By: Lisa Steinberg
Q) How would you describe your sound?
A) Southern grit and funny shit, and then you’re crying in your Busch light
Q) Who are some of your musical influences?
A) Super wide ranging from jazz and gospel, to hardcore punk and metal, to reggae. But growing up in the south, you’re gonna be hearing a lot of country and rock’n’roll. It’s always been sort of the backbone. There are some staples for me in that world: the Beatles, James Taylor, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Tom Petty, Alan Jackson, all the Hank’s (Sr., Jr., AND III), Willie Nelson, Jamey Johnson, George Strait, Green Day, Yellowcard…Shoot, Robert Johson and Keb Mo…I could go on!
Q) Your album The Next One is out now. What are some themes you explore on this?
A) I wrote a chunk of these coming off a bad breakup, so there was that. I really wanted it to be fun. I wanted to tell some stories of love and heartbreak, and drinking at cool bars, and life and women. I wanted some blues. I wanted some rock’n’roll. I wanted some authentic country. I feel like we got everything we were asking for out of it.
Q) What is your song writing process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics?
A) I’ll do it anyway it comes to me. Sometimes it starts with a lick. Sometimes it starts with an idea or hook. Sometimes it’s a melody stuck in my head in the truck that I record into my phone. A little free game for the up and comers out there; I like to drive with the radio off. If you’re a writer, you WILL write. You can’t help it.
Q) Grady Saxman teamed up with you on the production side of this album. Why was it so important for you to be so hands on with crafting your music?
A) Grady and I have cut nearly everything I’ve released in my career together, and with each new group of songs, he’s let me get closer and closer to the process. It takes time and trust to get there, and we have both. Between Two Trick Pony and The Next One, I wanted to downsize the team compared to where we were in the Show Up Drunk We ran with an engineer, Grady on drums, Sol Philcox-Littlefield on guitar and me on bass, just live tracking everything. That’s how I believe you can achieve the most authentic sound.
Q) “Too Close” and “Bad Tattoo” are my personal favorite tracks off The Next One. Which tracks from the album are favorites for you and why?
A) Glad you like them! I do, too. I’m really happy with all of them, but there are a couple in particular. “Change My Mind” was a real personal one. Me and Sol and Grady are all pretty big emo fans, so we wanted to bring some of that energy into it. It turned out about as close to what I was hearing as it possibly could. “Like You Want” was memorable because of that crispy, yet wet, western tone that Sol was cranking out. It feels like you’re in a movie or in a space Western or something. Also, I love that we pulled off a straight up blues track with “Chain Smokin’.” My mom and all of my extended musical family is from Mississippi, so it’s really the bread and butter of how I was taught.
Q) What do you hope listeners take away from listening to The Next One – either as an emotion or message?
A) I’m a storyteller, so I hope they can put themselves in the places I’m writing about, and with the people I’m writing about. I want to take you there.
Q) What songs off your album are you looking forward to performing live?
A) “The Next One” itself is a lot of fun. “Chain Smokin'” for the aforementioned blues love. “Too Close” has got some ass to it as well, that should be fun.
Q) Speaking of live shows, you were handpicked by Jelly Roll as an opener on his 2021 ‘Work In Progress’ tour. Where are some of your favorite places to perform and what makes those locations so significant to you?
A) On that tour, in particular, we did a show at Piere’s in Fort Wayne, IN, in the parking lot with a huge area fenced off with chain link. It was five thousand strong and SO rowdy. Unforgettable. Also, doing eight thousand in Dallas, TX was very special and the biggest crowd I’ve ever performed in front of. When I’m touring solo, it’s all of them. Every bar. Every crowd. Every night. I wouldn’t be here without them.
Q) In fact, Jelly Roll once called you “one of the best songwriters in Nashville.” What advice would you give to upcoming songwriters?
A) Don’t write what you think will get you on the radio. The people who get those cuts are already writing those and they will get the cuts, not you. Get in with a group of like-minded writers and artists and make the next sound that will take over the radio. Climb with your people and be successful with your people.
Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?
A) Shoot. Hard to say. There’s a bunch of people I like right now. A lot of people I came up with are huge now. I love what Riley’s doing. I love what Ella’s doing. I love what Stephen Wilson Jr.’s doing. Muscadine. Nicholas Jamerson? Any of them would be epic.
Q) What artist/musician are you currently listening to and why do you dig them?
A) I listen to old shit. Some of my recent listens are: Don Williams, Keith Whitley, The Beatles, The Starting Line and Outkast.
Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?
A) Thank you so much for being on this journey with me. It’s all I’ve ever wanted and I wouldn’t be here without you.