James Otto has had an eventful year -- to say the least. “Groovy Little Summer Song”, from his most recent Shake What God Gave Ya album, was a big part of last summer’s musical soundtrack. He also suffered from a painful virus that took him off the road for a spell. Oh, and became a daddy for the first time too. You might say he was feeling groovy one minute, and totally bummed the next. Roughstock recently caught up with Otto to discuss the man’s life and career, where there’s seemingly never a dull moment.
Roughstock: I was thinking about your song, “Groovy Little Summer Song”, and I’m looking outside and it’s raining. I’m in Los Angeles, and I’ve gotta be honest; I’m not really feeling your song today.
James Otto: Well, you would have been last week, as it was 113.
Roughstock: You’re right. It’s been kind of crazy here. I don’t know what to make of it. How are you doing?
Otto: I’m doing pretty good. My wife’s got me doing chores today. Other than that, I’m doing pretty well.
Roughstock: So I’m giving you a break from your ‘honey-do’ list?
Otto: Yeah, man. I appreciate it.
Roughstock: I notice that Ronnie Milsap performs with you on this album, and you refer to him as the ‘godfather of country-soul.’ I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about what his influence was on you as an artist growing up.
Otto: You know he was one of those guys that I definitely remember very well from my childhood. I remember all his songs. And his sound was something that was always really appealing to me because he had Rhodes piano and Wurlitzer and all of these really cool ‘70s sounds on his albums and we really tried to incorporate some of that on this record and bring some of that country-soul sound back to the radio. He was very influenced by Ray Charles and a lot of the stuff that was going on in Memphis, as I am definitely influenced by a lot of things that happened in Memphis in the ‘60s. It was a sound and an image and a feeling that he gave me, and something that I still feel every time I listen to his music.
Roughstock: Would you say you were just as influenced by a lot of soul singers, as you were country singers?
Otto: No doubt, man. Absolutely. I am equally probably influenced by country classics as I am by soul classics.
Roughstock: Who were some of your favorite singers growing up?
Otto: You know, from the time I was a kid until now, my tastes have changed greatly. When I was a kid I listened to everything. All of the AM radio that was going on that was playing. And then the stuff my grandparents were listening to. But as I got older, like junior high and that kind of thing, that’s when I found Hank Jr. That’s when I found all of the great outlaw country music because I was living in Alabama at the time. Not only was I listening to Charlie Daniels Band and that kind of thing, but I also found Lynyrd Skynyrd and I found Alabama and I found all of the great country music in and around that era. And it was a very influential time for me. It went from listening to what everybody else was listening to, back on to North Dakota where I lived before that, to pretty much listening to nothing but country music. And that definitely altered the course of my life.
Roughstock: Are you concerned that you might introduce the word “groovy” back into the modern vocabulary after I thought we’d finally gotten rid of it?
Otto: No, man. I’m bringing it back, baby. I’m bringing it back.
Roughstock: Was that your idea for the song? I notice you have a co writing credit.
Otto: Absolutely. In fact, I was in San Diego by myself when I started that song. I wrote the chorus to it by myself out in California when I was at a Christmas show, actually. Being in San Diego, I was expecting pretty nice weather. Even all year round, it’s usually pretty nice in San Diego. At least do-able. But when I was there it was cold and nasty, just like it was back home in Nashville. And I was wishing that it was summertime. I was wishing it was a little warmer. A little nicer. A little, I don’t know, a little more groovy, I guess. And I wasn’t feeling it at all. I was kind of where you are today. And the song was really wishing for it to be that. I wrote the chorus in the dressing room of the show out there. And took it back and wrote the verses with Alan (Anderson) and Carson (Chamberlain).
Roughstock: Well, it turned out great. And it’s done well. I’ll be you’re pleased.
Otto: Yeah, man, it climbed top 25 and got us moving and got this album kicked off. What it did most of all was bring that sound that I wanted to bring. It brought a really soulful, kind of a beach-y sound. But the feel and groove of that song is a Shags song, and it’s born in the Carolinas. So we brought some of that song back to the radio and reintroduced some country-soul, and that’s what I really wanted to do with that first single.
Roughstock: The other song that really sticks out is “Soldiers & Jesus”. I’m sure you’re getting some reaction to that song. Was that something that stemmed from an idea you had where you kind of saw the parallel between what Jesus did and what soldiers do?
Otto: The song has been getting an unbelievable response from fans. And when I’ve played it out live, it’s been the most explosive, reactionary song I’ve ever played since I wrote “In Color”. In fact, it gets bigger first reactions than “In Color” got. You know, the song, the idea was started with Chris Wallin. And Chris brought the idea to the table – I think he had seen it on church billboard or on the back of somebody’s bumper. He brought it to my attention. He knew that I had written “In Color” and that I had a military family, and just started talking to me about it. We both started talking about the parallels; about the sacrifice. We have an all-volunteer military. And, to me, that says that they’re willing and able and ready for stand up for you on their on volition. And that was something that struck us both. It’s not like you’re being drafted and they have to be there; they’re actually going on their own to sacrifice their lives for ours. And that was definitely something that stuck with us. And we sort of talked about the struggle between. And neither one of us are saying that that sacrifice is equal to what Christ did. What we’re saying is one side’s for my life, and one side’s for my soul. And I think that that’s a powerful thing.
Roughstock: What was it like to write “In Color” with Jamey Johnson?
Otto: It was great. You know, Jamey and I have been friends for a long time. I wrote “In Color” on that record, and I wrote “Can’t Cash My Checks” on this new one with him. We’ve been longtime collaborators, longtime friends. “In Color” was an accident, really. He was at my house the night before and hanging out with me. The next morning, my co-writer cancelled and was sick or something, and I just texted him and said, ‘Hey man, what are you doing? I’d love to write a song with you?’ He said, ‘I was just fixin’ to sit down and write with Lee Miller. Why don’t you come over and join us?’ And four hours later, we had “In Color”, which was a pretty amazing day of work and pretty unbelievable to have a song do that.
Roughstock: Where did the idea for the title come from? Was that you or was that him?
Otto: That was Jamey, actually. Jamey had the idea for that and I think it started by looking at photos with Bill Anderson – I think is how the story goes. And, you know, the story necessarily formed at all. It was just an idea. It was a thought of looking at black and white photos and what it might have felt like to see that in color. And what life was like in more vivid detail. That was, I think, kind of a poetic way of saying that. Jamey’s really good at that, obviously. He’s just a fantastic writer and it was one of my most proud moments as a songwriter.
Roughstock: He seems like this crazy mountain man from a distance. I’ll bet, though, when you get to know him he’s a great guy.
Otto: He definitely has a rough exterior. And I think that that doesn’t necessarily give you the idea of the depth of his personality and of his intellect. He’s a very intelligent guy and somebody that has something to say. That’s a nice thing. It’s a cool thing to be with somebody like that that really has something on their mind and has something unique to add to the conversation.
Roughstock: You had some health problems earlier this year that caused you to cancel some dates. What happened with that?
Otto: Well, I went into the hospital with the worst physical pain I’ve ever been in. I played football for years and had broken arms and all kinds of horrendous injuries. And this was, like, doubled over in pain and just excruciating pain. And what I found out it was was just an intestinal virus. And it ran its course in couple of days. But they stuck me on antibiotics and pain medication and I couldn’t eat for 96 hours and after that, I had to drink nothing but fluids for a couple more days after that. It was kind of nasty. It ran its course and I’m feeling much better.
Roughstock: Did they explain how you got it?
Otto: No. They said you can definitely get it…it’s just something that can appear. And it could have been something that I ate. But it wasn’t like food poisoning. They just told me it just happens sometimes. I think a similar thing just happened to Jimmy Carter. He went in for a couple of days with a stomach virus. There’s just not much you can do about it. They happen, and run their course.
Roughstock: Were you nervous that it might have been something more serious than that?
Otto: Oh yeah, man, absolutely. With the pain that I was in…the night before that I realized I had a problem, I had a show in Oklahoma, and I was laying in my bed on the bus feeling really miserable in a lot of pain and I had a show I had to do. And by the end of that show, I stood up for about 45 minutes and I had actually grabbed a chair and sat down. And I felt like it was in my kidneys at that point because it was just kind of radiating through my whole body – the pain was all through my torso. I couldn’t quite figure out what was going on. And I thought, ‘God, have I got kidney failure? What’s happening to me.’ And, you know, I went in, and I had a 15-hour ride home to worry about it all. I went home and first thing in the morning I went to the doctor and they admitted me into the hospital a couple of hour later. And there I stayed until I was better.
Roughstock: On a more positive note, you became a dad for the first time recently with the birth of Ava Katherine.
Otto: Amy and I have waited a long time, and we finally got to the point where comfortable and could handle the extra load and we thought we were responsible enough to take care of another human being and, you know, here we go.
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