You're bound to get into some sort of absurdity when speaking with comedian Bill Burr. However, you don't expect to get super raw and vulnerable with him. However, Keith Urban unfurls his messy, complicated past in Nashville breaking into country music.
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Recently, Keith Urban appears on Bill Burr's Monday Morning Podcast. There, he recalls uprooting his life in Australia to pursue the dream of American country music in 1992. However, the rosiness of that dream quickly wilts upon impact. "I got to Nashville and it was really hard. Harder than I thought it was going to be. I couldn't have checked more boxes of, 'This is not going to work,'" he recalls.
Keith Urban Turns to Drugs Amidst The Instability of Country Music
Eventually, Keith finds the kind of industry drama that faces anyone aspiring for their dreams. The cynicism of the veterans creep in, the desperation of those trying to break in rise. Additionally, the gatekeepers of sorts prevent anyone from waltzing in, especially during the nineties. With no healthy ecosystem and his family and friends across the globe, he finds his new solace. "That's where drugs came in, and they worked great for me. Because it allowed me to stay and (to) just keep going at it," Urban explains.
As time passes, Keith finds his community amongst the songwriters in Nashville. They come to learn that he has the real deal when "But For The Grace Of God" takes off. "I was really lucky because the writing community, the songwriting community was really good to me right out of the gate. They knew I was the real deal. I could play, I could write, and I was there for the long haul," Urban says. "Nashville is a small town, especially in the early 90's. They were just making sure that you weren't coming in to be a carpet bagger."
