Jackson Free Press

Americana singer-songwriter James McMurtry grew up all over the South, but his attitude and style is pure Texas. McMurtry, 53, who is now based in Austin, is a second-generation writer. His father is novelist Larry McMurtry, the author of the famed "Lonesome Dove" series. His son, Curtis, is also a working singer-songwriter. The Jackson Free Press recently spoke with McMurtry over the phone to discuss that lineage and his latest studio album, "Complicated Game," his first release in six years, which hit stores on Feb. 24, 2015.

You're based out of Austin, which is known for its music scene.

It made sense to move here in 1989. There were a lot of gigs down here, and it was good place to get your chops up. It made practical sense. It's also a good place to tour out of. My friends used to say, "It's a good place to leave your stuff." It's very centrally located, so you can easily work either coast four or five weeks.

Now your son Curtis is writing. Was that something you encouraged?

I just try to stay out of his way. I never tried to push him, but he's taken it way further than I ever did. He has an actual degree in music (from the University of Texas at Austin's Butler School of Music). His songs are far more intricate than mine, so whenever I try to get on stage with him and play, it's difficult. I don't know all the chords!

Do you feel like that can be inhibiting for a musician at times, though?

I was producing a guy recently, and he had really good theory, but it got in the way of his English. He'd be starting a phrase on the downbeat of every measure. I told him to try and start on the third beat of the measure, and that way, he wouldn't have to jam all his words together quite so much. He got it eventually.

Tell us about your band, Heartless Bastards.

We don't use that name any more. That name came about because we were doing these shows with Jon Dee Graham, and he kept changing his band name every week. We thought that sounded fun, and we came up with "Heartless Bastards." It turns out there was another band from Ohio (now also based in Austin) that started out around the same time (in 2003). They were getting pretty big, and we kept using it for a while because we both figured we could benefit from mutual confusion. Once they got big, we had to stop. We don't have the same members any more, anyway.

The album has received some high praise. What's that been like?

Press is really important for us. We've been lucky that we've got some coverage from people like Rolling Stone and Wall Street Journal that I hadn't (talked to) in years. It's more likely to get people into shows, so there's less pressure in wondering if people are going to show up. It's funny—I used to tell people that we tour to promote record sales, and now, we make records in order to tour.

James McMurtry performs at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 9, at Duling Hall (622 Duling Ave., 601-292-7121). Tim Easton also performs. Tickets are $20 at the door and $15 in advance at ardenland.net. Visit jamesmcmurtry.com.