Filmmaker-turned-singer/songwriter C.M. Talkington enlists actress Renee Zellweger for his new song “Two Steps,” the first single from Talkington’s upcoming second LP Texas Radio.
While recording his first LP, Not Exactly Nashville — an album that, following its March 2020 release, was ultimately lost into the void that was the Covid-19 pandemic — Talkington learned he had stage-3 colon cancer. The diagnosis inspired Talkington to reconnect with old friends, including Zellweger.
Talkington and Zellweger previously collaborated nearly 30 years earlier when the latter starred in the 1994 indie film Love and a .45, written and directed by Talkington. (The following year, Zellweger appeared in the cult comedy Empire Records, which first showcased her vocal prowess on the track “Sugar High.”)
“I love this record,” Zellweger said of “Two Steps” in a statement to Rolling Stone. “From the milestones that led to this moment on the triumphant side of healing… the songs are an authentic and raw celebration of life and hope made in the great Austin tradition of gathering with friends to make music for the joy of it, and it feels like home. Roll the windows down. Find a long stretch of highway. Turn it up!”
The title for Texas Radio, due out March 17, dates back to 1987, when Talkington and his best friend, former Butthole Surfers drummer Scott Matthews, talked about forming a band with that name, inspired both by the Doors’ “The WASP (Texas Radio & The Big Beat)” and the melting pot of music along the AM dial of Texas radio.
For his new album, Talkington recruited one of Matthews’ former band mates, Butthole Surfers’ Paul Leary, to produce the LP while assembling a backing band of friends that Talkington has dubbed Texas Radio.
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“Making this record was like coming home for me. I’m so blessed to be with these angels,” Talkington said in a statement.
“Texas Radio is more than a band. We’re a family. We’re all on a mission to improve the garden. I feel so blessed to finally make a record with these guys. It really was like coming home. Coming home to Texas. Coming home to Texas Radio. Coming home to my band of soul brothers.”
