You’ve no doubt heard the Austin Music Minute proclaim time and time again that Dale Watson is the real deal. To put it bluntly, “real” is referring to genuine roots music – hillbilly, before we knew it as country; along with honky tonk, rockabilly, western swing, and down-and-dirty, no-bull outlaw. The AMM constantly references “old school country,” which, as Watson might tell you, is pretty much anything that isn’t something you’ll see on the Country Music Awards anytime soon. That’s not country.
Then again, neither is Watson, if you ask him. He’s bridled at the very utterance of the word because these days, its meaning has mutated into an over-saturated, blandly generic, vocoded train wreck. And then there was the straw that broke the camel’s back; a rather haughty, completely clueless CMA “Entertainer of the Year” (whose name rhymes with Flake Melton) proclaimed that nobody is listening to “their grandpa’s music” these days. This sort of remark does not go unnoticed by, say, patrons of The White Horse or The Broken Spoke without getting the blood boiling. Watson, who coined the term “Ameripolitan” to describe real roots music done with heart and soul, decided to take a stand for real roots and pulled no punches by penning a ditty in response to the idiocy, called “Old Fart (A Song For Blake).” (Full disclosure – not only did your humble AMM host applaud this decision, but I openly promoted the video – on the air.)
Ameripolitan Music is now a nonprofit focused on spreading the good word about artists who do real roots right, and some of these outstanding artists will be honored at the First Annual Ameripolitan Music Awards Show in February 2014.
Meanwhile, it is strongly recommended that you catch Dale Watson’s show tonight at The Continental Club, 1315 S. Congress Ave. He goes on at 10 p.m. Be sure to tell him the Austin Music Minute maven sent you.
