We are continuing our Logcast Creator Interview series we re-launched a few weeks back to show our appreciation for our community and creators, highlight your amazing work, and for your audience to get to know you further. You can also listen to this week’s interview exclusively in the Logcast app.
Very happy to have Country Music Artist Tucker Wyatt on this week.
Tucker shares his ongoing journey through the music scene, his inspirations, and some teasers for 2023. Make sure to Log on TuckerWyattMusic on Logcast for an exclusive talk and behind-the-scenes content.
Logcast: Okay, let’s get this going. So you’re a country music artist. Tell me about that. Why Country Music? When did the interest in making Music start?
Tucker Wyatt: So why country is a good question. I think country music is typical with basically, like, storytelling, and falling in love with those stories is something that really calls to me as an artist. I like to express myself in valid and stories and stuff like that. Country music has a huge history of telling stories from a normal man’s perspective, and that’s what I aspire to be in art.
Logcast: I love that the storytelling thing is so true, too, because I’m a huge country music fan, and when I was younger, I’d always tell my girlfriends, I’m like, it’s just so much better than other Music sometimes because there’s an actual storyline in there.
Tucker Wyatt: Yeah. And I think that that gets that relatability, too, which is another huge facet of country music or something that’s maybe not unique to country music, but something that country does well. Is that relatability? And I think when you and I are talking, like, if I were to get to know you, we would ask each other a couple of questions, but typically, by two questions into the conversation, one of us is telling a story. Right? It’s just like writing a song. Like, you’d be talking to your buddy about something that happened.
Logcast: And has the interest always been there or was this, I mean, not a recent thing but like later on in life?
Tucker Wyatt: I wouldn’t call it one of my early interests, but I grew up with five sisters in a super religious household, so my mom definitely exposed me to Music at an early age. Like I said, it probably wasn’t my interest at the time, but she put me in all sorts of ukulele lessons and choirs and stuff, and I kind of got kicked out of all of them, basically. I did. I was a terrible early musician, and I’m still pretty bad at following rules, but I think that’s why I like, kind of like, outlaw country has that vein of rock and roll that speaks to the rebel in me, definitely. But I would say its interest probably came along a few years later. I was perhaps four or five years old. My dad got me a CD player for my birthday and gave me his sleeve of 90s country records. Guys like Garth Brooks, Brooks, Dunn and Shania Twain, and the whole list. So that like piqued my interest in the country.
Logcast: Awesome. So I didn’t send you this question, but where did you grow up?
Tucker Wyatt: So I kind of had a split childhood. I went to, like, originally, I’m from the Maryland side of Washington, DC, in a place called Anna Rundle County. I’m from Glenn Bernie up there. We played a lot of travel, and sports and did a lot of church stuff. It’s good people. We ate a lot of seafood. It’s definitely a good time if you’re ever in the neighbourhood. And when I was ten, I moved down to the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, which is like this gorgeous, like, rural landscape, and there’s a bunch of college towns here and stuff, and so it’s kind of like easier going, slower pace, for sure. Kind of that small-town USA-type feel. Everybody knows each other and will give each other the shirt off their back. So it’s a cool contract to have both the urban and the rural side of things because they definitely, I think, both find their way into my Music and have definitely tailored me into who I am.
Logcast: Oh, my God. So which do you prefer? Like rural or?
Tucker Wyatt: I think it depends on my mood. Do you know what I mean? Or what I’m going through in life. Like, when I was living in New York City, I definitely had days where I wished I was, like, out on a farm somewhere, like, driving 15 to 20 minutes to the nearest grocery store. Back in South Dakota, I was in the rural mountains where my parents live in Virginia in Rockbridge County. But then again, I don’t know, sometimes I’m at my parents’ cabin, and I wish there was a good comedy club to go to at 03:00 A.m. After a couple of beers. And so I wish I was back in New York City or Austin for something like that. So it definitely depends on the mood. It’s like anything else. Like, grass can always seem greener, but I don’t know. There are pros and cons.
Logcast: No, you’re totally right. And when it comes to writing your Music, is there someone or something in particular that inspires you?
Tucker Wyatt: Yeah, I draw inspiration from everywhere, and I particularly like to draw from stuff that’s, like, right in front of me. But I guess one of those artists to me as, like, a radio kid was Eric Church. And then I liked his stuff, like some of the early stuff, like drinking my Hand or Springsteen. And once streaming became a thing, and I had access to more of his Music, I really fell in love with how that guy can convey emotions through everyday objects around him in a present situation, if that makes sense. But he’s a prime example of somebody who writes his own stuff and writes very real stuff, very soulful stuff. I look up to him a lot.
Logcast: No, he’s great. I really like him as well. He’s one of the few country artists I have yet to see live, so I need to do that.
Tucker Wyatt: I actually also have not seen him live yet.
Logcast: Oh, my God. There are two of us. A mutual bucket list. This right there.
Logcast: How would you describe the Music you typically create and the creative process?
Tucker Wyatt: So it’s kind of red dirt country, just sort of sometimes screaming, a little bit wordy stuff, but it’s very raw and from the heart and kind of, 1s I don’t know, an unedited sort of style, if you will. My process for it is just to kind of let the Music come, which sounds sort of hippy and non-tangible, but actually makes me pretty disciplined in planning and consistent in my writing process because to allow the Music to come, you’ve got to be ready to field the Music when it gets there. And so what that looks like is every day sitting down, trying to write something, using a lot of expressive writing techniques and stuff that I picked up from some much more talented musicians down there in Austin, Texas. But having the discipline to put yourself in a position where you’re writing every day and trying to get something down sets you up really nicely when that one good idea comes to you for a certain part of a song. Do you know what I mean? Songs come in pieces, so you might get, like, a chorus one day and a really good bridge idea two days later, but it’s sitting down and putting yourself in the position to kind of receive all those it’s that make sense.
Logcast: No, that’s. That’s so true. And I feel like if you were to talk to somebody who’s, like, a non-creative, they wouldn’t get that. But it’s like, my boyfriend is a music producer, and I’m also creative, so I understand that. And allowing the content or thoughts to flow through and just allow that to happen because I find if you put too much pressure on yourself, it goes south super quickly.
Tucker Wyatt: Yeah, no, definitely. I definitely would agree with that.
Logcast: So, do you have any pre-show rituals?
Tucker Wyatt: I do. I’m unsure which ones I’m allowed to discuss during the interview. One thing that I do is do 23 push-ups before I get on stage, and it’s kind of goofy. You can play, like, a little game of Where’s Waldo? Only where’s Tucker? Before he gets on stage. If I’m performing at a venue that doesn’t have a backstage area, I will just do them on the side of the stage after I poke my guitar in.
Logcast: Wait, why 23?
Tucker Wyatt: They used to make us do, like, 20 sets of 23 push-ups all the time when I get hazed at military school way back in the day.
Logcast: Really?
Tucker Wyatt: Yeah, and I think they claimed that it was, like, the state law. They can only make us do 23 or whatever, but I don’t think a lot of the stuff that went down at that school was squared away with the law. I don’t know.
Logcast: Really? 23 is a nice number, you know what I mean?
Tucker Wyatt: It’s the blood flow, and I have really long arms, so it’s like, honestly, to try and get the blood down on my fingers before I play the guitar. But, yeah, 23 push-ups, like always. And it’s a really goofy-looking ritual, but that also helps me get in the zone because, let’s face it, it’s not everybody’s cup of tea to get up there and sing in a room full of quiet people or chatting people. Right,
Logcast: No, of course. But you got to do what you got to do.
Tucker Wyatt: Oh, yeah, definitely. And that is, by and large, my favourite part of Music is performing it live with crowds and with people, like, in person.
Logcast: So, do you think your love for being in front of people in live shows came before the love of Music?
Tucker Wyatt: That’s a really good question. Honestly, one I hadn’t thought about before. But I think there might be some people out there, the people that know me, who might argue that I grew up playing a lot of sports with my friends and stuff, and I always kind of gravitated towards the sports that people like to watch your baseball, your football, your golf, and that sort of stuff. And I always kind of found myself 1s dying to be in these positions. Like, I pitched, and I played quarterback. So I guess in that sports environment, I gravitated towards, like, when you say attention-seeking positions, but definitely sort of the position spotlight.
Tucker Wyatt: I don’t know if it’s more about attention than Music, but I think those features of my personality pair really nicely with a career in Music. Because at the end of the day, I like to be the centre of attention, make people smile, and spread my goofiness around the room.
Logcast: Oh, my God. Of course. And I think people naturally have those characteristics. 1s They like to be humble. They don’t want to say that, but it’s like, you can be that person without being obnoxious. Do you know what I mean? So I think it’s a great quality to have.
Tucker Wyatt: Yeah, I don’t know. I have a lot of fun with it. It’s sort of like my gift, and a curse. Music has been awesome because it’s like you get to it’s so much less of a curse in that limelight or that venue if you will, that arena.
Logcast: Oh, for sure. So one like and one dislikes the entertainment industry.
Tucker Wyatt: Well, I’ll tell you, as a beginning artist, someone who’s not been at this a very long time, a dislike might be like the access to the talent pipeline. In other words, there are many barriers to entry into the music industry. Right. While that’s a con, I’m going to use it again as my pro. Because to get yourself to that pro level, there are so many barriers to entry that you’re not distracted by anything else. There’s sort of like a commitment jump off the deep end. I’m going into Music and want to be a pro at it. It takes kind of a special, crazy, kind of crazy person to do that and stuff. And so when you cross that threshold and become that wild man, there’s only Music. And you just focus because you got to be that crazy. So it definitely comes back to work as a pro because it’s like, I don’t know, I’m so much happier running my life just focusing on Music if that makes sense.
Logcast: No, that’s awesome. Sometimes people just thrive off that stuff, which is fine. If it works, it works. But when you say that there are barriers, I obviously know that there are, but I feel like in recent years, with Spotify and streaming coming out, there are still, like, not as many barriers. So do you find it like, what would be the difference from seven years ago to now being an up-and-coming artist? Like, what are the barriers like now?
Tucker Wyatt: Yeah, so no, you’re exactly right. Streaming and social media, like at large, have changed. At least a country music game. I think within country, like, when people refer to the music industry, that’s a term highly associated with, like, the town of Nashville and kind of older country, sort of your grand old opera crowd. And those establishments are so 1s prestigious and renowned, and they’ve been at it for so long that they have this kind of implicit rule structure to them, or maybe they associate with certain ideologies or political ideas or whatever. And so we’ve seen social media where it has been that that was the only way to make it in a country music career. We’ve seen social media kind of come along and almost eclipse that in a way by just giving consumers back their power and their voice as well as artists, and giving them an opportunity and a platform to promote their stuff without having to know like a record company and that sort of stuff.
Logcast: So true. I’ve noticed that. But it’s so funny because there’s a flip side to that, and some artists hate it. They don’t want to promote their stuff on social media. They’re like, I’m not an influencer. I’m an artist. So I see both sides.
Tucker Wyatt: Yeah, I could definitely see that. That side of things. It’s definitely a challenge. All this stuff can sometimes seem tangential to the art, especially when you’re in a pin. To write something or do something creative on a deadline is never fun. But at the same time, I feel like, overall, maybe it’s just me. I’m crazy, I know that. But I’ll tell you, I think it’s a very exciting time to be an artist, at least here in the US. Trying to write country music, just with that. Because ultimately, The Power Is Mine, and I don’t know how to market things beautifully yet. But I would much rather have that responsibility fall to me than put my faith in somebody else’s hands. Just because that’s the Shenandoah Valley thing. That’s how I was raised and how people taught me to do it. That’s coming with me to the music industry, definitely.
Logcast: I actually love that so much. The power is yours. I’m going to start using that. I love that.
Tucker Wyatt: It’s about consumer empowerment. We’re trying to empower some listeners with this new album this spring.
Logcast: Do it. I’m excited to hear it, by the way.
Tucker Wyatt: Yeah, I’m excited. We’ve been working really hard on it. I got some really good co-writers to help me with advice and stuff. Some awesome on-stage mentors back in Austin as their hours. Connor Stevens, Country Worms. Bob Flacco. All my boys are out there. We’ve all been able to work with so many talented people on this album, which is cool. I know it’s my first, but I’ve been writing it with everything in mind and definitely with that live performance set in mind. So I’m super excited to get this thing out there. It’s kind of a sampler, and then actually tour it and play it for people in the same room and give them a taste of the fun we had put together.
Logcast: Oh, I love that. That’s. Exciting.
Logcast: So, are you doing the album in collaboration with Nether Hour and Country Worms and those guys, or were they just helping you with stuff on the album?
Tucker Wyatt: No, they were the first people I performed with. They threw me on stage to give me a shot when I was new to the music industry. And so it’s an independent album. We’re working totally separately, but they have definitely gone way out of their way to kind of take me under their wing and show me some of the ropes of at least the live music aspects of performing and having a stage presence and just kind of all the intricacies and intimacies that I don’t know. They don’t teach you in school?
Logcast: No, I love that so much, and I honestly love the guys for another hour. Obviously, I’ve never met them, but just communicating with them and all the guys performing at that venue in Austin, they’re just such nice people. So that makes me so happy that all of you are kind of doing stuff together.
Tucker Wyatt: Yeah, I know. They’re super down to earth, and they all have super inspiring stories with Music and stuff, and you can tell it in their sound. I mean, they definitely turned my head. And so I’m always super humbled to do anything around those guys, for sure. But there are some funny individuals, for sure.
Logcast: They’re wild.
Tucker Wyatt: We like to hang out.
Logcast: So, what’s your favourite city-state to play in?
Tucker Wyatt: Well, this is a good piggyback question. I’m going to Austin, Texas, 100%. And I don’t know, I might catch some hate from this from some of my back home listeners, but yeah, it’s got to be Austin, Texas, for me. I mean, those people, they swing dance, they two steps, they’re yelling lyrics. They’ll throw you up on stage if you just show up with your guitar. It’s a good culture. They might not have Maryland seafood, but the dancing and the Music in that town is where it’s at. I need to get down there. Everyone keeps saying that, and I’m like, it sounds like so much fun. And then everyone who’s not playing Music is a comedian, so if you do, you’re just rolling around laughing. I mean, that sounds like a vibe. As I said, it was 70 degrees when I left in January. It’s perfect. Like, I need a vacation this year. It might be Texas. It is quite literally Singapore for creative artists. It’s awesome.
Logcast: Okay, if you could open for someone at their show, who would it be?
Tucker Wyatt: So I thought a lot about this question, and I’m wearing in between, like, either Country Worms or Nether Hour or Eric Church, but, like, those would be the three probably for me.
Logcast: Speaking of, I’m honestly shocked you haven’t opened for Nether Hour or Country Worms.
Tucker Wyatt: I’ve opened for many of those guys individually but never for the band. So stay tuned.
Tucker Wyatt: That will be the next step. As soon as you said that, I was like, oh, easy.
Logcast: Yeah, no doubt, no doubt. But they got their followers, and those people know Music, so it’d be a big task. Honestly, they’ve given me so much help. That would be one of the most important opening gigs I would ever sign up for.
Logcast: I mean, just send them this interview.
Tucker Wyatt: I’m sure it’ll get back to them.
Logcast: Okay, lastly, I know that there’s an album coming out, so aside from that, any music goals for this year and what should we be excited for? Music goals this year?
Tucker Wyatt: We’re working really hard with our East Coast promotion team to play shows in Virginia that are not in Northern Virginia. We have a bunch booked in Northern Virginia and a couple in Southern Virginia, but we’re trying to place some Valley stages this summer and kind of get out to the hometown fans one last time before we head back west to do our thing on stage. It could be some guest appearances coming up soon. Like I said, stay tuned.
Logcast: Listen. Hear that, guys? 2s That’s so fun. Oh, that would be so fun if you could do a country music festival.
Tucker Wyatt: Definitely. 1s We got a lot on the agenda. As I said, we’ve been at this for only a few months, so there are many more to come.
Logcast: Big year for you guys.
Tucker Wyatt: Huge year.
Logcast: I love that. Well, that’s the end of my questions.
Tucker Wyatt: Awesome. I’ve had a lot of fun chatting with you today, and I appreciate you guys having me on here.
Logcast: No, I really appreciate you taking this interview. Means a lot.
Tucker Wyatt: Of course.
Logcast: Well, thanks so much for talking. We look forward to follow you on Logcast.
Tucker Wyatt: Thank you so much, Chloe.
Logcast: Thank you!
