EDITOR’S NOTE: This story originally published in the March 2013 issue of MAGNET. We are publishing the complete interview online for the first time on the occasion of Steve Earle & The Dukes performing at Ardmore Music Hall on Monday. DRUG STORE COWBOY BY JONATHAN VALANIA Steve Earle’s been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, poet, a protest singer, a playwright, a pacifist, a pawn and a king, he’s been up and down and over and out and the most persuasive anti-drug ad on two feet. But mostly he’s been one of the greatest living American songwriters. Still is. During […]
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
[Photo by JONATHAN VALANIA] DEAD MAN TALKING: Steve Earle, Johnny Brendas, last night. BY JONATHAN VALANIA FOR THE INQUIRER Steve Earle would be the first to admit he’s no saint, but by my tally he’s been going to bat for the angels ever since he tamed his demons – a nasty drug habit that ended in a prison sentence – nearly 20 years ago. Earle is just old-fashioned enough to think that folk songs can make a difference and protest singers should put their money (and their downtime) where their mouth is. Case in point, Earle performed Sunday night at […]