Rowdy McCarran Brings The Storytelling Behind ‘Here’ To The Stage
In February 2024, songwriter and vocalist Rowdy McCarran, also known in daily life as David Brim, returned with a new album, titled Here. It marked his first album release since 2014 and represented a return that started in 2019 but was impacted by the pandemic period. This new era also represented a newly launched partnership with songwriter, Producer, and arranger Rob Hegel, who saw in McCarran a kindred spirit and one who he felt might be a fit for many of his songs.
The songs on the album Here were mainly written by Hegel at different points in time and he and McCarran updated them with an eye towards solid storytelling and reflecting core Country elements they felt often were lacking in new music these days. The stories are unabashedly tied to the experiences of ordinary life, whether it’s the detail of economic struggles in “A Sign of Hard Times” or the hyper-observant “Road Signs.” A particular radio favorite is the humorous “I Drink” which explains very convincingly why someone might want to hit the bottle. Now, McCarran has just started bringing the new songs to audiences in a live band setting, and sharing his enthusiasm for audience connection once more.
I spoke with Rowdy McCarran about this period of inhabiting new songs and bringing their emotions forward for audiences, as well as his anticipation of returning to live shows with these new tracks as part of his outreach.
Hannah Means-Shannon: Do you have personal, emotional associations with any of these new songs?
Rowdy: They are all really great songs. I think “I Drink” is a really funny song, and it’s fun to play and sing. “Do You Ever Think of Me” is a really good song. I really like “Just As I Am”. There’s quite a few! They are all good, otherwise they wouldn’t be on there. There’s no filler on this album.
HMS: Have you been able to play the songs from your new album out for audiences yet?
Rowdy McCarran: It’s getting a lot of play on the radio. But I’m still getting the band ready to play out. It’s just coming up that we’ll be ready to play live.
HMS: Do you still have a strange feeling when you hear your music on the radio, or have you gotten used to it?
Rowdy: I think it’s always exciting to hear it on the radio, right? [Laughs] I guess you kind of get used to it after years.
As far as live music, it’s always going to be different from the album. The album was recorded by session musicians, obviously, and there’s stuff they do in the studio that can’t be done live. As an original artist, you keep the signatures there, and you do what you want, pretty much. It’s fun. You give the songs life in a different way.
HMS: That’s its own creative process, really, deciding on what the live versions are going to be like. Do you find yourself adding or developing parts, expanding for live play?
Rowdy: Absolutely, especially on stops, starts, and endings. We do things differently. In the process of doing that, you need a structure. My whole album is played, though I do cover songs also. Structuring the setlist, especially the cover songs, along the album songs, is very important. You can’t have Rock and Country, and Bro Country, and then come out with “Just As I Am”. It’ll stick out like a sore thumb. You structure the cover songs around the album to complement it.
HMS: I imagine that’s a whole skillset that you’ve developed, not just from being a music fan and listening, but from attending and performing in shows for so long. How do you think that ability has developed for you?
Rowdy: I’ve always lived by this: I’m never bigger than the music. I’m never bigger than the fans that are out there. I’m just the messenger. I deliver the songs the way that I feel and interpret them. The audience does dictate sometimes what I’m going to play in my shows, and my whole goal is draw everybody in to have a good time. I want to play the songs that they want to hear, even the original songs that they want to hear.
Every show and every audience is different and my job is to read the audience. If I need to amp it up, draw them in, and get them involved in a few songs, then I’ll do that. At that point, I can pretty much play what I want. I try to deliver that message the best I can. Music is so subjective. I hear this all the time, “You changed my life.” Or “I had a bad day, and you turned it around.” It’s in the delivery and in interaction with people. You give them your undivided attention. I’m not bigger than those fans out there, because without music, and without them, I wouldn’t have a job. It’s a big appreciation all the way around.
HMS: I understand you had some time away from music and this album and touring is part of your return.
Rowdy: Yes, my last album was released in February in 2014, and I toured the album and opened for Love and Theft, etc. I did a lot of that. I had to take some time off in 2017 and dissolved the band. Every musician goes through it. Sometimes it just becomes too taxing. But I got back into music in 2019. My wife pushed me. She said, “Every time you talk about music, you light up! You’ve got to get back into it.” I didn’t want to get back into it because of the drama. There’s a lot of drama.
HMS: No doubt!
Rowdy: I told her, “It’s a lot of work!” But I put a band together, and has a residency for about a year and a half. I got back into playing casinos again. I was out at one of the oldest saloons in Nevada, The Pioneer Saloon, and a friend of mine knew Rob Hegel, who has gold records on his wall. He wrote for bands and movies and is very accomplished. He came out and heard me, and we really hit it off. He wanted me to take a couple of Pop songs from back in the 1970s and turn them Country. We did that.
We were just going to do a three or four song EP, but that ended up turning into the album called Here. It was crazy how it all happened. It was tough choosing songs for the album, but making sure we could turn them Country was part of it. Some of it’s retro, some of it’s not. I just had a great team around me, and we moved forward.
HMS: I was definitely wondering how you and Rob came to work together. A really significant factor for many people in music is whether they find someone they can really work well with and connect with. It’s about personality, your place in life, and a lot more, but it makes all the difference.
Rowdy: That’s exactly it. I know a lot of songwriters, from Spain, all the way to the States. It’s hard to find that camaraderie. Rob just has that knack. He could have chosen any singer out there to do this, but he chose me. It’s been a great relationship that’s developed over the past two years, and it’s pretty much like family. I feel like that about all the guys I work with, whether they are bandmates or headliners.
HMS: Certainly with performing, there has to be a lot of trust there.
Rowdy: That’s so true. I had a band ready to go about six weeks ago. They were talented musicians, but it wasn’t me somehow. I’m a guy who moves around on stage and likes interaction. So I ended up making a huge leap of faith and going with another band.
HMS: It does seem like there are many approaches to live performance in terms of style. There’s the super-accurate, precise, album-focused performance, and then there’s the approach that’s almost more like performing a play for a theater setting. You’re clearly in that category, going for the connection with the audience. There has to be flexibility.
Rowdy: You hit that right on the head, because if people wanted to hear the album, why come out and see it? Live performances take it to a whole new level. You give the song an identity and a character that’s different.
HMS: With you and Rob deciding on songs, did you sit down and talk about the tracks and where your vocals might go? How does that process usually go for you?
Rowdy: In this case, Rob is a Hall of Fame songwriter with a great catalog. He sent me songs that he thought might my personality and character. He’d say, “What do you think about this?” I’d listen. He’d send another. It was back-and-forth for many weeks, deciding on what songs it would be. Once we chose the songs, it was about choosing what key I wanted to sing them in. I’d go through the different keys, finding out where I was comfortable and where the song was going to be most powerful.
There also has to be emotion in the song. You can sing the song, but to deliver the song, emotionally, is a whole different art in itself. Keeping that in mind when choosing the songs is important. Then, I’d work the songs over and over, trying different personalities, intonations, and keys. I’d vocally walk the songs. All kinds of things go into that delivery, but my songs tell a story.
Even my songs on other albums tell a story of everyday life, of things that people go through. It’s not like your Bro Country today, where they get up and talk about a girl walking around in a short skirt and boots, and how cute she is. The artist makes a decision about what he wants to do, but for me, my personality and my core is to deliver everyday situations that happen to people. People can relate to that. They can relate to the story in the song, and that makes the song.
HMS: Are there people who you admire who follow the story in that way?
Rowdy: I’ve never been star-struck by anybody, but this one guy, I probably would be. That’s Brad Paisley. I read his book and I know his story. He did it right. I want to do that too. My first time in music, I wasn’t as knowledgeable as I am now. I wish I could change some things, but I can’t. But those doors put me where I am now. They developed my personality and outlook, and made me who I am today. It’s on my bucket list to meet Brad Paisley.
Another thing is I’ve had many opportunities to visit the Grand Ole Opry, but when I go there, I won’t go in. When people ask why, I say “I don’t belong there yet.” I don’t want to step on the stage because all the greats have earned their right to walk in the building and step on that stage. If I was a fan, I’d be up there all day, but as an artist, I say, “One day, I’ll be able to walk into that building and know that I belong there.” Whether I’m very successful or semi-successful, I want to earn walking into those doors.
HMS: Who are some of the people you think of when you think of that stage and who you look up to?
Rowdy: Randy Travis, George Jones, Elvis Presley, Patsy Cline, Hank Williams Jr. Some of the greats who told those stories are the great spirits who are in there that made Country music what it is today. There’s Johnny Cash. That’s where Country music began. As a musician, I don’t take that place lightly at all.
HMS: I also meant to mention that there’s a sense of humor in a lot of the songs you perform. You take the songs seriously, but you don’t always have to take yourself seriously, and that’s for the sake of the audience.
Rowdy: The issue with most artists is ego. As an artist, you need to learn to shut it off. When I step off-stage, yes my nick-name is Rowdy, but I also become David Brim. Learning to separate the artist from everyday life is the most important thing. I made that mistake my first go-around. I couldn’t separate that in the past, and it became arrogance and entitlement. What you’re like on-stage has to be turned off and you have to be down-to-earth in your everyday life. I think a lot of artists struggle with that. You have to stay grounded and true to who you are inside. If you lose that, it becomes a job and you lose your audience. I love who I am off-stage and I love who I am on-stage. The trick is to separate the two.
HMS: When you’re performing songs by other people, for instance some of these greats we’ve mentioned, how do you approach it so that you’re satisfied with the outcome? Are there core elements that you’re trying to bring across?
Rowdy: I guess singing it in the best way that I can, presenting the song in my interpretation. Music is subjective. I’m not going to try to get up and sing like Toby Keith because I’m not Toby Keith. I’m Rowdy McCarran.
HMS: That must also help when blending cover songs with original songs because you’re the common factor. That way, it becomes one experience for everybody.
Rowdy: It is. It is one experience. I just love what I do. It’s a passion. I’ve been blessed enough to have a talent that people love to listen to. I feel very fortunate in that way.
