Darius Rucker spoke with Saturday Down South at an invite-only event in Charleston, S.C., Wednesday in advance of his new album, Southern Style, releasing next week. The Grammy-winning country soloist and frontman for Hootie and the Blowfish is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and an avid SEC football fan.
The Dolphins make him cry and his beloved Gamecocks, sometimes, make him angry.
It’s Darius Rucker y’all, the face of SEC football as far as multi-platinum recording artists with southern roots are concerned.
“I’ve grown to deal with it better, but inside, my weekend’s ruined when we get beat,” Rucker said. “I can be bad and I can be fun, but I don’t really wanna talk to you after a loss.”
He punctuates that with a laugh, and adds, “Losses are not good days in my house and my son (Jack) is worse than me.”
Reclined on a couch in the upstairs loft at Charleston Distilling Co. in Charleston, South Carolina’s unequivocal ambassador says March is an exciting month for two reasons — Southern Style and spring practice.
Rucker’s fourth country album, set to launch Tuesday, delivers a vintage vibe with captivating messages. His familiar twang shines on every track, an unmistakable delivery that’s been a staple at Williams-Brice tailgates and Friday night bonfires by the beach in the Lowcountry for nearly three decades.
Linked to lyrical greatness since Hootie and the Blowfish’s Cracked Rear View became one of the fastest-selling albums of all-time in 1994, Rucker remains a tried-and-true Gamecock as a country music sensation, sporting a weathered South Carolina cap that’s been part of his daily ensemble since playing hole-in-the-wall bars in Five Points as a collegian.
No matter the national late-night appearance or concert venue stretching to the West Coast, Rucker rarely leaves Charleston without it.
“I wasn’t a big Carolina fan growing up, but I decided to go to Carolina my freshman year and when we got to No. 2 in the country (1984), everything changed,” Rucker said. “That was huge for me. I went to every home game, went to the bowl game. Ever since then, my blood runneth garnet.”
A frequent guest on ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike and the SEC Network, Rucker’s personal brand as a football knowledgeable musician has grown substantially since he lowered his shoulder and went after country music like a freight train with Learn to Live in 2008.
His reputation as one of Nashville’s most talented songwriters shines through his work and it’s a similar relentless work ethic, from coaches and players, that makes SEC football so dominant, Rucker says.
“The talent pool at Alabama, in the entire southeast … it’s hard to fathom,” Rucker said. “The players and the coaches set it apart. (Nick) Saban’s not recruiting, he’s asking. That’s pretty amazing to be (at that level). With some of the coaches we have with (Steve) Spurrier and Saban …we could go on with SEC coaches. They’re getting so much talent, it’s hard for other (programs) to keep up.
“Everybody else can get top-notch players, but can they get four? The depth of the SEC is really what makes it great.”
Rucker attends most South Carolina home games and knows enough about the Gamecocks to project the two-deep heading into August. He says last year’s 7-6 campaign was difficult to swallow coming off three consecutive 11-win seasons.
“I got spoiled they were so awesome,” he said. “I loved being a part of that. We finished No. 4 in the country the year before last. That’s unbelievable. Coach Spurrier is doing great things … we’re in a rebuilding era right now, but we’ll be alright.”
Southern Style
Eight years since Learn to Live, his first country solo album, Rucker is one of the genre’s brightest stars who has produced six No. 1 singles, including a cover of Old Crow Medicine Show’s “Wagon Wheel” that won a Grammy last year.
It was Rucker’s validation in country music.
“‘Wagon Wheel’ was one of those great anomalies in a career—you have to just be happy with something like that and go on and try to make another record,” Rucker said. “But it did help me realize that fans really do want country music from me. With everything happening in the music, on the radio, ‘Wagon Wheel’ showed that you can still have big hits with real country songs.”
Southern Style stands on its own, says Rucker, but doesn’t stray from his strengths — storytelling and laid-back, rich vocals.
“The last record was so serious, but this record we tried to have a little more fun with it,” Rucker said. “I think the chronology of my records is perfect. This record is another growth for me in country music, trying to make that ultimate Darius Rucker country record.
“It’s a great record and you just have to keep trying to put out records that people like.”
Released last fall, “Homegrown Honey” was the new album’s first single, a catchy — and twangy — rhythmic compilation that featured a healthy blend of Rucker’s previous sounds from Learn to Live, Charleston S.C. 1966 and True Believers.
Rucker played a brief, six-song acoustic set Wednesday afternoon in downtown Charleston during a VIP event hosted by Universal. He belted out one of the classics, Hootie’s “Let Her Cry”, before returning to Southern Style with “So I Sang”, a heartfelt ballad mentioning different segments of his life over three melodious verses.
“That’s the most honest song I’ve ever been a part of,” Rucker said. “When you hear that, it’s telling you what my life was really like growing up. When my mom died, I couldn’t speak, I just remember singing in church with the choir, and then going home and putting on Al Green’s ‘Tired of Being Alone,’ which was her favorite song.
“That song is just me singing about me.”
“So I Sang” along with 12 others tracks are featured on Southern Style, in stores and iTunes, Tuesday. Rucker’s Southern Style Tour launches in Holmdel, N.J., on May 14.
Full Q&A with Darius Rucker
SDS: Quickly … will the Gamecocks have a pass rush this season?
“Not if we keep sending three (laughs). I thought we should’ve been more aggressive last year. What we were doing wasn’t working. That eight man zone ain’t going to cut it in the SEC.”
When did SEC football become everyday life for Darius Rucker?
“I wasn’t a big Carolina fan growing up. I decided to go to Carolina my freshman year and we got to No. 2 in the country (1984). That was huge for me. I went to every home game, went to the bowl game. Ever since then, my blood runneth garnet.”
Over the last few years, you’ve become the celebrity face for South Carolina athletics across the SEC. You’re often seen with your Gamecocks hat on SEC Network, at concerts, etc. Do you ever leave home without it?
“If I do leave home without it, it wasn’t on purpose (laughs). I’m a big supporter. I’m proud of the university, not just sports, but academically as well. It’s a hard (school) to get into now. They’ve come so far. It’s good to be a Gamecock right now. We’re making great strides in a lot of key areas. It’s great to be an ambassador for that.”
What makes the SEC so unique as the nation’s most respected super-league?
“The players and the coaches set it apart. The talent pool at Alabama, in the entire southeast … it’s hard to fathom. Saban’s not recruiting, he’s asking. That’s pretty amazing to be (at that level). With some of the coaches we have with Spurrier and Saban …we could go on with SEC coaches. They’re getting so much talent, it’s hard for other (programs) to keep up. Everybody else can get top-notch players, but can they get four? The depth of the SEC is really what makes it great.”
You’ve been a South Carolina fan for the better part of three decades now. How satisfying were three consecutive 11-win seasons from 2011-13?
“I got spoiled they were so awesome. I loved being a part of that. We finished No. 4 in the country the year before last. That’s unbelievable. Coach Spurrier is doing great things … we’re in a rebuilding era right now, but we’ll be alright.”
Losses … do they affect your weekend?
“Sunday is not a very good day when we lose. I’ve grown to deal with it better, but inside, my weekend’s ruined. I can be bad and I can be fun, but I don’t really wanna talk to you after a loss (laughs). Losses are not good days in my house and my son (Jack) is worse than me.”
How frustrating was last season’s 7-6 campaign?
“I think at the end of the games, we didn’t run the ball enough. There were times where we had chances to win and the offense just couldn’t move the ball. (In previous years), you give Connor Shaw the ball with 1:30 left and we’re down four, we’re going to win those ballgames. Those were great years.”
Spurrier announced Tuesday that he would handle play-calling duties this season. Your thoughts?
“I think he’s still having a blast and is still really enjoying what he does so much. He knows retirement is around the corner, but he’s trying to make that corner a lot further away and I’m totally with that.”
Will the Gamecocks ever return to the national title conversation?
“I think so. You win a national championship at South Carolina and you can write your ticket in this state.”
Your first three country records had their own identity. How does Southern Style fit in the mix?
“I think it fits right in. The last record was so serious, but this record we tried to have a little more fun with it. I think the chronology of my records is perfect. This record is another growth for me in country music, trying to make that ultimate Darius Rucker country record. It’s a great record and you just have to keep trying to put out records that people like.”
You cut almost 40 songs for this record, but only 13 made the album. How difficult is the narrowing down process for a singer-songwriter?
“It’s tough and it was tougher with this one, just because there were so many different sessions. It took so long to make it because of the Christmas record going on at the same time and all that stuff. It’s tough to write that many songs because so many great songs get left out. So many songs that you really think, ‘man, that’s a really good song’ and then it doesn’t make the record. But that’s a good problem to have. It’s better than having eight (songs) and trying to find four (laughs).”
