Cards on the table…Rusty Reid and I go way back. The Seattle-based singer/songwriter first caught my attention back in 2023, and I've been a firm believer in his work ever since. In fact, he's one of the very few artists I've had the privilege of interviewing on more than one occasion.

Rusty recently delivered his fifth album in the form of Lone Stardust (Masterworks of Texas Songwriters). A nineteen-track collection of cover songs - each written by a songwriter with a link to Texas - it's a genius record that I implore you to spend some time with.

Delighted to catch up again with the legendary musician, Rusty and I spoke about his passion for collaborating with artists from around the world, why he still doesn't like repetitive or derivative sounds, and all the things that keep him busy when he's not creating music.

Hey Rusty, I'm so stoked I get to catch up with you again! I think it's fair to say it's been a minute!

Now, I’ve had the pleasure of following your musical evolution for some time, but for anyone still out of the loop, what kind of sonic world are they stepping into?

Hello again, Jeremy. Thanks for the chance to chat.

Well, I'm a singer-songwriter originally from Texas, but after stops in Nashville and Los Angeles, I'm now based up in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. I write songs about things that interest me, and that's a lot: relationships, of course, but also politics, philosophy, spirituality (not religion; well, there is one song about religion, Dark Ages).

I'm mainly a guitar player, so my songscapes are usually based around acoustic or electric guitar, or both. I'm not a purist, so I'm drawing from pop, rock, country and folk music mostly. I'm not inventing a totally new "style," much less a new genre. I do love World Music, so sometimes I'll slip a dash of that approach to a song.

Occasionally I'll play all the instruments on a song, but I much prefer to work with very talented musicians from around the world and let them do their thing, having a lot to say about how the recording comes out.

What I'm always striving for is a unique melody, words with real meaning, some cool licks and an overall interesting arrangement and instrumentation. Then there's my voice, which I describe as an unruly wolf cub trying to sound like Marty Robbins.

OK, let's chat about Alchemist, the second single from your brand new album.

It's an absolutely beautiful piece of music, and it feels like a bit of a departure from some of your previous work.

Firstly, what was it about the original song that resonated with you, and secondly, how did you go about making it your own?

Yeah, my new album, Lone Stardust (Masterworks of Texas Songwriters), is nineteen cover songs all from songwriters connected with Texas. In compiling the tracklist, I wanted to be open to discovering newer "masterworks" that I hadn't heard before. Then along comes this Texas band, Blue Water Highway. I loved their albums, and hidden in there was Alchemist.

To me, it has all the components of a great song: original melody, lyrics with gravitas, a great theme, and malleability for different songscapes. So I just had to squeeze it onto the album.

My version is not a complete departure from BWH's cut. I wanted mine to be slightly more ethereal than their Americana. So I sent it off to Rohit Bhusan in Mumbai, and he knocked it out of the park. I love when my players make one of my songs "theirs," so to speak. And that's what happened here.

Now, I apologise for asking such a tough question so early on.

But...if you could pick one of your songs to skyrocket to the top of the charts and achieve massive international success, which would it be and why?

That is a tough question! I might pick a different one each time you ask. But for now, I'll go with Head to Heart, off my album of that title. I think it's a well-structured song with a great message, sort of summing up much of my worldview. It's a love song at its center.

I'm not holding my breath for the massive international success, but if I were a one-hit wonder, I wouldn't be embarrassed by that one.

When we last spoke, you mentioned that your listening habits have matured and diversified over the years.

Who are you listening to these days, and have any recent discoveries had an impact on your songwriting?

I've tried to stay up with what is current, and my list of faves just keeps growing. I do think I've refined my tastes as time goes along. I'm more open to new sounds, but, for me, they should be grounded musically and lyrically in real substance. I still don't like repetitive or derivative sounds. I don't like a gimmicky song, just for the sake of the gimmicks. There's a lot of that kind of approach going on these days.

In Alchemist, the songwriter, Zack Kibodeaux, uncovers a word I've never heard before: "eucatastrophe." Now that's a cool addition to a song, especially one titled Alchemist. He's the alchemist trying out a new ingredient or element in his potion. This album helped me become a better student of songwriting.

What recently? I did a dive into the latest Justin Bieber. Hated it. Paul McCartney's new album, one of his worst. Vince Bell has a new album out I like. Gurf Morlix has another album out, which is good. I've been listening to Jim Valley, just the sweetest soul with a killer catalog. The Young Fables are good new country music, not the rote crap. Billy Crockett has a new album. He's great. Love Brandi Carlile; she's local to us here in the Seattle area.

You must encounter a lot of great unknowns. Send me a list of who you recommend, especially newer artists!

What, to you, is music's role in society?

Ah, where would we be without it? I think the purpose of music in human society is to touch us. That can mean making us happy, sad, thoughtful, informing us, shocking us, soothing us, inspiring us, or making us want to dance. In some way, a song or piece of music should move you. If it doesn't, either it's not that great a piece of music, or perhaps you aren't listening attentively enough.

If you walked on stage one night and everyone in the crowd was wearing a T-shirt with one of your lyrics on it, which line or lines would you love to see?

Ha, that may be the best question I've ever received! But I'm on top of it. I had four t-shirt designs with such lyrical statements.

One was a vegan message: "Don't speak of love when you're chewing on the dove!" That's from Passion or Fashion.

One was a political message: "Any day we all unite, that's the day we set the world free!" That's from Dismaland.

Then there's a historical message, "The horde is at the gates. It's us!" from We Are The Barbarians.

But, if I had to pick just one, it would probably be a spiritual message: "Spirituality is its own Way!" from Dark Ages.

When you’re not creating music, what keeps you busy and happy? Walk us through a non-music day in the life of Rusty Reid.

Depends on the release cycle of music. Right now, I've just released an album, so I'm promoting that, and haven't done anything in the studio for a couple of months, and probably won't for another couple. I'm hoping to get back to original music with another album released next year, so I'll be back in the studio by October and spend a lot of time in there each day.

I'm also a gardener, so this is a busy time of year; that slacks off in the Fall and Winter. I also live with, or I should say in, a flock of parrots. I try to spend time with them.

In late August and September, I'll start looking around for some road trips, maybe some hiking. Out here in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, there are endless places to go, and being out in the wild always helps ground and inspire me.

At home, I try to get some walking in around the neighborhood just for the exercise. I also prepare and cook all my own food, so that's a labor of love each day. I also do a lot of prose writing, essays mainly, on a range of topics, which I post at Medium.com, and I'm trying to get them all copied over to Substack, as well. So there's not enough time in the day and evening.

Rusty, it's been an absolute pleasure to catch up with you again! Thanks for taking the time!

Not to get too deep or anything, but when you imagine the arc of your career, what kind of legacy do you hope your music leaves behind?

Absolutely, thanks again. Fun interview.

I don't think my "career," such as it is, has had any kind of nice, graceful arc. It's been more of an exercise in lurching. My first album, NWXSW, came out in 2001, and it was a hodgepodge of the best that I had at the time, no real common theme or style. I thought it probably would be my first and last album. Eighteen years later, I released my second album, Head to Heart. Now that album did have strong connecting tissue. I consider it my "opus," my worldview in one album. It's sub-titled A Revolutionary Manifesto in Song.

So, if there were any coherent arc, I would have followed that up with more of that kind of stuff. But no, I re-recorded the best of my old Houston songs, which my original fans still insist are my best songs. I think they are wrong about that, but I do like these songs. Those came out on Bayou Line, again another "best-of" a certain era of my life.

So back to continue the "arc" with more potent themes? Nope. I revive old tapes of my Houston era rock band, The Unreasonables' long-lost album. And then, of all things, an album of all cover tunes with Lone Stardust. Hopefully, with the next album, I'll be back to newer originals and themes with some gravitas.

I'm not sure this is all the workings of any kind of great "legacy," so I'll just be thankful I was able to release what I have. Maybe my music combined with my essays (and books if I ever get off my ass on those projects) might bemuse somebody down the line.

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Rusty Reid: “Maybe my music combined with my essays (and books if I ever get off my ass on those projects) might bemuse somebody down the line”

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