Growing up in Texas, Koe Wetzel dreamt of a career in the NFL. But after a college football injury, he realized he could get more women and free beer by putting his music hobby front and center instead. On this episode of On the Bus, Country Thunder CEO Troy Vollhoffer talks with Koe Wetzel about the plethora of music genres that influenced his style, and how he sees the blending of genres in modern music as a good thing. The two also discuss why he decided to sign with a big label, the influence of streaming and TikTok on emerging artists, and the value of playing live in front of an audience.
Chapter 1: Why does Koe Wetzel dislike genre labels in music?
I hate when people put a genre on songs. If the shit's good, it's good. It's so easy to make music now. It's so easy to put your music out there. And the way the streaming world is and everything, man, it's really cool. It's just the way it's kind of evolving. We're seeing it firsthand, and it's really cool.
Hey everybody, it's Troy Volhoffer on the bus at Country Thunder. Today we're having a very unique artist, Coetzee, on. We're going to talk a lot about what's going on in your life and what's going on on the road. And let's talk about where you were last night.
We were in El Paso. We had a layover there. We were coming from Gonzales, Texas. And yeah, we stayed up a little too late last night. We had to get an IV whenever we pulled up. But I'm feeling a little bit better now. Got me a little cocktail now. So we're doing a lot better. Yeah, Green Band-Aid.
Get right back on that horse.
Absolutely.
So you're from Pittsburgh, Texas. Yeah. So what was it like growing up in Pittsburgh, Texas?
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Chapter 2: What led Koe Wetzel from football to music?
Oh, it was great, man. It's a really small town, about two and a half hours east of Dallas. So it's kind of behind the pound curtain. They don't even really consider us East Texans a part of Texas. They consider us pretty much Louisiana. But it was great, man. Small town vibe. Yeah, a lot of fun.
so you played football yeah so how did football transcend into music so i've always i've always you know played music and sang and wrote and stuff and it was all it was always just kind of there you know i never really thought that i would pursue it the way i did um but yeah i played football i got a scholarship to uh to go play college football um i did it for like a year and a half broke my ankle i had to have surgery it came back
And we were gigging a lot more, and I'd been drinking a whole lot more and figuring out I could get more women by playing the guitar and get more free beer by playing guitar than ever having any chances of going to the NFL. So I was like, man, screw this. I'm out. And then, yeah, the grades went to shit after that in school, and they kicked me out of school.
I said, well, I guess this is time to get after it. So we really started hitting it hard after that.
Chapter 3: How did the Texas music scene shape Koe Wetzel's career?
Well, we're glad you did that and made that choice because, you know, sure, enjoying your music. And so a lot of our listeners, this podcast is throughout North America. And so there's some Canadian listeners. And as we know, the whole Texas scene is a whole scene to itself. I don't think a lot of people understand that there's like two different worlds. There's Nashville and then there's Texas.
And so you started out in the Texas scene where there's a lot of artists who make a living never leaving Texas.
Yeah. Absolutely. Like you said, it's its own scene. I mean, hell, Texas is pretty much its own country. I mean, you can tour year-round and never hit the same city twice in Texas. And a lot of people do that and make damn good livings doing it, man. Yeah, coming up in the Texas scene was awesome. There was that little feud of mainstream.
I think there's always been kind of a little feud there with Texas' country and mainstream country. But, you know, music's music, so it is what it is.
Yeah, it seems like that has kind of diminished a little bit.
Yeah. Now there's so many different genres. Music is so genre-less these days. So everything just kind of blended in with each other now.
So you signed your big deal with Columbia in 2020. What was it like to get your first record deal?
It was great. I never had any plans of signing a record label. We were independent for so long, eight or nine years, and that's how I wanted it to be. But I felt that there's only so much you can do as an independent artist. You do need those connections, especially if you want to grow the brand and spread your music. So it was during COVID and nobody really knew what the was going on.
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Chapter 4: Why did Koe Wetzel sign with Columbia Records?
Nobody really knew what was going to happen. And after Harold saw High, we had a couple record labels hit us up and we talked to a bunch of them and I was like, you know what, I think it's time we take that step. I'm glad we did, man. We got with Columbia and they've been nothing but great to us. Just kind of let me do what I wanted to do. And they backed me 110%.
So like your tunes are fused with a bunch of different genres. And what were your influences? Like what made the creative edge that you have now?
Yeah. So, I mean, I grew up in like older country. My mom, if I was in the car with my mom, it'd be worship music or, you know, 90s country, old country. And if I was with my dad, it was either old rock or, you know, Eminem and 50 Cent and rap and hip hop. So I think.
All that combined with me figuring out grunge music and pop punk, like whenever I was around sixth, seventh grade, all that kind of combined just kind of really, you know, helped make what we're putting out.
Yeah, because I really dig how you just smash stuff together. It's killer. It's so unique and it's so refreshing. Thank you. It's awesome. I really enjoy your tunes. Let's talk about this single, Damn Near Normal.
Yeah, it was a song that me and Gabe Simon, Amy Allen, we got together in Tornillo at Sonic Ranch Studios. We had like a three or four day just kind of write and record session. It was one of those songs that
We kind of got to talk about how our lives as musicians and people that are in the music world, you know, our lives are a lot different than, you know, say, whenever we go back home and we see all of our friends that have kids and wives and nine to five jobs. It's just it's crazy how different our lives are. So we got we got on that topic and we wrote that song pretty quick and
It meant a lot to me, especially it being the first song back in two years since we put out music. I kind of wanted just to show everybody kind of the way that we're making our music and pushing our music to what's out in that kind of sound.
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Chapter 5: What influences shape Koe Wetzel's unique music style?
That's killer. How did Love come up with that, Parker McClellan?
I actually wrote the song, and then me and Parker were hanging out or whatever, and that was right after he put out Limestone Kid, and he was kind of on his rise in the Texas scene, and my buddy Jake Murphy was his tour manager at the time, and He was like, man, I think Parker wants to help get on Love. And I was like, that'd be perfect. So he called me.
He was like, hey, you know, I'm writing this last verse. I think we're just going to kill her in the end. Is that okay? And I was like, sure, let's kill her. So we kill her off in the song. And no, it was great, man. And the success that he's had, man, it's just insane. It's so much fun to watch, you know. Um, but yeah, man, it was, it was a good time. Yeah. He's a great guy.
I've had him on the show before.
He is. And I, I've had him around country thunder since he was, you know, from an opening act to actually, you know, a headliner at one point. And, uh, he's just, he's an excellent, excellent kid. And, uh, so tell me about your touring schedule. How many dates a year are you doing now? What's it, what's it consist of?
We're doing a lot less shows than we're used to. Used to, we're around 150, 125 to 150 shows a year. And hell, two or three years ago or before COVID, it was closer to 200 shows a year.
Where are you living now? Where do you live?
I live just west of Fort Worth in Weatherford.
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Chapter 6: How did the song 'Damn Near Normal' come to life?
Oh, wow. So you stayed in Texas.
Yeah, I'm still in Texas. It's going to be hard for me to leave. I don't think, I mean, hopefully if I keep playing a couple more Country Thunder festivals, maybe I'll buy me a house up in the mountains or something. But for now, it's Texas for me. That's cool. Do you make it over to Nashville often? I do. We get there, I mean, I'm probably there 10 or 15 times a year.
If it's us just laying over, you know, traveling or now that we're kind of making this transition of genre of music or whatever it is, you know, the style of music, it's easier to be around those type of people in Nashville that kind of get it and the sound that I'm going for. So I've been spending a whole lot more time in Nashville than past years.
Yeah, it just seems like over the last, since COVID has ended, the whole scene has changed considerably from where everything was put into a box, it seemed like. And now it's kind of like, it's all over the place.
It is whatever you want.
And I think that's the best thing for music.
Yeah, absolutely. I hate when people put a genre on songs. If the shit's good, it's good. And I'm glad that everybody's starting to do that. And it's so easy to make music now. It's so easy to put your music out there. And the way the streaming world is and everything, man, it's really cool. It's just the way it's kind of evolving. We're seeing it firsthand, and it's really cool.
So what do you think about the TikTok artists who get discovered on TikTok and have never played a live gig? What's your thoughts on that?
Man, to me, I don't really have a huge input on that, man. I think get it however you can get it, man, absolutely. But whenever it gets there, you better be ready to show out, man. We started out on the road. That's all we knew how to do is get up there and play. And we were lucky enough that people started giving a shit about our music and stuff.
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