Julie and JR Nutt go to our church, Friendship Creekside, and when we met I had an instant connection with them! They were fun, kind, entrepreneurs and parents of young kids like me! I met them for coffee about a month ago to get to know them more and just knew that you had to meet them too!!
JR was an actor and musician in Hollywood and he and Julie are now our Farmer’s Insurance agents here in Dripping!
Tell us a little more about yourselves…
How did y’all meet?
We met singing and playing together in what we called a “Living Room Folk Band” in Los Angeles.
What instruments do you play?
JR – guitar, banjo, mandolin, bass, piano.
Julie – amateur guitar / auto harp, and I keep a steady beat on a washboard and a porch board.
How long has music been important to you and what kindled that passion?
JR – Music has been important to me ever since my mother bought me a guitar and signed me up for lessons. My teacher taught me how to play and sing Eight Days A Week by the Beatles, and my mother bought me the Woodstock Documentary and Elvis’ Comeback Show.
I was hooked.
As a child I moved around a lot and the guitar was always that best friend that never left me.
If life ever got difficult, music came to my rescue. As soon as I realized that I would never be as good as Slash or Jimi Hendrix, I set out to become mediocre at as many instruments as possible. As I got older, I loved the experience of making music with different people.
But the one, true passion and importance of music has been that it brought the love of my life to me, and together we make music with our kids every single night before bedtime.
Julie – I always loved to sing as a kid. I liked the idea of playing guitar but didn’t have the discipline or patience to learn as a kid. I learned basic chords in college so I could play simple songs and even write a few in my 20’s.
My dad has always been a music lover and played in our church band all while I was growing up. Once I got curious about it, he loved sharing all the good stuff with me like the Beatles and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Neil Young of course. Once I got to LA, I met a few girls who also loved to sing and play so we started sort of a dreamy folk thing together mostly playing in our living rooms. It was really just for fun and creative experimentation.
Once JR and I started singing together, we loved channeling Gram Parsons and Emmy Lou Harris.
What is your favorite music venue to hear live music in this area?
Gruene Hall, Nutty Brown, ACL Live (can’t pick only one)
Tell us more about your journey to get back to the Austin area from California…
Once we were married and expecting Loretta, our first born – we bolted back to Texas for more reasons than we can count. Our lives have changed dramatically and we wear different hats now than we used to for sure but its all wonderful.
You gotta grow where you are planted.
What brought you to Dripping Springs?
We liked the idea of settling down here and raising a family. This area has the best of both worlds. You have the beautiful spacious hill country in your back yard yet you are still close to a city with a great music and food culture.
JR, tell us more about your acting career…
I started attending theater camp at an early age living in Dallas. When I was 8 years old, Oliver Stone brought the film Born on the Fourth of July to shoot part of it in Texas. I could always do imitations well, so I could speak with a Long Island accent (required for a role in the movie). At the audition, Oliver Stone asked me what I liked to do for fun and I told him “playing war and guns with my friends.”
He hired me and I worked a bit as a child. When I graduated from UT- Austin, I moved to Hollywood and enjoyed minor success playing “the stoner guy” on various TV Shows.
What was your favorite movie or TV show to work on and why?
I got a wild role on “Cory in the House” on the Disney Channel.
I LOVED the character I created for the show, but the best thing about it was that we shot in front of a live audience, and it was awesome making the kids laugh. I never tired of getting recognized by 8-11 year olds everywhere I went.
What made you want to go into helping people with insurance?
Julie and I get a real kick out of Insurance. We love working together and we find ourselves talking about it even when the kids are down. Insurance plays a huge role in people’s lives. It’s literally the ‘wall of protection’ for the things that we all work so hard to acquire for quality of life. Its also something that not everyone fully understands and that’s where we come in.
We have designed our Agency to be personalized and full service for our clients. They become our extended family, and we love helping them navigate the ins and outs of business. Most of all, we love giving them that ‘peace of mind’…believe it or not, we even know how to make Insurance fun.
What is your favorite thing about living in Dripping Springs?
It’s kind of the new frontier. We are surrounded by craftsman and entrepreneurs – basically people that are pursuing their passions and dreams so we love that. It’s inspiring.
If you could have the perfect weekend in Dripping Springs, where would you go and what would you do?
Load up the family and head to Mazama or Abby Jane to start the day off on the right foot with coffee and a baked goodie. JR would definitely have a fly fishing pole in tow .
Next, I would say get in a nice walk down to our local watering hole and let the kids cast a few and swim. Then end up at Treaty Oak or 12 Fox with some friends for some food and live music. Watch the sun set, let the kids run around and just stay a while.
What is important to y’all about raising your kids in this area?
Quality of life – Close to family, sense of community, good schools, lots of opportunity for their future, plenty of beautiful outdoor space, lots to discover.
Your backyard is so cool, Julie! Tell us about the process of dreaming up the design and creating such functional and fun spaces…
Pre-Pinterest, Sunset magazine is where I first started seeing amazing outdoor spaces.
I would study and stare at those featured enclaves, gathering spaces, outdoor baths and even beds of these lucky people’s homes. I loved the idea of indoor / outdoor living flowing seamlessly. I mean who doesn’t want to be outside on a beautiful day while stilling enjoying all the comforts and luxuries of the indoors!?
Once we had kids, we knew we would be drawn outside constantly so it was important to me to find a home that gave us room to really live outside. I have an experience driven nature as it is but adding kids in the mix gave me an excuse to add some playful wanderlust to our little hillside half acre of hill country.
Although there wasn’t much here but a rough uneven old concrete slab and our little treehouse like porch – they became the foundation of the layout. We just started adding things in piece by piece, one DIY project at a time. We love spending time out there together just watching the grass grow.
How can we find you on social media?
@hillcountryhipster on Instagram
@NuttInsurnaceAgency on Facebook
I love showing off all of the incredible people in Dripping Springs, Texas! Who do you know that should be featured? Tell me! I love meeting new people!
If you are looking to move into or need some help buying or selling your home then reach out to me! I would love to help you with all of your real estate needs in the Dripping Spring and Texas Hill Country area! Call me today or email me and I’d love to talk more! 512-569-8480 or hi@laurenclarkrealtor.com
