James Otto Shocked By Success

James Otto is likely the tallest man in a 10-block radius of New York's Times Square, but he's like a little kid looking up at the bright lights of the tourist mecca. The 6-foot-5 country crooner is full of excitement for this trip to the city he loves to visit. More importantly, he's relishing the sizable success he's found after more than a decade in the business. His breakthrough album 'Sunset Man,' is a critic and fan favorite alike and saw its first single, 'Just Got Started Lovin' You,' not only hit No. 1, but also become the most-played country song of the year. The Boot caught up with Otto in the Big Apple, to talk new music, old friends and MuzikMafia misconceptions.

Congratulations on the CMA Best New Artist nomination!

It's crazy, unbelievable. I was announcing with Lady Antebellum on CMT, and they actually handed the New Artist category off to Lady A just as they walked on the stage, so they couldn't read it beforehand. Lady A and I were both nominated ... and I absolutely thought I had no chance in that category. I kinda thought because 'Just Got Started Lovin' You' was the most-played song of the year, that we had Single of the Year. So as that went by, and it didn't happen, I started preparing myself to not be nominated at all. So it was a shock for sure.

Has there been one moment in your career when you thought, 'Alright, now I've finally made it!'?

I still don't feel like I've made it! I honestly feel like everything is a new set of challenges. It's like, OK now I've got a No. 1 and now we've gotta keep from being a one-hit wonder. How do we keep the ball rolling? And honestly, I think feeling like you've made it is the quickest way to find yourself out of that position. So I use anxiety as ammunition to fuel more songwriting. I'm always fearful that it could come to an end. I've been in this business for 11 years. Just one hit song doesn't fulfill the desire and drive that I have.

Was there ever a point where you just wanted to throw in the towel?

That's the thing about the music business -- there's really high highs and really low lows. And sometimes during a really low low, you question whether you're doing the right thing. I don't feel like I ever thought about quitting, because I don't know what else I'd do with my life. I've been a musician and an aspiring artist for as long as I can remember. I've been playing guitar since I was 14; I've been playing some kind of instrument since 2nd grade, and singing since I was 4. So, I've had this in my heart to do my whole life.

Your new single, 'These Are the Good Ole Days,' is a really fun, upbeat song. What's the story behind it?

The song was written by me and my buddy Shannon Lawson, my MuzikMafia brother and one of my best friends. And at that time, a couple of years ago, MuzikMafia was really bangin'. We knew we were going to look back on these as the "good ole days." Things were really great, even though things weren't all that great in our lives at that moment. That's actually why this song makes a good single at this moment in life, because it can relate to everybody. Even though times are hard right now in the United States and you see a lot of negative things happening, you've gotta stop and look around you and at the people around you. I think that people need to be reminded of that.

'Drink and Dial' is another fun favorite on the album, and I hear you're guilty of doing it.

Yeah, that song was written after a night of drinking with John Rich. We ended up calling the head of the record label, Bill Bennett and Gator Michaels, and the head of CMT as well. Basically calling them up at four in the morning really drunk and giving them a piece of our mind. So, yeah, not so smart.

What's the most personal song on 'Sunset Man'?

I'd say 'Damn Right' is probably the most personal. It's one of those songs where you bare your soul and share a little of your own personal heartache. That's the kind of song I usually identify with -- where you can tell the person's bleeding on the microphone. You can hear pain in their voice. Everybody's gone through heartache at one point in their life, and that's my own personal story.

What irks you the most about the music business?

The best talent doesn't always make it. And I always hate to see all these great people around town that I feel like deserve record deals and deserve to be having hit songs ... and they sit on the sidelines and watch what I would consider to be lesser talents succeed. In the music business and in Hollywood, there's a lot of style over substance. That, to me, is one of the biggest problems. It's more about what you look like than versus what you sound like, and I really hate that. If you're a great-looking person, go be a model. You don't need to be a singer.

When music history books are written a decade or so down the road, what do you think the MuzikMafia's legacy will be?

It's hard to say. There are a lot of people who really don't like what MuzikMafia is all about. They just look at Big & Rich and go, 'That's not country.' But there are so many aspects to what MuzikMafia is all about -- it's not just about country music, it's one of the aspects of it. And yes, we may leave a small little scar on the pretty face of country music right now but what I hope is that we open the business up to a broader definition of what country music is. I think that country radio has been what defines country music, and pop country seems to dominate now. But there's great traditional country, there's rockin' country, there's soulful country, there's a lot of different aspects of country music that I think should be exposed to the masses.

Who do you have the best time touring with?

Probably Big & Rich. They're as crazy as it gets, and it's an up-and-down turmoil with those guys. I have more crazy times with them than I've had with anybody else. I've been in plenty of trouble of those guys too. [laughs]

Speaking of John Rich and trouble, do you think he gets a bad rap?

Anybody who's as outspoken as John is going to have his detractors. But he likes that kind of thing. I think that honestly, it's made him powerful; it's made him who he is. Nashville has a tendency to not want you to voice your opinion on anything, because you'll polarize people. I understand the wisdom in that, and I also understand turning people on when they're gonna be turned on by what you do, and turning people off that aren't gonna be. I think that polarization is actually a good thing. You can be vanilla or you can be like Big & Rich are -- Neapolitan.

I know it's a little early to be asking, but can you give us a sneak preview of your next CD?

I think that from record to record, there's just a lot of growth. There's a lot of maturity as a man and as a songwriter and hopefully I'll continue down that path and become a better musician and a better writer and a better man along the way. You know, I don't even k
now what to expect out of this record until it starts getting laid down. I've started looking at songs; I've written probably 1,000 songs since I've been in Nashville. You start digging through them ... It's hard to find the right place every time -- to get to what is exactly the heart of James Otto. It takes a lot of soul-searching. I don't know that I've necessarily written an entire record yet. But again, it's that drive; that the best song is the next song. Hopefully I'm gonna put my thoughts down better in this next song than I did in that last one. And I hope to give the world the best that I have to offer.