Lyle Lovett Official

Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt: unplugged and unscripted

SACRAMENTO, Calif.

As you might suspect from some of the songs he's given the world — "That's Right (You're Not From Texas)," "She's Leaving Me Because She Really Wants To," "(Keep It in Your) Pantry," to name a few — singer-song- writer Lyle Lovett is a clever guy, devastatingly honest, with a wry sense of humor.

He's also whip-smart. His brain works at a much faster pace than his mouth articulates his thoughts. That's OK, though — he likes to take his time.

In a recent telephone interview from his home in Klein, Texas, where he lives in a house his grandfather built in 1911, Lovett stretched a 20-minute interview to at least twice that length. The wide-ranging talk, ostensibly to promote his concert appearances with fellow singer-songwriter John Hiatt, covered everything from gratitude to grammar, from storytelling (something he's great at) to selling himself (something he's less confident with).

"From the time I was 18, I started playing in clubs," he said. "I was so insecure that I didn't think I could call myself a musician unless I had a gig scheduled, so I tried to get as much work as possible....

"I'm not really a competitive person," Lovett said, "and I'm not naturally comfortable in front of people. In school, I didn't speak up often in class. I was never the person to yell out an answer. If I knew it, I might whisper it to my buddy and let him answer. I kept quiet. Growing up, the last thing I ever thought I'd do is be an entertainer."

Now that he is an entertainer — and a solid one, with four Grammy Awards — he has found a level of comfort in performing. In the 25 years since the release of his first self-titled album, Lovett has released 14 recordings (with sales of more than 4 million) and acted in a number of films (Robert Altman's "Short Cuts" and "Pret-a-Porter," among them) and TV shows (including "Mad About You" and "Brothers & Sisters").

For the past few years, he alternated tours with his Large Band with songwriter circles and acoustic shows with Hiatt.

"The show that John and I do is not scripted in any way, and we do not discuss at all what we're going to play. John always plays first — we go in alphabetical order — and what I play is determined or suggested by what he plays first. And we just go from there. It's very relaxed, a free exchange.

"I'm not really competitive, as I said. I don't walk out and think I'm going to try to beat the other guy. I just want to play and perform better than I did the last time.

Lyle Lovett named "Official Texas State Musician for 2011" | blog ...

Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Lyle Lovett has been named the official Texas State Musician for 2011, an honor awarded for outstanding commitment to the arts in Texas.  The Texas Commission on the Arts announced the appointment this week, also naming Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top the 2012 honoree.

The announcement came just days after Lovett performed at the Library of Congress during The ASCAP Foundation’s third annual “We Write the Songs” musical event (in celebration of The ASCAP Collection at the Library of Congress).  A large number of elected officials including Nancy Pelosi, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Lamar Alexander and Texas Senator John Cornyn were in attendance. The following day while visiting policymakers on Capitol Hill, Lovett told Politico , “We might get to the point where people who would have been great songwriters might not have a chance to do it if they’re not able to sustain themselves by writing songs. That’s what this issue is all about.”