Novelist, essayist, humorist, cigar purveyor, political commentator, sometimes politician and raconteur — Richard “Kinky” Friedman is all that and a singer-songwriter, to boot.
Novelist, essayist, humorist, cigar purveyor, political commentator, sometimes politician and raconteur — Richard “Kinky” Friedman is all that and a singer-songwriter, to boot.
Friedman, a Texas icon who gained a wider audience after a well-publicized run for Texas governor in 2006, has long enjoyed cult status among those who love humorous country songs. Some of his classics include: “Old Ben Lucas” (had a lot of mucus), “They Ain’t Makin’ Jews Like Jesus Anymore” and “Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in the Bed.”
Friedman, who’s recorded and toured for decades with his band, Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys, will perform an unplugged solo show Friday, Dec. 6, at Honokaa People’s Theater as part of his Texas Liberation Tour. Doors open 7 p.m. and the show starts at 8. Tickets are $30 general, $55 gold circle. Advance tickets are available at: CD Wizard, Kipuka Smoke Shop, Hilo Guitars & Ukuleles and Hilo Music Exchange in Hilo, Sound Wave Music and Kiernan Music in Kona, Waimea General Store in Parker Square and Taro Patch Gifts in Honokaa.
“Doing these shows solo like a Lee Harvey Oswald, party of one, is something that I have not done much of. It’s kind of an idea Willie (Nelson) had,” Friedman told the Tribune-Herald. “If you’re on the road, you’d might as well work. And if you work consecutive shows without ever taking a break, you run on pure adrenaline and begin to develop a Judy Garland-like rapport with the audience.”
Friedman will also read from his latest tome, “Heroes of a Texas Childhood,” a collection of essays about “heroes of mine when I was a kid, but who college-age kids have never heard of, like Barbara Jordan, Audie Murphy, people like that.”
“Those folks don’t know whose shoulders they stand on. If I’m ever governor of Texas, this book will be mandatory reading in the public schools,” he said.
That begs the question: Is there another gubernatorial run in the foreseeable future for “The Kinkster?”
“No, but I do plan on running for agriculture commissioner on a platform to legalize, tax and cultivate marijuana,” he said. “Every law enforcement person I talk to, they know that every so often a guy has a few drinks and he beats up his wife. There’s never been a case of a guy who’s smoked a few joints and beat up his wife because he forgets to beat up his wife. He beats up a bag of Doritos instead.
“In the year 2010, there were more than 74,000 non-violent pot arrests in Texas and $250 million was spent enforcing that. Law enforcement is losing the war on drugs. They know it. And it’s wasting time and energy. And we could bring down the property taxes, state and local taxes. They’re beginning to drop in Colorado and Washington state, and the same would be true in Texas. … We could also grow medical marijuana and castrate the Mexican drug cartels. And it would certainly make Willie Nelson happy.
“This is coming. It’s gonna happen someday. So, let’s do it now and Texas should decide: Do you want to secede or do you want to lead? You wanna lead? Let’s move; let’s go.”
And although the title has a somewhat generic ring to it, commissioner of agriculture is a big deal in the Lone Star state. Gov. Rick Perry served two terms in the post.
“You know, Texas is the only place where people wear jewelry in the shape of a state, and that means we’re very proud of something. We just have to figure out what the hell it is,” Friedman quipped. “We’re very progressive in some ways and very backwards in others. That’s part of our charm.
“And I don’t know if backwards is really correct. Buddy Holly, for instance, was surrounded by hundreds of miles of emptiness. Buddy didn’t have any influences crowding him as happens today. I think that might be the reason he was able to create something really original. Today, he would’ve been able to walk out on the street and see 400 bands of different kinds and be influenced by all these different influences that he didn’t have. That’s kind of the ‘Buddy Holly effect.’ Buddy Holly didn’t come out of New York or L.A., or even Austin. He came out of Lubbock, which is real Texas.”
After four decades of recording and touring, the Texas troubadour said he reaches an eclectic, multi-generational audience.
“My good friend Jimmy Buffett, he has one of the largest audiences in North America but it’s all narrowcasted,” he said. “It’s mostly middle-age lawyers who want to go back to happier times. You won’t find the diversity in the crowd. It’s a financial pleasure for him in that he can play a stadium. But you’ll find every rabbi, philosopher, Indian chief and artist — all the people like that in several hundred miles coming to my shows, and it’s an interesting audience.”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.