Feature

For many years now, Robert Earl Keen has skirted under the radar of the mainstream. Despite this, Keen has remained one of the most beloved country acts in America. With songs like “The Road Goes On Forever” and “Christmas in the Family,” this singer/songwriter has made his way into the hearts of many and his songs have been covered by legendary musicians like The Highwaymen (comprised of Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson).

Keen took time to chat as he made his way out west into Indio, Cal., before heading to the Port City.

SC: So, you’re on the road headed to the Coachella Country Festival. How’s the road treating you so far? What’s it been like?

REK: Oh, it’s been very easy and smooth. We’ve played shows in Texas, and then we’re in Santa Fe. Now, we’re in Tucson. Gonna go up to Las Vegas tonight. I like doing these little runs where you’re not away from home for too long. We’ll be gone for a total of 10 days or something. A lot of times, you can do that with you’re eyes closed.

SC: I see that you’re now classified as ‘Alternative Country’ or ‘Alt. Country.’ To me, that’s been a real general term that the music industry has applied to acts like you and Steve Earle and then bands like Cross Canadian Ragweed. What do you think about terms like that?

REK: I’ve found that people need some kind of category to grab onto. My labeling is a little bit different term. I call it ‘Best Western’ music. So, that’s what I do.

SC: One thing about your music is the extreme literary quality to it. What comes first: the story or the music?

REK: I sit down with a guitar, and I strum some chords and try to see if I can invoke some kind of feeling. You know, sometimes it takes a long time; sometimes it’s not a long process at all. It always starts with getting this feeling from the music and hearing the sound of the guitar. Sometimes, the guitar doesn’t sound like anything except a bunch of strings over some metal. Sometimes, it sounds like you’re wrapped in the arms of the Earth Mother from the center of Atlantis or something, and you feel so warm and good about everything. These thoughts come into your head while you’re playing, and the music is what really makes the thoughts come out. It’s the key, I think. My answer to that would be the music always loosens the words up. The music is the catalyst for the words.

SC: One thing that is unique about your career is that you’ve never had a Top 10 hit on any of the major or popular charts, but you have millions of fans and sell out shows at the drop of a hat. Why do you think that is?

REK: I think it’s two things. I think, one, the songs are worth listening to over and over again. People once they listen to them several times, they’ll listen to them more and want to tell their friends about it. That’s what I do. Anybody that I think is really good or a really good songwriter, that’s my feeling, and I think that I fall into that group. And another thing is that we change up our set every night. I’ve never done the same set twice in the 20 some odd years that I’ve been performing. For 12 or 13 years, I’ve been performing with a band, and it’s a different group of songs every night. I think that makes people go, ‘Well, I didn’t see this last time.’ And I play it different. Sometimes, I’m kinda chatty, and we mess around and goof around. Sometimes, we’re, by God, the best rock band that ever stepped on stage. It has a different flavor, and you get to see a different show. If you come to a show on Wednesday, you’ll see a different show on Thursday.

SC: While we’re talking about your band, one thing that is unique about playing in your band is that you have a pension and insurance program.

REK: (Laughing) Yeah!

SC: And the only other person I’ve heard of that did something like that was Howling Wolf.

REK: Is that right? Well, good for Howling Wolf! I knew that I liked that guy!

SC: What made you decide to do something like that?

REK: I sat around and listened to people talk. Musicians love what they do, and some of them can’t help but do that. But they want to be treated and have the same courtesies that everyone else is afforded. Just because all these people do it different ways and they have a short-term band or they kinda go out a little bit for awhile and then they’re off for another six months, so they gotta get paying jobs. Just because they do it that way, doesn’t mean that you can’t do it the REAL way like a person would set up a business. That’s what I thought from the get-go. I wanted people to feel good about their jobs. I wanted them to feel good about their job; I wanted them to feel good about their music and I wanted them to feel good about themselves being musicians.

SC: You recently shared the stage with one of our native sons Jimmy Buffet in Houston. How did you guys hook up?

REK: I’m not exactly sure how that was, but it turned out that there was some people in the Jimmy Buffet camp that we’re aware of me. They were playing in Houston, and we have a really strong following in Houston because I’m really from Houston, originally. I’ve done the Houston Rodeo several times. I think this was the start of their tour, so they wanted to start their tour off with good vibes all around. So, they asked us to play. What was really great about it was that it was surprising how well we fit with their organization. Their organization was a nice bunch of people who were really great to work with, and Jimmy was really gracious. He introduced us on stage and sat there in the wings and listened to our set. It was all good.

SC: The last album you released was ‘Live at the Ryman.’ Besides being at the original home from the Grand Ol’ Opry, what was it about that show that made you want to release it to the public?

REK: I didn’t know if I’d ever get to play there again. When I lived in Nashville, my wife and I worked at Hatch Show Print, which at the time was on Fourth Street directly across from the backside of the Ryman. I used to go over there at lunchtime and go through the museum and go through the old hall before they started playing music in it again. I just fell in love with them building. Then when they started playing music in there, man, I was doing everything I could to beg, borrow and steal my way into getting to play there. Finally, we got an opening slot for Waylon Jennings, but it turned out to be one of those deals where we were supposed to play 40 minutes and by the time it was all said and done, we only got to play 15 minutes. It was kinda in and out the door, and it wasn’t all that fun.

A few years later, I get this opportunity to have my own show there, and I went and borrowed the money and stuff to get it filmed and shot. I really didn’t plan on having a DVD or a record out of it. The plan was just to have it just to keep it and document it the best way I could document it. In the end, it was what I gave the record company. They closed up the doors in Nashville, and I didn’t want to deal with messin’ with that record company anymore because that was the end of it in Nashville. I didn’t have any friends in the record company anymore, so I traded them out.

SC: When can we expect your next studio album?

REK: I think maybe by the end of this year. I’m working on something now, and I’m hoping we’ll get it out by the end of this year.

Stephen Centanni is Lagniappe music editor. Contact him at scentanni@lagniappemobile.com.

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