Kinky Friedman stops through Fort Worth for book signing, tech hawking, joke telling

by Jessica Harp

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If asked for his John Hancock, he'll “sign anything but bad legislation.”

Just in time for the holiday season, Jewish troubadour, politician, and musician Kinky Friedman kicks off his Hanukkah Tour on November 29 in his beloved home state of Texas at The Aardvark in Fort Worth.

In between wrapping up his most recent book, which he calls an “eye-opener,” with fellow Texan actor/director Billy Bob Thornton, and cooking up another with outlaw country musician Willie Nelson, the former gubernatorial candidate will embark on a solo 14-city tour where he will host a book reading and perform a few of his slightly offensive hits like “Ride Em’ Jewboy” and “They Ain’t Makin’ Jews Like Jesus Anymore.” He'll read from the book Heroes Of A Texas Childhood.

While on tour, the Kinkster will give a humorous analysis on politics, the state of the union, and the current presidential race. As of late, Governor Rick Perry has been giving him a lot of fodder for his stand-up, some of which he practiced during our interview.

“These are hard times in Texas; all the blondes and the Aggies are telling Rick Perry jokes,” Kinky jested.

Although the cigar aficionado prefers to use a portable typewriter to a computer -- he confessed proudly that he doesn’t have Internet or an email address -- he will be hawking a few 21st century gadgets at each stop on his tour. For those who favor listening to his music and political commentary on-the-go, the Kinky Nano, which holds more than 200 tracks spanning his 40-year career and a few tidbits from his live performances, will be for sale. The Kinky Jump Drive, which contains three full audio books written and read aloud by the man himself, will also be available for his techie fans.

To those who would rather turn the pages of his many novels, several books will be for sale, as well as tour posters and even Kinky’s very own top-shelf tequila. If you ask real nicely, he may even take a shot with you.

“Everything else is just Mexican mouthwash compared to this,” Kinky boasted. “I mean, this stuff is great.”

After the show, Kinky will greet fans and claims that he will “sign anything but bad legislation.”

He wouldn't say much about the book he is currently formulating with Willie, fittingly titled The Troublemaker, he did give a little insight as to what the premise of the new novel will be.

“It is about what contributions troublemakers have made in the world and what prices they paid,” Kinky said during a phone interview from his Texas ranch. “Everybody from Socrates, Jesus, and Hank Williams, Jr.”

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