Don’t mess with this Texan who doesn’t wear a Stetson. I made two mistakes Saturday during an on-stage interview with the great Terry Allen at the Kessler Theater. The first was messing up his quote about having no reason to have a memory in Lubbock before you get a car. The second was mis-firing a question about his move to Los Angeles to study art in the 1960s. As you will see in the video below, the smart, quick-witted West Texan singer/songwriter/artist/playwright/all-around badass and funnyman wasn’t going to let me get away with those little miscues. But we eventually settled into a conversation about his songwriting, art, having his parent’s gift of BS, and a West Texas fascination with trees.
Also, after the jump, Allen performs “Queenie,” a new song he wrote with Guy Clark. The intro is a must-see, with its knocks on Clark’s grooming habits and this choice quote: “To err is human, to forgive is canine.” Clark, who preceded Allen last month in the Kessler’s fantastic “Storytellers at the Kessler” series, had an onstage chat with Joe Nick Patoski (also in video after the jump) that is an instant classic.
