People often talk about musicians needing to “pay their dues” before they deserve success. Truett has paid his many times over; enough to treat himself and ten friends to an all expenses paid trip straight to the top. Sweating it out night after night in blues bars around the South, screaming into the bright lights and cigarette smoke like the ghost of Howlin’ Wolf, soloing until his hands bled hour after hour, roadhouse after roadhouse, mile after mile.
Fast forward to today, Truett has not only developed immensely as an artist, but also as a songwriter and performer, touring all across the U.S. and Europe, supporting the likes of Ron Pope and Jonathan Tyler, and headlining shows of his own. With a debut EP under his belt, he prepares to release his sophomore project, Lies and Lightning, along with a slew of pre-released singles from the five-song EP.
Today, Ghettoblaster has the pleasure of premiering one of these songs, “Coldwater Michigan,” which you can enjoy below:

Truett is more than the sum of his influences; what he does is unique and spectacular. His work is evocative of many things, but a carbon copy of nothing that came before. He’s classic and modern, new and old, absolutely stunning in his raw, unbridled authenticity.
Ghettoblaster recently caught up with him to chat about songwriting, performing and thankfulness…
When did you realize that you had an affinity and aptitude as a songwriter?
Songwriting was always a challenge for me. I was always into performing and playing live. That’s where I thought I excelled the most. I have been playing live since I was 14 and wrote some songs here and there, but I never considered myself a writer. I think when I hit my early 20s I really started to sit and spend time with it like I did before with the guitar. I started focusing more on finding my own sound and letting my thoughts translate to the guitar and the lyrics I was writing down. My debut record with Brooklyn Basement Records and working and learning from my producer Ron Pope was the moment I thought to myself, “Yea, I’m a writer now.”
What did your upbringing lend to your development as an artist?
I was very blessed to grow up in a household that fully supported my music aspirations. I knew exactly what I wanted to do when I was 12 years old. My parents fully supported me from day one. My father was a big music fan and introduced me to all of my favorite artists. He would space it out and let me sit on CDs for awhile and then in a week or so he would bring something new home and I would listen to that; it was almost like he was schooling me in the old blues and classic rock that I grew to love. My whole family has always been so supportive and behind me 100 percent. If it wasn’t for my parents and my sisters behind me, I don’t know if I would still be doing this today. For that I am extremely thankful.
How important is it to be equally adept as a songwriter as well as a performer?
Being able to write your own songs and perform them exactly how you envision them is such a rewarding feeling. There are so many performers out there that do what they do and bring the intensity they do, it’s just a special feeling when it’s your own music that people are singing along to. I think its incredibly valuable to have both of those aspects.
How do you categorize the music you make?
It’s always hard for me to categorize my music; there are too many categories out there to choose from!  It’s a melting pot of so many influences and genres. If I had to I would say, it’s very guitar driven, in your face rock and roll with a southern flare.
What were you hoping to accomplish with Lies and Lightning? Do you feel like you got the job done?
For this record, I wanted to focus on music that I had been carrying with me for a long time and lyrics I had been sitting on. These songs are all stories from the road and issues I have been dealing with personally as an artist and just navigating through this industry. I am very proud to see it come to life; I think this one is my favorite so far.
What are your loftiest aspirations as an artist?
My loftiest aspirations? I’m fairly simple, to be honest. If I had nothing else but a tour bus, I would be perfectly content! That’s all I’ve ever wanted. There are several artists I would like to work with and having a Grammy would be nice, but honestly, if I was able to make ends meet and share my music with as many people as possible without sleeping in a van I would be ecstatic. 
Can you tell me about “Coldwater Michigan”?
Writing this song was one of the coolest experiences I have had as a writer. I was surrounded by such insanely talented writers, we all shared almost the same story individually. We brought it to life in this song.