ARTIST INTERVIEW: Chase Bryant


You haven’t lived and loved country music completely until you’ve seen Mr. Take It On Back hit the stage and rock out.

You’ll be in awe when you see him shred on guitar.
You’ll struggle to catch your breath when he turns on the charm.
And that voice.
Oh that voice will have you swooning every single time.

Chase Bryant found success with his top ten hit “Take It On Back” earlier this year and is now looking forward to releasing a new full album and beginning a tour with Tim McGraw this summer.

I sat down and talked with Chase about his musical inspirations, his new single, his “Give A Little Bit Of You Campaign”, his romantic side, and his future.

Got my wheels pullin off that highway
My headlights pullin down your street
I got your song cranked up on the radio

Meet the man behind the lyrics.
Chase Bryant.
(photo credit: Chris Tuite) 
Chase, I'm curious…what made you want to start singing/writing?
 I think growing up in a musical family. I was always, always singing. It always made me the happiest. And just being around my family helped me realize that it was just the right thing for me to do. I saw how much they loved it and of course I fell in love with it too.

We all know you can kill it on guitar, did you teach yourself?
Ha! Well yeah, I did. I mean I play upside down and backwards. I play right-handed guitar, left-handed. Nobody else really does that!

Who are your biggest musical inspirations?
Oh wow! There are plenty of those. Michael McDonald being one of them. Vince Gill, Keith Urban, Tom Petty, Brian Adams. Yeah, all those guys were pretty big to me.

Where do you get inspiration to write?
Well for me, I think it’s all about whether you are in love or had your heart broken. Whether you’ve just been to a great party or really anything. It’s all about what is happening in life at the time.

Do you tend to go into writes with a plethora of ideas in your head or just with a blank slate? How do you like to write?
I go in with ideas sometimes but then other times I just like to go off the moment. I also try to feel out my other writers also. That’s really important. It’s one of those things where you kinda just have to feel them out. Every single day and write is different. Y0u may walk into a write one day and your mood may change.

Do you have a favorite song that you’ve written or co-written?
Change Your Name is the one I wrote that is probably my favorite. 

You had a hand in writing your new single “Little Bit Of You”, how did this song come together?
I was with Ashley Gorley and Derek George and as a matter of fact I actually think it was a title that had gotten thrown around multiple times. We’d messed with a bunch of stuff and other ideas but finally came back to that one. It was one of those things where it didn’t take long at all. I mean it DID take a while for it to come together because we had moved on to other ideas but once Ashley started playing piano and I picked up banjo or guitar and we came up with the signature lick of that song it just all came together.

Did you have the moment instantly where you knew it would be one of your singles?
No actually! The label and Benny Brown called and told me I needed to cut the song. The record was basically already done. We had already cut everything we had planned to cut. It was kind of a last minute thing.

Tell us a little bit about the “Give A Little Bit Of You Campaign” that was recently extended until April 13th.
It was an idea from the label.  There is a lady who actually came up with that idea. I’m always about that. I am always brainstorming and coming up with ideas of what we can do to try and give back to fans and do stuff like that. I’m just very glad that people caught on to it and helped shine light on those who don’t always get the credit they deserve.

We actually got the first 500 people in like an hour. We had hoped to reach 500 in a couple of weeks. We’ve now extended the date (April 13th) and upped the number to 1,000.

What moment in your career is your favorite thus far?
I mean there were many but two really stick out.
One was recording with Michael McDonald. I got to cut a song with him and that was huge.

The second has been having a top ten single. That was one of the best days of my life.

If you could tour with anyone it would be….?
Tim McGraw! Oh, wait ha! I already am!
Maybe Shania Twain? I would love that!

If I weren’t a singer/songwriter I would be…?
A professional bass fisher.

What is one thing people may not know about you?
Oh gosh! Um, I hunt and fish more than anything else. I mean I’m an outdoorsman! A lot of people may not actually know that.

As far as it comes to like love-life stuff, I’m a sentimental guy. I’m actually very, very sentimental.

We are four months into the New Year, what does the rest of 2015 look like for you? New music? Festivals? Etc.
New music! We are hoping for a number one this year. That would be awesome! Other than that, I'm just looking forward to whatever comes my way. Hard work and determination are always most important. I’m just trying to make sure I follow through with that

I know you are gonna release a full album! Anything you can tell us about that?
We are! There is gonna be like 16 songs on it. It’s gonna be a big record. It’s the record I’ve always wanted to make. I’m just really glad it worked out like it did.

LITTLE BIT OF YOU LYRIC VIDEO



Special thanks to Chase for taking time out of his busy schedule to talk with The Tennessee Life.
Catch Chase Bryant on tour this summer with Tim McGraw. For complete tour dates visit http://www.chasebryant.com/tour/