![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Uncle-Kracker-Issue-No24.jpg\" "\\"Uncle-Kracker-Issue-No24\\"")
UNCLE KRACKER<\/h1>\nUNCLE KRACKER<\/h1>\nA pop-rock hit-maker brings his feel-good groove to country music \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n His 2001 breakout single, \u201cFollow Me,\u201d was a pop smash. But in recent years, Uncle Kracker, aka Matthew Shafer, has shifted from funky post-grunge rock to country, working with producer Keith Stegall (Alan Jackson, Zac Brown Band) and signing with roots label Sugar Hill Records. What hasn\u2019t changed is the Detroit native\u2019s penchant for fun\u2014a philosophy reflected on his new album Midnight Special<\/em>. \u201cIt\u2019s hard for a lot of people,\u201d Shafer says. \u201cI see it when I go home. When I went through hard times, the one thing that helped me escape was music. That\u2019s why I made\u00a0a feel-good record.\u201d<\/p>\n Why have you embraced country music?<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s been gradual, but it\u2019s been a natural progression. I\u2019ve been getting older, which doesn\u2019t mean much except that I look at things a lot differently than I used to. For the first time ever, I feel comfortable where I\u2019m at.<\/p>\n What\u2019s your songwriting process?<\/strong><\/p>\n I don\u2019t have one specific routine when it comes to writing a song. It can be music or lyrics first, from a guitar or piano, or writing with a partner. Everything is sporadic. A song can start from a guitar lick, or it can start in a bar, writing an idea down on the back of a cigarette pack. It\u2019s the spontaneous ones that are the most fun. Sometimes when you don\u2019t expect to write a song, that\u2019s the one that ends up being very special.<\/p>\n How much material did you have for the new album?<\/strong><\/p>\n We had about 18 songs, but they only pay you for 10 so it doesn\u2019t make sense to start giving away stuff. Sequence matters, too. I pulled songs because they didn\u2019t feel like they should\u2019ve followed any song in particular\u2014even if it might have been a better song. It has to flow the right way on the album. Sometimes it stinks to let go of a song, but it\u2019s something you have to do every time. Over the years, you get used to it.<\/p>\n How did you connect with Nashville vet Keith Stegall?<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019ve known Keith for years. I met him in Nashville, and we\u2019ve always talked about working with each other, but never did up until \u201cSmile\u201d\u2014he did a new mix on that for country radio. After it did so well at country radio, it felt like this was the record he was supposed to do, and we cut the whole thing in about three days.<\/p>\n Are you hands-on in the studio?<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019ve produced and co-produced records, but it\u2019s fun to hand the reins over and go, \u201cHe\u2019s got this under control.\u201d You spend so much time writing and then getting ready to go in the studio that you become so attached. You\u2019ve taken it as far as you can, time to let someone else do what they do. It\u2019s not supposed to be hard, and this effort wasn\u2019t tough at all. It\u2019s why the record sounds so good. I think that once you find things getting difficult, you might have stuck yourself in the wrong situation.<\/p>\n How have you evolved as an artist?<\/strong><\/p>\n I don\u2019t know if I\u2019ve really evolved, but I\u2019ve definitely learned a lot over the years\u2014how to sing a little bit better, write a little bit better. I think I\u2019m just more mature as an individual. One thing that\u2019s still there for me is the passion for making records. During the last 15 years, there were times when I got frustrated and didn\u2019t know what I was doing anymore. I was lucky and got myself knocked back on track. Now I\u2019m in the position where I love what I\u2019m doing. And if I don\u2019t love what I\u2019m doing, I\u2019m\u00a0not going to do it.<\/p>\n \u2013Juli Thanki<\/p>\n UNCLE KRACKER A pop-rock hit-maker brings his feel-good groove to country music \u00a0 His 2001 breakout single, \u201cFollow Me,\u201d was a pop smash. But in recent years, Uncle Kracker, aka Matthew Shafer, has shifted from funky post-grunge rock to country, working with producer Keith Stegall (Alan Jackson, Zac Brown Band) and signing with roots label […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[6005,5885,6007,6006,4053,6004],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8931"}],"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=8931"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8931\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8934,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8931\/revisions\/8934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"