Dylan, Young, Van Zandt and even Oldham — those are the names that reign in American singer-songwriter history. Yet indie singer-songwriter Matthew Houck, who performs under the stage name Phosphorescent, felt one more needed to be added to this list of Americana essentials: the aging, biodiesel-hawking, weed-smoking legend by the name of Willie Nelson.
In an interview with The Diamondback, Houck said of Nelson’s rightful place in American folk history, “I think he’s one of those seriously heavyweight contenders that fit in that category.”
This realization came not with an inspired session of record store crate digging but rather a simple urge to let the world know what he feels after listening to Nelson’s music for so many years.
“I’ve been going to Willie Nelson shows, really, since I was a kid so it wasn’t really a process of seeing through anything or discovering anything,” Houck said. “I’ve been in awe of these songs and Willie Nelson’s music since I was old enough to know about these things.”
One of the main problems with worshipping any artist with a long and storied career is the sheer intimidating volume of the catalog. Nelson has more compilations, with 16, than most artists have individual LPs.
For his new album, a collection of Nelson covers titled To Willie, Houck had an instinctual grasp of the sad, surprising and ultimately overlooked songs he loved most.
“It was actually just my favorites,” Houck said. “Once I realized it was going to be a full-length album and that I was going to do it that way and do 10 to 11 songs. It really was just kind of clear which ones I wanted to do.”
Receiving feedback from Nelson himself as they toured across the country was perhaps the most rewarding aspect of the process for Houck.
“He was really, really complimentary about it,” Houck said. “He loved it. He said some really amazingly nice things to me about it.”
With three albums of original material under his belt, including the essentials Pride and Aw Come Aw Wry, Houck knows his fans crave his non-Nelson material just as much as the new covers. Choosing which songs to play at the shows, though, is not a matter of rigid scheduling.
“Night by night [I] just kind of do it,” Houck said. “I’ve got a really, really good band right now. They can handle whatever I throw at them. I play whatever we’re feeling.”
Houck will also be performing songs from his new, nearly finished album, which naturally extends his previous aesthetic.
“We’re almost finished with it. Hopefully I’ll finish with it next week before we leave tour,” Houck said. “There’s elements of all the past records in this one. It sounds amazing to my ears. I’m really, really excited about it. It’s a really good-sounding record. There’s a lot going on.”
Houck went on to reveal some personal history about performing in the Washington area.
“D.C.’s been really great for us lately, last couple of times we’ve been through,” Houck said. “But many times before these last two times, D.C. was horrible to us. Oh God, we played all kinds of places up there, six or seven times I think. Only the last few times were there more than 20 people there.”
If Houck keeps making gorgeous records everyone from die-hard Nelson fans to indie acoustic fans can get behind, attendance will surely never again be an issue.
Phosphorescent is playing at The Black Cat tomorrow at 9 p.m. Doors open at 8. Tickets are $12 at the door.
vmain13@umdbk.com
