Crockett

Ian Crockett embodies all the attributes and qualities of a true artist. Despite a long road of trial and error, his visionary spirit has yielded, in "Driving Miles of Heartache," his best music yet. The title is a testament to the ups and downs he has faced while emerging as a songwriter and artist in a multi-faceted career, which has included stints in LA and Chicago.

The album was a joint collaboration with Pete Sternberg (Angie Aparro, Dave Mason, The Januaries), who shares credit as co-writer, bass player and producer on all the songs. The two have collaborated for several years as writers and bandmates. This partnership, along with the addition of Trey Gray on drums (Faith Hill, Jewel, Brooks & Dunn) and Tim Craven, engineer/producer (Erin McKeowen, Patty Larkin, Sara Evans) has been the definitive difference in their writing and recording. “Working with musicians who are at an extremely high level musically and seeing their commitment to getting incredible sounding tracks was a huge source of inspiration,” says Ian. “It really challenged me to bring the best songs to the table, and I often found myself going back and re-writing over and over to match the intensity of what the other players were contributing.”

After trimming down the material from over 30 songs to the final 10, Ian and Peter recorded, mixed and produced the songs independently with the help of an all-star cast of musicians. The two were determined to capture the acoustic, indie-driven sound that Petty, Dylan, Springsteen and modern day rockers like Wilco have achieved. “The idea was to make a record that could deliver a level of honesty, and musicality that would win the respect of the artists I have revered since I began playing and writing. I realize that might seem lofty, but keeping their spirits in my thoughts helped me make what I feel is a real, uncompromised recording that I can be proud of.”