JL What’s your favorite song off of this album, or any of your other albums?
TK My favorite song on this album is ‘Tired’. It may be a little too deep to be a single. My favorite song that I’ve written, that’s been a single, is ‘Shoulda Been A Cowboy’. That song set the foundation for me. It was a big #1, and got me off on the right foot. I’ll hopefully have more #1’s, and I’ve had several since, but none felt like the first one.

JL What’s the most memorable moment in your career?
TK Probably that first #1. I was a greenhorn and new to the music business. I don’t think anything can compete with that… especially since it was the first one I put out. Being named Billboard’s new artist in ’93, based on airplay, was pretty cool too!

JL Where did you grow up?
TK I was born and raised in Oklahoma.

JL How old were you when you started singing?
TK My first gig, I was about 17 or 18. But I’d been singing a long time. I got a guitar when I was 8, and started trying to write songs as a teenager.

JL With your schedule how do you find time to write?
TK Right now, I only have time to write about 20-25 songs a year, and that’s really maxing it out.

JL What other artists influenced you the most?
TK Everybody that was a singer/songwriter. And I didn’t realize that until a couple of years ago, when I found some old cassette boxes. Billy Joel, Merle Haggard, Eddie Raven, Jimmy Buffet, I listen to all kinds of music. So to pick one out and say they inspired me more than the others, would be unjust to any one of them.

JL How many years did you work in clubs before you got your record deal?
TK Well, I got my record deal in ’91 and I continued to work in there ‘til the album came out in ’93. So, probably about 8 or 9 years.

JL What are you thinking about, right before you step on stage at a concert?
TK Ah, just that all the equipment’s gonna hold on you. You run through last minute check lists of things that can go wrong. They usually don’t, but once in a great while they do. We’ve been in a couple of tornado’s, and we’ve had the roof of the stage blew off a couple of times. Mother Nature will jump on you sometimes!

JL Is Easy Money your original band?
TK This band’s been together since ’89. It started in high school with 2 or 3 close friends. Each piece has only been changed a couple of times. We try to ‘keep it in the family’.

JL I hear you used to play football?
TK Yeah, I was working in the oil fields right out of high school, and the USFL jumped up and started a league. There was about 12 teams in the league and they played each other for 2 years. It was kinda like minor league football.

JL What position did you play?
TK Defensive End. Semi-pro meant you didn’t get semi-hurt, but you got semi-pay. But it was fun. It got it out of my system.

JL I understand you’ve opened your own restaurant?
TK We’re gonna open 3 or 4 in the Phoenix area, and have plans to do Vegas, LA, and Tucson. Then maybe head east.

JL I know you’re a golfer, any tournaments coming up?
TK We’re putting together a celebrity golf tournament at Oak Tree in Oklahoma City. I’m a member there. It’ll probably be held in the spring, around April.

JL That’ll be a good place for fans to get autographs. What’s the wildest thing a fan ever brought you to autograph?
TK The hood of a pickup truck with a 16 penny nail!

Tim O’Brien, the 1st 3-time #1 Americana artist.

• 8 Boneless Chicken Breasts
• 2 large cans sauerkraut
• 8 slices Swiss cheese
• 1 bottle Thousand Island Dressing

Drain, rinse & squeeze excess liquid from sauerkraut. Place ingredients (in order listed) into baking dish. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 1 hr.