Jason Isbell talks Alabama politics, name-checks Nick Saban and more – AL.com

You just never know when Crimson Tide football is going to come up in conversation. For proof, we offer this interview with Jason Isbell, an Alabama native and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter.

Isbell, 41, performed a March 3 concert at the Lyric Theatre in Birmingham, helping U.S. Sen. Doug Jones to court voters and raise money for the Doug Jones for Senate campaign. Jones, a Democrat, is aiming to keep his seat in November, when he’ll face a Republican challenger in this heavily red state.

AL.com had an opportunity to chat with Isbell backstage before the show, asking questions about his support for Jones and his views on Alabama politics. During that 20-minute interview, the musician’s train of thought took a slight detour and — just like that — a theory espoused by Nick Saban entered the discussion.

Yep, Isbell mentioned The Process, Saban’s famed coaching strategy at the University of Alabama. To see how Isbell connects it to Jones and his campaign, read our Q&A with the musician, below.

Q: Why did you want to perform at this campaign event for Sen. Doug Jones?

A: I think Doug is a good person, and I think he makes decisions based on what he believes to be right and wrong, and not his own self-interest. I’m proud that he’s representing my family and my friends in Alabama, and I’d like to see him keep the seat, if at all possible.

Q: What is it, specifically, about Doug Jones that make you want to support him?

A: I feel like Doug has a long history of doing the right thing when it’s not necessarily the most popular thing. And he proved that with the (presidential) impeachment vote most recently, being the only vote for impeachment anywhere in the Southeast. After that I sent him an email, just thanking him for standing up for what he thought was right, despite the fact that that vote was probably not going to go his way. He did it anyway. And it may have helped him politically to vote against impeachment, and I think he knew that as well as anybody, but he still did what he thought was the right thing.

That’s really all it kind of takes for me, you know, even if it’s somebody from the other side of the aisle, a conservative politician, I have respect for people who do what they think is right, and not what they think will benefit them. Doug has continued to make those kinds of decisions, so I’ll continue to support him.

Q: In this particular context — a Democrat with a vulnerable senate seat — would you support any Democrat in your home state?

A: I can’t say I would support any Democrat, because there definitely have been some Democrats in the past five or six years that I didn’t too much care for, policy-wise. But, more often than not, the people I support are Democrats. I consider myself to be a Democrat, but not at all costs. You know, I try to go with the best person for the job, and I definitely feel like Doug will be that. I don’t think the GOP is going to find somebody to run against Doug that I agree with. It would be a long shot. If they do that, then maybe I’ll reconsider, but the odds of that are pretty low.

Q: How closely do you follow politics and government in your home state?

A: As closely as I can without reaching the point of emotional diminishing returns. I think that’s the trick for me. And that’s always been the case. I remember when I was working at Walmart in Florence in 1996, maybe, and I met a guy there who was campaigning for himself out in the parking lot, and started asking him some questions. And he was a Republican who never won; he never got elected.

But I remember being a teenager and feeling a spark of interest in politics in Alabama, and trying to keep up as much as I can since then. I have the time to keep up, but you know, patience — I think I develop more patience as I get older, so that helps a lot.

The political climate in Alabama, just like everywhere else in the country right now, is one that can drag you down if you’re not careful. If you get too frustrated, you’re not helping anymore. So I try to find that line.

Q: There are people who say, “Why are you even bothering to vote in the Democratic primary for president? It won’t matter in the long run, because the state’s going to go Republican.” What would you say to those folks?

A: You know, none of this matters. I mean, anybody who’s convincing themselves that their lives make any kind of difference to the universe is wrong. It’s just: How far out do you want to take the screen? How big do you want to make the frame here? It matters to me whether I vote or not, because I feel like I’m doing the right thing when I vote. Is it going to change the course of the universe? No. But there are some people out there who don’t have the option of ignoring politics.

The reason that I try to make my voice heard, and try to stay involved, is not for me. I’m gonna be fine, you know. I have a very privileged life and I’m fortunate to do something that I love for a living, and I have a lot of friends who are in relatively good health, and I’m going to be fine, for the most part.

But that’s not why I vote, and try to stay active. I do it for the people who, you know, politics is as much a part of their lives as getting up and putting their pants on and going to work in the morning. Because the more of your problems that get solved on your behalf, the less you have to worry about politics. To say that your votes don’t count, or your positions don’t matter, or to say politicians don’t care about everyday, average Americans, is a privilege, whether you realize it or not. Because there are people who need health care. There are a lot of those people. There are people who need school lunches. There are people who can’t afford to feed their kids, and not necessarily because of any decisions they’ve made. Sometimes it happens that way. So I try to keep those people in mind when I find myself tempted to not care.

Q: What do you think is the most important issue facing Alabamians today?

A: That’s a tough question. If I had to go with No. 1, I would probably … I mean, I think it’s still poverty. Because all of the other issues kind of get folded in to that, you know, and the people who aren’t suffering from poverty don’t have to suffer so much from all the other issues. I think if we can find a way to take care of the least of us, then we would be much better off as a state.

Q: How can Doug Jones impact that issue?

A: I think Doug stays aware of people who aren’t in the same position that he’s in. I think the most important thing for a politician in his place to do, or a representative in his place, is to make decisions based on people who are different from you. And I see that more often in the Democratic party. I definitely see it with Doug. I think Doug stands up for folks who don’t have as much as he does, just simply put, and I don’t think there’s anything that can help Alabama more than that.

Q: There are naysayers who say Doug Jones can’t hold onto that Senate seat in a heavily Republican state. What would you say to those people?

A: Well, you know, somebody else’s prediction doesn’t affect whether I do the right thing. And that’s basically it. My behavior is not based on perceived results. I try to base my behavior on process. Honestly, if you want, we can quote Nick Saban, the coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide, on the importance of process over the importance of results. Usually, if you’re arguing with somebody in our fine state about process versus results, and you bring up Nick Saban, you’ll win that argument, unless they’re Auburn fans.

Q: You have a platform to share your views, and people are wondering: Should I vote for Doug Jones? Not today on Super Tuesday, of course, but in November …

A: Yeah. Don’t vote for Doug today. Vote your heart, but don’t vote for Doug. Don’t go that far with it.

Q: What would you say to the people who are wondering, why should I, in November, vote for this guy?

A: I think Doug cares more for the people of Alabama than he does for himself. And there’s a lot of evidence of that, if you want to go back and look at his record, I think it becomes obvious that he’s not in it for his own personal gain. He’s in it to represent the people of Alabama. And I don’t think that will be true of his opponent. I just don’t. I might be wrong, but I think his opponent will likely prove to be somebody who’s a little more self-serving. And I think there’ll be evidence that points to that.

Q: What does an event like this concert do to help Doug Jones?

A: I don’t know. Maybe it raises some money for his campaign. It helps me go to sleep at night, because I feel like I’m not just sitting around in my bubble enjoying the fruits of my success. And it helps me reconnect with people from Alabama, and be in a room full of folks that are similar to me in a lot of ways. You know, when I played a show in Huntsville during Doug’s last campaign, it struck me when I was up there on stage. It was really moving for me.

Because, growing up in north Alabama, I sort of gravitated toward people who had similar beliefs, as we do, especially when we’re teenagers. Those people were like oases sometimes, in a desert of the other. To be in a room surrounded by a large group of folks from Alabama who agreed with me on a lot of issues, and just on basic human rights issues, it felt really good, and it moved me.

Q: Are you tailoring the songs you’ll perform tonight for the event?

A: Oh, yeah, I’ll try to play songs that line up with the reason we’re here. And I think I have quite a few of those — you know, not necessarily some of the more politically motivated songs, but some of the more humanist songs that I have, I’ll try to bring out. I don’t think I’m going to make a setlist. I think I’ll get up there and play what I feel like playing. But I’ll definitely tailor it to the purpose of the event.

Q: What do you do, at a show like this one, when people are yelling, “Hey, Jason! We love you, man!”

A: Well, you smile and be happy they’re not throwing tomatoes. That’s way better than getting shot at an event like this. I’ll be happy if people are yelling that they love me. … You know, you always have a few people who are just really, really, really excited, and it’s easy to get frustrated if you’re not grateful enough. But in fact, those people are excited to be in a room with you, listening to you play your songs. So it could be a whole lot worse. And then, beyond that, you just trust the security at the event.

But you know, I have good crowds. They don’t get into a lot of fights; they don’t disrespect each other too much. They’re actually really good listeners. I think it comes from writing songs that you sort of have to pay attention to. It’s hard to get too worked up if you’re crying about some sad song that I’m singing.

Q: Anything else you want to say? Is there something we haven’t covered that you want to add?

A: I will say this. Some people give me a hard time for what they call mixing music and politics. But that doesn’t even seem like what I’m doing, you know. I sing about the things that I believe and that are important to me, and I try really hard to write songs that aren’t just surface songs that are really about my experience, and hopefully other people’s experience, too. Your political beliefs and your personal beliefs are going to find their way into those songs. I think the harder thing would be to try to write the kind of songs that I write, and leave that stuff out. And I think that would be disservice, because the songs are supposed to reflect who I am, and for that to happen, I have to talk about what’s on my mind. So I’m going to continue to do that.

Q: You live in Tennessee now, so we assume you vote there. Do you remember how long ago you stopped voting in Alabama?

A: Yes, it was eight years ago, because I moved up to Tennessee eight years ago. It was pretty important to start voting in Tennessee at that particular time. But I remember wanting to vote long before I was old enough to vote. I guess that’s probably a good thing, though — it was a good thing that I wasn’t old enough to vote yet.

Q: Was that a family thing?

A: No, my family never got really active in politics. I was a loud, nerdy teenager and, you know, they’re normally very opinionated. My opinions have changed a great deal from those days to now, you know. But the volume at which I express them hasn’t changed.

Q: People do take your comments to heart. You’ll say something on social media — say, about women in country music — and get 100 responses. They might not all agree with you, but they care about what you’re saying.

A: Most of them agree, for the most part, or at least they’re respectful when they disagree. But I try not to put it in a way that is preachy or order people around. I just try to come from my own experience and tell people what has worked for me. And I think, for the most part, people believe that if I’m speaking to them, it is in good faith. And I’m not trying to trick anybody.

That’s a pretty important part of my moral and ethical code. You know: Don’t pretend to be confused, in order to trick the people who may actually be confused. I think that’s a big problem with some politicians and pundits that we have nowadays, is they pretend that they don’t understand exactly what’s going on, so hopefully they can bring you along with them to the side where they rob you blind. And I try not to do that.

Q: Your thoughts and ideas about the world and the impact you want to make on it … have they changed since you’re a dad? Did being a dad make a difference?

A: It motivated me. I don’t necessarily think it changed anything about what I thought was right or wrong, but it gave me a lot more joy and a lot more awareness. And I think those two things always make for a better life. I think the road to enlightenment is really noticing as many things as possible. When you’ve got a small child with you, you wind up noticing things that you didn’t before. You know, things that you take for granted. And I think the less you take for granted, the happier you are, and probably the more functional and beneficial to other people you can be.

Plus, with a child, you don’t have a new purpose, but you have more of a motivation, I think, to accomplish your goals, whatever your goals might be. You want to work harder. And you want to be better. It’s not, to me, about leaving a legacy behind as much as it’s preparing her for the world and, if at all possible, preparing the world for her.

Q: So, if you were raising a daughter in our state … Women’s issues are tough in Alabama.

A: Women’s issues are tough all over the place, and I still think we haven’t gotten to the point to where people are just treated equally across the board. I think it’s pretty obvious, you know, and if you think that we have, you’re not really paying attention. Women are still treated as second-class citizens, and still ordered around in a way that men would never be ordered around, and expected to do certain things that men won’t do, and expected to be accountable for things that aren’t their fault. And, you know, it’s systematic. It was set up that way, intentionally, from the start, so that people who had power could hold onto it.

For me, when I see a place that might need more help, with issues of equality, it seems like maybe that’s where I’m supposed to be helping. You know, rather than “That’s a losing battle.” The worse off a place is, the more they might need my help or somebody else’s help. So that’s sort of where I aim.

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