Frankie Ballard’s Ride To #1
Frankie Ballard is doing great these days, with songs on the radio, and headlining his own Light ‘Em Up Tour. But it’s been a long way from his home in Battle Creek to Music City. Frankie talked about it with Country Countdown USA’s Lon Helton:
Where were you born? Battle Creek Michigan, which is southwest Michigan. My dad was a huge country music fan. As a kid, I hung out with my dad, and he played this music. He’d get together with a buddy of his and they’d play music. I’d fall asleep listening to them sing Kenny Rogers. It was the only music I knew. Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, and Elvis. As I grew up, I wanted to join in with them. Travis Tritt was my guy when I was in High School. He always had that edge to him. I never looked at music as a career, it was something I loved.
When did you think about music as a career? A lot of things changed for me on a Sunday afternoon when my mom was making dinner. The TV was on, and Stevie Ray Vaughan Austin City Limits was on, and I was mesmerized by it. It was a big turning point, inspired a passion to play guitar. I was 17 years old at the time. That started a tornado of inspiration, and I’d play guitar all day. Then I started writing songs. It was like a fire inside me. When I started writing songs, the country influence came out.
So what happened next? I didn’t know what I was doing. I knew I wanted to become a better guitar player. Finally I wanted to show people what I was doing. So I found a songwriters night in Kalamazoo. That turned into touring with blues bands as a sideman. I wasn’t ready to be in front. I played blues because that’s where I was at the time. That time was an incredible time for me. I could get my chops together. But at a certain point I was ready to put a band together. I ended up playing 5 or 6 nights a week in a 200 mile radius of Kalamazoo. That’s when Kenny Chesney came through with his Next Big Star competition. That gave me the confidence to try to go to Nashville.
So what did you think would open the door for you in Nashville? I didn’t know, but I thought I could either move here, or commute. I was making so much money playing 5-6 nights a week in Michigan. So I’d go down for a week, meet some songwriters, then go back to Michigan. I did that for a year. Then eventually I got a meeting at a publishing company, and they gave me a writing deal. That’s when I moved to Nashville. They took me to labels, and I got a record deal. It worked out for me to commute.
At some point, the blues met country. When did that happen? Bob Seger is the guy who did it for me. He’s this guy who did a lot of blues and rock, but he had heartland style that had a big influence on me. I’m not either rock or stone country, but I’m in the middle. So when I write a song, Seger’s always in the back of my head.
Early in your record deal, you got the opportunity to open shows for Taylor Swift on the Speak Now Tour. That tour came at a time for me when I had never done a tour of that magnitude. Her fans treated me and my guys like we were The Beatles. I had such a great time, I learned a lot from Taylor. I was so impressed with how involved she was in her show. I was inspired by how hard she works. At the time, I thought my show should be off-the-cuff, unrehearsed, more of a jam frame of mind. Her set is so well-rehearsed, I realized I was doing it wrong. I was inspired to tighten up what I do. The reason we do that so the show is better. I was amazed at how tight her show was. You want it to have the maximum impact on the fans. You want them to feel. From that moment on, I changed my way of thinking about how I put my show on. It’s a lot tighter than it used to be.
After Taylor, you went on the road with Jake Owen and Florida Georgia Line on their CMT Tour. What was that like? Ever since I got my record deal, Jake has been a buddy of mine. He’s helped me through a lot of stuff. He’s called and offered some advice. I always appreciated him for that. I’m thankful for that. He called me one night, it was between albums, while I was working on this album, and he was asking how I was doing, and I could tell he cared what was going on with me. That was sweet of him. He’s been a good buddy, I really appreciate him.
And now you’re going out with Florida Georgia Line: I definitely learned that they bring it. I’m going to try and do the same thing they did on the CMT Tour.
Florida Georgia Line’s Anything Goes Tour, featuring Thomas Rhett and Frankie Ballard, gets under way in January.
Category: New Artist
Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
