EXCLUSIVE ARTIST INTERVIEW: A FEW MINUTES WITH MO PITNEY

If you're a country music fan, I mean a TRIED and TRUE fan of twang, tradition and storytelling, you need to tune into Mo Pitney. Remember the name because Mo is the real deal, the next voice of traditional "sop grandma's homemade biscuits up with some gravy" country music. Trust me, country isn't dead, it's just starting to come back to life with a revival of the likes of new artists like of Mo, Craig Campbell, Sturgill Simpson, Cody Wickline, and Mary Sarah. These new artists are knocking at country's door and fans are starting to answer the door with an enthusiastic response.

I was invited to sit in on Mo's radio tour stop at WQDR 94.7 FM in Raleigh, NC on Friday, April 24 and I thought I knew what to expect, but Mo blew right past my expectations and stopped me dead in my tracks. On the way down, my main thought was "God don't let him play 'Clean Up on Aisle Five"" because bursting into tears in front of a room of radio industry personnel, his rep from Curb Records and Mo himself isn't on my list of "Must Do's". That song always hits me and never fails to bring the tears to the surface so I knew this was a real possibility. When I arrived a few minutes late and walked around the corner, I didn't hear a room full of laughter or random talking, what I did hear was simply a guitar and this amazing voice singing the last few notes of the song I wanted to yet didn't want to hear, so I took a deep breath of relief and walked in the room only to hear him start a song called "Just a Dog". Being the owner of an 11 year old dog and having put my other dog to sleep just a few years ago, I know this wasn't gonna be good for me. I'm a sucker for dog songs but I had no idea about the impact of this song. As he sang about his loss, I felt the loss of mine all over again, along with half the room. You could look around the room and, in the dead silence, "hear" the emotion through sniffles, gentle clearings of the throat and you could see every other people dabbing at red rimmed eyes with tissue. That's what country music is all about, the ability to tell a story that affects the listener in one way or another. Mo Pitney is the "ePITome" of the country songwriter. From his baseball cap to his cowboy boots, Mo's blood pumps pure country and those roots run deep into his soul and he offers no apologies for staying true to who he is and for refusing to fit the current country mold. I love this about him. 

Mo's single, "Country" is currently playing on country radio and I really hope to see more stations add it because more people need to hear this amazing artist and even more than hear him, experience him. Mo's music is a gift that every country station should give their listeners. He reaches far beyond the whiskey, his drive is much stronger than the most tricked out jacked up truck and he doesn't need to sing about tight jeans or white tank tops to make an impression. All it takes is a simple song, one that comes from his heart and one that means something. That's Mo, simple yet significant. He's a gentle soul with stories to tell and memories to create.

Connect with Mo Pitney online at www.mopitney.com, on Twitter and Facebook.