Rodney Crowell – HuffPost 4.15.14

Mike Ragogna: You mentioning that brought Goat Rodeo to mind, where even Yo-Yo Ma joined in for the fun. Rodney, what advice do you have for new artists?

Rodney Crowell: Follow your heart. Pretty much any artist that I know of that has found that mentor status, if they’re generous and okay to bestow a bit of mentor-type information, it’s do what you feel, not what you think. It’s like putting on a suit of clothes and standing in front of the mirror and saying, “Do I look good?” You know those best days are when you get up and throw on your favorite pair of Keds and a good shirt and a jacket that’ll keep you warm and maybe drag a comb through your hair. That’s, generally speaking, what we love, and I think that’s the approach of the artist. And I would say work at it daily, day-in and day-out. Start your morning working on your craft.

MR: You’ve been successful, you’ve had many hits as Rodney Crowell and with others covering your originals. But even with all this success, do you ever feel you’re still, in some respects, a new artist?

RC: Well, my wife was out of town a couple days ago and we were talking on the phone and she said, “How’s it going?” and I said, “You know, I think I can get better at this.” And I really do! It was sort of a mild epiphany. I wouldn’t call it a knock your head off epiphany, but I said, “I can get better at this,” and I know I’ve been getting better at it for twelve or fifteen years and I feel confident that my competence has grown a lot over that time period. I feel like I’m a realized artist, but hey, the good news is I can get better and I’m going to continue to aim for that. When I listen to Ray Charles’ “You Don’t Know Me” or “Hit The Road, Jack,” or if I listen to “Into The Mystic” by Van Morrison or “Smoke Stack Lightning” by Howlin’ Wolf–or anything by Lightning Hopkins–I’m not saying I want to do that, but I’d say I want to find that in myself. That’s what I want to bring forward.