Country-rocker Steve Earle is a serious multitasker.
EW caught up with Earle on his tour bus.
After the jump, our full interview.
EW: So youve re-upped for a second year on Sirius.
Was that a tough decision with everything you have going on?
SE: Well, you know I started on Air America, so I have a fondness for radio.
I wasnt being heard!
She kept her word and I havent!
But she wasnt on the weekends!
EW: What do you think of her TV show?
SE: Trust me, everyone who knew Rachel back then is very, very proud of her.
I watch her every night.
EW: I have to admit, I didnt realize that you had a show on Air America.
SE: Because it was on the fin weekends!
So I moved over to Sirius.
I really love doing the Sirius show, and I program my show myself.
When Im home in New York, I do it in the studio.
Next week is music inspired by hard economic times.
EW: So do you hang out with the other Sirius hosts, like Howard Stern and Bob Dylan?
SE: Not Howard Stern.
I hang out with [the Dictators] Handsome Dick Manitoba.
Weve been friends for a long time.
Hes on Underground Garage.
EW: Congratulations on your first top 20Billboarddebut.
SE: Thanks, thanks, its a big gift from Townes.
Its a humbling experience for a singer-songwriter, to record someone elses great songs.
And I need a humbling experience every fin once in a while.
EW: I thought youd already had a few!
[Earles colorful past includes six divorces and a mid-90s drug-and-firearms related jail stint.
Hes been sober for years.]
SE: I havebut the hits just keep comin!
EW: So are you doing any more acting, now thatThe Wireis over?
I was floored to see you on30 Rockrecently, singing alongside Elvis Costello and Mary J. Blige.
It stars Edward Norton and Susan Sarandon and Richard Dreyfuss, and Im in it as a drug dealer.
Its my first bad guy.
Its the exact opposite of my character onThe Wire.
EW: Was acting something you always wanted to do?
SE: Nah, it was David Simons idea for me to be an actorit goes back toThe Wire.
Id never done it before.
I mean, I love theater.
I go all the time.
Its one of the reasons I moved to New York.
But I understand that I have limited range as an actor.
I can only play people who talk like me.
[laughs]
EW: Have the acting gigs increased since you moved to New York City?
But its certainly easier to get jobs now that Ive moved to New York.
And I have the one credit that all New York actors have on their resume:Law and Order.
EW: Is your wife [singer-songwriter Allison Moorer] on tour with you right now?
SE: Not this time.
And its hard not having her along.
Look at1turtledove.blogspot.com shes designed eco-friendly, high-fashion clothing.
SE: I dont know when it will happen, but its been on the list for a while.
And now its a drag, cause I play that song and she doesnt come out.
I got close to cutting it from the set because it bums me out that shes not there.
EW: I know you published a collection of short stories,Doghouse Roses.
Youre also working on another book, right?
And my next record will be my own songs.
I keep working because Im so proud to have work, because not everyone does.
