Steve Earle, who plays ACL Fest tomorrow, has taped 3 performances for its TV counterpart: in 1987 and 2001, and as part of a Townes Van Zandt tribute in 1998 (portions of which were also included in a 2000 anthology show).

Despite having appeared as often as contemporaries John Anderson, John Hiatt, and Lucinda Williams, Earle believes the TV braintrust hasn't given him due respect, according to outtakes from an Andy Langer interview for the Austin Chronicle:

"I always had sort of a love-hate relationship with the show," Earle contends. "I don't understand why I haven't done it more other than [ACL producer] Terry Lickona doesn't think I'm all that important. Ray Benson, Lickona, and I had our pictures taken at some event a few years ago, and I mouthed off at him the whole time. I smiled for the cameras while giving him hell. And I don't piss and moan about that stuff too much, but it's important to me."

Lickona responds that he respects Earle as a musician and free-speaking artist, and that he's not the only one who'd like to be on the show more often: "Welcome to the club." You can read the full details in this week's Off the Record.

The published interview contains some good nuggets too, including Earle's take on modern-day Austin:

It's so different now that I have to go east of I-35 to find anything that looks like Austin to me. And when a town you love starts to feel like a city that's just about money, real estate, and shelling out for a latte, it's a little heartbreaking.
 
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Earle's new album, Washington Square Serenade, is set for release September 25.