A Conversation with Sugarland’s Kristian Bush – HuffPost 7.29.10
Mike Ragogna: So, what are you up to these days?
Kristian Bush: Well, we are in the middle of a tour. We just finished the first leg of the Lilith Tour and the Lilith Fair, and we are about to go and finish out the rest of the year with the headlining tour.
MR: The headlining tour is called the Incredible Machine tour?
KB: Yes it is.
MR: And that’s based on your new album coming out in October called The Incredible Machine?
KB: There you go. That’s right.
MR: You have a new single called “Stuck Like Glue.” What was your inspiration for that?
KB: Interestingly, whenever you are making an album–and I don’t know really what the percentages are–the last two or three songs that you write for the record, many times, end up being the singles. It’s fascinating to me that that happens. I think “Pour Some Sugar On Me” was that way, and was the last one that they put on the record. It’s strange but it feels like you get the sense of the whole piece of art that you are making. Then the last two or three songs are so well-focused because you kind of know where and what part of your talent and your heart you’re digging at.
MR: You’re a Grammy winning act, and you’ve had a lot of number one records. By this point, a lot of acts are falling into a routine and writing the same things over and over again, yet Sugarland’s music seems to be progressing. Are you conscious of that as you make your records, that this is still an evolving process?
KB: Yes. This will be our fourth record together. There are so many people who haven’t heard our music or don’t even know what we do. I am in Los Angeles right now, and I was out watching fireworks where people had no idea who I was or what I do. Then you play 20 questions and I say, “Yeah, I am in a band called Sugarland,” and they go, “Cool. Is it a good band?” You can’t assume that anyone knows your job or what you do. It was really fun to meet them, but in that same moment, well, as an artist, you hope that you’re always growing all the time, and we have been really lucky with the career that we’ve had. Our band has become excited about what we are going to do next.
MR: Speaking of that, you have this YouTube weekend review. Can you describe what that is?
KB: Things are happening at such a rapid pace right now. We are out on tour in support of a record that hasn’t even been released yet which is a little bit backwards. Traditionally in the ’70s or in the early ’80s, people used to go out and do the tour and then release the record and then tour again. We wanted to make sure that because we were not going to be able to get everywhere we wanted to get to before the album came out, we wanted everyone to kind of participate in it. To tune in and see the different kind of things that are going on during a tour. A lot of folks are saying that during the touring season this year, there are not a lot of folks coming out, and I don’t know if we are just extremely lucky or if everyone who turns out just happens to be Sugarland fans. But our shows are packed. I am so excited about it.
MR: The music paradigm has changed so much, you absolutely have to go think beyond physical products.
KB: I have to say it does feel a little like it’s anyone’s game to figure out how to sell records. I have to applaud our manager and record company for embracing this idea. It was our manager’s idea. We were talking about the days when we used to go into the music store and look at the dry erase board with the upcoming record release dates in anticipation. There were even days I would stay up until midnight just to get the album. I still remember those days and there was a certain amount of excitement about that. And how did you get excited about that? Our manager was saying, “You know, the record business is not broken. It’s actually alive. The thing that is different is that it doesn’t feel like there is that excitement anymore before an album comes out.”
So, that was the inspiration for playing the songs live and touring the album. We started asking people to pull out their phones, and start taking videos and upload on YouTube and share it with each other, get excited about the album. When you’re at a show, it’s really obvious that the audience is the show. The audience is a part of our show and is a part of our record, so they should be involved. We are excited because we’ve heard the music and can’t wait for it to be released. I can’t wait for fans who have been listening to Incredible Machine for four months, hear the recording of it. It’s one of the most beautiful recordings that I have ever done. I am so proud as a producer and a musician, and as an artist and writer.
MR: To what do you attribute the huge success of Sugarland?
KB: It’s a combination of every other band’s kind of answer to that question. It’s one part really great luck, another part is it takes a whole lot of work to be lucky. You have to stay on it every day. You have to practice. It’s where opportunity and talent meet. It isn’t just being good, it’s somebody giving you the shot at being on TV or giving you the shot when they loved that song on the radio and you are asked for another one. There are a lot of great, great songs, and a lot of great bands, singers, and producers in this world. They may make one or two great things. But to do four, five, six or seven…that’s when you are into the upper echelons, really trying to hone your craft and work hard every day at doing this. This business is really aggressive, and they only want to know what have you done for them lately.
MR: What is your advice for new bands that are just starting out right now?
KB: Here is a great example. We were just at Lilith Fair, and in the parking lot, there were a bunch of stages as well as the main stage. There was a stage in the parking lot, and there was a band on that stage called Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. A dear friend of mine who I trust said you have to catch Grace Potter. So, I go up and I walk up in the middle of the crowd full of women and watch and these guys light it up. Just killed it on a stage with a generator and a tent with people selling Luna Bars. And I sat and thought about this for days. I didn’t miss a single set of theirs, and I invited them to dinner and I now have a new band crush. I sat down and talked to them and their journey through this. It was going to be different than what my journey was for a lot of reasons. The music business they are in is six or seven years down the road from the business I started in. Even with just the fans. Go one person at a time. This is the advice I would give any band. Go up on stage, play your heart out, and work hard. Work hard at making great songs, and then go perform them because people will believe you when they see you play these things, when they see you sweat them.
Transcribed by Erika Richards