There is more to fame than signing autographs and screaming fans. There’s also the negative side – the fans that treat you like they’re trying to get a piece of you.

James McMurtry, country and rock singer/songwriter, says from previous experience that is when it gets strange.

“The scariest encounters I’ve had with people were people I knew before I had a record deal, and then suddenly I get a record deal and I’m touring around the country and run into people that I used to know,” he says. “They have this real weird vibe like they have to prove like they’re my equal or something, and I never doubted that they were my equal. I’m still the same guy.”

McMurtry says one of the most unforgettable moments he’s had on the road was after a show in Ohio. A man he had known from high school started walking across the floor toward him with his hand in his jacket like he had a weapon in his pocket.

“I looked him in the eye and he wasn’t seeing me – he was looking dreamy,” he says.

McMurtry tried to get out on the street, but the emergency exit was padlocked.

“I put on my leather jacket and put my hands in my pocket and walked back out at him,” he says. “He looked me in the eye and looked at my hands in my pockets turned around and walked out. He never said a word, never said ‘Bye, James,’ or anything.”

To this day McMurtry doesn’t know if the man was armed.

When he first began his music career, McMurtry steered clear of political songs and says he felt put off by political songwriters.

“They sort of seemed to have a tough righteousness that I didn’t care for,” he says.

Now the songwriter says he feels the need to write music about politics because of the chaos he sees going on in the world around him.

Before the last presidential election, McMurtry wrote his song, “I Can’t Make it Here,” and put it online as a free download for people to hear.

“It’s really a good song, given me more than anything else I’ve ever recorded,” he says. “Some people really like it. Some people hate it.”

McMurtry says he never tries to tailor his songs to appeal to a wider audience. This is the result of ill-fated attempts in the past to write certain kinds of songs for certain people.

“They can either watch it if they want to and not if they don’t want to,” he says. “When I first started writing, I was trying to write for Nashville and I would aim my songs for certain audiences. It just didn’t work for me. I’m probably just not a very good liar.”

Although McMurtry enjoys performing in front of a live audience, he says his favorite part of a gig is the sound check. This is because it gives him the chance to explore sounds without having to worry about keeping large groups of fans entertained.

“It all changes when you get people in there and then it becomes a show,” he says. “I thought about doing a record that way – just recording sound check as I go around the country preparing a song, because sometimes it’s easier to make music when you’re not worried about pleasing an audience.”

Although McMurtry wants the audiences to enjoy his music, he says he hopes that for better or worse, some of his politically-oriented songs will also make his fans think and react. “I don’t mind the harsh negative reactions I get sometimes because it means they’re hearing it and they’re grappling with something,” he says.

McMurtry says not all of his songs are meant to make people think – some are done just for pure entertainment. He also says he wants the audience to be able to move around when he’s playing – it shows him that they’re having a good time.

“If they’re just sitting there staring at you, you don’t know what to think and it gets scary,” he says.