Randy Houser Answers 11 Questions

Randy Houser has wanted to be a singer/songwriter his whole life. His dream began to materialize when he moved to Nashville from Lake, Mississippi in early 2003, bringing an air mattress and a pile of junk in a '92 Cougar. Things picked up for Randy fairly quickly, as he scored a music publishing deal shortly after moving to town and was on the charts by 2005 as a writer, having co-penned Trace Adkins' huge hit, 'Honky-Tonk Badonkadonk.'

Breaking through as a recording artist himself in 2008, Randy first hit the airwaves with the critically-acclaimed hit, 'Anything Goes,' which showcases his soulful, powerful pipes. On the strength of that song and its follow-up hit, 'Boots On,' Randy quickly gained industry recognition and a sea of fans.

As those fans now eagerly await Randy's sophomore album, 'They Call Me Cadillac' (due in September), The Boot caught up with the good-natured star to throw a few unsuspected questions his way. ("Wow! Your questions make me have to think!" he joked with us.)

What would you not do for a million dollars?

I would not go to Brokeback Mountain.

If you could make one annoying thing about the music business go away, what would it be?

Just the fact that just about everybody expects you to have soap star or movie star looks to be a country singer. Like the adage: "video killed the radio star." It should be if you're a good singer and a good songwriter, you should have your spot. You get everybody trying to release the prettiest guy, but that doesn't mean they're the best artist. Most of the time the true artists are just normal old dudes.

You're a manly man. But what's one girlie thing you've done lately?

Cry. One of my main weaknesses is a good movie. I'll just ball my eyes out. [The movie] 'Powder' makes me cry every time.

When was the last time you saw a bar fight?



About a month ago. Actually it wasn't in a bar, it was in an arena. I went down outside my hometown in Jackson, Miss. We played the rodeo, and they cut all the folks loose and put them on the floor. We were playing, and sure as hell, it started out with two girls and turned into about a 40-person brawl. I've been in a few [fights], too. I always won, thank goodness. I've never seen the bad side of it.

What's your biggest guilty pleasure?

Probably motorcycles. I ride just about every day. I have a Harley Davidson. Usually I can take my motorcycle on the road with me. It's my escape.

What song on the radio right now do you wish you'd written?

'The House That Built Me,' Miranda Lambert's song. That song hits everybody. I admire the sentiment of having a house that you go back to revisit. It brings back memories of the places I grew up in.

What's a song you've written that hasn't made it on an album yet, but you wish it would?

There are always songs that I wish I had room on an album to fit. If I could go make three more records right now, I would. There's a song that I really wish I could have recorded on this new album called 'We Could Love.' The song is about the way things are right now with everybody being so busy, and sometimes you and your partner will go to bed ... and just the stresses of the day and trying to make a living and how are you going to feed the kids. That can cause so much havoc on a relationship. There's so many people that can relate to that. It's a piece of life that real people live. People are just too tired to love each other sometimes.

Being around the adorable toddler, Drake Dixon, so much over the past year with the success of the 'Boots On' video, has that made you any closer to wanting to be a father someday?

I do want to be a daddy one day, but right now it's just not feasible. I'm gone all the time. I don't want to be an absentee father.

What's the weirdest place you've been recognized?

In the Jacksonville (Fla.) airport. It was so random, because it was when I first had 'Anything Goes' out. It was one of the first times anybody recognized me. It was a skycap. He let me go through with my heavy bag without paying. [laughs] He said, 'Man, don't worry about it, it's cool. You are Randy Houser, aren't you?' I said, 'Yeah! How the hell did you know who I am?' And then, a really weird place you get recognized is standing next to another dude in a urinal. I don't do the handshake at the urinal.

How'd you decide on 'I'm All About It' to be your new single?

Mostly my promotion team at the record label selected it. We had just done a merger with Toby Keith's label, so it's ShowDog Universal now. We're working with a brand new team, so we really wanted something they believed in. So they heard a demo of 'I'm All About It,' and we went and recorded it. They said, 'We can get this on all the radio stations.' We had just come off a single that didn't work, 'Whistlin' Dixie,' which I loved and still think should have been a big hit. So at this point, I was like, 'Okay, let's record it. If you guys really think this is a hit song, we need it.' The thing is, I need radio to play my music so I have work! I really love the song. It's a great summer song, it's uptempo and it sounds good on the radio.

How do you feel about Toby as a boss?

I think it's cool. Toby is an artist himself ... an artist in the true form as far as I'm concerned, being a real songwriter, and a real singer and the guy can actually play a guitar. He's seen all the crap we have to go through as artists trying to get up the ladder. I know you've got to work real hard to get where he's got. I just feel like he understands.

Look for Randy's new album, 'They Call Me Cadillac,' to be released on September 14.

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