Driving through the mountains can both be relaxing and stressful – just ask Joseph Plunket.
“We’re in the middle of nowhere,” he says. “It’s beautiful to see and experience, but it doesn’t bode well when you have phone interviews planned. We’re hoping we have enough service.”
Plunket is one member of the Nashville, Tennessee-based trio Country Westerns. He is joined in the band by Brian Kotzur and Jordan Jones.
Country Westerns is currently on a six-week tour opening for Titus Andronicus. The tour makes a stop at 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 22, at Launchpad.
The band is readying its sophomore album, “Forgive the City,” for release on April 28.
Plunket says the band was in the studio for over a week and it was split between two sessions.
“We were writing long before that,” he says. “During the pandemic, we had a lot of time stuck at home. We went back to the same studio where we recorded our first album. It was a reunion of sorts.”
Plunket says the new album is a tighter and faster spin on their sound.
“Overall, it’s about partnerships. Though never planned as a concept, writing the last few songs (sometimes in the studio) I started to realize that none dealt with romantic relationships in any direct way,” Plunket says. “They’re intense songs about friendships, fellow travelers, even business associations – how exciting they can be when things begin and how disappointments, betrayals or shared success can leave just as much a mark on your life as romantic love. In the end that’s all a band is right?”
Plunket because the band is opening for Titus Andronicus, its set is much shorter.
“Brian is in charge of the set list,” he says. “It’s great to have a little more than one album to choose from. He will try to balance it out old and new songs.”
Plunket says after this tour ends, Country Westerns will hit the road with Deer Tick in June.
“We’ve toured with both bands before and each tour has been amazing,” he says. “We’ll do our own headlining tour later this year.”
Plunket says music has always been at the forefront for him and it’s been an incredible journey of self discovery through music.
“I’ve always had a day job working in the service industry to make ends meet,” he says. “This time around, we’re touring as full-time musicians and that makes me happy because I don’t have to think about going to another job when the tour is over. It’s music all the time.”
