“People are responding because of the realness and vulnerability, instead of that persona of a drunk rockstar”: Koe Wetzel abandoned his party animal image to show who he really is on 9 Lives, and found a new reason to play his beat-up Gibson J-200

This article is part of Guitar World’s series of interviews and features with artists addressing and raising awareness around themes of mental healthparticularly as they relate to musicians.

Koe Wetzel’s new album, 9 Livesisn’t his first chart success – but it’s his fastest-rising, debuting at No. 15 on the Billboard 200 and reaching Top 5 status on the Country and Americana/Folk Album charts.

But 9 Lives is different. When it was time to write and record, Wetzel found himself at a crossroads, ready to rip the Band-Aids off of some of his internalized wounds. With help from producer Gabe Simon, the lyrics, melodies and hooks that embed his songs into listeners’ heads are still there, along with the usual healthy dose of rebel spirit; but they’re presented with a mature, deliberately introspective approach.

“The writing was done on my J-200 and J-45 because I’m comfortable with them. I carry those with me wherever I go. We did most of the writing at Sonic Ranch (Tornillo, Texas). We used some Martins and 1958 Hummingbirds on the album. Sonic Ranch has a phenomenal guitar collection. Opening those cases, I felt like I opened up the room to all the other artists who’ve written and played on those guitars. “It was awesome to pick them up and play.”

“Music has always been there for me. I could be alone with it and express how I felt. When you get to your teenage years and really start listening to the lyrics and understanding music a lot more, that’s also when you start having feelings you’re never felt, like your first love; things like that. That’s when I picked up the guitar. I played music my whole life, but I started writing in my early teens. That’s when it became my outlet.

“That’s one of the main reasons I’m writing and speaking out the way I have. I’ve gotten messages from people saying, ‘I planned on killing myself, but I found your music and you saved my life.’ That means a lot to me. I don’t think I could live with myself knowing that people are doing that and I’m not speaking out. “I guess knowing that is what keeps me writing and wanting to tell the truth.”

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“People are responding because of the realness and vulnerability, instead of that persona of a drunk rockstar”: Koe Wetzel abandoned his party animal image to show who he really is on 9 Lives, and found a new reason to play his beat-up Gibson J-200