Essential 8: Muscadine Bloodline

Courtesy: HBPR

Natives of Mobile Alabama, Gary Stanton and Charlie Muncaster came together to form Muscadine Bloodline in early 2016. With three single releases under their belt and a schedule full of shows spanning the states, they’ve hit the ground running. With Charlie’s vocals and Gary’s harmonies and guitar licks, MB is a refreshing mix of talent, passion, and authenticity with a sound that intertwines early southern rock with 90's country love songs and captivating hooks, all of which can be found on their new EP, Movin' On. Here the duo answer their Essential 8+ and talk everything from musical mentors and touring to The Ryman, Stagecoach, and more.

Did you approach this EP any differently than the prior? And if so how?
This EP is different because we wrote all of these songs since we signed a publishing deal with Creative Nation. Movin’ On is ironically symbolic of what we are doing in our career as we gear towards the release of our second EP in April.

There's a song on the EP entitled, "Gravel." Can you share the story behind the track?
Gary: I’d been listening to “Everybody’s Something” by Chance the Rapper and really loved the laid back feel. I started listening to the instrumental to think of a guitar melody in my head. I’d been wanting to write a song called “Gravel” because I’d never seen the title. Charlie had the idea of it taking place in a bar and it being a humorous breakup song. We took the idea into the room with Derek George and “Gravel” is now the first song on the EP.

With any particular song, was there an “a-ha” moment when you knew the song was completed and perfect? 
When we were writing “Put Me on a Pond” we came up with a line using Boca Raton and felt really good about it.

Where do you draw inspiration from when writing and do you best writing? 
Inspiration mostly comes from moments in our lives and the people that keep me pushing. We do our best writing after time off on the drive back to Nashville.

What’s the story behind your album’s title? Why did you choose to anchor the album with the songs you did? 
Besides being the lead single and last song from our upcoming EP, we felt it was a good representation of the new music and our sound at the time.

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Did you have a musical mentor? If so, who was it and how did they influence you? 
Since we signed our publishing deal at Creative Nation, Luke Laird has played an important role producing our record and helping level up our process of creating.

What’s the best advice you have ever gotten from another musician? 
Tell the truth… it’s more interesting.

What’s the best advice to give to a musician just starting out? 
Play as many gigs as you can and know your standards.

What’s your favorite food on the road? 
Chipotle

Do you have any touring tips? 
Make your fans on the road and tour as much as you can. Try and sleep.

What are your “must have” albums for the road? 
Josh Thompson - Way Out Here, Creedence Clearwater Revival - Greatest Hits, Jon Pardi - California Sunrise and Cadillactica - Big K.R.I.T.

How do you kill the long hours in the van? 
The great thing about our band and team is that we all get along pretty well as friends. There was a stretch of about four weekends in a row we went without even a radio to play.

What’s the most frustrating thing about being on the road? 
Missing being at home with your loved ones and the fun events that usually take place on the weekends.

What do you love most about being on the road? 
We treat it like a mini vacation every weekend. Also, showing up to all of these cities and hundreds of our best friends (fans) are there.

​​You are performing at Tortuga and Stagecoach in 2018. Will this be your first time? What other tour plans do you have?
This is our first time at Tortuga and Stagecoach. We got the chance to play a lot of the large festivals last summer and this year it seems like we’re catching most of the ones we missed.

What has been your biggest struggle so far?  
The biggest thing we struggle with is the time off. It doesn't really exist in this stage of out career

What has been your biggest success? 
Selling out the Georgia Theatre on our first headline show there

What’s your favorite venue and why? 
Soul Kitchen in Mobile, AL. It’s where we met and there’s nothing like a hometown show

What’s your dream venue and why? The Ryman

Who would you love to collaborate with? Ed Sheeran & Kendrick Lamar

Which song of yours gets the best crowd response? "Porch Swing Angel" by a long shot. It was the first some that really caught on for us. We gained a lot of fans and respect in the industry because of it.

What song are you tired of playing and why? 
Cover songs. We still throw one or two in our set when we are building markets.

Is drinking at gigs a positive or a negative?
In the beginning, we didn’t mind drinking on the road. The more we progress, the more this turns into a real business and a real job. We wouldn't drink at our day job so we treat this the same way.

Favorite (or first) concert you have ever attended? 
Gary: My first concert was at my church. It was Mercy Me and I fell asleep.

Charlie: My first concert was John Michael Montgomery at the Mobile County Fair. I remember my mother picking me up and dancing with me to “I Swear”

Favorite thing to do on a day off? 
Our only day off is usually Monday. You can guarantee we will be sleeping in and or doing anything non music related

Do you have a favorite gift from a fan?  
I wouldn’t say we get gifts from fans very often but some fans have tattoo’d lyrics and our autographs on their bodies. That’s a pretty surreal thing that we never thought would happen

Have you met any of your heroes? If so, how did it go? 
We have always looked up to bands like Blackberry Smoke and Corey Smith as we grew up. We have now played shows with both of them and met them. It’s an amazing feeling

Is there a recent release you cannot stop listening to? 
"Space Cowboy" by Kacey Musgraves

Song (of yours) you wish you would have released as a single and why? 
"Gravel" feels the most unique and we almost released it as a single. We’re thinking about doing a video though!

Is there a professional “bucket list” item you would love to check off? 
#1 on the radio. But we’re really looking forward to our first branded headline tour in the fall. That’s been a huge goal of our team this year. We’re just excited to go through the process of looking for a couple openers out with us, coming up with a name and making a strong three to four month run to close out the year with fans in a number of our most loyal venues and markets.

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