Still Wanted, a celebration of Wanted! The Outlaws , the first country music album to ever go Platinum, and the 10th anniversary of Rolling Stone Country, was the perfect time to talk about country music past and present — all over a round of Dickel’s outlaw-themed cocktails at Nashville Palace.
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“Outlaw is doing what you feel like you need to do, and that’s the way that we’ve always played our career,” says Mike Harmeier, the lead singer of Silverada — formerly known as Mike and the Moonpies. “Our name change was a huge milestone that we’ve wanted to achieve for a long time. And when I get asked the question now, ‘Why did you do it?’ The answer is, ‘Because I wanted to.’ We follow our own path.”
When Harmeier looks into the band’s future, he sees more of that same outlaw spirit.
“The way that we think about making records is that there’s no genre. It’s whatever we’re chasing down at the moment, and everything is for the sake of the song. Whatever the song deserves is what we’re going to do, and I hope that that continues. I think that it will.”
A purist at heart, Harmeier keeps his drink order simple. “I take my Dickel neat, because I’m a neat man,” he laughs.
“When I think of an outlaw, I think of rogues and mavericks going against the grain and offering something up that’s truly original. They were true artists. They knew who they were and what they wanted to say,” says Maggie Rose. “Nashville has evolved a lot in the last 10 years, and my own sound has evolved a lot. I think that my evolution has correlated a lot with that growth. There’s so many wonderful resources here and people to collaborate with. It’s not just a place for country music, it’s nuanced, and there’s all different flavors to find here.”
Rose says she sees parallels in Dickel Whisky and the traditions of outlaw country. “There’s excellence and timelessness there. It’s a brand that’s steeped in heritage,” she says. “There’s an authenticity in people who know who they are.”
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A true outlaw country singer, Taylor Hunnicutt subscribes to authenticity above all else. And she sees a bright future for that mentality, both in herself and the industry.
“In the next 10 years my career, and outlaw country in general, is going to have a complete resurgence,” predicts Hunnicutt. “I think that people are longing for what’s real and relatable, and that’s definitely what I’m aiming to do.”
When it comes to her Dickel Whisky, Hunnicutt couldn’t be more easy to please. “I’ll take it any way!” she says. “I’ve always loved Dickel and I’ll take my Dickel cocktail however I can get it.”
The Grammy-nominated Brent Cobb has already enjoyed a successful career in country music as both a singer and a songwriter. During the Dickel and Rolling Stone’s Still Wanted live event, he talked at length about all the milestones he’s been witness to.
“I have been privileged to be sort of a fly on the wall over the last almost 20 years, and have a front row seat to watch the rise of independent country music. When I first started, if you weren’t on the radio, you didn’t get heard at all. Over the last almost two decades, you have people that don’t give a shit about being on radio, and they are selling out 20,000 seaters,” Cobb says. “The collective consciousness — the listeners of the country music genre — are now ready to hear something normal, regular old music. No one’s trying to sell anybody. It’s just songs for the sake of the song.”
That return to quality and authenticity is echoed in Cobb’s Dickel order. “I like mine with just a little bit of rocks,” he says. “When it’s that good, that’s all you need.”
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