European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 17, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse Country music s answer to Bruce Springsteen. Steve Earle Rockin with country Mca records photo by Anita Gosch staff writers Teve Earle does t look like your typical country crooner. In his Black Denim pocket. While to shirt and jeans stringy dark Brown hair falling Over his right Eye Down past his shoulders he looks More like the snooty Singer of a raunch n Roll band from new York s lower East Side. A Street Tough Guy maybe who might just land a part As a villain on Miami vice some Day. Steve Earle s music does t sound like your typical country Schmaltz. His debut album guitar town has a rocking John Cougar Mellencamp ish beat to it. With a Bruce Springsteen twist in the lyrics. His second album exit 0, has been described As a move As far away from the country mainstream As one of the album s two singles / am t Ever satisfied is receiving heavy for airplay in the United Stales and the song s video recently Lound its Way onto mtg. Rock critics love him he says having virtually discovered him Early last year. Yel the 32-year-old Singer song water guitarist insists he s ust a Good of boy from Nashville. Stylistically i m a country Earle said his Southern drawl ringing through the lobby of a hotel in Elzlar. Germany. Rock critics really latched on to guitar town. But at the same time they d Tell me. You re Gonna record your next record in l aaren t you you re not really a country Singer that s what they wanted to believe because they did t want to admit they like country but the arbiters of the music scene in the us Aren t the Only ones who Are confused about Earle s Brand of country. Although i m a country Singer i have country people coming up trying to push me into a situation of depending myself As a country artist he said. I Don t try to Tell them it s not Rock n Roll because it is i mean it s patently Rock n Roll. The two Are not mutually exclusive terms and they never have Earle was in Wetzlar saturday a town just outside wednesday june 17, 1987 Gresson where he had been scheduled to perform at the International truck and country festival along with Dwight Yoakam and the whiles though the festival was cancelled due to rain he agreed to give interviews in Between signing autographs and posing for photographs with lans it was t too Long ago when a meeting Between Earle and Yoakam could have proved unhealthy in 1986. Both newcomers were heralded As the Young turks of what was called the new traditionalist movement in country their music Revi Lali de a Cjene that seemed determined to Sut locale Itsell but whereas Earle veered toward country Rock Yoakam s music was a return to the Honky Tonkol the 30s and 40s. Though the two got along Tine said Earle there was a time when they weren t on speaking terms. Ii had nothing to do with his he said ii had to do with things that he said about Nashville and things he said about me. And they were things that i just could t let slide " he recalled a concert in san Francisco in which he opened for Yoakam. Dwight walked out on stage and said these bleeps from Nashville Don t know whal they re doing. Now we re going to show you the real thing the Basic attitude he had was that what he was doing was the Only viable form of country music that exists whereas my attitude is. If you Don t expand the music if you re not constantly changing the parameters of it then you Don t bring in any new listeners. Most importantly you Don t bring in any younger listeners. Am then the music Earle feels the listeners he attracts Are fans of mainstream Rock in particular those who live in Small to medium sized towns. He attributes the Rural Appeal to his lyrics the songs on the autobiographical guitar town and the More political exit 0 ate about regular working class unemployment and reaganomics As it affects the everyday lives of Small town residents. People in the United Stales have been operating under the delusion that everything s just Fine for quite a few years now he said. The truth is that there Are a lot of problems. The current administration did a real Good of of fixing All the stuff that shows. So in the Bip cites things improved. But we created More ghost towns under Reagan than in any other time since the great depression because the cities that depend on one factory one Industry it closes Down and Bam you be got a ghost Earle was born and raised in san Antonio Texas the oldest of five sons of an air traffic controller. In an interview last september with rolling Stone Magazine he describes a life of poverty constant fights in school with rednecks leaving Home at age 16, tequila binges in Mexico a fondness for cocaine and four marriages. These Days however Earle prefers to limit his interviews to talk of his music. I was very candid in the Early interviews. If someone asked me a question i answered he said. It was also to explain Why i m As weird As i Arn How i got to be the person that wrote these songs. Ii has caused me some trouble at Home that stuff constantly being in print but i took responsibility for that when i decided to do this for a living. I m not ashamed of anything that i be he added. Ii was All part of growing up for me. And hopefully i m still growing up " if the press has gotten Earle in trouble of late it was also the press that got him started. He was a Low budget act at Mca records until some key press figures took notice of guitar town. For exit 0. The Label has increased its financial backing but i sort of hated to see the Lull Page ads in billboard and All that sort of thing he said i m a Little uncomfortable with that because i was real proud of the fact that guitar town did what it did on its own merits just on the music alone " Earle has no need to Teel uncomfortable about anything for the time being he s his Niche in the music scene. He s currently performing in the United kingdom where he s also regarded As a Small sensation. Following his tour there he returns Home for yet another trek through America if he should Ever Tiro of performing he said hell turn to producing records and it that should fail hell build race cars becoming just another regular working class person " stove Earle performs m Leeds Irish Center Juno 18. Edinburgh the venue june 19. Sheffield limit Cluj june 21 and London Monlish town town & country Chuol june 22 Dales to Sweden Norway and Iho Noin Orlands follow. Check the on stage pages in stripes n Agamie the stars and stripes Page 17
