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Looking back - Every Song I Write Is For You
It's a fact that neither bothers nor surprises the hardcore Texas honky-tonker. His first release on Audium records was a project that blatantly defied commercialism and emotionally challenged it's listeners. Although sales were as expected they weren’t the criteria Dale used to measure the album’s success. "It was pretty predicable as far as radio was concerned but everything else surpassed even what I thought it would. I was so surprised when Audium got behind it. Everybody in the business that heard about the record was telling us that it was a great record but that it was a very emotional record, and 'you can’t sell that to the public, they aren’t going to jump on that'." he recalls "I used to carry around a quote in my pocket that came from a little interview with Merle Haggard: 'I’m glad they don’t play my music on the radio with the rest of that shit. I don’t know if I can tell a country radio station from a pop radio station. Country radio is afraid to play music that would provoke any kind of emotion'. 'Every Song' gives you too much emotion." "The consumer today doesn’t want to be thought-provoked, they got used to being very safe, and this is emotional and thought provoking. Those people who buy those kind of records are a very small number of people." Included in that group are steadfast Dale Watson loyalists. "It’s definitely a record you’ve got to be in the mindset to listen to. I’m lucky I’ve got fans that are more than fans really, we share a love of country music. They’ve been with me a long time, and when they heard these songs, some of them had to call or e-mail me and say "You know, we’re here for you.'" Speaking of his relationship with his long time supporters Dale credits them with allowing him to have the ability to make the kind of music he needs to. "It affords me the ability to be creative. I don’t even have to worry, it affords me the comfort of knowing if I have my heart into it, they’ll accept it." For Dale, Every Song I Write Is For You had a threefold purpose. What initially began as stage in his personal healing process after the devastating loss of his fiancée, Terri Herbert, to a car accident in September of 2000, became a way of reaching out to others who were also experiencing the tragedy of loss in their lives. Ultimately though the project was for Terri. "To let people know about Terri and everything that goes with losing somebody like that, it really accomplished more than I ever thought it could." Almost a year after its release Dale still believes that it’s the best record he could ever make. "I don’t know if I could ever top that, for me personally. I don’t have any objectivity when it comes to that record. It’s such a close album, but I can honestly say as far as listening to any album that I've done, that one is so much more a better production, better 'singing', better writing than any other I’ve done." 'Every Song' isn't the only musical tribute to Terri's life. Dale also pulled together a multi-artist compilation titled "Austin, Texas Through The Eyes of Terri Herbert" . The project includes original songs as a tribute to Terri, as well as some of her favorites. Artists that contributed include, among others, Kelly Willis, Reckless Kelly and of course Dale. Proceeds from the sale of the album go to benefit the Terri Herbert Foundation which is overseen by Terri's mother. The foundation is set up to offer scholarships to children of single parent homes (like Terri was) who are interested in pursuing professional careers. "She accomplished so much, and had to do so much to get there. When you’ve only got one parent it makes it tough." Caught in the Webb - In The Jailhouse Now Dale's current radio release is his contribution to recently released but already destined to be classic ‘Caught in the Webb – a tribute to the legendary Webb Pierce’ produced by Gail Davies. Dale's version of Jimmie Rodger's 'In The Jailhouse Now' is one of the project's many highlights and a perfect choice as the lead single as he breathes new life into the rockabilly classic. Dale's flawless delivery is only enhanced by Gail's cut to the chase, in and out style of recording. Recording live with the newly inducted Hall of Fame members, the Jordanaires in the studio singing backup, Dale nailed the song. "The Jordanaires ain’t bad are they?" he laughs. Touring Europe together afforded Dale and Gail many chances to sing Webb Pierce songs on the road, and ultimately led to Dale's inclusion in the project. "She told me about the project she’d been wanting to get together for a long time. I’m convinced that Webb’s in the Hall of Fame because of Gail. She’s been making noise about the that fact he wasn’t in the Hall of Fame for years. We’ve known each other for years, and that’s one thing she’d always voice when we were out on tour. I was right there with her. She'd say we should do something about it. I told her then count me in if you ever do, so years went by and she called me up and said I’m doing this album, you want to be on it? 'Course I do.' She’s got some heavy hitters on there, she didn’t need me on there. Glad she did." Dale has nothing but respect for her professional ability and her no nonsense approach to just about everything she undertakes. “She’s a spitfire, man. There ain’t no curve in her." he says with admiration. "She’s a ‘producer’. She was one of, if not the first lady to produce her own stuff in Nashville. She got that way for a good reason. What’s sad is Nashville doesn’t have the open-mindedness to recruit people like Gail. I think Alison Krauss has produced some albums on other bands, bluegrass bands, because bluegrass is not that narrow minded. They don’t care whether you’re woman or a man as far as making music in the studio and I think that’s what they ought to do with Gail. Gail should be one of those people that record companies would hire to produce new acts. She’s got the experience and the ears." 'Caught in the Webb' was released to stores on January 8th. On The Road Again With dates totaling up to 300 nights a year, touring is one of the areas of Dale’s career that has taken direct fine tuning in order to keep his commitment to his priorities. Still primarily performing close to home in Texas, he's fully aware of his responsibility to support the records his fans are buying with live performances. I’ve learned to prioritize my life, and my touring reflects that. Every other month I go out for the first two weekends, that gets me gone for about ten days. I’ll still be doing 300 dates a year easily but the difference is European and domestic touring I’ll probably cut it to half of what I normally do…and that will be probably about 150 dates. To me its just smarter to do it this way, than going out for 6 weeks or 2 months and then coming home for 3 weeks and then going out again." With a lot of hard work, Dale seems to have found a balance that works for all of the priorities in his life. "You’ve got to make it that way, " he states "but once you realize what’s important its not a hard decision. I had to do a lot of soul searching. I realize the music is what I am and it’s very important to me, but you can’t have that by itself. Kids are more important than that. It’s a nice balance the way I have it now. It makes me feel like I pay the right amount of attention to both." He'll be heading out on the road again the first two weekends in April, which will include performing at a fundraiser for the Minnie Pearl Cancer Foundation at the Ryman Auditorium scheduled for April 3rd and will include many of the artists that contributed to the Webb project. Irons on the Fire
A little good news/bad news scenario for fans who've been waiting for a couple of projects to materialize. Dale's live concert DVD, ''For the Fans', is available in Europe now through Continental Records. "I’m really happy with it. It was a last minute thing and it turned out really well." Dale promises the project has "no smashing guitars or swinging from ropes, just pickin' and singing." On the flip side of luck however, late last year Dale auditioned for a part in a movie based on the life of Merle Haggard. Unfortunately the project that had just come out of legal stranglehold for about two years, went right back in after after he tried out. In the meantime, Dale seems content and secure with his new label. "Audium has been the kind of record company which I never would have thought any Nashville record company would have been. Nick Hunter says as long as he’s there I’ve got a home there. It’s nice to know I’m with a record company that puts out product that is conducive to the artist instead of just product." After already releasing Every Song I Write Is For You last year, and a Christmas album, Audium is set to release a yet un-named 'Live' 2 CD album on June 25th. Preachin' To The Choir' was previously released in Europe, however there will be some changes coming to the US release. The biggest change will be the remixing. "They’ve got the 24 track and said they were going to go in and remix some things, and the way the songs go into one another, that type of thing." "The Live from London album was right off the 2 track, it was right off the board, of course it was a good board, the people were great sound engineers. They did Tom Petty’s live albums so they knew what they were doing. But I am curious as to how Audium’s going to put out this live album and make it as good a package as Continental has." The long awaited US release will most likely raise a few eyebrows. Long known for his vocal advocacy for real country music, the domestic release will almost definitely include the song 'Country My Ass' - a no holds barred statement on the current state of country music. "Actually Nick (Hunter - Audium president) wanted to make that a single, he wanted that to go out before Every Song." he recalls "In fact I think he sent that out and tested it with DJ’s to see if they’d play it, all of them said no" he laughs. But other than wanting to be involved in what the final product looks like creatively, Dale has faith in Audium and leaves the business details to them. "I’m not as combative as I used to be, as far as having to be a control freak. I’ve learned that I don’t need to be and now don’t necessarily even want to be, the guy in charge of the whole deal. I write the songs, and I sing them. That’s part of that whole soul searching thing, I spend my energy doing other things. It also that goes with my outlook on country music today. I used to be a lot more angry, even back when I wrote Country My Ass. You have to remember that song is a year and half old, it’s amazing how much changes in your life in such a short amount of time" "I’m not going to point fingers at people anymore. I’m just going to say ‘Hey you know, anybody that has success in this business good luck to them and all power to them, but I think there’s room for all of us. I’m just going to leave it at that you know, 'cause I let the music speak for itself." he asserts "I write those songs out of my own frustration. Like Country My Ass, Nashville Rash, or A Real Country Song, you can’t help but do that as a writer, you write stuff that you’re provoked to. But like I said, as far as my attitude now it’s just,' I live and let live, but let me live too' kind of thing." Dale plans to head into the studio with new material whenever Audium gives him the signal. "I have a lot of new songs and I’m really anxious to get back into the studio and get them down, I don’t know when they are going to put us in the studio, that’s totally up to Audium and I’m not one to badger them." When asked if it will be another concept album Dale shares "It'll be a back to the basics country album – it’s going to be hard on me because all of my stuff is really chronological, so its stuff that I’m going through at the time, its going to be still a lot of memory shaking stuff" And show your honky tonk side, too? "Yeah." In the end, Dale Watson has spent the last year and a half rearranging the priorities in his life. He's now spending his free time with the most important priority in his life, his children, leaving the business end up to those who get paid for it and going back to the basics, back to singing and writing real country music.
Visit Dale's official site at www.dalewatson.com |
Dale Watson's
July 2001 release "Every Song I Write
Is For You" made more than one music critic's 'Best of 2001' list across
the country, but chances are you didn't hear much of it on your local
radio station, if you heard it at all. 
Grass doesn’t even get
a chance to grow
under this Texan’s feet. 
Laurie Joulie Take Country Back February 2002