Cole Swindell’s Chillin’ It

Cole Swindell released his debut album this week.  He said release day was a dream come true.  “It’s the day I didn’t know about, but I’ve always been waitin’ on.  Everything I’ve done in this town, whether it’s been sold a t-shirt or wrote a song, this is it, it’s the day I can walk in a store and see my face on an album. It’s the biggest day of my life so far.”

Cole has been a busy guy, taking advantage of every break he had since he left Georgia in 2007.  That was the year he graduated Georgia Southern University.  “That was a big part of my life, that’s where I started singing, and where I realized I was born to do this.”  Georgia Southern’s most famous alumni is Luke Bryan, and Cole was also a member of Luke’s fraternity, although not at the same time. “It’s so funny, we’re from the same part of Georgia, same college, same fraternity, except he did it all before me.  I followed in his footsteps, but I didn’t know he existed.  I met him when I got to college and he’d already moved to Nashville.”  The year 2007 was when Luke’s first hit, “All My Friends Say” was released.

So when Cole moved to Nashville, he sought out Luke, and got a job selling t-shirts at Luke’s shows.  It was a job he continued until about 3 years ago, when he dedicated his time to writing songs and pursuing a record contract.  It was during Luke’s Dirt Road Diaries Tour last year that Cole wrote “Chillin’ It” and several other songs on his debut album, including “Brought To You By Beer” and “Hope You Get Lonely Tonight.”  He also co-wrote “This Is How We Roll,” the brand new single by Florida Georgia Line with the duo, and Luke, who makes a guest appearance. “I wrote that after Chillin’ It.  I was just out writing with them, and the fact I got to write that with them and Luke is huge.”  The Luke connection continues with Cole’s producer, who is Luke’s guitar player, Michael Carter. “I met Michael years ago, we started writing songs, and had a plan together by the time we got my record deal, the label allowed us to make an album together.”  One of the songs Cole wrote with Michael was a hit last year for Craig Campbell, who once played keyboards in Luke’s band. “Yep, me & Michael co-wrote ‘Outta My Head,’ and we also co-wrote Thomas Rhett’s new single, ‘Get Me Some Of That.’  Luke’s always been like that, keep it in the camp, and I’m a loyal person too, so they let us keep it how we had it, and that’s why my music sounds like it does.”

Cole is now opening shows for his former employer, Luke Bryan, and they just got to play a sold out show at Madison Square Garden in New York. “That’s another one of those things that happened to me, there are a lot of talented people who’ve never played Madison Square Garden, and I realize I’m there because I’m on a tour, but I wouldn’t be on that tour without hard work and a song people believe in.  To have something marked off my bucket list this soon is pretty crazy.”

“Chillin’ It” is now in the Top 5, and everyone knows him now by that song.  We asked Cole why he chose it as his first single: “We wanted a song with a title that people could just identify me, so we went with Chillin’ It, and thank God we did!  If we hadn’t things might have been different.  That’s why you got to go with your gut.” So how would Cole describe his debut album? “I wanted it to be an album that both guys and girls love.  I want it to be the album they listen to when they’re in their truck driving someplace.  I want them to see a different side of me than just Chillin’ It.  I hope they see I’m a songwriter first, and appreciate some of the lyrics.  I put something into every line.  I hope people can appreciate that.”

Cole Swindell’s self-titled debut album is available everywhere now.  Cole wrote all but one of the 12 songs on the album.

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