Four questions with Shooter Jennings

By Josh Bell

Thursday, May 29, 2008 | midnight

Were you a Charlie Daniels fan growing up?

Yeah, I’m a fan of his. I got into him later, not when I was growing up, but I’ve been a fan of a lot of his songs. I actually met him for the first time onstage at the first Volunteer Jam show, because at the end he calls everybody up, and that was the first time I met him. He was like, “I can’t believe we’re meeting like this.” I was like, “Yeah, well, here I am.”

Does being in that middle ground between country and rock make it tough for you to break into the mainstream of either genre?

With country for sure. I think I get a good reception with the rock people to some degree. But country radio and stuff are real hard on us. I’m at the point where I don’t even try to please them at any point, because they won’t play us. But it’s a tough position to be in. When you’re breaking ground, it’s different. You’ve gotta put up a fight. If you made a choice to be artistically in control, that’s a life choice, to just do what you want to do

A lot of children of famous musicians seem to try to distance themselves from their parents, but you reference your dad [Waylon Jennings] often in your songs. Do you worry about existing in his shadow?

It’s a pretty comfortable shadow to be in, so it doesn’t really bother me too much. It also is important because I respect him, and I respect his music and learned very much from it. So for me it’s something that I embrace, and I’m proud of it. There’s nothing that anybody could do that would make me unhappy about that.

Taking your daughter on tour with you now, does it remind you of when you were little on tour with your parents?

It's just funny that she's living it the same way I did. It's like I'll have somebody to talk to about it.

Volunteer Jam with Charlie Daniels Band, 38 Special. May 31, 8 p.m., $35-$65. Orleans Arena, 284-7777. Buy tickets.