Live Previews
The cross-genre singer-songwriter tours the UK with “the best band I’ve ever had”.
Must-see gigs from Steve Earle & The Dukes, Fishbone and Massive Wagons. Plus full gig listings – find out who’s playing where and when.
Steve Earle is the man who puts the ‘outlaw’ in ‘outlaw country’. The Texan-raised singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer, author and actor has lived a storied life as colourful as his vast catalogue of songs. Here he previews a run of European shows.
You’ve been writing your memoir. Is it close to being finished yet?
I hope to complete the process over the next several months. It’s taking forever, but I cannot stand writing about myself.
Those are sixty-three incredible years – seven marriages, three Grammys, a spell inside and a battle with heroin. Did it all make you the person you are, or do you wish you’d done certain things differently?
Oh, there are things I regret, but I don’t dwell on them. Recovery taught me that. Drugs and music co-existed in my life for as long as they could and then, finally, nothing could co-exist with my drug habit, and because I didn’t want to die, I stopped.
You’ve now been clean for twenty-three years. Does it get any easier?
Yeah. And then it gets harder. I’ve struggled more in the last ten years because a lot of stuff has happened. My longest marriage broke down, and I’ve got a little boy with autism. Your response to those matrimonial issues was to make So You Wannabe An Outlaw.
That record is among the most tender and revealing in your catalogue.
Yeah, but some of it was not so tender. In the middle of making it we also lost Guy Clark [friend, collaborator and country musician], so it was certainly a very personal record. But you know what they say: if you don’t want to end up in a song, then don’t mess around with songwriters.
And should potential wife number eight come along, do you give her the swerve?
Ha! I don’t think that’ll happen, so I’m probably done [with marriage]. I’ve been single for a while now, and although I like being in relationships – I’ve been in quite a few – being able to watch all of the baseball I want doesn’t suck.
As a fellow father to an autistic son, you must agree that society, especially potential employers, has a long way to go to understand a condition that’s becoming more widespread? Oh yeah. John Henry is eight and he’s non-verbal, so there are a lot of questions about what’s going to happen with him. But he’s also really smart, and everybody that meets him loves him. Autism is an epidemic. We have a whole bunch of kids that will have to be taken care of, but it’s important to never give up on them. Your forthcoming European dates include festivals and some indoor gigs. Do you approach each of those differently? Not really, except for time constraints. At Ramblin’ Man Fair [which will have taken place by the time this issue goes on sale] I’m playing my Copperhead Road album in its thirtieth anniversary year, but at the rest it’ll be a broader mix. This is the best band I’ve ever had. I can’t wait to be there.
So You Wannabe An Outlaw is now a year old. Are you working on a follow-up?
I’m going to make two records, one of which will be way more politically based. Last time I didn’t know that this [Donald Trump becoming president] was going to happen, and when it did I began writing a record straight away. I want that to come out in late 2019 or early the following year, but first I’m going to make a record of Guy Clark songs.
Will you be doing any more acting?
When I can get a part then yeah, I will. The ones that I want to do often clash with my schedule. DL
“You know what they say:
if you don’t want to end up in a song, then don’t mess around with songwriters.”
Steve Earle & The Dukes’ U K dates run until July 29.