Quotable Country – 05/31/10 Edition

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I’ve always had a genuine passion for country. I think that audiences appreciate that, and that’s why they’re giving me a chance. Country music was one of the types of music I grew up with, so elements of it naturally come out in my songwriting. Listening to a lot of my songs — all the way back to ‘Follow Me’ — I feel like I’ve been making country music for years. ●
- – Ugh, Uncle Kracker.

Someone asked me the other day what my goal is. To be honest, I want to be the biggest star in the history of country music. If you want less than that, you’ve already given up. ●
- – Justin Moore is setting his sights high.

I think they’re the best songs written, just the emotion and the lyrics, and the way that they sing them. ●
- – British singer-songwriter Adele on country music.

These days, for God’s sake, you have to be first of all impressed by any young artists who know anything at all about country music history. Many, many would-be new artists today are total blank slates with no music history at all, just good looks and youth and glam, waiting to be programmed. May as well implant a music chip in their brain. ●
- – Chet Flippo on Chris Young, the exception that proves the rule.

This three-song playlist gave Young the opportunity to record some of his favorite country classics, ones that go a little deeper than most. These tunes fit who he is. “To me this is like the Nashville equivalency test,” he told me. “If you don’t know ‘Chiseled in Stone,’ something’s wrong.” ●
- – This quote isn’t funny until you consider that Chris Young was saying it to Alison Bonaguro, and imagine her nodding in agreement as she made a mental note to figure out what “Chiseled in Stone” was.

Chris Young’s current three-week No. 1 song, ‘The Man I Want to Be,’ could very well be used to describe his new EP, ‘Voices.’ [...] Ironically, Chris’ next single is titled ‘Voices,’ and comes from his current album, ‘The Man I Want to Be.’ It may be a bit confusing, but one of the reasons he felt the title would be a perfect fit for his EP was because these were the “voices” who inspired him. ●
- – Err, that’s not ironic. Actually, I’m pretty sure they planned it that way.

Darryl Worley has delivered a new political song, “Keep the Change,” to country radio as his new single. Worley co-wrote the song with Jim “Moose” Brown and Kevin “Swine” Grant after a concert tour of Iraq earlier this month. ●
- – Darryl Worley is missing his animal nickname. Please submit your suggestions.

I was working my way down to an acoustic album. I was just gonna do me and a guitar, and the title song off of this album is just me and my guitar, so that was where I was heading and probably where I’ll go on the next album. The success of this title song, “I Am What I Am,” has been phenomenal. It’s stopping the show. We’ve been closing the show with it. ●
- – Merle Haggard might strip it way down next time around. The music, I mean.

We started this band as a bunch of high school friends with a dream of making music, and we’ve taken that dream to incredible places that have opened a lot of doors for us. I look forward to thanking the fans on our tour dates throughout this year; they’ve always been there for us. ●
- – The Lost Trailers are breaking up. Crestfallen is the only word.

And when one gal rebuffs his advances by saying she doesn’t dance with strangers, he replies that they’re not strangers because he’s already loved her in his mind. Awkward! ●
- – Craig Shelburne on Conway Twitty.

It may seem from an outsider looking in, a straight person, like, ‘Why do gay people have to make a big deal about coming out?’ But not a lot of people are murdered for being straight. Not a lot of people are unfairly fired for being straight. . . . And I can’t think of one person who was ever denied their dream of being a country music singer for being straight. I had fantasies of walking out at shows and saying, ‘Thank you all for coming out to my show tonight, and I just have to tell you all something: I’m gay.’ Because tending to my secret was a big, big job, and it about killed me. ●
- – Chely Wright? Still a lesbian.

It’s like a cat trying to take down a bear. ●
- – Randy Houser describes his own guitar playing.

Kelley’s warm, gritty tenor mixed beautifully with Scott’s clear soprano. Better yet, the pair adopted postures when singing together that suggested they might be in love. ●
- – From a Lady Antebellum review. How is that ‘better yet’ than the music itself?

Q: Looking back now, how do you feel country music insiders responded to Natalie’s comment about President Bush and the war?
A: After the documentary [Shut Up & Sing] came out and the Grammys, you could almost look out into the audience and see the country faces that so wished you hadn’t won the Grammy.
Q: Like who?
A: Reba McEntire. She wouldn’t even clap. Then the camera panned to her, so she mustered a little applause for the camera. That was actually captured on the telecast. She’s been outwardly critical of us. Some of it has been poking fun and that’s fine, because we have been the butt of jokes. However, some of it, and not just Reba in particular, was pretty harsh. ●
- – Martie Maguire on life as a Dixie Chick.

He told me, ‘You talk funny.’ I told him, ‘Well, you do, too.’ ●
- – Mel Tillis on working with Arnold Schwarzenegger.

I would love to be part of that country music comeback, because I think there’s a lot of people who miss real country music all over the world, and they’re just not getting it. I would like to be part of that group that brings it back. We won’t let country music die. Not gonna. ●
- – Between saving country music and saving Louisiana, Sammy Kershaw is gonna have his hands full.

Q: Something about that “Snake in the Bed” song sounds like the snake in question was more literal than metaphorical.
A: It’s actually 100 percent true. I was at Georgia Southern; I was sick, I was sleeping downstairs on a foldout couch-bed and I thought I would catch up on some schoolwork. [... snake anecdote continues...] But I actually wrote the song after watching Bush’s State of the Union address in 2005 or 2006. It’s somehow metaphorical; I don’t quite understand it myself.
Q: Something about watching George Bush address the nation made you think of a black snake in the bed?
A: It just seemed like there was some trickery going on. ●
- – Elizabeth Cook.

I think we’ve been guilty of trying to branch out a little [too much], of trying to cross all boundaries and sell in all markets: to be all things to everybody, and I’m not sure we can be that. ●
- – Willie Nelson’s an unlikely (but not really) champion of the ‘back to country’ movement.

With his movie star good looks, Jake could play any number of roles, but as he says, it would have to be a “cool” character. “For instance, Johnny Depp is cool,” says the Florida native. “He can do the dude from ‘Pirates of the Caribbean,’ or ‘Edward Scissorhands,’ or he could be the guy from ‘What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?’ and ‘Donnie Brasco,’ or he was the guy in ‘Blow.’ I could [play] any of those guys.” ●
- – Based on the sophistication with which he discusses the craft, I’m gonna go out on a limb here and guess that Jake Owen wouldn’t make a very good actor.