Brantley Gilbert Happy to 'Stay Outside the Box' in His Music

Brantley Gilbert might be a husband and father now, but he still has a wild side. The Georgia [...]

Brantley Gilbert might be a husband and father now, but he still has a wild side. The Georgia native promises he will write about much more than his family life, even though the rowdier days might be a distant memory.

"We'll always have to dip back and do some reminiscing," Gilbert insists. "That's a big part of my life now too, knowing how much it's changed and looking back on good times from back then and good times to now. But I feel like you have to go back in time on a record because the things you learn back then are a big part of who you are now. And I don't mind taking a few steps back and kind of retracing the steps a little bit with each record. There's always going to be that rowdy factor on my records. I'm a rowdy dude so it's gonna have a little bit of that."

Still, Gilbert is happy with his wife, Amber, and son Barrett, and that satisfaction is bound to comeout in his music.

"As a writer, I'm just trying to write the best songs for the best story right now, but also having fun as a writer, kind of dancing along the lines of genre and staying outside of the box," says Gilbert. "That's what we've always been comfortable with and that's what always seemed to work the best for us and be the most relatable. So we're on that tip there just rockin that vibe."

Regardless of the subject matter, he 33-year-old, who wrote all the songs on his 2017 The Devil Don't Sleep record, says he can only write about what he knows.

"To be honest, a lot of times a little bit of cheesy gets you in the door, but that's not really my route," says Gilbert. "Everything I do I try to make as authentic as possible and you know, something you can touch and feel, and if my lyrics don't do that for you, if they don't paint that picture, if they don't give you that object they can touch, then more than likely that's not a song that needs to go on a record."

Gilbert's desire to be authentic means covering every subject matter, including the reason why his life is a lot tamer than it used to be, thanks to his sobriety.

"My past is something that made me who I am and I know that's an old worn out cliché but it's so true," Gilbert explains. "And I'm proud of my story. There was a time when I was a person that I wasn't so proud of. But I made changes and I'm a fighter and I beat it and I beat it every day. And I don't mind sharing that story."

Gilbert is currently on his The Ones That Like Me Tour. Dates can be found on his website.

Photo Credit: Instagram/brantleygilbert

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