8 Things We Learned Hanging Out With Jon Pardi
It’s fitting that Jon Pardi begins his brand-new California Sunrise album with a track called “Out of Style.” The song is actually about writing a song: It begins with a budding artist moving to Nashville and getting songwriting advice, only to find once he puts his pen to paper that it’s not about chasing any sort of trend. Instead, he waxes poetic about the oft-forgotten common threads that weave generations, such as the notions that “Jesus saves” and “beer’s better cold.” But the underlying, more personal message is that Pardi’s signature sound of classic country with a modern beat has stood the test of time, no matter what sorts of sonic experimentation dart in and out of the airwaves. “It may never see a bullet in a Billboard magazine, but then I’ve never been the kind to go out chasin’ smokin’ guns,” he sings atop a pedal steel and drums-driven melody made for two-stepping.
Don’t get him wrong. Pardi wants to be played on country radio just as much as any Luke, Blake or Jason, and he delivers high-energy country with just enough rock & roll to fit in. But keeping his new tunes rooted in the classic country sound he’s always loved — California’s Buck Owens meets Texas’ George Strait — is something from which he’ll never waiver, Billboard be damned.
We met up with Pardi after an acoustic performance in Nashville to talk about the new album, which he recorded live with a seven-man band. He also told us some funny stories from the road and let us in on a few skeletons from his musical past. Here are eight things we learned from our chat.
He’s one of the most classic-country-leaning artists on contemporary radio. . . who admires Sam Hunt and Florida Georgia Line. “You can’t be an old grumpy person!” exclaims Pardi, ruminating on country music’s wide-open sonic doors. “I like hearing fiddles, steel guitar, acoustics up loud — really rock & roll stuff but with a country sound behind it. That’s just who I am. I’m not trying to prove a point; I am just doing what I like. But I don’t have any problems with any other artist coming in and doing their own thing. Like Sam or Florida Georgia Line — they’re just doing their own thing. Country music wouldn’t be where it’s at right now if it wasn’t for guys like Florida Georgia Line and Sam Hunt. And when [fans] get sick of those guys, they’ll wanna listen to my record! [Laughs]”
He once won a songwriting competition with a musical P.S.A. While studying at Chico, California’s Butte Junior College, Pardi entered a contest challenging musicians to write a song denouncing driving under the influence. He won with “The D.U.I. Song” — a foot-stompin’, honky-tonkin’ look at a “regular guy with a D.U.I.” “It went over great live — it’s fun and catchy,” Pardi recalls, admitting a bit of guilt over crafting a rowdy tune with such a serious topic. “But it did have a good theme: don’t drink and drive! It was kinda stupid, but it got the word out.” Pardi’s prize was $300 — money he used to buy a rack for his band’s P.A. system.
He drinks responsibly. He’s just 31 years old, but Pardi insists he’s already done a lot of growing up when it comes to liquid temptations on the road. “It used to be, get a good buzz and go out [on stage]. Now it’s a little more like, I’m getting older, I need more vocal warm-ups, drink more water,” he reveals, going on to explain that his band’s idea of “fun” on tour is really just to keep on working: “We’re just a bunch of guys sitting around playing music for fun. We’re always jamming.”
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