BY JIMMY IBBOTSON
Jonathan McEuen is my calabash nephew. He grew up under my wing. When we made friends, he was a teenager, trying to live the life of a pothead poet, touring with his tight-assed, teetotaling dad, and my musical partner since 1969.
One summer, much later, Jonathan brought his wife K’snia to Woody Creek. He needed to get away from Nashville and Hollywood. He had to get away from Salt Lake City, too. The kid had to get away.
He was living at the Flying Dog and recording at the school on Skinny’s gear. And he was sloughing off the disappointment of trying to fit in with the Ojai crowd and to be the obedient son of an icon of folk, country rock, and bluegrass. He honed his trade at his father’s knee. But while the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band was onstage, he was in the camper or the tour bus. learning bad habits from guys like me.
All his dad had to do was point to me, and Jonathan and his five brothers could see where the devil’s path would lead. Most of the kids in that age group who were learning bluegrass guitar had to hear his dad, playing banjo, and me, singing. His Uncle Jeff Hanna sang some of them, too. Kenny Loggins sang and played the same way that we and the Eagles played. Jonathan took the best from Flat and Scruggs. Buddy Holly, and Ricky Scaggs.
He ended up living here and recording on my gear. He really put it together, while I toured with the band and in a duo with his dad. I’d come back to stories of nights with Hunter, and Jonathan’s hallucinating a life where he could travel the world singing the songs that he made up.
I’D COME BACK TO STORIES OF NIGHTS WITH HUNTER, AND JONATHAN’S HALLUCINATING A LIFE WHERE HE COULD TRAVEL THE WORLD SINGING THE SONGS THAT HE MADE UP. THEY WERE A “FRY YOUR ICE CREAM COUNTRY ROCK BANKD, LIKE NITTY GRITTY WAS WHEN WE PLAYED THE ASPEN INN WITH STEVE MARTIC. I THOUGHT THEY SHOUD HAVE CALLED THEMSELVES DOUBLE COUZINS. THAT IS A HILLBILLY TERM FOR WHAT THEY ARE: THE SON OF TWIN SISTERS.
Recently, he topped the country charts with his cousin, Jamie Hanna. They called their act Hanna-McEuen. That may have been a mistake. It sounds like the name of a young girl, singing torch songs. They were a “‘fry your ice cream” country rock band, like Nitty Gritty was when we played the Aspen Inn with Steve Martin. I thought they should have called themselves_ Double Couzins. That is a hillbilly term for what they are: the sons of twin sisters.
I don’t think it hurt Jonathan to travel around with Jamie, playing twice on Leno. But it wasn’t good for him, turning his head from his solo-career. It doesn’t hurt him to travel with Traffic founder Dave Mason and play rhythm guitar and sing. In fact, he and George Stranahan wouldn’t have gotten together, around Christmas, if he hadn’t been appearing at the Belly Up in Aspen with Mr. Mason.
That’s when he told me what he was up to. Jonathan took time to come up and see my new studio and leave me his new CDs and a great DVD that had a music video on a beach with Jonathan and Jamie singing one of McEuen’s songs from the self-titled Hanna-McEuen CD. It was really out of place on a Nashville project. I suppose that the direction of the duo was Brooks and Dunn. It didn’t work.
But for Jonathon and those of us who believe in him, it is probably good that Jonathan is branching out, back to his rockier roots. His spirit is too wild for Nashville and a bunch of lawyers telling him to play it safe. I told him that he should do another H-M project if it’s offered, but that he and Jamie should come to Woody Creek to demo all of the songs. Make sure they do the blend of styles they are capable of. Jamie needs to get away from his dad, too.
The music you have to hear is on a disc that Jonathan produced for his younger brother, Nathan. These two really sing together. But I also hear Jonathan’s production values. He can sure make a record. I hope that he gets back here and shows me around my gear. These kids, you know how they are, programming your VCR? That’s how good they are with digital recording studios.
The guys that Jonathan hires to play on his records, out west, came to the X-Games and played so great that they caused a riot in Wagner Park. I hope you can see them backing up Jonathan in a show that features his pop ballads and rockin’ blues. This kid is great. Look for his music at the Woody Creek Store. Maybe this music review \viii be followed by a website, where you can order his discs.
You’d make us proud.
