It's hard to believe that it's been less than a decade since Junior Brown issued his major label debut, 12 Shades of Brown, on Curb/MCA. Granted, the hotter 'n' hell Indiana-born/Texas-based guitarist had been the talk of Austin for years before that, but in the past five years he's gone from being an underground legend to a bonafide, ready for prime-time country/rock crossover sensation. |

He's played with enough country music legends to fill the Grand Ole' Opry, leaves a slew of slack-jawed, drooling rock guitar fiends in his wake, and makes a helluva good pitch for a tall glass of Lipton Iced Tea and Gap clothing. And with his new album, Long Walk Back, currently on Billboard's Heatseeker chart and an upcoming cameo in The X-Files, Brown's just now getting fired up.

First off, I've had that instrumental, "Peelin' Taters," from your new album stuck in my head for weeks. It's gotta be driving you nuts by now.

(Laughs) "Peelin Taters'?" Yeah, I like that one. It's got a lick in it that I came up with, and I'd never heard anything used quite like that. Sounds like it's almost laughing sometimes.

When people think of Junior Brown, they probably think of your hotshot guitar playing, but a lot of your music is straight-up old time country. Do you feel you've been improperly cast?

Well, I do so many different kinds of things that I have them wondering half the time, "Well, what kind of singer is he? What kind of player is he? What's his bag?" A lot of them can't figure it out 'cause I'll always keep them guessing. But definitely the root of it all for me is traditional country. That's where I started out, and that's what I've always done.

"Long Walk Back to San Antone" sounds like vintage Johnny Cash. Do you consciously try to make your own songs sound like the stuff you grew up listening to?

It's just depending on what the song calls for; if I write a traditional country song, I'm gonna want to record it that way. I believe there's a right way and a wrong way to play country music. A lot of that is in the details, and a lot of people miss those details, and they do it the wrong way. So I try and do that, and a lot of it comes out sounding traditional. And then I'll do something like "Keepin' Up With You," and it doesn't sound traditional at all -- just maybe a little dated (laughs).

When you first approached guitar maker Michael Stevens with your idea for combining a six-string guitar and steel guitar into the guit-steel, did he look at you like you were crazy?

No, he immediately liked the idea. He was into custom stuff, so that was a tall order, but it was something that he liked, because it involved a way of doing something that was unconventional. I went into his shop and I saw all these contraptions he'd made, like a six-string and a twelve-string combination, and a six-string and a bass combo -- just all these kinds of things he'd make for people. So I knew he was just the guy for what I wanted. And the finishes were just beautiful, you'd swear the finishes came right out of the Fender shop.

So did you go through many prototypes?

No, that was the one, the first one -- Old Yeller, that's the prototype. Then later on I had a red one built, that's Big Red.

So do you know of anyone else jonesing to play one of these themselves?

Yeah, people call up Stevens all the time asking him to build one for them, but we sort of had an agreement that when we start making them, we're going to do it a certain way, and we're not going to do it until we're ready. But we may start going into production sometime.

You've produced all your albums. Does that come from being a perfectionist?

It's just knowing basically what is called for on the different styles that I play -- I've put a few years into learning that. Producing is like anything else: you learn it as you go, and you learn from your mistakes. And I've made a lot of mistakes, but fortunately I made most of them before I started recording with a major label. So, for Junior Brown, I produce pretty good. I don't know if I'd do any good for anybody else, but for my sound, I seem to be able to pull it off.

You've done a handful of commercials for Lipton Tea and the Gap. Have any of your fans ever accused you of selling out?

No, I don't think they saw it that way. I hope they wouldn't. It's just a gig. I think they came out pretty good. It's not like I was acting like something I'm not -- I played Junior Brown in all my commercials.

You also just filmed an episode of The X-Files.

Yeah, everybody's pretty excited about my appearance in there, but it's just a little part as a farmer in the opening scene. It will come out in November.

Are you a fan of the show?

I don't watch TV much. Since then I've seen it, and it seems to be a good show. But I'll do whatever I can to help get the word out on me and promote the music. I'm thinking of getting myself a theatrical agent, because I really enjoyed it this last time. With the The X-Files I was able to really get into the flow of the character and have fun with it. Earlier I did a movie with Brendan Fraser, a very small part in a movie called Still Breathing, but it was hard on me. But as I said earlier, live and learn by your mistakes.

Are you a conspiracy theorist yourself?

(Laughs) A conspiracy theorist? Depends on which conspiracy, because there's a lot of them around! But the government covering up UFOs? Oh, I don't even have an opinion on that. Haven't even thought about it.

It's hard to believe you're not a native Texan. When did you move there?

Well I live in Tulsa, but I have a place down here in Austin that I do my songwriting in and things like that. I first came down to Texas in '73, and I've been coming back ever since for periods of time. I'll always have a sort of an affinity for Austin. I was there right when Willie started becoming popular, with the cosmic cowboys and all that. There was something about the excitement of Austin back then that was very uplifting for the young musician who didn't know really know where he was going. To have so many musicians around in a town that all go over to each others' houses and jam together and go to listen to each other play and sit in on gigs and all that. And I still believe Austin can be that way, as crowded as it is now. I still haven't lost hope.

So what are you doing in Austin right now?

I'm doing some masonry work right now. Working on my house. I'm getting out here in the heat. Boy, it's hot down here right now. It has been all summer.

You doing all the work yourself?

Yeah, I'm sorta stubborn like that. (Laughs)

RICHARD SKANSE(September 23, 1998)