"His father, novelist Larry McMurtry, gave him his first guitar at age seven.
His mother, an English professor, taught him how to play it:
"My mother taught me three chords and the rest I just stole as I went along.
I learned everything by ear or by watching people."
"He began performing in his teens, writing bits and pieces. He started performing his own songs at a downtown beer garden while studying English and Spanish at the University of Arizona in Tucson.
After traveling to Alaska and playing a few gigs, he returned to Texas and his father's "little bitty ranch house crammed with 10,000 books".
After a time, he left for San Antonio, where he worked as a house painter, actor, bartender, and sometimes singer, performing at writers' nights and open-mic events."
"McMurtry appeared on the soundtrack of the film Falling from Grace, working with Mellencamp, John Prine, Joe Ely and Dwight Yoakam in a "supergroup"
called Buzzin' Cousins."
"McMurtry at his most political, as his working-class anthem "We Can't Make It Here" included direct criticism of George W. Bush, the Iraq War, and Wal-Mart. The music critic Robert Christgau ranked "We Can't Make It Here" as the best song of the 2000s."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_McMurtry
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"Portland has six of the country’s best vegan eateries, according to this vegan magazine "
"Across 20 categories, Portland restaurants claimed six No. 1 spots, tying for Los Angeles as the city with the most first place wins. "
"Vertical Diner: Best Vegan Diner
This diner started in Salt Lake City, but opened a Portland location at 8124 S.W. Barbur Blvd. in 2019. Located inside a retro diner building, VegNews says Vertical Diner is known for its “juicy mango-habanero chicken tenders, all-day American breakfast classics, and even some not-what-you’d-expect diner fare like vegan escargot with carrot butter and crostini.”
"Dirty Lettuce: Best Vegan Soul Food
Starting as a food cart, Dirty Lettuce opened a brick-and-mortar location at 4727 N.E. Fremont St. in 2021. And though it might be a surprise for a Portland spot to have the best of a Southern cuisine, restaurant owner Alkebulan Moroski hails from Jackson, Mississippi.
As The Oregonian’s Michael Russell wrote, Dirty Lettuce “fries up seitan ‘chicken’ to a satisfying crunch and slathers tender ‘ribs’ in a sweet-tangy barbecue sauce.
This is serious comfort food, hold the meat.”
"Feral: Best New Vegan Restaurant
Feral, 1640 N.E. Killingsworth St., open last November. Here, VegNews writes, “wild and foraged foods take center stage,” and the menu changes regularly based on what’s seasonably available.
The magazine gives a shoutout to the restaurant’s
“baked leek fondue with Vtopian cheese
and fried Triscuits,”
and “cheesecake miso-apple cider butterscotch.”
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