DON GONYEA, HOST:
Caleb Caudle has navigated the life of a traveling singer/songwriter through miles of open road, from the Grand Ole Opry to places, well, not nearly as glamorous. Along the way, he's released nine albums. His latest, out in June, is steeped in his native North Carolina, while tackling the challenges of just finding one's way in uncertain times.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PATH OF DESIRE")
CALEB CAUDLE: (Singing) Heard a knock at the door. Didn't know who it was, didn't know what for. Let 'em in. Let 'em yell. Let 'em buy something that ain't for sale. Lent an ear.
GONYEA: The new record is called "Heavy Thrill." Caleb Caudle joins us now. Welcome.
CAUDLE: Hey, thanks for having me.
GONYEA: So let's start with the album's title track, "Heavy Thrill."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HEAVY THRILL")
CAUDLE: (Singing) Fell off track, and now I got to get back on course.
GONYEA: Its opening lines are, fell off track, now I got to get back on course. That seems to kind of set the tone for the record.
CAUDLE: Well, it's kind of about the cyclical nature of life, how you kind of have to just rip all the joy out of the chaos and just keep going and just be dedicated to your craft and try to get better every day.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HEAVY THRILL")
CAUDLE: (Singing) An army of ants can lift up the pit of a peach. I just can't understand. Some of us can change. Other folks get good at staying the same.
GONYEA: There's also the image of - is it ants carrying a peach pit up a hill or to some destination? Tell us about that metaphor.
CAUDLE: Yeah, the line is, an army of ants can lift up a pit of a peach. You know, we rely on all these people around us, these people that we trust, and I think it's just about building a community around you, and you can accomplish so much more by doing that.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HEAVY THRILL")
CAUDLE: (Singing) Stealing to survive, I don't mind if you call me a crook. Even at my worst, I deserved a second look.
GONYEA: What is your personal peach pit?
CAUDLE: Well, a lot of it has to do with traveling. So I have been, you know, traveling all over the world for the last 15 years or so. And, you know, you miss so much back home, and so you try to, like, convince yourself that holidays don't mean anything anymore. It's just another day kind of thing. We'll celebrate when we get home. You're always missing something, but the flip side of that is, I've been to most cities so many times that each place starts feeling a little bit more like home.
GONYEA: Describe the sound that you were trying to get.
CAUDLE: You know, I marry all these traditional roots - instruments, song structures with more modern techniques, as far as recording goes. And I'm not afraid to go try new things and innovate, but I always want to keep one foot rooted in the music from my area, North Carolina.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE BALLAD OF COUNTRY HAM")
CAUDLE: (Singing) God forbid a little barefoot kid dreamed a bigger dream, bigger than the rest of his kind did.
I still pull from a lot of my own experiences just to make it feel lived in and like something that was hard earned.
GONYEA: You've been making music as an indie artist for almost two decades, and there have been lots of nice reviews and a growing fan base. But you've also been very open over the years about how, at times, you've had to work to keep your own mental health in line, to keep focused on who you are and what you need to be. After 15-plus years on the road, what have you learned about yourself and about taking care of yourself?
CAUDLE: I think just trying to keep focus on the work, keep focus on the people around me that mean a lot to me and just kind of letting the other things fall where they may. And you got to just find the good stuff and stay grounded. And for me, it's like trying to get out into the woods or into nature. Also therapy and - you know, and, like, just trying to build routines. Even on tour, just trying to, like, have some set routines that I can, like, rely on to make me feel normal.
GONYEA: There's a song on the record that seems to speak to all of this. It's called Anxious.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ANXIOUS")
CAUDLE: (Singing) Doorbells ring, kettles scream. I seem a little better, but I ain't. Nicotine stained the dream. I'm gonna need another can of paint.
GONYEA: There's a line on there - I'm gonna need another can of paint - referring to yourself.
CAUDLE: Yeah.
GONYEA: Talk about that song.
CAUDLE: I don't know if you've ever been in a house where somebody was a heavy smoker, but there's, like, this thin, yellow, unwanted sheen on the walls that - it's pretty undesirable, so you kind of have to just keep throwing another coat on it and another coat on it and trying to get rid of it. But I kind of think that that's sort of where I'm at in life.
You know, I'm turning 40 this year, and I don't feel quite as young and adaptable as I once was, but I try to maintain that way mentally, but sometimes physically, we'll drive 8 hours at a time and get out of the car, go straight into a sound check. And so it does feel like a life in motion that's just nonstop. And I just try to find those pockets where I can really become less anxious and just try to center myself and stay balanced.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ANXIOUS")
CAUDLE: (Singing) I'm anxious, always looking for a reason to keep caring about every little detail in a world that don't.
GONYEA: So we talked about your professional life, your touring, your sitting in the producer's chair. But your personal life is about to go through a major change. You and your wife are expecting your first child in the weeks ahead. That'll sure put your head in a certain place, doesn't it?
CAUDLE: Yeah, I mean, it's a lot of feelings I didn't anticipate, but we're really excited. It's a baby boy. And I've been taking all the classes, doing all the Zoom virtual meetings, painting the nursery and got the crib put together. And so I'm feeling prepared but nervous and excited and can't wait to meet him.
GONYEA: So do you have a plan as to how you'll balance things? - new baby, new album to promote, touring to support the album, your family, broadly. How are you thinking about all that?
CAUDLE: Well, I usually just take on everything, and I think that I'm invincible, and I try to just do it all. And so I guess I'll just keep doing that approach. I'm sure that'll end up coming back to bite me at some point, but I think that if you live a big life - and I do - you kind of have to just buckle up and do it.
GONYEA: Caleb Caudle - his new album is called "Heavy Thrill." It is out now. Caleb, thanks for talking to us.
CAUDLE: Thank you so much.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TOLL BOOTH")
CAUDLE: (Singing) She lives south of Chicago. Blew in... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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