James McMurtry Talks New LP ‘The Horses and the Hounds’ & Shares Writing/Recording Habits (INTERVIEW)

James McMurtry speaks fluidly through his songs, talking to a generation of hard-working, humble, and gritty Americans. The lessons learned in this life aren’t always easy, often they are hard and very painful; situations and appearances stripped of both fancified bullshit and vanity of self. McMurtry, the son of the late novelist Larry McMurtry, is also a writer for the ages. McMurtry’s words simmer in tangible insightfulness and connection to something deep inside of us. The simplified and hard-working nature of McMurtry’s approach is nothing short of brilliance in form, though he may never agree to draw the parallel.

On his new record, The Horses and The Hounds McMurtry again taps into his muse, gifting forth a batch of songs – of which many were penned in a roadside motel nights before the recording sessions – that colorfully paint the world we live in. Often the best makers are the ones who allow their craft to remain simple and honest. 

Glide was honored to have the opportunity to catch up with James, and talk a bit about his new record, touring in Europe, the legendary Continental Club, and more… 

I want to start by asking you about the Continental Club in Austin. Do you play there every week?

I did before covid and we started up again earlier this month. 

Were these the first show back?

I did a solo thing upstairs at Continental Gallery and then a band show downstairs in the club on August 4th. 

What is the Continental Club like?

Little rock and roll club. 250 capacity. It’s been in the same location since the mid-fifties.

The owner told me you pack it every week.

For a while. When we first started off we had a lot of spill-off from Robert Earl Keen. Some of the frat kids realized I wrote “Levelland” – so they would stay all night. Then they grew up and got jobs and the next batch of frat rats hadn’t heard of Robert Earl Keen and didn’t care about me. It boiled down to regulars. Over the years, Austin has changed and became more of a tourist town. Nowadays you’ll get tour buses rolling up and everyone gets out and stands in front of the stage and takes selfies and doesn’t listen to the music much. Then they get back on the bus and everything goes back to normal. 

Do you find that Europe has better listening crowds? 

No, Europe is hard for us. They listen but they are like three words behind you, so you don’t get any feedback. If we play in West Germany there’s a guy standing there with their arms folded. They speak way better English than we’ll ever speak German but they’re still concentrating really hard so the energy is different. Then we go to East Germany where they don’t speak any English and they go crazy, they are so glad to have any kind of rock and roll. I don’t like working in Europe, it’s hard. The overhead is just so high getting there. We fly over and rent gear. You can’t fly gear anymore like we used to back in the 80s. We’d fly the whole thing and just bribe the Skycaps to put whole drum kits on there. Those days are over. Costs for every bag now. 

When did you start touring?

1989. 

This is your 10th studio album?

I don’t know. I have two live records and 10 or 11 studio records.

Are you generally a pen and pad writer? 

I’ve gone back to the pen and pad because I broke my iPhone 3 some years ago. I no longer have that really cool notes app. I’ll write on anything. I mostly keep it on my laptop so I can scroll through the lyrics. Every now and then I’ll find a verse that has the same meter as another verse that I thought was a different song. That saves me some trouble. 

I noticed you have a lot of flow in your lyrics and vocal output. 

My dad listened to country music so that’s what I started with. That’s a good place to start: country verse is very structured.

The band on the record is so dialed. Is that your touring band?

That’s my drummer and some studio guys. We got  David Grissom doing most of the guitar, Sean Hurley playing bass, and there were several B3 players. 

Do you and your drummer track live?

Yeah, we tracked that live. I just sang and led the session. I had just written the songs, finished a lot of them at a Roadway Inn in Culver City right before the sessions. My producer Ross Hogarth called up and said he could get us in Groove Masters but we gotta lock this in before the deadline. When I first met Ross he was Mellencamp’s engineer in the 80’s. He got us into Groove Masters, Jackson Browne’s studio, by then most of my brain cells had gone into finishing those songs. 

I feel like the poetry and lyrics drive this album. Do you consider yourself someone with a love for poetry? 

No (James laughs) – I don’t read or write poetry.

Just songs. 

Yeah. I get a couple of lines with a melody and if it keeps me up at night I’ll finish the song. I don’t ever just write words then put music to them. I have written music and put words to it but that’s hard. You really have to sculpt it. 

“Jackie” was such a song that really struck me. 

The Horsewoman goes through a lot of my songs. I’ve been trying to kill that character off for years. She won’t stay down. She’ll be back probably. 

Are you looking forward to getting back on the road?

I will say I don’t miss the road. I’ve enjoyed my time off. I’ve been doing live streams from the kitchen table twice a week. That paid what bills I had. Now that everything’s coming back I guess I gotta go back to work. Though I don’t know if it is. 

Everything feels unknown these days. 

I know this isn’t on the record but I want to ask you about it.  I think “Copper Canteen” is as good as any song that’s ever been written. Can you tell me about that tune? 

Pat Mcdonald does this festival every year. They had this old iron drawbridge that they were trying to refurbish and they finally did but they still had Steel Bridge Songfest. That was the first time I ever heard the term bridgetender, which is the guy that makes the drawbridge go up and down. I remember I was driving around on a solo tour somewhere in Maine and kept going across these inlets that had drawbridges with a little hut next to it, which is where the bridge tender hung out. Of course, it was winter, so everybody up there was ice fishing. I guess that’s how I got to it. 

That song will without a doubt be as long as people are.

Well that records out of print so you’ll have to see it live

What’s the strategy in deciding never to print a record again?

That guy just went out of business. He thought it’d be cool to have a record label until he found out it’s actually work. 

I’m sorry to hear about the passing of your Dad.

Appreciate it. 

I have friends who are huge fans. I wish I was a better reader. 

Yeah, I don’t read much either. 

Yeah, me neither. I keep saying I should but I keep not doing it. 

Read if you want to. I read maybe one book a year. 

I appreciate you talking to me. I love your songwriting and the way you sing it. 

I don’t have anything to add. Just stay safe and wear a mask in the men’s room.