New Braunfels
“I had a Dodge truck with a camper and a dog at the time. I went out to visit Doug Moreland and some of those guys who lived out behind the River Road Icehouse. All they did was hang out on the river and play music. I pulled up and plugged in right beside them. I played a few places around town, like the Tavern in Gruene and the Lone Star Float House. Doug would take me on the road with him on the weekends. It all sort of escalated from there.”
Luckenbach
“I really enjoy going out to Luckenbach and visiting old friends I have out there. I originally wrote ‘Ghost of Travellin’ Jones’ about a guy there named Greg Gorman. He was one of those older guys that never really goes anywhere, just sits around the campfire and writes songs. He passed before I could get him to sing his part. About a year later, I got the opportunity to record that song, so I asked Terry [Allen] if he would do it.”
Laredo
“Once you get south of San Antonio, headed down that freeway towards Laredo, it’s its own world down there. I spent quite a bit of time going across the border to Nuevo Laredo and Monterrey. My family moved there when I was 17. There was a guy who lived next door to us that would sit on his porch in the afternoons and play his guitar. I started going over there and just hanging out and listening to him play. One day I ran inside, grabbed my guitar, and asked him to show me a few chords.”
Stephenville
“I rode bulls for a few years at Tarleton State University in Stephenville. When I moved back there, I started playing at a place called the Water Hole. It was a little bar with a single pool table. I went to Fort Worth for some open mics, trying to get my feet wet, and figured out how it all works.”
This article appears in June 5 • 2009.