| ERIC CHURCH Bio:
Eric Church is on a mission. You might expect someone coming
off of their first two Top Ten country singles and an ACM Award for “Top
New Solo Vocalist” to lock down the formula and go for more of the same,
but with third album, Chief, Church is trying something bolder
and using the opportunity provided by his success to push his music even
further.
“I have a theory that all of us only get a small window of time to
make records when people will really listen and care,” he says. “It's up
to us to move the needle. People like Waylon and Cash or Garth and
Strait - they all took the format and said ‘We're going over here,’ and
they all changed the direction of the music a little bit.”
Church’s 2006 debut album, Sinners Like Me, established him as
one of the most acclaimed new songwriters in country music. The
follow-up, 2009’s Carolina, includes the singles “Love Your Love
the Most” and “Smoke a Little Smoke,” which—along with the continually
escalating popularity of his hard-charging live show—elevated Church to
the top ranks of today’s country stars. Although “Smoke” was peaking on
the charts, Church decided to take a step back to give some thought to
his next creative direction.
“I took about a month off and went to a cabin in North Carolina,” he
says. “We’ve always blazed our own trail and I was trying to figure out
where it needed to go and, honestly, I wasn't sure. So, I didn't go
anywhere for a month. Writers came out and we just wrote songs all day
and all night. That really stoked the creative flame. Then, I spent the
next six months on tour writing whenever I could.”
The songs that resulted illustrate Church’s impressive range. Some of
the titles like “Drink in My Hand” or “Hungover & Hard Up,” instantly
show that he’s still comfortable with the expectations of his rowdy live
audience. “You’ve got to know what's going to fire them up,” he says,
“but, you also need to give them a twist, something they can't just go
back and get from the other two records.”
Other songs, like the ambitious “Springsteen” or “Like Jesus Does,”
reveal complicated emotions and sophisticated song structures. Perhaps
the bravest track on CHIEF is the first single, “Homeboy,” a provocative
appeal from one brother to another to get back on track and make peace
with his family.
“‘Homeboy’ deals with social issues and with everyday life,” says
Church. “It was pretty challenging for me to take that term ‘homeboy’
and use it as slang, as a destination, and then at the end, as a
spiritual place. Sonically, it's like three or four different songs.”
“It’s not something people are used to,” he continues, “and there can
be a price to pay for that. I’ve had people say ‘that's strange,’ ‘it's
odd’—things that some people might run from but, I think it's
fantastic.”
When it came time to record the album, Church had a sound in mind
that felt different from his first two releases. “This record, more than
anything else I've done, is breathing and alive,” he says. “There’s a
wildness to it. It’s untamed and not very harnessed.”
This energy started with the singer’s own role in the sessions. Much
of CHIEF was cut live in the studio. Church played guitar with the band
(and for the first time on record, electric guitar on “Like Jesus Does”)
and some of the final versions even use the original tracking vocal.
Church gives credit to producer Jay Joyce, with whom he has made all
three of his albums, for helping to bring this excitement out on the
tracks. “There’s just a comfort level with Jay,” he says. “We’ve both
learned to sit back and let each other try different paths and get
farther out there. A lot of stuff we just tried, like the handclap loop
on ‘Homeboy,’ just because we weren’t afraid. We never thought there was
anything we couldn’t do. I think it’s the most aggressive record I’ve
made because of that.”
Though Eric Church’s focus is on looking forward rather than looking
back, he does acknowledge that the surprising success of “Smoke a Little
Smoke” allowed him to explore and experiment with his new songs. Church
explains, “This was the first time I picked a single because of the
reaction on the road and it paid off.”
The desire to capture the intensity of his live show on record is
indicated right in the title of the new album. "‘Chief’ was my
grandfather’s nickname, and it has become my nickname on the road,"
Church reveals. "When it's show time, I put on the sunglasses and the
hat, and that's how people know it's game time. This album was made from
a live place; we recorded it with the live show in mind, so it just
seemed right to make that the title."
If there is one thing country music needs more of, it’s the attitude
that is driving Eric Church, the approach behind every song on CHIEF,
the fearlessness that lets an artist swing for the fences and try to
leave a mark on history. “There were safer choices I could have made for
sure, but I just can't feel that helps anybody,” he says. “If you have
any respect for the music, you'll use each chance you get to try to be
one of the ones who moves the flag.”
website:
www.EricChurch.com |
