Exclusive Q and A: Brantley Gilbert Talks CMAs, Eric Church and Lessons from the Road
posted in: Country • Exclusive Interviews • Music News
Brantley Gilbert is the opposite of a divo (that’s a male diva, in case you didn’t know).
That’s why it’s gratifying to see him grab so much success this early in his career. Last year, the now 27 year-old singer/songwriter was a bit bummed that many music journalists didn’t seem to want to talk with him. This year, he hardly has time to talk to anyone.
With a nomination for the 2012 Country Music Association (CMA) New Artist of the Year Award, Gilbert is launching the “Hell on Wheels Tour.” It’s the first headlining tour for Gilbert, whose sophomore album Halfway to Heavy debuted at #2 on the Billboard Country charts and who has written a host of #1 singles including “Country Must Be Country Wide,” “You Don’t Know Her Like I Do,” along with Jason Aldean‘s songs “My Kinda Party” and “Dirt Road Anthem.” He’s also won plenty of fans during his recent tours, including supporting spots on Eric Church‘s “Blood, Sweat & Beers Tour” and Toby Keith‘s “Live in Overdrive Tour.”
Although he’s got some heavy competition for the CMA Award ” Love and Theft, Lee Brice, Hunter Hayes, and Thompson Square are the other nominees ” Gilbert seems to be taking all the excitement in stride. Although he was battling bronchitis on one of his recent days home, he took time out to chat a bit about his reaction to the nomination, his songwriting, and just what he’s learned on all the tours he has played.
OS: Congratulations on your nomination! Tell us how you found out about it.
BG: To be honest with you, we have stayed so busy on and off the road that I lose track of the days. I forgot Wednesday morning (Sept. 5) they were announcing those, so I woke up and had a ton of text messages congratulating me and I was saying “For what?”
OS: It’s always a big deal to be nominated and go to those awards. What are your plans for the night?
BG: I think I’m going to just play that by ear.
OS: You’ve had a lot going on this year. What is the big highlight?
BG: The Eric Church tour was definitely one. We had a blast. The crews got along great, Eric and I got along great. We actually still talk occasionally. We had a really good time with them, and I think everybody who came to the show had that feeling. The Toby Keith tour was great too.
OS: Going on those tours is almost like graduate school for a musician. What is something you took away from one of those tours that you’ll use to support your own career?
BG: Toby has guys that have been working together for 16, 17 years. I really like that. My band and everybody I work with still live in Georgia, they are still all the guys I knew before. That’s what I want. I want to be able to look back and say I knew all these guys before I started recording. They’re all still with me.
OS: So you’ve been on the road a lot these last few years. What do you do to get back to just being you?
BG: I usually come home and just get on my motorcycle. I’m home for two days now and that’s what I wanted to do back here in Georgia. But I’ve been really sick. I have bronchitis. I’m at the doctor’s office now.
OS: You really made your name writing so many great songs like “My Kinda Party” and a lot of other hits. Do you still write as much now that you’re performing all of the time?
BG: Yes, ma’am. Every run we go out there, we have different writers out with us. So I’m still always writing.
OS: Did you write with Eric Church when you were on the road?
BG: We did a little bit.
OS: That has to be difficult because you travel all the time. How have you done it? Do you write on certain days?
BG: It is just a different mindset. We try not to set out times. We try to do it when the opportunity presents itself. But sometimes we set a date for early in the morning, after the show. It depends.
OS: I’m always curious about how songwriters work. You’ve said in the past that you write songs based on your life. Do you still do that? And do you have an instrument that you always use when you write?
BG: I have a writing guitar. There is a guy in Athens, Georgia. who made it for me. As far as the songs, I’m still sticking to that. I write about what I know.
You know, without memories there are no songs. I never really targeted a market; I just wrote songs. I guess the song content just led me to country but I never really planned that.
OS: So you have this headline tour coming up, which is great. What about a new album? What can you tell us about that?
BG: We are working on it. It’s too soon to really talk about anything.
OS: So when people come to your concerts and hear your music, what do you hope they take away?
BG: I just hope they take something positive away from it. I’ve had people come up and talk to me, give me dog tags and tell me my music got them through Iraq or something. I can’t pinpoint one thing. That all just stays with me.
Find out more about Brantley Gilbert on his official website.
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