Kenny: Welcome To The Fishbowl

Back in 1996, I did an interview with Kenny Chesney.  He was in his first years of having hit songs on the radio, and we were talking about the changes in his life.  I brought up that I had seen his name mentioned in the local paper, having lunch at a Nashville restaurant, and he looked a little surprised.  He said, “Gosh nobody did that two years ago!  But if they want to print it, let ’em do it.  It’s cool.”  Now, more than 15 years later, seeing Kenny’s name in the paper or online is commonplace, and he’s grown used to it.  But his friends are still a little surprised. 

That’s how Kenny wrote the song “Welcome To The Fishbowl.”  He was at a bar in Florida with some friends, and was recognized by some fans.  Afterwards, Kenny’s friends mentioned the incident, and Kenny told them, “Welcome To The Fishbowl.”  But Kenny explains he’s not alone in living a public life.  “Now more than ever, we’ve all got these great phones.  The line of communication is unbelievable.  But society is different.  It would be easy to see that title and think I’m writing about all the negativity about celebrity.  But that’s not what it’s about.  You don’t have to be in a celebrity to feel like your privacy has been exposed.  There’s a line in the song that goes, “You don’t have to be famous to be a star.  Just get caught on video, and there you are.”  We’re all in this fishbowl together, and we’re all trying to figure out how to navigate in it.” 

Kenny’s life and soul are on display in several songs on his new album.  A few that he’s particularly close to include the current hit “Come Over.”  He says, “So many of my friends, myself included, have been in relationships, and you know it’s over, and they can’t be together, but they can’t be with anyone else.  So what do we all do?  We do what’s comfortable, and what’s familiar, even if it’s for a night.  That’s why I call it my classy booty song.”  Other songs Kenny would recommend: “While He Still Knows Who I Am.”  Kenny says, “I knew that song was going to ground the record.”  Another song is “Sing Em Good My Friend.”  Kenny says “I listened to it 25 times over and over when I was looking for songs for this record.”  And then there’s El Cerrito Place:” It haunted me.  It really did at a point in my life.  And it took me several years before I could record it.  I finally felt comfortable in my skin and emotionally where I felt I could make this song my own.”

You can listen to the album now at: WelcomeToTheFishbowl.com

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