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Interview: Digital Journalist Adrian Peel opens up about new book (Includes interview)

On his new book, the experienced journalist said, “My book looks at the Mexican influence on country music from all over the world such as Nashville, Texas, Bakersfield, Australia and South Africa. I listened to a lot of music for it, read a number of books and websites and interviewed over 130 artists, including Merle Haggard, Jimmy Buffett, Dwight Yoakam, Brooks & Dunn, Randy Travis, Johnny Rodriguez, Marty Stuart, John Arthur Martinez, Artie Rodriguez, Lucinda Williams and Jessi Colter.

Regarding his inspiration to write the book, he said, “The idea came about because I realized that not only have Mexican themes regularly found their way into songs by some of country music’s biggest names (‘Seashores of Old Mexico,’ ‘I Got Mexico,’ ‘Pancho & Lefty,’ ‘Margaritaville,’ ‘Riding My Thumb to Mexico,’ ‘That’s Why God Made Mexico,’ ‘Beer in Mexico,’ ‘Don’t Drink the Water’ and ‘Knee Deep’), but also Mexican-sounding instrumentation has constantly been used in country songs over the years. Two famous examples of this would be the mariachi trumpets on Johnny Cash’s ‘Ring of Fire’ and the accordion (courtesy of Flaco Jimenez) on the Dwight Yoakam/Buck Owens duet, ‘The Streets of Bakersfield.’ I was inspired to write it because, as far as I know, no-one had ever written a book on this subject before.”

Peel is drawn to the country genre of music due to its “subject matter.” “Not so much the ‘drinking beer in my truck while parked on a dirt road,’ bro-country variety, but more the reflective, deep-thinking type of country songs, of which some artists around today are doing, and doing very well (I do love more traditional-sounding, good-time country songs too). I also love the southern twang in the voices, the fiddle and the steel guitar,” he said.

He noted that he does not have any concrete plans for the future. “I might like to go back to university and study something different, and I’d also love to write a novel, a TV sitcom and have my own radio show. As far as plans for another book, I’ve already started work on one about the BBC television series, ‘Bottom,’ my own personal tribute to the late, great Rik Mayall,” he said.

For aspiring authors and journalists, Peel shared the following quote by a friend of his. “A friend of mine always says, ‘If you want to be a writer, go and write and if you’re good at it, someone will pick up on it,’ and I think that’s probably the best advice I can give. Nowadays, with the Internet and everything, there are far more opportunities to get your work out there. Try not to be put off by rejections, negative comments and by publicists and managers not replying to emails or telephone calls (some will reply). If you’re hoping to publish a book, first try and look into doing it yourself,” he concluded.

For more information on Adrian Peel’s new book, check it out by clicking here.

Markos Papadatos
Written By

Markos Papadatos is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for Music News. Papadatos is a Greek-American journalist and educator that has authored over 20,000 original articles over the past 18 years. He has interviewed some of the biggest names in music, entertainment, lifestyle, magic, and sports. He is a 16-time "Best of Long Island" winner, where for three consecutive years (2020, 2021, and 2022), he was honored as the "Best Long Island Personality" in Arts & Entertainment, an honor that has gone to Billy Joel six times.

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