BayFest

Church is rare breed in Music City

By Stephen Centanni

Music editor

When it comes to country music, Nashville has the reputation of being a house divided. On one side, there are the songwriters penning compositions for various publishing houses. On the other, there are singers pouring out their hearts on stage. It is this relationship that makes Eric Church a rare breed in the Music City. Church first found success as a songwriter and later made a successful transition into the life of a performer. And Church says it was all just simple fate.

“I think it decided me,” Church explains. “I don’t think that I chose it. Some of the best things in life are that way. I was really in my own world of loving songwriting. That’s what I do; that’s who I am. As I was writing over time, some of the labels in town had heard some of the songs, and began getting interested in me from an artist side.”

His big break came when Capitol Records saw him perform. Church sang a few extremely personal songs that he had not yet sold to performers, and Capitol had him signing a contract on his birthday and cutting a record shortly afterwards.

With his debut, Church made it clear from the beginning that he was going to be in total control of the project. The end-result was his debut “Sinners Like Me,” which made Church’s reputation as a performer in Nashville official.

“The great thing about doing all this is because I was happy as a songwriter and not one of those guys who are like, ‘Make me a star’ like a lot of people are,” Church says.

“There’s a lot of authenticity that comes across.”

With “Sinner,” he began touring extensively and had three singles break the Top 20 on the Hot Country charts. Church claims that he owes part of the album’s success to his dedication to follow in the footsteps of his heroes against the current of mainstream pop country.

“I think that it (country music) needs that songwriter every now and then, whether it be Springsteen or Kristofferson or Prine, you know, that kind of guy,” Church says. “He (the kind of guy that) can go out and rock pretty hard in a show, and at the same time, you can hand the guitar to him and sit there and play songs.”

Church is continuing this organic philosophy as he puts the finishing touches on his upcoming album “Carolina,” and it promises to be quite different from “Sinners” in many different ways.

“We didn’t try to make ‘Sinners Like Me’ again,” Church says. “We didn’t go back and make the same record. It was important to me to show that we’d grown by showing diversity, and I think we’ve done that. I think that we’ve experienced life. It’s been three years since we made that last record. A lot has happened, personally. I’m married now, so even to me, I’m a different guy that I was. They’re gonna get a behind the curtain look at things going on in my life more than the first.”

In addition to the personal elements, Church is promising that “Carolina” will definitely show his evolution as a songwriter.

”’Sinners’ was a very aggressive, gritty, guy-driven record,” Church explains. “With the new one, there’s gonna be some sides that maybe aren’t as gritty and maybe are more melodic. I grew up listening to everything from Motown to bluegrass. I think that people are gonna see more from the production and melody side.”

Even though Church is promising change with the new material, his talent for making each song special to both himself and the listener is still intact. Church takes this aspect of his creation process to heart.

“You know, I’m a fan of the record-making process,” Church says. “In this day and time, everything’s about a song. A lot of artists try to make songs and end up with a record. I try to make a record and end up with singles. I do it the backwards way.”

As far as Church’s fans in attendance at BayFest, it is quite possible that they may get the best of both worlds with songs from “Sinners Like Me” and his upcoming release “Carolina.”

“They’re gonna get some stuff from us very soon,” says Church. “Within the next six weeks, we’re gonna do some leaking stuff that I think is fun in this day and time to give them some samples and stuff of what the new record will sound like. The new album will be out next year. Actually, March is the date on it.”

Stephen Centanni is Lagniappe music editor. Contact him at scentanni@lagniappemobile.com.

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