Photos courtesy of Chris StapletonItâs hard to describe Chris Stapleton without pointing out just how different he is from everything thatâs out there in country right now. It's kind of a bummer, too, because that puts the veteran songwriter in an awkward position; he's seen as this sort of "anti-bro country" artist when, as it turns out, heâs written a lot of songs for people like Luke Bryan, Dierks Bently, and Josh Turner that many would say fall squarely within the bro country camp. Be that as it may, his sound, mostly influenced by the blues, is anything but bro.Stapleton has been in the game for years, and it certainly shows on his latest record, Traveller. Comprised of songs written over the last 12 or 13 years of his career (and one incredible cover of David Allan Coeâs âTennessee Whiskeyâ), it's a bluesy, dusty, down-home country album for a modern audience, similar to the sound and attitude of what Kacey Musgraves earned rave reviews for doing last year. And the most exciting part? People seem to actually be into itâreally into it.Whether or not his meteoric rise is a harbinger of the death of bro-country (or whether it signals that we never really had to worry about it in the first place) Stapleton's made it clear that he's one talent who's here to stay. I called him up at home in Nashville a short while after his explosive CMA debut (and clean sweep of awards honors, including Best New Artist, Male Vocalist, and Album of the Year) to talk about ups and downs, his friendship with Justin Timberlake, and why he loves the blues.Noisey: How have things been going since the CMAs?
Chris Stapleton: Well, I didnât imagine it could go any better than itâs going, but itâs going really well. We sold some records and the shows seem to be selling out really quick. Thatâs a new experience for us on the scale that weâre experiencing it. Itâs all good things.I know that youâve been writing songs for a really long time. What made you want to take the leap from writing and being behind the scenes to making your own music?
Well, Iâve always been a touring musician in some capacity. I was in a bluegrass band that I made a couple records with called the Steel Drivers, and I was in a rock band called The Johnson Brothers. [They were] kind of an indie band. We played 70s kind of riff rock, real loud kind of stuff [laughs]. But country music was always home. I've been real fortunate to have cuts and a hit or two here or there in that world, and those things kind of allowed me to go out and explore the other side of music that interested me. One has always kind of fed the other for me. This was the first time they really kind of converged on each other and turned in to whatever this has turned into.Brian Rhies, who's an A&R guy at Universal, he and I have been friends for 14, 15 years now. A couple of years ago, we went to lunch one day, and the lunch kind of ended with, âHey man, you want to come over here and make a record?â and I went home and talked to my wife about it, and she said, âWell, why wouldnât you?â and I went back in to Brianâs office to talk about it, and we decided weâd give it a shot. And that really is the short of it. Thatâs kind of what got us to the space of making a solo country record. The process for people is different, and I had a moment of clarity where this was gonna be whatIi wanted to do and I approached it like I might not make another record. It was a great experience all around.Good, I hope for at least my sake you make another one, because this record is phenomenal. I feel like you really went back to countryâs roots and sort of expanded on them, and you recreated them in a new way. What was inspiring you when you wrote this record?
The songs that are on this record span the entirety of my career as a songwriter, so there are songs on there that, at the time they were recorded, they were 12 or 13 years old, so some of them were from the first year I was in Nashville. We got to put songs together in that way, and that made the record feel a little differentâbasically it was like taking 15 years of songwriting, and cherry picking, and putting them on the record. The only song that was written after my father passed away was the song "Traveller," during a road trip in a Jeep my wife and I took to California, and that was really the only song that was kind of a newish song. And "Traveller" for me is not a literal thing, as much as itâs kind of a metaphor for life, and how weâre all kind of here in this finite amount of time, and weâre all just passing through; that wheel keeps on moving. Iâve always been a âwalk through doors that are open, do the thing that seems like the right thing even if it doesnât make sense to anybody elseâ kind of guy, musically or just personally. Iâm terrible at it sometimes but sometimes I get it right, and I try to keep that in mind all the time.Weâre not all perfect.
[Laughs] Oh, I donât think anybody is, but you try to pick a philosophy that you think might make your life easier and stick with that. But you know, everybody has their ways of doing things.Thatâs very true. It seems like your album was such a stand out album this year because it sounds so different from anything else that youâve written, or really, anything thatâs going on in country music now. Was that intentional, or has that just always been the style that you like to play in?
You know, I spent a long time trying to get to what we got to sonically on this record. It was something I thought couldnât be done anymore, and then I heard about half a song off of Sturgill Simpsonâs last record, and I said, "Man, who is this guy making this record?" The sound of it just struck me up, like, "This guy knows how to make records sound like the old records that I like." And so, that lead me to [producer] Dave Cobb. I reached out, and he was kind enough to take a look, and it turned out we had a lot in common; I feel very much like Dave is someone who Iâve known for years and years, and am completely comfortable with musically. We can trust each other; heâs fearless, he wants to serve whatever your vision of this record is, and he's not trying to make you sound like something else. Thatâs a great way to make music and approach music.
Everybody has up days and down days, and I made this record in a lot more serious headspace. I was borrowing from heroes, and trying to get back to the feeling that that kind of music gave me and still gives me when I hear it. Even though a lot of itâs sad or dark, I guess itâs some kind of morbid fascination with that that makes me feel good [laughs]. I canât explain how that works; maybe when you sing songs about all types of woe, it helps you realize everythingâs not that bad. Not that thereâs anything wrong with a really happy, uptempo, just kind of fun swinginâ in the sunshine kind of songâwe need those songs tooâbut itâs not what I gravitate to musically or as a listener. So, it only makes sense for me to live there.;When youâre playing these songs on stage for people, do you find it difficult to revisit these themes over and over again, night after night? Do you feel like it takes a toll?
I love the songs, and I love this record as whole as a piece of work. And I love how much people love it, the people who come to shows really love this music and this record, and theyâre invested in it in a way that elevates it from what it was before someone listened to it and loved it. And so, that lifts me up. When you hear someone singing words back to you, itâs a magical thing that you get to participate in. Not everybody gets to feel that as a musician, or somebody that makes records and itâs a really wonderful thingâbetter than any drug or anything like that, itâs just a high that canât really be explained.How much of your record, and your writing in general, is autobiographical?
Thatâs a hard question to answer because for me, I didnât used to think that I would write things that were necessarily autobiographical; I would try to make up fictional characters, and over time, what I found out was that your personal stuff winds up in there whether you like it or not. Sometimes you donât realize that until much much later, and youâre like, âYeah i remember writing that song, I remember what was going on that day and why I was in that mood.â You realize that you can run from making personal music all you want to, and itâll still wind up being personal. So thatâs just the blessing and the curse of it.Who are some of the artists that youâre really inspired by right now?
I love all kinds of different music, but I guess if I had to pick one right here in the moment, Iâm on a Freddy King kick. Heâs a blues artist, but itâs all the same thing. Country is just the blues played by hillbillies, and bluegrass is just the blues played with banjos, you know [laughs]. A lot of rock'n'roll is just the blues turned up real loud. Itâs all the blues for me, and then you just change the instruments around and try to trick yourself into thinking itâs something different. Not that Iâm any kind of expert on the blues, but I feel like a lot of American music in general comes from there. So, Freddy King has been in heavy, heavy rotation; I think he has maybe the best electric guitar iâve ever heard in my life, and itâs moving. Itâs moving to listen to Freddy King.Whatâs your relationship with Justin Timberlake? How did you guys meet?
We met through a mutual friend who, a guy named Joe Fletcher who works for a record label, and Joe handed me his music and said âI thought you might like this." We wound up hanging out off of that ,and just kind of grew from there.Do you think that maybe weâll see some future Justin Timberlake, Chris Stapleton collaborations?
I never say no to anything. We always look for a reason to do something together, and the CMAâs kind of became that. But you know, we still talk to each other, itâs not like the CMAâs threw us together like a "Hi, shake your hand, nice to meet you" kind of thing it; it was a very natural thing for both of us to do, and that made it easy. Heâs a singular talent that you just donât get to work with all the time, and heâs an anomaly for sure, and a great person on top of that. So, both those things put together, Iâm never going to say never. I canât speak for him but, certainly, if he called and wanted to do somethingWhatâs been the one moment for you thatâs really stood out, where you stopped and were like, "Holy shit I canât believe that this is happening"?
The CMA night had to be that night for me, and all of last year, really. We had a hugely successful release where we wound up being number two on the country charts, which was higher than I ever thought that we could be without a single. The CMA nod, it wasâI didnât expect to have any nominations but it kind of elevated into this thing, where I won one, then I won two, then I won three. All the guys in the band and the crew backstage, weâre all kind of losing our minds, like what in the world is going on, you know? It was a very unexpected and wonderfully moving night. Weâve worked so hard to get this record out there, I have to say that it was a highlight for sure.Annalise Domenighini is more of a tequila kinda gal; she's on Twitter.
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Chris Stapleton: Well, I didnât imagine it could go any better than itâs going, but itâs going really well. We sold some records and the shows seem to be selling out really quick. Thatâs a new experience for us on the scale that weâre experiencing it. Itâs all good things.I know that youâve been writing songs for a really long time. What made you want to take the leap from writing and being behind the scenes to making your own music?
Well, Iâve always been a touring musician in some capacity. I was in a bluegrass band that I made a couple records with called the Steel Drivers, and I was in a rock band called The Johnson Brothers. [They were] kind of an indie band. We played 70s kind of riff rock, real loud kind of stuff [laughs]. But country music was always home. I've been real fortunate to have cuts and a hit or two here or there in that world, and those things kind of allowed me to go out and explore the other side of music that interested me. One has always kind of fed the other for me. This was the first time they really kind of converged on each other and turned in to whatever this has turned into.
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The songs that are on this record span the entirety of my career as a songwriter, so there are songs on there that, at the time they were recorded, they were 12 or 13 years old, so some of them were from the first year I was in Nashville. We got to put songs together in that way, and that made the record feel a little differentâbasically it was like taking 15 years of songwriting, and cherry picking, and putting them on the record. The only song that was written after my father passed away was the song "Traveller," during a road trip in a Jeep my wife and I took to California, and that was really the only song that was kind of a newish song. And "Traveller" for me is not a literal thing, as much as itâs kind of a metaphor for life, and how weâre all kind of here in this finite amount of time, and weâre all just passing through; that wheel keeps on moving. Iâve always been a âwalk through doors that are open, do the thing that seems like the right thing even if it doesnât make sense to anybody elseâ kind of guy, musically or just personally. Iâm terrible at it sometimes but sometimes I get it right, and I try to keep that in mind all the time.
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[Laughs] Oh, I donât think anybody is, but you try to pick a philosophy that you think might make your life easier and stick with that. But you know, everybody has their ways of doing things.Thatâs very true. It seems like your album was such a stand out album this year because it sounds so different from anything else that youâve written, or really, anything thatâs going on in country music now. Was that intentional, or has that just always been the style that you like to play in?
You know, I spent a long time trying to get to what we got to sonically on this record. It was something I thought couldnât be done anymore, and then I heard about half a song off of Sturgill Simpsonâs last record, and I said, "Man, who is this guy making this record?" The sound of it just struck me up, like, "This guy knows how to make records sound like the old records that I like." And so, that lead me to [producer] Dave Cobb. I reached out, and he was kind enough to take a look, and it turned out we had a lot in common; I feel very much like Dave is someone who Iâve known for years and years, and am completely comfortable with musically. We can trust each other; heâs fearless, he wants to serve whatever your vision of this record is, and he's not trying to make you sound like something else. Thatâs a great way to make music and approach music.
This new record is very melancholy. Did you write from a place of sadness?
Everybody has up days and down days, and I made this record in a lot more serious headspace. I was borrowing from heroes, and trying to get back to the feeling that that kind of music gave me and still gives me when I hear it. Even though a lot of itâs sad or dark, I guess itâs some kind of morbid fascination with that that makes me feel good [laughs]. I canât explain how that works; maybe when you sing songs about all types of woe, it helps you realize everythingâs not that bad. Not that thereâs anything wrong with a really happy, uptempo, just kind of fun swinginâ in the sunshine kind of songâwe need those songs tooâbut itâs not what I gravitate to musically or as a listener. So, it only makes sense for me to live there.;
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I love the songs, and I love this record as whole as a piece of work. And I love how much people love it, the people who come to shows really love this music and this record, and theyâre invested in it in a way that elevates it from what it was before someone listened to it and loved it. And so, that lifts me up. When you hear someone singing words back to you, itâs a magical thing that you get to participate in. Not everybody gets to feel that as a musician, or somebody that makes records and itâs a really wonderful thingâbetter than any drug or anything like that, itâs just a high that canât really be explained.How much of your record, and your writing in general, is autobiographical?
Thatâs a hard question to answer because for me, I didnât used to think that I would write things that were necessarily autobiographical; I would try to make up fictional characters, and over time, what I found out was that your personal stuff winds up in there whether you like it or not. Sometimes you donât realize that until much much later, and youâre like, âYeah i remember writing that song, I remember what was going on that day and why I was in that mood.â You realize that you can run from making personal music all you want to, and itâll still wind up being personal. So thatâs just the blessing and the curse of it.
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I love all kinds of different music, but I guess if I had to pick one right here in the moment, Iâm on a Freddy King kick. Heâs a blues artist, but itâs all the same thing. Country is just the blues played by hillbillies, and bluegrass is just the blues played with banjos, you know [laughs]. A lot of rock'n'roll is just the blues turned up real loud. Itâs all the blues for me, and then you just change the instruments around and try to trick yourself into thinking itâs something different. Not that Iâm any kind of expert on the blues, but I feel like a lot of American music in general comes from there. So, Freddy King has been in heavy, heavy rotation; I think he has maybe the best electric guitar iâve ever heard in my life, and itâs moving. Itâs moving to listen to Freddy King.
We met through a mutual friend who, a guy named Joe Fletcher who works for a record label, and Joe handed me his music and said âI thought you might like this." We wound up hanging out off of that ,and just kind of grew from there.Do you think that maybe weâll see some future Justin Timberlake, Chris Stapleton collaborations?
I never say no to anything. We always look for a reason to do something together, and the CMAâs kind of became that. But you know, we still talk to each other, itâs not like the CMAâs threw us together like a "Hi, shake your hand, nice to meet you" kind of thing it; it was a very natural thing for both of us to do, and that made it easy. Heâs a singular talent that you just donât get to work with all the time, and heâs an anomaly for sure, and a great person on top of that. So, both those things put together, Iâm never going to say never. I canât speak for him but, certainly, if he called and wanted to do somethingWhatâs been the one moment for you thatâs really stood out, where you stopped and were like, "Holy shit I canât believe that this is happening"?
The CMA night had to be that night for me, and all of last year, really. We had a hugely successful release where we wound up being number two on the country charts, which was higher than I ever thought that we could be without a single. The CMA nod, it wasâI didnât expect to have any nominations but it kind of elevated into this thing, where I won one, then I won two, then I won three. All the guys in the band and the crew backstage, weâre all kind of losing our minds, like what in the world is going on, you know? It was a very unexpected and wonderfully moving night. Weâve worked so hard to get this record out there, I have to say that it was a highlight for sure.Annalise Domenighini is more of a tequila kinda gal; she's on Twitter.