{"id":1319887,"date":"2020-05-12T09:05:48","date_gmt":"2020-05-12T15:05:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/?p=1820419"},"modified":"2020-05-12T09:05:48","modified_gmt":"2020-05-12T15:05:48","slug":"travis-denning-on-the-moments-that-led-to-beers-better-cold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/music-news\/travis-denning-on-the-moments-that-led-to-beers-better-cold\/","title":{"rendered":"Travis Denning on the Moments That Led to Beer\u2019s Better Cold"},"content":{"rendered":"
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by Alison Bonaguro<\/a><\/span> 8m ago<\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n

The man who I might always think of as David Ashley Parker From Powder Springs<\/a> is actually Travis Denning from Warner Robins, Georgia.<\/p>\n

And I got to know him a little bit better when Denning called me to talk about his upcoming EP Beer\u2019s Better Cold<\/em>, due out on Friday (May 15). We talked about this batch of music, and all of the big and little moments that landed him here.<\/p>\n

CMT.com: Every artist I talk to always tells me about their turning point: the moment when he or she had the I-have-to-move-to-Nashville moment. What was yours?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Denning: Honestly, I think it was a probably in high school. I mean, I\u2019d loved all of Jason Aldean\u2019s records, but especially My Kind of Party<\/em>. And when he was on that tour, I was just watching him on stage and I had this realization, like, \u201cMan, this dude sold out the Macon Coliseum. He\u2019s from my neck of the woods and he went to Nashville and look what he\u2019s doing.\u201d It was just kind of this really affirming moment. If this guy is from my neck of the woods and he made it, why the hell can\u2019t I go give a shot, too? That was my turning point and it just made it real. It made the idea that you could go somewhere and become somebody really real. It just put a face to the dream.<\/p>\n

And you probably knew that besides just having Georgia in common, you and Aldean didn\u2019t exactly have a million record label deals waiting on the table. Did that make your dream seem more reachable?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Absolutely. I remember seeing a behind-the-music show where they said that Jason had done like 32 or 36 label showcases. And the last one he did was for Broken Bow, and the rest is history. He had such a long path to get where he is now, and he just never stopped believing. And the people around them didn\u2019t either.<\/p>\n

Was there a certain country song \u2014 Aldean\u2019s or not \u2014 that made you have one of those pull-over-to-the-side-of-the-road moments?<\/strong><\/p>\n

One hundred percent. And I always had this list. But the first one I can remember is Gary Allan\u2019s \u201cLife Ain\u2019t Always Beautiful.\u201d I mean, it literally kills me. I played a show with him one time and was watching his show, and he kicked into that song, and I had one of those, \u201cOh, I forgot about this one. I gotta get somewhere safe. I\u2019m going to start crying.\u201d<\/p>\n

And what about the moment \u2014 we all have at least one \u2014 when you knew you\u2019d made your parents really proud?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Man, I\u2019ve been fortunate enough that I have some of the best parents ever when it comes to the support of this dream. And they\u2019ve always had my back. But I think the earliest moment for them would probably be when I had my first cut when \u201cAll Out of Beer\u201d came out on Jason\u2019s record in 2016. Not only was it awesome for them to go, \u201cHey, you know, Jason Aldean recorded a song that my son wrote,\u201d but it was kind of a nice way to put it out there for the naysayers. My parents knew that I was going to work and they knew I was gonna put in the effort. And so as long as I did that, they would have my back. But it was nice for them to go, \u201cThis guy who sells out football stadiums just recorded one of Travis\u2019 songs, so we think he\u2019s making the right decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

That must\u2019ve felt so validating for all of you. Because there are non-believers around all of us, and people who only want you to take the path of least resistance.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I try not to think in that headspace. I\u2019ve never been a guy who has had some success, and then flips the bird at these people. I\u2019ve never had that chip-on-my-shoulder kind of mentality. You\u2019re always going to want to succeed and there are people you\u2019re always going to want to prove wrong. I\u2019ve really never lived in that mentality and neither have my parents. But at the end of the day, it is nice to say, \u201cLook, I went, I worked, I was motivated, I put in the time and effort, and now I\u2019m starting to reap the benefits. I\u2019m proud of myself. I\u2019m confident in myself.\u201d And I think it\u2019s totally okay to say that, you know?<\/p>\n

Okay, so then you were established in Nashville writing songs and meeting people in the business. Was there a moment or two then that you were like, \u201cHow is this my life right now? How am I sitting here in a write with Rhett Akins or Scooter Caruso? Where did I go right?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Those are definitely two right there, with Rhett and Scooter. And then the fact that they have both become friends is kind of a crazy thought. Another one was when I went to Steve Wariner\u2019s house and we just played guitar and hung out, so that was a pretty wild day. I remember leaving his house going, \u201cNot only did I play guitar with Steve Wariner \u2014 who is one of my favorite country guitar players ever \u2014 but I also felt like we were just friends.\u201d We genuinely just wanted to spend time together and play guitar and nerd out on some guitars and amplifiers. But I was still like, \u201cBut I\u2019m doing that with Steve Wariner<\/em>.\u201d That\u2019s nuts.<\/p>\n

Another time was when I met Garth Brooks at a CMA Kixstart program. We had coffee, had a great conversation, and then he gave me his number. I thought that was pretty cool. So then one time I was in California with a mutual friend of me and Garth\u2019s \u2014 a radio program director \u2014 and I sent a selfie of me and him to Garth. And Garth texted me back. And I was like, \u201cDude, you just texted me back.\u201d<\/p>\n

That is more than just a moment. That is huge. It\u2019s one thing to have him give you his number and for you to get up the guts to text him, but then for him to reply.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I definitely had some kind of wine courage going on. I was like, \u201cYou know what? I\u2019m texting Garth, I don\u2019t care.\u201d But that\u2019s the kind of guy he is. You know what I mean? That whole time, I feel like I didn\u2019t deserve to be in that moment. But it\u2019s where I\u2019m at, and it\u2019s literally the thing I dreamed about as a teenager: just being able to rub elbows with my heroes and the people I respect and look up to.<\/p>\n

Cheers to that wine courage. I have you saved in my contacts as Travis David Ashley Parker Denning, so you never know what I might text you someday. So let\u2019s talk about that smash of a debut single you wrote with Jon Randall and Jessi Alexander, \u201cDavid Ashley Parker From Powder Springs.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

That was almost like an experiment. It was like, \u201cWe\u2019re gonna put out something with a long-ass title that\u2019s really specific and we\u2019ll just see if people like it.\u201d And the way it connected with everybody was just because they had a fake ID. Everyone did. That\u2019s just what your life was like. And you got into the bar or you got a six pack, and you felt like, \u201cI just broke all the rules. Now I\u2019ve got beer and I\u2019m only 20.\u201d Playing that song live really takes me back to the beginning of everything.<\/p>\n

And for as much as you\u2019ve already proven your songwriting shops, your new EP has one song you did not write. What was it about \u201cABBY\u201d that made you consider including an outside cut?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I firmly believe that the best song wins. And that song is just so good. It\u2019s so well written. I remember the first time I heard it, my eyes popped out of my head. I was like, \u201cGod, that\u2019s so great.\u201d Because every now and then you\u2019ve gotta tell somebody to kick rocks and get out of your life. Everybody\u2019s had that relationship and everybody\u2019s had that person. It felt like something that if I had been in the room, it felt like something I would have written, you know? That\u2019s what I connected to from a songwriting level.<\/p>\n

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