Photo by Jamie Clayton
We got the chance to chat with Memphis born, Nashville bred singer/songwriter Drew Holcomb to find out what he's got planned for his big show at the Cannery Ballroom this month.
NL: Good Light came out in February, how are people responding to it along the road?
DH: The response has felt overwhelmingly positive. Both from our fans through the last two records and really opened up a whole new audience to us as well. It was a record that we approached a lot differently than our last few, so it was encouraging to have people respond to that. As an artist whenever you try something that feels somewhat new, you're always glad when it goes well.
NL: You've said this album "perfectly tells the story for a new stage in [your] life." What's different about this album?
DH: A handful of things. First off, I didn't do any co-writing on this record except for with my wife. The last few records I've done the Nashville co-writing thing. This time around I kind of made a choice because I knew what direction I wanted to head and wanted to forge that alone. Secondly, we tracked the record in Memphis which is my hometown and we recorded much more simply than we had in the past. And then philosophically, it's a record that came out of a couple of major personal changes in my life. Having a daughter, turning 30 and becoming a man who is more comfortable in my own skin. Which is really kind of a freeing experience as a songwriter and as a performer. To know, "ok, this is who I am," and I'm not trying to necessarily figure that out as much as I used to.
NL: You wrote 40+ songs in the development of this record what happens to the ones that don't make the cut?
DH: I steal from myself because sometimes there's a song I've written that I'm not crazy about, but I love certain lyrics. A great example of this is "I Need You, You Need Me" it was one of the 40 and it felt a little bit gimmicky. But there was this line in it that was just the phrase, "what would I do without you" and so I basically scrapped the song, picked up the phrase and started over.
Another interesting song off of the record is "Nothing But Trouble" a song that's been around for about four years and it didn't make the last two records just because it didn't feel right. I love the lyrics, I couldn't find the right music for it. Everything we tried just felt really forced or felt unnatural. So I finally came up with the music that it is now and I played it for the band; they came in and said, "Yep, we made it. We finally got it." It's been one of the most popular songs live and been used on TV shows like ABC's Nashville, so I'm glad I didn't give up on that song.
The songs that remain will probably continue to be in the junk heap where you might mine them for other ideas musically or lyrically. And then there's other songs that may get re-tooled or might thematically work on a future record. I imagine most of them will just sit dormant.
NL: Favorite lyric/song from this album.
DH: "Nothing But Trouble" is definitely one of them. There's "What Would I Do Without You," and parts of that song I really love. You try not to be too proud of your own work, but there are certain times you go, "Ohh, I think I said that really well!" There's a line in that song that says "I feel like I'm walking with eyes as blind as a man without a lantern in a coal mine" and I when played that one for my wife she was like, "Yes. Yes, yes, yes."
"The Wine We Drink" is pretty full of lyrics that I'm proud of and I feel like really tell the story well. And then "Tennessee" the song is a very deeply personal anthem. It'll be one I hope my grandkids will ask, "What was your dad like?" And they'll play that one for them.
NL: You've played alongside a variety of artists Avett's, Needtobreathe, North Mississippi Allstars any bands along the way that you've really clicked with?
DH: Needtobreathe guys have especially become close friends and remain close. Years ago I did a co-headline tour with Ben Rector and he's stayed a good friend. It depends on your stage of life, you know. I did some shows with John Hiatt and he's an older guy who's kind of a quiet type. He was really cordial on the road, but he's not the kind of guy I could just call up and say "Hey I want to come over and have a barbecue!"
NL: Do you have any stories from the road you're willing to share?
DH: Sure, one of my favorite stories to tell is when I had just gotten started playing music. I was 21 years old and somehow got myself booked at this tiny coffee shop/bar in New York City called the Gallery (part of the CBGB complex) and I was covering a Ryan Adams song. I'm in the middle of my set at 7 o'clock on a Tuesday and in walks Ryan Adams. In the middle of me covering his song. I saw him walk in and am mildly freaked out, but I held it together, finished the song and then thought to myself, "I bet this is just as strange for him."
Afterwards he comes up to me and says, "Nice cover."
I said, "Thanks man, that's one of my favorite songs."
And he said, "Well, come back later, I'm coming to see my friend play; we can hang out."
So I'm freaking out, obviously. I go out to dinner with some friends, come back later and sure enough he's there. After his friend plays, there's about 50 people in the room and they're all hanging around hoping he'll get up and play. He does get up there, plays a few songs and then says,
"The craziest thing happened to me tonight, I walked in here and this kid from Memphis was playing
one of my songs."
And he said, "Drew, right?"
I said, "Yeah."
He said, "Come up here, let's play it together."
And I got up on stage and real nervously whispered in his ear, "I don't know how to sing harmony."
And he whispered back "You sing my part, I'll sing the Emmylou part and then we'll trade off on
the verses."
We did the song, got great applause from the couple dozen people who were there. He said, "Nice to meet you" and then left and that was the end of it. He's gotten a bad rap from a lot of people over the years, and I always say I have nothing but kind and generous thoughts toward him because he treated me with a whole lot more respect than I deserved. Funny enough we ended up naming our daughter Emmylou, so it kind of comes full circle.
NL: We heard your wife Ellie is going to be taking some time off the road to be with Emmylou and work on some of her own projects. What will it be like without her traveling with you and the band?
DH: Ellie brings a lightness to our live show. I think sometimes in a good way and in a bad way the marriage can become the center of attention. Even she has said she feels like people miss the song sometimes because they're so focused on us together. What I feel is a really healthy sense of challenge that I have to let the songs do all the work. It was easy to rely on Ellie's charisma on stage. It'll be a new challenge for us to put on a really interesting and vibrant show and let the songs do as much of the talking as possible.
NL: What can we look forward to for your November 8 show at Cannery Ballroom?
DH: Feels like kind of a graduation for us. We've been playing 3rd & Lindsley and Mercy Lounge for years and I'm sure we'll continue to play those venues in the future. We've worked out a great show that incorporates the new record but that has lots of highlights from the last eight years of making music. We may even scare up a special guest or two, in typical Nashville fashion.
NL: Lightning Round
Favorite place for date night: We have a tradition that we go to a Ryman show and go eat upstairs at Merchants beforehand.
Favorite neighborhood hang: Happy hour at Eastland Cafe.
Favorite place to take Emmylou: The Nashville Zoo. We've become members and try to go once a month.
Favorite touristy place in Nashville: Jack's BBQ
The Pharmacy or Burger Up: The Pharmacy
Jeni's or Las Paletas: Las Paletas
Underrated Nashville treasure: Natchez Trace. I feel like not enough people in town spend enough time on the Trace. Everybody's paying such close attention that everything's pretty well raided, you know. The Family Wash has maintained some of its under the radar-ness.