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Growing up in Alabama, not far from the world-famous Muscle Shoals and FAME Studios, Anderson East couldn’t help but soak up some of the musical spirit and soul the region has produced for many decades.
Anderson didn’t set out to be a musician, or even a songwriter. “I got into music just to be an engineer, he says. “I never had any desire to be an artist.” But by 2015, he’d recorded self-released albums and was making his major label debut with Delilah, released by Low Country Sound and produced by Dave Cobb.
Now, Anderson is set to release his new album Worthy, produced again by Cobb in his studio in Savannah, Georgia.
Anderson East sat down with Ron for breakfast in Denver earlier this spring for a casual but wide-ranging conversation about his music, Muscle Shoals, the impact of gospel, jam bands, engineering, Michael Bolton, and his new album Worthy. Below are highlights from their conversation.
Anderson East: A buddy of mine, his dad was Little Richard’s guitar player, and they lived in…I guess it would technically be Florence, but right down the street. And he and his wife ended up buying what was the second iteration of Muscle Shoals Sound. I think it’s called Cypress Moon Studios now. I remember going to a Christmas party there one year, and just walking down the halls and there was pictures of Dylan, Willie Nelson, and I’m like, “Where the f*ck am I? This is crazy.” And then, just getting the education of all this great R&B and soul music. It was just like, “That’s right down the street the whole time?”
Ron: Right down the street.
The studio, as a physical structure, is incredible. But then, once you get outside of it, you’re like, “Where are we?” There’s nothing really to call you there.
It was…just finding people who were around town. Motown did the same kind of thing. It was just like Aretha Franklin just sang at the church down the street. And it was very similar, grabbing whoever was around, and just so happened to be the baddest dudes on the planet. It was amazing what they were able to accomplish.
And it’s stayed pretty much the same. I always say it could have been so easy to ruin that place, by over-modernizing it and trying to keep up with the technology once that style of music wasn’t the popular form of the day. Especially when 1987 was happening, you could have brought in all the digital stuff and really just ruined it. But somehow they stuck true to it. And so, even to this day, it’s just a killer sounding room.
My mom was a piano player, and granddad was a preacher. Dad sang gospel music. But yeah, it was never a big…there wasn’t some cool record collection. It was maybe the Everly Brothers was as hip as it got, which is pretty hip. But yeah, it wasn’t like here’s all these crazy influential records.
Ron: Did that stuff send you down the road that you’re on now?
I don’t think it’s a musical thing, really, that is responsible for that. I think it is hitting the emotion of just church in general. Music definitely plays a huge factor in that, but just having that elevated spirit, and being part of this bigger-than-oneself kind of thing.
I think that is the morsel that translates out into secular music – that same feeling. I mean, take Ray Charles. It was pretty much just gospel music with “sweet baby” in there. Just replace Jesus with sweet baby.
And then, ultimately, everything is really just gospel music, country music, R&B.
Ron: Music is emotional. It’s not that it can’t be defined, but it’s hard to define because it’s not tangible. It’s a feeling.
Once you start really breaking it down, you’re just air wizards. You’re just pushing and pulling air back and forward to spark this thing in your heart and your brains. Like, “Well, that’s absurd.”
Ron: Now making this new album, were you able to see the big picture that maybe you couldn’t see with earlier albums?
It was kind of like…I just got to a point where I generally didn’t give a shit. I was fine at the moment of I’ll just go work at the bank. I’d had enough. And there’s certain points that you can get to where you’re like, “I think I’ve seen it.” There’s a couple milestones. I remember I was a black belt in karate when I was young, probably 14. And then, once I got a black belt, it’s like, “All right. Cool. I did that.” And so, I was like, “I don’t know if I want to keep doing this.”
It was crazy that it just even happened. [He’s an] amazing dude. I was recording the piano part for it, and I had this little studio in the back of my house, and I heard birds chirping in the microphone, and I was like, “I’ll never do this again in this capacity.” It was either give it all the way up, or really go for it.
I never had any desire to be an artist. I was writing songs and singing and playing just so I had something to record. And it just all kept feeding itself. So when I heard those birds, I was like, “F*ck it.” I’m going all the way. Once I did that, it was like, “All right. I’m kind of committed.”
Ron: You’ve worked with producer Dave Cobb since your first major label album in 2015. Today, everyone knows his name, but back then that wasn’t the case. What was it you saw in Dave then that you still see now?
I think it’s his philosophy in general, making records. His approach is, ‘be helpful where you know how to be helpful, and then get out of the way.’
I think our friendship was [initially] based on engineering, and having a fascination with studios in general. I mean, he’s sending me Facebook ads of gear this morning. Once you find your people…. He’s been an incredible friend and mentor. And anything good that I know, I’ve actually stolen from him.
Ron: Stole it from him.
Stolen. Yeah. Shameless.
It’s like this anomaly to me – it’s such an arts, music center place. There are all these people that are just into music.
The jam band scene’s obviously been a big thing here, and I think that’s what I associate Colorado and Denver with – people open to seeing what’s happening in the moment. [They’re] really there for an experience, and something that isn’t pre-thought – people are just open to seeing magic.
Ron: That might be why the only time that Phish has ever played four nights is in Denver.
I think they’re the greatest American rock and roll band of all time.
Ron: I came across a picture of you from about 12 years ago, sitting in a’66-’67 Mustang.
’66. Robin’s egg blue.
Ron: How did you come to have that car? How did it come to you?
My grandfather, it was in his barn in Birmingham, Alabama since late ’80s. I bought it from him and had it towed back up to Nashville and [put] way too much money into it. But it’s an awesome ride.
Anderson East’s album Worthy is set for release on May 30, 2025.
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