Brad Paisley will release a special edition of his new album, Wheelhouse, exclusively at Cracker Barrel on April 9.  That’s the same day the project hits stores everywhere, but the Cracker Barrel version includes three exclusive bonus tracks.  Cracker Barrel is also sponsoring Brad’s summer tour.

Brad’s new album features the #1 hit “Southern Comfort Zone,” the current single, “Beat This Summer” and collaborations with everyone from rapper LL Cool J and pop star Mat Kearney to Charlie Daniels and Dierks Bentley.  That diverse lineup is an indication of the kind of freedom Brad gave himself creatively on this album.

“The real test for me as a musician, songwriter, artist, whatever, is to see what happens when you take off the restrictor plate,” Brad says of making Wheelhouse.  “You take off the muzzle a little bit and see what you write.  See what you write when you don’t think there’s boundaries.”

Brad wrote and recorded this album in a farm house on his property near Nashville, which freed him up from having to deal with booking time in a traditional recording studio.  That was a blessing and a curse at different times during the recording process.

He says, “It’s a good way to do it, but you have to kind of keep yourself on track because there’s nothing like clocking in somewhere to make you busy.”

The fact that Brad produced this record on his own kept him focused on staying creative too.

“There was so much that was riding on it that the pressure of making sure it was what I wanted it to be kept me busy, you know,” Brad says, adding, “I can always find inspiration to create a song if there’s enough going on in my life.”

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

Join fans of 99 KZ Country on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/99KZCountry