Interview with Will Hoge in Birmingham, AL April 2015

Never in my years of doing music journalism did I ever think I would get to interview one of my all time favorite musicians.

I have listened to Will Hoge since I was eight years old. In September, I will be 20.

I cannot explain the happiness that came over me in that moment.

So here it is, my interview with Mr. Will Hoge. 

How has the response to Small Town Dreams been?

Really good. It’s been a pleasant surprise. You never know when you put out a new record what the response is going to be. I feel like with this one, I tried to really push myself to do some things that I’ve not done before or that I haven’t done in a long time and so there’s a part of you that thinks “This may push people away, but it’s still the record I wanna make,” but that hasn’t been the case at all. It’s been completely opposite.

What’s your personal favorite song on the album?

“Little Bitty Dreams” is the one I always come back to. I mean, I like lots of things about all of the songs, but that one, even just from the recording process, that is all one take. It’s the scratch vocal. We just went back and added one little pedal steel part and one part on the lead guitar track and everything else is exactly how it went down in the studio, there’s no click track. So it feels real alive, which I like.

Is that your favorite to play live too?

No, I don’t have a favorite live yet because some of the songs we haven’t even played live yet. It’ll be 6 or 8 months of playing the stuff before I can decide.

How is this one different from other albums in the past? I mean, aside from obvious reasons.

I don’t know, I feel like this one is… I’ve kinda done, I wouldn’t say concept records, that makes them sound so heavy, but records that have a theme through them. I’ve kinda done it with political records with the America EP and with Modern American Protest Music, but I don’t know that I’ve ever done it just on a regular album and I feel like maybe this one, even though I didn’t intend when we started to be that way kind of ended up being a real concise snapshot of this one little thing whereas I think all the other records are a snapshot of kind of the moment in time of where I was making the record, this was a snapshot of a whole theme.

How was the recording process for this one different?

Well, using a producer. For the last 4 recordings, I don’t think I’ve used a producer. I’ve just done them all myself. Using Marshall [Altman], I learned a lot from him because everybody that I’ve worked with, I tend to glean something off of production wise if they’ve got a different micing technique or a different way of doing something and there was some of that with Marshall but more importantly, I didn’t have to worry about the ins and outs of how we were doing things. I just had to worry about being the singer and the songwriter, which was really liberating in a lot of ways.

So the ACMs were this past weekend, let’s talk about that.

It was fun. It’s always fun to get to hang with those people, so many of those folks have become dear friends so it’s a great moment to catch up with all of them, but it wasn’t nearly as much fun as when they did it in Las Vegas. Las Vegas was way cooler, so hopefully they’ll go back next year.

Going back to the album, I know you’re friends with Vince Gill, but he was on “Just Up the Road”, right?

Mhmm.

Talk about that, how did that come about? That’s one of my favorites.

Vince is foolish enough to answer the phone when I call and always says yes. [Laughs]. It’s hard for me not to abuse that because I feel like I could just call him with every song and be like “Could you add anything?” because he’s so incredibly musical and well versed, way more than he gets credit for. You could take him a salsa record and he would find something awesome to put on it. I mean really, it’s amazing.

I believe that!

I knew the solo needed to be really big and epic in a way and there’s a lot of the cool guitar players that are afraid of that because they don’t want to do something that feels that way I think and I know that lead guitar players that are also lead singers play very differently because they think like a lead singer and not just a guitar player. It’s one of my favorite things about Vince. So when I called him and told him that I wanted him to stretch out and do something that was more of a rock guitar hero country solo and he was excited about it and he kills it everytime so it was great having him onboard.

So when people like Lady Antebellum and Eli Young ask you to cover your songs, I know it makes you feel great, obviously, but how does that come about or what’s your reaction to that? Have you ever turned anyone down?

I have never turned anyone down. I can’t imagine the situation, unless it were for like a product for something… the morning after pill or whatever [laughs] I mean I don’t know, I don’t want my song involved with that or you know, a tampon commercial. But artist wise, there’s not anything that I would not let somebody do. I mean one, they don’t really even have to ask, they can legally just go and register the song and do it. But in those situations where it’s happened, it’s always been something where I’ve gotten phone call. Charles from Lady Antebellum called me to ask if it was okay if they did it, and the Eli Young guys have always kind of communicated with me and I see them all the time. They didn’t even call to ask, they just sent word that they were going to do it. It’s just one of those things, ya know there’s a point where there’s this incredible feeling when you hear your own record on the radio and it’s really special. It never gets unspecial. And it’s a very similar thing in that situation. Ultimately in radio, there’s a program director who's taking the chance. He hears something in your record and goes “I think people in my city will like this and I’m gonna play it.” It’s the same kind of thing, I mean somebody that’s an artist or somebody that’s an A&R person at a label is hearing something you did and going “I believe that I can bet on this song for so and so to sing or for me to sing” and that’s a huge compliment.

So what’s next?

I mean for all intents and purposes, the tour for this record really kicks off tonight. We’ve kind of done some warm up shows and one offs, and this is gonna kind of ramp up a little bit throughout this week and then we just start getting busy with the road and we start getting busy with planning the European release in June and the tour over there in September. The rest of our summer tour will get announced I think May 5th or something like that and that takes us through fall. And post-Europe, we’ll come back and probably headline and there’s some co-bill things we may do and just writing a bunch. There are some songs that are getting recorded by other people, Craig Morgan just cut something last week. Two or three other things are kind of laying around from a writing standpoint.

Is there anything you want to add? It could be anything, like words or wisdom or…

I don’t have any of those!

[We both laugh for a few seconds.]

If I could I would, but no, I’m just excited you’re still doing this. It means a lot.

Will Hoge Small Town Dreams Album Review

On his ninth studio album, Small Town Dreams, listeners hear Will Hoge tell stories about growing up in a Southern town.

The first song, Growing Up Around Here tells of spending time trying to leave his hometown, swearing he'd never come back. But then after reminiscing about "kissing his first girl under the Texaco sign" and playing football he realizes he will never live far from where he began. He feels a sense of pride and contentment where he is now.

Track 2, They Don't Make 'Em Like They Used To, tells the story of the traditional southern working class. Someone much older than the narrator would always say whether it be "cars, fences, houses, or family names, they don't make them like they used to. This line is repeated throughout, my favorite instance being "Solid as the gospel truth, they don't make 'em like they used to."

As the album progresses, Better Than You and Little Bitty Dreams show his love for a girl and their lives together. LBD was written for his wife. It is comforting to hear songs of people who still have love for each other even through all of their dreams. The song is a tale of sacrifice and hardship, but love wins through everything.

Guitar or a Gun is one of the best "story" songs I've heard in a long time. Dad says one of these will last forever and the other's just for fun and he knows which is which. Narrator did not know which to choose, since they could both last forever and both be for fun. "I can learn to shoot like Jesse James out there on the run. Play guitar and be a Rolling Stone. Well, that just sounds like fun. A rockstar or an outlaw, either way, I've won when I walk out this door with a guitar or a gun." The choice he makes is crucial to he will become, but whichever he chooses, he will leave the pawn shop "feeling like a king." This is a song that, to me, is Will Hoge through and through. The song has remnants of Rock and Roll Star from Hoge's first album Carousel, which shows he can stay true to his roots.

Middle of America is the perfect small-town anthem. Fitting, given the name of the album and the reference to it in the song. "Tomorrow there's gonna be talk, but it'll be alright. It's just another night in the middle of America." I grew up in a small town and this song is remnant of that. Can we say nostalgia?

All I Want Is Us Tonight gives the listener a break before the best (and most emotional) song on this whole damn album comes on.

That leads me to Just Up The Road. The first time I listened to the album, this was the song I kept going back to. Being a person that loves words, I adored the imagery of "chasing white lines" and "taking the fast lane" in relation to the title of the song "Just Up The Road." That is poetry at its finest. This song reminds me of It's A Shame from Blackbird on a Lonely Wire. This song is a Will Hoge song. Of course, it's his song, but in this sense, I'm talking about when I describe Will's sound to people, this is my reference. 

Desperate Times, The Last Thing I Needed, and Til I Do It Again wrap up the album with hand claps, the blues, and Rock and Roll, in that order. If you pay attention to the linear notes of the album, the hand claps in DT included Will's sons which I thought was precious.

Overall, this album ultimately set out what it was supposed to do: give you the small town feel. I feel that it shows how artists can learn to stay true to their roots, just like Will always does. Rock and Roll is not dead. It just comes in different forms. 

A Story Written About CMA Fest

By Kinsey Haynes

At CMA Fest, it is not all about the bands at who play LP Field.

There are bands that play the smaller stages too, and they play a big role in getting these big names to their final destination.

Everyone knows Florida-Georgia Line's "Cruise", The Band Perry's "Done", and Lady Antebellum's "Better Off Now That You're Gone." All of these bands played over the course of four days at LP Field, but what about those who played throughout downtown in the day?

What do Chase Rice, John & Jacob, and Will Hoge all have in common? They all have written songs for these main stage artists.

Asheville, North Carolina singer, Chase Rice played the Chevrolet Riverfront Stage at 1:30 on Friday. Rice is best known for writing Florida-Georgia Line's No. 1 single "Cruise" which has gone platinum six times over in just the U.S. However, his place on the main stage remains to be seen. "Cruise" is currently the best selling Country song of all time and it was written by someone who played a smaller stage.

Birmingham, Alabama duo, John & Jacob, played the CMA Close-Up stage on Sunday at 1:45. They first made a name for themselves by co-writing The Band Perry's hit single "Done".

"We went to Europe with them," said John. "We had such a good time that Neil and Reed [Perry] asked if we wanted to write with them. That was the first song that we wrote."

"When Kimberly [Perry] got a hold of it, she just killed it," said Jacob. "We are thankful that they did it. It's very surreal."

"Done" has been certified gold in the U.S. and has been No. 1 on numerous country charts in the last year.

In 2013, Nashville native, Will Hoge received a phone call from Lady Antebellum with an interesting request: to ask if they could use of his song, "Better Off Now That You're Gone" for their then upcoming album, Golden.

At the Bud Light stage on Friday, Will stated, “This next song is one of mine that I recorded and was picked up by a band you may have heard of called Lady Antebellum." The song is on Hoge's 2003 release Blackbird on a Lonely Wire.

"We called him up and asked if we could do the song. He was more than happy to let us do it," said Charles Kelley from Lady Antebellum. "We love Will and he is extremely talented."

Hillary Scott, singer for Lady Antebellum had a similar response when asked about Hoge.

"I love Will and his music," Scott said. "I love the way the song turned out and I love his version as well. I expect big things from him."

Maybe one day these three "small stage" acts will gain their rightful recognition and have their LP Field moment. 

Will Hoge Proves His Country Cred

Originally posted on CMAcloseup.com

By Kinsey Haynes

Will Hoge proves true music can last, even in a changing industry. Not only did his newest album, Never Give In, land him a No. 1 spot on the Billboard Heatseekers chart in its first week, but the first single, “Strong,” was picked up by Chevrolet for its 2013 Silverado ad campaign.

At the Bud Light Stage early on Friday afternoon, Hoge ran out and opened with “Long Gone.” After tossing his guitar offstage to his tour manager, he strapped on another one and played “Better Off Now That You’re Gone.”

“This next song is one of mine that I recorded and was picked up by a band you may have heard of called Lady Antebellum. CMA Fest is a perfect time to have people join you onstage so,” he teased, “Lady Antebellum is not here today. But thank you very much.”

He followed with more from four of his eight studio albums, including the bluesy “Still Got You On My Mind;” a raw, emotional “When I Get My Wings;” the storyteller “Even If It Breaks Your Heart;” and the rock ‘n’ roll ballad “Bad Ol’ Days”

“I was told for years that I’d never have a song played on Country radio,” Hoge said. “I would like to thank all of y’all Country Music fans and the fine folks at Country radio for proving everybody wrong.” And then he played “Strong,” which evoked a huge crowd response.

He closed with “The Highway’s Home” from his 2007 album, Draw the Curtains. The band gathered around the microphone and sang the chorus from the Hank Williams song “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.” The crowd was more than pleased.

As he walked offstage, Hoge addressed the crowd with a heart-warming “thank you” and a smile.

Will Hoge Never Give In Album Review

1. - A Different Man - This song sounds a lot like old school Will from his "Blackbird" and "Man Who Killed Love" days. The background vocals really make this song infinitely more awesome. It's a great album opener. That chorus, though. Definitely one of my favorites

2. - Goodbye Ain't Always Gone - This sounds very ballad-y and twangy to me. But this song has really grown on me. It reminds me a lot of Better Off Now That You're Gone from Blackbird. "It's always there in the back of my mind, loudest when I'm all alone. Slow dance with the devil one last time. Say goodbye. Oh, but goodbye ain't always gone" is such a powerful chorus. My favorite lyric is "Daylight comes, I might get weak. Say to hell with everything. Strike a match and say come back to me."

3. - Never Give In - This is another one of my favorites on this album. My favorite lyric is "The highway is littered with love disappeared." I think is such a sweet "love" song, if you get my drift.

4. - This Time Around - This song sounds like a mixture of Woman Be Strong and Lover Tonight from The Man Who Killed Love. As far as slow songs go, this one is my favorite. I find myself listening to this on repeat every time I try to listen to the album. The part where he says "I'll be better to you this time around" at the end made me cry the first time I heard it because you can really hear the emotion in Will's voice.

5. - Still Got You On My Mind - I do not have much to say about this song, but I like the lyric "Being right never felt so wrong." I like the background vocals too.

6. - Home Is Where The Heart Breaks - Home Is Where The Heart Breaks - I remember the first time I heard this song and I knew it would be my favorite. It reminds me of Secondhand Heart from Blackbird. The background vocals make this song. The chorus at the end, is perfect perfect perfect. I cannot put into words how much I love this song.

7. - Daddy Was A Gamblin' Man - This song is definitely about hardship and addiction to something, in this case gambling. But, it also shows how the woman supports her husband through the hard times and stays with him. I do not think the song was placed very well on the album but, whatever. It's a sad song.

8. - Pale September - Yay! Another song about my birthday month. Not to be rude, but this is my least favorite song on the album. It starts out kinda eh, but picks up towards the end, which is good. Oddly, this song reminds me of Baby Girl from Blackbird. "I don't believe forever anymore" is a good lyric.

9. - Bad Ol' Days - The guitar reminds me of Rock And Roll Star from Carousel. I like the drum part when he says "Bad ol' days" because it's fun to play air drums to. It sounds like he is very reminiscent of his youth.

10 - Damn Spotlight (Julia's Song) - I heard this song at Workplay in Birmingham in April. Julia is Will's wife. It really focuses on their hardships they go through with him being a touring musician. The saddest lyric is when he talks about his kids sleeping next to her and he says, "And I finally realize the truth they're the only good thing I ever did to you." Damn, mood killer.

11. - Strong - Literally, one of the best songs on the album and that is not because it is the most popular song. This song is also the Chevy Silverado advertisement song. When I first heard it, I was a bit skeptical because it sounded so different from Will's sound. It grew on me. Whenever it comes on in my car, I belt it out and sing like no one is listening. If I were a karaoke person, this is the song I would sing! 

Will Hoge and Logan Brill Birmingham, AL Workplay 4/12/13

Even though I have seen Will Hoge 8 times, I have never written a blog about any of his shows. Before I talk about the show, I think I should tell a little bit of back-story. I have been listening to Will almost a decade, since his album Blackbird On A Lonely Wire, since I was eight years old. I first saw Will in 2006 at Sloss Furnace in Birmingham. My mom had been following him a few years prior, but since I was so young, it was difficult for me to get into shows. Over the last 10 years, I have seen Will at multiple venues in Alabama and Tennessee such as Sloss Furnace, Big Spring Park, Workplay, 3^rd and Lindsley, and The Grand Ole Opry. Each time I have been completely speechless and sometimes even in tears. Will always comes out after the show to talk to his fans. He and I are on a first name basis. He also takes set list requests from fans and you can even write a song on the setlist once it is on the stage and it has a pretty good chance of getting played. Many times I have heard my favorite songs just by asking a week in advance if he would play it. I got to the show about an hour early and I was first in line (like always) so I could get my spot at the front. It had been over a year since I had seen Will and I was more than ecstatic. The opening act was Knoxville, TN named Logan Brill. She was very soulful. She reminded me a lot of Grace Potter. I really enjoyed her set. Then it was time for Mr. Will Hoge. He walked on the stage like he owned it. He opened with Rock and Roll Star. Cue front row freak out! After that, he went straight into Too Old To Die Young, which he dedicated to his bass player Adam Beard because it was his birthday, Second Hand Heart, and Fool’s Gonna Fly. He then changed guitars and played several acoustic songs. I do not remember the exact order but he played Someone Else’s Baby and a few others that are not coming to me at the moment. He then walked over to the piano, about to play When I Can Afford To Lose, but when he sat down, he played Piano Man by Billy Joel on the harmonica. As soon as he did it, he said, “I have always wanted to do that. That is all I know though,” I laughed for a good while because that was just funny. After he played the piano part, he went off mic and sang the end of the song. Silence filled the room. You could only hear the click of Will’s boot and the sound of his voice. It was pure Rock and Roll and pure beauty. To me, that was true Will Hoge. After that he played a new song that he wrote about his wife, Julia. The song was really sad and it was written about him being on the road all the time and having to leave her with their kids at home. After the run of acoustic songs, he busted out Ms. Williams. Cue another front row freak-out. It is always good to hear the old stuff. Then it was followed by one of my all time favorites, Favorite Waste Of Time. Then Will went into a speech about how they come to Birmingham a lot and they recognize faces and even know some of our names (that would be me!) and then he went into Washed By The Water. After that, he did another acoustic set that included Dirty Little War, Jesus Came To Tennessee, and Even If It Breaks Your Heart. Before JCTT, he said that it was based on a true story and all I could do was laugh because that is also one of my favorite songs. On the setlist after JCTT, Hey Tonight was written. That is the one song I requested a week in advance and I was so happy that I was finally going to get to hear it. Luck would have it that he got off track and completely skipped over it and went straight into EIIBYH. Throughout the rest of the show, I anxiously awaited him to play that song, but it never happened. Before EIIBYH, he told us the story about how was nominated for three prestigious awards in country music: The CMAs, The Grammys, and The ACMs for song of the year. He had just gotten back from The ACMs were a few days before our show and the story he told was that much better. He said that his doppelganger, Will HOG and his co-writer’s doppelganger, Eric PAISLEY, had a great time in Vegas. They pronounced both of their last names wrong on national TV. He was still in high hopes and proceeded to tell us that he won the “Triple Crown Of Losers” award and also said that whoever stated “It’s just an honor to be nominated” was right. During the song, he let the crowd sing the chorus. The first time we sang, he said, “That was terrible. I thought this was Birmingham. Y’all sounded like Huntsville.” I’ve seen Will in Huntsville and he was right. We came back stronger the second time and he was very proud. He then played a new song from the new album that is coming out on October 15^th, called Never Give In. He asked us nicely not to record and keep it as a family moment. After that he told us the story of how he was on tour once and he got a call from one of the guys in Lady Antebellum asking if they could use one of his songs from one of his old records on their next album. He said that he was surprised and he would have been O.K. with it even if they had not asked, but he was still glad that they asked. It will be track five on their new album Golden that comes out on May 5^th. Then he played Just Like Me and Long Gone. One of the coolest parts of the night was when Will played Sex, Lies, and Money. At the end of the song he stopped and divided the crowd into three parts. One part yelled SEX, one part yelled LIES (I was in this group), and the other yelled MONEY. We chanted that while he sang, in perfect harmony, the end of the song. It was definitely a “Workplay Birmingham family moment” and it was beautiful. Then he went straight into All Night Long. That song has the lyric that basically defines the story of my life and is the quote at the top of this page: “She don’t care about books or school. No, she just wants to rock and roll. Baby, she’s no fool. You’re so cool.” Every time he plays that song, when he gets to the lyric “she’s got a fake ID” he says “Thank you. Goodnight!” and walks off stage. It is one of the coolest encores ever because when he comes back out, he picks up his guitar and yells “YOU KNOW THE ONE THAT SAYS MS. JONES IS TURNING 23!!!! OH BABY TAKE A LOOK AND SEE!!!!” I cannot even put into words how awesome it is. You have to go and experience it for yourself. The last song of the night was Pocket Full Of Change. The entire band walked out into the crowd and played the song without microphones, because Will broke it while he was rocking out. It was pure rock and roll and no one can try to convince me otherwise. The end of the song was left up to the crowd to sing and we belted it out loud and proud and it was so awesome. I grabbed the set-list off the stage and I headed for the merch table so I could talk to Mr. Will Hoge. When it was finally my turn, I gave him a huge hug and said “Hey Will!” and he said “Kinsey, Hey!!!” He apologized for not playing my song and I [jokingly] said that it was no excuse! It was written on the set-list!!! And he continued to apologize profusely and I demanded that he play it the next time I see him. Then he laughed and signed my set-list and wrote WTF? by Hey, Tonight. Haha! I think he will hold true to his word. If you have never seen, Will Hoge I do not know what you are waiting for.