Uncle Kracker

Uncle Kracker
a.k.a. Matthew Shafer

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DOWN-HOME BOY
Onetime Kid Rock Sidekick Uncle Kracker Heads to the Country for 72 and Sunny
Perhaps the only pop success more unlikely than white country-rapper Kid Rock's is that of his onetime DJ, reborn as the MOR tunesmith Uncle Kracker. For years, the Michigan native hung in the background, manning the turntables for Kid Rock -- long before his Great Lakes State homeboy had anything resembling a mainstream profile -- and forging old-school rap and gutbucket rock into a sound worthy of Ted Nugent's home turf. Along the way, though, Kracker -- or, as his closer pals call him, Matt Shafer -- began to develop his softer side, one that first came to light on his breakthrough solo hit, "Follow Me," off the 2000 album Double Wide. Several years on, he's morphed almost completely into the lovable Uncle with a penchant for '70s rock and country music. His latest solo offering, 72 and Sunny, is chockablock with songs that easily match that summery forecast. The disc even features a duet with Kenny Chesney on "Last Night Again," the country star's answer to Shafer's guest shot on his single "When the Sun Goes Down." Uncle K shared some sunshine with Barnes & Noble.com's David Sprague in this exclusive interview.

Barnes & Noble.com: Do you think you've changed drastically since your first album?

Uncle Kracker: I think the only way I've changed was just getting more mature. I think having a couple daughters will definitely do that to ya. I'm definitely the same guy, basically. I'm still in Detroit, and I ain't gonna leave there. There's nothing all that different in my life.

B&N.com: Was the country thing always there for you?

UK: You know, when I was growing up, my old man listened to all Motown, and if wasn't that it was some old country stuff. I think it starts there. And then as I got older, I got more into country. And even on my first record -- I mean, a lot of it was rap stuff, but there were still some slide guitars, pedal steel. So I guess it's been there all along.

B&N.com: Considering your start with Kid Rock, were you surprised that the country audience was ready to accept you?

UK: I grew up listening to a lot of country stuff. And it's always been apparent in my records. I mean the first record I put out was mostly rap, but there was a song on there called "Follow Me" that did get country radio play. But people were kind of freaking out that, you know, to end up doing that duet with Kenny Chesney. And people for some reason just kinda think Kid Rock spit me out of his womb and I ended up on a Kenny Chesney song. You know, things didn't happen like that. It was a more gradual thing.

B&N.com: What is it about Kenny Chesney that makes the two of you click?

UK: We've become pretty good friends, and I don't know why it is that we get along so well. I think it's that we're close in age, and I haven't met a lot of people...you meet a lot of egos in this business. Kenny's just...he throws all that out the window. He's just a cool person. He's easy to get along with, just a really cool cat. I mean, you meet some cool people, but not that cool. I don't know. I think that's why we hit it off so well, 'cause he's just that cool.

B&N.com: Could you see working with Kid Rock again?

UK: I would love to. I think that would be awesome if there's time. He and I are doing a side project together right now that's called Dick Willy, but that's mostly just for fun right now. I love that old rap stuff. I didn't do any of it on this record, but I love it.

B&N.com: Is it true that this is the first album you actually recorded in a regular studio?

UK: Yeah. The first album was recorded in the back of a bus. There's no space, there's no nothing, and I had no time. And the second record I had no time, but I had space, but it wasn't in a real studio. I just took the same Pro Tools rig that we had in the bus and put it up in a loft above my attorney's office. To be able to block out as much time as you needed in a real studio with room and tones and just everything, it was just...what a treat.

B&N.com: The album's title seems pretty appropriate for summertime. What does it mean to you?

UK: You know, when somebody asks you, "How you doing?" Sometimes you hear people say, "Everything's hunky-dory." You don't know if that's good or bad. 72 and Sunny is the same for me. That's a good day. It's not a bad day...but it could be better! I think it's just me being sarcastic, maybe.

B&N.com: Sarcasm aside, do you see yourself going back to the harder-edged stuff in the future?

UK: I don't think so. I think...I'd love to make Devil Without a Cause, Part 2, 'cause that would be a lot of fun, but then you get there and go, "Eh, that's been done." Movin' on is really important. Maybe some stuff will get heavier, but I'm happy doin' this right now.

June 2004