West of Texas is a “real” country music band, formed in 2003 by Jerry Zinn who is the singer, songwriter and band leader. The band’s debut album Heartache, Hangovers & Honky Tonks began as a 3-song EP called The Heartache Single which was released in 2010. It was intended to be a full album before health problems hit Zinn and he was unable to sing. When Zinn recovered and was able to sing again he put together a new line-up to play gigs. This was just before the Covid-19 pandemic hit and playing live music came to a full stop. Because of this Zinn went into the studio to finish the album he had started over ten years earlier. The end result is a testament to his belief in the strengths of country music and is a welcome addition to the best contemporary albums of that genre.
Does the search for authenticity in life easily translate into authenticity in your music?
It surely does. I could have easily gone more rock or maybe more folk in my songwriting and sound and had more shows and maybe more fans. But I had a sound in my head that needed to come out and nothing was going deter from doing that. Not the even the bars/clubs that told me they wouldn’t book me, because my sound was too retro. I’d rather not play than change my vision.
You began this journey to record back in 2010 but got side-tracked by some serious ill health. How did that have on your view on life and music?
It was difficult to hang up on my guitar on the wall and not play. It was what I had been doing since I was 17, in one band or another. It depressed me to not be able to play and to have an album worth of songs almost complete I couldn’t finish. For a while I couldn’t even listen to country music, because it would just depress me. I was used to listening to country music and walking around the house cleaning or something or maybe driving and singing my heart out. A lot of the time I couldn’t do that and it was very frustrating.
What are the origins of your deep interest in hardcore country music?
A few years after my grandad passed away my parents, sister and I moved in with my grandma. There I found my grandad’s record collection. Around that time my parents bought four CD’s of Time Life - Country Compilations of the 60’s & 70’s. After that I was hooked. If you’ve seen the album artwork…not the picture of the people on the cover, but the worn out parts, the ring wear, the dirt, the part that says, Dukes Record, that I had my grandma write. It’s all a nod to my grandad’s record collection.
You gathered together some very fine players who are associated with California country music. Is the West of Texas band name a nod to the Town South of Bakersfield albums?
It’s actually not. I didn’t know of those records until after I became part of the LA scene. West of Texas was actually a song title I had and never wrote. I had a notebook that I’d write down ideas like song titles, misheard lyrics, a sentence or two of a story. When it came to a band name I was thinking how can I blend the west coast or California with Texas. The band started talking about band names and I said, West of Texas and it stuck.
There are also south of the Border influences are they a key component in the overall sound, alongside other influences, for this album?
I wanted to have a well-rounded record with some different styles of country music. I also just wanted to see if I could write a Tex-Mex or Cajun song. I could have easily put a couple more shuffles in their place, but the album already had several shuffles. I’m also looking forward to the future to try out some different country styles and rhythms.
Did you find that it was difficult to write songs that sounded as if they could have been written back in the 60s and 70s . If so were you a student in those classic heartbreak songs?
When I started the band I think I had to get past 5 or 10 songs before I found the sound I was looking for. I think when I wrote Foolin’ and a couple days later wrote Whatcha Drinkin’, I knew I had found what I was looking for. And yes, I had certainly poured over a lot of records from the 60’s and 70’s and became a student of the sound.
You wrote Foolin’ with your wife, that was a cheatin’ song. Are they those kind of songs drawn for observation in the same way that Dwight Yoakam had some drinkin’ songs written by a non-drinker?
Certainly written as an observation of other people. When I write songs, I often come out of the bedroom and say, what do you think of this? I think I was stuck on the lyrics on Foolin’ and we started talking about the story, which lead to passing the notebook back and forth until the song was completed.
The cover draws on the sleeve concepts from the likes of Porter Waggoner. Was that a fun thing to do?
When I came up with the idea, I’m not certain I had seen that Porter Wagoner record yet. I think I was trying to go for a Moe Bandy kind of look. I remember telling my band my idea for the cover and they didn’t like it. They thought it should just be the band logo. Let it be known now that I will never release an album with just the logo on it. I think that’s a cop out. Aren’t we here to tell stories? Why not tell a story on the cover?
Making the picture on the cover (and inside the gatefold pictures) was a great time. Invite your friends over. Tell them your idea and somehow we pulled it off better than I could have ever imagined.
You have connections to Stoughton Printing where you work. What’s your role there?
First let me explain to everyone reading this who Stoughton Printing is. Stoughton Printing is the oldest record jacket printer/manufacturer and are known for printing the Old Style Tip-On jackets. The Tip-On jackets are how record jackets used to be made. Printed on paper and glued and wrapped around the board. If you look at those old 50’s, 60’s and some of the 70’s record jackets, they were Tip-On jackets. In the 70’s, record labels found a cheaper way of making jackets that were printed right to the board.
I can nerd out about record jackets all day long, so it was a perfect fit. My role there is a Production Planner. I talk to record labels and artist all day and help them with whatever project they are working on. It could be a basic record jacket to a gatefold jacket that opens like a pop-up book to the most elaborate box set.
That whole imagery seems to be largely dismissed and erased from the current music that emanated from Music Row these days. Do you think that that is a mistake?
YES! When I see the artist just staring back at the camera and there’s the artist name and album title, it’s such an easy way out and it’s boring. I guess I say that and there are plenty of classic country artist just looking back at the camera. Maybe it’s the rhinestone suit setting them apart from just being in jeans and a t-shirt. I’m sure there will be an album at some point of me just staring back at the camera and people will point out this interview to me.
Obviously you are releasing this album during the pandemic and that has undoubtably put restrictions of how you can promote the album. But did you feel that, despite that, the time to put it out was now?
I was hopeful by the time the record came out, we’d be coming out of the lockdown and mask wearing. That obviously didn’t happen. I’ve tried to be creative in social media post and trying to get the album cover in front of people, in hopes that’d be interested in finding out what the music sounded like. I think if you like traditional and classic country, when you see the artwork on the cover, you certainly have to be curious of what it could sound like.
You have played alongside some fellow conspirators in the real country movement. Do you feel an affinity with these artists?
Defiantly. Most of us are all putting out records with pretty much no budget at all and who doesn’t like to root for the underdog. We also have some sorta unspoken bond, listening to our influences, creating a sound in our head, and doing whatever it takes to get it out.
Overall, is it easier to release your music as West Of Texas rather than as Jerry Zinn?
Yes, I’m pretty sure I will never release music as Jerry Zinn. I’ve got plenty of band names in a notebook, if the West of Texas name ever comes to an end.
It has taken some time to get this album recorded and released but is to too early to be think of the next album at this point?
No it is not. After not playing for years, I feel like I need to make up for lost time. I’ve talked to a friend about doing a duet album, I’ve thought about doing a trucking album, I’ve thought about doing a classic country cover album, a western swing album and of course another album of originals. I’ve got a lot of ideas and as long as I have a band and the money to record and put out albums, I’m going to do it. I’m not going to be stopped by rules, like you should only put out one album a year and after you put that album out you have to tour this long before putting the next album out. I don’t care what anyone has to say. I’m not following any rules. As long as I have ideas, I will try to execute them the best I can.
What were the highlights of making Heartaches, Hangovers & Honky Tonks, equally what were the downsides?
The highlight was getting it done and seeing it in physical form. You don’t know what a struggle it was to get this thing done. Besides the health stuff, I certainly had my demons whispering in my ear, why finish it, because it’s not that great and no one cares.
The downside was deciding to record my vocals for the album in my living room and it being summer time. I had to turn off the air conditioning, so it wouldn’t get picked up on the mic. I also had my wife and two young boys go sit in our bedroom, where she had to keep them quiet while I was recording. It took a lot of takes.
Did you have a favourite track from the album that stood out for a specific reason?
Oh man that’s hard. I really like My Whiskey Life. I think the lyrics are some of the best I’ve written. That was also the first western swing song I’d ever written and I think it’s going to be hard to top.
The album has received some great reviews is that an encouragement to know your music is so well received in this day and age?
I can’t even believe the reviews I’m reading. I’ll be in the middle of reading a review and the reviewer mentions my name alongside of Dale Watson, Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel, Rual Malo of the Mavericks and the Derailers and I have to stop and think, what in the world is happening right now? It is certainly encouraging. All I want to do is go write two albums worth of songs right now, but unfortunately, I still work two day jobs, and I have two kids and a wife. So, I haven’t had much time to play or write. I have also been trying to work on getting this album out to as many people as I can. There wasn’t much of a budget for promotion, so I’m emailing DJ’s. When I find a DJ that likes it, I ask that DJ if they know anyone else that might be interested in it, then that leads me to a couple more DJ’s. It has taken up a lot of my time.
In the same vein who is your favourite artist from the past?
Just one?!!! You can’t do that to me! Can I name three? Wait, can I name four? Here’s what I tell people (I’m naming more than one just give me a second)…Jim Reeves will always have a soft spot in my heart, so he’s at the top. There’s a whole story that goes with that, but I’ll leave it at that for now and maybe when I put out the next album, if you remember, you can ask me about that. I realize Jim Reeves wasn’t what anyone was expecting, since my song writing is more influenced by the hardcore honky tonk shuffle stuff. So the other three are Johnny Bush, Faron Young and Merle Haggard.
What are your plans and hopes for the future. Will it be difficult, once things open up to put a band on the road?
I haven’t talked to the band about making a plan really. The last member of the band just got vaccinated, so practicing will start in the next few weeks or so I’d guess. We’re really itching to get out and play. But we’re also going to have to see how Covid goes. California is looking pretty good right now, so hopefully they’ll start to open things up more. Once that happens we’ll be watching other states.
Finally, recoding v live shows and vinyl against CD?
Recording, because I like making something out of nothing. I get excited when all these ideas I had all come together. The band plays a huge part in that and when they take it to the next level it is mind blowing.
I’m not an audiophile guy, but there is defiantly a sound difference between Vinyl and CD. I own both and if a band I like puts out a CD and doesn’t put out Vinyl, I’m still going to buy it. But I’d prefer Vinyl that comes with a digital download, because you can’t play Vinyl in a moving car.
Interview by Stephen Rapid Photograph by Andy Garcia Reyes