As a country artiste Steve Wariner's credentials go
back almost 40 years, when he started playing bass in his
father's country band at the age of 10 years. While in his
teens, Steve sang with several bands and while holding a
residency at a club near Indianapolis, the Star of the show
Dottie West caught his performance and came on stage early
to harmonise with him. After that Steve played bass in Dottie's
band at the age of 17. Five years later Steve Wariner was
playing for Bob Luman and Luman recorded several of Wariner's
songs. A further two years on, Steve was playing with Chet
Atkins, who took him to RCA Records as a solo performer
in 1977.
Steve Wariner has had a bevy of hits with his first
#1 being 'All Roads Lead To You'. In 1998Steve Wariner received
awards from both CMA and ACM for Single Of The Year and
CMA Song Of The Year for 'Holes In The Floor OF Heaven',
which he co-wrote with Billy Kirsch. Burning The Roadhouse
Down, the album that "Holes" came from went Gold,
as did the follow-up Two Teardrops, with Steve co-writing
the title track with his Opry buddy "Whispering"
Bill Anderson. The following year Wariner was also nominated
for CMA Male Vocalist Of The Year, but saw it go to Tim
McGraw.
On 11 may 1996 Wariner was made a member of the Grand
Ole Opry and while I was visiting Nashville in March 2002,
I was invited backstage at the Opry where I met Steve Wariner,
who was the Star of the Friday night performance. Though
he was anxious to leave after his performance, Steve was
gracious enough to agree to an interview with me and invited
me into the dressing room that once belonged to Roy Acuff.
GL: Thanks for finding some time to talk to me Steve. You
have many fans in the UK who have been listening to your
music for quite some time. What are you doing at present?
SW: " I'll tell you…I have really backed off the touring
and I'm going to stay pretty much close to home and just
do the songwriting just now. Producing a little bit, but
mainly the songwriting and doing the Opry quite a bit, but
staying close to Nashville. After twenty-something years
on road, it really feels good to spend more time with the
family and stay closer to home."
GL: Is this the reason that you've cut down on the touring?
SW: "Yes it is…it really is! You know my children are
grown almost and I look back at all those years that I was
gone; it is so nice to be around now and spend a lot of
time with them. We've built a new studio this past year
and I've spent a lot of hours in there. I love that songwriting
and working in the studio."
GL: Are you working with any particular recording artistes?
SW: "No, not really! I've working a little bit with
Brian White. I've just written a new song that Brian is
going to be doing. I'm going to be playing on it in a couple
of weeks. I sang with Kenny Rogers the other day on a song
that he is recording that I wrote with Billy Kirsch, 'I'm
Missing You'. Actually that is so much fun me…writing and
then seeing who will make some response and be interested
in it. My wife Karen runs our publishing business, so it
is really a family thing."
GL: Are we going to see a new album from you in the near
future?
SW: "That's a good question that I'm asked quite a
bit. At the moment I don't have any plans. I've been on
a sort of self-imposed hiatus from Capital Records for I
guess for a year now, so it feels good to kind of step away
for a while. I made three albums at Capitol…I believe it
was three albums in three years. I did a lot in a short
period of time, so it feels good to kind of step back."
GL: What is happening with your songwriting at the moment?
SW: "I'm writing quite a bit with a few writers…Bill
Anderson was in a few moments ago. We write a lot together
and I write with a guy called Billy Kirsch…we wrote 'Holes
In The Floor Of Heaven ' together. I write with Allen Shamblin…'Where
The Blacktop Ends' (Keith Urban 2001). I've got a circle
of friends that love to write with. I write some by myself
too, but I like to co-write with people who I'm comfortable
with."
GL: You have just mentioned 'Holes In The Floor In Heaven'.
It became very popular and you performed it on the CMA awards.
SW: "Yes! That was a big song and I'm very grateful
for that and it really kind of brought a renaissance for
me. I'd kinda been away for a while. Then again…I always
tell young people…young artistes…that the songwriting is
what can bring you back. A one hit song can turn things
around for anybody."
GL: Was there anything autobiographical about that song?
SW: "Not that much. The first verse…I had a lot of
visions of my grandmother who had passed about 4-5 years
prior writing that song. I was very close to her…she was
the only grandparent that I knew. For my part of it…perhaps
Billy Kirsch will have his own viewpoint. But for my viewpoint,
that first verse is kind of my reflections on my grandmother.
But we took a lot of liberties to kind of make up a lot
of stuff and make it fictional."
GL: It worked and it was a very good song.
SW: "Thank you!"
GL: I know that you have to go, so I'd just like to thank
you for your time, I much appreciate you taking the time
to talk to me.
