True to the Roots by Monte Dutton

Author:Monte Dutton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General Fiction
Published: 2010-09-27T04:00:00+00:00

Son of a Gypsy Songman

Austin, Texas I December 2003

The first impression of Django Walker is that he is a good kid, the kind who would instill pride in any father. The fact that his father happens to be Jerry Jeff Walker, a legendary figure in Texas music, only intensifies that sentiment.

The interview is scheduled to take place at an Austin bar where, unfortunately, the presence of a Longhorn basketball game on television has created a rather raucous atmosphere. "Gosh, I didn't even think about that," says Django, so we abruptly change plans and depart in his suv for a local Schlotzky's fast-food joint, where the lanky singer-songwriter proceeds to order up a hefty portion of the menu. It takes a lot of food to fuel Django's level of energy.

His father was, by his own description, "a gypsy songman" who migrated from his native upstate New York to the Florida Keys to New Orleans and to Los Angeles before finally settling in Austin. Nowadays Jerry Jeff Walker, in his sixties, is about as Texan as anyone not born there can be. Jerry Jeff often sings, to borrow from a phrase penned by singer songwriter Steven Fromholz, about "trying to recover from a misspent youth." Django bears the fruit of that attitude without having to experience firsthand the dangerous rites of passage his father went through. Jerry Jeff rolled out of New York with a guitar on his back and a thumb in the air.

The son's apprenticeship has been a bit more formal. Jerry Jeff sent Django to the Liverpool, England, music school founded by Paul McCartney. Django apparently learned both sets of lessons well. His song "Texas on My Mind" has become a rallying cry, although the most familiar version is from a singer who covered it, Pat Green. When Django and his band perform the song, it draws thunderous acclaim, but he always has to point out, politely, that he, not Green, actually wrote it.

Of Green, the bright, shining star who could propel others on to the national stage, Django says, "I think he's great. His business sense is unreal. That's one area where I've really learned a lot from him. He understands the business, and he's done it, and I hope he does pave the way for all of us. I couldn't think of a better guy doing it for us. He and [Cross Canadian] Ragweed are really clearing a path for us. There are no two better groups.

"There's no better guy than Pat, and there's no better group of guys than Ragweed."

Before a New Year's Eve performance in the heart of Austin's music district, Django slugs down Red Bull energy drinks, revealing a rather telling point. Django Walker doesn't even drink, let alone do the drugs that once fueled his father's headlong spree of musical mayhem. You wouldn't know it from a song, "College Life," he penned with friend Greg Combs. It's a crowd-pleaser, one that apparently reflects more the lives of the kids who populate Django's concerts than that of the singer.

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