CMT Blog: Archive

With Journeyman's Wager, former BR549 singer and songwriter Chuck Mead has struck out on his own, but wants fans of the group to know that his sound won't be totally alien to them. "I tapped into some of the things that maybe BR hasn't tapped into before," he says. "I've been calling my record sort of half hillbilly, half pub-rock." His affinity for all things old-school is still there, though -- the entire album was recorded on two inch tape -- as well as his witty style of storytelling.

"I like telling little stories," says Mead. "That's what country music is all about is stories. A long time ago, the jazz great Charlie Parker, after a jam session late at night, they'd be hanging out at a diner and Charlie Parker would go over to the jukebox and put on a whole bunch of country western music. All the other jazzers would be like, 'What are you listening to that hillbilly s--- for, man?' And his answer was, 'The stories, they're great stories.' And that's kind of the tradition I'd like to tap into."

Humor also plays an important role for Mead. "I think that's a long tradition in country music, too. I mean, when you say little things that kind of make you chuckle, but deep down inside you know are true. Like I wrote a song that was on a BR549 record a few years ago called "I'm Alright for the Shape I'm In" and that's something my grandpa used to say, a little colloquialism. But it also says a whole lot." He continues, "If you can get to somebody through making them laugh and if it makes you laugh while you're writing it, I think you're on the right track. Guy Clark actually told me that: 'Hey, if its making us laugh, it must be right.'"

Hard to argue with that. Check out his MySpace page for "She Got the Ring (I Got the Finger)," "Up on Edge Hill" and "I Wish It Was Friday."