Kiefer Sutherland has performed in 11 #1 box office hits, and he won a Golden Globe and Emmy for his role as Jack Bauer in the hit TV series “24.” In 2016, he decided to switch gears and pursue a country music career. His debut country music recording, “Down in a Hole,” was well-received, described as a “compelling, truth-telling album.” Sutherland has released his third studio album, “Bloor Street,” and he’s performing at Eddie’s Attic in Decatur on March 17. He recently joined “City Lights” senior producer Kim Drobes to share why and how he decided to dive into the world of country music.
Interview highlights:
Two completely different worlds of performance:
“I think I always feel a little bit of nervousness, and that doesn’t change. If I’m doing a play or if I’m working on a television show or a film, I am a large subscriber to the idea that if it doesn’t make you a little nervous, you probably shouldn’t be doing it,” Sutherland said. “I did feel that a 40-year career in film and television and as an actor on stage, that that would have some real benefits when it came to playing the concerts, and I was very wrong. My miscalculation was that as an actor, you’ve always got this character that is the bridge between you and an audience, and when you’re playing songs that you’ve written … that barrier is gone, and you feel much more vulnerable.”
A former rodeo rider:
“Actually, it was one of the most enjoyable times in my life because getting in the truck with a bunch of cowboys and hauling some horses from town to town, it was like we were in our own little band,” said Sutherland. “It was an amazing way to see the country … Being able to go from Berlin, New Mexico, to Las Cruces, to Gallup … and explore, via rodeos, the inner workings of America, was fascinating, and I enjoyed it immensely and realized that we’ve got a lot more in common as people across the country than I think we give ourselves credit for.”
A rocker discovering country music:
“I grew up in Toronto, Canada. I certainly did not grow up listening to country music. I think I used to make a joke that I was probably the only kid in kindergarten who had an Aerosmith t-shirt,” said Sutherland. “All of a sudden, I found myself traveling around with these cowboys, and they were listening to Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, all of the original outlaw country guys.”
“They were writing these songs in the first-person narrative. So, I’m a huge Led Zeppelin fan, but you know, I couldn’t tell you what track one off of Led Zeppelin IV … means particularly, but when I listened to Johnny Cash sing ‘A Boy Named Sue,’ I know exactly what he’s singing about. It’s a story. It’s got a beginning, a middle and an end. It’s what’s always been attractive to me about acting, is telling stories.”
Sharing memories through songwriting:
“Bloor Street runs east-west through Toronto, and Young Street runs north-south, and that intersection is the main intersection in Toronto, Canada,” said Sutherland. “I was looking at the four corners, waiting for the light, and I realized all my ‘firsts’ happened here. Like, the first job I ever had was in the food court at the Hudson Bay Center on the northeast corner. The first time I ever had a meaningful kiss with a girl was in front of the Bloor Street subway station. The first time I ever busked with a guitar and my case open for money was on one of those corners as well.”
“It’s certainly no secret; I’ve made some mistakes in my life, and some of them were significant, and I paid for some of those mistakes in a pretty significant way,” Sutherland said. “I’ve been to jail more than a few times, but there was one time I went for about three months, and it was an opportunity to not only take stock and, ‘Why is this happening?’ … But I also just realized that there’s nothing about this experience that is cool or exciting or interesting.”
He went on, “I was watching a movie, and in the opening credit sequence, a man was getting out of prison, and they did a really good job with the sound effects — as the gate was opening, the screeching sound of the prison doors. And I had a visceral reaction to it, and I turned the TV off, and I said to myself, ‘There ain’t no sound I’ve learned more to hate than the sound of the county jail gate.’ And lightbulbs went off.”
Tickets for Kiefer Sutherland’s performance at Eddie’s Attic on March 17 can be found here.
Keifer Sutherland’s new record, “Bloor Street,” is available to stream and purchase via Cooking Vinyl Records here.
