Brad Wolf's musical roots are as true as they come. He is kin to country music pioneer Fiddlin' John Carson, and his maternal grandfather, Dee Carson, was a fiery guitar player and dancehall promoter who exerted a shaping influence on him - insisting that he learn about Bob Wills, indulging him when he wanted to play like Richie Sambora. "When I'd hear a sound on an Eric Clapton record or on Hotel California, he would show me how they did it, in a loving, but very disciplined way," Wolf says, as he picks at an acoustic guitar himself. "He wasn't a singer type, but a guitar to him was a form of expressing what's going on inside of you. He would take money that we didn't have to buy me guitars.
"He was strict with me, but when he was young, he was bad, man," Wolf continues, flashing a huge grin. "That's one of the reasons he understood me so well. He was a
guitar slingin' coalminer who didn't play guitar because he wanted to be famous, but because that was something he could do better than you - and if you didn't like it, you could just get out in the yard! He was rough and sweet all in one whack."
Wolf's rural, working-class upbringing also instilled a strong sense of conviction in him, a belief that if you want something you have to earn it, and if you want to keep it, you have to make sure you deserve to. "My step-father had a sawmill that we all worked at," he recalls. "It was, like, 'You want twenty bucks? You're gonna have to shovel some sawdust.' That humble, work hard, 'we need to get this load of crossties out so we can eat and pay the rent' mentality - it was harsh, but it made you tough. It makes you understand that sometimes things fall short, that life ain't fair. But it also brings out the winner's side in you. You keep going, because you've got to win. You ain't got no choice but to win."
And, after years of playing guitar for anyone who would
hire him in Nashville, Brad did win - bigtime. His debut
single "Strictly Business" appeared on the 2003
NASCAR-themed compilation album Inside Traxx and also
as the promotional music bed for the NBC series The
Apprentice.
His first album is one of those rare pleasures. The ecstatic yowl that ignites the irresistible,
"Completely Red", a muscular country romp
makes for a proud celebration of blue-collar hell-raising,
sure to be a bar room classic. Other songs, such as "Mama Left the Radio On" and
"Dry County", inspired by the small town of Caryville, Tennessee, where Wolf grew up, touch deeper, more poignant notes. And
"Runnin' From the Rain",
"Can't Go Home" and "A Good Woman Is Hard to Find" explore loss with an insider's knowledge of the experience, as well as a survivor's faith that what once was lost might one day be found again.
Brad Wolf demonstrates that he's able to do everything - write, play and sing
- with a distinctive talent that ensures he'll be a force on the music scene for years to come. He's a keeper.
