Laurie: Do you ever have it where you hear a song and you think "Oh, that's mine, I've gotta have that song?"
Bryan: Oh, yeah, absolutely. There have been many times where that has happened. I remember there was a song called "That's Another Song." It was a Top 10 for me. It was the first song I listened to for my second album. We all looked at each other, and we were all blown away. It hung in there for the whole 3 month listening period and writing songs and it stood the test of time, and it still held it's ground. It's amazing, it was the first song we listened to and it was the last song on the record and it was a Top 10 record.
Laurie: It's about you knowing your audience, and you loving a song, but the way you can bring that to us. You have the ability to bring that song to us and make us love it too.
Bryan: Sometimes it can be a little tough. Your producer might say that's a little too artsy, or I don't know if that's going to work on radio. But, if you are real adamant about it, you've gotta fight for what you believe.
Laurie: Well so far you've put up a heck of a good fight. That song was just beautiful, I loved it.
Bryan: Thank you
Laurie: If you could pick a song writer, who would it be and why did you choose them?
Bryan: I don't know if she co-writes, but, if she ever decided too I would love to work with Diane Warren. That would be really neat. I would love to work with her. She's a great song writer and she can put out one great song after another. She is somebody I'd love to work with. She has a real sense of what people want to hear. Melodically they are easy to wrap your mind around but they are still different at the same time. I think she is just one of the exceptional writers out there.
Laurie: Fans have come to expect a single and it's video to be released simultaneously. How will this affect the way you release your singles?
Bryan: It's always been complimented the success of a single. I think it's definitely a plus to have them release together. It's better than the alternative. You've got a visual and it adds to the energy of the song. Honestly, sometimes I've heard a song on the radio before and not really connected with it as well, but then I saw the video, and saw their own interpretation of the lyric in the video, and for whatever reason at that point I connected with the song a little better. I think it brings to light the depth of what they are trying to say, if they do it well. I think videos are definitely a good thing and it's good if they are released at the same time.
Laurie: It seems like songs released that way had a little quicker success that way.
Bryan: Well there were a couple of singles that I've released that we didn't do a video on, and I still had a No. 1 record on, so it's weird. There is no formula or anything. I think it's all instinctive with the fans.
Laurie: I look at my kids, and it seems like they are more drawn in when they have that video. Fans in their mid 20's are more geared toward the video era. That audience really seems to be getting a huge.
Bryan: I think that is one of the fun parts of the industry. I have heard people say how bad they hate the videos, because you act like you are singing but you're not really singing. For me it's always been fun. You get to go and have fun for the day, it's like having a day off. The rest is all in editing. I've always enjoyed videos and having fun.
Laurie: I think that it shows in the final product.
Bryan: I think there are some people that just don't feel comfortable in front of the camera. That could sometimes hurt an artist. It depends on what kind of an artist you are. If you are Don Williams they don't expect cartwheels and a big flashy video. As an artist it can help paint a picture of who they are and compliment that as well.
Laurie: Have you ever considered writing a treatment to one of your singles? If so, which one, and why?
Bryan: I have. The closest I got to writing a treatment one time was for the single I released called "How Long" off the Greatest Hits album. The single was not a high charting single, but I really had a lot of fun making the record and shooting the video. That was the one I got to have a lot of input in and threw the idea at the director, and she actually liked it, and so we went with it. I had this idea sort of doing some flash back stuff where I'm walking down this hallway and I'm opening all these different doors, and I'm seeing as far back as me being 12 years old, my first video, my first award to different defining moments in my career. It was kind of a reflective video. There were live shots of the band and they actually liked that so much that they built a set with a huge corridor with all these doors that said past, present and future on them.
I would love to get more in-depth in the treatment writing because I'm not afraid now if people say that's a terrible idea. I feel good now to at least throw my input out there and if it doesn't work, at least I'm confident enough with myself to say, well cool, let's try something else.
Laurie: Not only do you have the music, lyrics and all the other parts that you make yours, you would have the visual to go along with the entire vision of the song. To me it would complete the whole process.
Bryan: Exactly, I don't think I would ever want to direct or produce anything like that. The farthest I would go is to be involved in the treatment.
Laurie: You will have to let us know if you are planning on that, it would be awesome. We would definitely look forward to that.
Laurie: Let's talk now about your new album. You have such a variety of styles on here. It is just awesome.
Bryan: Well, thanks.
