Aaron Watson isnt changing his tune anytime soon. The West Texas native has been nothing if not persistent in his 20-year climb to country music hit-maker, a fact that began to pay off when 2015s The Underdog made him the first solo male performer since the dawn of the Nielsen Music Era in 1991 to earn a Number One country album without the help of a major label. Staying the independent course isnt just practical for Watson, its principle.
A lot of people tell me if Im going to capitalize off this mainstream success, I need to get away from this regional sound they call Texas music,' Watson says over the phone from Abilene, where he was raised and now lives with his wife and three children. Youre telling me, after this album thats done something thats never been done before, that I need to change what I just did? I go, Man, Im thinking I need to do more of that kind of thing.'
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Theres certainly more, and plenty of it, on Watsons latest LP, Red Bandana, a sprawling, 20-song opus with an hour-plus runtime released on his own Big Label Records imprint. From love songs to instrumentals to heavy reflections on Watsons sense of self-worth, the album doesnt feel like a lazy attempt to cash in on the success of The Underdog or its 2017 follow-up Vaquero, which cracked the Top 10 of the Billboard 200. If anything, it sees him doubling down.
I needed to write this whole album by myself. Its the first album Ive ever released after having mainstream radio success, Watson says, alluding to his Top 10 country single Outta Style from Vaquero, and the fact that hes the sole songwriter on Red Bandana. I might be a complete idiot. Who has Top 40 success after 18 years of doing it and puts out an album where the first song doesnt have a chorus and the second song is an instrumental?
Watson has made his rejection from the Music Row establishment a mission statement, but with a little bit of distance and likely a growing sense of validation he admits his path was one of necessity. The first 10 to 15 years of my career, I was independent out of survival. No labels wanted anything to do with me, he says. Maybe those guys were all right at those major labels. Maybe I wasnt good enough. Maybe their honest words pushed me to become a better artist.
That doesnt mean there isnt still a chip on Watsons shoulder. A pretty big one, in fact, which he sings about on Red Bandanas third track, Dark Horse, a fist-pumping call to arms in which he delivers a hearty I told you so to those naysaying Nashville execs. Theres total defiance in me, Watson says, with discernible relish. Im not bitter or angry, but when you have story after story of major labels telling you that you dont have what it takes, youre always going to carry a healthy chip on your shoulder.
If that were all Watson had to say on Red Bandana, the message would feel a little stale. With its pseudo-concept album feel, thanks to the instrumental interludes and flowing transitions between songs, it could also seem self-indulgent. (Included on the album are field recordings of his grandmothers wind chime and trains passing by his ranch.) But Watson navigates those pitfalls by turning a critical eye inwards, and doing so right off the bat on opener Ghost of Guy Clark, in which he imagines his songwriting hero dissing his work.
A lot of things on this record are really just me saying, Man, I need to write songs that are real. Not that my songs in the past werent real, I just feel that Im maturing into the songwriter Ive always wanted to be, Watson says. That shouldnt be a surprising goal, either: His first album, all the way back in 1999, was called Singer/Songwriter. But its meant pushing himself outside his comfort zone. It makes me uncomfortable sometimes to sing about my flaws and imperfections. Its so easy, right, to sing about how bad to the bone you are, he says.
Such personal material isnt entirely new in Watsons catalog. He points to Bluebonnets (Julias Song), a track from The Underdog about the death of his infant daughter, as a past precedent. On Red Bandana, his discomfort often comes from comparing himself to the people he admires most. The centerpiece of the album is a three-song sequence consisting of Riding With Red so named for fellow Lone Star performer Red Steagall Red Bandana, and Trying Like the Devil. If this somber, reflective stretch is any indication, Watson doesnt seem to feel he measures up.
Im not just talking about Red, Im talking about my dad and granddad these mountains of men, great men whove been in my life, and what theyve all taught me, Watson says, pointing out that the red bandana he wears during his shows was given to him by his father, a disabled Vietnam vet. He pauses, his voice briefly sounding hoarse as he works through his thoughts. Its just me being real honest and letting you know that, man, sometimes I feel like Ive fallen short of the man Im supposed to be, or the man people think I am.
Yet if theres anything to take away from Watsons story thus far, its that theres always time to become the person whom you want to be. Now two decades into his career, its still the thing hes banking on most. As an artist and a songwriter, personally, I feel like Im catching my stride right now. [And] thats OK, he says. I didnt show up late to the game, my games just a little different than most.