Still crazy after all these years

When it comes to enlisting the services of an ally in the fight for a cause, they don’t come with a finer pedigree than Kris Kristofferson. Not only is the singer-songwriter one of the most respected practitioners of country music, he also has a legacy of social activism few can rival. No matter whether he is sculpting a song or standing up for a belief, Kristofferson is always one to jump in heart-first. And while the latter might have soured his creative undertakings with some of his hardcore constituents, his dedication and belief have always solicited their respect. Not only because the Oxford scholar turned his back on a professorship at West Point to pursue music, but also because of the creative catalog he subsequently amassed. He has released more than 20 albums, and his songs have been covered by everyone from Willie Nelson to Patty Griffin. On Friday, May 30, Kristofferson returns to the Ventura Theater to help provide housing for local farm workers. It’s safe to say that with Kristofferson in the room, change is on the way.

VCReporter: This is the second time you have come to Ventura to fight for this cause, but you actually have a long association with farm workers. Concerts such as these seem to work on several levels don’t they?
Kristofferson: Yeah. I worked with Cesar Chavez way back in the early days. I went around talking with him at a couple of places and at the colleges. So I have been supporting them for that long. And we did one of these before up there, and it earned them a pretty good payday. But it also makes people aware of the needs of the farm workers, and I think that’s probably as important as money.

VCR: Given that you were at the forefront of outlaw country, that’s not a very outlaw thing to do.
It depends on how you look at it (laughs). I know that some of my activism hasn’t resonated with the crowds back in the day. Especially when I was going to Nicaragua and worrying about what American foreign policy was doing down there in Central America. Sometimes that’s not too popular when you’re playing — especially since country audiences are traditionally pretty conservative.

VCR: Given that resistance, particularly among your own fans, what spurred you on?
I have always felt it was my responsibility to tell the truth as I see it. That’s one of the blessings or curses that goes along with being a singer-songwriter.

VCR: You have been out on the road with This Old Road for almost three years now. A lot has changed in that period. What is your sense of where America is now?
I think the fact that Obama was elected is one of the most encouraging things I’ve seen since the Kennedys. Not just because of his intelligence and his values, but the fact that so many people agree with him. And that’s very encouraging to me.

VCR: The exuberance that the nation felt at the end of last year was quite an experience, wasn’t it?
I hadn’t felt that since the Kennedys. I had always thought of what a different nation and world it would have been if Jack and Robert hadn’t been assassinated and had had a run of 16 years. It would have been a very different country. I think this is the closest thing to the hope and idealism of the Kennedys.

VCR: Your writing seems to reflect the current climate more and more with each successive album. Was that something you were conscious of, going into This Old Road Show?
Since I have been recording, back in the ’70s, I have always felt that each album is a summation of what I’ve been going through since the last one. That’s probably why this album has the tone that it does. That’s the way things look from this end of the road. I have always used my songs to make sense out of whatever I’m going through or whatever the world is going through at the time.

VCR: Freedom is something that often crops up within your writing, most notably with “Bobby McGee”, but also on this recording with “Burden of Freedom.” What was the burden it imparted upon you?
In my case, it was being a creative artist, and the freedom to be who you feel it’s your responsibility to be. I felt I was going against a lot of people’s expectations to go in a different direction in order to do that. I think that your own personal freedom is important, and it’s a reflection of the need for the freedom for other people in the same way. It’s something that expands out to believing in political freedom and freedom to live and breathe and grow.

VCR: What were the expectations you were faced with?
I think that ever since going to Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, my family and friends probably thought I was going to do something that sounded nobler than country songwriting. My mother, and various friends, thought I had lost my mind, so I had to get past that. But I think it was kind of liberating to be written off as crazy because what worse could they do?

VCR: And have you found nobility in songwriting?
I feel blessed that I chose to do this and that I can make a living today and support my family just by doing what I like to do. And to be able to benefit different things that I believe in. I think that music is a great way to effect change for the better.   

Have a Heart for Farmworkers Benefit Concert, Saturday, May 30. Silent auction begins at 5:30 p.m., concert at 7 p.m. Ventura Theater, 26 S. Chestnut St., Ventura. 653-0721, www.venturatheater.net.

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