Brandon Rhyder has been at it on the Texas music scene for over a decade. In that time, he's seen his popularity grow and his talents appreciated by fans and critics alike. His 'Live at Billy Bob's Texas' CD came out in 2011, and the two studio singles off that record were hits for Rhyder as well. With a show coming up Saturday at Southern Nights Dancehall, Brandon took some time to talk with me. We discussed his appreciation for his fans, new music, the changing landscape of the music business and more.

We started our conversation with Brandon telling us about the new addition to his live show, a fiddle player. "She's doing a really, really great job and it adds a lot to the show...also we've got some new songs out there, songs that we're going to put on the new record, songs that we've already recorded...and we're excited about that.". Brandon also discussed the new song, 'Haggard' and how that song came about becoming his latest single, somewhat by accident:

In the second segment of the interview, Rhyder tells us what one song he has to play for his fans every time he goes on stage, and talks about the great connection he has with people who love his music. "That's something I really pride myself on, is...you know, writing about subjects that sometimes are different in the approach, but at the same time can really be heard and taken and not exactly with anything but love. To write a song like 'Freeze Frame', you don't realize it at the time when you write that song, you don't realize it when it first comes out on radio, you don't realized it until you see how many lives it continues to affect...with songs like that it continues to give you a chance at having a career, so that's really what it's about.".

In the final portion of the interview, Rhyder talked about the importance of meeting with his fans at shows, and how it carries over to social network sites, too. "We do it every single show. I can't remember a show where I haven't done that. And I think it's just something that it's a part of the scene, it's a part of the fan base, it's a part of the reason that the fans love it so much...it also goes to Facebook and Twitter and your own website, and signing stuff when people order it." He also talked about a conversation he had with his dad regarding the music business, and shared some details of his next CD, telling us "We're going into the studio the first of March to finish this thing...there's gonna be a more country feel in some aspects, and then some songs I have a feeling people are going to be like 'where in the world did that come from?'."

Take a listen to the newest Brandon Rhyder single, 'Haggard' here:

 

 

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