"My mom always encouraged me," he says. "She unfortunately passed away a couple years ago." Outlaw says he didn't know she was about to die. "It was unexpected. She called me up before I was about to leave on tour," he explains. "She said she was proud of me and she thought it was cool I was using the Outlaw name, and she liked my music. A few days later my brother called me up and said she died."

While it is a tribute to his mother, Outlaw knows it would have been just plain stupid not use the name as a country singer who happens to be on the fringe. "It gives me a chance to talk about my mom and honor her and remember her," he says, before noting, "The name is more now than just a catchy thing."

The name certainly works in tandem with his Ry Cooder-produced debut album Angeleno, out June 9, which blends influences that come straight from being a country singer living in California.

Outlaw describes his mix of honky tonk and mariachi as being "Southern California country music" and says it could only come from living in one place.