ACL preview: John Dee Graham

That Other Paper What can we expect from your live show at ACL Fest this year?

Jon Dee Graham Small, quiet, fragile, understated ballads. Uncomfortably loud, ham-fisted, and energetic rock music. The organized chaos of a band with absolutely nothing whatsoever to lose.

TOP You’ve recorded with, produced for, and toured with a number of other artists. What’s the difference, for you, between performing in someone else’s band and your own?

photo / Jon Lebkowsky John Dee Graham 

JDG A completely different job, with entirely different job requirements. As a side-man for 20 years, I learned things like: Above all else, serve the song. The song is the king. Listen, listen, listen to what everyone else is playing. Bring your best, because — well, you should always bring your best, whoever it is you’re playing with. Oh, and try to be on time.

TOP You first came to Austin at a relatively young age, and you returned to it as it was booming. What has changed the most about Austin over those years? What has changed for you, personally?

JDG I arrived in ’77, and, yes, it’s true that it was a pretty Utopian place. It was mostly everything they say it was. Then I lived in Los Angeles from ’87 to ’95, and while it was a good career move, the fact is LA is a city where from the moment you open your eyes in the morning until you close them at night, you are engaged in a brutal fight to survive, not to mention retain your dignity. A hard, hard place for a fifth-generation Texan to live. All I wanted was to go home. So I’m not one of those “Austin Sucks Now” people. It’s changed, but it’s still sweet. I’ve sat on the 405 into Santa Monica for three hours without moving two feet. Don’t tell me how bad the traffic is on Lamar.

TOP What are your favorite “Austin” things to do?

JDG Go see the Mexican eagles nest in the cliffs at the Greenbelt. Venues, restaurants, coffee houses — They’re mine and I won’t tell you.

photo / Andrea Dyche John Dee Graham 

TOP What makes a live show great?

JDG Not entirely sure. But I do believe a show is a contract between the band and the audience, and if everyone holds up their end of the bargain, it can be glorious.

TOP What’s the most memorable thing to happen to you on tour?

JDG I’ve toured pretty consistently for 30 years — don’t ask me that! I’ve played on a garbage barge on Lake Erie, in a storm. Broke down on some mountain top in West Virginia where the gas station had a homemade fun house filled with mannequins and lurid scenes from Hell painted in Day-Glo blacklight. Can I stop now?

TOP If we’re not sold yet, convince us. Why should we come see you at ACL?

JDG Because if you don’t see us, you’ll hear about it later and really wish you had been there. Don’t you already carry around too much regret?