Howdy y'all,
    This is a special page for me for many reasons. It's where I can share with all of y'all the special strength and support, I get from each of you that write. Sometimes it may be critique, or just a note from someone that wants to tell me about the show they've seen. Either way, I like sharing these letters. I gain so much from your responses and it truly feeds my soul and makes a tough road A LOT easier. So , read on and you can get some insight as to what kind of mail I get. Thanks for sharing your time with me.

Sincerely, Dale

Henflings gig/Ben Lomond July 12

July  15  2004

Dale,

What impresses me is not your absolute command of voice, words,  guitar and band: it is your willingness to show up and pay attention to people.  It makes folks believe in you.  And they do.
Your hard times and sacrifice matter because what you do is truly
important to people. Please count on your friends here and thanks again for coming down to
Santa Cruz county.

Ben Taylor
 

Thanks For the Tunes

June  25  2004

Dale,

I am currently a soldier serving in Iraq. I had some free time and was
surfing the web to see what concerts I would be missing this year and was so
surprised to see that you would be playing in Humboldt County (Blue Lake,
CA) in July. I used to live in nearby Arcata and sure wish I was still
there and was able to come see you play in Blue Lake. I love what you do
and am glad to see there are folks like you and other singers who strive to
keep the tradition of real country music alive while not selling out to the
mainstream Nashville music machine. Thanks.

I have brought a few of your CDs w/ me to the desert over here and songs
like "That's Pride" help me stay focused on my job over here and others
remind me of what I have to look forward to when I get back to the good ole
USA.

I hope you enjoy the Blue Lake show. Got allot of fun loving hippies up
there in Humboldt County and you also got a lot of hardworking good
Americans who would love to hear you play. I hope the word gets out to them
that you will be there. I know my wife and I sure would be if I was in that
part of the world next month. Thanks again for what you do!

Respectfully,

1LT Ryan Propst
 

 

Thanks !!

June 5  2004

My wife and I saw Dale in Austin, Texas at the Broken Spoke about a year back...it was the best show we have ever been to.

Just wanted to tell Dale he is a great singer and songwriter and Thanks for keeping true country alive. We appreciate his music.

We hope to see him soon in Portland, Oregon at Duffs Garage with my parents.
My dad is a big Merle fan and I have no doubt he will love Dale's music.

Thanks again,
Charlie and Betty Jones
West Linn, Oregon

New Fans

April 18 2004

Hello,



Like many people, I hadn’t heard of you even though I live in the Fort Worth area, which has six of “country” stations. KHWI 95.3 in Plano TX plays some of your music and that is where I first heard of you.

I don’t usually send messages to artists or celebrities, but I just received “Dreamland” (ordered from your website) and I love it. This is the second recording that I have purchased; I have also purchased “Best of the high tone years”. I was playing your cd’s at a gathering at my place this weekend and three of my friends, who are also traditional country music guys, asked “who is that?” I told them and gave them the website so they can order your music; so you should get more orders soon; I only hope that this newly found wealth doesn’t go to your head (joke).

I guess that the reason for writing, really, is to tell you that I listen to your music often now and enjoy it very much! You have one of those voices that is easy to listen to and you

write songs that are simple, that I can relate to and have lyrics that are understood and make sense. Any artist on the radio today can sing; but given your style, your voice AND that you write your own music make you a large cut above in my book!

As a new fan, I can only ask that you don’t go commercial; your music is marketable as it is and it provides us with music that we enjoy and that
I am honored to pass along to my family and friends. I don’t mean honored as privileged but as feeling as though I am passing along something worthwhile. Your song “Legends” asks what will we do when the legends are gone? Well, now I know; we will be listening to Dale Watson.

Traditional country music will continue thanks to you and I will support you in whatever small way that I am able.

I hope that you will perform in Fort Worth soon so I can come out and see you live, although you may have given me an excuse to take my wife down to Austin for a night.

Just an FYI: Your music is somewhat hard to find in record stores; while I don’t mind ordering on line through your website, some folks don’t like doing that.
I enjoy ordering on line; in fact hope that it is better for the artist financially for me to do so. Money for many of us is a bit tight sometimes and we have to make sure that if we buy a non-returnable item that it is something that we will enjoy. While I am not poor, I am certainly not rich.

With this in mind, I would like to make one small suggestion:

Make it so we can listen to a sample of each cut (30 seconds). That will enable us to better decide if we want to spend the money on that cd. Although I must say that of the two cd’s I have bought so far, I have not heard any songs that I “hate”. In fact I think that dollar for dollar your cd’s have more listenable cuts than ANYTHING coming out of Nashville these days.

Keep up the good work and GOD bless,

Barry Harper

Granbury, TX
 

April 22 2004

Dale,
I just finished your biography at your website. It was a real eye opener. I have been listening to "country music" for a year and a half. A good friend of mine fronts a Real Country band and opened my eyes to the truth. He plays one of your songs( Wine, wine, wine) and I asked who he got it from. He said Dale Watson. Iloved it! He plays 99% old school Country and I love evry minute of it. I have found a few of your songs from friends and am very glad to have found you. Keep on being YOU, and never give in !!
Mike Galliano

 

Real Country fan

May 8 2004

 Mr. Watson,

 I have only recently become exposed to your music. I must say that you
 offer, by far, the BEST country music my ears have ever been privy to.
 This crap on the radio can't hold a candle to your traditional country.
 However, as a railroader, and not a trucker, I respectfully ask to that
 you consider recording a railroad song or two for those of us railroaders.

 Thanks for keeping it country

 Patrick McGrady Train dispatcher, Macon,GA to Jacksonville, FL
 

a new fan in Belgium

October  7  2003

Hello Dale,

I want to tell a little story of what happened to me a few months ago! I am a lady-truck-driver and during my vacation, I drove along with my good friend Tom. Yes I am a freak, normal people take a break but I keep on truckin'! Tom drives a big truck with a temperature-controlled load in all countries of Europe. Of course Tom let me drive too! I asked him to put a good cd in the player, that was the moment when I met real country-music for the first time, the truckin' sessions!

I had to repeat your songs a lot of times before I understood the bottom of it, English is not my mother tongue, tough I understand it very well! Tom helps me with translating the typical expressions, he feels like a real American citizen, he's planning to start a new life in the States, but it's hard to get there!

So your music felt like magic to me. The lyrics have gone through whole of my body! And what a voice, can't get enough of it! Now I know that a song is good when the lyrics are good. Before I loved pop-songs, but it was thanks to a fine melody that they were popular, the lyrics meant nothing most of the time! So you opened a new world to me! A world of emotions into the depth's of our souls. It's really wonderful how you release your feelings and the way you think, in a song! And those guitar and drum sounds!
Man it really makes me high! My life behind the wheel became a lot easier with your music! Your voice puts a lots of miles easily behind!

Now, I know already a great part of your songs, including the songs you wrote for Terri. I'm really sorry for what happened to her. Every time I listen to the cd, it makes me cry, it's all so real to me, it's a sort of therapy to me. When I dry my tears, I feel a lot better! I think a lot about the terrible pain you must feel inside, God really took your greatest treasure. He took mine too, you know! It was my grand-dad that he called, 5 years ago, to join him in heaven. I am thirty years old now and it will take a long time before we meet again in heaven, but one day we will see them all back, I just know it, for an everlasting life together.

I wish you a lot of hope, love, friendship and luck in the rest of your life. You are such a fine man, you deserve it. I Didn't know men like u existed! I hope to enjoy your songs still for a long time! Keep on doing what you do, it feels right, no matter what they say!

Maybe one day, when Tom succeeds to live there in your country, I will visit him and I will surely come to see you in one of your shows at Ginny's! I think that's heaven on earth to listen to you live!

I hope you have understood all that I am telling, I didn't have anybody to help, because it's too personal, didn't want to share it with somebody, except with you of course, 10-4!

Bye bye! Greetings, Heidi.
 

thanks for coming to the upper southeast

September  26

 Dale - i had the privilege of catching two of your shows here in the va./md, one at the iota cafe (which included your great anti kenny chesney/dixie sluts...er... i mean chicks rant -- amen, by-the-way...) and griff's place (a little like Ginny's, i thought). both shows were great -- if they lacked anything, it was only the wonderful tx atmosphere and space for two-stepin'. I always plan my bi-annual trips to TX to coincide with when you're playing at the broken spoke and/or the white elephant and hope to catch you there soon. you are far and away the best thing going in country music. thanks for keeping on.

Harris - Chestertown, md.

 

Dale Watson Fan Club-Iraq

August 18  2003

Hey Dale,
I'm the Marine who gave you those photographs at the Spoke of your T-shirt in Baghdad. Sorry about the delay in e-mailing you other copies. Have fun in Europe and try to be back by Labor Day so I can say hi when I'm back in Austin for the weekend. By the way, are you or any other folks of Texas Honky Tonk type ever coming out to San Diego so I can hear some decent music? One footnote, The supply trains into Iraq were so bad that we were rationed down to one meal a day, and water where we could find it. Space was limited and we were threadbare thin on the essentials. However, I still found room for an "Explicit, Hardcore Country Music" T-shirt. Just the essentials you know.
Semper Fidelis Y'all,
1st Lieutenant Marshall Carroll, USMC

 

One More Once More

May 21 2003

Hi,
I love the new cd, One More Once More. The only song I recognized was "You Win Again". Are all of the songs "oldies" or did Dale write any of them? I looked for a songwriter's credit and didn't see anything. Who is the pretty girl on the cover and on the inside of the cd (just nosy, sorry). I think this album is a remarkable duplicate of a country/rock (?) band sounding like big band. I remember from my childhood (old me) watching the Dean Martin show and the first song definitely brought Dean to mind. I loved the songs and especially the way Dale's voice sounded on them. Is there ANYTHING he can't sing???? Well, maybe Opera but I wouldn't rule that out unless I heard him try.
Thanks for the many hours of great music and even great variety of music that Dale has provided. I love every cd and two favorites are the Sun Records and this new one and the Christmas one since they opened my eyes to how truly wonderful Dale's voice is.
Fran

I just wanted to let you know

April 18 2003

I just wanted to let you know that your music really means a lot to me. Just the other day I was driving and the radio was pissing me off it was then that I realized I don't need the radio because I have you to listen to. It is sad how bad country music has become. I think that the people that put today's music in the same boat as the greats like Cash, Nelson, Jennings, and Jones should be shot. I sometimes wonder if Hank Williams is spinning in his grave. Most people think I am crazy when I talk about this stuff or they just tune me out with the latest Kenny Chesney piece of shit record. I hope you continue to stick to your guns and make music with soul and guts. I also hope you will by Charlotte, NC sometime soon. As long as guys like you are around country music has some hope.

Stephen

New Fan

March  13  2003

Dear Mr. Watson,

A friend of mine let me hear your " I Hate These Songs" album- I loved it!
You have the spirit of real country music. I have a very broad musical taste and appreciate good, heartfelt music regardless of the genre.

My roots are in the South and I come from a long line of musicians that play everything from blues, bluegrass, county, rock, funk, soul and jazz. I know there's not a lot of diversity in country music and I think it's a real shame. I happen to be a 31 year old black woman that has studied jazz, but have always loved all real music.

Are you planning any tours in the Knoxville, Tennessee area anytime in the near future? If so, I will definitely come to your show to support your excellent music.

Please continue to do what you do!

Sincerely,

Lisa M. McClain
Knoxville, Tennessee

A-11	February  22  2003

Hi Dale -

As you know, Johnny Paycheck died on Wednesday. I told my friends but none of them had heard of him.

My Mom owned and played his record, The Lovin' Machine -- I must have heard that every week of my life until I was 10. In fact, I still have that same LP sitting in my closet.

I had a chance to see him in concert in NYC a few years ago and for whatever reason I didn't go... I'll never forgive myself for that.

So, I had two reasons for writing. I'd like to request a Paycheck song to be played at your next show. I obviously won't be there (I'm in NYC, but always there in spirit). Your pick of song of course, but A-11... what a heartbreaker.

And I also wrote because I wanted to grieve with someone I know who would give a damn.

bob.

Special French Fan

July  23  2002

Hi Dale
I'm Mark, the journalist, we met in Cagnes-sur-mer, you remember? we've
talk about your music, about your guitar. I just want to thank you so much for this great show, and for your kindness and your simplicity. it's so warm for us to know that a real country star like you can be as nice as you are, with some French guy you'd never met before. We're so close of that old music, that we all know that we can speak the same language. Everybody in Cagnes sur mer was so proud to have you there. Thank you also to Ricky, and Billy D, and all your tour-crew. I'm eager to know more about your next record, and Billy's too. Could you mail me some news about you, about  your shows and your schedule in the states, and may be someday, I'll try to go to Texas, this lone star state that I've been dreaming about since I was a kid.
 

Take care,  your (special) French fan
Mark Chaix

Traditional Country

June  29 2002

Gettin' through the night...or...your music should be prescribed by pediatricians

June  23

Dale,
We (my wife Maria, little baby Josh, and me) just wanted to drop you a line and let you know how your music has impacted our lives.
Our little guy is about a month and a half old now and somewhat colicky.
However, when he starts crying we pop in one of your CD's (I think his favorite is Cheatin' Heart Attack) start dancing and wouldn't you know it...he calms right down! So I just wanted to say thank you and we'll be sure to get over to see you when you come around this way (Massachusetts).
Take care and God bless,
Brent

On our way

June 15

Dale,
After changing our plans several times. When we saw you were putting on a show from 10:00 - 1:00 tonight, there is no way we can miss the chance of seeing you do a show when you are this close. Our friends couldn't make it because of work. We were not sure if we could get a motel at this late date so we solved the problem, if this place has truck parking. We are taking the chance. See you tonight!!
Wonder how many fans Garth or Tim has that would bob-tail 250 miles one way, to give their favorite entertainer a shirt???

Larry & Susie

Enjoyed the real country performance

June 3

Greetings Dale,
A quick note to say that the "Bender Brothers" enjoyed your "true to the core" real country music that you performed at the Cajun House in Scottsdale.
From your lead vocals & pickin', to the bands backup vocals and instrumental talent; the show was 5 star plus. It was great to hear some real country delivered in a tight performance by you and the Lonestars. Its good to know that we can still hear "new and old" real country music with rare performers such as yourself keeping the tradition alive (and well).
Thanks again for the opportunity, and I hope to catch y'all down the road again sometime.

Safe Truckin' and Face to the Sky,
Dana Bender

The Most Expensive DVD I ever bought

April  18

Essential Austin Box Set

March  1

dale, I am Justin Poss, and I was fortunate enough to be the winner on ebay's auctions for America of the Essential Austin Box Set. I have been poring over the over 230 CD's, one cassette and one 7" single that were donated over the past few months. One of the reasons that I originally bid on the item was because you were included. I have been  lucky enough to see you perform on several occasions and have always enjoyed your blend of traditional country music and superior songwriting/musicianship. Actually, you have one of our company hats that my friend Chris and I gave to you in Austin as I work for Earth Transport Company (we have a wonderful shirt to give you as well, pearl snaps and all with a company logo ! But I digress).

Anyway, you were not only the most prolific donator to the box set, but easily one of the best. I have enjoyed two things about this collection of music immensely. I bought it originally because of the names that I was already familiar with that were included in the set. After receiving it I was disappointed to learn that many of the more familiar names that had pledged CDs to the effort had not actually followed through and donated (although some of this disappointment was softened by the horde you had included). But I have come to learn that the beauty of this collection of music is the myriad artists that I would never have the joy of hearing were it not for me buying this collection. I find a new gem everyday and have been able to thank many of those artists individually via email. What an incredible opportunity to speak to so many fine people from such a smalll area. Austin music is truly a wonderful thing, and that's saying something considering I am a die hard San Antonian :).

Anyway Dale, thank you for the pothos, the T shirt and mostly of course the wonderful music.

Justin Poss

Caught in the webb

January  19

A huge fan in Tennessee

December  27  2001

 Dale,

 I just wanted to say Thanks for coming to Tennessee! You are
exactly what Tennessee needs, someone who is true to country music. My boyfriend and I traveled from Chattanooga to Nashville to watch you sing at the Ryman last Saturday night and were not disappointed. How wonderful it was to see a real country singer grace the stages of the Ryman again. Oh, how I was hoping to hear Nashville Rash (I guess that would be asking a lot huh?), but I was equally happy with hearing Christmas with You. We had a great view from the balcony and took plenty of pictures.
Every time I see you perform it reminds me of what Nashville is lacking. I would give anything to if Tennessee had half the musical talent Texas does. My boyfriend sorely misses that scene since he moved from Ft. Worth to Chattanooga, and I was so glad we had the opportunity to see you perform at the Ryman. We would happily travel another two hours to watch you perform, even if it was only one song.
Every Song I Write Is For You is an outstanding album. My favorite song is One More For Her. I was lucky enough to purchase Christmas in Texas for the Holidays, and it was my most played Christmas album. We look forward to hearing new music soon and hopefully to seeing you again. Don't be a
stranger to Nashville; you are exactly what it needs!

 A huge fan in Tennessee,

 Shelby in Chattanooga

Thankful

December  8  2001

Dear Dale,
I loved Rachel’s letter...thank you for sharing it with us. It left me pining for that stool next to her and wishing Texas wasn’t so far away...with a glass or two of that wine from Ginny’s and high on seeing you all live, I might have been able to express myself in such a piece...although with only half the brilliance but I certainly agree with what she wrote.

Dale, I love your songs and I know you are the stuff of legends. I am so thankful you are here to continue to share with us and blessed to have your songs in our life. Every Song That I Write Is For You. What a gracious gift to us all, the reminder of the power and delicateness of love and life. A chilling reminder to not take love for granted - love songs which inspire like none other. It is becoming my favorite CD. Best Part Of Me is special to us as we spent our first days of married life in Texas and then returned last year for our fifth anniversary, to catch your show at the Elephant...it was like falling in love all over again. I have the fortune of love and now the gift of insight that it could be gone in an instant. A sobering thought that will resonate in my life. So much we take for granted. I am so sorry it was your loss. We’ve contributed to the Teresa Herbert Memorial Foundation to help her love live on...she must have been an extremely special woman.

We vowed to make an annual trip to Texas to see you...unfortunately finances will keep us away this year but we’ll look forward to a visit in ‘02 and catch another west coast show so be sure to head out west! Until that time, I will dream of that stool in Texas and thank God that I’ve an incredible love to dance around the living room to The Best Part Of Me with, and Dale Watson and his Lonestars to fill our hearts and souls with song....

Peace and love to you this holiday season! Stacy & Terry Schultz, Applegate, Oregon

p.s. Thanks for the Christmas CD...do you have a mailing address where we can drop you a Christmas card?
 

Hello

December   2  2001

Dale,

I wanted to write to introduce myself, and let you know how much I enjoy your music. In doing so, I hope that I might persuade you to look into playing some concerts up here in the Midwest.

I am a 28 year old HS teacher and baseball coach living in Indiana. During the early years of my life, I grew up listening to Hank Snow, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Hank Williams Sr. In fact, some of the most memorable moments of my childhood are sitting at the Opry and having the opportunity
to watch Marty Robbins play the last set of the night.

Despite these experiences, during my teen years my musical preferences changed and for a long time I got away from Country music. Then the transformation occurred. A few years ago while working as an assistant baseball coach at Brigham Young University, a girlfriend and I were wandering up and down the aisles of a Salt Lake City record store. When reaching the Country section she picked up a Shania CD and began to telling me how great she was. As you can imagine, I was unimpressed. To counter her claim, I picked up a Hank Sr. disc and said, "This is country music." Looking to prove my point, I bought the disc and put it in the stereo as soon as we got into the car. As you can imagine, she was didn't like it
(Not surprisingly, she and I were done a few months later). As she bitched, however, I felt a warm feeling come over me. I was reminded of my childhood and how much I had enjoyed country music.

From that point on, I felt reborn. I went out and bought all of the old stuff, and even got into some that I had known little about it. The best example was David Allan Coe. As a kid I had heard of him, but had never seen him or listened to his music. While teaching in Mississippi, however, he was all that my students talked about. Finally, in hopes of finding what all of the buzz was about, I bought some of his stuff, and was hooked
immediately.

During the last couple years, I have been able to get into DAC's stuff and even see him live a few times. To keep abreast with what is going on, I often get on his website and check the message board. It was during one of those times that I came across your name for the first time. You were mentioned by a fan as being one one of the best singers in the business.

After reading that, I went ahead and downloaded some of your stuff from Napster. Although I really liked what I heard, for some reason of another I had this image of you being an old man. Imagine my surprise, then, when I was watching that TNN program about the Outlaws of Country Music (I am still pissed that they did not mention DAC) and I got to watch you perform for the first time. Up and until that time, I did not know of many youngerperformers playing real country music.

Since that program, I have gone on to purchase several CDs (Blessed of Damned is my favorite, followed closely by the new live discs). In addition, I have become a regular visitor on your website. I like your music for two reasons. First of all, I think that it is honest. Through your choice of topics and lyrics, it is obvious that your music reflects experiences from your own life. Secondly, I respect your integrity. In today's world of full of cowards and chameleons you serve as an example of someone who believes in what they are doing and refuses to compromise.

This last characteristic is one that I share. As a coach and teacher, I am honest and push my kids to achieve and become accountable for their actions. Although compassionate to their problems, I assume the leadership role and refuse to kiss their asses and tell them what they want to hear. Despite the successes that I have seen, my system and methods are often criticized by new school educators who lack the courage to make kids follow directions. Put simply, I don't care. I know that my way works, and that kids benefit as a result of their experience with me. That is all that matters.

In writing I also want to express the respect that I have for the way that you are dealing with your girlfriend's untimely passing. From what I have read, your recovery has been long and difficult, but it appears that you are now doing very well. As I have never been in that situation myself, I am not going to tell you that I can emphasize, but instead tell you that their is a Lord who cares and values you as a person. In addition there are several of us here on Earth who have a lot of respect for you.

In looking through Don Knutson's bio, I was shocked to find that you have a former Hoosier on your team. What are the chances of getting you up here? Although not a great country music town Fort Wayne has some good music venues, and Indianapolis has even more. In addition, I am sure that their are places in Chicago, Michigan, and Ohio where you could draw well. I got to see DAC recently in Fort Wayne with about a thousand other fans. In the meantime, I am going to try to work on getting down to Texas. Keep up the good work, and maybe I'll have a chance to see down there. Keep up the good
work!

Best Wishes,


Todd Armstrong
 

Dale Reminds Me of Montgomery Clift...

November 25

Okay, Dale,
I came home last night and took a stab at the "why Dale Watson reminds me of Montgomery Clift" essay you need for your press kit. If it's no good, blame that darned rosé jug wine they serve at Ginny's... and being high on the absurdity of chicken shit bingo.
I'm pasting it in the e-mail, but also attaching it as a Microsoft Word document, since that's so much prettier to look at. I wrote it for YOU, obviously, so feel free to use any part of it if you have somewhere it would work for you.

Rachel
******************

Dale Watson’s music is like a coming home. When you listen to Dale sing, it’s like returning to your childhood home when you can’t, really, in real life because your house has been torn down to make room for another Walmart, and the salvage men have carted away all the lumber. It’s like going back to a home where you’re normally not welcome since you were disowned over all the letdowns and disappointments your folks suffered on your account -- but, when you listen to Dale sing, it’s like walking in a dream where you’re received by loving, open arms like some Prodigal Son or Daughter, and all is magically forgiven.
If Dale Watson were a movie star from the ‘Fifties, he’d be Montgomery Clift. There’s something tragically romantic in his handsome face, a shadow of torment and pain and heartbreak endured and of a great love lost forever. Dale’s hair, once probably as "black as the color of your true love’s hair," in that old Appalachian folksong, is now threaded with silver and his eyes are light, light blue, transparent as tears. Like Monty Clift, there’s something about Dale’s delicate build that seems fragile, like some melancholy, cracked-up rodeo rider who has to stay on that bucking bull despite being wracked with pain because this night might finally be the night when he takes home the purse. If Wuthering Heights were to be retold in modern times and to take as its setting the Great Plains of Texas instead of the moors of England, Dale would be its Heathcliff; there’s something almost gothic about him. Like Johnny Cash, he’s the lean, mysterious cowboy dressed in black. He’s cool as Hud, but unlike Hud, Dale seems a little sad and he’s not at all mean-spirited. It strikes you that he’d be likely to carry a yellowed, faded memento of his lost love folded up in some secret place in his wallet. His voice, deep and smooth as early Elvis’s, resonates, sometimes, with what sounds like pangs of regret. Dale reminds you of a lone motorcylist in battered black leathers, rumbling through town, flashing tailpipes, stopping just long enough to throw down a cup of coffee at some greasy spoon café  but long enough to play one tune on the juke box and break some waitress’ heart.
Dale’s trucking music evokes the perfume of diesel exhaust and oil refineries and the rhythm of the wheels of big rigs (going somewhere  anywhere! -- except your own small hometown) glimpsed from the back seat of the family car when you were a child. Never derivative, Dale’s original songs are always evocative. Like all good country songs, they seem to be a compassionate and timeless soundtrack for lives where good lovin’ and good women frequently go bad, people try to wash away their sins with hard drinking, underage sweethearts cross State lines to enter into hasty and ill-advised unions, God sends righteous tornadoes to flatten entire trailer parks, and someone’s always considering escaping for good by heading off down an Interstate highway. His sound is authentic and it’s clear he’s done his homework. Dale’s music must surely summon up the ghosts of departed country luminaries, and they surely look down from heaven, lift a glass to him and smile.
Dale and his Lone Stars are not about image; they are all consummately skilled musicians and as hard-working and dependable as the mechanic your father counted on to fix the engine when he finally had to admit he couldn’t. In an average week, Dale and his band easily work more hours making music than most of us fans put in at our jobs. And, even with all that playing, Dale and the band remain modest, gracious and accessible to their audiences. Dale makes it clear there is no shame at all in being from Texas, and makes you glad you decided to come out to listen, and, maybe, to dance.
It’s only a matter of time until a whole new generation of tattooed biker-boys and their hep kittens become fans. Dale’s music will take them to a different time and to places they are too young to remember (and which, truly, don’t even exist anymore). And for those of us who are old enough to remember, it will continue to evoke memories of our childhoods and our wild, beautiful, mis-spent youths. Dale Watson’s music is just the thing for those of us who long ago lost our Faith; it’s like getting one last chance for a final conversation with an elderly, departed loved one about the old days of the original Texas honky-tonks. Dale’s music makes it easy for you take that leap of faith and believe in the goodness of a simple invitation to two-step.
As sidewalk cafés are to Paris, so are Dale Watson and the Lone Stars to Austin. His music creates an atmosphere that is authentic Texas culture, filled with all its love of fun, orneriness, hospitality, tough breaks, hard lived lives, and working for a living. Dale Watson is authentic country not like most of those manufactured country-western singers whose CD’s you can buy right down the road at your local Walmart, filed next to this week’s disposable bands of teenage heartthrobs. Dale is the real deal, and his music will last. It’s only a matter of time before he takes his place among the country music royalty from whom he’s learned his lessons well, and from whom his bloodline clearly descends. Until then, I’ll be occupying a stool in Austin, Texas, feeling happy to be alive because I’m once again fortunate enough to be listening to Dale Watson’s music live, and I’ll be feeling somehow redeemed.
 

Rachel

I have been a fan of yours for sometime now. I just got your latest album and I just had to write you. I'm deeply sorry for your loss. This album proves yet again, that there can be good with the bad. I hope that the road ahead is easier to travel now that you've been able to release your sorrow in words and music. I know that this album will touch the hearts and souls of others, as it has already touched mine. I hope to catch you the next time your in Little Rock, AR. Take Care My Friend & Vaya Con Dios!!

E.Stewart Cheak

Great show in Steninge, Halland, Sweden

November 15

Dale
Thanks for your touring and your recordings!
Your show at Göstas Café was a really great concert and of course im glad
and proud that you played one of my favorite country songs, your own " I wont say goodbye"
An old but true cliché is that country music at its best has the most honest
expression of certain feelings. And im glad to have been able to enjoy
countrymusic at its best at Göstas Café and currently at home with the record player. Im glad i bought your latest album for the same reasons.
I wish you sucess in whatever you decide to do after the tour on all fronts.
Sincerely yours
Ib Nilsson

Songs touch my soul

November  8  2001

DALE,  I JUST BOUGHT EVERY SONG I WRITE. I WAS WASHING MY TRUCK WHEN I PUT IT IN THE CD PLAYER. AFTER THE 3RD TRACK I HAD TO SIT DOWN AND START FROM THE FIRST TRACK. THE SONGS WERE SO HEART FELT , I JUST FROZE.  I DID NOT KNOW OF YOUR PERSONAL LOSS UNTIL I READ THE COVER WHILE SITTING IN THE GARAGE.  YOU SEE I LOST MY WIFE JAN  AND MY 16 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER AMY ONLY 8 MONTHS APART TO THE DAY.  ALL THE SONGS TOUCHED ME TO THE SOUL. YOU WROTE ABOUT THE THINGS THAT I HAVE FELT FOR THE PAST 8 YEARS, THINGS THAT I WISH I COULD HAVE WROTE AND PUT MUSIC TO.  LIKE THEY SAY, YOU DONT KNOW UNTIL YOU HAVE WALKED IN THOSE SHOES.  SO LIKE ELVIS SAID, JUST KEEP ON SINGIN THE SONGS BROTHER. GOD SPEED TO YOU AND YOUR MUSIC.  HOPE TO TALK TO AT THE NEXT SHOW AROUND FT. WORTH.             

GARY.

Your great show

November  3  2001

Just to say that I saw Dale and band at The Maze in Nottingham, England,
earlier this month.  This is a small intimate venue and I went there with a friend - neither of us had heard Dale and the band before, and our expectations were, I guess, fairly low. What a fantastic gig it was !! I am a huge Springsteen fan and have always wondered what it would have been like to see someone of that quality in a small venue, doing what they love to do - Dale and the band were better than that ! They played with great skill, great heart, great humour, they bonded with the audience and held us all spellbound.

I will be looking forward to seeing the band at any future UK dates.

Thanks - and keep going !!

Paul

Dear Dale,

    I write this letter as an expression of my gratitude for teaching me about real country music.
    About four or five years ago I took a trip to Austin to visit my uncle who had recently moved to Texas from Canada.  As a guitar player and a big fan of Texas blues (Albert Collins, Stevie Vaughan, Johnny Copeland...) Austin was high on my list of places to visit.  Over the course of about a week we caught a number of great shows.  One particularly hot summer night we were walking down 6th when my uncle suggested we step into Babe's for cold beer.
The band was between sets when we arrived but the place was packed so we thought we'd stick around to see what this Dale Watson character was all about.
    Now I don't mean to blaspheme but to this point in my life I did not hold country music in very high regard.  In Canada my only exposure to country music was videos of Garth Brooks smashing perfectly good guitars and that great scourge of the western world, line dancing.
    Sitting there that night at the table with my uncle, I had no idea my life was about to be changed.  With the first notes of the first song I felt the hairs on my neck stand up and I got a chill down my spine.  I thought to myself, who is this Dale Watson and what is this music he's playing?  He doesn't look like a cowboy.  He's not wearing a hat and he's got lots of
tattoos.  This certainly doesn't sound like the country music that I am accustomed to.
    Well to make a short story long, I was a different person after that night. Years later my CD collection looks a lot different because of that night. Merle Haggard, George Jones, Guy Clark and many, many others are in regular rotation.
    I remember reading an interview with Keith Richards where he said that he and Mick Jagger never really understood country music until they heard Gram Parsons.  Well the gift that Gram Parsons gave to Mick & Keith was given to
me by Dale Watson.

Thanks Dale, I owe you one.

Dylan Rovere
Victoria, BC, Canada

For making music the way I used to hear it.

I was very much a Daddy's girl growing up, and since Dad liked only country
music, that's what I liked, too -- and when I was little, I didn't think there WAS any other kind of music in the world.  I grew up on Hank Sr. and Jr., Waylon & Willie, Merle and Buck, Charley Pride, Patsy Cline, and Loretta Lynn. 

Somewhere in the late 70's, my Dad turned off country music radio.  He'd
about had it with the new pop sounds that were coming up then, and there was a certain artist or two he just couldn't stand listening anymore.  I lost my Dad in 1986, so he missed a chance to hear that, at least for a real short time, country music "came back," and I spent a few happy years discovering I could listen to the radio again.  Well, you know that didn't last very long!  For the last few years I've been teetering between angry and confused, trying to get radio to listen to me and play music that at least sounded MARGINALLY like country music.  No go.  I wandered around the internet, seeking like minds, and suddenly, I found them.  I "met" someone online who mentioned your name, and gave a high recommendation.  I ordered one of your CDs, and from the first few bars, I knew I found what I'd been looking for!  It's been about a year now, a little less, since I first heard your name, and now I have just about everything you've recorded.
Your music is what a heart aching for real country music is looking for. 

Anyway, I wanted to give you a quick thanks for stickin' to your guns and makin' music that some of us DO want to hear!  We may never triumph where corporate-owned radio is concerned, but believe me, when times come like
we're havin' right now in this country, there's nothing like the sound of real country music, and I think people who're finding you right now will really appreciate it.

Thanks!


Kats

                 "If I can find my mind now, I guess I'll just leave."
                           -- Dwight Yoakam

A word of thanks for just being Dale

August  28  2001

Dale,

Catch you all the time at Ego's on Mondays.  Have only been in Austin for a little over a year, but already have purchased three of your albums and am dreading the day when I can no longer catch you every week due to your massive fame and touring schedule.  All my friends agree that not only are you one of the best country songwriter/performers that we have heard, but
also the raw charisma that you have on stage is amazing.  We wish you all the success in the world, but not too quickly....still love the fact that I can catch a great show any day of the week.  I'm sure soon we will be lamenting the good ol' days when Dale was playing all over Austin instead of all over the world.  It will be bittersweet however as we all want you to be bigger than that Nashville crap and remind people what country music is all about.

Your latest "Every Song I Write is for You" really blew me away.  Although it is a very hard album to listen to (it always takes me back to the sudden and unexpected death of my father which happened 5 years ago when I was much too young to have to think about losing a parent), I find it helps me work through a lot of the pain that I still do carry.  I keep switching between this CD and Merle's new one "If I Could Only Fly".  I figured you of all people would enjoy the fact that not only are you getting equal playtime but equal billing in my collection.

Keep up the good work.  You have many people in your corner rooting for you. My only request would be if you could find some time to bring back "Dale Watson and the Make-ups".  Once I found out about these performances, I was at the Continental Club religiously every Wednesday night for happy hour.  I really felt that it allowed us, the fans, to get a better glimpse into you the artist and person.  I can honestly say that I've never been more impressed with the music scene in Austin as I was with these shows.  Many of my friends lament the fact that we didn't have any recording devices at these shows, many of the songs that were sung we would like to have been able to keep and listen to again and again. 

Keep it up...there are many of us that still burn bright for real country music.  We'll follow you to hell and back as long as there is a good story to tell at the end.

Sincerely,
Scott Francis