Billy Walker Jr.
The Nashville music community lost one of its most gifted and diverse contributors with the death of Billy Joe Walker Jr. this week.
Walker was one of the most prolific session musicians in Music City. He was a hit songwriter. He was an acclaimed recording artist. He produced records for more than a dozen stars.
Among the artists whose recordings he guided are Travis Tritt, Collin Raye, Mark Chesnutt, Billy Ray Cyrus, Tracy Byrd and Pam Tillis.
He discovered, as well as produced, Bryan White.
More than 100 of Walker’s songs have been recorded, including such major hits as “I Wanna Dance With You” (1984) and “B-B- B Burning Up With Love” (1986), both sung and co-written by Eddie Rabbitt. Others who have recorded Billy Joe Walker Jr.’s songs include Trisha Yearwood, Jerrod Niemann, Van Zandt, Tanya Tucker, Billy Currington, Chet Atkins and John Anderson.
It would be easier to cite Nashville artists he has not backed in the studio, rather than the voluminous list of those he has.
Just a sampling of the stars he has accompanied on records includes Ray Charles, Merle Haggard, The Dixie Chicks, Tom Jones, Hank Williams Jr., Bryan Adams, George Jones and Randy Travis.
Billy Joe Walker Jr. also achieved notoriety via a series of major-label, star-guitar records in a smooth-jazz style that was sometimes described as “new age.”
He was a native of Midland, Texas, who became a self-taught guitarist at age 6. A local radio station gave him his own 30-minute program, “The Little Billy Walker Show,” when he was 9. As a teenager, he worked regularly in Texas nightclubs.
When he was 17, he moved to Los Angeles to seek his fortune.
Within two years, he was playing sessions. In addition to backing stars such as Glen Campbell and The Beach Boys, he played for TV soundtracks, commercial jingles and film scores, including movies starring Clint Eastwood, Anthony Quinn and Burt Reynolds.
Producer Jimmy Bowen first brought him to Nashville in 1980. Walker was soon backing Kenny Rogers, Waylon Jennings, Crystal Gayle, Mickey Gilley, Steve Wariner, Reba McEntire, Vince Gill and dozens more. After several years of commuting, he moved to Music City in 1985.
Billy Joe Walker Jr.’s solo recording career began in 1987. Signed to MCA Records, he issued Treehouse, so named because he recorded it in his home studio of that name. Painting Music and Universal Language followed as solo LPs in 1989 and 1990, respectively.
Walker next signed as a pop instrumentalist with Geffen Records in L.A. His solo CDs The Walk (1992) and Untitled (1993) ensued. Several of his albums during this period became jazz-chart successes and earned rave reviews.
His next two albums were recorded for Bowen’s Liberty Records imprint in Nashville. These were 1993’s Warm Front and 1994’s Life Is Good.
Walker brought Bryan White to fame beginning in 1994. He produced White’s breakthrough hits “Someone Else’s Star,” “Rebecca Lynn,” “I’m Not Supposed to Love You Anymore,” “So Much for Pretending” and “Sittin’ on Go.”
His solo instrumental CDs continued with Children Play in 1996 and Defeated Creek in 1997. As a session musician, he now backed Martina McBride, Rodney Crowell, George Strait and others.
He also continued producing records. “All the Good Ones Are Gone,” which he produced for Pam Tillis, earned a CMA Single of the Year nomination in 1997. Travis Tritt’s Down the Road I Go, produced by Walker in 2000, became a Platinum Record.
The Walker productions “Just Let Me Be in Love” and “Ten Rounds With Jose Cuervo” revived Tracy Byrd’s career in 2001-02. The CD The Other Side, which Walker produced for Billy Ray Cyrus, was nominated for a 2003 Dove Award by the gospel industry.
Byrd’s CD The Truth About Men, which Walker produced, earned an ACM nomination in 2003. Walker also worked with new artists such as Brad Martin, Drew Smith and Shelley Skidmore.
In 2009, Billy Joe Walker Jr. launched a new website. He signed a new personal management contract with The Consortium in 2011.
But he had been in declining health in recent years. Billy Joe Walker Jr. passed away at age 64 in Kerrville, Texas on Tuesday (July 25).
Walker is survived by son, Dr. Shane Walker, of Naples, Florida, and by daughter Katelyn Walker, of Nashville. Funeral arrangements have not been announced. A memorial service will be held in Nashville.
Craig Campbell Preps Month-Long Outing With Luke Bryan
/by Eric T. ParkerCraig Campbell
Red Bow Records’ Craig Campbell showcased a rockin’ half-hour set, perfectly tuned for Luke Bryan audiences, exclusively for industry insiders at S.I.R.’s Nashville rehearsal hall on Thursday night (July 25).
The preparations are being made for Campbell’s 13-date appearance on Bryan’s Huntin’ Fishin’ & Lovin’ Every Day Tour, which begin during a three-night run in Gilford, New Hampshire, beginning Aug. 8.
Rob Baker of Longshot Management introduced the star to the rehearsal hall stage after mingling amongst the crowd.
“These guys have been working their tail off to make a hell of a show,” cheered Baker. “I can’t wait for the 13 lucky dates to hear what we already know, that Craig Campbell is one of the best damn singers in this city!”
The set list launched with a unreleased tracks that at least have a good chance of making the cut for Campbell’s forthcoming debut with the label group, if he’s playing them live. New songs include a rambunctious party anthem “Somebody’s Gotta Do It,” medium tempo backroads love song “Talk Country To Me” and his debut, lead single with the label group “Outskirts of Heaven,” which calmed the set just momentarily.
With seven singles released to date, Campbell plans to also treat audiences to some Bigger Picture Music Group hits, including his 2012 Top 15 “Outta My Head,” the 2013 crowd pleaser “Keep Them Kisses Comin’,” and the heavily suggestive 2011 release “Fish,” which was blended with a sample of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Fishin’ In The Dark.”
“August 8 through September 9 is going to be the best leg of [Luke Bryan’s Huntin’ Fishin’ & Lovin’ Every Day] Tour because I’m on it,” Campbell egged at the conclusion of his performance. “Thank you all so much for showing up and hanging out.”
Although Campbell is only featured from August to September, Bryan’s tour extends through the end of October—interspersed with shows for Bryan’s signature Farm Tour before heading to Mexico in 2018 for the annual Crash My Playa event.
Industry Ink: Brett Eldredge, William Michael Morgan, Jacob Davis, Bar Frog Music, Lorrie And Marty Morgan
/by Lorie HollabaughBrett Eldredge, William Michael Morgan Make Radio Stops
Brett Eldredge and KBEQ’s TJ McEntire
Brett Eldredge met with KBEQ’s TJ McEntire and Todd Nixon during a stop on his tour last weekend.
William Michael Morgan recently visited with WGKX’s Duane And Abby In The Morning.
Black River Entertainment’s Jacob Davis Makes ACM Visit
Pictured (L-R): Pete Fisher, CEO, Academy of Country Music; Jacob Davis; Dawn Delvo, Head of Media and Public Relations, Black River Entertainment; Daniel Miller, Red Light Management/Fusion Music. Photo: Michel Bourquard/Courtesy of the Academy of Country Music
Black River Entertainment recording artist Jacob Davis stopped by the ACM offices for a visit while he was in Los Angeles recently. While at the Academy, Davis performed his current single, “What I Wanna Be,” and other songs from his upcoming album.
Bar Frog Nashville Opens
Randy Barber jumps into his newest venture creating an independent label services firm, Bar Frog Music. This full-service promotion and consulting label based in Nashville TN, features a full slate of offerings including artist development, management, production services, booking inquiries, radio promotion and tours, publicity and social media execution. The firm has hired Sheena Dickey, a former 10-year radio programmer to serve as Artist Representative and Michael Vorhees, a recent intern with Skyline Artist Agency, to serve as Booking Coordinator. They have also partnered with PR/Marketing firm Brickshore Media to represent them and their artists and Daredevil Productions to help increase their artist fan base on social platforms.
Lorrie Morgan, Marty Morgan Team For Bluebird Cafe Show
Rounder Records To Release Gregg Allman’s Final Studio Album, ‘Southern Blood’
/by Jessica NicholsonThe album stands as the final studio release, and first all-new recording since his 2011 album Low Country Blues. Southern Blood features a collection of songs penned by friends and fellow artists including Jackson Browne, Willie Dixon, Jerry Garcia & Robert Hunter, Lowell George, Spooner Oldham, and Dan Penn. Allman collaborated with manager Michael Lehman, as well as Grammy-winning producer Don Was. The album was recorded at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
The album’s range includes Jackson Browne’s “Song For Adam,” which includes a final verse that Was says reminded Gregg of his older brother Duane’s passing, as well as “Blind Bats and Swamp Rats,” a track from Johnny Jenkins’ Duane Allman-produced album Ton-Ton Macoute!. Bob Dylan’s “Going, Going Gone” and Tim Buckley’s “Once I Was” also made the cut.
“As his producer, I was dedicated to helping Gregg crystallize his vision for the record and to help make sure that this vision made it to the tape,” says Was. “He was a musical hero of mine and, in later years, had become a good friend. The gravitas of this particular situation was not lost on me. Gregg was a sweet, humble man with a good heart and good intentions and it was a great honor to help him put his musical affairs in order and say a proper farewell.”
“Gregg was very excited to be in the studio,” says Lehman. “He was especially thrilled to be recording this studio album with his solo band—he was so proud of them and loved the sound that they produced together. Gregg felt close to every single one of them. The Gregg Allman Band was like a family or a well oiled machine, always knowing what the other band members were thinking and doing.”
“Muscle Shoals is hallowed musical ground,” says Was. “FAME was the place where Gregg’s brother Duane first started making waves in the music world and where the earliest seeds of The Allman Brothers Band were sown in a back room during their first, seminal rehearsals. Duane’s presence is still ubiquitous in that building. Recording there was Gregg’s way of making his spirit a part of this album, in the same way that his spirit continued to be part of Gregg’s life.”
The album’s lead single, “My Only True Friend,” which Allman co-wrote with Gregg Allman Band guitarist and musical director Scott Sharrard. Sharrard led the band through two weeks of recording for the album, with all nine musicians playing together in the same room, and Allman singing live vocals.
“‘My Only True Friend’ was Gregg’s attempt to contextualize the course of his life,” says Was. “The man that his fans saw performing onstage was the essential Gregg Allman—he was whole and truly satisfied when he was up there playing music. The trials and troubles he faced in life were mostly the result of not knowing what to do with himself in between shows. In this song, he’s addressing a woman and explaining that, although he loves her and doesn’t want to face living his life alone, being away on the road and performing every night is his lifeblood. If you understand this about Gregg Allman, every other aspect of his life makes complete sense.”
“Gregg was not feeling great,” Lehman says, “but being a true professional, he gave it his all as usual. He hit the studio every day for about four or five hours and would typically nail one or two of the songs.”
“Gregg was thrilled that the sound in his head was manifesting itself on the tape,” Was says. “He didn’t have all the lungpower of his younger self, but we felt that these raw, weathered performances were honest and compelling. We all agreed to leave them as they were on the day they were recorded. In the spirit of Laid Back, Gregg wanted to hear things like background harmony vocals and reverb on his voice but this album is essentially a documentary of our two weeks in the studio.
IBMA Reveals Nominees For 2017 IBMA Awards
/by Jessica NicholsonIBMA Executive Director Paul Schiminger announced the 2017 International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame inductees, which include Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard, Bobby Hicks, and Roland White.
Distinguished achievement awards will be presented to Norman Blake, bluegrass music publication Bluegrass Today, Louisa Branscomb, Fletcher Bright, and Silver Dollar City.
Entertainer of the Year nominee Balsam Range ended the nomination reveal with a performance alongside Female Vocalist of the Year nominee and reigning IBMA Mandolin Player of the Year Sierra Hull and Justin Moses.
Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn will host the IBMA’s 28th Annual International Bluegrass Music Awards Show on Thursday, Sept. 28 at Raleigh, North Carolina’s Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts.
Entertainer of the Year:
Balsam Range
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
The Earls Of Leicester
Flatt Lonesome
The Gibson Brothers
Female Vocalist of the Year:
Brooke Aldridge
Dale Ann Bradley
Sierra Hull
Amanda Smith
Molly Tuttle
Male Vocalist of the Year
Shawn Camp
Eric Gibson
Leigh Gibson
Buddy Melton
Russell Moore
Emerging Artist Of the Year
Front Country
The Lonely Heartstring Band
Molly Tuttle
Sister Sadie
Volume Five
Vocal Group of the Year
Balsam Range
Blue Highway
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
Flatt Lonesome
The Gibson Brothers
Instrumental Group of the Year
Balsam Range
The Earls Of Leicester
Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen
Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
Punch Brothers
Song of the Year
“Blue Collar Dreams,” recorded by Balsam Range; Aaron Bibelhauser (writer)
“Going Back To Bristol,” recorded by Shawn Camp; Mac Wiseman, Thomm Jutz, Peter Cooper (writers)
“I Am A Drifter,” recorded by Volume Five; Donna Ulisse, Marc Rossi (writers)
“Someday Soon,” recorded by Darin & Brooke Aldridge; Ian Tyson (writer)
“The Train That Carried My Girl From Town,” recorded by The Earls Of Leicester; Frank Hutchison (writer)
Album of the Year
Fiddler’s Dream, Michael Cleveland; Producers: Jeff White/Michael Cleveland; Compass Records
In The Ground, The Gibson Brothers; Producers: Eric Gibson/Leigh Gibson/Mike Barber; Rounder Records
Mountain Voodoo, Balsam Range; Producer: Balsam Range; Mountain Home Records
Original, Bobby Osborne; Producer: Alison Brown; Compass Records
Rattle & Roar, The Earls Of Leicester; Producer: Jerry Douglas; Rounder Records
Recorded Event Of The Year
“East Virginia Blues,” Ricky Wasson and Dan Tyminski
“Going Back To Bristol,” Shawn Camp with Mac Wiseman, Peter Cooper, Thomm Jutz
“I’ve Gotta Get A Message To You,” Bobby Osborne with Sierra Hull, Alison brown, Rob Ickes, Stuart Duncan, Trey Hensley, Todd Phillips, Kenny Malone, Claire Lynch, and Bryan McDowell
“Steamboat Whistle Blues,” Michael Cleveland ft. Sam Bush
“‘Tis Sweet To Be Remembered,” Mac Wiseman and Alison Krauss
For a full list of nominees, visit ibma.org.
Manchester City Football Club And Sony Nashville Team For Pre-Game Fan Party
/by Lorie HollabaughManchester City ambassador Mike Summerbee and former player Paul Dickov will be on hand at the party to meet fans and preview the upcoming pre-season match, and fans can enjoy Q&A’s onstage and giveaways during the event.
“I’m so thrilled to team up with Manchester City to officially kick off their big game this weekend in Nashville,” said Ennis. “I love soccer and have always been the biggest City fan, so to have a match in our backyard and be able to welcome them to town and watch them play is so exciting. I can’t wait to get the party started for City fans with Ryan and The Sisterhood. Let’s go City!”
Ricky Skaggs To Perform First Full Country Concert In 20 Years At Nashville Palace
/by Lorie HollabaughPhoto courtesy of Carson Photoworks
Ricky Skaggs is performing his first full-blown concert in two decades on Sept. 2 in Nashville at the Nashville Palace. Skaggs is plugging back in for the concert and cranking up his hits from the ’80s, including “Highway 40 Blues,” “Honey (Open That Door),” “Heartbroke,” “Country Boy,” and “Uncle Pen,” among others.
Skaggs has been honoring a promise he made to the late Bill Monroe to do his part to keep bluegrass alive, and since Monroe’s passing in 1996, Skaggs has kept that promise, playing thousands of live bluegrass shows and releasing several albums dedicated to the genre. But he’s decided it’s time to dust off the songs that made him famous.
“After playing bluegrass music for the last 20 years, I’m gonna have a blast plugging in my electric guitar and singing my country hits again,” says Skaggs. “Can’t wait! We did a test run of the show back in June and came away from it feeling great!”
Since he began playing more than 50 years ago, Skaggs has released over 30 albums. He started his own record label, Skaggs Family Records, in 1997, and has released 12 consecutive Grammy-nominated albums on the label.
Tickets to Skaggs’ country show, which range from $20-200, go on sale today and can be purchased HERE.
ASCAP, BMI Reveal Comprehensive Musical Works Database
/by Jessica NicholsonElizabeth Matthews, CEO, ASCAP and Mike O’Neill, President and CEO, BMI announced the database, which will feature aggregated song ownership data from both PROs and offer greater transparency in song ownership. ASCAP’s and BMI’s respective databases will continue to be available on each organization’s respective website during the creation and initial launch of the joint database.
The joint database will roll out in phases with Phase One expected to launch by the end of 2018, and include the majority of ASCAP and BMI registered songs. Future phases will explore customizable, interactive API solutions and the potential inclusion of other databases.
A cross functional team of copyright, technical and data experts from BMI and ASCAP began working on the project over one year ago, in anticipation of the demand from licensees and the industry for more clarity around ownership shares. The database, which will be publicly available initially via ASCAP and BMI websites, will feature aggregated information from BMI’s and ASCAP’s repertories and will indicate where other performing rights organizations may have an interest in a musical work.
ASCAP and BMI have long had their respective online, searchable repertory databases – ASCAP’s ACE Repertory and BMI’s Repertoire Search. Both PRO public databases already include the following information, which will be combined in the joint database: song and composition titles, performing artist information, aggregated shares by society for ASCAP & BMI, international Standard Work Codes (ISWC) and other unique identifiers, as well as IP names and numbers.
The respective teams are analyzing, testing and reconciling the data from each organization, addressing incomplete and/or incorrect registrations, share splits, U.S. representation of international works and complicated ownership disputes, among other things. They are now testing the combined data sets in a cloud platform, and the results of that analysis will serve as the foundation for the joint database.
Matthews commented, “ASCAP and BMI are proactively and voluntarily moving the entire industry a step forward to more accurate, reliable and user-friendly data. We believe in a free market with more industry cooperation and alignment on data issues. Together, ASCAP and BMI have the most expertise in building and managing complex copyright ownership databases. With our combined experience, we are best positioned to make faster headway in creating a robust, cost effective market solution to meet the needs of the licensing marketplace.”
O’Neill added, “This is an important solution for the marketplace created by the experts who know their data best. We have always advocated for data transparency and supported the need for a user-friendly and comprehensive solution that would benefit music users and music creators alike. While BMI and ASCAP remain fierce competitors in all other regards, we recognize that our combined expertise allows us to create the best solution for our members and the marketplace. We’re excited by our momentum and the promise of what this database can become in the future.”
LifeNotes: Multi-Talented Guitarist Billy Joe Walker Jr. Passes
/by Robert K OermannBilly Walker Jr.
The Nashville music community lost one of its most gifted and diverse contributors with the death of Billy Joe Walker Jr. this week.
Walker was one of the most prolific session musicians in Music City. He was a hit songwriter. He was an acclaimed recording artist. He produced records for more than a dozen stars.
Among the artists whose recordings he guided are Travis Tritt, Collin Raye, Mark Chesnutt, Billy Ray Cyrus, Tracy Byrd and Pam Tillis.
He discovered, as well as produced, Bryan White.
More than 100 of Walker’s songs have been recorded, including such major hits as “I Wanna Dance With You” (1984) and “B-B- B Burning Up With Love” (1986), both sung and co-written by Eddie Rabbitt. Others who have recorded Billy Joe Walker Jr.’s songs include Trisha Yearwood, Jerrod Niemann, Van Zandt, Tanya Tucker, Billy Currington, Chet Atkins and John Anderson.
It would be easier to cite Nashville artists he has not backed in the studio, rather than the voluminous list of those he has.
Just a sampling of the stars he has accompanied on records includes Ray Charles, Merle Haggard, The Dixie Chicks, Tom Jones, Hank Williams Jr., Bryan Adams, George Jones and Randy Travis.
Billy Joe Walker Jr. also achieved notoriety via a series of major-label, star-guitar records in a smooth-jazz style that was sometimes described as “new age.”
He was a native of Midland, Texas, who became a self-taught guitarist at age 6. A local radio station gave him his own 30-minute program, “The Little Billy Walker Show,” when he was 9. As a teenager, he worked regularly in Texas nightclubs.
When he was 17, he moved to Los Angeles to seek his fortune.
Within two years, he was playing sessions. In addition to backing stars such as Glen Campbell and The Beach Boys, he played for TV soundtracks, commercial jingles and film scores, including movies starring Clint Eastwood, Anthony Quinn and Burt Reynolds.
Producer Jimmy Bowen first brought him to Nashville in 1980. Walker was soon backing Kenny Rogers, Waylon Jennings, Crystal Gayle, Mickey Gilley, Steve Wariner, Reba McEntire, Vince Gill and dozens more. After several years of commuting, he moved to Music City in 1985.
Billy Joe Walker Jr.’s solo recording career began in 1987. Signed to MCA Records, he issued Treehouse, so named because he recorded it in his home studio of that name. Painting Music and Universal Language followed as solo LPs in 1989 and 1990, respectively.
Walker next signed as a pop instrumentalist with Geffen Records in L.A. His solo CDs The Walk (1992) and Untitled (1993) ensued. Several of his albums during this period became jazz-chart successes and earned rave reviews.
His next two albums were recorded for Bowen’s Liberty Records imprint in Nashville. These were 1993’s Warm Front and 1994’s Life Is Good.
Walker brought Bryan White to fame beginning in 1994. He produced White’s breakthrough hits “Someone Else’s Star,” “Rebecca Lynn,” “I’m Not Supposed to Love You Anymore,” “So Much for Pretending” and “Sittin’ on Go.”
His solo instrumental CDs continued with Children Play in 1996 and Defeated Creek in 1997. As a session musician, he now backed Martina McBride, Rodney Crowell, George Strait and others.
He also continued producing records. “All the Good Ones Are Gone,” which he produced for Pam Tillis, earned a CMA Single of the Year nomination in 1997. Travis Tritt’s Down the Road I Go, produced by Walker in 2000, became a Platinum Record.
The Walker productions “Just Let Me Be in Love” and “Ten Rounds With Jose Cuervo” revived Tracy Byrd’s career in 2001-02. The CD The Other Side, which Walker produced for Billy Ray Cyrus, was nominated for a 2003 Dove Award by the gospel industry.
Byrd’s CD The Truth About Men, which Walker produced, earned an ACM nomination in 2003. Walker also worked with new artists such as Brad Martin, Drew Smith and Shelley Skidmore.
In 2009, Billy Joe Walker Jr. launched a new website. He signed a new personal management contract with The Consortium in 2011.
But he had been in declining health in recent years. Billy Joe Walker Jr. passed away at age 64 in Kerrville, Texas on Tuesday (July 25).
Walker is survived by son, Dr. Shane Walker, of Naples, Florida, and by daughter Katelyn Walker, of Nashville. Funeral arrangements have not been announced. A memorial service will be held in Nashville.
Artist Updates: Montgomery Gentry, Phil Vassar, Kellie Pickler, Alisa Turner
/by Lorie HollabaughMontgomery Gentry To Headline T.J. Martell Foundation’s Country On The Beach
Phil Vassar, Kellie Pickler Team For Christmas Tour
Phil Vassar and Kellie Pickler are teaming up this season for a special Christmas tour around the country launching Nov. 24. In honor of the tour, Pickler and Vassar are releasing a new Christmas single this holiday season called “The Naughty List,” written by Vassar and Juliana Songs and co-produced by Vassar and long-time friend Dane Bryan, who also co-produced Vassar’s first Christmas album, Noel. Tickets for A Christmas Tour go on sale Friday, July 28.
Integrity Music To Release Debut Album From Alisa Turner
Nashville-based artist Alisa Turner’s self-titled debut is set for release from Integrity Music on Aug. 25 with the pre-sale beginning Aug. 4. Produced by Grammy-nominated Michael Farren, Alisa Turner weaves her very personal story of grief and suffering with hope and redemption. The project includes “My Prayer For You,” the project’s first radio single, which was penned by Farren.
Darius Rucker To Release Fifth Studio Country Album ‘When Was The Last Time’
/by Jessica NicholsonRucker released the album’s second single, “For The First Time,” to country radio yesterday (July 24). It follows Rucker’s recent chart-topper “If I Told You,” which marks his eighth No. 1 country song since he debuted in 2008. “For The First Time” was penned with Derek George and Travis Hill.
The singer-songwriter, who worked with producer Frank Rogers on previous albums, made a shift for the new project by bringing in producer Ross Copperman for the new album.
“On top of being a genius with the equipment, Ross is so high-energy and funny; that kid is never not laughing,” Rucker said via a release. “Every time we were in the studio we had a great band who had great ideas of their own, so it was the farthest thing from tedious, but just, let’s get in and do it. I think for the whole record we spent just three days tracking music.”