10 Questions with…Christian Kane

13 years ago Liv Carter 2

Christian Kane has been one of my artist-to-watch recommendations for years now. If you have a chance to catch a live show, take it. Get to know him a little better with the short Q&A below.

1.) You made the transition from a small town in Oklahoma, to Los Angeles. That’s a big leap! What influenced your decision to make that transition?
I went to the University of Oklahoma and got kicked out of the School of Arts, so I switched majors to Marketing. I always knew I wanted to be in the entertainment business and I knew they didn’t offer that course, so my fourth year there I packed everything up and moved to Los Angeles to pursue my dreams.

2.) Your current single “Let Me Go” is a powerful ballad describing the hardships of love. How did the process of this song come about?
The song was written by Casey Beathard and Tom Shapiro and I pride myself on writing the majority of the album, but to overlook the talent in Nashville, with the writing pool that it has, would be absurd. I wanted to find some songs that were me, but that I didn’t write, so I tracked Casey down for almost a year and asked if he would take a shot on an up-and-comer with a hit song like this. He finally said ‘yes,’ and I was happy [because it fit perfectly into the story of my journey].

3.) You have collaborated with many well known songwriters in Music City including Blair Daly, Brett James, and Jerrod Niemann, just to name a few. Has anyone given you any valuable advice when it comes to the Country music world?
When I first started as a writer a lot of people told me, ‘Just write what you know,’ and I took that pretty seriously. You won’t hear me singing songs about being married or being on the back of a tractor, because I don’t know anything about that stuff. So, I really wanted to write songs that I knew everything about, which is love, loss, women and drinking, and that’s where the album, “The House Rules,” comes from.

4.) In the hit show “Leverage” you play the character of Eliot Spencer. Have you found your acting skills have crossed over to your Country music career?
Obviously I carry the craft with me when we’re doing music videos, but I’ve been very fortunate that the majority of the films and tv series that I’ve ever done, I’ve been able to incorporate the music. So it’s visa versa; the music has actually filtered into the acting.

5.) How do you manage to balance your schedule on the road with your music, along with your television taping schedule?
It’s the best of both worlds: half of the year I get to be an actor and half of the year I get to be a singer.

6.) The music video for “Let Me Go” has been number one on CMT.com, congrats! You credit your fans, known as the “Kaniacs” for the success. How else have your fans supported you throughout your career?
We’ve been doing music for over 10 years, and the biggest testament that I can give to my fans is that they waited patiently and never went away. They all believed and kept the faith. So to bring a record out and see them still there was the best gift you could get [as an artist].

7.) Growing up in the south, I’m sure you had many musical influences. Who were a few, and what made them stand out to you?
My favorite songwriters in the world are ‘Bernie’ Taupin and Jerry Cantrell, but when you look at an entertainer as a whole, I have to give full credit to Mr. Garth Brooks. He showed me how to treat the fans and that while it’s a job you take very seriously; you always have to have fun!

8.) On your website I noticed you have fan sites dedicated to you in France, Germany, and Italy! Have you had a chance to perform overseas, and if so are the crowds different?
We’ve performed all over England and in Germany, Scotland and South America. The fans there are no different – they are just fans. The greatest thing in the world is when you go to another country and you meet people for the first time and they are singing your songs back to you. We love traveling overseas!

9.) You are obviously on the road quite a bit. What are your must-haves while traveling, including music, food, etc.
It’s not what I bring with me, but what I take away from traveling [that is a must-have]. I’ve kept every hotel room card from the last six years of traveling. I have a stack a mile long and one day I’m going to do a collage of every place I’ve been with all of them.

10.) What is your favorite cover song to perform during a live show and why?
Waylon’s classic, “Luckenbach Texas” is my favorite song to cover, because we do our own steed version, which we started doing when we would play the Viper Room on Sunset Blvd.

Bonus Questions
1) It’s football season! Do you have a favorite NFL team you are rooting for?
Yes, the Dallas Cowboys!

2) Have you ever been star-struck? If so who was it, and where were you?
Yeah, I met Bill Cosby, who at the time was known as “America’s father,” on the CBS lot when I first moved to LA.

[via allaccess.com]
Liv Carter

Liv Carter

Liv is a career coach for creatives, and the people who work with them.
She holds several certificates from Berklee College of Music, and a certificate in Positive Psychology from UC Berkeley.
Her main influences are coffee, cats, and Alexander Hamilton.
Liv Carter

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