What was life like for you before you got into music?
I got into music really young, and it was like discovering a voice I didn’t know I had. I was lucky to have a few great mentors early on, especially Richard Adams, who was the local recording guy in town. He brought me into his studio when I was about fifteen and even convinced my parents to get me some recording gear of my own, which pretty much set me on the song-smithing path I’ve been on ever since.
What’s the live music scene like in (Nashville, TN) right now? Anyone we should be looking out for (bar you, of course)?
I’m in Nashville, so things are changing here so rapidly all of the time, but that definitely keeps it interesting. I will shout out the 5 Spot though, you can always catch good music there.
It seems like being a social media curator has become added to the many jobs of a musician, how do you feel about this?
Honestly? I absolutely hate it, ha! It’s such a distraction from the part of the job I actually love, which is writing and making music. I get why it’s necessary, but it can feel like the creative process gets buried under algorithms and content schedules.
What’s your view on the Music industry today?
The music business has a remarkable talent for finding new ways to devalue music as an art form over the last decade or so. I was releasing music before Spotify and the streaming era, and back then it was at least possible to make a little living from it as an independent artist.
Now it feels like the system rewards volume over vision with a flood of AI-generated slop drowns out artists who are actually trying to say something real about the human experience.
I still hold out hope that we’ll find a way to bring value back to music, but some days it feels like we’ve crossed a line we can’t quite come back from.
Where do you feel you currently sit within the music industry?
I’m pretty comfortable as an independent artist. It gives me the freedom to work without deadlines and to make the kind of music I actually want to make.
I’ve worn a lot of hats over the years—producer, engineer, booking agent—and while I really love the creative and technical side of it, I could do without the constant pressure to play the salesman.
Independence lets me stay focused on my family and the art itself, which is really the whole point of making music for me.
Whats the biggest thing you have learned recently as you progress with your music?
I’ve learned that I tend to overthink things, especially with all the limitless tracking options we have now. That’s part of why it took me so long to finally release Curse Words.
It was recorded live, with the whole band playing together in the same room, and for years, I couldn’t get past the little imperfections I heard in that take. But I’ve come to realize those imperfections are the magic in this recording.
What was your best experience on stage?
There’ve been a lot, but the best ones almost feel like leaving your body for a bit. You stop thinking, and suddenly you’re just kinda flying.
Everything clicks, and it feels like you’re part of something bigger than yourself.
Funny enough, my favorite moments usually happen at house shows. There’s this hush in the room, everyone leaning in, and you can actually feel them listening. Those nights stick with me.
What was your worst experience on stage?
I’ll never forget the time I dropped my Martin D-18, an heirloom from my grandmother, right onto my pedalboard in the middle of a song.
The heartbreak of dropping that guitar was bad enough, but it also managed to hit my distortion pedal and unleash this massive burst of feedback. Lesson learned: strap locks, folks!
Tell us something about you / each member that you think people would be surprised about.
I think people are often surprised by how introverted I am. Performing and writing can look like extroverted work, but most of my creative energy comes from solitude.
I’ve always felt more comfortable expressing myself through songs than through small talk.
I hear you have new music. What can you tell us about it?
The new single is called Curse Words (Hopeless, Thoughtless, Fruitless), and it’s been a long time coming… about fifteen years, actually. We recorded it back then in a single live session, the whole band in the room together, just trying to capture something honest.
At the time, I shelved it because I couldn’t get past what I thought were imperfections. But revisiting it now, I realized that’s exactly what made it powerful, it felt human.
The song itself is kind of a confessional and reflection on my own shortcomings. It looks at how words can divide us, how we use them to wound when they could heal.
It touches on things that still feel painfully relevant, the way we turn away from each other instead of leaning in. But underneath all that heaviness, it’s really about longing for connection. Even when the world feels fractured, that longing for empathy is what keeps us tethered to our shared humanity.
What was the recording process like?
The whole thing was live-tracked, aside from a few horn and sax parts, some light percussion, and background vocals.
It was one of those classic three-hour Nashville sessions, recorded at the Quonset Hut (now Columbia Studio A). The session was originally part of a compilation supporting the International Justice Mission.
It all came together fast, but there was a certain magic in that limitation. What you hear on the record is probably the third or fourth take, bounced straight from the console. No overthinking, no endless edits, just the raw sound of a room full of people making a song.
Credits:
Nathan Stiteler – acoustic guitar, vocals
Kevin Buchanan – drums
Ben Faught – percussion/aux
Michael Thompson – electric guitar
Theo Carnavos – bass
Richard Adams – horns/saxophones
Ash White – background vocals
Is there anything else you would like to share with the world?
Curse Words is technically an archival release, a piece of the past finally finding its place, and there are a few more of those on the way.
But beyond that, there’s a lot of brand new music blooming on the horizon that I’m really excited about. It feels like the start of a new chapter, and I can’t wait for people to hear where it’s heading.
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