Justin Townes Earle will perform at Sonar on Friday night
Decades of American singer-songwriter history and legend lie wrapped within Justin Townes Earle’s name. His middle name, Townes, was given to him by his father, alt-country pioneer Steve Earle, in honor of his friend, the late, great Townes Van Zandt, perhaps the one lyricist who could rival Bob Dylan and Neil Young in terms of pure skill and talent.
The younger Earle has carved out a thus far brilliant discography with his own unique persona and abilities. He has conquered any charge of nepotism and advanced so far out of the overwhelming shadow accompanying his last and middle names that simple, reductive genre classifications barely even apply. In an interview with The Diamondback, Earle addressed this popular perception of him as just a country singer.
“I’ve never personally considered myself a country musician,” Earle said. “That was more of a press’ viewpoint on me. I think that’s what people called me for lack of a better term for a while. Now, we’ve obviously drifted into the all-inclusive area of Americana.”
In fact, the long, idiosyncratic history of Americana and American art in general serves as inspiration for Earle. His interests are wide in scope, unconfined by form and play a key role in his craft.
“It really just depends. A lot of old, old mountain music influences me,” Earle explained. “A lot of old country music, a lot of jazz, a lot of rock ‘n’ roll influences me. Truman Capote influences me. Ernest Hemingway influences me. I live in Manhattan now. Manhattan influences me in a major way. I look at people who walk around with their headphones on like they’re missing a lot of life because they’re not listening.”
The Hemingway reference does cohere with his music, which deals with men and the tragic way they try — and sometimes fail — to make their way in life. Earle elaborated on the specific connections between the early 20th century literary giant and his songwriting.
“Hemingway wrote with a massive amount of bravado,” Earle said. “He was a man. Everything he wrote was very man… But I think there was something about his brute force — his brute, male force — that there was something really beautiful about it. There is something really beautiful about a bullfight… about battle.
“He found the best way to bring out the beauty and the ugliness and combine them together.”
Of course, Earle engages in far less chest thumping than his country peers. In songs like
“Someday, I’ll Be Forgiven for This” and many others, he explores the downside of attempting to achieve an ideal of masculinity and bouts with addiction, failed relationships and all-around turmoil he has experienced.
“I think I’m definitely still sorting through that issue,” Earle said about the role of manhood in his work. “I wrote ‘Mama’s Eyes’ for the specific purpose that I knew — it was a personal song — but I know for a fact that most men in their teens are scared of becoming their fathers, which they inevitably become. As you get older, you turn into your father, which scares the shit out of me.”
Surprisingly, Earle finds the process of bringing his semi-autobiographical tales of catharsis to life on stage enjoyable.
“I think it’s great,” Earle said of performing. “There’s only a few ways it works though. I walk out on stage, and it’s mandatory that I bring the audience into my world immediately from the first note. I represent more of a whimsical character on stage. It’s kind of the place where I can forget. The easiest place on Earth for me is on stage. I’m in control.”
In the end though, Earle, unlike many others with famous musical forebears, is at peace with both the towering works that came before him and what he can contribute to the legacy attached to his name.
“I never felt any pressure to be anything because [of] who my father was or because of what my name is,” Earle said. “I knew from a very early stage that I’m not ever going to be able to write a song as beautiful as Townes. I’m not going to be able to probably tell a story as well as my father.
“I’ve become a very personal songwriter, and I think that’s where I found my place. I’m a little more honest with myself than either of them ever were.”
Justin Townes Earle will be opening for Dan Auerbach at Sonar in Baltimore tonight. Tickets are $20 in advance and $22 at the door.
vmain13@umdbk.com
