As he geared up for his show at City Hall on Saturday, beloved country crooner Pat Green set aside some time to chat with Music Editor Lakendra Scott. Green opened up about why he loves Willie, what he was like in college and why he just doesn't seem to have a taste for hip-hop.
Versus Magazine: You recorded with more independent record labels before signing with Sony BMG. Did your music change when you switched to a more mainstream label?
Pat Green: I think as any artist grows up - well, not grows up but grows older - well, your musical tastes change. I don't listen to the same music I did when I was in high school or else I would still be listening to Motley Crue. As far as when you're making music, I think what goes in is definitely a reflection of what goes out. It's like feeding the mechanism that keeps you writing. I think that maybe having kids and not going out so much anymore, I care about different things rather intensely. I'm really into what my kids are into and what my wife is into, you know, as opposed to when I was in college and I was really into driving around listening to music and drinking beer. I'm just a different person than I was.
VM: Your music is often very personal. Do you base your lyrics on your own life?
PG: Absolutely. I think it's so easy to communicate truths when you are talking about stuff that you know about, your own personal emotions and feelings. The things that I'm going through in my life are what translate easiest from me to the audience because you know, "Hey, that's what I'm living right now."
VM: Has being from Texas influenced your musical style?
PG: Oh, certainly. I think that anywhere you come, the culture affects what it is you enjoy, and it affects everything. Growing up in Echo and going down to Austin and listening to live music down in Austin gave me an appreciation for a brand of rather free thinking and fun living.
VM: You have a strong cult following with the college scene. Do you think that playing for college kids is different than playing from the larger concerts?
PG: Well, what I think about that is that it certainly gave me a leg up and a great way to start a career. Coming from the indie scene and being big with the college scene was certainly a vehicle to get on radio and to get on the bigger tours with Dave Matthews and Kenny Chesney and Keith Urban and so forth and really make bigger strides toward becoming a national act.
VM: Do you play with the same musicians every time you perform?
PG: Yeah, we have had almost the same band for 10 years. We had two guys come in the last three years. We are a very loyal bunch, very family-like atmosphere on our bus.
VM: What are you listening to right now? Any new artists?
PG: I've been listening to the new Waif Owens album, which isn't out yet. I'm very excited about that one. The new Randy Newman album. I really appreciate great song writers, great songwriting, guys who know what their doing around the melody. Great melody, great lyric is kind of what I'm into. I'm not really into hip-hop or anything like that; it doesn't suit me. I'm not trying to be weird. Culture is a really big part of what hip-hop is, and you know it's just a different expression.
VM: What do you like to do in your free time?
PG: I love to play golf. I like to go fishing and hunting with my friends and my kids. I like anything to do with mountains, the cooler temperatures. I'm melting this summer in Texas. It's the hottest thing in the world in Texas.
VM: What artists have had the biggest impact on your music?
PG: In college I started listening to Willie Nelson and his contemporaries that became the writing style that I eventually adopted as my own. ... Definitely Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews - I really enjoy what he has to say and how he says it. Randy Newman, just as far as crazy songwriting - its amazing stuff. Bob Schneider, he's an Austin guy, really great Austin singer-songwriter. And Robert Earl Keen, Jerry Jeff Walker.
VM: Is there a reason that so much of your music is energetic and uplifting?
PG: I think that's because that's what I want to see when I go out to a show. I don't get into a lot of negative energy kind of stuff; I keep things as lighthearted as possible. I'm not much into preaching or giving sermons or telling people about my politics. I figure that when people go to a bar to have a few drinks and listen to some music, they would feel the same way. They just want to enjoy themselves.
