CIO (Maxine): How’s the tour going with Vince Gill?

Jon: Great. I’m doing an acoustic thing – my Guy Clark impersonation – its fun. I really like that; I can feel the crowd and change the set list as I go. The tour is going great and these theatre audiences tend to be a little more polite, especially in the northeast. There’s always a good crowd up here.

CIO (Maxine): You’ve made 4 CDs now but the first few came out just as the record companies folded and they didn’t get the play they should have. You have a new CD out, Walking Among the Living, that seems to be doing well and in which you wrote/co-wrote many of the songs – is this the difference between this CD and the earlier ones?

Jon: I don’t know. It’s really weird. When I did my first record, I was really pretty green. I had been writing songs, but wasn’t really secure about them. You know how the system was in the 90s, get the kid in here, listen to a few of his songs and get him out the door. I kind of got caught up in that and coming out of [EmmyLou Harris’s] band, I was worried about whether the tracks were great, you know, the picking was there and all that. I let the writing part slide.

I did write most of the Asylum record (“Cold Coffee Morning” 1998), but the company folded and the record disappeared. So coming into this record, a couple of years ago, I just made a commitment to really get off the road and stay home and write. I wanted to really focus on that part. I got kind of side tracked. I really wanted to be a writer my whole life and I kind of did everything but really focus on that. So I spent the last couple of years just writing; just in town and writing and that’s what led to this record.

CIO (Maxine): You wrote all but one of the songs on the CD?

Jon: Yes. John Grady heard all these songs I was writing and had been a fan of mine before. He called me up and said this stuff should be recorded and that’s how this stuff all came together.

CIO (Maxine): You also have a video to go with the first single off the CD, “Baby Won’t You Come Home.” Did you like making the video?

Jon: I hate it (laughs). No, it’s a fun day. I’ve done several with Trey Fanjoy, who does a lot of great videos for Nashville. She’s an old friend of mine, I’ve known her for years, so I felt a little more comfortable being in front of the camera but it’s hard for me to like it. I love performing live on stage, but it’s a whole other process to make a video. It’s a fun day, but I can’t stand to watch myself on television!

CIO (Maxine): Which do you prefer, songwriting or performing?

Jon: Hmm, I like doing both. I mean it’s been really clear on this Vince tour – getting up in front of people and doing songs I’ve written – that’s the part I really like.

CIO (Maxine): What do you plan on doing next?

Jon: You know I’m so focused on the tour, we’re really locked into this Vince tour right into CMAs and a Europe run and then playing in Texas for a couple of weeks in December, which is where I’m from and I spend a lot of time there. We’re just so focused on getting out and playing for people and performing and letting everyone know that this record is out there. It’s kind of hard to focus on anything else. It’s hard for me to write while out on the road. I’m looking forward to getting down to Texas and having some downtime and I always write better when I’m there.

CIO (Maxine): What do you like to do when not writing or performing? Do you call Nashville or Texas home?

Jon: Yeah, actually I commute. I’m in Dallas and work in Nashville. When I’m home, I like to go out to a little town in West Texas that’s way out north of the national park. It’s up in the mountains and kind of “deserty” – very much like Santa Fe. I like to go out there and hang out and look at the stars, relax (laughs). I like sports, like watching football or I’ll catch a race, but ironically enough, music is really my hobby. I always say my publishing and my songwriting supports my hobby – to go out and play music!