Filmmaker Eric Geadelmann Discusses ‘They Called Us Outlaws’, the Outlaw Country Documentary That Made Waves at SXSW (Exclusive)

When many music fans hear the words “outlaw country,” they think of Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson. Those who dig deeper into the movement will find artists like Jerry Jeff Walker and Billy Joe Shaver. That’s just scratching the surface, though. The rabbit hole–like the road–seems to go on forever. Filmmaker Eric Geadelmann and his team have been traversing that rabbit hole for more than a decade, building They Called Us Outlaws, a 10-part docuseries that reveals the story of outlaw country.

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Recently, a sold-out crowd at SXSW got a taste of the forthcoming limited series. They were fortunate enough to see an exclusive episode titled “The Cosmic Cowboys, Honky Tonk Heroes, and Rise of Redneck Rock.” The 90-minute film also serves as a standalone film that dives into the outlaw country history of Austin, Texas. It contained interviews with 64 artists, including Guy Clark, Kris Kristofferson, Billy Joe Shaver, Charley Crockett, Parker McCollum, Ray Benson, Jerry Jeff Walker, Tyler Childers, and Robert Earl Keen.

[RELATED: I Spent 48 Hours Listening Only to 1970s Outlaw Country—Here’s What I Rediscovered]

Ahead of the world premiere, Geadelmann sat down with American Songwriter to discuss the spirit of the documentary, its origins, and its goals.

Eric Geadelmann on the They Called Us Outlaws Premiere

Eric Geadelmann and his team started working on They Called Us Outlaws in 2013. They have been doing everything from sitting down with iconic musicians to digging through decades of Rolling Stone magazines to build something truly special. They did not, however, plan for an SXSW premiere.

“We weren’t planning on doing any world premieres or anything like that,” Geadelmann reveals. “We were going to finish the limited series and then license it to one of the major streamers and let them do what they do. But considering that Austin itself is so central to the narrative and the timing of SXSW, we started talking to them in October. They wanted us to world premiere it, and it sounded awesome,” he adds.

There was a problem with that, though. “However, chapter one is predominantly Nashville-oriented. So, we didn’t want to world premiere in Austin as part of SXSW with chapter one, which is mid-’60s in Nashville,” Geadelmann says. Fortunately, they had a solution. “We decided to restructure and create a standalone feature documentary to stand as a prologue for the series. It’s very Austin-centric,” he explains. In just a few months, they had to build a new episode from scratch.

Geadelmann’s Goal for the Series

No one works on a project for more than a decade without a goal in mind. Eric Geadelmann and his crew are no different. With They Called Us Outlaws, they hope to keep the spirit of the music alive. “It hopefully takes people back to why we are doing what we’re doing. There’s definitely an entertainment value, but the whole point of this is–the holy grail is to take this sh*t forward and inspire 15-year-olds to pick up a guitar and create their own path,” he explains, passion clear in his voice. “Hopefully by presenting Guy [Clark] and Jerry Jeff [Walker] and so many of these heroes, what they did, how they did it, and why, as well as these contemporaries, that will be the end result,” he adds.

The series will tell the stories of the artists, what they did, and the impact they had on not just outlaw country but country music as a whole. However, the heart of the series, like the movement around which it centers, is the songs.

How an Outlaw Country Legend Set the Tone for the Series

Eric Geadelmann and his team had a great idea for a docuseries. However, it was Kris Kristofferson who set the tone. He is also the reason that singer/songwriter Jack Ingram narrates the series and conducts the bulk of the interviews. Kristofferson asked for him specifically.

“We were very fortunate to begin principal photography in May 2013 with Kris Kristofferson,” Geadelmann reveals, letting the late legend’s name hang in the air for a beat. “I’m told it was his last in-depth interview,” he adds.

“The combination of that and recording his Ryman Auditorium concert that night was amazing. He really set the tone for the entire project. What I mean by that is the focus on songs. He didn’t care about anything other than that. It wasn’t about being a recording artist or a movie star or all the other things that came to him. It was just about the songs.”

They Called Us Outlaws has been in production for 13 years, and it is almost ready. Soon, the team will start shopping it to streamers. However, Geadelmann couldn’t reveal a timeline when we spoke, because he doesn’t have one. He, and most everyone else who knows about this project, hopes it will be on TV screens across the nation sooner rather than later.

Featured Image via IVPR