Native Texan Stoney LaRue made sure his fans picked every song when he put together his latest album.
The University Star sat down with LaRue to discuss his new music and upcoming show at The Marc.
Mariah Simank: What can people expect from this tour you are on right now and your upcoming show at The Marc on Nov. 5?
Stoney LaRue: Now we’re in the wake of our new album, Us Time, so we’re going to be playing some songs off of that. It’s kind of a walk through the history of our music, but with an emphasis on Us Time.
MS: You mentioned your new album, which was released on Oct. 16. Where did you find inspiration for this album?
SL: From the fans. The fans have been asking me throughout the years to record certain songs in a studio format, which I haven’t had the opportunity or the means to do. When signing with eOne Music we had the idea to use what the fans had been asking for as a launch for this CD project. Every song on there was picked by the fans.
MS: How would you say the music on this album differs from your other music?
SL: Some of them I didn’t write. On my other albums I write my music. There’s some covers on here as well as some songs that I’ve written, but it’s also stuff that I’ve been singing throughout my career that I get to finally revisit and record in that studio way.
MS: Have you ever played in San Marcos?
SL: Let me count how many times—about a million and one times, I think.
MS: I figured. What is it like playing here, and what have you come to expect from shows when you’re here?
Well, I played there on the football field before and that was a good time. It was a good nice, big and energetic. You could feel it in the air. I absolutely love Cheatham Street, which is where I cut my teeth in San Marcos. Going to play at The Marc—that has a wonderful theater setting—is the perfect setup for music, which is the culture of this area, so I’m happy to be a representative for that.
MS: What would you say your songwriting process is like?
SL: There’s a blue pill and a red pill … no, I’m kidding. No, you just get together, and I try to take as much motivation as I can out of everything that I see. There was this doctor who passed away—he was a philosopher and a self-help writer, Dr. Wayne Dyer. He said, ‘If you change the way that you look at things, the things you look at change.’ I think along with those ideas is how I try music, and if I’m not feeling inspired I try to change the way that I’m looking at it. More often than not I’ll find inspiration in the smallest things.
MS: How would you describe your sound to people who may not be familiar with your music?
SL: It’s a culmination of roots music, Americana, country, folk, a little rock and roll and R&B. It’s got a very eclectic sound.
MS: What was the moment that you knew you wanted to pursue your music career?
SL: Arguably out of the womb. I thought about it as an occupation whenever I was about 17 years old. I just really thought about not doing anything else.
MS: What is the most challenging part of being on tour for you?
SL: Being away from my family. Definitely.
MS: That does seem like it would be challenging, to have to separate yourself from them all the time. You play a lot of shows throughout the year.
SL: Right, and I have to think of myself as an ambassador for music and I’m very blessed to be able to do it. So I have to take this job seriously and really give it the respect it deserves, while at the same time I do miss my family dearly. But we all understand that there’s a commonality here.
MS: Do you have a favorite show that you’ve played?
SL: One of my favorites just off the top of my head was the Grand Ole Opry.
MS: What was that like?
SL: It was amazing. They put the Grand Ole Opry at the Ryman where it began. It was very ghostly and had weird energies and it was really cool. Vince Gill was singing—he was right there on stage with me saying, ‘We’re rooting for you.’ It was really cool just the way it all came across.
MS: Do you have a favorite song that you perform that you’re looking forward to performing at The Marc?
SL: Right now I’m working on a newer setlist and we’re trying to perfect that, but there’s a lot of songs that I really enjoy playing for different reasons. I really love inspiring people and really looking at their eyes and watching them connect with something and it changing them. You can see it change in them and I like songs like that.