O’ the Wisp)? I had him in mind the entire time. That fact that he liked it really helped me have a lot of confidence in this project. Stephen was so cool and so generous and such a wonderful dude. To have his mind attached to this project is a triumph for me.
He’s great on the intro to ‘(Expletive) You (I’m Famous).’ That song seems clearly tongue-in-cheek, but do you worry about people interpreting it wrong? “(Expletive) You (I’m Famous)” is a total satire, but I knew there were going to be people who think I was serious and this is some kind of Kid Rock song.
Shooter Jennings
When: 9 p.m. Thursday, April 8
Where: Emo’s, 603 Red River St.
Cost: $18 in advance, $20 at the door
Information: 505-8541
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By Paddy
April 8, 2010 11:00 AM | Link to this
If I see another piece about how fatherhood or sobriety has made a Real Man out of some overgrown adolescent star like Bob Schnieder and Jennings, I’m gonna throttle the first bearded hipster I see on Red River that night. News flash to male musicians: men have been producing babies since they crawled out of the primordial muck, and a whole lot of them actually complete that phase of their lives long before the average male musician achieves self-actualization. There’s nothing novel or particularly revealing about it, regardless that it happened to you, so shut up about your stunted epiphanies and just sing, you self-absorbed ***-hats.
Gracias, amigos.
By H.S.
April 8, 2010 4:52 PM | Link to this
Agreed.