Off the Charts: Brett Carlisle

Bud Gambrell

Apr 30, 2025

Brett Carlisle is an award-winning songwriter paving his way with family, faith, and a new record.

Hello everyone! Welcome back! I'm thrilled you’re here and taking the time to join us. Your support means a lot, and I appreciate each and every one of you!

This local songwriter first contacted me in September 2024. He asked if I would be interested in his story. I told him that I was, and we found a local show that I could attend and conduct an interview.

That local show happened to be The Alabama Smoke Show Unplugged, a songwriter showcase scheduled for September 17, 2024. As life sometimes happens, it stepped up and cancelled my plans to attend. How about that.

Fast forward to early 2025. I ran into Brett at the Otis Walker show at Tangled Strings Studio, and I asked him if he might still be interested in an interview.

Brett was still very interested. I was very close to sincerely apologizing for my cancellation last September, but as I looked closer at Brett's activities, it was almost a stroke of fate that the interview was happening now. There has been a lot going on within his musical world. By the way, I still apologized.

Brett Carlisle for Mixed Alternative Magazine by Bud Gambrell Photography — Credit: Bud Gambrell Photography

Brett informed me of a few shows that he had coming up. If you know me, you already know that when I saw he was playing at the new Rocket City Honky Tonk that is the one I picked. The venue is run by my old friend Shane Bickel. Shane and I once saw each other often when he worked at Side Tracks Music Hall.

I pulled Brett aside to have a quick talk. We stepped out to the outside bar to hear each other and not compete for the juke box playing some old school country. It was a good thing the outside bar was covered, as it was a stormy evening in Huntsville.

Brett Carlisle for Mixed Alternative Magazine courtesy of Bud Gambrell Photography — Credit: Bud Gambrell Photography

The following is part of the conversation. We laughed a lot. This was a very relaxed but serious conversation. Check it out.

OTC: Tell me about Brett Carlisle. Where are you from? Are you married? Do you have any children?

BC: Well, I’m Brett Carlisle. I'm married. We have five children. Let me explain that first. We have two boys whom we adopted. They were her brother's kids. He passed away. We also have 3 girls—two of our own and one from my previous marriage. I was born and raised in Hazel Green, AL. We moved to Athens when we got married.

OTC: Born in the downtown Hazel Green Memorial Hospital, huh.

BC: (laughs) Yessir!

If you’re from North Alabama, you get the joke here. Hazel Green is a small town that relies on Huntsville for hospital care. Hazel Green may not have had an urgent care facility back then.

OTC: I understand that country music wasn't your first musical calling.

BC: Country music was not my first music calling. Country music came, I guess, out of my rebellious side. I was more of a Christian artist at the beginning. I wanted to be like my dad growing up. I wanted to do Gospel music. Now and then, some of my stuff kind of flares into going on the side of Jesus. I was bringing it back to him, but I found my way. So it went from Gospel to Contemporary Christian to Country.

OTC: You were the opening act when we met at the Otis Walker show over at Tangled Strings Studio. Now you're on your own tonight. Is there any difference in how you would approach being an opener compared to how you would approach this one?

BC: The Tangled String Studios show was a storytellers' type show, and we were telling about the songs we wrote. Here at Rocket City Honky Tonk, great venue, by the way, if you haven't been here. This will be playing covers back-to-back, to back-to-back, trying to get the crowd involved, you know, playing stuff, they know. I'll throw in an original here and there, but that's the difference between the venue, where they're focused on you, and the venue where they're not focused on you. You’re just there for entertainment.

OTC: Is there anything you do while you're on stage doing covers to make that connection with the audience?

BC: Definitely! I feel that you have to sing the songs so that they can sing something back. ‘Dixieland Delight’ is a big one! It's always been a big one. ‘Sweet Caroline’ is another song like that. ‘Family Tradition’ is another big one; we always like to play the songs that everybody knows. To get them going with you. And once you sing an original, they're paying a little more attention, bringing the attention to your music.

OTC: As I was doing my homework on you, I noticed that you promote not only your music on your social page but also other musicians.

BC: Yes, sir. I feel it's important to support each other in this business. We can't get anywhere without support. And I think it's very, very, very important to help other artists as well as promote yourself. And I think that's the way we grow. I think that's how we grow as artists. And grow as people as well.

OTC: While reviewing your social media, I saw a few EPK pictures of you with a busted guitar. There has to be a story there.

BC: So, we found this guitar at a thrift store. It cost $6. And I thought, man, this would be fun to redo. It would be a fun project for me to build this guitar from scratch, so I intend to do that. And then my wife suggested that we take some pictures. And I was like, OK. She said, I think you should do a busted guitar picture. And I was like, with what guitar? And she suggested, of course, the one we bought for $6. I was like, OK, yeah, I'm down with it. We want to take more pictures now, so I need to find another $6 guitar.

(laughter)

OTC: You traveled around and played a lot of places all over the southeast. How do you maintain your work-life balance while you're on the road?

BC: The biggest thing I have in my corner is a family that supports me. And they will go wherever it's family friendly. If I can travel somewhere like Gatlinburg or I want them to come with me. I want them to be there and experience it with me. Around here, there aren't a lot of places they can get in, but being close to home, it's OK. But as far as work goes, I'm very fortunate to have a job where I go in at 4:00 in the morning and get off around 11:30 to 12:00 noon. So, it gives me time with my family, and then I hit the road to do a show later that evening.

OTC: The first time we spoke was in September of last year. You reached out and wanted to sit down and talk, and for me, life happened. I couldn’t make it happen then. I'm sorry that didn't happen. At this point, I'm kind of grateful it didn’t. Because there's a lot to talk about. Have you ever heard of BAM Records?

BC: I have heard of BAM Records. I'm signed by them. I signed a recording contract with them two months ago.

OTC: Now, there had to be a phone call or a conversation that BAM Records wanted to sign you. Tell me about this. This conversation had to be just amazing.

BC: So, it wasn't a phone call. I played at a place called the Tennessean Truck and Travel Stop. There was a guy named Bobby Spivey there. Bobby wore a blue blazer and a ball cap. It just said the word MUSIC on it. After I completed my first set, he sat down with me and my wife, and he said, 'Hey man, I want to talk to you a little bit about what I do, he said. I'm a producer. I have my own label. I have my studio,’ he said. ‘I’d like to invite you to come and record any time for free, and I’d also like to talk to you about possibly signing a recording contract with me.’ And at the time, he'd been sipping on a little something. I didn't know if he was serious or not. So, it was kind of up in the air. I was thinking about it all night after that. We met the next day, Sunday after church, and he actually sat down with me and offered me the deal, the contract, and I signed it probably two weeks later.

OTC: And you haven't stopped smiling since.

BC: (laughs) It's hard to believe. It hasn’t hit me yet. I'm not sure of the exact release date yet, but by next Saturday, everything's done with the album, and I think that's when it will hit. When we do that whole album release party and all that, all the pre-sale stuff, I think that's when it will hit me!

OTC: That's another thing that happened, you know, since we talked back in September. You've got the record deal. You've been in the studio. Tell me about the studio experience. Was this your first time in the studio?

BC: My first time in a studio was at Silver Fox Sound with Robert Fox. Robert recorded three of my songs and produced some. What a great guy! He most definitely makes you feel at home when you're there. But this experience was very different because not only did I sing and play simultaneously, but I also had my drummer, Richard Best, playing while I was playing and singing. So it was like a live session. It's been different than my first experience recording the music and then going back and singing over the track.

OTC: You mentioned something about a possible showcase coming up to accompany the new album.

BC: In the fall, they're discussing a showcase at the amphitheater in Decatur with some of my label mates and me. I don't know who that's going to be yet. They have not conveyed all the information yet. They're still working on many details, but I'm hoping we pull that together and get it going.

OTC: While I was looking at your social media page, I saw a post that you got a possible CMA Fest invite.

BC: My label has contacted CMA Fest and was trying to work on getting me in there for May 3rd. I don't know if it's going to happen or not. I have not been contacted. I've not been told anything, just the possibility of it happening. It's just crazy to me!

OTC: So, I'm hearing a suitcase at home packed in case they call, so you can leave now, right?

BC: Yeah, I'm ready to go if they call me! Absolutely!

Since this interview, the CMA Fest has become a reality. Brett received word that he will play during the CMA Fest on June 8, 2025, at Bootleggers on Broadway from 6-9 pm. That’s excellent news, Brett! Congratulations! If you make it to the CMA Fest, stop by and check him out!

Also, since this interview, I spoke with Brett, who informed me that a music video is in the making. Be sure to be on the lookout for that.

OTC: Let's talk hardware and some things that have happened since we spoke in September. You won the 2024 Alabama Music Association Vocalist of the Year and the 2024 Alabama Music Association 2024 Male Entertainer of the Year. It has to be a little overwhelming that all these things are happening.

BC: It is, but I try not to take anything for granted. I don't want to get an ego over it. I don't want to get a big head about it. It's a big honor. Big, big honor! And of course, that took me to nationals, where I went out and played the Country Tonight Theater in Pigeon Forge.

OTC: Now there's another one, the NACMAI, that is a mouthful. You won Rising Vocalist of the Year and Rising Entertainer of the Year. That’s two more pretty big honors there.

BC: Yes, it is! That's nationwide and for the North American Country Music Association International. They've been doing this every year, and they have a Hall of Fame show on Saturday Night when you're there. Randy Travis was inducted last year. He was there when we were there.

OTC: So, this last six months or even the last year has been a whirlwind with a lot happening. The record deal, the album, the four awards. With all that in mind, how do you define success as an artist at this point?

BC: One song at a time. I try to take it one song at a time. I want my music to be felt and not just to be heard. I define success as wherever I go, whenever I go to a bar, whenever I go to a restaurant to play, somebody requests one of my songs. I think that's the most significant sign of success to me.

OTC: Two-part question. What inspired you to start writing songs? And is there any particular event or experience that led you to pursue songwriting?

BC: There definitely is. When I was 21, I was married, divorced, and had a child. In the same year, my ex-wife left and took my daughter with her. I didn't see her for six months. That propelled me to write my first and what I consider my best song, 'Barbie Car', which is one of the songs Mr. Fox produced for me. I was not a very good kid. I was not a very good high school student. I wasn't a perfect teenager or young adult, period. So, I did a lot of things, made a lot of stupid mistakes, and all of that culminates in many of the songs I write.

OTC: What values and beliefs do you hold that are reflected in your songwriting, and how do those values inspire and guide you through your creative process?

BC: I want to keep Christ strong in everything I do. I do, and I want people to hear the pain I went through in these songs. But I also want them to see the pain I’ve endured with my faith in Jesus.

OTC: What lessons have you learned through your songwriting, and how have those lessons shaped your perspective and creative process?

BC: I've learned I can't write a song in five minutes.

(laughter)

I always thought it was going to be easier and getting stuck on one song for two months kind of sucks. But it's made me patient. It's made me think a lot more, and I've been very grateful for that. I'm not a patient person by any means.

OTC: What do you feel is the hardest part of songwriting?

BC: Writer's block. Thinking about the following line. I have this notebook of songs that I don't know where to go with. So, I have probably 10-12 songs that are just sitting there.

OTC: Sounds like you need a collaborator.

BC: (laughs) I do. I would love to have somebody to write with. I wrote some with Tim Cannon. He's amazing! I've also had some help from Brad Thomas with some guitar parts, and he's also a great guy. As for sitting down face to face with someone and co-writing a song, I have not done that, and that's something that one of these days I will be doing very soon.

OTC: Is there a favorite time of day that you find is better for songwriting or a particular setting that gets you in the flow?

BC: I write songs in my bathroom. Not sitting on the toilet or anything like that. Yeah, on the edge of the bathtub after work. A lot of times, I'll come up with ideas and lines for songs while I'm at work. I'll be singing them in my head. I'll record something on my phone. When I get home, there's nobody there. The kids are still at school. My wife is still at work, and I will go into the bathroom, sit, and start playing what I hear in my head. Right around 1:00 until 2:00. It's the best time for me to write a song.

OTC: While it’s nice and quiet?

BC: Yes!

OTC: What are your plans for the future, Brett?

BC: I hope and pray that one day I'll be able to pursue a full-time music career. Right now, that's not feasible, but I plan to continue to push toward that goal and that dream.

OTC: Who are your favorite songwriters?

BC: My first favorite is a guy who got me into the genre that I am in. I'm a Southern Americana writer, and Drake White is probably my most significant influence on songwriting. He's a fantastic songwriter, and he is so underrated. So many people have no clue who he is.

OTC: He is also an Alabama boy.

BC: Yes, he is an Alabama boy. Another amazing songwriter is the Red Clay Strays and The Alabama Boys.

OTC: I can relate to that. Do you have any last words that you want to add for any of your current fans and any future fans?

BC: Chase your dreams! Do what you love to do. Do what you feel in your heart that you need to be doing because it will work out. If you believe in it enough, it's going to work out.

With that closing remark, I’ll get out of here. I don’t have any more inspiring advice to offer beyond that.

Until next time,

Keep your diamond down in the groove!