Austin, Texas, proudly boasts the mantra of being the self-proclaimed live music capital of the world and thus draws musicians from all over the globe like moths to a light, but despite this influx of talent, it’s fittingly a fifth-generation Texan who’s become one of the city’s musical fixtures. If Austin is the heart of live music, then Jon Dee Graham epitomizes its soul—from his punk rock escapades with the Skunks, through his progression into roots rock with the True Believers and on to an acclaimed solo career.
Graham’s weekly solo residency at the Continental Club is a staple of Austin’s music calendar, and his guitar work as a sideman of choice has seen him saddle up beside everyone from Alejandro Escovado to Patty Griffin. Last year, the Texas Music Hall of Fame inducted Graham into its ranks for the third time. He’s been named Singer Songwriter of the Year, as well as Guitarist of the Year twice. While Graham’s reality might be the fantasy of others, it’s the world outside the city to which he turns to keep his feet on the ground.
“Because this place calls itself the live music capital of the world, people become the biggest thing in town here and they assume that means they’re the biggest thing ever,” Graham pondered down the telephone line from Austin. “But of course they’re not. The one advantage I’ve had is that I’ve toured constantly, and that makes me realize that just because everyone here loves you, that doesn’t mean shit in the outside world. But I’m not going to be disingenuous about it—I’m proud of the awards and the Hall of Fame. However, it doesn’t mean as much as people around here like to think it means.”
What has always meant the most to Graham is the music. And it’s music that has taken him from a small ranch on the Mexican border to the world at large. Across the course of seven solo albums, Graham has thrown forth a unique take on life. While tackling subject matter that encompasses various experiences daily adult life brings, Graham presents a view both unique and gripping. His tales might cut to the bone, but he’s also the eternal optimist and nowhere is that more apparent than on his latest recorded venture, It’s Not As Bad As It Looks.
In July of last year, Graham had an album full of songs he was ready to record and release. But a single-car road accident on Texas’ infamous I35 not only left Graham fighting for his life, it subsequently left him with a deluge of new songs. Never had the singer-songwriter been so prolific. While it’s still flavored with Graham’s blazing guitar and distinctive lyrical perception, It’s Not As Bad As It Looks embraces themes as pointed as hope, redemption, and second chances.
“The album’s called It’s Not As Bad As It Looks, as they were the first words out of my mouth after the accident,” Graham recalled. “I was wandering around in shock, and a state trooper tapped me on my shoulder, and they were the first words to come out—‘It’s not as bad as it looks,’ I said to him. I think that plays so much into my nature and into human nature, you know? Like when the house is burning down around you and you say, ‘Don’t worry, we can figure this out!’”
While the experience laid the foundation for what are arguably the finest collection of songs Graham has penned to date, their genesis into a fully fledged recording was equally as momentous. Graham played as a sideman to the likes of Ry Cooder, John Hiatt, and James McMurtry, and his own recordings boast featured guests as esteemed as Kelly Willis, Alejandro Escovedo, and Curt Kirkwood. But for this recording, he felt his own band—the Fighting Cocks—could best offer the songs the emotive servitude they obviously demanded.
“This time we circled the wagons,” Graham mused. “So I had my favorite players to make what is, and I’m not going to use superlatives here, to make what is one of my favorite records that I’ve made yet. I have no delusions about my place in the musical food chain. I’m neither a big fish nor a small fish—I’m just swimming along somewhere in the middle. But the quality of players I’ve had on my projects, and in my regular band, is astonishing. I’m so fortunate in that way. However, the current band I have, the Fighting Cocks, were so important to this record. It was a very private affair.”
With It’s Not As Bad As It Looks set for an Oct. 27 release, Graham again plans to venture across America and Europe in support of the album. But prior to unleashing his new album upon the world, his immediate musical future is a little more intimate. Along with his staple of shows at the Continental Club in Austin, Graham is returning to Santa Ynez on Oct. 14 for a third visit to Tales from the Tavern, where he’ll share the bill with another Tales’ favorite, Michael on Fire. And not only will it reunite Graham with some old friends, it will be another opportunity for a good old dose of reality.
“I grew up on the Texas-Mexico border,” Graham explained. “I grew up wandering around in the desert alone with a sharp stick. The first time I left the state of Texas was to go to New York and play a show opening for John Cale. That immediately showed me there was a much larger world and much more at work than I had any idea of. Life on the road and living a
creative life outside of Austin has showed me that the world is a very big place, and it works very differently from my little neighborhood.”
Freelancer Brett Leigh Dicks carries a sharp stick when he writes. Contact him through Arts Editor Shelly Cone at scone@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Oct 8-15, 2009.