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Teddy
Glenn: The
King of
Crock
You've been singing, writing, and playing for a long time, but have never done an album before. What took you so long ?
I moved to Nashville in 1988. I'd been playing since I was 9 years old. I'd spent years playing around Oklahoma. Shawnee, Tecumseh, Oklahoma City.... When I got to Nashville, I got lost. The town distracted me; it made me think I wanted to be a Nashville song writer. I wrote some pretty good songs, but I wasn't proud of 'em. Now I'm back to being what I am. I'm proud of these new songs. I feel good doing 'em.
Sounds like a learning experience.
Yeah, I wouldn't trade these 10 years for anything. They taught me what I don't want to be and what I am.
How did you wind up on Wild Oats Records ?
They knew I was working on a CD and came to me and asked if I'd be interested in having them put it out. The majors all seem more interested in putting out cookie-cutter music. Money is great, but I want people to believe in what I'm doing. And with a major, you can sell 100,000 copies and still lose money, which doesn't make sense. Wild Oats cares about me and believes in my songs.
I know it's hard, but how would you describe your music ?
I call it Crock
---it's a mixture of country and rock.
I'm
the King of Crock, and I challenge anybody to knock me off my throne.
(Laughs.) Crock
is influenced by Southern rock, too. It's balls-to-the-wall country
rock that nobody's
playing right now. But there's a massive audience for it.
Who would you say are your major influences ?
There've been a lot of them. For songwriting, Lennon & McCartney, Dan Folgelberg, Don Henley & Glenn Frey.... For singing, pretty much the same people. Robert Plant. I like singers with unique voices. Led Zeppelin made me want to really play guitar, and Lynyrd Skynyrd's Gary Rossington and Allen Collins influenced my playing a lot.
Tell me a little about your debut CD.
I don't
like the word debut. I'm 41 years old, and I've
played every fuckin' dive in Oklahoma,played clubs here in
Nashville,done
some sessions,and played probably a thousand writers'nights,
so it's a little late for me to debut anything.
The CD will be
out this summer. It'll be called King
Of Crock.
All original songs ?
Yeah. There's probably 10 songs. I'm looking for quality, not quantity. It'll be an honest record,nothing tuned by computer. Just true Crock. Amps and guitars, set up and play---boom---and go home.
You mentioned
that you're not trying to be a "Nashville songwriter" anymore. How
does that
affect your new songs?
They come from
my heart. I
live all this shit. I live songs.
I
don't always like to, but I do.
I'm not writing what people tell me or want me to. They're honest songs,
and I hope they'll affect people. I feel good
when a song affects
someone, positive or negative... even if they hate it.
Thanks for the interview, and good luck with King Of Crock.