Cigar Weekly

Aug. 27 (Bloomberg) -- ``I haven't written a song in 25 years, probably,'' Kinky Friedman said. ``I just kind of rotate the crop, change the audience.''

The satirist, singer and onetime Texas gubernatorial candidate is dusting off those oldies for his first U.S. tour in at least 15 years, opening tomorrow in Alexandria, Virginia.

Earlier this spring, his band played mostly sold-out shows in 18 European cities in 21 days. The short U.S. tour stops at four venues on the East Coast through Labor Day.

``I did it to see if I can do it at my advanced age of 63 years, which is too young for Medicare and too old for women to care,'' the never-married Friedman said in a telephone interview from his Echo Hill Ranch near Kerrville, Texas.

Richard ``Kinky'' Friedman, along with Little Jewford (Jeff Shelby) and Washington Ratso (Jimmie Silman) will play country tunes with titles such as ``They Ain't Making Jews Like Jesus Anymore'' and ``Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in the Bed.''

``The show in general is pretty lighthearted,'' said Friedman, who started Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys in 1973. ``I mean, I can't really believe I'm doing this. The inspiration to me is people like Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan who are older than I am and keep going.''

He said the band doesn't rehearse.

``Something is really clicking with the three of us right now,'' he said. He described Silman as a ``terrific bluegrass guitar picker'' and Shelby as ``a Jew, and he drives a Ford.'' He also plays keyboard, melodica and kazoo.

Europeans Love Cowboys

Friedman, who is never without his Stetson, said he enjoyed fans' reactions in Europe.

``The Europeans are very much in love with cowboys and Indians and everything else that made America great,'' he said.

Friedman humorously dispenses his philosophy on topics ranging from cigar smoking (he loves it) to gambling (he loves that, too) to his support of no-kill animal shelters. He recalled a recent cigar convention in Las Vegas in which several thousand men ``wanted a picture with Kinky. That was nice. I'm available.''

Friedman ran unsuccessfully for Texas governor in 2006 as an independent. He said if he runs again it will be as a Democrat, focusing on important issues such as the state's death penalty.

No Whacking Innocents

``No politician will touch it here,'' he said. ``They think it's political suicide, but I personally think that an appeal to the Christians of Texas would work. You can't be a Christian and be whacking somebody every two weeks. And God knows if some of them are innocent or not.''

For Friedman, politics infuses everything. His tour opens on the last day of the Democratic National Convention and closes in New York on Monday, the Republicans' opening day.

``I just think all this crosses into politics, whether it's cigars or animal rescue or music,'' he said.

He said he tries to give back as much as possible to ``people and animals and slot machines.''

``My dream, what I'd like to be when I grow up, is a Wal- Mart greeter,'' he said. ``Somebody who comes up to you and says, `How can I help ya?'''

Kinky Friedman plays tomorrow at the Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia; +1-703-549-7500; http://www.birchmere.com. Other venues include the Midnight Ramble in West Hurley, New York, on Aug. 30; http://www.levonhelm.com/midnight_ramble.htm; the World Cafe Live in Philadelphia on Aug. 31; +1-215-222-1400; http://www.worldcafelive.com. The last stop is at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in New York on Sept. 1; +1-212-997-4144; http://www.bbkingblues.com.

To contact the writer of this story: Catherine Smith in New York at c.smith@bloomberg.net.