CRS In Action: Transcending And Evolving With Tim McGraw

CRS 2016

COUNTRY RADIO SEMINAR (CRS) 2016 wrapped TODAY (2/10), and the last panel before TONIGHT's "NEW FACES SHOW" was "TRANSCENDING AND EVOLVING WITH TIM MCGRAW." Moderators BEVERLEE BRANNIGAN and RJ CURTIS sat down with BIG MACHINE RECORDS artist TIM MCGRAW to discuss what is important, and prioritizing what you do and how you do it, when you have your eyes on the prize of a long career.

The panel began with a video tribute to MCGRAW, followed by the music video for his new single, "Humble And Kind." The moderators began the panel by asking MCGRAW where the single fits into his career. MCGRAW said that when songwriter LORI MCKENNA showed him this song, he knew that it was an important song for the times we live in. He said it was a song that needed to be heard. 

CURTIS flashed back to early in MCGRAW's career, specifically COUNTRY RADIO SEMINAR (CRS) 1994 at the "NEW FACES SHOW" where TIM MCGRAW performed, along with his now-wife FAITH HILL and many more. MCGRAW said he remembered that NIGHT, where he sang "Indian Outlaw" and "Don't Take The Girl," and he said his journey may have begun on that NIGHT. "I think that night was one of the, probably the most important, night of my career...That night set everything off for me."

BRANNIGAN asked MCGRAW about his decision-making process throughout his career; What percentage of the time does he sit down and think things through and strategize? How much of it is serendipitous? "I think it was both," explained MCGRAW. "First and foremost, I've started with a song. For me that was always the most important thing." He added, "I want to go ahead and make an album every time that anybody would be proud to have as a first single off of their album."

MCGRAW shared his insight on feeling off track in his life and in his career, saying that no matter how much he fell off the tracks, "I knew the music would always win. If you stayed true to the music and followed the music, you would win."  CURTIS said MCGRAW has been characterized as someone who "always shows responsibility with creative freedom that [he's] been given." In response, MCGRAW said, "It's just how I'm wired. I want to serve the song, and to me when you find a song that says something and means something to you, those are always special." He added, "I feel a responsibility to make music that I'm proud of."

In addition to his impressive career as an artist, MCGRAW has also dabbled in an acting career, and he admitted that he passed on a lot of films, especially early on in his music career. "I didn't want to do it. Part of being an actor and a musician is being cool. Being in the movies doesn't always call for being cool." He explained, "So I had this notion in my head, that had you done something early on in your career and you went and made a movie and you weren't very good at it, then it could really hurt your career, so I wanted to make sure I was comfortable with my music career."

CURTIS then asked MCGRAW the hypothetical question, if a situation threatens to keep him from making music, does it scare him? MCGRAW said that it motivates him; he tries to find a way around that roadblock and beat it; he'll step up to the challenge. He also talked about how fitness plays an important role in his life and career. "I think I reached a point in my life when I drank too much for a while. My kids were getting older, and you start thinking about mortality a little bit." He added, "Career wise, I thought I was in a point in my career when it was time to either give up and not be the best that I could be, or move forward and be the best I could be all around."

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