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Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/1877
manager got so tired of me calling his old Toshiba a typewriter that he felt bullied into getting himself a Mac. MD > On your Web site you write that the best music is made from the journey. What does that mean? DB > If you're a songwriter, you've got to be on a life journey that sort of matches what you write about to keep relevant with your fans. I've gotten to travel a lot and had a chance to be a passenger in life and look on different scenes and take stuff in. That's where a lot of material comes from. The most important journey for me is my family. Having our daughter, Evie, and watching her grow. You realize that there's a lot going on around you that's just fluff and very temporary, but looking in the eyes of a child and watching her smile, grow or cry and all the magic that comes with being with her. I went from taping a spot on The Jimmy Fallon Show to flying home and crawling around the floor with Evie at a Gymboree class— you know, that's magic. Those are the moments. That's what makes life interesting and gives you good material, and hopefully good music. MD > What's your favorite song on your newest album, Feel That Fire? DB > Sideways. I love that. People get up and dance. Beautiful World would be my wife's favorite. It's inspired a little bit by our daughter. At our house we have one TV — I can press a button and it slides into the ceiling and I can't see it. On the tour bus we have 11 TVs and three satellite receivers. The TV's always on and it's always depressing. Bad stories — that's what sells interest. That's sort of how the song started, especially during election season with people spewing back and forth, but you walk outside and you see it is a beautiful world, even with pollution and all the problems, climate change and dreadfully, awful things. It's a beautiful world and you have to have that mindset or you'll be a very depressed person. So, I wrote that song and performed it with the amazing Patti Griffith. MD > Do the awards and celebrity matter to you? DB > Awards bring more attention to your songs and your music. I'm only in it for celebrity if celebrity brings more people out to the show. I do love being the star on stage. I love the band, the lights, the music. I've always been some kind of performer, even as a kid, whether it was getting in trouble or walking around with my hair spiked like Billy Idol. At 13, I started playing the electric guitar, but I always loved music — any kind, country, bluegrass, and I get a lot of energy from rock bands. I like it all. MD > Do you use an iPhone? DB > I love the iPhone for so many reasons. My wife has an iPhone and the majority of the guys in the band have one. I live and breathe off this BlackBerry and I've been debating whether to make the switch. Not being able to cut and paste is a huge drag for me, if I have to pass along information to the other guys in the band. But having a kid now, and the iPhone camera with that big screen to show your pictures. … It's a drag showing pictures on the Blackberry because of poor quality. And so many great apps. We were going to an Elton John concert and on the drive there, my wife just downloaded one of his songs so we could listen on the way. That is so cool. Then I was hanging out with Kix Brooks of Brooks and Dunn and he showed me this app called Cork-Its. You can go into a restaurant, and if there's a wine you're interested in, you can dial it up and get the backstory, and it's like wow! That might be the app that puts me over the edge. MD > Do you ever suffer from writer's block? DB > Not really. Ideas come and go and I always give myself plenty of leeway, working on stuff far in advance. There are times when I wonder if I'm writing something that's already been said before, but I believe you keep growing as a human being and release different ideas and ways of thinking about things. As long as you keep open to that and want to grow as a writer, there's always room. For more information on Dierks Bentley, visit his Web site at www.dierks.com. COUNTRY STAR > DIERKS BENTLEY INTERVIEW MacDirectory 137