Two stories come out of Nashville. The first one is: The town is full of amazing singer-songwriters, and you can see one of them playing on any given night at any corner bar. The second goes like this: The stars of modern country aren’t those same singer-songwriters; they’re the good-looking young people who can put a face on any well-written song.
The stories seem to be at odds. They highlight the tension between real artistry and fake consumer packaging. But maybe the lines aren’t as clearly drawn as one might think. Maybe you can have your red velvet cake and eat it too.
Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line would certainly like you to try. As if straddled over a state line—which they are, at least geographically—the boys have one boot in the state of real songwriters and the other in glossy market-ready territory. They became household names in 2012 when a song they wrote, “Cruise,” raced to the top of the charts. Then a Nelly remix of the track took it further, becoming the longest running No. 1 single on Billboard’s Hot Country chart.
The band blew up in 2014 with another chart topping album in Anything Goes and a whole mess of prime radio tracks. Charlottesville will get its taste of those jams at the John Paul Jones Arena on January 17, and Brian Kelley—he’s the short-haired one from Florida—recently told C-VILLE in a phone interview that we’re going to get one of the biggest parties of the current tour.
C-VILLE Weekly: With so many country artists trying to make it, how do you guys stand out?
Brian Kelley: Tyler and I started writing songs together, and we knew we had something special. We take our influences we grew up loving and get in the studio and try to do something different and not like everyone else. Our producer’s done an amazing job and taken our sound to the big leagues. He is a genius when it comes to sound and tone and getting the best from us. The main thing is staying true to ourselves and trying to write better lines and better melodies.
What are some of your more obscure influences?
Anything from Shane & Shane—that’s Christian music—to Lynyrd Skynyrd to Li’l Wayne and Juvenile. We grew up on the Hot Boys. We’re just lovers of good music. Everyone wants to talk about the hip-hop influence, but we have tons of rock elements on top of the loops and 808s. Our influences are everywhere. We don’t like to put a label on it.
Your bio references that outlaw spirit of a Johnny Cash or Waylon Jennings. How do you guys break the rules?
It hasn’t really been our focus to go against anybody. We’re trying to create music that is real. When I met Tyler, we just knew we had something. He was into the same exact things I was. We’ve just worked hard to get better and not let success define us. If we didn’t have the relationship we do, Florida-Georgia Line wouldn’t be what it is.
Describe your songwriting process.
Tyler and I don’t look at the breakdown. Songs just kind of happen, that’s the interesting thing about it. You never know what’s going to happen. We’ve written songs on the road and in hotel rooms. I just came in from writing in the car. You have to be ready for it; we are always writing down hooks and notes. We both contribute melodies, lyrics and hooks. It just depends. Sometimes I’ll have an idea and some starters, or Tyler will, or our track guy will have something going and we just go from there. Sometimes it’s acoustic guitars and some chords and a melody, or just one line or a chord. You never know man.
I’ve also seen that you write with some outside collaborators.
We wrote “Cruise.” And a lot of other ones. That came from us; that came from the songwriting gods. We love songwriting, and we wanted to write together—me and Tyler. We just wanted to ride around making music, and people started coming back to shows, watching the videos and learning our songs. That’s crazy. We didn’t understand it, but we loved it. We love creating a place where people can come and be in a place to forget everything else.
Who’ll be on stage with you in C’ville?
We’ve got the full band, full production. Thomas Rhett and Frankie Ballard are going to be on that tour, and we can’t wait to party with them. It’s going to be a breakout year for those guys. They are adding so much to our live show. We’re lucky to have them.
The band has five days off after you hit Charlottesville. Does that mean we get an even bigger party?
No doubt. I’m going to L.A. the next day for five days with my wife, so no doubt.