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Steve Haggard Interview Haggard CDs Haggard Homepage
The following Steve Haggard
interview was conducted by Vince Montgomery,
and appeared in the Winter
1998/99 issue of the Renegade Newsletter.
You
got back from Denmark three days ago, you finished up a production project
for another artist yesterday afternoon, you did a gig here in town last
night, you
leave for a tour of Germany in two days, you're busy writing songs for
your fifth
CD.
How do you find the time to do everything ?
Steve:
Good question ! (Laughs.) Seriously, though, I like keeping busy. And also,
being
involved in
a lot of different things makes life more interesting. With playing live,
writing,
recording, producing
other acts, working on a lot of overseas stuff, helping to run the record
label and publishing
company, I don't get bored, like I might if I did one thing all the
time.
You
mentioned that you help to run the record and publishing companies. I find
it
interesting that a creative guy like yourself -- a very talented
singer/songwriter/
musician -- also knows all about the business side of the music business.
Steve:
Well, I just set out to play music, to sing, to write songs. I never intended
to get into
the business
part of it... I always say I learned the business part strictly out of
self-defense.
I think
that for any artist or musician, the more you know about how the business
works,
the more
you can control your own destiny.
Your
company, Wild Oats Records, has been very successful, especially for an
indie
label. Why do you think that you've done so well in such a tough industry
?
Steve: A lot of it has just been hard work and persistence, and taking
the time to learn
how the business really works. I think too many independent artists and
labels just never
really learn the ins-and-outs of the business, They wind up wasting
money, making bad
decisions and getting taken advantage of by some of the shady operators
in the business....
Your current CD, Make Your Move, has done very well. I know that
Ed Morris,
the country music critic for Billboard and the Nashville Scene,
called it one of the
the year's best country CDs.
Steve: Yeah, that was really helpful, because he's one of the most-respected
& well-known
music journalists. We've also been fortunate in getting Make Your
Move licensed both in
Europe and South America, so we've got foreign labels doing all the manufacturing
and
promotion and distribution.
You tour in Europe all the time, I know.
Steve: Yeah, it's been around five times every year. I've been doing
it since 1991. It's great.
I guess I've played in around a dozen countries over there.
You've
also been producing other artists, and helping them to get their careers
going.
Tell me a little about that.
Steve: I really like producing. I like going into the studio and helping
to bring out the best
in an artist. And not only musically... I work with them to come up with
a good career
gameplan, to help them actually get their music heard.
Last, but not least, your new CD.
Steve: I'll be recording it here in Nashville in the fall.*
Like my last couple of CDs,
it'll probably be nine originals and two outside songs. Country, blues,
all the usual stuff.
*
This interview took place in summer 1998. Steve Haggard began
his new CD,
Mysterious Ways, in February. It's scheduled for June 1999
release.