How did Texas country music and Red Dirt music influence your sound? I watched and listened to Red Dirt legends like Bob Childers, Tom Skinner, Medicine Show, and learned to hone the craft with Cody Canada, Jason Boland, Mike McClure… Robert Earl was a big one. Don’t know if it stuck but it was a good place to start.
Why did you choose Onward as title for your latest album? I felt the name was fitting for forward momentum. Seemed to encompass the proverbial dark forest we all go through sometimes in life and seeing the beautiful meadow emerge.
This is your first album in about four years. How have you grown as an artist and a writer in that time? Constant touring and writing. Time teaches all if we are willing to stop and listen and look around.
Gary Nicholson and Shawn Camp wrote “You Ought To Know Me By Now” especially for you. Does the song describe you pretty accurately? I don’t know if it describes me but I can say I can relate to it.
How did Texas country music and Red Dirt music influence your sound? I watched and listened to Red Dirt legends like Bob Childers, Tom Skinner, Medicine Show, and learned to hone the craft with Cody Canada, Jason Boland, Mike McClure… Robert Earl was a big one. Don’t know if it stuck but it was a good place to start…
Why did you choose Onward as title for your latest album? I felt the name was fitting for forward momentum. Seemed to encompass the proverbial dark forest we all go through sometimes in life and seeing the beautiful meadow emerge.
This is your first album in about four years. How have you grown as an artist and a writer in that time? Constant touring and writing. Time teaches all if we are willing to stop and listen and look around.
Gary Nicholson and Shawn Camp wrote “You Ought To Know Me By Now” especially for you. Does the song describe you pretty accurately? I don’t know if it describes me but I can say I can relate to it.
You have a duet on the new record with country legend Tanya Tucker on the album. Why did you choose her as a duet partner? Gary and I thought she would be a good fit for the style and direction of the song. They are good friends.
You recorded a Merle Haggard song on Onward as a tribute to your grandparents. Did Haggard’s music help influence your sound? Haggard was a big influence to my singing for sure. Willie, Waylon, etc…
What is your favorite song on the album? Why do you like that song the best? That’s a tough one. I like “Thought You’d Wanna Know”. It was about this person I knew that was going through a dark period. Fighting depression. Sometimes just knowing someone is there can change everything.
Can people expect to hear a lot of the new songs when they see you in concert? As of now we play about three of the new ones live… we will begin to trickle them into the set in the coming weeks.
What is your favorite thing about touring? I get to see the country and meet new faces and see the culture change with the times. Starting to see the seeds grow that were planted 20 years ago.
Anything else you would like to add? Be yourself, everyone else is taken. Live life. It’s worth it. Love with all of you. Thank you.