RISING Nashville star Dee White, at the tender age of 26, has worked with everyone from Grammy-winning visionaries Tony Brown and Dave 'Ferg' Ferguson (Johnny Cash, Sturgill Simpson) to The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, who produced his debut album.
White was in Ireland recently for the Your Roots Are Showing music conference in Belfast (sister city to Nashville), where he connected with three of Ireland's current top emerging folk artists: Lorraine Nash, Laura Jo (of BIIRD) and Kaitlin Cullen-Verhauz (of Saltaire) to record an ‘Ireland Mix' of his upcoming single, Green River Rye.
His new single 'Green River Rye' (Ireland Mix) featuring Laura Jo (BIIRD), Kaitlin Cullen-Verhauz (Saltaire) and Lorraine Nash is out now.
This week he took time out to talk to the Irish Post...
What are you up to?
Currently in the panhandle of Florida tending to these fish and getting old boats seaworthy. Picking songs and getting ready to begin recording a new album that I am overjoyed about getting released!!
Which piece of music always sends a shiver down your spine?
Rambling Man by Hank Williams Senior
Which musician has most influenced you?
Hank Williams, John Anderson, Gene Watson, and Vern Gosdin are a few influences that always come to mind.
Who would be in your ideal band?
I’ve been honoured to work with so many of the world’s finest musicians I really would not know who to narrow it down to.
How did you get started in music?
A mandatory singing audition in my high school drama class is what got me to take the leap
Where are you from?
I’m from Slapout, Alabama. The banks of the Coosa River right in the heart of the state.
How would you describe your work?
My work is a combination of luck, blessing, preparation and refinement. The good parts are great and the hard parts are brutal. God is good and always sees me through and provides enough to continue.
What's on your smartphone playlist at the minute?
Don Williams, Roger Miller, George Jones, and Charlie Rich are always in the mix.
What would be your motto?
If you’re making it, you made it!
What is your favourite place in Ireland?
Belfast and Dublin are at the top of my list now.
Have you a favourite line from a song?
“As evening lays its shawl across the shoulders of my life, I’ve come to find… I could not tie my life together with guitar strings and a poet’s heartfelt lines.” From “Pick The Wildwood Flower” -Joe Allen.
In terms of inanimate objects, what is your most precious possession?
My 1943 Gibson J-45
What's the best thing about where you live?
The best thing about Nashville is the community and musical resources. I also love the Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee. It has an abundance of natural resources and great energy.
. . . . and the worst?
The worst thing is the commercialisation and the over-saturation of people moving to town with intentions that are not pure.
What's the greatest lesson life has taught you? What do you believe in?
The greatest lesson I’ve learned in life is that love is forever. It’s all we have in the beginning and in the end. No matter what, nothing can take that away. There come times when all you can do for someone is love them. My grandfather told me that when I asked him what we are going to do if he’s gone. He said “we will love each other” he’s been gone 6 years now and we are still doing that!
What do you consider the greatest work of art?
I’m not sure what my greatest work is. I prefer that question to be answered by the people who consume my art
Who/what is the greatest love of your life?
My greatest loves in life are music, nature, and laughter.
See More: Dee White, Irish, Music
