Luke Grimes. is gearing up to put out his debut country EP tomorrow, Pain Pills or Pews.
The Yellowstone star you may know best as Kayce Dutton in the hit Paramount series has been in the process of starting his country music career for a bout a year or so now, previously writing with some of the best Nashville has to offer, like Brent Cobb and Jessi Alexander.
In addition, he played quite a few great festivals this summer like Stagecoach and Pilgrimage Festival, and so far, has shown that he really has the chops to make it in the country genre if he wants to.
And actually, he was inspired by his Yellowstone co-star and country queen Lainey Wilson after she decided to make the jump into the acting world, saying in an interview with Billboard he does have “imposter syndrome” from time to time, but realized that people on set were open to having her and respected that she was trying something new:
“There’s some imposter syndrome there. Sometimes it feels like I stepped into somebody else’s job for a minute.
It was inspiring to watch Lainey step into those [acting] shoes. As much as I was afraid that people would naturally be like, ‘What is this guy doing here?’ I realized that no one on our set was like, ‘What is she doing here?’
Everyone was like, ‘She’s awesome and we’re glad she wants to do this.’ That took some of the fear away for me.”
He’s also mentioned people like Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash as some of his ultimate musical heroes, saying that his dad would always have The Highwaymen records playing at home:
“When I heard The Highwaymen on records my dad would play, they seemed like tough guys, but when you heard their music, it could be really vulnerable and I liked that.
I love all kinds of music, but when I tried to write my own songs, it always came out folky and Americana. I love the whole process of songwriting, just a bunch of people in a room bouncing ideas off one another.”
And possibly the most intriguing part about this project is that it was produced by the great Dave Cobb (who’s produced for artists like Sturgill Simpson and Chris Stapleton), though Luke says that didn’t come easy.
He says in like a lot of work tapes that can have a lot of added production, Cobb wants it stripped-back and acoustic, essentially, so he can hear what he wants to add to it too.
Needless to say, I think we’re in for some great stuff tomorrow with these two working together:
“For him, it was like, ‘I just need to hear the songs.’ He wasn’t going to do it unless there were [good] songs. Most of the demos were just me and the other writers and acoustic guitars, recorded in the writing room on an iPhone.
That’s how Dave likes to work — it’s a thing in Nashville to make the work tape sound like a huge production. For Dave, it’s like, ‘Well that painting’s already painted.’ He wants a sparse canvas so he can add colors and do his own thing.
It’s like taking a masterclass, just watching how he works. He always wants what is best for the message of the song and for the singer.”
If you not only get the stamp of approval from Cobb, but to have him on board producing, I think that says a lot about Grimes as an artist and his potential to continue to grow as a country musician and writer.
His debut single “No Horse To Ride” will be featured on the forthcoming Pain Pills or Pews project, in addition to songs like “Playing On The Tracks,” “Burn,” and a cover of Foy Vance’s “Hold On.”
“Burn”
“No Horse To Ride”
“Hold On”
Pain Pills Or Pews tracklist:
1. No Horse To Ride (Luke Grimes)
2. Hold On (Foy Vance)
3. Ghost Of Who We Were (Luke Grimes)
4. Where It’s Blue (Colton Venner)
5. Burn (Luke Grimes)
6. Playing On The Tracks (Luke Grimes)
7. Oh Ohio (Luke Grimes)
8. Ain’t Dead Yet (Luke Grimes)
