J.J. CALE : : AMERICAN LEGEND

"As a guitar player I like to do that, but because I was mainly a songwriter I don't sit here and play nine solos... because when you are trying to sell songs you cut it down to where it's about three-minutes. I did that from a business standpoint. Personally as a musician I like the way the Widespread Panic does it." --J.J. Cale

For a man who seems to value the economy of the song, and paring it down to the core, I'm curious how you feel about bands like Widespread Panic who take a three-minute song of yours and turn it into a 15-minute jam session.

I really like that. I opened for Widespread Panic's show a couple of times, once in Dallas another time in Milwaukee. As a guitar player I like to do that, but because I was mainly a songwriter I don't sit here and play nine solos, and have the piano player play ten solos or whatever, because when you are trying to sell songs you cut it down to where it's about three minutes. I did that from a business standpoint. Personally as a musician I like the way the Widespread Panic does it. Because you get to play. You sing one verse of the songs and that's called a hook and it gives you something to play against. I used to do that, but because I got into the songwriting business I started cutting all that out. And I stretch 'em out at the gig, nothing like the Widespread Panic, well sometimes I do, it all depends on the band I have with me. A lot of musicians don't like to jam. They just want to do the tune, man, and get it over with and do another tune. Other musicians go, "Just find a good tune and we'll play all night to the damn thing." I appreciate both styles, I kind of got stuck into the non-jam thing because I'm a songwriter, but I like what Widespread Panic does.

I know you did sit in with them in Dallas in 2002, and I believe y'all played "Ride Me High." How did y'all decide to play that song?

I opened their show just playing solo, and then two or three people I had with me came out and we played 20 or 30 minutes, and then they asked me to come out and jam. And I said, "Well what do you wanna do?" They said "Ride Me High." I think they cut a couple of my songs, "Ride Me High," and "Traveling Light." So you know if I'm out on the stage we're gonna do one of those tunes I wrote, it was kinda their choice not mine.

You don't seem to like touring too much, but do you enjoy playing in front of people?

Yeah I do. I'm getting ready to tour. We've already started booking the gigs. Touring is tiresome. But it's also fun in a funny sort of way. You almost have to have a gypsy frame of mind: "Well I'm just rolling down the road gonna play another gig." It's actually probably the best part of the music industry. Selling records is really rough these days, everything has changed. Being in the record business doesn't really work anymore; touring is probably now the best thing about the music industry.

Now you sort of just mentioned the gypsy mind frame, and that is a theme I've seen on a few of your songs, and I also realize that you spend a good amount of time living out of your Airstream and what not. I'm curious, is that sort of a mentality that you hold?

Yeah I really like that. I actually live in a house now and mow the lawn and all that stuff, and it's because I've made some money doing what I do. But I still like the free gypsy style of life, that's why I go on tour.

And do you still have the Airstream?

No I sold it, it's gone.

It is.

I went from trailers, and then I went into motor homes because you didn't have to pull it behind a truck. And when I go on tour I rent a bus, that way I don't have to drive, and you got a bunch of people with you, and a bunch of equipment, and then it's Holiday Inns.

You have clearly turned away from fame and the limelight on several occasion, perhaps most notably on the heels of Clapton's success with your songs. Why has that been? Is there any real conscious reason for that?

Eric Clapton

Are you excited to play that Clapton guitar festival?

Yeah, that's gonna be fun. That's a guitar player's delight. Every guitar player, well not every guitar player, but a lot of guitar players are on there. I'm gonna really enjoy that.

Yeah it looks like a lot of fun. In an interview a while back you said you were listening to a lot of rap and Van Halen at the time, are you still keeping up with hip-hop and that stuff?

No, not really. I'm not a real big rap fan. I've listened to it to see what they are doing from a professional standpoint. I saw that this kind of music was selling so I wanted to see what they were really doing. That is the epitome of the electric drum machine. If you have an electric drum machine and a pitch corrector you can make a rap record and not have any talent at all. I like Juvenile and 2Pac. Juvenile had a rap song called "Back That Azz Up." There are few rap songs that I really like, but I like that, and I like 2Pac's "California." But basically most of the rap tunes like most of the rock tunes and jazz and everything else suck. But in every genre; country, rock, rap, hip-hop whatever, I can always hear somebody that I really like, but that's the way it's always been. A lot of people become popular that are really just going on the coat tails of somebody else's originality.

Definitely. I think there is good music everywhere you just gotta dig through the crap to find it.

I'm not a big rap fan, but I've heard a couple of rap records that I really like. Most of them I don't.

So what have you been diggin' on lately, new or old? What kind of music are you listening to as of late?

I haven't been doing too much because I've been making records. I bought Norah Jones' record, it's kinda chick music, but I bought it because it's very well-recorded and I'm an engineer so I go, "How did they get that good sound?" So I look at it a little bit different than the average guy. I don't really like the music but I think about how did they record it, what type of machines did they use. I think I bought Nickelback's record, they're kinda current. There's a gospel group, and I'm not a big gospel fan, it's kinda hokey, but Levon Helm's kid is in it, and it sounds pretty good, but I can't remember what the name of it is. [Editors note: The name of the band is Ollabelle and features Amy Helm on vocals.]

If you hadn't ended up making a career in music what do you think you would have done?

I would have liked to have been a recording engineer, but then that's in the music business. Man... I've been playing music so long I can't remember any time that I really wasn't. Even as a teenager I was out gigging. And I'm 65 now. I can't remember... like you know people ask, "What do you wanna be when you grow up?" I thought maybe flying planes was an exciting thing, but then I didn't get into that. Back when I was growing up you didn't look at things like, "Well this is going to be my career." You just tried to find a job to pay the rent. I've done all kinds of straight jobs... I guess I really don't have an answer for that.

My last thought, sort of in regards to that--how did you first get involved in music? I read where you had a friend down the street who played guitar. Did you just get a guitar and start and one thing led to another?

Yeah, you know. We played country music. The kid up the street played guitar and I bought a guitar and we sat around and taught each other. You know when you have another person to feed off you it's like, "This is what I learned today." And we'd copy records and then I started playing in bars for money. Rock 'n' roll was just coming on, we're talking about '54, '55, '56--rock 'n' roll was just coming in, and hardly anyone was playing it then. The old people were into a whole different thing, calling people who were 30 years old "old." And I started playing in bars and I never really got out of it. I just kept playing in bars until I got into songwriting and making records.

Now overall have you been pleased with your career in music? I know the business can be a little tough...

(Laughing) Yeah that's an understatement. Yeah, there are some records I've made that I'd like to get a hold of all of them and burn 'em. I've definitely made some records that are terrible.

What records don't you like, if you don't mind me asking?

Oh well I'd have to sit down and hear it. I've made a lot of records; this last record is my 14th album. And there have been at least ten songs on every album, sometimes 14. And then I've made some demos, so I don't know.

Anything that you particularly like, do you have a favorite album of yours?

No, they're all basically the same, they all kinda sound the same. Depends on the mood you're in or if you like a particular song. That was what I was trying to do. Like I said, there's a few I wish I had put something else on and taken something off, but I think all artists feel that way.

You've had a pretty marvelous run here, is there anything else you'd really like to see yourself do musically?

No, I'm getting ready to go out on tour. I'm trying to make that a positive thing. At my age it's kinda gonna be fun to get out and kick around again. Of course I've been doing it so it's nothing new. I'm kinda looking forward to that, it's kinda good for your ego to get out and meet some people. And you also get new ideas.

Is there anybody that you'd really like to collaborate with?

I haven't been much of a collaborator, I've written songs with a couple of people, but songwriting is something I generally have done by myself. There are a lot of people I really admire, whether we could fit my thing and their thing together is questionable.

Well John I really appreciate your time, I know you don't do a whole lot of interviews and I appreciate you letting me have some of you day.

Well I appreciate you taking your time. Thanks a lot Aaron.

The Kayceman
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