From topics spanning the past, present & future, I had a lot of questions to ask country chart-topper Chase Bryant. Check out Part 1 of our interview here, and read on for our discussion on the images and words that inspired Upbringing, what's next for Chase, and the questions he really wishes he was asked in interviews - enjoy!
Ciara's Country (CC): I love the idea that you've got all of these stories from your past like that, and I was really intrigued by the imagery in one of your songs, Think About That. It's so vivid - you've got Mellencamp shirts, wildflower tattoos, Mardi Gras beads, there’s a Pat Green CD in there as well. Is that all based on real memories?
Chase Bryant (CB): There's parts of it for sure. Pat Green was a huge influence to me in high school - the Lucky Ones and Cannonball, all those records. I love his records and I think he's one of the most understated country acts – him and Jack Ingram, Randy Rogers, some of those Texas guys, they all have some killer records.
The Mardi Gras beads, who doesn't remember people having those! We'd never know what they meant, we didn't ever get out of the state, but I've been to Louisiana, and I was like ‘man, those aren't really a thing to be giving to kids!’ They're all things that I remember of the past. That whole thing kind of came from listening to Tom Petty's Wildflowers record and seeing the cover and then seeing a girl walk by at one point with a wildflower tattoo. I thought ‘I bet somebody is thinking about that’.
CC: So it’s all these various elements coming together.
CB: Yeah, that's my thing. I've always loved these books that capture you by images, or movies that think in images. It's a shame what he did, but I listened to the records that Ryan Adams made back in the day before all the stuff came out about him. Songs like New York, New York and When The Stars Go Blue, songs of that nature. I love that just paint an image from start to finish.
CC: From visual imagery to word magic, another of the songs that I really love on Upbringing is In The First Place, particularly because of that play on words about never loving someone in the first place, not in terms of never loving them at all, but not loving them in ‘first place, podium position number one’. What does it take to turn words into things that are clever, heartfelt, more than they seem?
CB: In The First Place was written by Ryan Beaver and Steven Wilson Jr. - those guys are so freakishly talented. We wrote a handful of songs together, we wrote a song that wasn't on this record, that I heard the other day and was like, ‘why did we not put that on this record?’ That's happened a tonne of times now, it just keeps happening! But on a song like that, I so connected to that. I think all of us have had relationships at points where we say things we don't mean, we say we love the other person and we don't.
I'm in a relationship now that I can say things I do mean, and if I tell somebody I love them, I mean it, but I looking back, I wouldn't have gone to the ends of the earth for the other person realistically, you know? I think that that's where things like that come from, and that's the great part about country music and its history. There were so many of those songs that that were done that way, but how do you say it in a way that somebody else hasn't said? In The First Place did, and it was a way that just knocked me off my feet. I was like, ‘oh my god, I have to have that song’.
CC: I’m glad you did! You’ve written so many songs yourself too - as a songwriter, how do you write songs that say things in a different way to how they've already been done so many times?
CB: For me, there were so many songs that didn't make this record just because I didn't want to give credit to something that didn't need it. There were songs about days I felt like dying and so on and so forth, and there were days that I was heartbroken. I just wanted to be brutally honest, and that’s who I am naturally. I am 100% brutally honest, I don't know how to change that, you know? For me, when you find a bit of honesty, you just dig, you dig that hole until it can't go any deeper. I think that’s where some of the best songs come from. But then there's other times, you’ve got to create the storyline and hope that you have enough knowledge to make it completely exist.
CC: That song that you mentioned you wished was on the album, will that ever see the light of day?
CB: There are two records that I made within this time frame that will probably never come out, but we've talked about different inclinations of how we can get them out there into the world. I will tell you, I just started working on another record again which I'm super excited about. There's a lot of great stuff, so some of that will be around.
CC: Amazing! I've just got one album, Upbringing, and I'm already looking forward to the next one!
CB: Thanks so much!
CC: We touched on it slightly earlier when you mentioned some of the artists in country music who are not getting the credit they deserve. What artists out there do you think everyone needs to be listening to?
CB: To me, it’s guys like Parker McCollum. I think he's incredibly talented, he's a great songwriter. There are other ones, some classics that I still love what they do, like Randy Rogers from Texas - I love his records, I think they're incredible. I think Jack Ingram is another one, Pat Green. But on the younger side of things, it's hard. I'm listening to stuff these days, and I don't feel like enough young people are turned on by the same music that I am, so it's hard to find things that I really love.
Jon Randall has a new record out - you can't go wrong with Jon, you just can't. One of the other guys that I'm really waiting to see what he does is Steven Wilson Jr. He's a good friend, we write a lot of stuff together. I think he's one of most talented, incredible, artists there is, and I think he's going to make a huge statement in our genre.
CC: I'm hoping that we'll have some joint projects coming up between you and a lot of those guys then.
CB: That'd be great!
CC: My last question for you, Chase, is what is one question you've never been asked in an interview, but would love to be?
CB: Oh, god, that’s really good. Wow. Half the time I get off some interviews going ‘why do they ask me those questions?’ but I’ve never thought about what they should ask me… That is like the greatest question I've ever been asked in an interview! Holy cow. You know, I wonder why sometimes people don't include me in political questions, but I'm glad they don't.
I’m not trying to pick one side or the other or any of that stuff, but I think it's just at a point where I feel like there are people that should focus on their jobs and being better at their craft and trying to be a better politician. That floors me sometimes. Some people don't ask me current affair questions because they know I'll just be brutally honest! More importantly, I just want to focus on my career and make sure that I'm putting out great music and allowing people to enjoy themselves, so that's always been super important to me.
CC: I really appreciate your honesty there, and I hope that when the time comes, they do give you the opportunity to speak your mind! Chase, it has been an absolute pleasure, thank you so much for answering all of my questions, and I really am already looking forward to that next record!
CB: Awesome, thank you so much!
Huge thank you to Chase for taking the time to chat with me - you can find his new album Upbringing wherever you get your music, and even more Chase content on my blog too! Plenty more interviews coming soon, so stay tuned to @CiarasCountry to be the first to know when they're posted. Thanks so much for reading!
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