George Ducas was born in Galveston, Texas. Later he moved to and performed in the Nashville area clubs by night and set about honing his songwriting skills by day. To date Ducas has released four studio albums: 1994's George Ducas (1994), Where I Stand (1997), 4340 (2013) and Yellow Rose Motel (2019). He is about to release his fifth album Long Way from Home. Produced by Pete Anderson (who is perhaps best know, in this context, as the producer of Dwight Yoakum’s earlier albums; as well as working with another roots/country artist Moot Davis). It is likely to be a high point today.
He has also achieved success as a songwriter gaining a hit as co-writer for Just Call Me Lonesome in the Billboard charts when it was released by Rodney Foster. Later he penned songs for the likes of Garth Brooks and George Jones, Gary Allan and Trisha Yearwood. He had a hit under his own name when Lipstick Promises made the top ten in the country charts. As an artist he has remained true to his personal vision and looks ready for continued acclaim with his latest album. Lonesome Highway took the opportunity to ask him some questions recently.
It’s great to see an artist like yourself continue to be engaged with the music process and to making such a strong album. Was there ever another option for you?
I’d like to believe there are always options for all of us to grow, learn, make mistakes, and go in a new direction. I know that isn’t always the case for everyone in the world, but for most of us in the US, the options are there if we really want them. That would be the case for me. But from an early age, creating and performing music has always been my first choice.
When did you decide that Pete Anderson was the man to produce the album?
Pete and I first met by phone during the darkest days of the pandemic. We hit it off immediately.
When did you start the pre-production and writing process on Long Way From Home?
Most of the songs I wrote for this album were created the past couple or few years. Pete and I started sifting through the songs with me sending a few tunes over to him one by one, and we’d set up a zoom meeting and talk through them, play through them. I’d send him songs all along the way, Pete with a guitar in LA, and me with a guitar in Nashville - talking through the songs, the vision for each, trying them on in different tempos and different keys. Looking back, I believe that unique remote process allowed us to really take our time, and crystalise our collective vision.
In the past you have often co-written with other writers. Do you prefer that to writing a song on your own?
I do enjoy the collaborative process - I also enjoy the solitude of creating on my own. I will say, when you’re creating with someone who is also truly on the same page, there’s a collective energy that’s hard to beat.
How hard is it to find a co-writer who is compatible with your aims?
I typically keep a fairly close knit group of collaborators; I’m aware there are so many talented writers out there, but not all have the same understanding of the musical landscape I prefer to traverse.
In the past you have worked with writers like Angelo, Kostas, Radney Foster, Tia Sellers and Michael P Henry - all are names you don’t see in the writes credits too much these days. Is that inevitable as trends and demands in music change?
Yes, and they are great writers, all. I do think growth and change is somewhat inevitable; popular styles certainly are. But I’ve always tried to maintain a sincerity and truth to what I record - not necessarily every single song I write, but every song that I choose to commit to as part of an album, part of my collection of recordings.
You co-produced your last two albums why did you decide not to do that this time?
I enjoyed the co-production process on previous albums, but when Pete and I met and began the discussion of working together, I really wanted to allow him the freedom to do what he does. Whether it’s been his work with Lucinda Williams, Jackson Browne, Dwight Yoakam, k.d. Lang, even heroes of mine like Buck Owens, Pete’s musical landscape, his recordings, guitar playing and production have been instrumental in influencing much of my own musical direction since I first heard his music as a teen.
You have previously worked with another excellent guitarist/producer for your Capitol Record releases in 1994 and 1996 in Richard Bennett. How would you compare those experiences?
As I’ve told Pete, I do see some similarities between him and Richard. Richard is a wonderful friend and an amazing, truly unique talent. And Pete is every bit of all of that as well. Both have an unrelenting drive for collaboration with a goal of revealing the artist’s and the album’s true self. I was fortunate to experience that with Richard at the start of my career; few artists have access to that kind of freedom and vision so early on in their career. I wasn’t aware of that at the time. Now as a more seasoned artist, as I collaborate with Pete, I’m able to appreciate that much more.
In a similar light, you released your next two albums independently. What are the main differences in those two options?
From a business perspective, the difference is marketing dollars. As a major label artist, you’ve got a million dollar marketing budget and immediate access to corporate radio, which is closely partnered with corporate (major label) music. I experienced the true power of that early in my career, during my first two albums on Capitol Records. The advantage is obvious - it’s all business.
You have had success in finding cuts with other artists, so was there a time when you were writing with other artists in mind or where you just continuing to write?
To me, writing is about serving the song. Always. I have never had any other artist in mind when writing a song. To me that’s entirely disingenuous.
Your body of work since 1994 has been to a certain allowing for the changes in the perception of country music. Yet in this new album you have chosen a sound more related to your 90s albums. Was that a very conscious decision given that there has been, recently, a shift back towards that era in sound?
Some might say there’s been a “shift back”, but then again there’s Beyoncé and there’s still the “bro country” thing happening, so I see it as more of a broadening of the genre than a definitive “shift back”. As for me, beyond some allowances for occasional production experimentation, I’ve never been one to chase trends - I see that as not being genuine. To emphasise that further, for this new album, I took it a step further, getting out of any Nashville mindset and choosing instead to record in Los Angeles. In doing so, I was able to connect even more with the roots of my earlier influences, ones I was so connected to when writing and recording my very first album for Capitol Records.
What motivates and inspires you now?
Motivation and inspiration are a funny thing. More than anything, I think we all have some level of internal motivation. How much of that we have is what determines how hard we are willing to work, to build - something. For me it’s always been creating my best self, musically speaking - country music but also just genuine music that’s able to cross boundaries that are too narrowly defined by labels and corporations, music that stands on its own and stands the test of time.
I’m not sure if you were able to play in Ireland UK and Europe that often in the past. I fondly remember a brief set in Whelans in Dublin during a CMA sponsored visit. Do you have plans to play outside the US again or is that a financially difficult option?
Financially difficult? No absolutely not, with a reasonable offer! Without that? Yeah, that’d be difficult to achieve, for any of us. I’ve really enjoyed touring abroad - I still fondly recall performing in Whelan’s in Dublin, along with Marty Stuart, Clint Black, Garth Brooks - even got to spend some time with Kris Kristofferson - during that CMA sponsored trip. My most recent performance in the UK was at Wembley Arena, along with Reba as well as a number of British artists. More recently I’ve enjoyed headlining festivals in France and Brazil - and most recently, I headlined a 3-day festival in Japan, along with Dierks Bentley and Asleep At The Wheel. I’d go back to every single country, in a heartbeat.
What were your major influences when you were growing up? I hear a number of different sources that sat alongside that of traditional country, as there was in a number of your contemporaries, at that time - something that made the music seem fresh and inclusive without being something that you would be hard pressed to identity as country.
Well thank you for that - fresh and inclusive is a great space to be creating in. Genres are rigid; I didn’t say it first but I certainly hold to it - good music is good music. And yes many of my influences are defined as “country” traditionally - guys like Willie Nelson, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard - but once you do a deeper dive, you’ll discover how Willie was influenced by jazz and swing, and Buck by his own admission was greatly influenced by Chuck Berry. Mr. Berry’s records, in fact, were an early influence on me as well. As were the blues greats, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Lightnin’ Hopkins. I see them all as a - dare I say the - foundational bedrock upon which modern day music has evolved - both rock and roll as well as country.
Finally, how does the George Ducas starting out releasing his self titled debut in 1995 relate to the man releasing his new album?
(Laughs) I would hope that the ‘90’s me would look up to the 2024 Long Way From Home me, and say “I’d sure like to make music like that...” But hey, kids like me these days, who knows, right?
Interview by Stephen Rapid