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Jon Wolfe brings 'Natural Man’ to Floore’s

By , For the Express-NewsUpdated

Jon Wolfe faced a dilemma while planning his sophomore album — how to follow up “It All Happened in a Honky Tonk,” which ignited his career in Texas and propelled his profile in Nashville.

The 2010 album spawned six consecutive Top 10 singles on the Texas Music chart and led to the release of a deluxe edition by Warner Music Nashville and “It All Happened LIVE in a Honky Tonk from Floore’s Country Store.”

“That record was like a little masterpiece for me,” said Wolfe, one of the handful of artists on Texas radio with a traditional country flavor. “It came together in a way that I haven’t seen in many other records in terms of how the fan base identified with those songs, and it’s country.

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“So it’s like this little country record that, to me, will stand the test of time.”

His mentor and one of his main co-writers, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member Tim Johnson, had died.

“I felt like if I cut another 'It All Happened in a Honky Tonk,’ how can I write another 'That Girl in Texas’ without Tim Johnson?” Wolfe said.

He did a lot of soul searching and consulted friends in the industry, including George Strait’s nephew, Trey Strait, his former manager.

More Information

In concert

Who: Jon Wolfe, with Mario Flores & the Soda Creek Band opening

When: 9 p.m. today (doors at 7)

Where: John T. Floore Country Store, 14492 Old Bandera Road, Helotes

Tickets: $12-$20, 210-695-8827, liveatfloores.com

“Trey said I needed to challenge myself while staying true to what I do,” Wolfe said. “George finds that line with the melody, beat and vocals on every record then comes back a little bit, but it’s still George Strait.”

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Wolfe had wanted to record the love song “Natural Man,” composed by hit songwriter Brett Jones, for a long time. When he did, he discovered a theme to tell his story. He searched for other songs that not only connected with him, but pushed him vocally.

The result is the album “Natural Man,” 13 songs that combine Wolfe’s edgy and modern take on country with his influences, including Strait, Merle Haggard, Clint Black, Garth Brooks and Dwight Yoakam.

The Natural Man Album Release Tour began last month with 22 stops across Oklahoma and Texas, including John T. Floore Country Store today. Mario Flores & The Soda Creek Band will open at 9 p.m.

“I’m insanely proud of it,” Wolfe said. “I’m still working 14-hour days with this release — throwing my life into this. I’ve got a great team. It’s the first time I’ve had a publicist, marketing group, two radio teams and the whole thing.”

The first single, the mid-tempo love song “Smile on Mine,” jumped to No. 13 this week on the Texas chart.

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Wolfe says he accomplished what he set out to do.

“There’s stuff on there where I’m obviously challenging myself commercially, like 'Smile on Mine’ and 'If You’re Lonely Too,’ ” he said. “Then there are songs like 'Natural Man’ and 'Outrun Her Memory’ that are darker and have more of an Americana lyric.

“There also are songs like those on 'It All Happened in a Honky Tonk’ like 'Married to Nothin’’ that makes people think that’s stock Jon Wolfe right there.”

Wolfe, an Oklahoma native who lives in Buda, chunked a career as a commodities trader with British Petroleum in Houston in the early 2000s to follow his passion for country music.

He sang at open-mike nights, made friends with the likes of Hayes Carll and John Evans, learned the business and grew from there.

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He landed a record deal in Nashville in 2007. The label went out of business, and he went the independent route for “It All Happened in a Honky Tonk.”

The most intimate song on “Natural Man” is “Singin’ Think,” the last he wrote with Johnson.

“It’s my life story in three minutes,” he said. “In school my friends were amazed I could still pass classes after going home and playing songs and singing at parties. The song is very special to me. I feel like it’s a gem on this record.”

john@johngoodspeed.com

|Updated

John Goodspeed writes about country music for the Express-News.