Jackson Free Press

Unknown Hinson is the king of country-and-western troubadours. In his own words, "No womerns (sic) can resist my charms" with his chart-topping hair, chart-topping teeth and chart-topping sideburns. He plays rock music just to prove that "anybody can make that racket." Authentic country music wasn't enough for Hinson; he also voices Early Cuyler on Adult Swim's "Squidbillies."

Unknown Hinson is the alter ego of musician Stuart Daniel Baker, 60. He created the character for a public-access show in his home state of North Carolina. As the character developed, Baker found himself recording and touring as Unknown Hinson.

He has built a large following playing live. Fans are always curious to see Hinson/Early Cuyler in the flesh. His shows feature a mix of '50s-style country music, fresh rock 'n' roll and loads of fun.

How does it feel to be the king of country-and-western troubadours?

It's my job. It's what I do. Been doin' it all my life. I never clocked in anywhere with what you call a real job—nine to five, whatever it is. Just play guitar, write songs and sing is all I've ever done.

You always take time to meet every fan after each show.

The way I look at it is any artist that doesn't put their fans first is making a mistake. The reason I stay for the last person in line is to meet me, get an autograph or a picture is because without them I would not have a job. Any artist that doesn't know that is messin' up, because if the fans don't come, you ain't got no work. Without them, I'm nothing. I'm never too tired to stay and give them what they want. I'm glad they get something out of it, but I get something out it, too.

You've been touring a while. Do you see yourself retiring from it?

I never really stay in one place for more than one night. I get to the United States from the window of my bus. But we all take some time off every now and then. We've got homes we have to look after, so we have see to that. It's what we do. It's the only life I've ever known. This band I've got now is my original band. They're the first band I ever had, so we're having a good time on the road.

Tell me about your work as Early on "Squidbillies."

The creators of the show, Dave Willis and Jim Fortier, contacted my management. They had gotten hold of a CD of mine and evidently thought my voice would fit the character of Early Cuyler. I did not create the series, and I don't write the series. I was very happy about it, being a cartoon fan myself. We're going into the ninth year right now, and it'll premiere real soon on "Adult Swim." There are certain parallels in Unknown Hinson's and Early Cuyler's lives. They give me a lot of room to improvise my lines. Things like "party likker" and "womerns" are things Unknown would say, and they like for me to add that to the character. They're really great people to work with.

Did people come to Unknown Hinson through Squidbillies?

It went both ways. People that have never heard of me will come to the shows because of "Squidbillies." They discover that I have a body of musical work. Then again, I have people that have been fans of mine that check out "Squidbillies." They work well together.

You've also worked with Billy Bob Thorton and his band The Boxmasters in the past.

That was Billy's creation. He wrote all the material. He and I had met back in 2001 and have been friends ever since. He just called me out of the blue one day and asked me if I'd be interested in playing a tour with him and Willie Nelson. I did three tours with him. It was a lot of fun. Great band. Believe or not, Billy is a very talented musician and songwriter. He's got a lot of substance as a writer.

We are looking forward to you rolling into town.

I want to thank the good folks of Jackson, and we look forward to seeing y'all at the show. We hope to have a big ol' time.

Unknown Hinson performs June 20 at Martin's Restaurant and Bar (214 State St.). Bear With Me opens the show at 10 p.m. Advance tickets are on Ticketmaster.com. Visit martinslounge.net and unknownhinson.com.