“I started playing on the streets of Lower Broad as soon as I was a teenager and was kicked out of Robert’s, Layla’s, and Gruhn Guitar more times than most regulars had been there before the age of 20,” reminisces songwriter and recording artist Benjamin Tod on his formative years as a rare Nashville local.
“Looking back now, I see how much those experiences shaped and influenced me. I certainly took it for granted most of my life, but now that I’m on the ‘backside of thirty’ I can feel the Honky Tonk deep down in my blood.” Tod cut his teeth on a myriad of genres and notably found success with poignant folk songwriting fronting his group, Lost Dog Street Band, but the pull back to Nashville’s country music scene he once rebelled against was strong enough to land him with a bucket full of songs and an album to make.
On October 18th via Thirty Tigers, Tod will release his all-new solo LP, Shooting Star, a ten-song venture into country music’s last six or seven decades. “The original idea for this album was for each song to be placed in a different production period in country music history,” says Tod. “Obviously, there’s no way to cover everything so my preference shines through. A tune goes as far back as the mid-50s and spans up to the early 90’s.” The album—which Tod sees as a musical homecoming of sorts—was written in about two weeks. “It spilled out seamlessly,” he says. “I wanted to prove to myself and the industry that I could write an elite country record with ease. If I didn’t accomplish that goal, I sure as hell came closer than anyone on pop country radio either way.”
Today, Tod released his first single from Shooting Star, “I Ain’t The Man.” “I wrote ‘I Ain’t The Man’ after many incidents in Nashville over the years being mistaken for a hipster,” says Tod. “As people have moved in from predominately coastal cities, us Native Nashvillians do have more and more negative experiences with confused strangers in town.” The song’s title is a phrase Tod has had to use against, in his words, “soft-handed cosplay cowboys who don’t know the cultural respect or etiquette” as Nashville continues to devolve into a party destination for all walks of life. “Just know that every now and then in Nashville, you might step on the boot of a real one.”
Fans can stream or purchase “I Ain’t The Man” today at this linkand pre-order or pre-save Shooting Star ahead of its October release right here. In September, Tod, along with the entire Lost Dog Street Band, will hit the road for a nationwide Shooting Star tour covering both his solo and band catalogs. Tour dates can be found below and at benjamintodmusic.com.