It’s no surprise that Shooter Jennings isn’t trying to fit in. His father, country legend Waylon Jennings, always went on his own path, as well. While his autobiographical lyrics aren’t anything out of the ordinary, he’s usually considered too rock for country or too country for rock. Just like his daddy, he’s labeled as an “outlaw” in the music world.
“I don’t think he liked the outlaw title so much either,” Jennings, 28, says by phone before a recent gig in Oklahoma. “To me, I’m just a music-loving guy who’s trying to do things my way — the only way I know how to do it. Of course, because of who my dad is, people are gonna throw [‘outlaw’] in there. I’m totally influenced by his music, too, to a very large degree.”
Jennings hasn’t found much commercial success, but he hasn’t really been looking for it. He found out early on that radio wasn’t going to play his music because it didn’t sound like the rest of what’s on the airwaves. Slowly, that frustration has started turning into acceptance.
“I’d be lying if I said I fit in with all those people in country and that I wasn’t completely different than most of them — who they are and how they handle their music,” Jennings says. “I’m just a guy who always had bands and wrote music, original songs — I’ve never been one to work with writers in Nashville and do that whole thing. It’s always been — the kind of music I grew up listening to and in rock ‘n’ roll — every rock band I know wrote their own music. All my favorite country artists were writers.
“There were times when I was trying to understand where I fit in, but now I’m kind of embracing it and not worrying about it. My time will come as long, just like anybody else’s, as I keep making records. I wish that we had more avenues to get music out there. I wish the radio was a place for me and acts like me, but it’s not right now. One day there will be, somewhere else.”
While he’s currently touring in support of 2007’s The Wolf, Jennings has already started writing for the followup, which he hopes will be released next year. The birth of his daughter has been a huge source of inspiration, and Jennings is excited about the direction of the new songs. He says it will be darker than anything he’s previously done, and what he only hinted at on Electric Rodeo.
Jennings spent four months living in Rock Hill, S.C., while he wrote the song “Gone to Carolina” from that album and says he’s always felt a close bond to the Carolinas. A former girlfriend lived in Winston-Salem, and he recently performed in Asheville with Tom Morello.
He still takes issue with a lot of the country music being made today — his debut album was entitled Put the O Back in Country. While he says the music got better for a while, it still needs improvement. “It seems like it’s going back to the same old thing — cookie-cutter acts. It’s getting pretty rough,” he says. “I like Brad Paisley, but that’s only one in every six or seven songs that I enjoy.” Jennings says part of that has led to his involvement with the Outlaw Country station on Sirius Satellite Radio.
As for family, his daughter, Alabama Gypsy Rose, (with longtime girlfriend Drea de Matteo) has taught him to see the world in a different light. “I’m now living at her pace and seeing that she’s a blank slate, so I think it’s made me a little more disgusted with the way things are in the world because I want her to have a good life,” Jennings says. “It’s made me see things for what they are a little more instead of being blind to things. It’s definitely a life-changing experience. She really is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
It’s no surprise Jennings has such close family ties. He grew up on the road and even performed with his father a few times before his death in 2002 — they performed at Lollapalooza together and recorded an album which Jennings still hopes to get released.
For Jennings, born Waylon Albright Jennings, his father is a source of inspiration and pride. He knows his music will always be compared to his father’s, but feels he’s done enough to separate himself from that legacy.
And what does it mean to be the “son of Waylon Jennings”?
“It means the world,” he says. “I came from a guy who really stood by his own beliefs musically and completely won — bucked the system and won. That gives me hope and pride and is something … I know how lucky I am and believe in his vision so much that it keeps me going.”
Shooter Jennings will perform at the Visulite Theatre on May 15. Tickets are $18. The show starts at 9:45 p.m.
This article appears in May 14-20, 2008.
