Willie during SXSW 04 (KGSR in the Morning at the Four Season - Toots Hibbert, Los Lonely Boys, Johnny A and KGSR's Kevin Connor)
 Life on the bus... (mp3)
and being on the road... (mp3) |
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Q: And you know, Willie, we can't have a conversation without talking about where you live. I'm talking about your bus. What is it about your bus that makes it a home, makes it a sanctuary for you?
A: Well, I just -- I have a new bus. I kept the old one, but I have another one that I -- I now travel with two buses, because when I went out on the tour this time, I brought my two sons along with me to -- since my hand wasn't doing well and, you know, Michael plays some great percussions and Lucas is a good guitar player. So I just decided I'd exploit my kids on that tour (laughs). And it worked. It worked. They stole the show and I took a few bows. But they were traveling in their own bus. And their mom was traveling with them. And I had both buses to get back and forth on so I felt like I was living the best of two worlds there.
Q: How old are your youngest boys?
A: They're 14 and 15.
Q: Wow. So that leads me to believe that, especially in that set-up, you can actually have some solitude on the bus. Can you read a book?
A: Oh, I can do anything that I want to do, especially with two buses.
Q: Have you read any good books lately?
A: Oh, last book I read was General Tommy Frank's book, which is very interesting. Good guy.
Q: A lot of artists say about being on the road that it's 22 hours of drudgery that they put up with for the two hours of heaven on stage. But I get the feeling that besides making music with your friends, you like being out on the road and the other aspects of touring as well.
A: Yeah, I don't mind spending that 22 hours trying to figure out what to do on or off the bus. It's a different challenge in every town. And I have a few things that I do when I can get off the bus. And there's some things I can do when I can't get off the bus. So it's a daily challenge. I usually try to -- when I'm running and I get off the bus and I'll take off, not really knowing what town I'm in and run 30 minutes in one direction and then try to find my way back (laughs).
Q: You are up for challenges.
A: Yes, I am. And I've had to knock on a few doors to find out where I was. And sometimes, I didn't have my key with me, so I didn't know the name of the hotel. So that got interesting.
Q: I bet it was pretty interesting for the people that open those doors.
What about golfing or martial arts. Do you get a chance to do that when you're out for a while?
A: Well, I try to, you know, keep up on both of them. My golfing -- well, actually everything, stopped when I had the surgery. So I just started back playing golf.
Q: Another thing that you like to do is act. But lately, we've seen you in more TV commercials than movies. And some have been pretty funny, actually. But are there any acting projects you're planning on or you'd like to do?
A: There's a script called Life is a Hoss. And it's -- New Line is -- we're going to do it with him, with Toby Keith and Tex Cobb and myself, Kris Kristofferson. And it's going to be a lot of fun. A lot -- you know, kind of an eastern western.
SONG: I DIDN'T COME HERE (AND I AIN'T LEAVIN')
Q: Willie, you just recently played the latest installment of the Farm Aid benefit series. You've been involved with this cause for about 20 years. What's the state of Farm Aid and the American farmer in 2004?
A: Well, there is some hope. For 19 years I've been involved with Farm Aid. And for 18 of those years, I was really discouraged because I saw us losing more and more farmers every week. And we had about eight million small-family farmers. Now, we're down to less than two million, still losing 3 to 400 every week. So I've been watching that happen and it was very discouraging. And the bills that we would get to help the farmer was not helping the farmer. Had a bill called The Freedom to Farm and it was laughingly called the Freedom to Fail. So we were putting more farmers out of business. Now there is a lot of talk and a lot of people and a lot of -- and because of the high prices of oil, a lot more people are thinking about alternative energies. And a lot of this is good for the farmer. The bio-diesel, which takes energy or takes soy beans, corn, various vegetable oils and uses it as fuel for bio-diesel. The original diesel engine was designed to run on peanut oil. So there's really no reason for us to be going around the world, so dependent on foreign energy, when our farmers can be growing it right here at home.
Q: We could save the farming problem in America and we could help with all this international unrest, it seems simply by pursuing those alternative energy means.
A: Absolutely. We could grow energy for not only ourselves, but for everyone else.
Q: Even before you were involved so closely with the political process, you've been meeting presidents. I don't know how many you've met over the years, but were there any that you especially liked or disliked?
A: Oh, I love Jimmy Carter. I like Bill Clinton. I just spent a couple of days down in Plains, Georgia, with Jimmy Carter and he was -- it was a special that CMT was doing -- celebrating, more or less, his 80th birthday. And I love that guy. I mean, he and I are the best of buddies.
Q: From the Olympics to the Super Bowl to the Democratic Convention, you've made music at some of the most high-profile events on planet earth. I always wonder what goes through your mind before you take the stage at one of these shows when you know there's millions and millions of people watching.
A: Well, I always say, "Tense up" (Laughter).
Q: Oh, good.
A: Yeah.
Q: Well, I have the tendency to be contrary and do the opposite of what I tell myself, so that may work for you.
A: I think it works, yeah...
Q: One thing you always seem to enjoy is working with younger artists. When you're approached by a younger artist for advice, what do you tell them these days, especially in light of, let's say, how confused the music business seems today?
A: Well, it requires a lot of patience, that's for sure. I was listening to a buddy of mine, Al Franken, and he was talking about this mantra that they were using: "Patience, Now! Patience, Now!" which, I think, is good.
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