Brady Seals
BRADY SEALS INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT
ALL QUOTES BY BRADY SEALS.
I left right before the tour with Little Texas started in 1994. That was the year I didn’t play on the CMA Awards. It was a hard decision to make, but when I left Little Texas I was going through a really rough time emotionally.
I was suffering from panic attacks, depression and it was an extremely dark time for me. I had those things happening to me before I left Little Texas. I feel that part of what was bothering was due to the fact that I had been out on the road for so long. I was burned out from it all. It was very hard for me to explain myself to the guys in Little Texas and to tell what I was going through at that time was difficult for me to do.
During those times it was really hard to communicate with those guys because they were out on the road trying to do their thing and cover for me,while I was getting over this. I love to write songs, that’s my thing. So, when I’m in a state where my mind is not working properly and I cannot concentrate to the point where it affects me physically, from working too much, I’ll lay that down every single time. I don’t care how much money is involved and how big the organization is, well then I got to go! (he laughs). And that’s what happened to me. Well, those guys didn’t like it all that much, but I really didn’t have a choice.
To me, being healthy is my idea of success,it’s having happiness and peace of mind. During that time, I had pretty much made the decision that if this job with Little Texas was doing this to me and causing me to become depressed and have panic attacks, then, well, I didn’t want to do it anymore.
It wasn’t about going solo.
It was just to get off the road and lighten my load a little bit. Because I had to, because it was affecting me physically. So, when I came off the road, I came off the road to do nothing but write songs. So here I am to the point where, of course there were lot of hurt feelings with the guys in Little Texas. I tried to explain myself to the guys as much as I could. I tried to tell them that I would hang in there with them as long as I could, but as you know, breaking up is hard to do. They would rather break the relationship and go on and do their thing without me. So that’s pretty much how it all happened. We still talk to this day, but they go on their own and do their own thing and I go on and do mine. So, when I left Little Texas, I had no idea I was going to be a solo artists.
During my time off, I rested. I did everything I’ve always wanted to do. I bought a home in Nashville, and went back to Fairfield, Ohio to visit my parents. I went on vacation with my girlfriend Tiffany and Rodney Crowell and his girlfriend to St. Lucia to take some time off to clear my mind. I got an old Harley at my house and I’d go out on my Harley and ride it along the country roads for hours on end. I’d just get away from everything.
I completely separated myself from the business side of country but not the music.
I really tried to get a handle on my life and I’ve figured out who I am and I dig me!(he laughs). I really am happy now and that really helps. After five or six songs I had written with my cousin TJ, we found a common thread going through the music. I wanted this record to be my own statement. I wanted people to follow me from Little Texas into my own thing. I didn’t want to alienate any of the fans, because those are the folks who have dug my music over the years and I want to show them that I appreciate them. I want to show them that yes I can be fun with my lyrics and my music, even though I went through a really dark time in my life.
I’m really someone whose fun and loving and if it comes across as sounding young, then so be it. Being young is the most innocent time of your life and I’d much rather write about that then write about something that’s senseless. I just wanted this record to be real. I didn’t want to step out there and do a record that’s completely different. I wanted a little bit of the old sound in there, even though I’m heading out into a different direction now both musically and personally. I think a good song is a good song. I’ve got a lot of different influences in my life and for me to say to the country audience would be a lie. And, I’m not going to lie to anybody. That’s why we named the album ,”The Truth.” Everything I am is on the album and that’s the way I want to keep it. It was really cool to work with the songwriters I did on this album and to get to another place in my life and feel comfortable with confidence in what I was doing musically and personally.
Any of the greats in country or rock ‘n’ roll have had many different kinds of influences. Not just one particular kind of influence. I create music because God lets me. It’s not something I think about, it’s something I have to let out. I might not go crazy if I don’t write a song, but maybe I would(he laughs).
Creating music is something that’s always been something in my life and I’ve been blessed with that gift.
When you’re making money and doing something you love, well that’s just unbelievable. I’ve just been fortunate enough to do that. I’ve got a band together and they’re a kicking band. They’re extremely good. They don’t have a name but I think once they get out there on-stage they’ll name themselves something.
I played in Poland and France with them and I played my first gigs with them there. It was really cool. But we’re getting ready to go out in April and hopefully hook up with another group and do a summer tour. But that depends on how well my singles do and how the record goes. I’m definitely going to pace myself this time out. I’m not going to go out on the road and beat myself to death because I’ve already done that. I went to do a show at Boulder Station (casino in Las Vegas) in Las Vegas and along with the show during the day I went down to the casino and I sang ,”Another you, Another me” for fourteen couples when they were getting married and then I even signed all the witness papers for their marriages. It was a big promotional thing. It was one Valentines Day I’ll never forget.