Dale Watson brings Classic Country to Santa Ana

By John Roos

Dale Watson is on the outside looking in.

It’s easy to think the Austin-based honky-tonker is at war with today’s cross-over country music, a disposable style that draws heavily from pop and rock while veering far away from the vintage sounds of classic country music. Such song titles of his as “Country My Ass” and “Old Fart (A Song for Blake)” do throw barbs at the popular yet soulless mainstream country dished up by the likes of Kenny Chesney, Taylor Swift, Shania Twain, Jason Aldean and yes, Blake Shelton. Watson even sings these fighting words: “I’d rather be an old fart than a new country turd.”

What matters more, though, to Watson – who performs with his band the Lone Stars on Friday at Original Mike’s in Santa Ana—than skewering the Nashville cookie-cutter machinery is being a prominent force in presenting an alternative to those fans whose tastes run similar to his own. In addition to creating his own catalog of rich, traditional country music, Watson has coined and fostered “Ameripolitan,” a hybrid genre that he founded in 2014. Every February in Austin, Watson hosts the Ameripolitan Music Awards to recognize the best in Honky-Tonk, Western Swing, Outlaw Country and Rockabilly as bands/artists like the Hot Club of Cowtown, the Derailers, Wayne Hancock, Rosie Flores, the Carolyn Sills Combo, Big Sandy and his Fly-Rite Boys and many others get a chance to shine.

Top-40 Country and Music City be damned. This is America and we do have freedom of choice, my friends.

“A lot of folks who listen to mainstream radio have no idea that there are new and veteran acts out there who play great country music with roots in the sound and style of Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Jimmie Rodgers, Merle Haggard, and the like,” insisted Watson during a recent phone interview. “So I decided to start this Ameripolitan thing rolling and we’re seeing its natural progression now with different branches growing out. The support and enthusiasm has been more than I could ever have imagined.” (Go to www.ameripolitan.com for more details.)

The 55-year-old, silver-haired Watson released his first album, “Cheatin’ Heart Attack,” on Hightone Records back in 1995. He’s since released numerous recordings on a variety of mostly indie record labels while building a loyal fan base over the years by constantly touring up to 300 gigs per year. Since the release of “El Rancho Azul” in 2013, Watson has enjoyed a spike in popularity thanks in part to high-profile appearances on “The Late Show,” “Austin City Limits” and “Sun Studio Sessions.”

Perhaps equally responsible for Watson’s career boost is that more music lovers have discovered that he is the real deal. Backed by his twangy Lone Stars—featuring pedal steel guitarist Don Pawlak, upright bassist Chris Crepps and drummer Mike Bernal--his story-songs ooze authenticity and listeners can relate to the slice-of-life themes that are explored in numbers like “Your Love I’m Gonna Miss,” “I Keep Doin’ Things I Shouldn’t Do,” and “I Lie When I Drink.” As Watson sings with conviction in his deep baritone, it’s easy for listeners to be drawn into a world where love, heartbreak, forgiveness and redemption define our human condition. It all simply rings true.

When I complimented him on his craft, Watson modestly deferred credit to his idols, legends like Merle Haggard, George Jones, Hank Williams, Bob Wills, Mel Tillis and Conway Twitty, insisting they inspired him while paving the way for all that’s followed. In fact, the Texas troubadour pays tribute to some of them on 2016’s “Under the Influence,” a stirring collection of lesser-known covers including two Haggard originals, “Here in Frisco” and “If You Want to be My Woman.”

“I picked `If You Want to be My Woman’ because it is an atypical Merle Haggard song . . . with its sexual undertones and such . . . and I remember my dad used to play that song and I had no idea then it was one of Merle’s,” recalled Watson. “I think it’s a pretty cool departure for him.”

“Ya know, these treasures ain’t gonna be around forever so I felt like it was a good time to show my gratitude for what they’ve meant to me,” he added with a bittersweet tone. “I’d like to at least keep the memory of these guys alive with my music.” (Merle Haggard passed away two years ago on his 79th birthday of complications from pneumonia.)

Classic honky-tonk may not be hip today but that doesn’t mean its audience is limited to nostalgic old-timers.

“It’s important to attract younger fans but it’s not something that’s necessarily on my radar,” said Watson. “That being said, I’ve been lucky to draw a cross-section of folks to my shows, including the 18-25 year old college crowd, which might seem strange, right? But I think that’s because they don’t like to be told what to do, or who they can listen to. And some of them have heard their parents listening to Johnny Cash or Hank Williams, and they liked it because it’s genuine.”

I think Watson enjoys being an outsider and has come to realize that he is recognized now as a rebel. And surely one with a cause.

“I don’t really see myself that way but I guess I am one,” he said with a chuckle. “I do speak my mind and Nashville is so controlled by money and the corporate media that it’s become a snake eating its own tail. The big record labels are turning away promising musicians by telling them they sound too country for country music . . . and that saddens me because nothing could be further from the truth.”

*Dale Watson & His Lone Star Band with opener Celine Lee perform Friday at Original Mike’s, 100 S. Main St., Santa Ana; (714) 550-7764. 7:30 p.m. www.originalmikes.com. Also appearing Sunday at the Echo, 1822 W, Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles (213) 413-8200. 8 p.m. $14-$17. www.ticketfly.com.