Post-heartache, “She Goes Home (Dirty Breakup Song)” — The Latest From Grant Gilbert
“When it goes South / It don’t take long / He goes out, and She Goes Home”
Texas-raised singer/songwriter Grant Gilbert is ‘country music without the twang.’ His musical journey started in high school when his brother booked him a show to play Fuzzy’s Taco Shop in his hometown of Santo, Texas; population 315. Gilbert bought a sound system from Guitar Center the night before the gig to be able to play and learned the equipment on the fly to collect that first check.
Raised on a one-thousand-acre farm in Lipan, Texas. Exposed to club music by your parents. Listened to John Fogerty, Glen Campbell, and Bruce Springsteen. By second grade, you already knew you would be a self-taught musician. Influenced by relatives that played fiddle and family vacation that were planned around Turnpike Troubadours concerts. Went from playing football to a small booking at Fuzzy’s Taco Shop in Mineral Wells at age 16. You shared that the experience at the Taco Shop gave you the music bug. How so?
I wanted to play shows, but just didn’t know how to start, so my little brother booked my first show and I made a little gas money and thought that was a lot cooler than mowing grass to make money as a kid. Then I got the bug and went home and got the phone book out the next day and called every bar and grill within a hundred miles trying to get another gig and I think we got shut down by every single one. But I started going to a bunch of open mics and made a couple burned CDs and business cards and before we knew it, a high school buddy and I started playing just about every Saturday night somewhere. We were having a good time and excited to be making some gas money.
Texas Tech in Lubbock. Majored in economics, agricultural and musical. Shared a house at 9th & Slide, a party house, with life-long friend Dylan Price. Played open-mic nights at the rowdy club Blue Light. It was during this time you caught the attention of Josh Abbott, who wanted to manage you. How has Abbott helped you plan your career path?
Dylan and I were roommates and playing 4-hour sets at Cricket’s in Lubbock on Wednesday nights and any fraternity party that would have us, just trying to build a following. Then I met Josh playing my 21st birthday at the Blue Light and he jumped on stage and sang a song or two with us and from there, we became friends and he became a mentor to me. We were starting to bring in a crowd around Lubbock and he got us in touch with some great people in the business who have opened lots of doors. We’ve played countless shows with Josh and his band and I’ll always owe him for all the help he’s given me. I’m lucky to have him in my corner and I’ll always be in his.
Playing at the Whiskey Jam. What was it like playing the well-known venue for the first time recently?
Playing Whiskey Jam was great. I got to have a ton of friends and co-writers play on the lineup and we had a great turn out. I’ve gone to several Monday nights there and always wanted to be on that stage, and it was even more special that my first time was doing a takeover with all my friends.
Post-heartache, “She Goes Home (Dirty Breakup Song).” The new music follows last year’s debut EP, Trouble Like Us. What brought you, Joybeth Taylor, and Rivers Rutherford together the day you co-wrote your latest single?
We walked in to the write that day not really knowing what we were going to write. We sat down and started talking through some ideas we had and I had an idea for a title called “She Goes Home.” Rivers and Joybeth are some of the best writers I know, and they took a small idea and made it great. I love the story and the flow of the song. Jonathan Singleton knocked it out of the park producing it, and I could not be more proud of it, and of the growth in writing from our previous music.
Hunting. George Strait, Travis Tritt, Hank Williams Jr, and Blake Shelton are among the many artists who are avid hunters. If you were to plan your bucket list trip, who would join you and where would you be?
My bucket list trip would be going to visit my brother in Alaska and going on an elk and bear hunting trip. He lives up there six months out of a year and is a charter fishing guide. He’s the reason I hunt as much as I do. It’s where we get away and shut down and enjoy the outdoors. It’s a good change from the music grind from time to time.