Rock-turned-country singer Aaron Lewis says being from Massachusetts doesn’t exactly mean he’s not a “redneck.”
“Your family does not have to have owned slaves to be considered redneck,” says Lewis, who also fronts the band Staind.
Lewis, who plays a free show at The Lounge at Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino on Saturday, December 27 for the venue’s 20th anniversary, spoke to The Entertainer! about his new songs, the state of country radio and how he gets away from it all.
The Entertainer!: Have you been writing new material and can we expect to hear the songs at your show?
Lewis: I’ve got six or seven songs in the bag and ready to go. I just haven’t gone to record them yet. I’m sure there are versions of them on YouTube.
In what direction are you going?
More very traditionally-based country. I have a song called “That Ain’t Country” about the state of country radio these days. I have another song called “Sinner.” Another one called “Mama.” They’re all out on the Internet. I play them before I record them just to make sure they’re worth recording.
You mentioned the state of country radio. It must be a tough battle to get your songs on the radio considering most songs these days lean toward pop.
The first verse of the song is “What a sad state of affairs I’m in/Because I’m trying to compete where I just don’t fit in/Because the country if you call it that from off the row/It ain’t country trust me because I’m old enough to know. That ain’t country.” We’re barking up the same tree, darlin’.
What do you have planned for 2015?
I’m going to start recording in December coming up and get the first single out as soon as radio unfreezes after the holidays. I’m going to put the record out the beginning of the summer.
You had to postpone this interview a couple times because you were hunting. How did it go?
I didn’t kill anything. But it was good. It gave me time to disconnect from everything. Being up in the tree is always valuable whether there’s a kill or not.
Are you able to fully get away from everything up there, or no?
I’ve accidentally written trees in a tree stand, for sure. What was it? “75”? I believe the majority of the song “75” came up in a tree stand. The songs always come at the most inopportune time, for sure. Most of the time when I’m driving. I’ll be two or three hours into my drive—when my brain has gone through all the current stuff it’s gone through and it’s on cruise control—and songs start rattling around in my head like you wouldn’t believe. They all come and go because I’m never prepared.
Do you ever try to work on those songs later?
No. I just enjoy it while it’s going through my head and forget about it. I’m constantly surprising myself though. I’ll think, “That was a good chorus.” Then I try to remember what it was and I forgot it. I’ve even tried to go straight into the house after a drive and go straight to a guitar and try to bring it back. It just doesn’t work that way at all.
Do you know who’s producing your album? I’m looking forward to seeing what they offer, or are your songs mostly written by the time you get to the studio?
I usually have stuff written before I go into the studio and I usually don’t do well or want any sort of input from anybody else. It’s my creativity. It’s my final product. I don’t need it. I don’t need the help. It would be one thing if I needed the help, then I would gladly take it. I haven’t had a problem writing all the songs I’ve written over the years all by myself.
Aaron Lewis, The Lounge at Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino, 15406 Maricopa Road, Maricopa, 480.802.5000, harrahsakchin.com/shows, Saturday, December 7, 8 p.m., free
