In the spirit of his outlaw country and hard rock heroes, military veteran turned singer-songwriter Gethen Jenkins speaks his own truth in "Basket Case," which he describes as "a song about being in the Marine corps, and the only thing that's keeping me sane these days is riding my motorcycle."
Videos by Wide Open Country
Today, Wide Open Country debuts a music video for the cut from forthcoming album Western Gold. In the spirit of a song about the struggles of fitting in after returning to civilian life, it features a cross-section of Jenkins' rowdy friends.
"We called in some favors from a bunch of people, a bunch of great people that showed up at the drop of a hat and were willing to do what we needed them to do," Jenkins says. "You know that's what it is all about. It's a family, and it means a lot to me that they were here to be in my video and that's why we do this. It's not for us. It's for everybody else."
Jenkins wrote the autobiographical cut, named for motorcycles cobbled together with used parts, with Aaron Raitiere, co-writer of A Star is Born's "I'll Never Love Again" with Lady Gaga, Hilary Lindsey and Natalie Hemby. He turned to Cole Needham to direct the music video.
"Working with Gethen felt like home," Needham says. "Working with [Jenkin's] texture and his music, it's what I grew up on."
Jenkins cites such hard-nosed and husky-voiced forerunners as Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings and Billy Joe Shaver and the grunge rock band Pearl Jam as influences on his fresh take on time-tested sounds. To hear more from Jenkins, check out his debut full-length album Western Gold, out July 26.
Now Watch: Songs Every Waylon Jennings Fan Knows By Heart
https://rumble.com/embed/u7gve.v3v8m7/
