"It Doesn’t Even Matter If I Get Paid Or Not"

There are plenty of artists out there travelling under the roots/Americana banner.

But, not many of them make the kind of records you can imagine the pioneers of rock’n’roll – Carl Perkins, Hank Williams, even Presley himself – would have made themselves. Texan through and through, that’s exactly what you get from Wayne Hancock.

“Elvis would’a liked it ‘cause he was in the Army,” Hancock laughs as he chats about his most recent album, 2013’s Ride. Hancock served four years as a US Marine, shipping out for training literally straight from winning a talent contest when he was 18. “This kinda music just makes me feel good, ya know? Like most people who enjoy doin’ what they do, I enjoy it to the point where sometimes it doesn’t even matter if I get paid or not, even now – it’s that enjoyable. Whenever I’m feelin’ down, all I gotta do is just go play a show and I’m on cloud nine for the next week.

“Music’s better than the pay-out half the time! I’m about due to cut another album…” At this point Hancock starts to laugh uncontrollably. “I ran a tour this last month and boy, I took a bath! When I left, I had money in my account, when I got back I didn’t have nuthin’. So obviously music is worth it – it’s fun. I probably started in ’91 or ’92 and I was playin’ for tips. The club at that time they’d pay $150, just a dive of a place to play, and one day I took home $350 and that was more than I made in a week and I quit ma job the next day.”

It sounds like Hancock has just as much fun in the studio with his five-piece – economics demand his trip to Australia is in three-piece mode – but it’s all there in the music anyway, with its heady mix of honky-tonk, Western swing and Texas rockabilly.

“I can write some real doozies, songs that’ll make you go out and slit your wrists, but that don’t do nobody no good and don’t do me any good – makes you just feel terrible when you hear ‘em. You wanna feel bad? Turn on the news! Watch TV.” More laughter. “I broke ma… I’m gonna get rid of ma TV, man. Our TV over here? It sucks over here in the United States, man. I don’t even know why I watch it.”

Hancock’s forthcoming visit to Australia will be his third, but his connection to this country could have been a whole lot different.

“Ma father and ma uncle stopped over in Australia durin’ World War II, and y’all had somethin’ happen in the ‘60s and ma father wrote a letter to your government volunteerin’ his services basically, and they wrote back sayin’ how they appreciated it but they had it covered! I thought that was really cool. Ma dad always says I was just one letter away from bein’ born in Melbourne.” At which point, well, more laughter.