Jon Pardi didn’t hold back when we sat down with him for an interview.
The California cowboy – Jon Pardi – joined the Whiskey Riff Raff podcast this week to talk about his new album Honkytonk Hollywood, staying true to his traditional country roots and leaning into that style, his writing process, becoming a dad, interesting pre-show rituals, hangover cures and much more.
Much of the conversation focused in on his new album release, as expected, but at one point, we threw it back to 2016 California Sunrise album. It’s hard to believe that’s its been almost a decade since that project was released, and one song from that album that has stuck with Pardi all these years later is “She Ain’t In It.”
When we asked if there was a song that he felt should have gotten more attention, he first answered with this fiery sentence:
“I can give you 20 motherf**king songs that didn’t get enough attention.”
Then he actually got into the meat and potatoes of the question, and decide that the answer to the question was a song featured on California Sunrise:
“There’s been a lot. ‘She Ain’t In It.’ But just because you don’t think that it’s getting enough attention – and this is why I can make jokes about it – if you just put your head down and know that it’s a good song, it’s gonna be around. ‘She Ain’t In It’ went platinum. That’s a big deal. It didn’t do well at radio, but it was a big deal, and regardless it got on the radio.”
Pardi went on to describe the artist’s process when creating an album, saying that even though an artist could feel really good about a song, it might not always be the one that connects with the fans. And it also works the opposite way, with tracks that barely make the project sometimes being one of the biggest hits.
Or how Pardi simply put things, artists make the music, and then release the control to the audience:
“You do what you do and what you think is great, and then the people decide. But sometimes the people need guidance. Every song – and I bring up ‘The Day I Stop Dancing’ – that’s been played at weddings and I look back and people request it. It’s not on as big of a scale as I want, but it has made an impact over time. And I do make my records, in my eyes, to be timeless.”
The country music singer also worked in an anecdote about his friend telling him that his albums “age like fine wine.” I’d have to agree with his friend on that one, and I’m sure Honkytonk Hollywood will soon join the ranks of the rest of his catalogue aging gracefully.
It truly is an all-time great Jon Pardi song, maybe the best he’s ever cut.
“She Ain’t In It”
And because “She Ain’t In It” is a great example of modern country music paying homage to the classic stylings of the genre, I’d be remiss if I didn’t work Jon Pardi’s thoughts on Zach Top into the conversation. We later asked if there was anything or anyone that he was listening to at the moment, and he decided to shine a spotlight on the “I Never Lie” singer:
“I’ll give a shoutout to Zach Top, man. I played with him in Australia, and it was just him and a guitar… he just shined to me. He’s got great nostalgia of the 90’s country baby, basically. Got the mustache. I listened to his record and it was great. And I just like playing with him. He’s a very talented dude.
I feel like he’s the guy that has the gift of… he’s the 90’s country guy. He’s not just 90’s. He doesn’t want to be labeled that way. He’s just a brand new, really traditional country act. I compare him to when Randy Travis came out.”
High praise right there. And in other great news, Honkytonk Hollywood is out TODAY… go gas it up.
If you haven’t already dove right into the latest episode of the Whiskey Riff Raff podcast, what are you waiting for? Pardi was an incredibly entertaining guest, and gave plenty of wisdom on everything from music to manifesting to… buying up land.
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Cheers, y’all.
