TCB
By Christopher Gray, Fri., July 2, 2004
Green's Pasture
Pat Green won't be joining Willie Nelson in the Fort Worth Stockyards Sunday (also known as Picnic Day), because he just played the biggest outdoor arena in the Metroplex, Dallas' Smirnoff Amphitheater, and now must wait out a 60-day noncompete clause. Still riding high on last year's Wave on Wave, and with his next album recently wrapped, Monday Green was home in Austin for what he figured was only the 15th day this year.
"It's been a pretty busy life, a careful-what-you-ask-for kind of thing," he says. "I'm definitely not regretful."
Before he goes on the road again, the crown prince of KVET is stepping into Willie's running shoes in another way, hosting a big ol' July Fourth party at Auditorium Shores beginning at 2pm with friends Jerry Jeff Walker, Jack Ingram, Cowboy Mouth, and more. "I had a pretty big wish list," laughs Green, "but Springsteen was unavailable."
TCB: I take it you have Willie's blessing?Pat Green: Oh sure. He doesn't really care what anybody does. He's not going to stand in the way of anybody. He's probably the nicest guy on the planet. It's really not gonna affect him one way or the other.TCB: What's your favorite song about Texas?
PG: This guy named Walt Wilkins, who I'm a big fan of. Amazing writer, helluva guy, prince among men if you will. He has a song – I don't even really think I know the title of it, but I can sing every word: "No matter what place you find me in ..." I guess it's called "Send Me Back to Texas." It's such an amazing place that it deserves songs to be written about it. People get up my ass about it, but I'm like, "If you'd like to do something different on your record, feel free."
TCB: Were you ever into fireworks?
PG: Oh yeah – the standard idiot teenage boy growing up, throwing firecrackers at your brother and stuff like that. I was always kind of excited about it. My dad would take us to Fort Hood or wherever the biggest fireworks display was.
TCB: Do you think Texas has an image problem right now?
PG: With what?
TCB: There's this article, "Us Against the World," in the new Texas Monthly ...
PG: Oh, with Kinky [possible future Gov. Friedman] on the front? I haven't read that article yet. I love Kinky, he's my friend. I think the gist of it to me would be, you know, if you live in Texas, you probably don't care what other people think. We all know that it's just a label. Colorado got a bad name for the Columbine thing, unjustly, so I don't think you judge a place or a culture or a people by the actions of the people that got famous out there doing good or bad things. Are you curious where my political landings are?
TCB: Not so much politics, it's just that your music says Texas to so many people that I'm curious how non-Texans react.
PG: Well, I've never had a problem at a show. Most of the places we go are packed to the gills, and if they don't like Texas, they've got me fooled. And also, I would say if they're not big about Texas or if they're really kind of against Texas, they probably don't show up.
