All current photos taken in the Fort Worth Stockyards by Alan Mercer
Kaleb McIntire’s sound can be described as good, old-fashioned country hillbilly music infused with rock n’ roll. Utilizing a natural, country baritone inflection, he sings from the heart abut a wide range of topics and personal experiences. Some of his earliest hits include the anthem, ‘Redneck In All Of Us,’ the Elvis Presley inspired ‘Uh-Huh,’ and the emotion driven country ballad, ’Love Song.’
From a very young age, Kaleb has dedicated much of his time to learning and perfecting his craft. After learning to play piano at six years old, he decided he would rather concentrate on mastering the drums and guitar and he never looked back.
While growing up, Kaleb had a reputation of being a little bit rowdy and getting into some trouble. Although he still has bouts with some of his demons on occasion, he has learned from his youthful indiscretions and everyone who knows him will tell you he has a big heart and is as loyal as they come. After graduating high school, Kaleb worked on a drill rig for a couple of years before becoming a security expert for acts such as Ted Nugent and Jesse James Dupree.
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Some of Kaleb’s biggest musical influences include David Allen Coe, Waylon Jennings and Elvis Presley, but he also has a deep appreciation for certain hard rock and metal bands such as Pantera and Ted Nugent. Another major influence is Kaleb’s father who is an accomplished musician in his own right. Kaleb started out playing gospel music in churches and still incorporates some of those themes into his music today.
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Kaleb currently lives on a farm outside of Dallas with his wife, Katie, and their two dogs, Big Bad John and Duke, and their pet duck, Merle Quackgard. He tours across all parts of Texas with his band and has completed multiple tours throughout Europe where he amassed a large following. Kaleb and other seasoned professionals in his band are known for putting on electrifying performances which energize the crowds they’re playing for.
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After close to a decade of putting on shows, The Kaleb McIntire Band sounds better than ever. Kaleb’s sound has evolved over the years he has entered with his latest EP which features the title track, ’Still Some Kind Of Crazy’ and includes the songs, ‘Lay Your Love On Me,’ ‘Ain’t A Honky Tonk In Texas,’ and ‘Redman’s Revenge.’ He is currently finishing up another EP ready to be released sometime in 2020.
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Alan Mercer: Where are you originally from Kaleb?
Kaleb McIntire: I’m from northern Missouri originally, but I moved down to Southwest Missouri for a while and I’ve lived out in New York. I guess you could say I did a lot of time growing up because I was a troubled kid. I spent a lot of time in some of those places they keep troubled boys. I went to Nashville and lived there for a little while.
AM: What brought you to Texas?
KM: I got really tired of the corporate music world while dealing with the major labels in Nashville. I was starting to want out of the whole thing, but when you’ve worked for something your whole life, like a record deal, it’s kind of tough to walk away from it when it’s not exactly what you want. So that was a predicament. Then I got in a car wreck on my way to Nashville from Dallas and that helped me make the right decisions. It forced me and it was good. I’m still glad I’m not in Nashville singing songs that record labels like.
AM: I cannot find a bad or a weak song in any of your albums.
KM: Thank you, I appreciate that.
AM: It seems like Nashville should be all about you.
KM: All they care about is money and how long the song is. It has to fit in exactly for the radio. The word is format. That’s what really drove me out of there.
AM: I’m thrilled you are here. This is the right place to be. You do carry on the spirit of all the outlaw artists we love. Your past life has given you an authenticity.
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KM: Yes, I relate with them.
AM: I wouldn’t want you any other way. Do you look for sponsors?
KM: Yes, I got into a dark place for a while. I stayed underground writing and writing and writing. Meeting my wife Katie helped me come out of my hole. That was a year ago and now I have a new EP and a new single being released along with the video.
AM: Do you get the inspiration for your songs from real life?
KM: Yes, absolutely. Name a song and I’ll tell you the story.
AM: How about ‘Redmans Revenge?’
KM: I’ve got quite a bit of Cherokee and Apache Indian in me. The Southwest corner of Missouri is Indian land. It’s inspired a lot by the casinos out there.
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AM: I love your song, ‘Train.’
KM: That’s one about heartache. I wrote that with my good buddies Cliff Temple and Brian Hunter, my guitar player. All three of us have experienced quite a bit of heartache.
AM: What about your song ‘Love Song,’ that is a beautiful ballad?
KM: You picked a good one for a story. My wife Katie was my first real girlfriend back when I was fourteen years old. You know how your mom always says, meet your wife in church? I did. I met her on a youth group trip. I absolutely head over heels fell in love with her, the first girl I was ever attracted to. We stayed together for a while, but I was a wild child, so she understandably got away from me. Many years passed and I found out she was still around Kansas City where I was going to school. I found a gas station where they knew her family and I slipped a note to her with my number and she ended up calling me back. I’m around nineteen now and we got back together. I was still a mess, so she got away from me again which was smart. When I finally got my shit together and had music stuff going on, she had me back and we got married. So, I wrote that song when I was nineteen and she left me, so she had never heard it. She never even knew that I pursued my dreams, until it became a top ten song on Texas radio.
AM: That’s a great story. I’m glad destiny worked out to put you together. Do you look forward to touring all over outside of Texas?
KM: I don’t like to leave the state but if I want the songs to be as big as they can be, I have to reach for the stars and make them as big as they can be. I do have to branch out. First battles first. I want to make sure we’re good here.
AM: Are you going back to Europe?
KM: We’re working on putting together another European tour.
AM: I’m excited about the follow up to ‘Still Some Kind Of Crazy.’
KM: We are releasing Part 2 later this year.
AM: Before we end, I want to tell you that your debut album, ‘Scars’ is great, but I can tell it’s your first.
KM: I was really green then. I’ve never talked about this in an interview, but I just got out of jail the day before I started recording that album.
AM: I love ‘Newton County Jail’ on that album. All the coolest Outlaws have been to jail. (Laughter)
KM: I will never be there again. I just write songs about it now.
