Grant Langston
Stand Up Man
Call it Americana, Bakersfield Country, or California Country - It's a new generation of that classic country sound. Hard-nosed, Heart-felt and delivered with soul and that telecaster twang.
When you’re born and raised in a small town in Alabama, chances are you’re fed on a strict diet of deep fried turkey and country music. So what do you do? Embrace it and strap your bulging belly into a tight pair of Wranglers, or do you get the hell out of dodge to discover your inner vegan and rock n’ roll?
Well Grant Langston may not have discovered the joys of tofu and soy, but he knew he loved a good power chord when he heard one, and headed out West to Los Angeles to make his name. Only once there, the darnedest thing happened: he rediscovered his musical roots, this time on his terms.
“Growing up where I did I was force-fed a steady diet of very slick Nashville stuff,” says the singer/songwriter. “As a result I hated country music, or at least thought hated it until I heard the real deal.”
The ‘real deal’ was Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson and Dwight Yokum and Merle Haggard, Country artists who were busy upsetting the Nashville elite while Langston was still in diapers. The music resonated with Grant, and he set about fusing it with his love of contemporary rock music.
“I didn’t want to make music that was formulaic,” he says. “I wanted to step outside that and have lyrics that are sassy and written from a modern perspective. I wanted to be free to throw in a Led Zep riff if I wanted to, to poke some fun at the genre, but at the same time pay homage to that style.”
One live and four studio albums later, he’s found the perfect balance, capturing the rawness of the country records he grew to love and the drive of the rock records he’d become enamored of.
“I wanted to make good interesting songs in a genre that I feel is real and I can represent in an honest way,” he says. “With this new album, Stand Up Man, I’ve got the closest to that yet.”
He’d tried to make raw studio albums before, him and his long-standing band, The Supermodels, implementing various tricks to capture their energy of their live performances. The band – MI grad guitarist Larry Marciano, former Buckcherry bass player Josh Fleeger and drummer Tony Horkins, who’d played on hit records in his native UK – were not traditional country players, deliberately so.
“I didn’t want a bunch of guys who are just running through the country lick they've been playing for 25 years,” he says. “They try and do something fresh and I let them run free, reigning them in where it needs to be reigned it.”
Inevitably, this four-piece unit got closest to the raw sound they were after on the live album they released last summer, Live In Bakersfield, where the local following they’d built there over the years came out in their droves to be part of the recording: one night, one show, all live.
The success of the live album was a lesson learned: with Stand Up Man, he enforced a two-take rule on The Supermodels and the various LA friends and musicians that contributed to the record. Some songs he wrote one day, rehearsed with his band the next and recorded the day after. The result is the first time he’s been able to fully realize his alt-country/Americana dreams.
“I told my co-producer, Rich McCulley, that we had to check ourselves at every step of way,” he says. “There will be times when we want to fix something, but we have to leave it be.”
Soon they’ll be taking the album out on the road, where Langston believes it belongs. It’s the stuff of roadhouses, music to dance to and drink to. They’re already a leading light in the burgeoning LA alt-country scene, a loose collective of like-minded musicians and venues, and when not on home turf they’ve been packing them in in England and France and across the United States.
“It’s hard to believe we’re getting ready to promote our fifth album,” he reflects. “I get closer and closer to what I’m trying to do with each one – to make an album steeped in its country roots but with a sound and lyrical content that’s equal parts irreverence and homage. This time, I think we nailed it.”
Stand Up Man Song Descriptions by Grant Langston
Stand Up Man - "A snappy Bakersfield Country number for all the guys who can't help being themselves. Jeanne Jolly is singing the backing vocal. It took her about five minutes of listening to my singing drawl to mimic me perfectly."
Burt Reynolds Move Brawl - "Every 70's Burt Reynolds movie had the obligatory brawl scene where some guy gets punched and spits up his teeth. I was once in a bar in Phenix City, Alabama and thought, looks like we're gonna have one of those Burt Reynolds movie brawls. It's a boot stomping roadhouse kind of tune."
Shiner Bock and Vicodin - "I wrote this song with my friend Sarah Stanley. I had the title, and we just sat down and worked out the story. Lonely guy + beer + pills = naked wedding appearance."
30 Days - "This song tell the story of every guy I know - complains about his woman all the time, then she leaves him and he says, 'who cares? I finally get to do what I want.' within 2 days he is a lonely sad sack crying for her to move back in. Two Days didn't sing very well...so I changed it to 30 Days even though it never takes 30 days."
Just Pretend You Love Me Tonight - "A ballad about staying together and losing your love to anger. Some beautiful pedal steel work on this one by Chris Lawrence, and a killer alto harmony by Jeanne Jolly."
Not Another Song About California - "Every Saturday night the LA Farmer's Market has a country show. I was down there one night and all three bands on the bill played a song about California. When the third band said, "Here's a song about California." I thought, good lord we don't need any more songs about California. So, I went straight home and wrote a song called, "Not Another Song About California" that is about California.
The King of Sunset Hills - "This song was written and recorded in about 2 days. I got the idea driving home when I heard a story about sex in nursing homes. I thought, maybe that's all these people need. I wanted a slow and somber feel so I put some gospel quartet backing vocals on there...but somehow it got happy and festive, with a New Orleans feel to hit. So I asked LA legend Carl Byron to play piano, and we kept saying - "More! More! go crazy!" and it ended up sounding like a Mardi Gras party song."
Call Your Bluff - "Pure and Simple California Country. I think the guitar solo Larry Marciano cut here may be my favorite on the record. The song is written for all the guys who dream of one day telling their lady what they think - but know they probably won't."
Broken Clocks - "Slow and easy and full of genius guitar work by Larry Marciano."
I Give Up - "Producer Rich McCulley and I wrote this song. We wanted a fun song with the words "rag top car" in it. I'm not sure why. The extremely talented Amy Farris played fiddle and sang backing vocals. She plays my favorite lick on the whole record...at the beginning of the third verse. It's just a little counter melody under my vocal line. Simple and Genius!"
Damn Good Day - "I wanted a track with some serious picking on this record. Larry and I decided to an Eagles/Lynyrd Skynyrd style harmony guitar solo. I play the basic lick of the tune. Larry comes in and smokes the guitar solo and then we unite like two screaming eagles! RAWK! The lyric comes from the Warren Zevon quote, "Enjoy every sandwich". Life can be annoying, but most of us are living better than 99.9% of the people who have ever lived on the planet. It is almost always a damn good day."
Country: Bakersfield Sound