Fresh off the two-month long Born Ready Tour, Steve Moakler is readying the release of his new album, Born Ready, on June 15th. Inspired by the troubadour's home away from home - the road - Born Ready is a twelve song collection of moments in a journey, encouraging the listener to keep striving to get to where they want to be, just like Moakler himself. Ahead of the album's release, the singer-songwriter kindly took the time to chat about the project, working with Luke Laird, and more.
With Born Ready being your 5th record, did you approach anything differently this time around? We did. I made this record with Luke [Laird] who produced Steel Town and we brought in Joe Clemens who has played electric guitar for me the last couple years. During pre-production, we spent a lot of time working out the songs, finding the grooves, and talking about the colors we wanted to use to paint the songs. With Joe involved, we devoted a lot time to the lead guitar parts and solos which affected the end result in a great way. Other than that, I think we were able to push the boundaries a bit with this album, with some songs being more country, others having an arena rock feel, and others being a bit of a throwback. You mentioned you worked with Luke again, the two of you have a solid working relationship. Luke and I jive personally and creatively, and I love working with him. I am so proud of how Steel Town turned out that working with him again was an easy choice to make. Being that it was our second time together, we were able to improve upon what we did on the previous record. We were able to approach this project and say, ‘What could we do better than we did last time?’ and we all understood what that meant. There are twelve tracks on the record, eleven of which were co-written with varied songwriters. Were they written recently, pulled from awhile back, or something different? There are three songs on the record that were written before Steel Town: “Crazy Does,” “Chesney,” and “Hard Not To Love It.” Whether it’s the lyrical content or musical feel, I like every track to have an individual identity within a project and I felt like they were stepping on the toes of a couple of the other songs on the last record, so they didn’t make it….but, I feel like they have that identity on this one. Honestly, I was on the road so much, I didn’t have a lot of time to write. My publisher was nervous (laughing) about having the songs because we had a plan for when we were putting this record out, but thank God for that last rush of inspiration. We got some important songs in the last couple minutes of the 4th quarter (laughing).
It all came together!
The project kicks off with “Born Ready” and closes with the emotional “The Last Word.” Was there any significance as to why you closed the album with that one? With the title alone, “The Last Word,” there was no other place to put it. Imagine this record is like a road trip with “Born Ready” being the excitement at the start of the journey and the rest as moments in that journey. Some of the moments are where your mind might go and “The Last Word” is kind of about, no it is about, the hope that sits on the horizon – where we look whenever things don’t make sense. It’s a gospel song written in the wake of what a heavy year 2017 was with natural disasters, racism, mass shootings, and political divide. I think we all feel the weight of that and this song brings me back to the truth - we do have the promise of hope of kingdom coming for us. All things point to it and comes from it. I see it as a light on the horizon. It’s a very hopeful sentiment. The one song you wrote solo, “One More Troubadour,” seems pretty autobiographical? I had that title for over a year. I felt like it had something I wanted to say, so I tinkered with it for a year on and off. I even wrote two completely different versions and scrapped them both. Then one morning I started strumming that simple little strum and it finally revealed itself. I’m proud of that song because of how hard I fought for it. The way I see it, we play certain venues and stages and it’s cool to remember all the people singing country music who came before and the people who will come after you. “One More Troubadour” about who I am, what keeps me going, and how great it is being a part of the tradition of country music. One of my favorites is “Breaking New Ground” which you co-wrote with love Ryan Beaver and Neil Medley? How did that song come together? That song was actually one of the first I wrote coming off the road. When I was finally home, for maybe a month, I came in to write with Neil and Ryan, who is close with Joe. As amazing as being on the road is, there is also adversity out there from breaking down to other issues. Ryan noted that it sounded like we had a tough year, but at the same time I felt like we broke new ground, and then Neil said, ‘Let’s write that song.” The song’s imagery is very much for the literal working man, but to me it feels like it’s also a song about me and my career – sticking to my guns and trying to make music that is true to who I am, cutting my teeth, paying my dues, and just getting out there and doing it. And then there’s “Chesney,” which is like your “Springsteen.” For sure! “Springsteen” is an amazing song and one of my favorites and we used that same device in the songwriting for “Chesney.” Music takes you somewhere and Kenny Chesney’s music takes me back to that endless summer of high school where you felt so many things for the first time. That’s what we tried to capture in the song. The Born Ready Tour just concluded, so what’s on the horizon for you? This summer, we will do fairs and festivals and then, it’s not official yet, but my wife and I are planning another Hometown and Campgrounds Tour for the fall which is basically us finding an old camper, putting the word out online telling people we are hitting the road and asking them who would want us to come play their farm, backyard or whatever. We’ve done it three times now and we just love it. We map out a road trip, make new friends and spend time with people who love the music and keep us going. It’s awesome to be with a band and have the energy and the lights and the crowd, but there’s also beauty in the simplicity of rolling in with a camper, setting up a mic, hanging Christmas lights, singing, hanging out, and sleeping right there. It’s awesome. Website/Facebook/Twitter/Purchase
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