ARTIST INTERVIEW: Preston Summerville

“One of the reasons I wanted to be a songwriter was because no matter what’s going on in life, whether it’s good or bad, my situation or my family or friends, all I can think about is how can this go into a song. That’s how I knew there could never be another path for me.”

With close to 500 shows under his belt since the time he was 19, Preston Summerville could be the face of determination. He's never cut a song he didn't have a hand in writing, and he's spent the last three years as a successful independent artist. If there's anyone in the business who deserves your attention and support, it's this guy.

I wanna start by getting to know you a little better. I read that you grew up on a chicken farm in the same hometown as Sam Hunt?

I did. My grandparents built chicken houses. When I was little I started working on the chicken farm. I used to have to work when I was a kid before school. I would wake up and work with the chickens and then I’d go to school and all the kids would look like they just woke up and they’d ask me why I was tired. I had been up for three hours.

Well I bet that helped you develop your strong work ethic?

Exactly. When I was a kid I used to hate it. But now, I’ve realized that I learned at a young age what hard work can get you.

At what age did you start diving into the music side of things?

Well I got my first guitar when I was six. But like every other six year old who gets a guitar, I beat on it and threw it around. When I was about twelve years old I started really getting into it. My dad had showed me a couple chords and songs on the guitar. So after baseball practice or baseball games I’d make all my buddies listen to me play. They were just amazed by it. I just thought it was really cool to be able to do something my friends couldn’t do.

It kinda grew from tryin’ to show off to my friends as a little kid to being something I just couldn’t put down. Since the time I was 11 years old there might be a handful of days where I haven’t played guitar.

When did you take the leap and move to Nashville?

I moved in February. It’s been a recent move. My hometown is maybe 3 ½ hours away. So from the time I was maybe 19 or 20 I started to meet people and I would schedule co-writes up there and drive up in the morning and do two co-writes and I could drive home. It wasn’t a “have to” move because I am lucky enough to be closer than a lot of people.

You have a hand in writing all the songs you record, right?

Correct. I’ve never cut another song of anyone elses that I haven’t been a part of.

How do you prefer to go into a writing session? With ideas already in your head or with a blank slate?

I guess it kinda depends on the writer that you are with. I’ve been on my way to a co-write where I’ve said ‘God, give me something to write about’ because I had nothing in my head to write about in that moment. I like to hit scan on the radio and I’ll catch a line from another song and it’ll pop an idea in my head. Just random lines from songs that have nothing to do with my take on the phrase. That tends to spark an idea in my head.

Other times, I’ll go in with half a song written. There’s actually been times where I’ve gone in with a whole song already written that I just wasn’t completely satisfied with. Bringing in another strong songwriter can sometimes help me out and finish a song completely.

I’ve written songs where we just go in and I’ll pick up a melody on a guitar and start seeing what falls into place.

If you could write with anyone, who would it be?

Eric Church. He’s like my hero. I look up to Eric Church a lot. He started getting pretty big when I was about 18 or 19 and I was in college. I started learning a lot of his songs. I don’t know, there’s just something about him. I’m a fan of people like that. There’s a lot of great singers in country music and a lot of great songs out there. But I’m a huge Gary Allan fan. Gary Allan is obviously famous but not crazy popular. When Gary Allan sings, you feel something. THAT’s what I’m a fan of.

“I’ve got my party songs, my drinking songs, and stuff but I’ve also got my deep down songs. That’s what I really love about music. That’s what I really enjoy about songwriting.”

As I was listening to your EP a few days ago and I kept thinking, “I wonder how often Preston gets compared to people like Sam Hunt and Old Dominion?”

It’s started to happen a little bit more. As a songwriter, I can write pop songs, rock songs, Christian songs, anything. [The comparisons] have started happening more recently than it has before because I’ve moved to Nashville and started to meet more songwriters and work with more people.

There are people who say ‘this isn’t country music’ and ‘we don’t like this’ and honestly I used to be kinda like that too. But the thing is, once I made it to Nashville I started getting to work with tons of people who all had different ideas of music and what they thought would work. I’m not scared to change anymore. Change is good. Think about it, between Hank Sr. and Waylon Jennings, that’s nothing alike. But the thing is, the people who get so much criticism for being different and changing music, those are the ones who eventually become the rock of that brand of music.

The more I’ve been in Nashville the more my eyes have been opened. I don’t think I’m necessarily changing who I am, I’m just experiencing new things and I’m learning new things along the way.

Let’s talk about ‘How Do I Get You Back’ for a minute.

What was the story or idea behind this track and how did it come together?

I actually wrote that with a good friend of mine in Nashville. She’s actually the one who started it. She sent it to me and it’s still crazy to me that we wrote that song completely through email. She sent me some lyrics, I added some lyrics and a melody, I put my twist on it and it all just kinda fell in place. It wasn’t completely written from a life experience. It was just an idea she’d had and I went in and changed some things that she’d written from a girl’s perspective and adjusted it to make it more mine.

Your new single ‘Bottle’ comes out this week (September 4^th). Tell us a little about this song. Was this a song that you knew immediately had potential to be a single for you?

Um, not really. It seems like all the songs that everybody else likes aren’t always my favorite. It just always seems to happen like that. That song actually came when I was eating with my wife and her family at Texas Roadhouse and I had ordered a beer or something and someone made a comment like ‘I can’t believe you drink that’ and I said ‘I don’t even like the way it tastes, I’m just lookin for the buzz at the end of the bottle’. As soon as I said that I pulled my phone out and wrote it down.

I do that a lot. From high school-college and the past two years I probably have 15 notebooks full of ideas and verses and even complete songs that I cold never remember how to play again.

With a jam packed touring schedule (playing with Lady A, Sam Hunt, Tracy Lawrence, Luke Combs, etc.) is there anyone you are super excited to share the stage with?

I’m playing a show with Donnie Millsap that I’ pretty excited about. Tracy Lawrence is top notch to me too. I’m really excited for that one.

Future?

New music? Videos? More touring?

Hopefully sooner rather than later I’m gonna try to work on getting a full album out. It’s hard. And expensive.

Some nights I’m out there and I’m like ‘why am I doing this’. Then other nights where I leave the show thinking, ‘THIS is why I do this.”

Afraid Of?

I don’t really like scary movies. They get my adrenaline pumping too much I think. I don’t like spiders. I don’t like snakes. And honestly, not being successful. That’s a huge fear of mine.

If you weren’t in the music business, what would you be doing?

A farmer.

Biggest musical inspirations?

Eric Church. Plus I grew up listening to a lot of Alan Jackson, ALABAMA, George Strait, Garth. Yeah, all those guys.

Tattoos? Meaning behind them?

Yep, I have two. One of them is a cross and has my grandad’s name in it and the day that he died. The other one is lyrics to a song I wrote for my other granddad.

What’s one thing that people might not know about you?

I’m actually a pretty quiet person. I’m kinda shy off stage. I’m not a wild guy who is crazy loud. I’m the guy that can sit at home all day by myself and just play guitar and write and go outside and cut the grass and be happy. 

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SPECIAL THANKS TO PRESTON SUMMERVILLE FOR TAKING THE TIME TO CHAT WITH THE TENNESSEE LIFE. LOOK FOR HIS NEW SINGLE 'BOTTLE' ON SEPTEMBER 4TH AND STAY TUNED FOR OUR REVIEW THE SAME DAY.