Manchester- based Tyrone country singer- songwriter Gary Quinn told David Hennessy about his new music getting back to what he loved about country music growing up, the inspiration of the late Kris Kristofferson and how his home province is being allowed to find its voice after troubled times.
Gary Quinn, the multi award-winning Omagh country singer- songwriter, recently released the single Heavy Boots.
Following Watch Me and Poison, Heavy Boots is another taste of his forthcoming album which is due later this year.
With multiple BCMA Awards to his name and performances at C2C: Country to Country and Nashville’s Bluebird Café, Quinn continues to build momentum both in the UK and beyond.
Co-written with Grammy-winning songwriter Brett James (Carrie Underwood, Jason Aldean, Cody Johnson), Heavy Boots explores the eternal tug-of-war between the pull of the road and the pull of the heart capturing the struggle between chasing dreams and holding onto love.
Quinn himself described it as ‘that constant battle between pursuing your passion and staying close to the ones you love’.
Let’s talk about Heavy Boots.
I think a lot of creative people would relate to it, it is that conflict between life and your dreams really, isn’t it?
“Yeah.
“I was talking about this with some other songwriters the other day.
“It’s very difficult to say exactly what you want to say without saying it how everybody else would say it because you really want to grab people’s attention or grab their imagination.
“So rather than coming out and say, ‘Listen, I want to stick around here because I really like you’, I thought the idea and analogy of having heavy boots when you’re around that person means that you feel more grounded and connected to them rather than the pull of the road.
“It is that conflict of where you feel you gotta be out there doing what you were put here to do and wanting to be around those that are closest to you whether that’s children or a partner.
“It’s just an analogy that others can put their own conflicts in there what it is pushing and pulling them.”
Does that feeling change as you go through different stages of life?
“Yeah. I’d say when I was a bit younger, the boots might be a bit lighter.
“I have two children that are reliant on me and just the hugest love I’ve ever experienced.
“And it’s justifying time on the road, justifying where you need to be in the world to chase what it is that you’re after.
“And if that can’t be justified, then really why are you doing it when there’s people closer to home that want to keep you there and you want to be around?
“So at the moment I seem to have the balance right that I can disappear when I need to go out to Nashville, write songs, record what I need to do, and then I can be around a lot more through the year as I have different things here in the mainland UK that I’m involved in that allow me to not have to be on the road as much but still be present at home.”
You mentioned Nashville where you recorded this track with the producer Nick Gibbens, are you spending a bit more time there these days or how much do you get to spend out in Nashville?
“Since we last spoke, yeah, I’ve been out there a fair bit more.
“I get out about two or three times a year and there’s different reasons for that.
“There’s two hats that I wear.
“I’ll go out and I’ll be wanting to work with people that I want to work with and establish a lot of connections out there that allow different opportunities to line up and get in different rooms with people whether that’s writing for myself or others, and then to record.
“But with the events that I run here that are totally country specific, I’m able to do some scouting, meet new people that want to explore the UK marketplace, so I kind of kill two birds with one stone every time that I’m out there which comes back to justifying being there.
“If I go back 10, 11 years to some of my first visits out there, very much as a fan, going to see what it was about but 10 years on, I’ve seen what it’s about. I’ve seen it change and it is always a work mindset that I go out there for now, still manage to have a party now and again but for the main part, it’s getting out there and lining stuff up that’s going to be more productive in the forthcoming months and years ahead.”
It’s more familiar to you now than when you first went out there, is it still magic?
“Yeah, I think for anybody that’s creative in any form, once you touch down there, there’s a feeling of home.
“And I don’t know if maybe that’s my own love of the genre or whether it’s the Irish- American connection that whenever I’m out there, I definitely do feel at home although I miss where I’m from.
“So there’s always that magic but certainly the people that you meet, the conversations that you have, you just feel that you’re not having to wear a different hat or wear a different mask because you are around like minded people and you have that freedom to explore a bit more about who you are.
“I’ve always found that refreshing.
“I’ve always found that regenerative anytime that I’m out there.
“There are times through the year that you’ll struggle with your own creativity but I try and keep on top of that as much as I can with writing with up and coming artists here, but I always look forward to getting to Nashville because I know that I’ll get to what it is I’m trying to say or communicate because I’m around people who do it day in day out and have done for a long time at a very, very elite level.
“I’m always very happy to share those rooms and forever grateful that they even take a chance to write with us.”
Let’s talk about the album coming up. It’s coming this year..
“It hasn’t even got a date for release yet.
“The album’s done thankfully.
“The songs are there.
“There is a song on there called No Regrets, that could tie in quite nicely to an album and maybe a tour name further down the road.
“But right now it’s just focusing on getting some music out there and getting it out.
“The way that people consume music now is forever evolving.
“Even back to five years ago, CDs were still something that could be something in your merchandise artillery when you were gigging but few and far between are buying those now.
“To have that one window of an album date where you’re putting out all your music in that one space can be quite limiting whereas if you can stagger your releases and have more singles leading up to an album, you’re just generating a bit more of a buzz.
“You want people latching onto its release date properly so it’s just concentrating and getting maybe another two singles out.
“There could even be a change of direction of splitting it into two EPs and recording one or two more tracks further down the line that I’ve written since that project was done.
“It’s fluid, forever evolving and as someone who doesn’t like forward planning too much, it kind of suits me a lot better.”
How would you describe the album?
Based on the song title No Regrets and also Heavy Boots, I wondered is it more mature as a record for you? Or perhaps more contemplative?
“A little so, yeah.
“Certainly the emotion and personal connection to Heavy Boots, and where that was coming from, is quite strong.
“Watch Me was quite a powerful single release last year aimed at the amount of naysayers that you meet in this industry that are saying, ‘What’s your real job?’ Or, ‘What else do you do?’
“And you’re having to stand up there, ‘No, I’m a singer- songwriter’.
“So that was a message to the naysayers, ‘You don’t think I can do it. Here I am. I’m doing it’.
“Poison was more of a throwback to what I love about country music.
“It was a story and it had a poignant way of telling that story.
“I think the real encapsulation of the album itself is me going back to my own roots and getting back to singing and writing the country that I used to love listening to when I was growing up in Omagh, the 90s soundtrack: Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Brad Paisley, into the early 2000s, Keith Urban.
“And the arrangement of those songs on the album now as well with the guys that I’ve been working with in the studio.
“Jimmy Mattingly, Garth Brooks’ fiddle player, is on Poison and he’ll be on another track that will be released going forward.
“It’s a real nod to the country that I really like listening to and love writing and love creating.
“If we go back before this album the songs I was putting out there, the likes of Nobody Somebody, Complicated, Point of View, they’re a bit more in that country pop kind of sound and I love playing them live, but there’s more about the songs I’ve been putting out of late that are more about me, about what I love about country music.”
Heavy Boots was co- written with Brett James who has written for Carrie Underwood, Cody Johnson and more), what was it like to work with him?
“Unbelievable.
“His knowledge of song structure, what appeals to people, has been amazing.
“Just writing with him and learning every time I write with him is the big one.
“You never know it all at all so you can just sit back and listen to how he attacks a song.
“I was thankful that the two times we’ve been in the room to write songs, he’s been happy to write the idea that I’ve had rather than dismiss it and move on to something else.
“I think that, as a songwriter, that’s a big pat on the back that you’re on the right course, you’re doing the right sort of thing.
“So to have his guidance in the room to help me get the best out of the song was incredible.
“He knows what it’s about when he’s written things like Jesus, Take the Wheel.
“It all stands to him.”
You spoke about the country you loved growing up. You mentioned Kris Kristofferson to me as an inspiration in a previous interview, were you sad to hear about his passing in September last year?
“Yeah, that was sad news.
“I think kind of coming through COVID era, we were hearing a lot of passings of different legends at the time and always in the back of my head I was thinking, ‘If we could just get Kris, wrap him up in cotton wool and put him in a safe somewhere so he stays protected, that’ll be great’.
“I just always felt that he was never really championed as much as he should have been.
“He was an incredible songwriter, an incredible storyteller that was able to grab people of all different demographics and lead them down a path of imagination, and have you singing along to beautiful melodies and what you think are simple songs but whenever you get into them are really deep.
“I was listening to songs when I was 10 years old, 12 years old, thinking they were little nursery rhymes only to discover they were about drug overdoses at some point.
“And it’s literally that talent of being able to encapsulate and engross a 10 year old and a 70 year old with the same melody and lyric, so he’ll be sorely missed.”
There seems to be a thriving country scene here in the UK, one that boasts names such as yourself, Kezia Gill, Jade Helliwell, Demi Marriner, how does it feel to be part of that?
“It’s great.
“Jade and Kezia are good friends of mine and I’ve seen them come up over the years.
“We were doing things in Manchester that Jade was coming along to as an audience member and then wanting to get involved.
“To see the success she’s having of late is fantastic.
“Kezia has exploded and she’s getting onto C2C in the arenas in Glasgow and London, which is fantastic to see.
“We gave her her first shot at Buckle and Boots in Manchester.
“There’s definitely a scene.
“What I’ve seen over the last two years more so than ever is a lot more male country artists coming into the genre.
“It has been fantastic to see that the younger guys coming through and what they’re doing.
“They probably see a clearer path than I would have ever seen whenever I first started out, and that’s testament to the amount of opportunities that are out there now as well.
“It’s a cracking scene.”
Of course you established run the country festival Buckle and Boots which takes place in the Manchester area, how do you enjoy that?
“It’s really enjoyable. It’s a platform to give others an opportunity to come forward and show their worth and was born out of that lack of availability that I’ve seen as an artist whenever I was first starting out here in the UK.
“I’m forever thinking in the back of my mind about curating the lineup.
“It has its loyal fan base and it’s forever growing.
“It’s exciting given the amount of festivals that are popping up again, it’s just being mindful and careful to ensure that we’re creating quality over quantity.
“Fingers crossed that Buckle and Boots can still maintain that as we move forward into our 10th year next year.”
With things like Kneecap and Derry Girls before that as well as thriving music scenes in Belfast and Derry, do you think your home province is finding its voice after troubled times?
“I would hope so.
“Music in Northern Ireland is always very Belfast oriented and centric which is great, it’s the capital, but if you move on and up into Derry through Tyrone, I think that there’s a lot of music there that’s probably untapped.
“The more opportunities that are coming up for those guys to have a voice, the better.
“Even taking this small niche of country music, there’s a guy called Gareth coming out of Castlederg, there’s Janet Devlin out of Plumbridge.
“Within 10 mile radius of Omagh there’s three of us that are getting slots on events here in the UK now, that would have been unheard of 10 years ago.
“There’s definitely more opportunities.
“Social media is helping massively but to your point about the province finding its voice, I think it’s having more freedom to find its voice.
“Kneecap have been moving forward and the Irish language has found its voice and found its place so long may that continue.
“People want to continue with an Irish cultural identity whether that be through sport or music which are the two best communicators in my view.”
What have been the real highlights for you? Is it the awards you have won perhaps?
“There’s been quite a few highlights.
“The awards are lovely.
“There’s a songwriter award within that that I’ve loved, as well as a couple of singing awards.
“I was once asked if I was a singer-songwriter or a songwriter-singer, and I think I’m more a songwriter-singer.
“I just love writing songs. Love writing with other people. I love hearing those songs come to fruition.
“If I could have that success with a top American artist that would be out playing that in front of millions: That’s the ultimate goal for me and the opportunities that might avail from that could be huge whether that be playing with them or getting more opportunities in the states to play those songs.
“But a highlight of playing over there was the Bluebird Cafe, such an iconic venue synonymous with country music and Kris Kristofferson and Garth Brooks in particular, two heroes of mine.
“That’s always going to take some beating, I think. Unless it’s going to be the Ryman or the Grand Ole Opry, then we’ll have to wait and see, maybe come back in five years and we’ll have another chat then.”
Heavy Boots is out now.
Gary’s album is out later this year.
For more information, click here.