Brantley Gilbert, nieuw album en 5 jaar Nuchter

 

Brantley Gilbert kijkt uit naar een drukke 2017, zijn huidige single, "The Weekend ', is het eerste nummer van zijn nieuwe album "The Devil Don’t Sleep", die beschikbaar zal zijn in januari 2017.

 

Hoewel Brantley, die bekend stond om zijn ruwe feest manieren, door de jaren heen is veranderd, brengt zijn nieuwe single hem terug naar zijn roots van die rauwe country-rock party anthems waar hij bekend om staat.

 

“I’m not quite as wild as I once was, but for me, when I get up onstage, ‘The Weekend’ gets me ready for the shows, the runs and the tours, because every weekend we’re showing up,” aldus Brantley “These people have been waiting on this night for months. For us, we get three of them in a weekend. It’s a party, and it gears me up for that, but it’s a good timing song—a feel good song—especially at a time when I feel like our country’s a little stressed.”

 

Wat niet gestresst is, is  Brantley zelf. De relaxte, vrolijke zanger vindt zichzelf op een goede plek in zijn leven - getrouwd met zijn vrouw Amber Cochran, en voor anderhalf jaar nuchter. vijf jaar geleden lag Brandley in de goot. Onder dat stoere uiterlijk zit een vriendelijke en goedaardige gozer.

 

Brantley en Amber

 

“There was a time in my life where I think I had a misconstrued meaning of what tough was,” zegt Brantley over een periode in zijn leven.  “December 18 will be five years alcohol-free. Alcohol-free is a big thing for me. I think since then I don’t find myself in very many situations where I need my fists as much. It’s more about being spiritually tough and morally tough for myself and the people around me.

 

“I’ve always been a believer first above anything else,” gaat  Brantley verder “I feel like I’m like any other Christian. I think I’ve definitely strayed from time and time, and my relationship has not always been the best, but I think that’s always been a part of my music as well. When I created that space bad things happened, but lessons were learned. Blood was spilled, tears were shed, but lessons were learned. It’s kind of cliché, but it’s so true. I wouldn’t take anything back. I don’t regret anything, which is kind of hard to say, because there’s a lot of bad things. If you flip back a few pages in this book, it gets pretty dirty. It gets pretty rough. But had it not been for that, I don’t think it would be as good as it is now.”

 

 

The Devil Don’t Sleep is Brantley vierde studioalbum, de opvolger van het album Just As I Am uit 2014, waar de nummer 1 hits "Bottoms Up" en "One Hell of an Amen" op staan.

 

“All of my records are chapters of my life,” legt Brantley uit “They always cover the good the bad and ugly. With this one [The Devil Don’t Sleep], I kept waiting on the ugly. In the past, my life has been a constant cycle of doing really well and then straight to rock bottom. For some reason my rock bottom has a shovel at the bottom of it [laughs]. I don’t understand. It’s kind of a constant cycle. But with this [album] it was really interesting because I really was waiting on more of the ugly—which is a terrible way to live waiting on something terrible to happen. But getting back with my wife and being married and that whole chapter of my life is really a lot of good. It’s been an extremely blessed chapter of my life. Probably the most blessed chapters that I can think of.”

 

“The Devil Don’t Sleep is really all about just being conscious of the temptations and the traps that I’ve always fallen into—the bad decisions that I’ve always reverted to, zegt Brantley. “Those bone headed moments of my life, they’re always there. Decisions are always there to make.The Devil Don’t Sleep, for me, is always just being aware that I am an addict. I’m a recovering addict, but I’ll always be an addict. Those temptations are there. There’s a lot of roads that go left. It’s about just appreciating the fact that God has blessed me so much in this chapter of my life and appreciating my marriage and that relationship that is so fulfilling to me. It’s my life. She’s my best friend. She’s the best player on our team. It’s just about appreciating those things but at the same time, being conscious that the shadows are right around the corner.”

 

De "Bottoms Up" zanger heeft veel meer om deze dagen te waarderen nu hij zich opmaakt voor zijn tournee "The Devil Don’t Sleep Tour 2017". De tour gaat van start in februari 2017, de opening acts zijn Tucker Beathard en Luke Combs. Het album zal 16 gloednieuwe songs bevatten, geschreven of mede-geschreven door Brantley zelf. En zal beschikbaar zijn in twee versies, rood en blauw.

 

“You got the Red version and the Blue version,” verteld Brantley “As we’ve been playing shows throughout the years, there are songs, work tapes or demos that people have asked about—that they could find them in random places—but we finally wanted to make them available for everybody. There are two different versions that you can pick up. We’re extremely excited about it. Again, this is another chapter of my life, and we’re really stoked about this. I don’t know if I’ve ever done [an album] that is as back and forth as this one is. It covers a lot of ground as far as just making the genre versatile. It just does a little bit of everything. It yins and yangs a lot in the weirdest way. It’s awesome. I’m stoked about it.”

 

In novermber 2015 stondt Brandley in de Melkweg te Amsterdam, hieronder zijn nieuwe video voor The Weekend