MUSIC INSIGHT stack , spinning off the names of some of these albums in his den , while we talk ] of Steely Dan , Allman Brothers , James Taylor , The Marshall Tucker Band . That ’ s the best music , classic rock from around 1973 and a few years surrounding that , it ’ s what gets me through on the radio when I ’ m on the road . I guess you could say my flavor is Appalachian Soul Country .
WE : Tell me a little about your aspirations , after the successes you ’ ve had , and are continuing to have with Spark , and your current singles that have become airplay hits . After being named the “ Grammy Awards 2017 Artist of Tomorrow ” Where do you see yourself a year from now or five years from now ? Where ’ s Drake White and The Big Fire going ?
DW : Well , watching what we ’ ve been able to do , and watching great mentors and performers like Zac [ Brown ] and those guys , I want to headline tours and sell out arenas . I hate that answer [ laughing ], but I want to get there so I can use my platform , and concentrate on my philanthropic side . I want to build camps for kids , and educate kids about art . I want to tell kids they can work in and around what they want to do . Just because you ’ re not a 6 ’ 5 ” freak who throws a 96 mph fastball doesn ’ t mean you can ’ t still work in baseball . I want to let kids know they can work toward doing something they want to do . I really just want to do like Zac and so many others have done , and make a positive difference . Because I can , and because we all should .
WE : I know you personally wrote 11
of the 12 songs on this album , at a time when so many country artists are relying on songwriters to do the writing for them . How important is it for you to write your own material ? Are you really opposed to songs from outside writers ? Do you consider yourself more of a songwriter or a performer , or simply , as I kind of see it , an artist ?
DW : I wrote everything besides , “ Livin ’ The Dream ”. It was pitched to me by my buddy , Jeren Johnston , from Cadillac Three . [ who wrote the song alongside Tom Douglas and Luke Laird , both megawell known in the industry for being hit makers ] I heard it , related to it , and liked it , and it turned out to be our first single . I ’ m a writer first . Make no mistake that my
34 April 2017
INSIGHT