WYATT HARLAN - FULL INTERVIEW

Interviewer: Wyatt, welcome to SR3 Records. It’s great to have you with us — how are you doing, and what’s life looking like for you right now?

Wyatt: “I’m doing good. I was at a close friend’s wedding last night, so I’m a little hungover this morning, if I’m honest. Other than that, though, I’m great. Can’t complain.”

Interviewer: Well, firstly, congratulations to your friend. Although judging by the hangover, I’m guessing you made a decent contribution to the celebrations?

Wyatt: “Yeah, there were a lot of shots once we got into the early hours. That’s definitely what I’m feelin’ right now.”

Interviewer: Sounds like you gave yourself a bit of a problem this morning. But it sounds like it was a good night, which is what matters. You’ve mentioned close friends — how important is having a good group around you when everything else gets busy?

Wyatt: “Aw man, friends are my life. You gotta have good buddies around you, otherwise what’s the point, right? Doesn’t matter if you’re happy, sad, or hungover as hell — they’re there. Well… the good ones are, anyway.”

Interviewer: Well that sounds like you got a few stories there but I wanted to ask, What were you like growing up?

Wyatt: “I was a good kid, I think. Had a few run-ins with the local police, but nothin’ too crazy. We once ‘stole’ an officer’s wheelbarrow — and I say stole ’cause we only hid it round the back of his neighbour’s house. He caught us pretty quick, though.” laughs

Interviewer: When did music first enter the picture for you? Was there a particular artist, song or moment where you thought, yeah, I want to do this?

Wyatt: “Yeah, my mom loved country, and honestly, everybody where I’m from loves music. Hell, Nashville’s only about 50 miles away, so it’s pretty hard to miss country altogether. But growing up, I listened to all kinds of stuff. I’m 39 now, so I guess I really started discoverin’ music in the ’90s, and it just went from there.”

Interviewer: So around 2000, you’re about 13 years old, discovering all these different sounds. What was getting played through Wyatt’s headphones back then?

Wyatt: “Oh man, tough one… probably a lot of nu metal around that time. Korn, Deftones… wait, that was probably a little earlier, wasn’t it? Papa Roach and all that stuff too. I was all over the place with music back then.”

Interviewer: That’s quite a jump from what people might expect from a country artist. Did any of that heavier stuff actually influence the way you eventually approached your own music?

Wyatt: “Nah, not really. A lot of that was just angsty teenage stuff. I tell stories, like most country artists do, and we tend to live the songs. I do, anyway. If I’m gonna sing about somethin’, I wanna know what it feels like.”

Interviewer: Most of your songs come from your own experiences, then. Was there a particular point in your life when you realised you had enough stories to actually start turning them into songs?

Wyatt: “Usually I’ve got an idea. If it hasn’t actually happened to me, I’ll make up a situation in my head and work out how I’d feel if I was in it. It’s worked pretty damn well so far.”

Interviewer: So you’re basically putting yourself into somebody else’s shoes and seeing where the story takes you. Is there a particular emotion you find yourself coming back to when you write?

Wyatt: “Always heartbreak. All the best country singers have had their heart broken at some point. You need a little heartbreak in you if you’re gonna write country songs properly.”

Interviewer: So heartbreak is basically part of the job description? Have you always been the sort of person who turns what’s going on in your life into a song, or did that come later?

Wyatt: “Always, really. Even as a kid, I was writing things down — mostly poems at first, then lyrics without any music behind ’em. I didn’t even learn to play guitar until I was 30, so for a long time I was just writing the words and figuring the music out later.”

Interviewer: What made you finally pick up a guitar at 30?

Wyatt: “I had songs in me. I’d lived in the shadow of Nashville my whole life, but I’d spent years working dead-end jobs, just paying the bills. Then in 2017, I’d had enough. My girlfriend had left me and taken the dog, and I guess something in me just clicked into place. I’d always been a killer karaoke singer, but the stuff I’d written? That had stayed private. Only a few people I’d been with over the years had ever heard any of it.”

Interviewer: And what happened next?

Wyatt: “If I was at home, I practised. Nothin’ spectacular, really — I guess it’s the same old story. Open mic nights, people start noticing you, you pick up a bit of a following on social media, and you just keep goin’. There wasn’t one big Hollywood moment. It was just little things adding up.”

Interviewer: Was that first step onto a stage terrifying?

Wyatt: “Yeah, emotionally, it was heart-wrenching, but the showman in me wasn’t a problem. I ain’t shy. Gettin’ up there and performing has always felt pretty natural to me.”

Interviewer: When did you first feel like you had something?

Wyatt: “No, I still don’t. Hahaha. I’m just a guy writing songs. I know that’s a cheesy-ass answer, but it’s true.”

Interviewer: Fair enough. I think we’ll leave the self-promotion to somebody else then. laughs When did you start feeling like you’d found your own sound?

Wyatt: “About three months ago. I released ‘When I’m Drunk’ two years ago, and then Roman picked it up and danced it up. I’d had a few songs lined up ready to go, even had an EP called Red Flags about to drop, and I stopped it. It felt off.

“Then I was goin’ through this weird ’70s/’80s phase and listening to a lot of Midland. I spoke to Cameron Duddy, and he’s been a great influence and help. His knowledge is impeccable. He’s worked with so many artists. The fact that I call him buddy is insane to me.”

Wyatt: “I had a fuckin’ album, man. About 15 songs, and I just put the whole thing in the trash.”

Interviewer: So you've thrown away a 15-song album and completely changed direction. What can you tell us about the new album?

Wyatt: “It feels like me now. That's the best way I can put it. It's still country, still got the stories and the heartbreak and all that good shit, but there's a lot more of that ’70s and ’80s flavour in there. Big guitars, big hooks, a little bit of that old-school country glamour. I don't want it to sound like I'm pretending it's 1978, though. It's gotta feel like now, just with a little more character.

“I've also tried not to overthink it. I'm writing songs I actually wanna sing. If I can sit down with a guitar and still enjoy playing the damn thing six months later, then I know

Interviewer: I get it.  You wanted to try and stand out?  I guess like most artists in that can be tricky.

Wyatt: “Yeah, It just felt like everyone else. I know people bust country’s balls — ‘it’s all the same shit’ and all that — and I get it. It’s an oversaturated market, and guys like me, we’re a dime a dozen. You only gotta go to Nashville to see it.

“But I count my blessings every damn day that I got picked up, that I get to tour and actually do this shit for a living. The way this company works is they do a lot of showcases, so we’ll usually be on a bill with maybe four other artists, and we’ll all do about five songs each. It’s cool ’cause I’ve got a lot of songs, but some of ’em still need work. It gives me a chance to play ’em live and figure out what’s workin’ and what ain’t.

“There are other guys on those bills doin’ the same thing, i've been luck enough to work with Cameron so my songs are coming along nicely.

Interviewer: It sounds like SR3 gives you a pretty unique way of developing your songs — you’re not just locked away in a studio, you’re getting them in front of people and seeing what happens. Has that changed the way you write or approach a song?

Wyatt: “Yeah, probably. But crowds are different. In Nashville, you gotta work your ass off to really get a reaction, and I learned that pretty quick. You gotta be tight. The tours are different because there are a lot of fans there, and they know what they’re comin’ for.

“People consume music differently these days, too. Most people only know what social media puts in front of ’em. Very few people actually sit down and listen to a whole album. I honestly think more artists and record companies are gonna start workin’ around that eventually.”

Interviewer: Do you enjoy that live side of it?

Wyatt: “Of course. The fans are great, but gettin’ somebody who didn’t know my music to listen and then gettin’ them into it — that’s a pretty damn good feeling.”

Interviewer: So winning somebody over is part of the fun?

Wyatt: “Oh God, yeah. That’s my ego — boom!” laughs and mimes his head exploding.

Interviewer: Has success changed you?

Wyatt: “Nah, I’m pretty much the same guy. Just with a few more trust issues.” laughs

Interviewer: What’s been the biggest surprise about doing music professionally?

Wyatt: “Oooh, tough one. I know people are gonna hate me for this, but it’s hard work. A lot harder than people think. Writing when you can is one thing, but having a deadline hanging over you sometimes just kills it. Ben and Fi are fine, but I’ve worked with a few people before who were like that. I think that’s probably why the album and the EP got thrown away. When I moved to SR3, they basically just said, ‘Do your thing.’”

Interviewer: So you write better without the pressure of a deadline?

Wyatt: “Two hundred percent. No question.”

Interviewer: Looking back at everything you’ve done so far — is there anything you’d genuinely do differently?

Wyatt: “Nah, even the Tessa stuff got me to where I am, so I probably wouldn’t change any of it.”

Interviewer: “And maybe that’s the best way to look at it. Every experience, good or bad, has played a part in getting you here. Wyatt, thanks for sitting down with us — it’s been a real pleasure, and we’re looking forward to seeing where the music takes you next.”

Wyatt: “Thank you. Hope I ain’t been too boring. I don’t really do much, to be honest.” laughs