Backstage at the SOLD OUT SHOW here at The Fillmore in Silver Spring MD, we got to sit down and chat with Country Music star Chris Lane. We covered all sorts of pointers such as touring, writing & recording processes as well as how he proposed in one of the most romantic ways I’ve ever heard.
The Vinyl: For those who may not be quite familiar with your music, mind giving us a short introduction of yourself?
Chris Lane: My name is Chris Lane, I am currently on my 5th single right now on the radio and I’ve had a career going on now for roughly five-ish years.
TV: You’re one of the hottest country stars in the Country Music scene, you’ve toured with some of the biggest names in country music. How do you stay so humble? And what are some motivations you have to be the successful musician that you are?
CL: I think its just knowing where you came from And you know, every artist when they start out they have to grind. And I am still in the “Grind Mode”. even though great things are happening right now, and the shows are sold out and all that. I keep the mind set of be thankful and being thankful for the people that are showing up and buying tickets to the shows. I mean, technically I wouldn’t playing shows if people didn’t show up. It makes it fairly easy to stay humble.
TV: Currently on the Big Big Plans Tour through February, how excited are you to be on your own headlining tour? Are there any destinations you are looking forward to the most on this run?
CL: Yeah, you know I was with Brad Paisley all year long and I did a headlining run of very similar shows last year. I was excited to get back out here with a new record and tour new songs and its been better than I could have ever even imagine. This tour has been top notch from the first night until now. Places i look froward to.. I feel like Chicago is always a good place to go play…Boston…there are so many great destinations on here and tonight (The Fillmore Silver Spring) is one of them for sure.
TV: So after this headlining tour, you’re joining Kane Brown on The Worldwide Beautiful Tour. How excited are you for that? What kind of expectations you may have?
CL: You know what, I’m very very excited and grateful for the opportunity, I can’t wait to jump out there with him. He’s doing amazing things right now and playing big rooms. And for me I feel like we share a very familiar fan base. I feel he draws a younger crowd and that’s generally the same for me at all of these shows. I think for me its a way for me to continue to get my name out there and hopefully continue to grow and gain fans throughout. I am thankful that he’s going to share his fans with me.
TV: When you say younger fan base, I know social media and such pretty much plays a huge role in the music industry and everything in general. how do you feel about social media playing such a big role?
CL: You know what I feel like social media sometimes can be very unrealistic to most people. Because its literally just your highlights, you’re not posting about your bad days or whatever it may be. So yeah sometimes its unrealistic, but at the same time it plays a very pretty significant role in our world today. It makes it much easier to get your name out there to people who may not know who you are. And they learn about you…maybe they listen to your song and fall in love with your music and get them to show up to a show and see the show and that’s what its all about. there are good and bad things to the social media stuff.
TV: I honestly couldn’t agree more. I tend to find the music I listen to via social media and also by attending shows.
TV: You’ve been taking over the charts lately, from your Big Big Plans single with a whopping 65 million plus streams and your gold certified I Don’t Know About You, how do you get inspired to write these incredible songs like these?
CL: For me on Big BP, it’s pretty simple. I wanted to have a song to propose to my wife. And I kinda went in to with that in mind, it ended up getting written like that. I wrote the song with two other guys, I feel like we nailed the concept home. And I’m thankful for it. I had no idea at the time it would be my next single and the name of this tour. But its all worked out really well. I think any song ideas you can get from someone you meet at a meet and greet or stories you’ve heard or just experiences that you’ve gone through in your own life or experiences that people have told you about and you can draw from that.
TV: What is your typical writing and recording process like? I know every artist has different techniques, but what really gets you into the groove/motivated to write/record?
CL: It kinda just depends on the day and my mood. Theres not, I don’t really have a specific way I rite a song, it kinda just depends on the room and the writers who are in the room and how you vibe with them. I feel like every song is different Im learning that every single time I go into write. Somedays you write a chorus first, sometimes you don’t even finish a song. And other days they go by really fast and you have so much fun. But yeah there are no right or wrong ways to do it, and I don’t have a specific way I do it, it’s just whatever feels right in the room for that day, if everyones energy level is low you tend to write a slower song.
TV: Well that definitely makes sense. It would make sense you have to have that certain energy to match whatever you are going to write/record or else it just doesn’t necessarily feel right.
CL: For sure
TV: Big Big Plans, written for your now-wife Lauren. How was that writing process? Did it just come to you naturally? Congratulations by the way!!
CL: Thank you! Oh yeah I mean I remember I pretty much blacked out when I proposed. I don’t remember anything I said in fact I had to write down two words on my hand just incase I was to get caught up and not I guess figuring out what exactly I wanted to say. I was so nervous in the moment because A. I wanted her to of course love the song and B. Because I wanted her to say yes. I remember going into that third verse while I was playing it for her and her family, she had no clue it was happening, and I wanted to make sure she was listening so I said “Babe the third verse is my favorite, make sure you listen to that one” and obviously that’s the verse that I used to purpose and it all worked out from there.
TV: That is absolutely amazing and something to really cherish you all must have been on like cloud nine!
TV: So summer is hopefully right around the corner (its been cold here and I’m ready for summer) Do you have any big summer plans that you can share with us? Where can your fans find ya?
CL: Yeah, I don’t really know my summer schedule just yet. I know I’ll probably be doing a lot of fairs and festivals for the summer. Which I am excited about, I haven’t been able to do a whole lot of those. Ive always been on tour during the summer with bigger artists doing the amphitheaters so you have to skip a lot of those kinda shows, but I’ll probably go out and do that this year. Im super excited about that.
TV: Yeah, I actually live up in Frederick MD area and the local fair always has some pretty good shows/artists there. So if you’ve ever been there..
CL: Oh yeah, definiftely!
TV: So are you currently working on any music at the moment?
CL: Oh yeah…Yeah, I’ve been in the studio. There’s no timeline. I have no clue when I’ll be putting it out. But I feel confident and great about the songs that I have been writing and recording. Sometimes the waiting process, its slow and probably my least favorite part of everything. Because you always want to get music out NOW. Haha. But yeah it will all happen at the right time and I’ll be ready for it!
TV: As we end this interview, is there anything in particular you would like to say to your fans?
CL: To the fans…Just a BIG thank you for showing up to the shows, spending your hard earned money and supporting me in the way I never thought was possible. And singing their hearts out every night there’s not a better feeling then playing in front of a sold out crowd and everybody knows every word. It’s just truly special.
TV: Well you definitely sold out the show tonight, the line is legit wrapped around the building practically!
CL: Yes its going to be a such a great night!
TV: Thank you so much for your time! We really appreciate it!
CL: THANK YOU!