The 1992 Mercury Cougar Randy Houser drove when he moved from Mississippi to Nashville in 2003 didn’t have much in it. Besides his handmade Alvarez Yari acoustic guitar, there was a 14-inch TV, VCR and some clothes. And an air mattress.
“When I got there, I remember tacking wire from the TV to the wall to try to pick up channels,” Houser says.
He still has the guitar. Houser’s probably upgraded his home entertainment electronics though, after having scored a top five country single, “Boots On,” in 2006.
“ ‘Boots On’ was an up-tempo hook song, and if you’re going to write for radio, I think you’ve got to have that,” Houser says. “You’ve got to have that melody that’s easy to catch onto.”
Houser’s career received a major boost in 2008 when he appeared on “Late Night with David Letterman” to croon “Anything Goes,” a bar-stool ballad that ponders lost love. The gig was an eye-opener for Houser. For one, Letterman is notorious for keeping his studio extremely cold; Houser estimates the temperature at “around 58 or 60” degrees. Two, there was the surreal-ness of being accompanied by Paul Schaffer on organ. And three, Houser had never performed “to” TV cameras before.
“I kind of freaked out at the beginning of the song. Then I realized, ‘Hey, I got to sing this,’ ” says Houser, who is touring with fellow country rebel Jamey Johnson.
You and Jamey play separate sets, then a one-hour jam together at the end of each show. What material do you play when you’re onstage at the same time?
Lots of old covers.
What songs are you guys covering?
I don’t want to tell you. People can come to the show and find out. Nothing’s set in stone Who knows? When we’re over there in Spartanburg we might play some Marshall Tucker Band.
What kind of stuff do you and Jamey do, just hanging out between shows?
Usually he and I just go out to a bar after the show and have some drinks.
You’re a country singer from Mississippi. Who are some of your favorite blues artists? That state has produced so many.
Robert Johnson.
I read your father was also a musician and had a big impact on you. What instrument did he play and what’s the most important musical lesson he taught you?
His main instrument was the B3 organ. The biggest thing I learned from him was to not be stuck in one genre.
Randy Houser plays Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium with Jamey Johnson at 8 p.m. Nov. 13. Tickets are $28-$33. For more information on the show, call 864-582-8107.
And for more on Randy Houser, check out www.randyhouser.com.
