With a voice that reminds you of Waylon Jennings and songwriting chops to rival any Nashville writer on the row, RT Valine is a talented gem in the praire hills of Allen, Oklahoma. A regular to perform at the Woody Guthrie Festival in Okema, Oklahoma, this Americana artist is one you’re sure to add to your playlist as soon as you hear his music. Here’s our interview with RT Valine.

Where did you grow up and where do you call home now?

I grew up in Ohio between Cleveland and Columbus and in 1998 after art school moved to East Los Angeles. Met my wife there while I was teaching mural painting and we bought a small ranch in El Sereno, Los Angeles. We moved to Allen, Oklahoma with our goats in 2015 and have been here ever since.

How have the life experiences of where you lived affected your songwriting or the songs you choose to record?

I started writing songs as a teen in Ohio, mostly sad songs I guess because Ohio is a bit gothic and dreary. When I moved to LA I got to play with a wide range of players that helped broaden my horizons. The little goat ranch we lived on was up on a dusty hill and that environment and life experiences at that point inspired most of what I wrote then and now. In Allen, Oklahoma we live way back in the woods so mother nature now more than ever inspires my output.

What artists/songwriters have impacted or influenced your work the most?

I grew up listening to and performing many old standards and that experience really informed what I do today. So the Carter family, Woody Guthrie, classic folk and country and even big band swing were a big influence.

When you perform, what do you hope is your audience’s biggest takeaway?

Just a good feeling of communicating life’s joys and sorrows through song. Even though I’ve been performing my whole life, I still get the jitters up there and that fellowship of song is really what helps me get by. My favorite part of this whole thing is just writing songs.

Tell me a little bit about your latest project?

My last album was a collection of 20 songs titled “Memories of Eden” and since then I’ve been recording demos for the next project and have been archiving them in videos and/or adding them to USB drives that I’ve made available to the public. I am an artist with Tascam and used their tools in the studio to compile all my 15 albums plus some videos and new demos on these USB drives for purchase.

What was different or unique about your approach to this last project as compared to previous ones?

I used to just record everything on my Tascam gear and put out the albums physically and digitally as the material came, but now I’ve been archiving it as I go since CDs are somewhat a thing of the past. Hopefully this next batch of demos will get a proper treatment outside of my studio before they’re released in the physical and online realms.

Was there ever a time you felt like you wanted to quit making music?

I’ve been exhausted with the business end of it and that’s partly why I moved to the middle of nowhere. As far as the songwriting goes, it’s a perfunctory thing and I couldn’t quit if I tried. I work on film and TV soundtracks from time to time and really enjoy composing and arranging for those projects and hope to continue doing so.

What is your funniest or favorite “on the road” story when touring?

We were playing with the Blasters one time in Long Beach CA and my buddy Swimmy who plays washboard with me when we’re performing as RT N’ the 44s, he wandered into their green room and drank half of Phil Alvin’s Makers Mark. We almost didn’t get to play that night!

Who or what keeps you grounded the most?

My wife Jackie and dog Wino are my anchors. I guess growing up in Ohio instilled a blue collar ethic that’ll never go away, and of course living in Allen, Oklahoma is as far from the glitz of this funny business as you can get and I’m forever grateful for that.

What advice would you give artists just starting out?

I’ve always been inspired by the folk method of recycling ideas into new ones. I think listening to the music that makes the most sense to you and allowing it to soak in then flow out in a new form is the easiest way to approach songwriting. Just like anything else in life you can’t force it, but I believe that by consuming as much music as you can, working on your instrument every day and trying your best to not get discouraged are a few steps to getting what’s inside of you to the outside world.

Listen to RT Valine along with other Artists You Should Know below.