Levi Lowrey speaks with a southern drawl and sings with southern sincerity. His new self-titled album, which was recorded at Zac Brown’s Southern Ground Studios in Nashville, is full of honest, heartfelt lyrics. Lowrey co-wrote Zac Brown Band’s hit song “Colder Weather,” “The Wind,” from the band’s album Uncaged, and “Day For The Dead,” from The Grohl Sessions Vol. 1 .
“Songwriters and musicians are very prideful individuals,” Lowrey. said, “and we all want to be heard by as many people as possible and anyone who tells you differently is lying. It’s a good feeling when you get heard by that many people.”
Jambands.com reached Lowrey by phone to talk about his new self-titled album, his relationship with Zac Brown Band, and his family’s southern country lineage.
Zac Brown is the executive producer of the album, how did he help make this album richer and fuller than your debut record in 2011?
He gave me a lot more freedom on this record which I was very thankful for. He also had a big hand in picking out the songs for the record as well. There’s one in particular, the last track on the record “War Pigs,” which is last thing we liked to do, but Zac wanted it on the record. It ended up being an on-going debate between he and I, and I think he ended up being right.
You went to Zac’s Nashville studio to do the final recording along with co-producers Clay Cook and Matt Mangano, both of whom are member of the Zac Brown Band. How was it working with them?
They were wonderful and they did my first record as well. I would love to work with them as long as I can. They’re a really good duo and they bring out the best in every song, in every performance and every take.
How did they bring out the best in you?
They also let me pursue my own ideas even if it’s going to fail. Even if they know something is going to fail. They let me pursue something till failure. They have brilliant ideas themselves and they’re brilliant musicians, the best I ever worked with. Clay is definitely the best musician I ever shared the stage with. Having him in the studio – he can play absolutely everything.
Back in March and April, you performed a series of shows with Clay billed as Clay vs. Levi: Round 2? Did you guys try to outdo each other?
It was played up that way and it definitely worked for marketing purposes. It was just us two on stage, trading songs back and forth and accompanying each other as well. We definitely tried to outdo each other. I think being musicians and songwriters – there’s a competitive nature to it and we tend to embrace it on stage.
I was wondering if you can talk about two of my favorite tracks from the record: “December 31,” and “Don’t Blame Me?”
“December 31” was about my wife and her battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and how she beat it. She’s doing good now. The song is all about her, and the notion, that things can kind of turn around in one second. The whole notion of being near death in one second. And “Don’t Blame” was written by my guitar player Danny, I just stepped in with the second verse and helped with the instrumental section. You would have to ask him about that one and he’s a secretive person.
When you listen to the album, what’s your favorite song?
My favorite is “Trying Not to Die,” track It came pretty quick and my inspiration behind it was my kids and learning through them.*
Everyone says you have gift for being able to tell a story in a song story or express your feelings in a song. What do you attribute that to?
I grew up listening to guys like Mac McAnally and Kris Kristofferson and then when I discovered Darrell Scott it changed my life. We kind of imitate what we hear. I don’t think we have anything original to say. We just regurgitate what we hear and find a new way to say it. My songwriting is directly related to what I always listened to and grew up listening to.
What was it about Darrell Scott?
The first time I heard Darrell, I realized, I was no good at writing a song. He made me want to step it up and perfect my craft. I’m still working to perfect my craft and I don’t think I’ll ever do it – not at that level. I can put on a Darrell Scott record today and still feel inferior.
You also had some guests on the album: Oliver Wood of The Wood Brothers and Ross Holmes of The Noisemakers, What did they add to the studio sessions.
They just did what the song needed. When you call someone to join you in the studio, you want them to do what they do and not to conform to your ideas. They added what we had in mind, which was themselves.
Who’s in your band?
This band is Lawrence Nemenz on drums, Danny McAdams on electric guitar, Jon Daws on bass, and myself on acoustic, vocals and fiddle. And that’s how we tour.
How long have you been with these guys?
Lawrence is the newest addition to the band. Before him, I had a drummer named Daniel McGill for a long time, but this group of guys have been together for eight years.
How did you all meet?
Danny is my uncle. I’ve been playing with him since I was 12 years old. I’ve been playing on and off with Jon for years. He was in an old rock band that I had in high school. I met Lawrence on tour with Joshua James & HoneyHoney. He was playing drums for Joshua and it worked out where we could bring him up.
What kind of fiddle do you play and what kind of guitar do you play?
My guitar is custom made which I built with a friend of mine Blaine Mullinax. He runs a company called Mullinax Pickups in Lawrenceville, Ga. We got together and built an acoustic guitar and it turned out really well. The fiddle is a 1940 Gibson that Clay found for me. He helped him get my hands on that one because I was playing a Zenith and he said to be respectable musician, I had to have a real violin. Before old that I had 200-year-old Sherman but I had a lot of stuff stolen, so Clay helped me out and got me that 1940 Gibson.
Is there anything special about the 1940 Gibson?
The weird thing about it is that Gibson made terrible violins but this one sounds amazing.
Your great great, great grandfather is Gid Tanner from the Skillet Lickers. Did you hear a lot of stories about him growing up?
I did, once I picked up the fiddle. I spent every night at the Chicken House, which was an old chicken house that Gid converted into a jam room and a hangout spot. And they still do it today in Dacula, Ga. I would ask and it would always come up in conversation. Gid’s son Gordon carried on the tradition and then Gordon’s son Phil, who I studied under a lot.
What’s next for Levi and the band?
We’ll see. Not sure yet. It’s all up in the air at the moment. The plan is obviously to play as much as we can.
