After releasing his new album in March, we caught up with Steve Moakler at the Stagecoach Music Festival in Indio, Ca. We got insight on the making of Steel Town, his life on The Highway Finds Tour and his childhood dream of being a professional golfer.
TCN: You just released Steel Town. Can you tell us a little about the making of it and what inspired it?
SM: It was my fourth album, but in a lot of ways it really feels like my first, because it’s the first time I’ve gotten to talk about my roots and the people who raised me. That was the biggest theme on the album, which is why it is called Steel Town. It was really cool; I got to work with a Luke Laird, the producer, who is amazing. He produced Kacey Musgraves and some other great stuff. He’s from western Pennsylvania too, one of the few other folks in Nashville. It was really cool to make a record like that together, because he really understood.
TCN: Was it important for you to make a record about your hometown?
SM: It wasn’t until recently. I really didn’t know what was so special about where I grew up, until I was gone for about 10 years. I think that is the case for a lot of people. I moved to Nashville when I was really only thinking about where I was going, which most 19-year-old’s are. Then you kind of realize how much of a product you are of where you grew up. So this was the time for me to sing out that and it was a really fun story to tell.
TC: The single “Wheels” is on that album. You’d mentioned before that you couldn’t believe that one word could sum up life so well. How was righting that song?
SM: That’s the dream writing session. We write so many songs in Nashville. We can usually write a song about anything, not necessarily well, but whenever you have an inspiring idea, it can be great. Caitlyn Smith had the title, “Wheels,” and then we realized we could tell the story of life, and that’s what you pray for every day. As soon as we knew the vision, it was just off to the races. It was a very exciting day and it’s been really exciting to sing it every night. It’s just something that everyone can relate to.
TCN: Is this your first Stagecoach?
SM: Yes.
TCN: How was performing out here?
SM: It was really cool. You just can’t beat the view out here. The fans are amazing.
TCN: Before this you were on tour with Old Dominion and now headlining the Highway Finds Tour. How is that going?
SM: We are about halfway through The Highway Finds Tour. I feel like the tour has been picking up a lot of momentum as it’s been going on. It’s been amazing. The Highway’s support has really changed my career. Old Dominion was another band that this happened to, and obviously we are not where they are, but we are experiencing that groundswell that is really exciting. So it’s perfect, the fans that are hearing our songs are also hearing about our tour. You can’t really ask for more.
TCN: What was your first job?
SM: I guess my first job was cutting grass? I had a little business going. I fell in love with golf, and actually before I started playing guitar, I thought I was going to be a pro-golfer. I was completely wrong. Not even close to being good enough to play gold professionally. But yeah, I used to cut grass in my neighborhood to save up money to play golf. That’s what I spent my money on. Before there was girls and guitars, it was all golf.