‘Cosmic Cowboy’ guitarist John Inmon continues storied career in Bastrop

Consummate guitarist John Inmon, a key player in Austin’s Cosmic Cowboy music scene in the 1970s, is keeping it low-key these days. But that doesn’t mean the sought-after Bastrop musician and producer has put the brakes on his storied career. 

“I have a little boutique studio where I record mainly singer-songwriters now, not large ensembles,” Inmon, 71, said of his Blue Sugar Audio studio in his Bastrop home. 

Musicians seek out Inmon for his easy manner and extensive experience. As part of the Cosmic Cowboy era, Inmon played lead guitar with the Lost Gonzo Band – Jerry Jeff Walker’s initial backing band. Inmon’s stylish guitar playing has also enhanced the music of Texas singer-songwriters Townes Van Zandt, Delbert McClinton, B.W. Stevenson, Jimmy LaFave, Michael Martin Murphey, Eliza Gilkyson, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Ray Wylie Hubbard.

Inmon said he has fond memories of playing with Walker, who would call him back for multiple guitar assignments over several decades, beyond his stint with the Lost Gonzo Band. 

“I never got tired of playing music with Jerry Jeff. With Jerry Jeff there were no set lists,” Inmon said “He tended to start with the same three songs, but with (most of the) rest of the set you had to watch him, figure out what key he was in, because he would be talking to the crowd and then just start playing.”

Building tracks

“Songwriters come in to my studio to lay down a demo track. I play different instruments and build them onto a track,” Inmon said. “What I do doesn’t require a separate building and tons of equipment. We can now do a lot (of added instrumentation) with a computer.” 

Inmon recently recorded Shake Russell, the Texas troubadour who penned the classic songs: “You Got a Lover” and “Deep in the West.” Inmon has become a go-to record producer. He won the Texas Music Awards’ Producer of the Year in 2012. “I put my own solo career in the back seat for a while,” Inmon said, adding that the COVID-19 pandemic has also kept him at bay. But a performance at Bastrop’s 602 Brewing Company just before the pandemic caused shutdowns nationwide was a taste of Inmon’s continuing playing prowess and deep connection with audiences. 

He played an understated yet powerful set on lead guitar, backing Shiner musician Bill Pekar, garnering repeated applause from the audience of about a dozen people at 602’s outdoor stage. Inmon said he’s monitoring the pandemic and might make a return to live performances. “I hope to play live again, soon,” he said.

Blues and Jimmy LaFave 

Inmon is modest in describing what others have often said is his wide-ranging musical talent. 

“I don’t know, I can’t describe it. I hear notes in my head and play them. I’m a limited musician. I can’t read music but I know how the structure works,” he said. “Blues is a real free form, a different sensibility. It’s about providing a groove for the singer, and then being able to tear it up on a guitar solo. But with singer-songwriters you have to embellish and not overplay – stay with their vocal sensibility, complement their vocal sensibility.” 

In an interview/jam session at Cedar Creek Studios in 2017 for the Austin Guitar Heaven talk show, Inmon said: “I’m basically a rocker that dabbles in other things, but what I listen to is jazz and blues. Blues, I can play but I don’t consider myself a blues player. I can play jazzy-sounding stuff, but I don’t play jazz because I don’t have the background, harmonically, but I am drawn to (the style) of it.” 

Though Inmon doesn’t consider himself a jazz guitarist, his skills at improvising served him well with Jimmy LaFave and many other performers throughout his career. Inmon played lead guitar in LaFave’s bands from 2003 until his death in 2017. 

“Playing with Jimmy was like heads-up ball – they were extemporaneous arrangements,” he said. “I never rehearsed with him once. When he was ready for a solo (from another guitarist), he would look at the player. It was up to you to figure out how to take and how to get out of a solo and then to hand it back – it was a test of musicianship. 

“Everybody loved Jimmy. There was a sort of chemistry there. It was always fresh, live. He was the best live act I ever worked with.”

Living in Bastrop 

Seeking a quiet place to live brought Inmon and his wife Kay to Bastrop in 1978. 

“We found a nice location with Bastrop, and the price was right,” he said. “We had been living at Lake Travis, where we rented. We wanted to buy a home. I was on the road a lot and wanted to be completely off the road when gigs ended. 

“This is how you stay married for 46 years. We like Bastrop. It’s an ideal place – an itty-bitty small town where we could disappear. We’ve been purposely reclusive.” 

Editor’s note: A list of Inmon’s extensive playing and producer/recording credits can be found at www.allmusic.com.