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GRILLED FISH SHRIMP CALAMARI FISH TACOS CATFISH OYSTERS CRAB LENT CENTRAL 109A NW 2ND ST, BENTONVILLE, AR FLYINGFISHINTHE.NET 479-657-6300 MARCH 15-21, 2020 WHAT'S UP! 11 FAQ James McMurtry WHEN — 8:30 p.m. March 18 WHERE — The Majestic in Fort Smith COST — $15-$18 INFO — jamesmcmurtry.com, majesticfortsmith.com In The Conversation McMurtry's music has some angst, a lot of wit I t's a weird feeling, James McMurtry reveals, when you have more to look back on than you likely do to look forward to, chronologically, anyway. So, the legendary Austin songwriter just keeps on like he always has: crafting songs one or two lines at a time until the character tells him what the story is. "I don't really work from ideas; I work from the lines and the melodies themselves. Rhyme scheme, meter scheme, it's more mechanical than anything else," he shares of his writing process. "You want the line that makes the most impact and it also has to sing well, because it's not poetry. It's song. Some poetry can be sung, but it's not required in poetry. In song, it's required. "So, for the sake of a better consonant or a better rhyme, you can change the whole story and you have to be willing to do that just to get a better song. I think some people can hammer away, try to get their ideas across, and do it well. Steve Earle does that very well. He can take an idea and find a character that'll put it across. Me, I have to find the character. And the character often says what he wants to, and he might not agree with me." With his signature bone dry humor, McMurtry admits that some of those characters in his forthcoming music maybe aren't as broken as the figures in his 2018 album, "Complicated Game." They're still there, though, as McMurtry isn't prone to restricting himself to autobiographical tales. And while he doesn't consider himself a political writer, the social commentary is there, too. "It filters its way in. Because it can't help it — it's in the air," he posits. And McMurtry sees that not only as a byproduct of the social climate, but as an imperative obligation of his calling. "If you sense that you have any influence, it's a good idea to use that influence while you have it. If you can get an idea out there and people will listen to you talk, that's great 'cause it's not corrupting your art. You're not turning your songs into a sermon. If people want to know what James McMurtry thinks, usually I'll tell them. Even if you're wrong and you find out you're wrong later, at least you were in the conversation. You gotta get in the conversation while you can." — JOCELYN MURPHY JMURPHY@NWADG.COM RIVER VALLEY McMurtry (Courtesy Photo/Brian T. Atkinson)