OFF THE RECORD

Warner/WEA’s Michael Ray goes Off (The Record): More than grown, I’ve come to trust myself and my sense of what country is. When I was growing up, country was what you heard in a dive bar or maybe on a jukebox at a Waffle House. Haggard, Conway, Hank Jr., Willie, Waylon and Jones. People drop those names a lot, but where I’m from, that was serious listening. On Dive Bars & Broken Hearts, I really trusted that there are enough people out there, like me, who want to hear that kind of country.

When I started working with Michael Knox on this project, it was about a sound more than a theme. I’ve had a sound in my head for the last few years based on the country I was raised on through my dad and my grandfather. That’s what I wanted to get to. The more Michael and I talked, the more I could tell, he got what I was saying.

If you’ve played any time in a local bar, the album title sums it all up. You stand up there, playing and watching it all happen. And it feels like the bigger the heartbreak, the seedier the bar you’re gonna look for. Not sleazy, just broke down and seen some things. That’s what I loved about dive bars growing up – watching people move through life. So, this title captures that.

One of my favorites is “Don’t Give A Truck.” Rian Ball, John Phillips, Michael Tyler and I were just sitting around, talking about ‘70s and ‘80s country and listening to “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys.” I love the spirit of that song. If you give a boy a truck, it’s a license to get into all kinds of trouble. But also, it’s a license to live life, to have fun and test your limits. You know once you give a boy a truck, they’re gonna get gone, but they’re also on their way. What could be better?

“Spirits & Demons” really stood out when we heard it. It’s one of the most complete, boil-it-down ways of capturing how alcohol can pull you under, can numb your pain … but can also be the thing that undoes you. I loved the song when it wasn’t a duet, but it felt like it could – and should – be so much more. When we added Meghan (Patrick), who’s been a beerdrinking buddy for years, she took it up three levels!

And then “Workin’ On It,” because it’s about redemption, accepting that people mess up and people get better. Every single one of us has those things, and we’re all trying to move beyond them, too. When we were in the studio and the band kicked in, it was like time travel to some of those great Brooks & Dunn records. You just wanna move to it, and it was like that from the first run-through.

The reaction so far has been great. When you press into something that’s true to who you are, you worry people may not get it. It’s more than not liking my music, it’s not liking where I come from in a lot of ways. This music is personal. So the positive response – the cheering for these songs and even singing along at shows – tells me people like who I am and where I come from. And that feels great.