Country Music People July 2016 | Page 3

Duncan Warwick meets the Californian who is Head Over Boots about his new album .

male country singers in cowboy hats . More recently , very few of the artists regularly occupying the upper reaches of the country chart are ever seen in such attire . However , for many a fan , the simple act of a singer donning a Stetson or a Resistol carries with it the implication that the singer is more likely to be more rooted in a traditional sound .

Enter Jon Pardi , a young singer hailing from California who has charted five singles , his latest being Head Over Boots - still climbing after debuting at the end of last year - and the lead single from his sophomore release , California Sunrise , released last month . At the very suggestion that his

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18 COUNTRY MUSIC PEOPLE - JULY 2016 choice of headwear might have been questioned , Pardi laughs , “ No , I won that battle . I wear my cowboy hat all the time now . It even made the cover !” But there is more substance to Jon Pardi than his chapeau . The more hard edged country sound of the West Coast has been an obvious influence , and he can be seen knocking out some Dwight Yoakam moves in videos available online . However , most telling about his country credentials is that his grandmother loved classic country and encouraged a young Pardi to use her karaoke machine . At only seven-yearsold Pardi belted out Garth ’ s Friends In Low Places at his dad ’ s 30th birthday .

“ I ’ ve been with my grandma in the back yard singing with a broom - playing a broom and singing Hank Williams Jr .” recalls Pardi . “… Or my pre-school teacher saying that I was always saying my name was Randy Travis or Merle Haggard … She never knew what my name was until my mum told her . So , I was George Strait , Merle Haggard and Randy Travis . I ’ ve had this music bug for a long time and I thank my grandma for that because she was always the one influential on that part . Definitely , I love music .”

Jon Pardi went on to also develop a fondness for the two Georges - Jones and Strait - as well as Hank Jr ., Mark Chesnutt , Alabama and perhaps not surprisingly , Dwight Yoakam .

“ I could say the high energy of the California sound is something I took with me and then I kind of mixed … Because I listen to everything so it ’ s hard for me to be like , ‘ Yeah , you know , just in the California style .’ But I think the high energy is something I took from California . I could really say that

It ’ s ten years since we lost Buck Owens . Jack Watkins looks at the career of the Bakersfield pioneer .

discarded one-time greats such as Webb to appreciate his importance . Now , of Pierce or Kitty Wells . course , there ’ s not much excuse for Apart from the fact that Jerry Lee ignorance , thanks to all the books and

Lewis had done a storming version of CD reissues . This article was originally country radio shows back then it was Buck ’ s Together Again which featured mooted to the editor to mark the tenth all about Waylon Jennings , quite a bit on disc one of a life-changing double anniversary of his death in 2006 . Sad to of Moe Bandy , loads of Charley Pride album LP I ’ d managed to pick up , say , it seems even more fitting now , with and Boxcar Wille – a late blooming The Greatest Live Show On Earth / By the recent passing of fellow architect of artist British audiences of the time took Request : More Of The Greatest Live the so-called Bakersfield sound , Merle so much to their hearts it bordered on Show On Earth , I couldn ’ t have named a Haggard . a slightly embarrassing love affair - single one of his songs .

To judge from what has been written and far too much of the whimpering It was only after interviewing one or about him , Buck Owens wasn ’ t Emmylou Harris . Buck Owens was two British rock musicians much later , necessarily the most agreeable , likeable seldom played , so he seemed as remote who ’ d rave about Buck and his eventual country artist there ’ s ever been . I and unfashionable as other apparently guitar partner Don Rich , that I started don ’ t particularly care . Whatever his

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West Virginia ’ s Billy Payne has been releasing records for more than 20 years and regularly plays and records with Waylon ’ s former band , but , as Duncan Warwick finds out , he ’ s his own kind of Outlaw .

o , you want to be an Outlaw ? Well , if you ’ re West Virgina ’ s Billy Payne you could spend two years carving a wooden statue of your hero Waylon Jennings . That might show some commitment . Especially if once completed you get to present it to your hero . It might also help if you can remember the impact Johnny Cash At San Quentin had on the ears of a fiveyear-old , and as a kid you were so into country music that you tied a battery operated 8-track player to the handlebars of your bicycle so you could cruise your neighbourhood to the sounds of Waylon . Jeff Foxworthy might have something to say about that !

The Waylon influence is apparent in much of Payne ’ s work ( even though he suggests that George Jones is ultimately his favourite singer ), but Billy Payne is so much more than a Waylon wannabe and insists that even from an early age he “ Didn ’ t want to be them ,” he “ wanted to be a part of it .”

Achieving his goal of being ‘ part of it ’, Payne has been independently releasing records for nearly 20 years , and frequently works , both live and in the studio , with Waylon ’ s band , and oh , Jessi

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Colvin & Earle talk to Spencer Leigh

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Colter still has the woodcarving of her late husband .

Payne picks up the story , “ Well , when I started carving it I used a 4x4 piece of wood . It ’ s not something I do on a regular basis but back then when I was doing this kind of stuff I was doing it to pass the time . A friend of mine was carving a statue of Hank Williams out of a 500 pound log and he said , ‘ Billy , won ’ t you carve one of Waylon ? Use a 4x4 piece of wood .’ And I said , ‘ That would be a lot easier for me to handle .’ So I made the statue and I did it basically out of wanting to , and I just wanted to give it to Waylon just as a friendship thing , you know , and that ’ s how we became friends . We didn ’ t get to correspond with each other too much after that because when I gave it to him in ’ 95 he was starting to feel bad and everything . But he always spoke highly of me and to this day Jessi Colter still has it .”

“ I ’ ve always had such respect for Waylon and his music and he ’ s always been a hero of mine ,” says the hugely likable West Virginian before explaining how he hooked up with The Waylors .

“ I ’ ve been listening to Waylon ever since I can remember . It really happened by fate that I got hooked up with the band because Waylon knew about me prior to recording . To start with because I made Waylon that fifteen inch tall wooden statue that I carved for him . It took me two years to do it and I gave it to him in 1995 . He said he would help me in any way he could . So when I started recording with them on records in 1999 , Waylon was gonna do liner notes for my No Limit On Love CD and well , some things happened and , of course , Waylon ended up taking me on and he wasn ’ t able to do it due to a deal he had with Lucky Dog , I think .

“ So anyway , he had to decline but he said he would help me any way he could . Well , you know , unbeknownst to all of us that he was going to pass , unfortunately , and so I was contacted by the band because they were coming to The Spirit Of The Outlaws tribute show . And so the band came out of retirement and I went to Nashville and I got hooked up with Richie Albright ( drums ) and Fred Newell ( steel and harmonica ) and Jerry Bridges ( bass ). And Jerry and I rekindled our friendship from the time I met him with Waylon in 1995 . He said ,

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Mentored by Willie Nelson , Kimmie Rhodes has gone on to write multi-platinum songs for the likes of Wynonna and Trisha Yearwood , and she ’ s become an Austin institution with more than 30 years of recordings to her name . She talks to Michael Hingston .

Photos by Christopher Durst

immie Rhodes is a talented The Apple Tree ” stage at Country To songwriter and warm

Country . She was really enthusiastic performer who has had a about The Country Music Hall Of Fame . long and fascinating career . She has ‘ The Country Music Hall of Fame been at the heart of the Austin country was a great place when it was in that scene for many years and has also little building on Music Row , but now worked extensively in Nashville . it is a gorgeous big building . [ At the She experienced the Outlaw Country moment ] they have an exhibit called movement at first hand , worked with Nashville Cats . Jon Langford from here Waylon Jennings and is a friend and [ Welsh musician based in Chicago ] said regular collaborator with Willie Nelson . “ I didn ’ t have any idea how cool the Rhodes was married to Austin stalwart Country Music Hall Of Fame really is , Joe Gracey and they made music I thought it was just a place where they together for thirty years until his death ensconced Garth Brooks ’ underwear ”. in November 2011 .

The things they are doing are just

Rhodes continues to record and amazing .’ perform great music , but has recently I have been to The Country Music taken some time out to write a memoir Hall Of Fame twice and saw the titled Radio Dreams , and put together Nashville Cats exhibit on my last trip . a retrospective compilation CD .

It is a fabulous place to visit and is She is also associate producer for a doing great work in education and documentary titled They Called Us documenting the history of country Outlaws : Cosmic Cowboys , Honky Tonk music . Heroes And The Rise Of Redneck Rock ; Kimmie has made many visits to the which is being made in collaboration UK and has enjoyed playing over here . with the prestigious Nashville institution One time , her and her band played The Country Music Hall Of Fame . two very contrasting gigs in the same

I spoke to Kmmie shortly after she evening . had played a wonderful set with her “ Years ago , we used to come over and son Gabriel at the Bob Harris “ Under play a place that everyone loved called

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Photo : Mel Petrey / WillaDawn Photography

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magical place . On June 13 , I travelled there to see Americana ’ s new star duo , Colvin & Earle , or more specifically , Shawn Colvin and Steve Earle .

The red-brick church is visible from the Highbury and Islington tube station and is a short walk away . It opened in 1877 but it was damaged during the war and by the 1980s was scheduled for demolition . Thanks to ardent campaigning from local residents , the building was saved – it is now Grade I listed and has been lovingly restored . It still functions as a church but is also a centre for charitable causes and is largely funded through being used as a concert venue .

Colvin & Earle were scheduled to play two dates in June and I went to the first . Seating is unnumbered which means first come , first served and so the church was almost full by 7.15pm for a scheduled 8 o ’ clock start . The more experienced ticket holders brought their own cushions . By 8.15pm , we were a little impatient but Colvin & Earle then opened with Wake Up Little Susie .

I was intrigued . Many years ago I had seen Steve Earle in Liverpool with the celebrated bluegrass band led by Del McCoury . I interviewed Steve and thought I would chat to Del before I left . He gave me an insight into how difficult the tour was for him and his band . They came from good Christian stock and though they loved playing with Steve , they couldn ’ t stand him swearing in between the songs .

I ’ ve seen Steve a couple of times recently and the strong language is still there . Not that it bothers me – I love Billy Connolly – but I wondered what would happen in Union Chapel . As I should have guessed , Steve confronted the issue straight away : “ We ’ re in a church , wow , fuck me !”

They performed all 10 tracks of the

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contents July 2016 cmp

Features

12 Jon Pardi

The Californian who is Head Over Boots about his new album talks to Duncan Warwick .

18 Buck Owensn

Jack Watkins looks at the career of the Bakerfield pioneer ten years after his death .

24 Kimmie Rhodes

Michael Hingston meets the Texas troubadour .

48 Billy Payne

Duncan Warwick discovers Billy Payne is Way More Outlaw .

54 Colvin & Earle

Spencer Leigh talks to Shawn and Steve .

60 Rob Heron

Definitely not a pastiche , discovers Duncan Warwick .

Reviews 30 CD Reviews Regulars

4 News 8 Tour Guide 11 This Month In Country Music 17 The David Allan Page 53 Americana Roundup

Charts

64 Americana & UK Country Charts 65 Billboard Country Charts

Courtesy of Billboard Inc .

JON PARDI California Dirt Roads

omewhere along the way since 1990 the phrase ‘ hat act ’ became

Sa derogatory term used to imply a Nashville production line of young

BUCK OWENS

Buckerooing it !

f you first started out listening to country music circa 1979 / 1980 as

II did , you wouldn ’ t have picked up much Buck Owens . Tuning in to BBC

BILLY PAYNE

WAY ... MORE ... OUTLAW

S

Colvin & Earle

EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE HAPPY AND FREE

Kimmie RHODES

K

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ver the years I have seen several concerts which have

Obeen broadcast from Union Chapel in North London and it seems a

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