Josh Turner Heads to Studio With New Tunes

It's been a little more than a year since Josh Turner's 'Haywire' album was released, and the South Carolina native is anxious to get into the studio and start recording his fifth album.

Josh is open-minded when it comes to choosing music, however, don't expect him to record a cheating song. "Yeah, there are certain things that I probably won't sing about," he tells The Boot with a laugh. "A lot of times it depends on how a song is written. I'm definitely not going to go and sing a song that condones certain things. But there's been times, even on my first record, that I sang from the viewpoint of a homeless man on a song called, 'I Had One One Time.'"

While the father of three didn't have a hand in writing the first three singles from 'Haywire,' he may have a heavier hand on the next project. "At the moment, most of the songs that are in contention are ones that I wrote, which makes me feel good in one sense," he says. "In another sense, it's like, 'Where are all the outside songs?' I've listened to a lot of outside stuff and just haven't really heard anything that moves me. I don't know if I'm getting old and crotchety or what. [laughs]"

'Why Don't We Just Dance,' written by Jim Beavers, Jonathan Singleton and Darrell Brown, and 'All Over Me,' penned by Rhett Akins, Dallas Davidson, Ben Hayslip, both topped the charts for Josh last year. Additionally, his cover of Don Williams' 'I Wouldn't Be a Man' -- written by Mike Reid and Rory Michael Bourke -- is currently in the Top 25 on the charts.

Despite adjusting to the addition of another baby in the house since his third son Marion Crawford's birth in December, Josh assures us he's had plenty of time to write. "Most of the songs are pretty new, as of New Years," he says. "I've just been living with them since then and they still sound good to me. I think they'll probably make the record. There's a good handful of them right now."

But how is he able to concentrate with three boys running around? "I spent the last two years building a writers cottage on my property that I go to and do all my writing in," he explains. "Obviously, my wife has help with the boys on those days. I just go over there and try to get inspired and write something."

And that inspiration can go either way -- he can pull from his own experiences or just make it up. "Each day I feel a little differently, some times I try to write something that's fictitious and then there's other times where I try to write something that's true," he explains. "In today's time, writing stuff that actually happened is touch-and-go, because you don't want to be too personal. If you are, then it probably won't relate to a mass audience. A lot of times you have to make it sound like it's about everybody else, but you really went through it."

That being said, he does enjoy doing a little acting if the song is up to par. "It all depends on how it's done, because there are times where I'll throw in this-or-that that may not seem like 'Josh Turner,'" he explains. "I'm not afraid to sing about anything, really."

When Josh isn't in the studio this summer, he'll be on the road. His next stops are May 20 in St. Petersburg, Fla. and May 21 in Valdosta, Ga. Get ticket information and a complete list of tour dates here.