Walt Wilkins Part 2

Walt was in the movie business? Yes, ready for some more great tales? Dive in with Bob and Monte and Walt Wilkins.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hey, it's Bob Thickett. Weare on our way to the legendary Broken
Spoke. Come on, let's getout of the truck and head inside.
And damn you're proud of it.Come on, let's go inside. Getting

(00:22):
ready for another tale from the BrokenSpoke. Did you enjoy part one of
our conversation with Walt Wilkins. Let'sget back to the conversation. Here's part
two. Walt Wilkins on Tails andthe Broken Spoke. Ye left movie business
for soft business. Well it wasn'tmovie business. I just found the locations,
you know, for any famous locationsthat we must have any movies like

(00:43):
what Yeah, we're doing a deepdive into this. Well, okay,
what people ask you about? Andit's I kind of thought it would be
one of the two or three movies, right at least she got a credit,
you know, they always think thefilm commission. But I found all
the just about all of the locationsfor days to confused. Was going to
ask you about that one. Yeah, in Austin. It took a day
and a half and uh, theirtheir location scout for the movie company for

(01:07):
Link Link Letter was. Her namewas Katie Coconuts and she was a location
scout private and then we were theWe would work with them. We because
it. I mean, look thatthat script was all set in seventy seven
and I was sixteen and seventy seven, and I think NK letters from Huntsville,
I think, but he wanted toyou know, Austin knew it all

(01:30):
read the script. It was like, oh, man, had it all
done. We had it done ina day and a half. That's so
good. And then we went andshot pool and drank beer. There's there's
still people that come to Houston andthey will they will look for the science
for that movie was filmed. Imean we had a program director did that.
He was so oh I found wherethey felt part of days and confused.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, topnotch. The roller used to be

(01:51):
our across the from roller Rink wasand became the pool hall there, uh
Markana theaters in it and yeah backbehind it on Hancock where I grew up.
They were just looking for a hideawayparking lot. I said, I
know what, it was fun prettythat's a big movie. Any other movies,
Yeah, I did a lot onLeap of Faith. That was a

(02:14):
major movie with Steve and John Dravolta, right, Yes, that was all
over Texas, the Panhandle. Yeah, it was just the mostly in the
Panhandle and I we found he andtheir guy and I we worked for two
weeks solid. Did you ever getcredits from any of these movie things?

(02:35):
I can't remember. One of themdid actually say a name but on the
credits, but now I can't rememberwhich one it was. But you know,
maybe my job was I read theysent the script this is back for
you were sending pictures via email,you would I put together printed pictures and
folders, take them together for youknow, go to Fox Photo or Photo

(02:55):
Matts, Fox Photo. We hadthem all. We had to count there
did it all. I'll send themovernight. Then they'd send if they want,
you know, and I'd be honest. I'd say this Ken, I
don't know a place in Texas itreally fits this. But sma Ath,
you know, this was in theearly nineties. Everyone wanted to come to
Auctice. They were looking for reasonsto come to Texas, and we were.
Texas was the number three market atthe time. Well, but also

(03:17):
it was like what I was tellingpeople about doing Sessions, recording Sessions's right
to work State Yep, no unioncards, right, you can you can
do a session here for half thecost, yes, and have and the
pickers are just as great, andsame thing with movie completely. We had
a great crew and it was anopen shop which really helped, especially with
teamsters with the drivers and stuff.So yeah, it was it was really

(03:38):
rocking. It was a fun time. I mean it was every week.
I was somewhere around the state locations. So you're up in Nashville are you
writing for BMG the whole time?I wrote for BMG for five years.
Okay, you're there a good while, yeah, and then seven years with
CURB and then after that I thinkhad three independent deals too. Okay,
and uh, when so when didyou and Tina get married? Is up

(04:02):
there or here? Well? Wemet there pretty early on Chip Young and
I. He would take me tolunch three days a week at the Sammy
Bees, where she was the daytimebartender. We sat at the bar,
ate soup because I was taught alwaystake the cheapest thing on the menu when
you're someone's buying your lunch, anduh, second cheapest, That's what I
was. And I had soup,you know, and uh and bread,

(04:27):
lots of bread and met Tina thereand then uh, we actually got married
in New Mexico because we're both Westerners, so but we got married while we
lived in Nashville, and Luke wasborn there too. So when when you
come back here, it's just,uh, when I met what did we
meet? Like in six something likethat? Oh? Four four? Well

(04:49):
we moved back. I bet wewe probably got together in O five.
Yeah, right, because well becauseI'm well, I remember meeting you at
that thing at b M I atBruce and Bill carteron I were picking and
you and Liz came out. Uh, and that's where I remember meeting,
because that was in Nashville. Thatyeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,

(05:09):
that's where we met. And uhand I just you know, and it
was just like I'd heard your nameand I'd heard your songs, and it
was just like and just like anybodyelse, like from the first what Wilkins
song you hear? You're a hugeWalt Wilkins fan, and and Oglesby would
send me a lot of your stufftoo, and uh, just great songs.

(05:31):
I forget which ones you cut,I forget which songs do what I
said, I forget which songs youcut of mine? That was a joke.
You don't need songs. That wasin Nashville joke, right, it's
camera, yes, record, Iknow that's a joke. Look the fact
that you've recorded easily a half dozenof things we've written together and I've not

(05:56):
yet recorded something. It has moreto do with my recording projects and quality
of the world. I know thatyou just keep plugging away and you'll get
there. You'll get a money Wardencut. It's always good to have a
goal. I do want a manyWarden cut. You know what Brandy and
I were talking, Matt, Uh, I think in the next batch,
I think the dangerous few are goingto start doing only When I Breathe.

(06:17):
That's a good song. That wasone of our best songs, one of
our best sarios. And Uh,well that you know we have the songs
called only when I Breathe. Brilliantsong and it has been on the last
round of getting cut. I didn'trealize you guys had written together before.
Yeah, man, we we werein some cool songs. One than I
do all the time that we gavedifferent titles to it, but it's one

(06:40):
of my favorite songs, Farm toMarket Romance. I call it farm the
Market romance. I call it loneStar lullabye. Great. Every every wagoneer's
gig, we pick it good.That's one of my fai. That's a
great It was our drummer's favorite song. Rayroz. That's a great song.
Yeah. Uh off September nine andit just laging love. Yeah, great

(07:03):
song. There's a couple of peoplearound the state who sing soft September Night.
Great song. I could never pullit off completely from me, but
I love that song. It's great. You cut it great. But your
farm to market romes did a greatversion of I just you know, it's
like writing with Walt Wilkins, likemanis a great writer. You know.

(07:25):
Coming down here, I was thinkingabout how I mean. I I just
I think money is amazing. It'swork ethic, his ethic, completely ethical
dude, hard worker, so talented. Uh. I just I just think
Moni's fantastic, positive, always positive. Yeah that's the bad money. It's

(07:54):
all good about two minutes every afternoon. Oh yeah, so funny that I'm
down here today and uh and Brandysaid, uh, You're not going to
say that, are you, becauseyou sound like an asshole? And I
said, well, no, Iwouldn't say it, but of course now
I'm going to say it. It'slike for me, it is the rare
I've set at tables with a lotof songwriters, and it is the rare

(08:18):
table that I sit with a songwriterwhere I'm not the best songwriter at that
table. Today is not one ofthose days. Today, it's a tie
as brilliant. I mean, it'slike trains I've missed, we could do
a whole hours, one of myfavorite songs. It's one of my favorite

(08:39):
songs, songs, favorite song.Yeah, brilliant. It's been a it's
been as a great life. Wellthat is poetry. Well yeah, it
really mean the song. And Ihave a song called It's a brilliant song.
But you know, it's wild.It's like because I've known Walt's songs
for I don't know, twenty years. I reckon that'd be about right,
Yeah, And we've been writing togetherfor fifteen years, you know, a

(09:03):
long time, just such great songs. And it's wild that as long as
you've been doing it, you've beendoing it in a while, You've had
so much success, you have somany people that love your songs, and
I have my favorites. You knowthese are my Walt Wilkins favorites, and
does my Walt Wilkins playlist and dadand then rarely does a writer that's been

(09:28):
doing it that long that consistently forme anyway, because I fall in love
with songs and then I get caughtup and that those are my favorites.
But there is a to me,a new song of Waltz called dogs Man.
It's my favorite Walt Wilkins song ofall time. I've heard that one.
Ah, it's well. In fact, Ron Flynn is mixing my new

(09:50):
record right now, so is thaton it. Did one of my songs
get bumped for dogs Yeah? No, outside, Yeah, there won't be
a mighty all your fear of successrising its ugly head once again. This
song dogs Man is if it doesn'tmake you cry, you've been dead for

(10:11):
two days. It's just about dogs. It's it's literally, it's about the
Sistine chap is about God. It'sabout dog. It is that it's it
mentions the dog I grew up with, and and but it was inspired by
a friend of mine, Plain Lukenbach, a year ago, year and a
half ago, which I played thefirst Sunday's Money's Done it several times over

(10:33):
the years with them had men assin a while. It's weird you played
last year and the one of mydear friends came up afterwards and her dog
had run off, and she'd beenup all night putting the posters up and
all that around, dripping well outUh where would you say the barbecue salt

(10:54):
lick out there? Anyway, sheshowed up at Luke and Box just to
you know, from a leaf fromand and and the dog in fact never
came back, but she was cryingand and uh and and I was she's
younger, and I've always She's I'vealways. I was thinking about what to

(11:15):
say, and all I could saywas Lindan, dogs man, I'm sorry,
and the and then and then thesongwriter report of my brain went,
I would comfort you, but Ihave to go. Not a bad title,
not a bad title, dogs man, I'm sorry about your dog and
everything, but I got to go. Yeah. So I left the next
day for a tour all down theEast coast, and uh, I remember

(11:35):
I started it in Connecticut or somewherelike that, and then finished in Atlanta.
Did you write it like on thelike on the plane or were you
just as you were driving over thewhole truth. I remember how I finished
it. Uh. I was inAtlanta steaming with my best friend Tina,
and Luke flew out to Atlanta sowe could go to an Astro's Braves game

(11:58):
and and that morning Tina was asleep. It was early in the morning.
I woke up and went and therest of the I was kind of stuck,
you know, And it all justcame to me that morning. Yeah,
I've never been stuck right in so, Yeah, it sounds awful.
You get stuck all the time likeeveryone. So you said that you played
Luke and Bach once a month.I've done it. I've done it.

(12:20):
What I do is the first Sundayof every month. I've done it for
fifteen years. Fantastic, You've gotI want to get it. And Luke
and Bach has changed a lot inthe past fifteen years. It has more
commercial now, right, well,I think for considering fifteen years, it
hasn't changed a lot. And thebuildings now that I'm talking about, Yeah,

(12:41):
and the changes they made are good. Like restrooms. According to my
wife and every female I've ever knownthat's been in Lukenbog for more than two
hours, they're grateful for the newrestrooms. There's a new gift shop,
which is cool. Well, youknow the statue of the statue of Jerry
Joe. Yeah, it's nice.I mean, these are all nice things
that are kind of a knowledge.It's cultural. But I remember as a

(13:01):
kid the first time I went there. I went in seventy eight. There
was a kid. There was nothingthere except two thousand other people to see
where Willie and Whaling were. Myfirst was seventy five. My dad stopped
by there when I was fourteen,and I remember, you know, walking
around and you know, hippie guysplaying guitar, and you know the girls

(13:22):
in nineteen seventy five with the longhair and the little shorts and it's fantastic.
And I was like this, thismight be from me. My dad
was in the Air Force. Iwas like this, I might like this
side of the river. Yeah.Yeah, that line is they get what
change your day? What is theline? A dog can change your day?

(13:46):
And the time it takes to lickyour face. That's so great.
That's that's brilliant. Man. GoI'll tell you this. You might as
someone who makes records. I drawnand I Ron Flint and I We tried
several ways to record that, includingI said, well, let's do it
like a sixties Nashville with the vibes, maybe strings, Let's do it like

(14:13):
that. Let's listen. So welistened to Tom t Hall songs and we
were thinking about tried that, triedseveral ways, until finally we just went
I got the painted guitar, whichI don't record with a lot, and
we got in a booth, didit, and then scrappy Jed put another
guitar on it. And that's that'sthe version well called the record. The
song is the star. It's nota production thing, you know, I

(14:37):
mean really, and that I wouldthink going much beyond that started getting another
way, easy way to suck itup, Yeah, because that just that's
and it's such a that's one ofthe best songs I've ever heard. Oh
I'm coming up, oh whenever Ipick him up from the duplicators. That's
how I don't do a big releaseor anything, so I would I think

(14:58):
I'll have them at the end ofsometime in August. And we know that
you play a lot at the SaxonPub just down there Wednesday night today to
club nights. That's again that's aroundfifteen years now. It's fantastic doing well
these steady jobs. It's pretty good, it is. It's nice to have
anchors like that, same crowd allthe time that comes in the face.

(15:18):
I got some that are the same, but people come from every week.
I'll say where are you from?And there are people from all over the
country every Wednesday, and there arepeople from Europe every every other Wednesday.
To make you feel great, Oh, it's fantastic. You'll ask them,
how did you hear about it?People said, well, someone said I
needed to come see you play.You know, so that means word of
mouth, and that's a great feeling. We've got friends from DC that came

(15:41):
in for the eclipse and they sawGrissom down in Saxon on Tuesday, and
then they saw that it was WaltWilkins on Wednesdays and they it was would
have been three thousand dollars for themto change their ticket, and they well,
we can't do that. But theywent, you have David Grissom on
it every Tuesday, and what Wilkinsevery Wednesday? They had no idea you

(16:04):
were there on Wednesdays, but nowthey do. In their next trip to
Austin will be the anchor is comingto see you at the Saxon. I
appreciate it. It's a great gig. It's a great gig. They're great.
It's a great family. It's likeplaying Luke and Bach. You get
to be part of the culture thereafter that many years and you know,
the same people own Lukenbach, Hondos, people daughters and I'm one of the

(16:29):
daughters and a grandson, and thenthe Abeles family at the Saxon. It's
neat to be part of those schoolyears now, like like on your regular
gigs, like at the Lukenbox firstSunday every Wednesday, do you have like
because people come in from all overThey'll want do they like email you ahead

(16:52):
of time, like would you pleaseplay this sometime? No with you?
Sorry, I'd love last Yeah uhyeah, I yes, We I do
my best. If it's something Ijust don't play anymore, if I have
time to learn it great if Idon't. But what's great about the Saxon
And it's always been this way.So we started with a mister Carrols for

(17:14):
years and then I played acoustic withRon for about a year and then we
started picking up players. I said, let me, this is a great
time to ask people I know thatI never get to play with, like
Scrapy judd Man. I was,all right, it's playing Brett Da.
I mean all sorts of musicians inthis town that I never that i'd see
around and never we call them.And now it's kind of settling into a
fourth piece that that we just recordedwith. So uh and it's fun.

(17:37):
I don't make a set list.I just start songs and really yeah,
really yeah, it's all organic.I like that it is. I just
have never not been on stage witha set list. I know. Well,
you it's one of the things.Uh, you know, you always
look the part. You look great. That's who you are, you look
I mean you always You've never don'tlook great. And then I always like
showed to his house to write flipflops and haven't even looked in. He

(18:03):
always dresses for radio and the addressradio as I am today. And uh,
but I love that about money.He's a show I mean, it's
a great show man. You're alwaysprepared. Your shows are right on.
But my shows are scruffyer, justlike mine. I have done this since
I was fourteen, so there's reallyno would you be lost without a set

(18:25):
list. Yeah, but it's thepacing of it, you know, because
it's not just a list of songsthat also go Okay, I'm gonna want
to go straight into these three andthen take a second. It's a little
bit different because here, like it'sa dance hall with Walt, you're sitting
there, you're listening, you're sittingdown, you're getting involved in the performance.
Here, well, I will havehim. I mean, I do

(18:48):
make set lists for like when festivals. Sure, well yeah, when the
band needs to know and you've gotforty five minutes and not forty six,
right exactly. But like, likeI know, like when I do like
a writer's night where we're doing likean in the round, people call them
song swaps. I hate that term. It's I don't know, it sounds
small ball to me. I don'tknow why, but I've never loved that
term either. I think it's becausewe came from Davidson County and it was

(19:11):
in the rounds. I reckon theycall them instead of guitar pools song swaps.
Well, Titar knowings his guitar poolsanymore, which is really the best
thing. A guitar pool there's oneguitar and passed it around and you tried
it. That was the whole timeas a phrase came from. He had
to pull it out of the otherwriter's hands. That's where a guitar pool
came from. But yeah, I'llhave a song list and not a set

(19:32):
list because it changes. Because sometimesyou'll be on a on a in the
round or a guitar pool and uh, some guy, you're gonna do a
waltz next, and then the guysin front of you do two waltz.
Is you can't do that? Oror lyrically they start something you want to
keep that kind of thing going right, or somebody really like you're doing it

(19:53):
with walt and it's just it's sointimidating. They're they're pummeling you, and
you go, okay, I'm gonnaletter break this out right now, because
you don't want to get your asskicked, and sometimes you don't want to
be the ass kicker, and youkind of down shift so it doesn't look
like you're beating up a kid.You know, I cannot see you beating

(20:17):
up any I know exactly what you'retalking about. And you're the kindness of
your heart You're like, I cannot, I can't. I can't do that.
I'm not breaking out just to hearyour voice in front of this kid.
I saw a guy who at thetime was a Texas music entity,
a cat he was similar to bea star, and I felt so bad
for him that he had to followme every time. Sure that the last

(20:41):
song I did, yeah, becauseI was like, I was watching him
deflate, and I'm like, Idon't want to do that to anyone.
Did he thank you afterwards or anythinglike? No, I don't think if
he had a clue then he wouldn'thave let on. He but he looks
stricken. And it wasn't just me. There were two other people in this
round. I felt bad for him. The greatest example of that. And
it was so beautiful and and uh, the humility of it, the honesty

(21:07):
of it. We were at anAustin City limbs deal and it was Rodney
crow loud of it and Willie Nelsonand and how it started it was wild
and Willie than Rodney, and thatwas how the end the round went.
And after about the third round,and this is Rodney crow Man and granted
he was doing stuff off his latestrecord, he wouldn't do do until I

(21:27):
can gain control again, and youknow, leaving Louisiana and all that stuff.
But anyway, after about the thirdround, he just stopped and he
goes, you know, I'm notused to getting my ass kicken and in
the round. I saw Rodney afew weeks ago and he broke out to
like, that's that's great, butI but I am Rodney Crow. Just

(21:48):
to remind you, did you seehim with Sam Baker? Yes, Sam
Baker is another guy's gonna talk toyou about. I want to sit down
with Sam. Do it? BecauseSam on Sunday, he and I played
to swap songs. Does he live? Luke and Buck? I got a
shower from Rodney, so I knowthat it's a five one to Rodney produced
his new record and it's all spokenwords. It's beautiful, it's incredible.

(22:11):
Really, Yeah, we're gonna haveWe're gonna have Sam this summer. It'll
take a breath away. Yeah,Sam and I have a long history.
I produced Sam's first two records.I never knew that. Yeah, in
the and uh and uh, theones that got him started in Europe.
And yeah, I love him.So what's the connection with Sam and Bill.

(22:32):
Uh. Yes, Bill Warrel,it was a great guy. We
lost a couple of years ago.Were they really years ago? Can you
believe it? Three years ago?Did they really discover that sculpture that Bill
drew all the time. I don'tthink Sam was on that trip, but
when he saw the shaman k Payne, Yes, yes, because I had
heard that Sam was on the tripwith him. I didn't know. I

(22:52):
thought they went on a lot oftrips together. I don't think Sam was
on that particular trip. But here'san interesting thing. We've already talking about
J Boy Jay Boys from Colorado City, Texas. That's where my dad grew
up, from Sweetwater al right,yeah, yeah, cool. No one's
ever said that thirty miles from That'sright. No one's ever said I'm from

(23:15):
Sweetwater. Cool. Oh, Iwould, I'd moved to West Texas.
I'm going tomorrow. You want togo? If I could? I would.
I love driving West Texas. Aboutthe family and the food. So
yeah. So anyway, Worrel.When I met Warrel, he said Wilkins,

(23:37):
and I said, yes, I'mc A's son. He goes,
Sonny, Sonny is how my dadwas known in the little town. And
uh, so that's how I gotin with Warrel immediately. Immediately, he
was just a great guy. Hewas he felt like a family member within
five minutes of talking to the guy. He had a huge impact on me
on Sam and also Uh and onDarden, which I didn't know until after.

(24:03):
I known Darden a few years andWorrel's name came up and he's like,
you know, we didn't bring thatup with Dark. I wish I
hadn't known that. I didn't knowanybody I ever have a big impact on
Darden other than Darten. I playedone time playing his show with Moni and
Darden. I asked him both toplay Lukenbach one day and it was cold,
we went to the dance hall.I didn't know they had such a

(24:23):
history together. I had never laughedin front of people so much mercy.
They're merciless to each other. Yeah, but you know what, I hadn't
talked to Darden in years. Ididn't want to interrupt him. He's a
he is like you. He's brilliantand hard working and worl Yeah. I

(24:51):
spent a lot of time out atWarls and he gave me my mantra and
my mantra when I was about fortytwo or three and had come to time
I was getting dejected, you know, after losing a couple of singles in
Nashville and stuff. And I said. We were bouncing around drinking beer out
at his place and the Mace onThelanto River in Mason County, and I

(25:14):
said, what, how do youwhen you get dejected? He said,
all right, I'll tell you somethingthat I heard when I was got dejected,
and it was keep creating, keeprisking, keep creating, keep risking.
That's what I live by. Yeah. I like that. You know,
to make a record these days isa risk. You're you're not going
to make the money back, butyou keep creating. Why because you're supposed

(25:36):
to. And that's what I tellpeople all the time, is like,
only do this. If you can'tnot right, If you can do something
else, then do it. Butif you can't, not then that's God
talking to you. And that's youknow, And I think I agree.
Talent is his gift to us,and what we do with it is our

(25:56):
gift back to him. Yes.Yeah, And ultimately, when we were
talking about Nashville, yeah, Ileft this life. I liked, liked
I loved this life in Austin,thirty years old, in the town I
grew up in. I'd already beenaway a couple of times but had come
back. And but I would havean eye twitch. This is true.
And later on was like, that'sstress. And the stress was I was

(26:17):
starting to write these songs, startingto play them, learning how to play
them here in town, and uh, this is what I wanted to do.
My heroes as a kid. Besidesa couple of athletes were the songwriters.
Yeah, my folks were cool.Drop me off to see Willis Sallin
and and and and Framolds. Thoseare my two favorites. And Murphy's record

(26:40):
Cosmic Cowboy Souvenir was my was therecord that and then record by Michael Nesmith
split my I always say it splitmy head open. I never recovered,
I mean once, you know.It was country like I grew up with,
but it was you know, thestuff, and it was all happening
round here at where we lived,where we grew up. You know,
felt really lucky to be you werea kid of the seventies. Yes,

(27:02):
South Austin, North Austin what wasthen North Austin, Far north As then
Yeah, now in the middle oftown. I grew up well East Austin
for three years and then we movedto uh right over in the like Mopack
and forty fifth forty fifth. Igrew up near McCallum, over by the
cemetery, but we were Anderson HighSchool was new, the new Anderson High
School, and I was busted upthere got you what great time. I

(27:27):
was awesome. And that's when that'swhen Austin was just happening. Like you
mentioned from hos fromost was just amazing. He was the best storyteller. He
was just I'm sure I just satthere like this mouth of Gabe everything.
Yeah, And I never I didn't. The only time I got to meet
him was after the stroke. Inever really Yeah, I got to,
you know, hang out with Willisa little bit and play some but uh

(27:48):
Framwinson never really had got to meet. But man, he had a he
was he was so special. Idon't know Willis Harley at all, but
I knew from Holts Real he wasthe first. He was actually the first
hit maker I ever met. Iwas eleven, yeah, and he was
just you know, and I justtold him some reason, I said,
I want to be a songwriter.It's eleven years old, and he just

(28:11):
busted out laughing in such a greatway, and he said, don't let
anybody talk you out of it.That's a good manto, right, so
great eleven years old, that's fantastic. And joining our conversation with Walt wilkins
On tells Broken Spoke one more partPart three drops next week and we're gonna
find out why Walt left Nashville tocome back to Austin. Tals the Broken

(28:34):
Spoke again. Thank you for listening. Hope you enjoy the conversations. Tales
from the Broken Spoke is recorded liveat The Broken Spoke in Austin, Texas,
hosted by Country Radio Hall of Famebroadcaster Bod Pickett and Monty Warden,
recorded mixed down and produced by MikeRivera