Red Dirt Singer/ Songwriter
PC: When did you begin your music career?
TJ: I played my first show when I was 16. The show was at a church in Mandan, North Dakota.
PC: Who are your main musical influences?
TJ: There are so many. Bob Dylan, Gram Parsons, The Doors, Dwight Yoakam, Ryan Adams, Tom Skinner...depends on what day you ask me.
PC: What approach do you take when writing your songs? Do you have any specific routine?
TJ: I am always writing. The songs that filter through the judgemental part of my brain usually make it to paper.
PC: Decribe what Texas music is all about to you?
TJ: There is so much of it, it would be hard for me to make a broad statement about all of it.
AC: We're so lucky in Texas to have our own music world. The Texas Music circle allows aspiring artists many more opportunities to perform and to be heard on radio. I'm sure that I wouldn't have been able to get this far at my age anywhere else.
PC: (Texas Music artist is like one big family, everyone helps each other out)is this true?
TJ: I suppose for some people it is. I haven't really played Texas that much and I only have a few Texas friends, so I'm not really the right guy to ask.
PC: I've got four songs. If you don't mind, I was wondering if you could go over how they came about or what was going at the time.
"Damned"
TJ: A song about a relationship destined to fail...it did.
"Say Goodbye"
TJ: A song about being cheated on
"Storm Clouds"
TJ: A song about convincing someone to trust again
"Just Me"
TJ: The sequel to "Damned"
PC: Where do you want to be in the next few years with your music career? Any long term goals?
TJ: I want to convince people to live.
PC: Is there anybody that you would like to perform with on stage?
TJ: Emmylou Harris, Dwight Yoakam, Bob Dylan...
PC: What CD would be found in your CD player right now?
TJ: One of my favorite records is Ryan Adams' "Heartbreaker".
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T.J. McFarland
Interviewed May 02,2004