New To Top 10: Kacey Musgraves
It’s rare when a new artist makes it to the Top 10 with their very first single. But newcomer Kacey Musgraves is now in our Top 10 with her debut song “Merry Go Round.” Her album containing that song was released today. It’s titled “Same Trailer, Different Park,” taken from the first verse of the single. We sat down with Kacey to talk about music, her life, and her cool hat!
You just did a concert at a chili festival, so what was that like? “It was interesting, playing at 10 AM, but there was a ton of people there. They opened the door at 8:30AM.”
How was the chili? “I didn’t get any, but Texas wins in the chili department. I stick with my grandma’s chili. She’s got a spicy taco chili, it’s just a bunch of beans, I put buffalo meat in mine, bison, it turns out good. I like mine spicy, so we put jalapenos, it’s got a little zing.”
Chunks or ground meat? “Ground. Ground and brown. And then I put kidney beans, pinto beans, and another one. I’m not that much of a cook, it’s about the only thing I make.”
Paint us a picture of life growing up in Texas: “I had a normal childhood, my parents own their own business. They’re pretty young, early 50s, very young at heart, really creative, they have a print shop where they do graphic design, my mom’s a visual artist, she’s a painter, always encouraged us, Kelly my younger sister & I would always have a paint brush in my hand, creativity was encouraged. My parents took me from town to town playing shows. I have a great relationship with my family, I’m a daddy’s girl, and my sister is a photographer, very creative, it was a good childhood.”
Kacey & Kelly. So you all have “K” names? “Yes, except my dad Craig with a C.”
Where did you get the experience of trailers and trailer parks? My parents brought me home from the hospital into a bright yellow trailer, which we didn’t live in for long, it had particle board walls, fake mantle, cows in the yard, I have vague memories, so I feel I can poke fun at trailer park culture because I lived in it. I’m kind of proud of it, maybe it’s the redneck in my, the Texan in me, but a trailer park is an interesting dynamic, living close to other people. I love the drama in trailer parks, it’s interesting to me. People moving in and out, for some reason, I gravitate towards that, and I didn’t want to overload people, but it’s part of my experience.
Not far from being a traveling musician: Right, just as long as you’re happy with yourself and happy with the people around you, then anywhere can be home.
Take us through 2007, turning 19: I graduated high school, moved to Austin, played some shows, tried to find myself, got on Nashville Star, learned a lot, and then a couple years after that, I felt I had to move there. I can’t half-ass anything, and it turned out to be a good move for me.
Commuting between Austin and Nashville? Yes, going back and forth, Austin’s a great place to play live, and you can learn a ton playing there, but when it came to songwriting, I needed to immerse myself in the best place possible, which is Nashville. Eventually a mindset came to me as to what I wanted to sound like.
And exactly what did you want it to sound like? “I don’t want people to put their finger on it. I open my mouth and it’s country, and I can’t help that, but I’m inspired by a huge range of sounds and ideas. I just want to make good music. If I can be a part of bringing back old school country music, then I would love that.”
I tried to come up with a word for the songs, and I thought about “atmospheric:” “Cool, I like that. They each take on their own life. There’s a common thread that ties it all together. I think when you listen, you’ll hear I’m influenced by old school country, but you’ll hear other parts of my brain too, like Beach Boys, Weazer, Glen Campbell, 90s hip hop, so if it can live other places, that’s cool. I love Glen Campbell so much. He was ahead of his time, and a lot of the old school music was ahead of its time.”
Tell me about the first line in Merry Go Round: “That makes you go, “what did she just say?” I think the first line is the most important one, you can’t wait to the chorus to make a point, so hopefully you’ll hear that in my songs, I just love a good line that grabs you by the balls, can I say that? It just gets my attention when I hear songs like that. I like intricate verses and simple choruses that people can sing along with, that’s the formula.”
Your debut album will be released on March 19, so what will day be like for you? “That day is gonna be insane, by then it’ll be over a year in the making, I’ve grown a lot in the process, I was lucky to be co-producer, so I got to do whatever I wanted. I just feel like they trust me enough to say what I want to say, and that’s why Merry Go Round resonated with so many people. I’m just observing, writing, and throwing it out there.”
The song is in the Top 10, so what does that mean to you? “I don’t know a lot about that world, it stresses me out, that world is necessary to get my music to the people, but it doesn’t dictate my decisions. It took convincing for it to be the first single, because it pushed buttons, but that’s why it should be the first single.”
Touring with Little Big Town: “They’re the nicest people in country music, this new album they created is full of awesome fresh sounds, it goes hand in hand with my album. I’m gonna learn a lot, have my own band for the first time, and it’s gonna be fun to put together a show. There will be some Same Trailer Different Park esthetics to my show.”
You’re nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards. Are you looking ahead to Vegas: “I’m going to live with the intent it will happen, but if not, it’s not the end of the world, but I’m such a new person, I was kind of shocked to be thought of enough to be included with girls who’ve been doing this longer than I have is a huge compliment. It’s not the reason I do what I do. It’s just an accessory.”
An accessory? Like your hat! “Yes I had to wear a hat today because it’s been five days since I washed my hair. Hat and dry shampoo is what I do.”
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