Next project

I've made mention of my next project here and there, but I've yet to go into much detail. Mainly that's because I haven't had a contract in hand, and being the pessimist I am, I kinda figured it'd fall through somehow. But I signed off on my part yesterday and mailed it out, so it's official. As of sometime early next year, I'll be listed as the "with guy" alongside Charlie Louvin, for a book called something like Satan Is Real: The True Story of the Louvin Brothers. As the title suggests, the book mainly covers Charlie's  tumultuous time with Ira, but not exclusively.

I'm still not entirely sure how the project came about, if you want the truth. My agent — and, man, I can't say enough good things about Mr. Gary Heidt of Signature Literary Agency — called me up last July saying that he'd been pinged looking for a writer for a project about a bluegrass artist. I didn't know who the bluegrass artist was, but it sounded like something worth checking out, so I put together some excerpts from Pike and sent 'em off. Lo and behold, within a couple of days I was on the phone with Neil Strauss and Anthony Bozza, who run Igniter Books.

Obviously, when I heard this project was Charlie Louvin's memoirs, I was thrilled. I first heard the Louvin Brothers through Emmylou Harris, with whom I've been in love my whole life, pretty much. I remember mooning over her album covers at five years old. (I'm not too proud to say that I still do, now and then.) And the list of artists who've been influenced by the Louvin Brothers includes just about everyone I listen to, from the country and western folks, to Graham Parsons, Wilco, Will Oldham, and Nick Cave.

And then there's the Louvin Brothers themselves, who are like some spectral reminder of the fragility of life. As Emmylou Harris herself put it, "there was something scary and washed in the blood about the sound of the Louvin Brothers." This is exactly the music I love, and getting to sit with Charlie Louvin and talk about the origins of it has been a dream come true for me. Not to mention getting to hear first-hand stories of his dealings with Roy Acuff, Johnny Cash, George Jones, Waylon Jennings, and Willie Nelson. Say what you will, I put these songs up there with Melville and Faulkner. This is the poetry of the rural working class, and when all the Harvard and Yale scribblers in the country have turned into dust, I'm of the opinion these songs will still be around.

Anyway, in case you can't tell, I'm pretty excited with the project. Having it drop in my lap has been one of the greatest gifts I've ever been given. The folks at Igniter are just wonderful to work with — laid back and brilliant and everything you'd want — and Charlie and his family have been incredibly generous.

And anybody who knows anything about the story of Charlie and Ira Louvin, knows it's a hell of a story. Just perfectly the kind of story that plays to every one of my interests. I'm just hoping whatever I've brought to the table helps it be told in some way.