Charles Esten was a musician long before he was an actor. However, you'll likely recognize his comedic charm from Whose Line Is It Anyway? or his steadfastness as Deacon Claybourne on Nashville or more recently, his malevolence as Ward Cameron on Outer Banks. And while he became immersed in the entertainment industry in L.A., it was really music that was his true calling. Esten says, "I spent a whole lot of time with a guitar in front of a microphone with my college band. Music spoke to me and to the life I was living."
When he moved to Nashville from Los Angeles 12 years ago to take on the character of Deacon Claybourne, Esten says he "was like a kid in a candy store. Just getting to know all these songwriters and musicians and artists and producers. It was like a masters class in Music City and going home to where I started."
That "masters class," as he calls it, eventually led Esten to create his debut album, Love Ain't Pretty. Almost a decade in the making, he says, "I think the process had a lot to do with figuring out who I was as an artist. I often portrayed other people and their music. It was time for me to say who I am. I'm so grateful for that long process so that by the time I got into the studio to record, I didn't have any questions about what I wanted to say or how I wanted to say it."
The long-awaited Love Ain't Pretty is a 14-track collection of mature, soulful songs infused with Esten's musical influences like Springsteen, R.E.M., and Tom Petty, to name a few, about the ups and downs of life and love. "I like to write in a very story-teller, literal way. And I feel very fortunate that my heart is easily moved by what others are going through," he says. "As an actor, it's my instinct to put myself in someone else's shoes as much as I can. And it's nice to take a vacation from my windshield." Esten co-wrote every song on the album, drawing his "inspiration from everywhere. And my wife Patty is my muse."
Esten and Patty have been married for 33 years and have three grown children. "I'm very fortunate and very blessed with this incredible wife and kids and this rather good life. So how do you write songs that address how hard life is and how much pain there is? I've had my share over the years and anybody who reaches a certain age has, but hopefully, I do it with empathy, and try to address it in as realistic and as meaningful a way as you can."
Later this month, Esten will embark on a UK and European tour with thirteen solo headline shows. "It's a strange word I use to describe what country music is to people overseas because it's the last word we would use, and that is a bit exotic. Yet they are listening to these echoes of music that came from them. It's both far away and familiar, which is a real sweet spot. When they get hooked by it, they tend to go a little deeper on it. I think it becomes a little bit part of their identity."
The 58-year-old played the Opry for the 170th time last month. He has also earned a spot in The Guinness World Records for "Most Consecutive Singles Released" by putting out 54 singles in 54 weeks every Friday during his #EverySingleFriday campaign which began on July 15, 2016, and ended on July 21, 2017. "These are things that happen when I keep doing to the best of my ability these things that I love. I just know that I love to write songs, and I love to play music. God keeps blessing me with these moments that I never could have imagined."
CharlesEsten.com
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