ISSUE #24 MMUSICMAG.COM Q&A Clay Patrick Mc b ride

a pop-rock hit-maker brings his feel-good groove to

His 2001 breakout single, “Follow a bar, writing an idea down on the back of are you hands-on in the studio? Me,” was a pop smash. but in recent years, a cigarette pack. it’s the spontaneous ones i’ve produced and co-produced records, but uncle kracker, aka Matthew shafer, has that are the most fun. sometimes when you it’s fun to hand the reins over and go, “He’s shifted from funky post-grunge rock to don’t expect to write a song, that’s the one got this under control.” You spend so much country, working with producer that ends up being very special. time writing and then getting ready to go (, ) and signing in the studio that you become so attached. with roots label sugar Hill records. what How much material did you have for You’ve taken it as far as you can, time to hasn’t changed is the Detroit native’s the new album? let someone else do what they do. it’s not penchant for fun—a philosophy reflected we had about 18 songs, but they only pay supposed to be hard, and this effort wasn’t on his new album Midnight Special. “it’s you for 10 so it doesn’t make sense to tough at all. it’s why the record sounds so hard for a lot of people,” shafer says. “i see start giving away stuff. sequence matters, good. i think that once you find things getting it when i go home. when i went through too. i pulled songs because they didn’t difficult, you might have stuck yourself in the hard times, the one thing that helped me feel like they should’ve followed any song wrong situation. escape was music. that’s why i made in particular—even if it might have been a a feel-good record.” better song. it has to flow the right way on How have you evolved as an artist? the album. sometimes it stinks to let go of i don’t know if i’ve really evolved, but i’ve Why have you embraced country music? a song, but it’s something you have to do definitely learned a lot over the years— it’s been gradual, but it’s been a natural every time. over the years, you get used to it. how to sing a little bit better, write a little progression. i’ve been getting older, which bit better. i think i’m just more mature as doesn’t mean much except that i look at How did you connect with nashville vet an individual. one thing that’s still there things a lot differently than i used to. For the keith Stegall? for me is the passion for making records. first time ever, i feel comfortable where i’m at. i’ve known keith for years. i met him in During the last 15 years, there were times nashville, and we’ve always talked about when i got frustrated and didn’t know what What’s your songwriting process? working with each other, but never did up i was doing anymore. i was lucky and got i don’t have one specific routine when it until “smile”—he did a new mix on that for myself knocked back on track. now i’m in comes to writing a song. it can be music or country radio. after it did so well at country the position where i love what i’m doing. lyrics first, from a guitar or piano, or writing radio, it felt like this was the record he was and if i don’t love what i’m doing, i’m with a partner. everything is sporadic. a song supposed to do, and we cut the whole thing not going to do it. can start from a guitar lick, or it can start in in about three days. –Juli Thanki

‘When I went through hard times, the one thing that helped me escape was music.’ 34

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