Willie Nelson "Just Breathe"

Lukas Nelson came to the mvyradio studios last summer, ahead of a show on the Island.

I had made sure to do my homework, to read up on him, know a little about his music.  But beyond getting the facts, I try to read articles about people I'll soon be interviewing, to get a sense of what kind of interviewee they might be.

Often you can learn if they are open or reticent, overly mannered or uncontrollably free-wheeling.  And you can often spot what questions they don't like, or won't answer.

That's especially good to know when you get to the somewhat touchy subject of family.

If you are the relative of a famous person, then yeah, it must be really f-n irritating that every interview has to include questions about your famous parent/sibling.  You are you.  You don't want your art or yourself defined via someone else.

Reading some interviews with Lukas, it seemed like he had a pretty good handle on being "Willie Nelson's son."  He didn't bristle at Willie questions, and he didn't brush them off.  He seemed to accept the fact that they were going to be asked as a matter of course.

So I was free to ask, if I wanted to.

On the other hand, how relevant is the question, "What's it like to be Willie Nelson's son?"  Answer:  No more relevant than "What's it like to be Paul Finn's son?" in relation to my line of work.

I figured I wouldn't ask, but it was safe to approach the subject if it came up organically.

Long story short, Lukas was a super sweet guy.  He did a couple of great live/acoustic tracks on the air with me.  And the conversation never really got near his father . . .

Until right at then end.

I asked him about when he learned to play guitar, he started talking about how his dad got him started.

Then there was a pause---a moment when he knew where the conversation would be going next, and maybe just a hint of  "damn, I almost got through the whole interview without being asked."

As expected, he was gracious in talking about his father and I was respectful in keeping the focus on Lukas for the rest of the interview.

If you haven't heard Willie and Lukas do this beautiful Pearl Jam cover, or heard how much the Nelsons sound alike, give it a listen.


Hear the song on Youtube.