Like many recording stars, singer-songwriter Dwight Yoakam bemoans the Internet’s effect on the music business.
Unlike many of his peers, Yoakam’s major concern is not with the stealing of music. He believes the Internet cheats people out of one of the joys of being a music fan: visiting a record store.
“I do think there is something lost in the experience of exploring the physical element in front of you,” Yoakam said. “The same is true of DVDs. You may come upon something you didn’t plan to see or hear.”
Internet shopping, along with the limited number of major labels, makes it harder for new artists to reach the public, said Yoakam, who plays the Paramount Theatre on Wednesday.
As a youngster, he enjoyed going to music shops and flipping through bins of albums looking at their covers.
“I don’t know how many albums I bought just because a cover looked interesting,” Yoakam said. “They acted as billboards and presented themselves in a unique way. I would look at it and read it.”
Still, it’s Yoakam’s music – hard-edged country that honors the past while embracing the now – that brings fans to his shows. Since 1986’s “Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.” through such mid-1990s triumphs as “This Time,” Yoakam consistently has been one of country music’s most interesting performers.
He even has carved out a strong film career, with notable appearances in “Sling Blade” and “Panic Room.”
There’s also a moody, cinematic quality to Yoakam’s album graphics, inspired by covers from decades past.
Much has changed because of the incredible shrinking-CD phenomenon. Back in the vinyl days, album covers – particularly the gatefold style – offered artists a chance to create riveting designs. No more. Still, Yoakam tries to bring a vinyl mentality to his CD covers and insists that the liner notes use an easy-to-read typeface.
His new album, “Blame the Vain,” features a pensive-looking Yoakam sitting on the steps of a pink hotel, with his luggage, including a guitar case, strewn in front of him.
“Blame the Vain” is the first of his 15 studio albums that lists Yoakam as producer.
“It was a great experience for me,” Yoakam said of producing the album. “It was a joyful experience, and I’m happy to be happy with it.”
He said he is unsure how much self-producing lies in the future. “But it worked for this one,” he said.
His longtime lead guitarist, virtuoso Pete Anderson, produced most of Yoakam’s studio works. Together they mastered Yoakam’s unique blend of the Bakersfield sound – pioneered by country icon Buck Owens – with traditional country, hillbilly and country rock.
The two parted ways after the release of dwightyoakam acoustic.net and the extended “Almost Alone Tour” tour that followed. Guitarist Keith Gattis joined Yoakam on that tour and remains with him.
Gattis may not quite be in Anderson’s class, but his work alone makes “Blame the Vain” worth the price of admission.
Yoakam said he produced the album with an eye toward judiciousness but at the same time injected a bit of recklessness.
Busy as he is with touring and recording, Yoakam has kept his face on the silver screen.
He appears in “Bandidas,” which stars Salma Hayek and Penélope Cruz. The comedic Western, scheduled for release late this year or early in 2006, is set in the 1880s. At first separated by class bitterness, Hayek’s and Cruz’s characters become friends and then Robin Hood-esque bank robbers.
Yoakam also appears in “The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada.” This film marks the feature directorial debut of Tommy Lee Jones, who also stars in it.
“Three Burials” took two awards at this year’s Cannes International Film Festival. Jones won for best actor; Guillermo Arriaga won best screenplay.
It is due to be released late in the fall, making it eligible for this year’s Oscar. The buzz among film critics ranks it as an early contender for several major awards: actor, director, cinematographer, picture and screenplay.
Yoakam said appearing in Jones’ film is the highlight of his acting career.”I’ll always cherish it,” he said.
Less prestigious but a whole lot of fun was a cameo appearance in “Wedding Crashers,” one of the summer’s hit movies.
“Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson are both good friends of mine,” Yoakam said. “They asked me to make a little appearance, so I did. It was a lot of fun.”
Staff writer Ed Will can be reached at 303-820-1694 or ewill@denverpost.com.
Dwight Yoakam
COUNTRY MUSIC |ParamountTheatre, 1621 Glenarm Place, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday|$30-$45|303-830-8497 or ticketmaster.com
