Frank on - James McMurtry

James is a kind of quiet guy, not real easy to get to know. He’s pretty quiet, maybe a little shy when he’s not performing. I’d call him the John Wayne type, you know? The first time he played here, we really didn’t talk much. But at one point, when he got to talking about his dad, he really lit up. His dad is Larry McMurtry, the author who won a Pulitzer Prize for his book “Lonesome Dove” and has won lots of awards for books, films, and stuff. Anyway, you could tell James was really proud of his dad.

The second time James played here, we talked a little more. This time, he got to talking about his son, who played with James on his last record. Once again, he really lit up, talking about how his boy was always coming over to use James’ home recording studio, and how great he was.

A little later, I had the TV on, and suddenly it hit me “I KNOW that guy!”. Well, I turned up the sound, and found that I didn’t really know him. It was Larry McMurtry, receiving an award, and he was talking about his son and grandson, and THEIR accomplishments. He had that same look of love and pride in his eyes that I’d seen in James’ eyes when he was talking about his son and father. You could tell it was a real close family thing, the way they all loved each other and were proud of one another.

One thing that’s really obvious about James is that he’s not in this business for the money. Lord knows, he could probably make a lot more doing something else. But he has a passion for it. He loves the writing, the storytelling. He has something to say and he wants to get it out there to the people. I could see the same passion in his father, and I’m sure it’s there in his son. I guess it’s a product of the environment they’ve lived in together. It’s a really great thing.

James McMurtry will be playing at Knuckleheads on May 31st, 2006.