Sailing the High Winds with Ruston Kelly

Ruston Kelly will hit the stage for a solo performance at 3S Artspace on Saturday, April 13, as part of his “Too Chill to Kill” tour. The Rodeo caught up with the singer/songwriter to ask him a few questions and learn a few things about growing up consuming the likes of John Prine and Chris Carrabba.

Granite Rodeo: Let’s talk about your latest LP, “The Weakness”? What were your goals for this record? What have you learned from past studio experiences that may have helped inform your approach to this effort?

Kelly: I wanted to try something new completely. Process-wise, production-wise. I needed to do that to shake off any tendency to recreate an old habit…I think I want to constantly evolve and create from where I am now. I think the previous records gave me just outright experience in the studio, so I knew my way around it to better accentuate going in a “new” direction. Honestly my main goals were to put my creativity to the test, to work with new people, and to bring artists I’m fans of that aren’t necessarily in my “genre” to me. All of the above happened, which is awesome.

Granite Rodeo: What do you appreciate about songwriting? Is it an easy or arduous process for you? Are you a “fly by the seat of your pants” type of scribe, or do you need to actively schedule “office hours” to put pen to paper?

Kelly: I am both. My favorite songs come out majorly at once so there is little editing beyond “that’s just right.” Other songs that are very important to me, require a different process and that’s ok to. Ultimately songwriting is the vessel to better understand yourself in the world and reality of emotions you live in. It is freedom in action.

Granite Rodeo: You’ve written tunes for a number of different people. Do you write for their specific sound in mind, or are they just songs you’ve had lying around that didn’t fit what you get up to?

Kelly: More the latter, but really those songs came to be recorded by other artists because I was a staff writer at BMG for a long time. I just wrote the way I write and the co-writers who were more familiar with pitching songs to artists would shape in that direction.

Granite Rodeo: Is there a favorite of the songs you’ve written for other folks that surprised you with regard to its delivery/ feeling?

Kelly: “Nashville Without You” that Tim McGraw recorded will always be special to me. I wouldn’t say I was surprised with how it sounded but it was my first cut, and I was taken aback at the process from creating it to hearing it fully produced and essentially ready for the radio.

Granite Rodeo: I really appreciate the lyric, “…have faith, there’s no storm that doesn’t pass…” from your tune, “Mending Song.” Those feel like important words to live by. How have you found solace in that very message?

Kelly: You have to learn to sail in high winds. You can’t refuse the current of things. And when it gets hardest, that is a dead giveaway you are closer than you ever have been before. It’s applicable to really any life experience that requires the most of you.

Granite Rodeo: What’s the difference between John Prine and Chris Carrabba? How have both inspired your own musical journey?

Kelly: I would say the difference is just generation and timing. And obviously, style. But they’re just two songwriters, honestly and beautifully expressing themselves in voice and lyrics that hit home for me in different ways. I listened to both growing up; they were always playing in my house and seemed to formulate a sense of the emotional bar I wanted to reach when I wrote my own songs.

Granite Rodeo: In general, why music? Why do you seek it? why do you create it?

Kelly: I just always have. It’s always been there. It is my way of uncovering the parts of myself I need to see clearer and understand better.

Granite Rodeo: You’re an artist who explores both a solo/acoustic arrangement and a full band/sonically charged sound. Do you prefer one approach over the other?

Kelly: Not really. It just depends on my vibe at the given time of creating.

Granite Rodeo: You’ll be playing 3S Artspace solo acoustic. What excites you about the gig? Do you feel vulnerable up there when you’re going it alone without your band?

Kelly: I used to perform this way when I was cutting my teeth in bars all across the country, driving myself and my guitar, sleeping in my car to save money, etc., so it’s a return to an original touring form but this time I guess it’s more “official” with a crew and an overall intent of putting on a different type of show. One where the vulnerability is the highlight, and the looseness of it provides a verrrry chill and fun atmosphere. It is also a way to show fans the true building blocks of the records I’ve recorded.

Granite Rodeo: Is it weird to travel around from town to town to play your tunes to rooms full of strangers, or is there a sense of comfort in that type of routine?

Kelly: It’s the most natural thing to me.

Granite Rodeo: What’s a heckling highlight you’ve endured?

Kelly: (Laughs) I mean not much, really, other than the occasional “Freebird.” I am lucky in that it seems my fans are there for the right reasons.

Granite Rodeo: What’s a non-heckling highlight you’ve endured sharing your music with people?

Kelly: Seeing how much some songs like “Brave” or “Belly of the Beast” impact people in that moment. It reminds me of when I would go to concerts and hear my favorite song from a favorite artist. It’s really the whole point in the communion aspect of a live performance.

Granite Rodeo: What can folks expect when they come out to see your show on April 13?

Kelly: They can expect me to be fully myself on stage, lots of crowd interaction and playing some requests if they’re shouted out. I think it’ll be a really great addition to their understanding of me as a live performer.

Visit www.3Sarts.org for further information and to grab tickets to the show!