A morning full of work led me to a pleasant, warm, and sunny afternoon in east Nashville. I was scheduled to interview the talented singer/songwriter Rayland Baxter. When I arrived to Rayland's house, I was welcomed with a warm smile and friendly wave at the entrance of his screened in porch.
When I walked over, he shook my hand, and led me into the peaceful room. We chatted for a little bit about growing up in Nashville while I setup my equipment, which led to his story of how he was raised into music from a young age.
Rayland's father, Bucky Baxter, took him on a motorcycle trip in the third grade where he would get his first guitar. It was an electric blue guitar that he loved. Rayland's passion was not necessarily in music from a young age as he like to play sports, be outside, and enjoy what life had to offer.
With this mentality, Rayland grew up listening to music from his father's steel guitar rather than his own, but this was for the reason of letting things occur naturally rather than forcing himself to write songs.
His idea of growing up meant getting to see the world, understanding cultures, and taking time to pay attention to details. Looking around the room I was in, I saw a piece of artwork his sister had kept for him from a fan. The story behind that will come later, but it was seeing the details that gave me a sense of who Rayland Baxter was.
When Rayland left college in Tennessee to live Colorado, he learned a lot from the differences in culture and ideology. He watched stories unfold before his eyes. Rayland would busk around town, play songwriter's nights, and work towards getting his music out.
Rayland was offered a position as a guitar tech for the band Mooshine Sessions in Europe. Working throughout Europe, he was led to finding love in Paris. Unfortunately, the relationship ended, and the song "Olivia" was born. The song talks about how phenomenal love is when it is present, and the tragedy of losing that love.
Rayland reached out to his father's friend to take some time off in Israel. His time in Israel was spent learning about his influences, understanding a new culture, and writing music including the song "The Woman For Me."
His travels allowed him create songs from the series of events that occurred at every stop along the way. You get a sense that his music is more about living life rather than the sufferings.
Opportunities to open for the Civil Wars, Grace Potter, and The Lumineers helped in his career now. With smile, Rayland had concluded his story, but not without explaining the piece of artwork that a fan had given to him after a show. It was a continuous line drawing out his album cover for Imaginary Man. He keeps it outside in his screened in porch.
It was with that, and the story behind his Plymouth Valiant that Rayland had to make his depature for the afternoon. If you want to hear more of Rayland's music, check him for free out at Musician's Corner on May 27th at 4:30 P.M. The rest of his tour schedule can be found here.
