I sat down and spoke with Jason Aldean for nearly an hour earlier this year. While we talked at great lengths about his latest Platinum selling album Old Boots, New Dirt and career, we also discussed why he wants music fans to either love or hate his music and his honesty about it really struck me.
“I started playing clubs at 14, and by the time I was 21, I moved to Nashville. I didn’t think about a plan B,” he told me, before getting reflective. “That never really crossed my mind. Once you’re a musician it’s not something that you just one day go, ‘Oh, I’m not going to do that anymore.’ You can always play in a bar somewhere. You can always find an outlet to play music, whatever it is. I always knew I was going to do it some way. I didn’t necessarily know it was going to be on this level. The ultimate goal was I wanted to make a living doing it.”
Of his music career, he said it was important for him to do something he enjoyed and not have to get up every morning and dread going to work. And with that said, it is equally important to him that his music hits listeners at their core — whether they love what he does or hate it.
“I don’t want there to be any in-between,” he said. “I think one of the worst things somebody can say is, ‘Yeah, it’s OK.’ That means it has done absolutely nothing for you. I want it to hit a nerve one way or another. If you hate it, you’ll be talking about it, and that’s all I want.”
Aldean says that the worst thing would be if his music was just background noise.
“At that point it has done absolutely nothing for you, and it has done absolutely nothing for my career, and it’s a waste of time.”
For more of my interview with Jason Aldean, visit Radio.com.