10 Questions with ... Steve Moakler

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

Website: www.SteveMoakler.com
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/SteveMoaklerMusic
Twitter: www.Twitter.com/SteveMoakler
Instagram: www.Instagram.com/SteveMoakler

Pittsburgh native Steve Moakler moved to Nashville to pursue a career in music in 2006. A handful of odd jobs, hundreds of shows and a thousand songs later, Moakler has sold out venues across the country, has topped the iTunes chart on multiple occasions, and has been on several Artist to Watch lists such as: CMT, Spotify, and iTunes. Moakler’s career as a songwriter has seen releases by artists like Dierks Bentley, Jake Owen, Ashley Monroe, and more. Produced by Luke Laird, "Steel Town," Moakler's fourth album, will be released on Friday, March 17th. It includes his single "Suitcase," which saw success on SiriusXM's The Highway and received some attention on terrestrial radio, as well as his current single, "Love Drunk." Moakler recently visited All Access and sat down to discuss the new album, his first terrestrial radio tour, and his goals for the future.

1. We talked last June when you had an EP out – and we talked at length about the plusses and minuses of locking up a record deal. You weren’t in a hurry then, and it seems like you feel the same way now?

I think I still feel that way. We have so much great momentum going with the team that we have. If we can just keep growing – and growing at a rate that’s natural to us – and make the music we want to make and present things the way we want to, then that’s priority one for me still. Again, it’s something I’m completely open to, but it just has to be the right partner at the right time.

2. Since then you’ve gotten a lot of attention at radio – both terrestrial and satellite. “Suitcase” had some strong call letters on it. That , “Love Drunk” and “Wheels” are played on The Highway. When we talked you were on the midst of a radio tour – do you feel it was productive for you and that you made a positive connection with programmers?

I definitely feel like we did. I really enjoyed meeting all of the programmers. To me, obviously it was the first time I had ever done anything like that, and I really had a great experience. I know that in the middle of our campaign all of the playlists shrunk in half. It was a tough go at it, but I think my radio team did a great job. Like I said, this is something I hope to be doing for a long time, so it’s all about the long haul for me. Just getting to make those relationships and introduce my music to those folks is a great start.

3. You weren’t exactly a “baby” artist last year, having three previous LPs and at the time, an EP. And you’ve been in town for a decade – but getting out there, what are the top one or two takeaways you can share after meeting lots of radio guys all over the Country? What’s your sense of the state of radio after seeing it on the inside?

I definitely feel like a baby in this world – in the mainstream Country world at radio. I feel like I have a lot to learn, but one thing I got is the sense that it’s a tough time at Country radio. The playlists seem to be shrinking. I really have a lot of empathy for Program Directors and Music Directors at how many songs are being pushed at one time, and how the amount they can play is not growing with it. Also, getting to be a part of a lot of radio shows and meeting other artists that are in my position is really humbling to see the talent. There is a lot of talent in my class of Country artists. I don’t think it’s discouraging necessarily, but I think it’s inspiring, and it’s a kick in the butt just to see how difficult it is to make an impact. Again, I hope to be a long-term relationship. It’s something I always want to focus on, but not take away from all the other ways to make an impact. Like SiriusXM has been amazing! And just the way I’ve always done it for ten years, which is just the grassroots town to town and shaking hands after shows and meeting fans.

4. Here’s another thing that has started to happen since we talked – the format is seeing a very slow, slight shift toward traditional sounds – yet continues to see a wide variety of sounds working. As a songwriter, is that something you take with you into a session?

I was just washing the dishes at my house yesterday thinking about that. I was like, do I ever? Should I think about that? But it doesn’t come natural to me. It’s just not the way that I approach music. I think I’m influenced by it and inspired by it. I’m always going to be inspired by things that I love. Like I love Jon Pardi’s music and William Michael Morgan’s, too! I love that traditional sound. Honestly, that does inspire me more than the glam Pop side of Country. But I would say that I’m not being inspired at all by this hard left Pop side. I’m much more inspired by the rootsy traditional side. I never intentionally think, “I need to work some of this into my sound to see success.” I think that’s a slippery slope. I just don’t know if it’s going to work. I think what really connects is what’s authentic and what sounds true to that artist. There are going to be people that are going to connect with it and people that won’t. I feel like you could just go down a rabbit hole, like wait, I don’t know if I like this song. Suddenly I’m on the road playing this song and I don’t even like it! So that sounds terrible.

5. Somebody who does seem to connect with your music is Dierks Bentley. You wrote “Riser” for him and on his “Black” album you have a cut called “Mardi Gras.” Of course other people have cut your songs – but do you feel like Dierks “gets you” more so than other artists?

I mean, he has cut more songs than any other artist, so I’ve never had a conversation with him about it, but he’s an artist that I look up to, and I connect with his music a lot. I think it would make sense that it would be a two-way street. His style and sound have a traditional Country element, but also a Rock and a Singer-Songwriter feel to it. Those are the kind of three threads that make up my sound of Country music. I think that makes sense.

6. I have to ask you about the song “Siddle’s Saloon,” off the album. I love that song! Joe Schuld told me that’s actually about a bar in somebody’s basement?

That is true. My grandfather’s name was Robert, but his nickname was Siddle. He was a hard-working good-timing guy, and he loved getting people together. He went out and bought an actual bar with kegerators in it from a bar that had closed down. He cleaned it out, painted it, and put it in his basement. He got a booth down there, a bunch of stools, and a couple taps. It was a place where the neighbors, his brothers that he worked with (and had a trucking company with) would get together on I don’t know how many nights per week. It was an important part of their life and a place that they got together. Growing up that was still there. A lot of my memories in my family are there. My uncle – his son – since bought his house. Siddle passed away in the early ‘90s, but my uncle bought his house and they put an addition on so it’s in a different spot, but the “Siddle Saloon” sign and memorabilia and the pictures are all still there on the same piece of property.

That's great! What's the origin of the nickname?

Actually, nobody knows! I have asked! I have asked my aunts and uncles, and they're always like, "You know, I don't know. You'd have to ask this guy!" And I ask that guy, and he's like, "I don't know!"  No one can remember how he got his nickname, and I have searched. Actually, when I was a kid we had a black lab that was named Siddle as well. Now I have a bar in my basement, and my wife got the original sign remade like laser cut, so it's down there in "Siddle Saloon South." We're carrying on the tradition.

7. You were named an artist to watch last year – so what are your hopes and dreams in 2017? For this album, touring and airplay?

Like I said, I try to be careful of not naming the specifics, because to me it’s about growing. I think the ways that can happen are surprising. In some ways, it’s more fun when they surprise you. I never thought we would make the impact at SiriusXM. That was never a goal. It just happened to happen. At this point, it’s the greatest force we have going. For me, I’d love to keep that going. This is going to be my fourth headlining spring tour, and every year we have seen a steady growth. I think this year – I hope – one of my goals is for that to be significantly bigger than last year. We’ve got great opening acts out with us – Drew Baldridge and Smithfield. But man, I would love to keep working at Country radio, to try to get further up the chart this time, to meet more Program Directors, and to put us in an even better position to make an even better album.

8. I asked about your view of Country as a format earlier – this album feels to me like something today’s Country fan can easily take in – song driven, but sonically flexible enough to appeal to transplanted Rock fans, or thematically traditional fans too. It has a blue collar, working man feel about it. Accurate?

Man, this is music to my ears! Yes! I am glad. That is it. That might be my new Twitter bio! Haha! I wasn’t thinking all of those things that specifically like you were. I was just making the music that I want to make. But when you said that, that speaks to my heart of who I’m trying to reach with it. That’s really cool!

9. You toured with Old Dominion during the last year. Those guys are hugely successful songwriters – did you have any chances to sit and work on music with them?

We talked about it pretty much every night as we sat around and drank beer, but we never actually got around to writing songs. Actually, Brad [Tursi] and I did write a song. Not on the road, but when we got home we wrote a song. He just demoed it last week, and I think it's really cool. I really think we both - the songwriters in that band and myself – wanted to write, but it was so tough to find the time. We were in the sprinter following them on their bus. When we would get there a lot times we needed to sleep. Those days just fill up out there. That is one thing – I wish we could have written more songs. We got to talking about music and connecting over that, and I got a lot of great advice from them. They weren't even trying to give me advice, but I am always listening to guys that are older and wiser than me. They've got something figured out, but they're doing their own thing! That's what I can learn from those guys. They have their own thing.

They write great songs for the radio, but it's not contrived.

No, their songs are really good! Being able to cut stuff by Sam Hunt and then Kenny Chesney, who are both two of the greatest artists in the format, but on different ends of the spectrum. They're great enough songwriters that it can scale the whole thing!

10. You have three dates on the Tim & Faith "Soul2Soul" tour - one is in your hometown of Pittsburgh.

Yeah. It's going to be really special. I really haven't even been able to break out of the clubs in Pittsburgh. My shows there are still in the Rock clubs. But this past year I got to sing the National Anthem at Heinz Field, and we got to sing "Steel Town" there! Which was beyond my wildest dreams, getting to sing that! When we recorded "Steel Town" and I heard the playback the first time, I had a dream of playing it in the arena or the football stadium. Then we got to do it last year at Heinz. And now that we get to sing it there, it's going to be unbelievably cool. I am so excited for it! I am so honored that they asked me to do it. It's an incredible opportunity. I have never played to a crowd that size – not even close.

Is that going to be nerve-wracking for you?

I think it will be, but I honestly don't know. I'm really just excited about it right now. I don't know. When I get there and see Tim and Faith and if I get the chance to do that and then realize, oh my god, what am I doing here? How did I get here! I think the nerves will kick in pretty hard when we get closer.

The evolution of your songwriting from when you were first signed as an 18-year old. What is different?

It has evolved quite a bit. I think the things that haven't changed are: it is always songs that are written and performed with an acoustic guitar, and it has always been about the lyrics. They are songs that you can get on a stool and just play them like that. I think when I got here it was all very raw. I would really just start writing a song. I didn't know anything about craft or form. I would literally start at the beginning of a song and see if it ended up somewhere cool. I think from Nashville I've learned how to write to the heart, how to write to the concept, and kind of know where you're going a little bit before you begin so that it can hit people harder. I think my writing has just gotten a lot more intentional, and I have fallen in love with the craft. I have learned the craft of writing a great song from here on 16th Avenue, and I can't unlearn it now. I think it's the best way to write and the most impactful. I also think I write about a lot more diverse topics. I think when I was 18 and 19, all I could see was me and the relationship with whatever girl was in my life at that time. Maybe that's true for most 18 and 19 year olds. I wasn't zoomed out at all. I wasn't thinking about where I'm from and what I've learned and even my own identity. I was just thinking about where I am, who is the girl, it's not working out, here's the song. I feel like throughout my 20s the lights have come on slowly to, "Oh, how did I get here?" And, "Oh, those are my people." And, "This is what's important to me." I think I just have a lot more subjects to write about that are important to me.