![\"M-33-dierks-bentley\"](\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/M-33-dierks-bentley.jpg\")
<\/h1>\n<\/h1>\nDierks Bentley\u2019s new album,\u00a0Riser<\/i>, reflects the emotional roller coaster he endured beginning with his father\u2019s death two years ago and concluding with the recent birth of his first son. \u201cThat definitely changed my perspective,\u201d says Bentley. \u201cA lot of the heavier material on Riser<\/i> wouldn\u2019t have come about without those things happening.\u201d Bentley, 38, has matured as an artist, drawing on life experiences to mine deeply personal lyrics. \u201cTo write country songs, you\u2019ve got to get your ass kicked and your heart broken,\u201d he says. \u201cI feel like I\u2019m reaching a place where I can write those types of songs.\u201d<\/p>\n
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How did you choose material?<\/b><\/p>\n
I knew I wanted to do something different. The main goal was to put a premium on great songs. My friend, Arthur Buenahora Jr., executive-produced the album. He pushed me to write with different people and found some great songs. Whether the songs had my name on it or someone else\u2019s, I didn\u2019t care\u2014I just wanted the 12 best. Arthur said at the very beginning that we\u2019d make a lot of hard decisions and leave great songs on the floor. It was a matter of weeding out material that didn\u2019t fit the concept of Riser<\/i>\u2014the idea of being a person strong enough to get through hard times. That\u2019s the theme, even if there are a few songs that lighten the load a bit.<\/p>\n
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Was it hard writing about your father?<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cHere on Earth\u201d was definitely cathartic. [Producer] Ross Copperman and I were on the bus writing songs that day. I was thinking about my dad and about people who have suffered a horrific loss, like the death of a child. Where do they find answers? These lyrics just came out so quick. I remember being so hungry and wanting to quit to grab a bite, and Ross said, \u201cYou\u2019re so close\u2014just sing it one more time.\u201d We were in the middle of a parking lot with the microphone against the window\u2014not ideal for recording\u2014but I tried it once more. Most of the vocal on the record comes from that moment. I\u2019ve never sung a song like that, or had the lyrics come out the way those flew out. I was in pain from the lyrics and from being hungry!<\/p>\n
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How long did recording take?<\/b><\/p>\n
About a two-year process. It first came together pretty quickly, but as we were wrapping things up, the first single, \u201cBourbon in Kentucky,\u201d went over like a lead balloon. It was dark and heavy at a time when\u00a0country radio was playing lighter stuff. When it died, it allowed us to go back into the studio, which was great because two songs made the record that wouldn\u2019t have otherwise: \u201cSounds of Summer\u201d and \u201cBack Porch,\u201d both of which\u00a0are easy, fun songs.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
How did you work with Ross?<\/b><\/p>\n
What\u2019s great about working with Ross is that his country catalog doesn\u2019t go very deep. I say that in a good way. He was a breath of fresh air when it came to instrumentation. He\u2019s looking for whatever sounds are going to best support the lyrics. I was the yin to his yang, the country guy who could balance that stuff out.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
How have you evolved as an artist?<\/b><\/p>\n
I feel that I\u2019m making the best music I ever have right now. Back when I was on the road 300 days a year, albums were fuel for touring. I still love being on the road, but now I\u2019m also about getting great songs and making sure every album is one that can be pulled off the shelf and consumed like a great book.<\/p>\n
\u2013Juli Thanki<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DIERKS BENTLEY Life throws the country star a heart-tugging batch of inspiration\u00a0 Dierks Bentley\u2019s new album,\u00a0Riser, reflects the emotional roller coaster he endured beginning with his father\u2019s death two years ago and concluding with the recent birth of his first son. \u201cThat definitely changed my perspective,\u201d says Bentley. \u201cA lot of the heavier material on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[2273,7401],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12366"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12366"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12366\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12368,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12366\/revisions\/12368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}