It is very easy–and often false–to think that the past was somehow better than the present. But in terms of country music, the idea carries some weight. Turn on any Top 40 country radio station, and it will be almost impossible to reconcile what you hear with Hank Williams, or Loretta Lynn, or Townes Van Zandt or Willie Nelson. But, even in country’s darkest hours, there have always been musicians who carried the torch. Perhaps no one did it better than Steve Earle. His body of work kept the soul of country music alive even as he ventured into other genres. But, Earle is much more than just a musician. He is a writer of fiction, and he recently published his first novel. He is also an actor, appearing on the HBO series The Wire and Treme. Earle talked to Thriller about this and more.

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When Thriller caught up with Steve Earle, the renowned singer-songwriter-writer-actor had just released a new album and his first novel, both titled I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive, after the Hank Williams’ song. Perhaps he used the title twice because it was particularly meaningful–Earle had just lost his father and uncle, and death was on his mind. During the interview, he spoke in the same way he writes songs–direct, honest, no bullshit–and he opened up about everything from his relationship with Townes Van Zandt to his years of drug abuse.

Words By: Devon Vlasin

Back in a clear patch of an old-growth forest just east of Nashville where the foothills aren’t quite yet mature enough to be called mountains rests a weathered cabin that could easily be mistaken as an offspring of the forest itself. Sitting rigidly in a straight-backed chair cut from the same set of trees as the framework of the old house is a grey old man. He’s using the fleshy part of his arms just above his elbows against the table before him as crutches. There is just enough room . . .