A Storyteller's Storyteller - An Interview With Erin Enderlin

Erin Enderlin has an old soul. She might have been born a few decades too late for her musical ways. And then again, she just might have been born exactly at the time she was needed- to remind us of all of the incredible emotion and literary prowess that country music can have when possessed in the hands of a master storyteller. 

Enderlin has that knack. Released in 2019, her last full album Faulkner County channeled that empathy into 14 story songs that made it the #1 album of the year for this very site. Add that with the release of the brilliant 2017 project Whiskeytown Crier and a series of four digital EPs in 2019, she has earned her place as one of the go-to writers for traditional country music- as noted by her repeated visits to the Grand Ole Opry stage. Enderlin has penned Alan Jackson’s “Monday Morning Church,” Lee Ann Womack’s “Last Call,” Luke Bryan’s “You Don’t Know Jack,” and a host of other songs for Randy Travis, Reba McEntire, Rodney Crowell, Whisperin’ Bill Anderson, Rhonda Vincent, Joey+Rory, Terri Clark and more. 

And it's that last artist mentioned, Terri Clark, that her most recent project is a collaboration with. This week, she unveiled a new song off an upcoming project that will be out later this year with her musical hero entitled "If There Weren't So Many Damn Songs." It is classic jukebox-neon-sign-divebar classic country music perfection and promises to be a highlight on what will surely be another incredible project later this fall. 

We had an opportunity to sit down with Enderlin and talk about her songwriting, that upcoming project and her country music sensibilities. 

Ken Morton, Jr. - The order of your albums has been strange because I know from talking to you before that Whiskeytown Crier was done prior to I Let Her Talk. So, this is your first project that you’ve done front-to-back outside of your Campfire sessions in quite a while, isn’t it?

Erin Enderlin: It’s true. I hadn’t really thought about that because – and I have recorded Whiskeytown Crier and Faulkner County at the same time pretty much.

KMJ: And so, where does that kind of put you in your artistry and in growth in an artist. Do you think it’s a different place or you still feel like you’re coming at it from the same kind of songwriter place that you did originally?

EE: Well, I think it’s quite a bit different because I mean I recorded – I recorded Whiskeytown Crier and Faulkner County I think almost ten years before they came out or at least ten years before Faulkner County came out.

And so, I had a lot of time to grow and especially playing shows and being out in front of a live audience, which I think is different. And, when I did those other records, I think it was definitely really cool way to do them, but especially Jamey Johnson, he co-produced, so it was like, you know, we should just take the bad songs you have and I don’t want even like talk about radio or commerciality or anything, I just want to record great songs that you want.

And that was definitely great. But I think I have learned more about kind of how records interact with then being able to do the kind of shows you want to do, because you like having certain moments in your shows, you’re like being able to have a variety of moods and different kinds of things like – like, I usually start the show with my song, Caroline, and I love that song and it kind of has like a dramatic build and symphony that I love starting the show off with.

And you start thinking about other kinds of things like my later single, I’d Rather Be Somebody Shot of Whiskey, I love that feel that kind of honkytonk vibe. I just love the feel of it and I love being able to play it live, which I haven’t had a ton of shows, but having getting to do a couple. I did one last weekend in Alabama and it just felt so good to play that song in a live setting.

And I think that’s really changed how I record. I’ve been doing a lot of Facebook live shows over the last year and I played all of these songs. I’ve played and asked for fan feedback about what people thought about the songs and if they would like to see it on a record and different things, which I haven’t done that before, which was interesting.

KMJ: I find that so interesting that the live shows are going to influence it more. You are attracted to the kind of the dark and the sad country songs. And those play a really big role in your live shows however, you know, when most people country artists think, you know, that it’s – it’s lively and all that kind of stuff. But, the intimacy of some of those songs are kind of the key call outs of your live shows.

EE: Yeah. And I do love that and absolutely huge part of what I’m doing and this next song that I’m putting out, [If I’m Not in Hell], is definitely like quintessential Enderlin in that way.

But, I think, you know, I’ve always been attracted in songs like Baby Sister and things like that tune. I’ve also been, you know, playing some more cover songs in my shows like, Me and Bobby McGee, and different things and I love story songs.

I still love like groovy story songs and things, but there is, you know, there’s multiple different tempos and styles and everything else. I’ve also grown a whole lot of guitar player in the last few notes in the fifteen years. And I think I’ve grown as a writer too, because I’ve always written those kinds of songs, I just don’t know that I’ve as often, you know, thought listens one hundred percent one of my best songs.

And you don’t want to record a song through a record if it’s not something that you don’t hundred percent believe in. And I think I’ve been able to, you know, as a writer you sit down and you have an idea you have something you want to do, but then you’re kind of holding it back until you figure out if it’s going to go where you want it to.

And I think I’ve been able to get a little better at hitting that work with that – that vibe of that style.

KMJ: I’ve had an opportunity here the first two songs off of the upcoming project and, you know, while, you know, while different than your – some of the stuff that was on your prior albums, it’s still quintessential country music and you know clearly with you that’s not ever going to change. What can listeners expect for the balance of that album?

EE: I think – well, it’s interesting because I didn’t really think about it beforehand, but I have gotten comment from a couple of friends like my publicist that they thought it was way more commercial than things I’ve done in the past and I didn’t set out to do that, but perhaps I should, you know, maybe kind of some of the work that I put into in live shows and things like that too playing a 100, 120 days a year.

It’s very different the immediate reaction you get to song and the energy in a live room. And for me that’s kind of then a little bit of that polishing process.

But, on this project, I really went on a limb too because I’ve always liked challenging myself and I really wanted to take a leap and record with playing the guitar myself on the record. So, this is the first project that I put out that I actually play guitar on.

And, I think that’s really influenced the sound of it because I have certain styles or tricks that I like to do in the guitar playing with the melody and everything else, but isn’t always captured because obviously we have different players – studio players, they’re amazing and they’re super talented, but it’s not new. And, I think that kind of a different feel.

And I’ve been also been able to work with Megan Jane, who has played a lot with me out on the road as a drummer percussionist and I found that really cool. And I think she really, really gets how I like to play and I don’t always stick to – well, I never stick to timing, you can't put a metronome to what I do. I like to feel it, I like things to move in a certain way and she really gets that, so that’s been cool playing.

And then, I produced this project myself, so I was lucky enough to find some great musicians. It created a different way of doing things and it was – it was challenging to take myself out there that much and say, okay, well, you’re in this, you’re going to make all the decisions. You don’t have anybody telling you it’s the right decision, you don’t have someone else telling you this is cool. You just have to feel it’s cool and go with it.

KMJ: Producing it yourself, do you find that that it’s more personalized to you specifically or is everything moving so fast that it’s just kind of hard to tell?

EE: Ah, well, you know, I recorded this differently too because I recorded the guitar part and the vocals and then I would talk to each individual musician and they would do overdub.

And so, that was – that kind of gave you a time and space that you wouldn’t normally have if you were, you know, singing and playing on it and producing it.

So, it gave me a little more thoughtfulness and the ability to try some different things. Like, I went back and forth a couple of times with several musicians to try a different feel. And I just think it was a really cool experience for me, it was a good challenge in a good way to build my confidence with things that I’m doing because I love working with producers and I look forward to doing that again.

But, I think this – it’s kind of like writing a song by yourself, which I have one song on this – on the EP that I wrote by myself. You kind of get in this mode, it’s I love working with so many other talented folks and what they bring to the project, but you kind of also maybe get them over you get a little complacent in really doing the work and trusting yourself and going full-on like you’re the only cook in the kitchen kind of thing, which obviously I still didn’t do completely on that. I have a great engineer, who was a lot with me and the musicians were also talented. They’re not going to – you’re not ever going to get a bad note out of any of them, you know?

KMJ: Yeah. [laughs]

EE: You have to kind of have ideas of what you want and be able to ask for that.

KMJ: It’s a whole another level of ownership.

EE: Yeah.

KMJ: You mentioned being out on the road, what’s kind of in store for you over the next few months on that front as we – as we hopefully get by where we’re at that moment here?

EE: Yes. Well, hopefully I’m going to be starting out in the road with Tanya Tucker a little bit later this month in the CMT. That’s one of the country tours.

We're headed to Grand Rapids, Michigan, which I’ve never played on that part of the country before, so I’m really excited about that. And I have some fans up there, who have been, you know, they’re like, “Come on up here,” for quite a while, so I’m finally going to get to do that.

And then, you know, I’m just trying to I’ve been doing little more in Nashville lately and just trying to, you know, focus on what I can and that’s creating.  I feel like I have been writing some really great songs lately. And I’m so excited about this project and all the work and I’m still doing that, so I’m getting to create a lot of great video content and other things to go on with that and just really falling in love with the music part of it and trying that and just being out in the room.

But you know you can only control so much and it’s weird times. Not just with COVID, while that’s going on. But you know so many shows have been rescheduled for a year, year and a half and you know you have a lot of – a lot of artists that want to get back out in the road, so finding the spots and everything and I know it will come back.

So, I’m just doing what I can to stay creative and connected to that creativity and then also give my fans that great stuff and, you know, while maybe I’m going to be able to be on the road as much, the one bonus with that is the kind of stuff that I’m doing right now is online and I’m having music videos and the music really some stuff is that I can connect with a lot of my fans at once that, you know, it will take you a whole bunch of dates to get to.

So, just trying to look at the positive of it that way and Opry has been really great in having me out there quite a bit too, so, yeah, we’ll see. I guess that’s one thing we’ve all learned is just the value of patience and flexibility. [laughs]

KMJ: Yeah. And how little we can control about anything, right? [laughs]

EE: Yeah.

KMJ: I always finish my interviews with the same question and I’ve asked you this before and that is: What is country music to Erin Enderlin? I’m going to put a little twist on it though. In your 15 to 20 years there writing in Nashville now, has it changed? Is your definition and meaning of country music different or has it evolved over your time there in Nashville?

EE: That’s very interesting. I mean, I think to me personally, it's still the same music that makes you feel something that’s real, that connects with you on an emotional level and illicit some sort of emotional response from you, whether that’d be I want to get in the dance floor or, you know, I want to roll the windows down or, you know, I want to cry on my beer and feel like I’m not the only one who’s ever gone through this kind of heartbreak.

But, I think maybe it just keeps expanding in a way. One of the things I’ve always loved about country music is that there are so many sub-genres. And so, I love to see all kinds of different influence on a country song. And I don’t know, there’s still a lot of stuff out there I love. But I still love the classic stuff.