One's enjoyment of Wheeler Walker Jr.'s music all comes down to a matter of perspective. The outlaw country singer who emerged out of nowhere in the 2010s has landed three albums in the Top 20 Albums on the Billboard Country charts with a style that might be best described as Andrew Dice Clay-meets-outlaw country.
The rallying cry for his haters might go something like this: "His music is loud, profane and unserious! Basically all he does is sing about dicks and p—-y! Listening to it makes me want to take a shower."
The rallying cry for his fans might go something like this: "His music is loud, profane and unserious! Basically all he does is sing about dicks and p—-y! Listening to it totally kicks ass!"
The antithesis of the pop country that plays on the radio, Walker is the type of artist who decided to stream the debut of his first album, Redneck Shit, on Pornhub. His dirty songs can be cartoonishly over the top at times, almost seeming like a satirical counterpoint to the generic nature of mainstream country... because it is.
The brainchild of comedian Ben Hoffman, the origin of Walker can be traced to a bit on the performer's 2013 Comedy Central series The Ben Show. In one episode, Hoffman went to a country bar and sang the song "Eatin' P—-, Kickin' Ass." While Hoffman would go on to create more shows like the Netflix animated series Hoops, his country alter ego has become his go-to persona. All five of Walker's albums have either reached No. 1 or No. 2 on the Billboard Comedy charts, including last year's Ram.
Before his unsubtly titled "Spread Eagle Tour" stops at the Knitting Factory on July 10, we caught up with Walker ("not" Hoffman) to chat about his disdain for corporate country music, being inspired by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, and whether certain rappers should also be labeled as comedic artists.
INLANDER: What about the genre of country speaks to you?
WALKER: In the old days what inspired me was the truth. It used to be about the truth. Now it's about making up shit that you don't do. So I go by my original inspiration: Waylon and Willie — they were singing about their lives. That's kind of what drew me to it — I like the no BS of what my heroes used to do.
So do you consider your brand of outlaw country to be sort of positioned in opposition to mainstream pop country more than anything else?
I love rock and roll. I'll start by saying that. I grew up in Kentucky, and I loved rock and roll. But country spoke to me in a way rock and roll didn't because country was people from Kentucky and people from Tennessee — people I knew speaking my truth. So I gravitated more towards country than rock because they were kinda like my buddies. And then [country singers] started getting all poppy and trying to beat Milli Vanilli on the charts. And they started getting real shitty, using these keyboard synthesizers and stupid beats and shit. And it started feeling stupid.
Pop country emerged not out of a movement, but out of record executives trying to make money. No human with a soul will want to listen to that. I don't want to listen to people who are playing music in an attempt to make money.
How do you feel like that rock influence that you grew up on manifests in your brand of country?
It's funny, I was just thinking about this the other day. When you're a kid, you don't want to listen to what your parents listen to. My parents listened to country, and I listened to rock and roll to piss them off. And then I heard Waylon, and I started listening to it... "How the f--- is this different from the rock and roll I like?" To me it sounds no f---ing different. You could easily put [the label] "rock and roll" next to Waylon or you could put it next to Willie. You can put "folk," you could put anything. I think the good artists have no genre, really.
I think in the old days rock was a "go f--- yourself" attitude. I think that those country artists that I named had that. Country was always Hee Haw and family-friendly. And I'm not saying that Waylon and Willie sang about p---- — well they did, but they didn't say it — but you could play it to your punk rock friends, and they wouldn't get pissed off.
Not that your stuff can really be played on the radio, but I feel like you fit in that category where you could play your stuff for certain folks that are like, "I don't listen to any country," and some of them will get a kick out of it.
My attitude was always, "If Waylon was around now, would he be cursing?" Willie doesn't because I just think he's used to it — he's too old and it'd kind of be weird to start doing it now.
But nowadays when there's hip-hop on the radio, it's just nonstop bleeps. I don't know how that is enjoyable to listen to. But I think my attitude was, "What if I was one of these outlaw guys..." — which I wanted to be — "...and I didn't censor myself?"
They had to. I don't have to.
Since you're not someone delivered to folks on country radio, what are the things that draw fans to Wheeler Walker Jr.?
I think in being creative, you've got to find your own lane. I didn't know I was doing that.
All these young new country artists, if you missed the show, there's another guy just like it. You want to see Luke Bryan tonight? "Oh shit, I'm working that night." Well, there's 12 other Luke Bryans. You can see a different one, just slot in the name — they're all the same and got the same songwriters and producers.
You want to say Wheeler? There's one Wheeler. Who's the other guy that does what I do? There ain't nobody.
So my competition... I ain't got no competition.
What do you feel like people get wrong about your music?
Saying the same old shit that he's just dicking around and it's just dirty music. That it's porn show or something. I got the best players in Nashville. It's a kick-ass band, and we put on a hell of a show. Sometimes I just get annoyed that people don't take me seriously as a musician. I get why they don't, but they can also f--- off. Because the fans get it. I've never had issues with the fans.
Everyone would say, "I can do what you do."
OK, motherf-----, do it.
Since you're frustrated people don't take you more seriously, how do you feel about your albums fairing well on the Billboard Comedy charts?
Yeah, I never was a fan of that. I was pissed when it happened. I started yelling at somebody at work for submitting it. And then they said, "It's actually No. 1 on the Billboard Comedy charts." And I go, "Well, if it's a No. 1 album, I'll f---ing take it." After that I stopped complaining about it. I just started saying I'm No. 1 in America. But by that definition, wouldn't any hip-hop album be a comedy album? Isn't Eminem pretty f----ing funny and dirty?
I don't think charts even exist anymore, do they?
I was worried my albums were starting to sound the same. And I was like, "We gotta do something new." I was excited. I was happy that I mixed it up. It kind of put the excitement back into it. And almost all my fan base said, "That's f---ing badass." And quite a few new fans came along and said, "That's f---ing badass."
I was the King of Country, and now I'm the King of Rock and Roll.
I love it. If people don't love it, I'm f---ing broke.♦
Wheeler Walker Jr., Matt Koziol • Wed, July 10 at 8 pm • $35-$145 • 18+ • Knitting Factory • 919 W. Sprague Ave. • sp.knittingfactory.com
