CHANGING LANES
Turnpike Troubadors turn to ‘new set of ears’ to produce latest album
RC Edwards is enjoying his time in between tours.
He should, because his life will be on the road for the next couple of months.
“It’s starting to get busy,” he says in a recent phone interview. “We spent a good amount of the spring recording in El Paso. We spent time at Sonic Ranch over there and at Echo Mountain in Asheville, N.C.”
Edwards is a member of the country music group the Turnpike Troubadours. The band, formed in 2005, has released five albums. Its most recent is 2017’s “A Long Way from Your Heart.”
Joining Edwards in the band are Kyle Nix, Ryan Engleman, Evan Felker, Gabriel Pearson and Hank Early.
On its latest album, the band enlisted the help of producer Ryan Hewitt, whose previous credits include the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Avett Brothers and the Lumineers.
The collaboration with Hewitt marked the first time the band worked with a producer outside themselves.
“It was a new set of ears and a new process,” he says. “Ryan pushed us, and we were nervous about taking this challenge. It seemed to work out really well. Ryan was able to fine-tune everything that we were doing.”
With five albums’ worth of material to pull from, Edwards says, putting together a set list is becoming a difficult task.
Though for this current tour, the focus is on the new album.
“We’re playing a good chunk of the album,” he says. “You have songs that people want to hear every night. We try to rotate all of them. It gets really hard to strike the right balance. It’s also really great to play the new material, because we’re still able to see the fans’ reactions to the music.”
Life on the road also serves as inspiration for the band’s writing.
Because the men in the band have to miss family gatherings and birthday parties, it can weigh them down.
Edwards says that serves as the impetus for many songs.
“I’m not going to complain too much about missing my family,” he says. “Everyone understands that we have to be on the road. That being said, it still doesn’t make it any easier. We’ve learned a lot about ourselves both professionally and personally on tour. That has helped shape us into the band we are today. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”