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A Conversation with Jim Lauderdale (continued)
JL: When I was thinking about doing this show at the Ryman, it occurred to me that if I was gonna be in Nashville for seven weeks instead of touring, I wanted to concentrate on some writing. Harlan and I hadn't been able to get together much the last couple of years, so we set aside every Wednesday for us to get together in the morning, that's when he likes to write. A while back, we were in his office talking about relationships, and he said, "Well, kid, you'll know when it's right" and he was just talking, and I heard the melody. I put it right down on tape, and he sat down with a pen and said, "Yeah, okay, that's a good title," and off we went. Gobs of ideas just came spewing out of him, and filled up a legal pad, and we had to narrow them down.
And with Melba, she might come with an idea or part of a title, and sometimes I might change it a lot, or sometimes it just tumbles out. I've been a big fan of hers for a long time, and I'm happy to see that she's having a lot of success as a writer, she's been getting a lot of cuts lately.
Frank Dycus, with him, he usually just brings over lyrics or calls me with something, like when I'm in L.A.. And he'll be reciting something over the phone and I'll be singing a melody back to him, you know. With the song "If I Were You," that's how that happened, and with "Born Believers" he had that whole lyric. And Clay Blaker came with the whole lyric of "It's Not Too Late," I just made a few small changes. But the first line a lot of people think sounded like me, "If you perpetuate the myth..." but that was his line. At first I thought "Who's ever gonna cut that?" but it was so neat, it's really a great line.
PM: How about movies, you seem like a natural. Has that ever been explored?
JL: For a song, you mean?
PM: No, I mean acting.
JL: That would take someone in the film industry saying, "Hey, I've got a part for you."
PM: I sense a strong spirituality about you that's not worn on your sleeve. What's that part of your life about?
JL: Well, my Dad is a retired minister, my grandfather was a minister, as were cousins and uncles of mine. I got interested in Eastern things when I was young, and then more recently on the exercise side of things. Tai Chi and Qi Gong, which is an ancient Chinese exercise system that's very healing. And there are meditations that go along with that. I started getting into Ashtanga Yoga at the Yoga Source here in town. I went there this morning. It's funny when I have to leave there in my Manuel outfit and go right to the Opry. It's like a very grounding hobby, because this business can really drive you nuts. I've been on the edge many times of severe depression.
PM: It's not a wholesome activity.
JL: No, it's not. It's almost built in that you're going to fail, or be rejected. It's a roller coaster that never ends. No matter what you've accomplished so far, you always want to do more, better.
PM: And it's always "What have you done lately?"
JL: Exactly, it's always that way. Even with older performers and writers I know, it's still that way. I know that if I'm still doing this when I'm 70, if I live that long, it's still gonna be like that.
PM: What have I written this week.
JL: Right. So that exercise stuff really helps me.
PM: What's on the horizon, and what goals lie ahead?
JL: Let's see, I've got the Robert Hunter thing, and Hummingbirds will come out in February, the Hunter record might be out on the Internet soon, or might have to wait until Fall, and another Ralph Stanley record this summer. I would have released it already, but he was waiting to put out this Clinch Mountain Sweethearts record, which finally did just come out. And I hear he's doing another solo record, so I want to release it when it's right for him. Buddy Miller and I have been talking for years about doing a duet record, that's something I'd really like to do.
PM: Would that be a stone Country project?
JL: Yeah, I think so, unless we get into a Sam and Dave thing. [laughter] That would actually be pretty interesting, if we got into a Country Soul song groove, 'cause he's got so much of that.
PM: No kidding.
JL: And I've been putting off doing a solo Bluegrass record. And hopefully I'll continue to get cuts with other people.
PM: How many songs are you writing a year?
JL: Last year I wrote about sixty, I guess. Wrote or cowrote.
PM: How long does your association with Ralph Stanley go back?
JL: I guess about four or five years ago, I did this TV show, Ricky Skaggs Live at the Ryman, and Patty Loveless and Ralph were on it. I was just getting a deal with RCA, and I asked Ralph (before I asked RCA) if I could write something for him and the Clinch Mountain Boys, and he said yes. And then the record company said, "Sure, you could do something with them." He kept saying, "Just send me a tape." So, I'd call him every once in a while, and he'd say "You know, I still haven't gotten that tape." And I'd reply, "Ah, yeah, it's on the way," but I hadn't written it yet.
And finally, I was out in L.A., and I was out in my old place. It was up in the Hollywood hills, and I was looking down over the lights of downtown, and I just got so lonesome. And I thought, God, I left home at an early age, and my family's been so supportive, and I've been gone from them a lot. And here I am so far away from them. So I got this idea, finally, for this song called "I'll Lead You Home." So I finally got Ralph a tape of it, and we recorded it, and he asked me to be on his Clinch Mountain Country record.
Then I went to Merlefest. I'd just gotten back from Europe, and I was really jet-lagged. I landed at Charlotte, and rented a car, and drove into Merlefest [a popular Bluegrass festival named for Doc and Merle Watson in Wilkesboro, NC]. They [The Clinch Mountain Boys] said, "Sure, sit in and do a song with us." So I was ready to do that, but when I got to the dressing room right before they went on, they said, "Ralph II is sick, you're gonna have to go on in his place." I didn't know Carter's parts, I kind of knew Ralph's parts, and I'm horrible at remembering lyrics, so I made a cheat sheet, and we talked over a few songs. So we had a couple of sets, and it was a real trial by fire.
It was like a nightmare, being in that spot with one's heroes. But we got through it, and afterwards I asked him if we could do an album together, and he agreed to do that. But that record and this new one I wrote under pressure in the studio, I didn't have all the material ready.
PM: Did you like writing like that?
JL: It's great when all the songs are done, but in the middle there are horrible moments when you think "I don't have it, I can't do it."
When you finish it, it's really satisfying. But there are many times when you feel like an idiot for having attempted to do it that pressurized way.
PM: So, Ralph coming from his background, was he pretty surprised to see a guy like you coming up with good songs under pressure in the studio?
JL: I think so, yeah. He said that [his brother] Carter would also do that. They'd go in the studio and wouldn't have stuff, and Carter would get it done. But recording with Ralph, writing with Robert Hunter, doing some work with Buck Owens, and just having dinner with George, all that represents a real pinnacle for me.
PM: Well thanks, Jim, it's been great talking with you this way. A lot of material I'm sure our readers will find fascinating, as I did.
JL: Well, I hope so. Thanks a lot. continue
