JOHN COUGAR: KWIK KWOTES!
Maybe you first discovered John Cougar Mellencamp with his “Jack And Diane” and “Hurts So Good” hits of a few years ago. Or perhaps he first grabbed you with “Crumblin’ Down,” “Pink Houses” or “The Authority Song” from his wonderful Uh-Huh LP.
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JOHN COUGAR: KWIK KWOTES!
Maybe you first discovered John Cougar Mellencamp with his “Jack And Diane” and “Hurts So Good” hits of a few years ago. Or perhaps he first grabbed you with “Crumblin’
Down,” “Pink Houses” or “The Authority Song” from his wonderful Uh-Huh LP.
Or maybe you were introduced to John this year with “Lonely 01’ Night” or “Small Town” from his new Scarecrow LP constantly on the radio.
Actually, John has been making music for well over a decade now. He’s the definitive example of a small town kid who grew up loving rock ’n’ roll, remained true to his roots, and has finally achieved great success on his own terms. John was in the spotlight this past September when, along with Willie Nelson and Neil Young, he helped organize the Farm Aid concert to benefit the small American family farmer.
He released Scarecrow at the same time, and soon had critics and fans alike acclaiming it his “masterpiece.”
John is currently on tour with his fabulous band, so keep your eyes open. He may be coming to your town in the very near future— and a John Cougar Mellencamp show is one you’d be most unfortunate to miss.
ROCK-SHOTS was recently lucky enough to hobnob with John at his beautiful new studio in Bloomington, Indiana, during which time he told us about Scarecrow, the tour and just John Cougar Mellencamp in general!
“Hopefully, I’m connecting with a lot of people and helping them to feel good about themselves. ”
“I feel obligated to the fans to tour. Thot’i the only reason I do itj because it’s not like I need the money— or that I like going to, say, Augusta, Georgia I do it because of thei and if they don’t S/IOKI up, then I ain’t going \ to do it anymore. ”
“There’s more of me on Scarecrow, personally, than there | ever has been. And I cared more about this \ record than I ever cared about any of my records. ”
“I probably should have been more show\ biz oriented when I started out and tried I cultivate an image. It \
would have made things easier. But I’ve alway been just what I’ve been, sorta like Popeye—ar that’s constantly changing.”
“One reviewer said 7 can’t believe this Mellencamp guy is so serious now. He’s even wearing glasses on the cover. ’ Well, I can hardM believe it either, but, sorry, that’s the way it is.l
“I wrote a song called ‘Stand For Something] on Scarecrow, but I never did say what you should stand for—except your own truth. I thinJ that’s the key to the whole record—coming to terms with your own truth. ”
“I didn’t want to make Farm Aid a show p rich people. There was such a community then\ It was really like what the ’60s pretended to be | for that one day. ”
“I’m still struggling. I can’t think that Scarecrow lived up to any type of promise. I stl wanna do better and do more for other people.
