James McMurtry

McGonigel’s Mucky Duck presents James McMurtry. (TWO SHOWS)!

James McMurtry  is a Texas rock and Americana music singer, songwriter, guitarist, bandleader and occasional actor (Daisy Miller, Lonesome Dove). He performs with veteran bandmates and rhythm section The Heartless Bastards. His father, novelist Larry McMurtry, gave him his first guitar at age seven. His mother, an English professor, taught him how to play it: “My mother taught me three chords and the rest I just stole as I went along. I learned everything by ear or by watching people.”

“The simple fact is that James McMurtry may be the truest, fiercest songwriter of his generation…” Stephen King | Entertainment Weekly

“James writes like he’s lived a lifetime.” —John Mellencamp

“The most vital lyricist in America today.” —Bob Harris, BBC 2 RADIO

“James McMurtry is a true Americana poet – actually he is a poet regardless of genre” —Michael Nesmith

James McMurtry spins stories with a poet’s pen (“Long Island Shores”) and a painter’s precision (“She Loves Me”). Proof: The acclaimed songwriter’s new Complicated Game. McMurtry’s first collection in six years spotlights a craftsman in absolutely peak form as he turns from political toward personal (“These Things I’ve Come to Know,” “You Got to Me”).

“The lyrical theme is mostly about relationships,” McMurtry says. “It’s also a little about the big old world verses the poor little farmer or fisherman. I never make a conscious decision about what to write about.”

Complicated Game, set for February 24, 2015 release on Complicated Game Records (yes, it’s complicated) and produced by CC Adcock and Mike Napolitano, delivers McMurtry’s trademark story songs time and again (“Copper Canteen,” “Deaver’s Crossing”). However, the record brings a new (and certainly no less energetic) sonic approach.

First, recall blistering beats and gnashing guitars from his magnum opus Just Us Kids (2008). Now, unplug. “The label head wanted more acoustic,” McMurtry explains. “We built everything as we went so we ended up with more acoustic guitar as we went. We just played whatever sounded right for a given song, but we weren’t necessarily saying this is an acoustic record.”

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