The storyteller
Austin tunesmith brings different angle to latest set
Back in 1989, James McMurtry released his John Mellencamp-produced debut for Columbia Records. Over more than 25 years and a dozen albums, the singer-songwriter has worked with big-name labels and budgets, indie imprints and shoestring deals, but the consistency of McMurtry’s songcraft — his finely etched novel-like narratives and story songs — has never wavered.
A favorite of fellow writers — McMurtry’s press kit is loaded with testimonials from the likes of Americana artist Jason Isbell and bestselling author Stephen King — his latest LP,
Complicated Game , comes six years after his last studio effort. And the 53-year-old McMurtry — a dry, laconic character in conversation — seems nonplussed by the long gap.
“I didn’t think I really needed to make a record because our draw was holding up; we were still filling the clubs up pretty good,” says the Austin-based McMurtry, who plays Lafayette’s Music Room on Tuesday. “The way the music business is now is funny. It used to be you toured to promote record sales; now it’s the other way around. You put out a record because you’re not drawing any more. And if you put a record out, the (press) will write about you, and everybody will know you’re coming to town.”
Last year, McMurtry signed with French label Complicated Game — from which the album’s title comes — and finally put together a collection of songs he’d been chipping away at. “I’m not all that prolific a writer,” McMurtry admits. “I write when it’s time to make a
record. I write scraps and save ’em on my cell phone, but I don’t bear down on them till its crunch time. Generally, I start with two lines and a melody. And if it’s cool enough that I don’t forget it, then I’ll write the song.”
For McMurtry, the process can be arduous. “If you go all the way back, some songs take months; some take years. There’s one on this record called ‘Aint Got a Place’ — it’s the only song I’ve ever written in like 10 minutes. That one fell out of the ceiling. I was playing with words, working with opposites — kind of like a Guy Clark song. But most of the rest of them took a while.”
Having self-produced his last three studio albums and a pair of live LPs, McMurtry decided to enlist some help on the project. “Felt like I needed some new tricks. I pretty much used up all the lessons I learned from Mellencamp and Don Dixon, Lloyd Maines, all the guys I’d worked with. I produced my last five records, and I was just repeating myself stylistically. It was time to bring in someone else who had a different angle.”
He found that person in fellow musician C.C. Adcock, the Louisiana swamp-pop artist who has worked with Robert Plant and Florence + the Machine. “We hang around the same bars,” McMurtry says of how the pair first crossed paths.
Working at Adcock’s New Orleans studio, McMurtry says the album came together in an “off the cuff” manner. “The way we did it is I would come in and lay down some tracks, just vocal and guitar and click track,” says McMurtry. “Then I’d go back to Austin or back on the road for a little while, and C.C. and (co-producer/ engineer) Mike Napolitano would be listening, thinking ‘Well, we could add this or that.’” Adding mostly subtle layers of sonic texture, Adcock brought in several guest contributors: Ivan Neville on vocals, Allman Brothers guitarist Derek Trucks on slide, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench on organ.
Also appearing on the album and adding banjo is McMurtry’s 24-year-old son, Curtis. He’s followed in the family footsteps, having released his own much-lauded solo debut last year. “He’s found his own way,” McMurtry says. “He’d got a music comp degree. He’s pretty scary to get on stage with ’cause to try to play his songs is difficult for me. He’s got way more complex chord structures than what I’m used to.”
McMurtry will kick off his U.S. tour in Memphis and spend the next few months crossing the country, playing for what he says is a fairly diverse fan base that has found him over the years. “We get a mix of ages. Usually, what the crowd looks like depends on the region. We tend to get a lot more young people over in the Rockies,” he says. “It’s a lot easier to get them dancing in the hills for some reason.”
After wrapping up his U.S. dates this year, McMurtry will head to Europe, where he’s performed regularly in Germany and the U.K, and where he’ll try to expand to his label’s home in France, among other countries.
“Pretty much all our income comes from the road. And there comes a point where we run out of road in the States. Then you need to go to Europe,” says McMurtry. “It’s kind of like being a traveling salesman. You need to keep expanding your territory.”