By Paul Freeman [July 2016 Interview]

Urban legend. From Australian cover band beginnings to platinum records, Grammy Awards, an “American Idol” judging stint and global stardom - the country-rocker is well on his way to legendary status.

Urban’s eighth and latest album, “Ripcord,” has already spawned smash singles like “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16,” “Break On Me” and “Wasted Time.” The songs are featured on his current world tour. Brett Eldredge and Maren Morris join Urban for the excitement.

The New Zealand-born, Australia-raised Urban started playing guitar at age six. Soon he was entering talent competitions and jamming on stage. He studied his father’s extensive country record collection, but was also influenced by such artists as Mark Knopfler, Lindsey Buckingham and John Mellencamp. Urban’s days as a cover band’s guitarist in the late 80s proved valuable.

Urban added songwriting to his guitar and singing skills and, displaying an irresistible mix of charm, charisma and electrifying performances, achieved stardom Down Under. He moved to Nashville in 1992. There were years of struggle. But by 2001, he was reeling off number one hits, like “But For The Grace of God,” “Days Go By” and “You Gonna Fly.” He gracefully crossed over from country to pop charts.

For a time, he grappled with drugs and alcohol, but ultimately emerged from those battles stronger. He and his wife, Academy Award-winning actress Nicole Kidman, have two daughters - Sunday Rose and Faith Margaret, ages eight and five.

Four years as a judge on “American Idol” broadened Urban’s fame.

With “Ripcord,” working with a varied array of co-producers, including Nile Rodgers, he takes his genre-busting to a new level. He plays not only his Stratocaster, but the Ganjo, a six-string guitar/banjo hybrid. His guests include not only Carrie Underwood, but Latin rapper Pitbull.

He finds many ways to share the joy that music has brought him. Through Home Shopping Network, Urban sells custom guitar/instructional DVD packages. A portion of the proceeds goes to organizations like Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation.

POP CULTURE CLASSICS:
What do you most want the audience takeaway to be from one of your live shows?

KEITH URBAN:
Well, hopefully just a great night. I mean, every tour is about the same thing - making the connection. Everybody seems to know the words to every song. And we have a B-stage set up in the lawn and we go out there and do a few songs out there. We do that out there with just a straight-up three-piece band - bass, drums and guitar only. Because I played so many years as a three-piece band, in clubs, I wanted to have a moment in the show where we take it right back into those roots. And so we do a handful of songs out there as a straight-up three-piece. And the reaction, on the whole, has been pretty awesome on this tour. So I’m really happy that these songs have been connecting the way they are and the record is getting the response that it is. I’m looking forward to everyone getting a chance to see it.

PCC:
For you, what’s the rush like, that you get on stage?

URBAN:
It’s phenomenal. I was just talking today about how this particular tour is so enjoyable for me and I think it’s because it’s the combination of now having the diverse array of songs and most everybody seems to know everything. And this record, it plays really great live. The record’s a really great live set list to play. We do maybe half a dozen songs off the album. And yeah, it’s just been a blast.

PCC:
Merging a number of musical styles, is that less of a decision and more of natural display of your eclectic tastes?

URBAN:
Yeah, yeah, exactly. I like to just get in there and create, write songs, make records and respond to things that happen in the studio and just sort of follow the muse. This record, more than anything, has been about not second-guessing anything, just trying things in the studio, things like the song with Pitbull, the duet with Carrie Underwood, working with the different producers I did - all these things were just ideas that came to me. And I didn’t second-guess. I just acted on them. It was a really exhilarating record to make, because of that.

PCC:
Some artists, once they’ve had great success, like to play it safe. You take risks. Is that just your nature?

URBAN:
I don’t even think of them as risks. I think I’m just curious. I’m curious about music and song form, record-making, all of it, playing live, singing, guitar-playing. Every aspect of what I get to do has no point, when you’ve made it [chuckles]. And the way that I look at it, I look at all those things as works in progress. Every single thing I get to do, I can improve on, If I’m hungry and curious and passionate. And fortunately, I am all those things.

PCC:
“Ripcord” is a great album and a great title. The word signifies something that can save your life. What have been the great life-savers for you over the years?

URBAN:
Well, music for sure. There’s no question. It has been that for me. The relationship with the audience over the years, which as really grown, too, in so many ways. My connection with the audience feels like a long conversation that we’ve been having from album to album and tour to tour. So this is now the latest incarnation of that conversation.

PCC:
Songs like “Gone Tomorrow” and “Waste of Time” touch on being in the moment, Have you always been conscious of keeping priorities straight and being present in the moment?

URBAN:
Conscious of the concept of time, I think. That’s always been something that’s interested me, because we’ve only got now. I try to be much more present and in the moment than I’ve ever been. I mean, there was a time when I would sing about, more than be able to actually be that guy. But I’ve always been drawn to that theme and that subject, really ever since songs like “Days Go By” and some of those earlier hits we’ve had. They touch upon the same kind of thing, of being present. And I realize that’s what I love about playing live is, you’re so present. Everybody is connected. Everybody’s there. And truly, even if you’re on your phone [laughs], like everybody is at concerts, with filming and tweeting live what’s happening or people FaceTiming with people. It’s still a sense of connectedness between everybody. And everybody’s extremely there, in the moment. So I love it.

PCC:
Who were the artists who inspired you, when you were a kid, that gave you that sort of feeling when you watched them perform?

URBAN:
So many over the years, for different reasons. I mean, John Mellencamp, I would cite as one of the most influential concerts that I got to see back in the day. That was really a transforming concert for me, because he had just done the “Lonesome Jubilee” album and he was the first guy, I think, for me, that really blended all those things, sort of rock and pop and soul and country. Everything was kind of blended into that kind of rural rock thing he did. And the way he performed live, it was extraordinary. So he was definitely an early influence.

PCC:
As a young kid, growing up in Australia, did you dream of becoming a Nashville star or did that seem too far-fetched?

URBAN:
I started playing guitar at six and performing live pretty much straight away, in talent quests and different sort of things, on different sorts of stages, sitting in with bands or whatever. So it just felt very natural to me. I never thought about it. It felt just very much like, this is my life. This is what I do. I never thought, “I’m going to make a career out of music.” Or “I’m going to do this or that.” It just evolved so naturally to me.

PCC:
The great music talents and the showmanship, how much of that do you think was inherent in you and how much was just hard work, honing the skills you were born with?

URBAN:
I think a pretty good mix. My Dad was more the introvert, but very artistic, very musical. My Mom was a little more of an extrovert, very social, would chat to anybody, a really outgoing personality. So I guess I’m a mix of both of them. But also just watching people over the years, going to tons of concert, watching lots of artists live. And I was actually in a cover band for a long time with this guy. I was in this band, but I wasn’t the front man. The front man was just this phenomenal entertainer, knew exactly how to read a crowd, how to put a set list together, how to handle hecklers, how to make quarterback calls to a setlist, if it wasn’t working in the moment. He was just so good at it. And I really am grateful for that band and that period of time, too. That was the late 80s, that I got to do that.

PCC:
The love song “The Fighter,” on the new album, did that grow out of your relationship with your wife?

URBAN:
Well, I mean, yeah, there are aspects to that song that come from that, for sure. Yeah. I’ve also always been a sucker for pop melodies, hooks [laughs] and that sort of thing, so the song came quite quickly.

PCC:
You’ve said that meeting your wife was the beginning of your life - how did it change your outlook and approach to life?

URBAN:
I’ve talked to plenty of people who have gotten married, where it does that. It should. I think marriage should change your life. And it certainly did mine. Having children changed my life. And each thing that’s happened in my life like that, that’s been a real shift in the way that I’m in the world. But that’s not an uncommon thing at all. I just feel very grateful to have found my wife. And plenty of men feel that way.

PCC:
She has a beautiful voice, as well… any thoughts of collaborating on a music project?

URBAN:
[Chuckles] No. She acts and I sing. And I think that’s how we pretty much stay.

PCC:
You went through tough times earlier in your life, do you think those were important in terms of making you that much more appreciative of what you have now?

URBAN:
Yeah, for sure. I think anybody’s who’s gone through those times feels that way - it’s the contrast. And I’ve certainly had my share.

PCC:
What was the most dramatic lasting effect your time on “American Idol” had on you?

URBAN:
I loved that I got to see part of that phenomenon. It’s really a pop culture phenomenon. And to be able to do four seasons on that show was a blast. I loved being part of that ensemble with Ryan and Harry and Jennifer. It was such a family vibe. It’s really rare that you get to work with people that you genuinely get along really, really well with. And the four of us got along effortlessly. It was a genuinely fun, easy, cool gig, really. Getting to be in people’s living rooms every week was great, because it’s another way people get to know you. People get to know you through your music or your video or hearing you on radio or coming to see you on tour. But they get to see another side of you in that way, through a show like “Idol.” The mix of all of that, getting to discover raw talent, give them a shot, it was a real dream gig for me. I loved it.

PCC:
With your participation on “Idol” and the Australian version of “The Voice,” plus your guitar line providing donations to organizations like Mr Holland’s Opus Foundation, do you get great satisfaction from helping people to find their own joy in participating in making music?

URBAN:
Oh, yeah. I read a thing yesterday, wherever I was [laughs]. Said words to the effect that a person’s happiness is directly proportionate to how happy they make others. And I really believe that to be true. I feel fortunate that I’ve been able to get into a position where I can help all kinds of people, particularly in light of the music education programs that are being done away with at schools. And so, places like Mr. Holland’s Opus and W.O. Smith School in Nashville, various music places that exist so that kids can take that path, if they’re musically inclined. I wasn’t a sports kid. I wasn’t really academic. Music was my thing. And so, the whole HSN guitar line, getting guitars into people’s hands, making them affordable, and then giving back to the various music education programs - it’s a real blessing to me.

PCC:
Even if your daughters don’t go into performing, do you want to make sure that music plays an important role in their lives?

URBAN:
We just want to support whatever their passion is. That’s really it. They’re only eight and five, so they’re still finding their way right now.

PCC:
But do you think music is important to kids in general, in terms of helping their development?

URBAN:
Sure, yeah. I mean, it’s got a huge amount of benefits. But, at the same time, if a kid is just not interested in playing piano or learning an instrument, I’m not a big supporter of pushing anything like that. We tend to know what we’re interested in and sometimes you can be gently eased in one direction, because you sense that, “Okay, this kid actually has musical ability. He just is a little undisciplined or doesn’t want to do this or that.” That’s a different thing. But there’s some kids, they’re just not interested, it’s not their passion. They have other things. And I more concerned with making it available to the kids that are seeking it out and it’s not available, kids that are in schools where there’s no instruments and no music classes. Those are the kids I’m interested in.

PCC:
When you’re creating music, are you thinking, not only is this going to hit, but is it going to touch people in a timeless way?

URBAN:
I really don’t think, when I’m doing that. On the best days, you’re just portaling. You’re just sort of vesseling creativity of some sort. A lot of the times, I write and just have no idea… a song like “Waste of Time,” it wasn’t a conscious thing to sit down and write a song about that. Those words and that sort of sentiment started to come out of the music. And I always believe that the music is trying to a story. The music is trying to say something. And then the story sort of comes from the music… certainly for me, that’s mostly how I write. I write usually from the music outwards. Music comes first. Melody comes. Words start to form. A theme and a feeling and a sentiment starts to come. And we’re off and running. But, as far as writing a hit song, I don’t think anybody knows how to do that. If someone knew how to do it, they’d do it every day [laughs]. I’d be writing one every day.

PCC:
The process, does it tend to be joyous or painstaking?

URBAN:
Any of the above. I mean, it’s alchemy, to a large degree, too, You’re just creating something and who knows what it is? Sometimes you get a feeling. You must have it with writing, when you start to hit upon something and it’s flowing and you go, “Okay, this feels like something now. This has got something in it.” But it’s greater than you. It’s just something you’ve tapped into at that particular time. If you try and tap into it another time, it may not be there. It’s obviously coming from somewhere else, through us. We’ve just got to be ready and prepared to stay the course with it, I think.

PCC:
And that being the case, have you found ways to coax the muse a little bit?

URBAN:
I think staying loose is always good. For me, it’s all flowing. It’s got to flow. And certainly in the studio, I find sometimes it feels like we’re wasting a lot of time looking at stupid stuff on YouTube or cutting up and telling jokes or whatever we’re doing. But really that’s all part of the process, keeping everything buoyant and loose and flowing, so everything doesn’t get too heavy and serious. Because you definitely have those times in the studio where it’s intense focus, intense discipline, calm, staying the course, shoulder to the wheel. But you can only do that so long and then you’ve got to loosen it up again, so everything keeps flowing. I’ve found that I’ve created things, that, if I’d been too disciplined and all this sort of stuff, they lack something in the end. They’re all in the head. There’s nothing in the heart.

PCC:
But do you know when you’ve finished a song, whether it’s going to resonate with the audience? Or do you have to wait for their actual reaction?

URBAN:
Certain songs have a spirit about them. I know with “Waste of Time,” I felt like, when we had the music and we had the melody, with really no lyric, it felt like it had a really good spirit to it, very joyous, very celebratory feeling. And that felt like we had something special, as long as we didn’t mess it up [laughs]. Some songs they don’t require Dylan poetry. They just want something really, really simple - simple phrases, simple vowels, simple consonants, simple lyrics, simple imagery, because the strength of the song is really in the music and it’s in the melody. That song for me, “Wasted Time,” is one of those songs that needed to breathe. It didn’t need to read like literary. It just needed to flow, so people could all sing along with it. That one definitely felt like that, as we were writing it.

PCC:
You’ve accomplished so much, any as yet unfulfilled goals, dreams?

URBAN:
Always. Yeah. Absolutely. I’m already thinking about the next record, even though we’ve just put this one out. It may be a couple years or who knows when, but I’m already thinking about it. Obviously we’re touring right now, so every night I’m tinkering with things a little bit - the set list, the performance. It’s always create. All we do is create. That’s all human begins do is create. Even if it’s just saying what we’re going to eat for lunch, we’re constantly thinking of ideas. So, as a musician, there’s no end game, it’s just constant evolution.

PCC:
At this point, for you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of the life in music?

URBAN:
I think it’s a combination of when a song comes, it’s the most extraordinary feeling, when a song comes. When a song gets captured in the studio, when the magic is caught and they’re recorded - that’s an amazing feeling. It’s like lightning in a bottle. Actually it’s more like catching a dream in a bottle, so you can show it to people the next day… and there it is. And then coming out and playing live, feeling that connection, a bunch of people you’ve never met, singing along with songs that you wrote. It’s all pretty magical. And for someone like me, who spent umpteen years traveling around in a van and playing to single-digit audiences, four, five people coming out sometimes. Sometimes none. I was just reading through a diary I have from 1997 and I’m talking in there about gigs that we’re playing and there’s a couple of gigs where I just said, “Nobody came.” Literally, not one person showed up. So to come from that to be calling you from my tour bus, backstage at Voss Music Center in Cleveland, is astounding. And none of it’s lost on me.

PCC:
What was it that kept you going, at points like those gigs were no one was there to listen? Did you just maintain faith that it would happen someday, if you just stayed with it?

URBAN:
Yeah, you just roll with it, you know? Roll with it. And go on to the next thing. On to the next thing. Not to say it’s easy. But if you’re playing music for a living, it’s just like, if you write, if you didn’t get to do it for a living, you’d still write. It’s your passion. Music’s my passion. I’d be trying to sell a CD at the back of my car [laughs], if that was the only way people would get to hear my music. It’s no different. I just feel really blessed that I’ve been able to get to where I am.

PCC:
It also must be gratifying at this point to hear emerging artists mention you as one of their inspirations for getting into music. I talked to Chris Lane a couple of weeks ago and he said it was watching you perform that led him to pick up a guitar in the first place.

URBAN:
It is beautiful, yeah. And then Chris will hear that about him in the years to come. It just goes on and on. Part of a long line of tribal influences that we’ve all had and will have over the years.

For the latest news and tour dates, visit www.keithurban.net.