Cort Carpenter – All In

By starrymag | March 7, 2023

By: Robert Warren

 

 

Q) What inspired your energizing new country album All In, following themes of love searching, drinking and persevering on?

A) So, I’ve been in Nashville a decade now. I’ve released over fifty songs in my time here. For this album I wanted to have a project that really encapsulated me as an artist. That being, by voice, my vibe and my message. I have always loved to bring my listeners material they can relate to, whether that be a party vibe, a sad love song or just something medium tempo that people could jam out. To me, emotion is everything, and I feel that I picked 10 great songs that each deliver something different, but all go with each other.

 

Q) There is a big journey taking place through the album of a man figuring himself out, trying to understand his place around a girl he likes, more than a friend, and see how it all falls together, what about this journey do you think makes such a big impact on listeners? 

A) I feel the journey tells the story of so many of our lives. We all go through trial and tribulations in relationships, and I think this album captures them really well. These songs were purposely arranged in the order they were so the songs would flow nicely together when someone listened to the album. As someone who always loves a good fun party jam, I had to add “Raise One Up” to this collection of songs to balance the flow of the album. I feel that if you take listeners through a journey, it will easier for them to put themselves in their own experiences and able to relate to the songs even better.

 

Q) You’ve got a really good line up of songs where you start off with “Dangerous,” move to “Missing a Girl” and then in the middle of the album you sing “Get To The Bottom Of This.” What was it like piecing the songs together that compile an overall story?

A) When I picked these songs, I had it in my mind that I wanted to sing about certain topics that I felt were missing from my catalog. My wife, who has a great ear for music, always gives her advice as well. So, she spent a good amount of time trying to make this album flow perfectly to a listener and have the story be told the way we needed it to be. I can always count on her for the fine details as she’s a perfectionist.

 

Q) Digging into your first song a little more “Dangerous,” where you talk about dangerous combinations like snow with tires, lightening up conversations with a girl a bar (which could get dangerous,) it seems an interesting choice to welcome us in the album with danger. What made you decide this to become your first song when going into All In the album? 

A) This is a song written by Dan & Shay and Ashley Gorley – three powerhouses in the country music scene. I felt the production of song #1 and the message of jumping into a new “love”, was perfect and also “Dangerous”. So, I felt it was a great way to catch the listeners’ attention and go from there.

 

Q) What is your songwriting process? Do you need to have music before you can come up with the lyrics or vice versa? 

A) So, many people have different ways to write songs. My preference is having an idea and, a lot of times, even a track laid down to write to. That means, we have a beat and “vibe” that we can go off of and then get creative from that. To me it’s easier to envision how the song could potentially turn out to be immediately, instead of writing without a track, and guessing what production may sound like behind it. I do write songs in all kinds of ways though, but I prefer writing to a track.

 

Q) How much of a hand do you tend to have in the production side of your music? 

A) By no means am I a producer; however, I feel I give production ideas that usually end up making it into my songs. I listen to a lot of genres of music and pull ideas that I love from all of them and try to incorporate them into my own music. In another life I would love to produce music, but for now, I leave most of that up to the ones who know what the heck they are doing. But, overall, I feel that I have a little influence on the production side because I want my music to sound a certain way.

 

Q) What do you hope listeners truly take away from exploring the music on this new album All In?

A) This album is a milestone project for me. My goal is to have some major industry folks give it a real chance and see that we put together a helluva album here. Some of Nashville’s biggest songwriters are on this thing and I feel the production is on point. My hope for the listener is to hear it and say, “Wow. Every song on this album is strong and I can’t choose a favorite.” I also hope that listeners will not let this album fade away into the world of unheard music and will do everything they can to share it with everyone they know. Being an independent artist, that is what it takes and what we cross our fingers for.

 

Q) What have been some of the fans’ reactions to your album? 

A) I have yet to hear a negative review of this album which is really cool. Most fans can’t choose a favorite and that makes me smile because it tells me that the entire thing is really good. I’ve had many fans write to me personally saying, “This is the one.” I always appreciate those sentiments but know that it takes a lot of luck and somebody from the inside to come across it to have a real chance. I’m just super grateful that fans are loving and appreciating it.

 

Q) What songs off this new album have you been performing live, and the fans have really been enjoying hearing you play?

A) So far, I have been performing “Somebody Tonight” and “Raise One Up.” They always get a great fan reaction and I always see people pulling out their phones to find them on Spotify after we play them.  Since the album was just released, we now will begin performing more of them which I’m looking forward to doing.

 

Q) Will you be headed out on a full tour soon to promote the album or are you focused on releasing singles for now?

A) This summer we will be touring some and playing the album live to fans. I initially released three singles before the album dropped, so now it’s time just to incorporate the new songs into my set and get them out there. We won’t be doing a full tour in 2023, but we do have various spot dates that will begin this summer and go ’til the end of the year.

 

Q) You’ve got to open for some pretty big names throughout your years like Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, Chris Young, Jason Aldean and more. Who is someone you would love to collaborate with on a song in the future?

A) Yes! I have been fortunate enough to share the stage or open for most of the “big dogs” in country music today. Two that I haven’t though are Tim McGraw and Joe Nichols. These two guys are a big part of why I began singing country music and they continue to be my favorites today. It would be a dream come true to get an opportunity to tour with them. Crossing my fingers that it will happen someday.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who are fans and supporters of the songs you create? 

A) All I can say is thank you for letting my music be part of your lives. I often forget about how cool it is to be on people’s music playlist and that in itself is so special. I’m forever grateful to all my listeners and just hope you continue to share my music and tell their friends about it. That’s how momentum can build and really change the trajectory of a career.