An Interview with Kip Moore-Up All Night
I had the opportunity to speak with Kip before he took the stage. He invited me into his tour bus and seemed genuinely humbled by his success.
With his current single, “Somethin’ Bout A Truck” tearing up the airwaves and the imminent release of his first album, Up All Night, Kip is not likely to bask in the limelight. Instead, he’ll be on the road, celebrating with his growing fan base and working to improve his craft. ‘I’m such a fanatic,’ he said. ‘My mind never rests. My bandmates laugh at me and ask ‘Dude, why don’t you just chill?’ but I’m like I have to work up something for tomorrow and try to make things better.’
We talked about the success of his single “Somethin’ Bout A Truck.” ‘I couldn’t even fathom a gold single five or six months ago,’ he said, ‘But now there’s a good chance of it going platinum, it’s mind blowing.’ But Kip doesn’t take all the credit himself. In his gracious Southern manner he explained, ‘You credit the stations for getting it out there and playing it but it’s up to the people if they’re going to like it and respond to it by either just listening to it or going out and buying it. It’s been cool that people are showing up to the shows and are buying it so that’s how we know we have something that’s working.’
If the success of his first single is any indication of what works, Kip is sure to have a platinum album on his hands. We talked about the title song, “Up All Night” and Kip admitted it has a lot of meaning for him. ‘I spent nine years writing this record literally up all night, working on my craft. This record wouldn’t have come about if I hadn’t been up all night. It’s a vulnerable moment being in complete isolation. You might be in a dark place but that’s when the best stuff comes out.’
His voice grew quiet as he continued, ‘People have a tendency to lose their soul and their spirit of living life as they age because the older you get you feel like you can’t do certain things anymore.’ My favorite song on the album, “Faith When I Fall,” amplifies this point of view. ‘I wrote it the day after I was offered a record deal with MCA. I was really conflicted emotionally, elated and excited, but also anxious for the journey ahead. This song, for me, is about reaching goals you place on yourself and once you reach a goal, you’re going to have another one. It’s important to just keep moving. I might stumble and fall but if I have my faith I’m going to get reach my goals and that is what keeps me moving.’
Up All Night is a personal journey for Kip, who wrote many of the tracks. ‘I’ve lived [this album] and feel it deep in my soul and I hope that comes through.’ If the success of “Somethin’ Bout A Truck” is any indication of what’s to come, we’ll be hearing a lot more from Kip and enjoying every note of it.
Kelly E Schultz
will appear in the May edition of Magazine of Country Music