Frankie Ballard Needs a ‘Good Woman’

Frankie Ballard's self-titled debut album doesn't hit stores until next Tuesday (May 24), but The Boot has the full-album listening party here a week early! The Michigan native hand-picked seven tunes for the package, which also includes his self-penned current single 'A Buncha Girls.'

"I'm excited for it to come out and for people to finally have it," Frankie tells The Boot. "There's a couple of songs that really show who I am as an artist. They're swampier, have a lot of guitar playing and a lot of ruckus, romping, stomping stuff. Like 'Grandpa's Farm' and 'Get on Down the Road.'"

Girls, hold on to your hearts; the singer-songwriter's got a swoon-worthy reason for why he loves a certain tune on the CD. "One of my favorites on the album is 'Sober Me Up,' which is a slow down, soulful song with some bluesy licks in it," he explains. "I didn't write it. I've just lived it. It's about needing a good woman to help keep your feet on the ground, because life can get crazy and it's a whirlwind of stuff. That's what I'm going through. I'm so busy all the time, and you can lose yourself and forget to slow down sometimes. That song is about the only real thing that can help you do that. In my case, it's a good woman."

Releasing your first album is a huge achievement, and Frankie is going to celebrate where it all began. "I'm going to be in my hometown and we're going to do an in-store thing at Walmart," he says. "I'm really excited because my family will be around. It's the proper way to drop the album, back in my hometown."

Of course, there are two people in particular with whom he wants to share the moment. "My parents," he confirms. "They're so proud and excited about what's going on. It's going to be cool for them to see it in the stores and see it physically happening."

Will Mom cry? "Oh, yeah," he admits. "She probably will. [laughs]"

While Frankie wouldn't trade the successes he's experienced in the past year -- from opening for Bob Seger and Taylor Swift to releasing his first album -- there are a few things he misses about the old life. "I miss playing the way we used to play," he admits. "We had a couple of house gigs back in Michigan, which we played every week. The production was lower and there was not all this set up. We'd just go in and rock and have fun. The people were right there, and it was in a bar. They're right there, you're talking to them and they're talking to you. They're making requests. It's more like a party, family atmosphere. Some of those nights I really miss because it was so much fun. It's not like that anymore. It's all, bigger stages and there's a backstage area and soundchecks. Some of those old honky-tonk days were really fun."

There's also time to get your name in the hat for a visit from the man himself. "Right now at FrankieBallard.com, you can pre-order the album and it comes in package with a t-shirt. The album's signed, and it's a special price and everything," he explains. "We're going to randomly pick one pre-order client, and I'm going to specially deliver it to their house. We're just going to mix it up and pick one out of the hat. I might show up on your door step with your Frankie Ballard stuff. [laughs]"

Frankie's working up until the last minute, with shows in Pontiac, Ill. Friday (May 20) and Bartlet, Ill. Saturday (May 21). Get ticket information here.