Steven Padilla

Born and raised in Alabama, Steven Padilla didn’t always know that music was his future. In fact, this star athlete spent many of his formative years on baseball, football, and soccer fields with the dream of pursuing sports. It wasn’t until Steven turned fourteen that he picked up a guitar and his playbook was thrown out the window. At first, Steven had to hide his love and passion for music from his family because his father didn’t want him to forego athletics to follow the road his newfound talent would take him down. In fact, he even had to sneak over to his neighbor’s house and use a borrowed guitar to practice music and explore this path.

At sixteen, Steven took his music to a stage for the first time during a singer/songwriter night, and he never looked back again. From that point, Steven began playing at parties and small events. Despite receiving a football scholarship at University of North Alabama, Steven realized his heart was no longer on the field and he was completely invested in his music. Within one month of attending college, he left the classroom behind to enter the workforce and push further toward his musical dreams.

While working a blue collar job, Steven played happy hour gigs and, eventually, put together a band. It wasn’t long before he quit his job and was opening for popular acts, such as Montgomery Gentry, James Otto, and Brantley Gilbert. Steven transformed his life into that of a musician’s and spent six nights of the week gigging, playing at bars, honky-tonks, and in college towns. At that point, he didn’t realize that he could make a real career out of music, but, once he met his wife, his outlook substantially changed. Amanda, a woman who submerges herself in her work and focuses on excelling at whatever she attempts, inspired Steven to hunker down and put his all into building a career doing what he loves. Soon thereafter, Steven had created a catalog of approximately thirty original songs and was ready to hit the studio to record a full-length album.

The product of Steven’s studio recording sessions is a diverse album, entitled Good at Goodbye, that contains “straight up country,” as well as some experimental, “fun” songs that tell stories. Steven summarizes his album as “a great mix between traditional and modern country.” He also describes the project as “real” and explains that it “is about me, about my life . . . and I hope people can get to know me through my album. I want them to walk away feeling like they know me as a person and they feel like they have a new friend.”

Steven holds each and every one of his songs on this album near and dear, as he wrote all eleven tracks, which he affectionately calls “kids of mine.” However, the title track “Good at Goodbye,” stands out to him as a personal favorite because of the subject matter of the song. “Good at Goodbye” was born when Steven’s father insisted that he write a song about his elderly neighbor who had been a part of his life since childhood. Steven spent December and January carefully crafting this song about the man next door who held a special place in his heart. Two weeks following the completion of the song, the man passed away, never having the opportunity to hear Steven’s dedication to him. While Steven never intended to include “Good at Goodbye” on his album, his producer heard the track and immediately said they needed to record the song and put it on the album. In whirlwind fashion, Steven booked studio time, was able to gather his bandmates, and spent three hours in a Nashville studio to cut the title track with only a couple of weeks until the album’s finalization.

Good at Goodbye will be released on May 13th on Steven’s website (digital, CD, and vinyl), Amazon, iTunes, and will be heard on Internet radio stations and providers. And Steven, who refuses to waste any time whatsoever, is already working on his next album.

“I’m a real songwriter. . . . I don’t care if people think it’s unrealistic. I’m looking at ten albums; an album a year. . . . I am just going to keep on truckin’. . . . Fans can expect a long run of my music for a long time. I’m not going to just cut an album and go away.”

But, before Steven heads back into the studio to record the next batch of songs he has already written, he is hitting the road to promote Good at Goodbye in select cities in Alabama and Nashville.

With his undeniable talent and drive, the support of his loving wife, the joy his newborn daughter has brought him, his father’s eventual excitement about the route his son ultimately chose to take, and his faith in God, Steven Padilla is well on his way to a successful career in country music. - Jen Swirsky

Alabama born Steven Padilla is no newcomer to performing, in fact he’s been covering songs by the likes of Eric Church, George Strait, Rhett Akins, and more, now for 10 years. By releasing this new album, with PADMA Records, one of his longtime dreams has now being fulfilled. “Good at Goodbye” is a well balanced album of 11 songs all written by Padilla himself. We start off with “Peaches and the Pines” a catchy tune which gives us a look back to the roots of where is all began, and ends with a great inspirational song in “If I Didn’t Have You” which clearly displays Padilla’s faith and his realization that he would be nothing without Jesus.
In the mix you have fun and playful story lines in “Country Side of Mine“, about that city girl catching eyes with the country boy and him showing her his country side. One of those songs if you close your eyes you could just picture it- a country boy, an old truck, a pair cowboy boots- what more could a girl ask for? Even throwing shout-outs to classics like Hank Williams Jr. and Keith Whitley- hey if you can’t love all of that then you must not love country; “Fishin‘ “, one of those songs that you can’t help but feel the beat, he describes this girl, a guy, and spending a good ‘ole time fishin’ and later dreaming about the great time they had.. As you find yourself singing and grooving along you can’t help but smile at the ending with a slick nod to The Andy Griffith Show; “7 Minutes“, a song about grabbing your girl and gettin’ away; and “Get You Alone“, my favorite kind of song, great beat, song about a guy taking his girl out, showing her off, and getting her mind off things. In the end the thing he wants to do most is spend some alone time.
“Good at Goodbye“, a song I believe that a lot of people will relate to. Padilla wrote this song by request of his Dad about a longtime elderly neighbor that touched his life. That neighbor passed shortly after the song was finished. This song wasn’t even supposed to be on the album- but his producer thought otherwise, some last minute time in the studio got this song on the album and even made it as title track.
The album is completed with meaningful stories in “No Time To Think“, “She Won’t Be Lonely“, “Forgiveness“, and rounded out with “The Woman In My Life“; an upbeat song about a woman changing a man from his old ways and bad habits. I really enjoyed the tone to Padillla’s voice matched with the well written stories beyond these songs. I would definitely recommend this album and be looking out for Steven Padilla in the future- because I see this country crooner, who refreshingly isn’t afraid to sing right from the heart and share his faith, going a long way.
“Good at Goodbye” is scheduled to be released on May 13.
Review Overview
GotCountryOnline Rating 4 out of 5 stars - Samantha Mutschler

Alabama-based country musician and songwriter Steven Padilla just released his debut studio album, "Good At Goodbye," on May 13. And to celebrate, he's slated an open CD-release party beginning at 8 p.m. Friday, May 16, at Nashville's Tin Roof, 1516 Demonbreun St.

Co-produced by Padilla and Don Srygley, whose mixing/engineering credits include Alabama, Civil Wars, Alicia Keys and many more, the 11-song disc was predominately recorded and mixed at the legendary Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Ala.

The brunet Padilla had a hand in writing all songs on the album, and in doing so, he pulled from a slew of eclectic influences, including Eric Church, Waylon Jennings and Rolling Stones, to name a sampling.

As for his local performance and release party this week, "I'm really pumped about the last stop on the album release tour because it's in Nashville!" Padilla told Examiner in an exclusive May 14 interview. "There's nothing like playing in Music City. I love my Alabama fans like family and I'm sure there will be a rowdy crowd making the trip up to Tennessee."

Thus far, music fans are clamoring to see Padilla play live in honor of his "Good At Goodbye" album and responding enthusiastically to the CD's material.

"The shows have been great so far and we've received an awesome response from playing the songs off the album," he shared. " It's a great feeling to see the crowd diggin' the tunes. All I want is to be able to promote the album to reach as many people as possible and so far its working pretty well."
Moreover, per Padilla, Nashville's Tin Roof is the ideal spot to debut his new music in Guitar Town this weekend.

"The venue is great! I grew up playing college towns and Tin Roof reminds me of the early days in my career. Overall," he said, "I'm excited about Friday night because I love what I do. It's so much fun to make music and play it for people. I guess the fact that we are playing in Nashville is like icing on the cake.”

As for his recording experience in Muscle Shoals. “Overall, I would say Fame Studios was the best experience," Padilla said. "There is definitely something that permeates the building. The old wood panels have a life and soul of their own. You can feel the presence in that place. The recording process today is as high tech as it gets, but in Muscle Shoals the soul of music still lives.”

From start to finish, Padilla's new album contains a tapestry composed of elements of rock and gospel, as well as plenty of traditional, modern and outlaw country. He soulfully sings stories that are drawn from true-to-life experiences.
“It’s a compilation of my 28 years of life,” Padilla confirmed, referring to his debut album.

Moreover, the CD features the statement of Padilla’s rural upbringing in “Country Side Of Mine” while “No Time To Think” melds a haunting melody to a lyric about life and how fast it can be, it’s the type of song that speaks to the human condition while the percussive modern melody of “Fishin’” infuses a playfulness to the building of a relationship.

Then, on “This Woman In My Life,” Padilla delivers a sweet song about how love can change lives for the better, and it’s these songs from "Good at Goodbye" that speak to the poetic and heartfelt nature of the performer's artistry.
Padilla will hit the road this summer in support of the new album and is set to play numerous venues throughout the Southeast.

For more information about the May 16 performance, including ticket prices, please contact the Tin Roof at 615-313-7103 or access its events website.

To keep up with Padilla and his band via social media, access his Facebook or Twitter pages. - Lisa L. Rollins

Steven Padilla has been working as a singer for more than a decade now, touring college towns and clubs, building up a fan base. His first full length album, Good at Goodbye, will me coming out in May. Padilla and Stormy Lewis sit down to discuss his new album, the modern indie landscape and the difference between small towns and caution light towns.

Strmy Lewis (SL): You’re going to be releasing your first album Good At Goodbye in May, correct?

Steven Padilla (SP): May 13th will be my first full length album.

SL: Tell me a little bit about that album.

SP: I wrote every song on it for starters. I built up my catalog to about 35-40 songs I’d demoed that I felt were strong enough to be album cuts over a three years period. I picked 15 from that group and narrowed it down to eleven. The title track, Good at Goodbye, probably has the most interesting story. It wasn’t recorded. It wasn’t in mu group of songs. We were almost finished with the album with we decided to cut that song last minute. My producer heard me playing around with it, because I just finished writing it, in the studio. Everntually, he said “I want to hear that, what it that, play it for me.” So I did and he immediately said “We got to get into the studio and record that.” We did and it ended up being a work of art. We both loved it and we have gotten a lot of great feedback on it so far. So, we decided to title the album after that song.

SL: I have read that this album marks an evolution in your sound, that you were really looking to find your voice with this album. What helped you find your voice?

SP: I’m just going to have to say, I got really spiritual this past year and I began my walk with Christ. I have to give it all to the man upstairs. He’s in control. I did a lot of soul searching for years trying to figure out what kind of man I was as an artist and as a person. Now I live my life for him and he kind of just does the rest. It shows on the album, a few of the tracks are my testimony. It just kind of fell into place, every aspect of my career, as soon as I gave my life to Christ. I know a lot of people know what I am talking about, a lot of people don’t, but I can’t emphasize that enough. It’s just been amazing to see how the cards have been falling since this time last year. I got married, I had a child a month ago.

SL: Congratulations.

SP: My first child, a little girl. Her name is Parker. And, the new album just kind of same about to. It’s been amazing and hard to believe at the same time. I think the hardest thing for me to do to figure out my sound was going into the studio. Years ago, when I first set foot in a studio it was like I didn’t know how to express myself singing and playing. I’m a live guy, I have been playing live shows for a long time and I got into the studio you put walls around me and there’s no crowd, no energy to feed off of and its like I couldn’t express myself. It took some time to get comfortable, figure out the whole recording world and process. It was finding Don Srygley, I co-produced the album with him. I think the biggest challenge was finding someone I was comfortable with, who knew me as a person and as a writer and as a musician. He new how to get the best out of me. It was a really good team effort. It’s been a learning process and I’m still learning. I’m actually already ready to get back in and start of the second album, believe it or not. I have songs. But I have to promote this one. We put a lot of work into it. I am excited get this album out to people.

SL: You mentioned you’re a live artist. You have been touring for over ten years now, I believe?

SP: Yes.

SL: How have those experiences helped you hone your craft?

SP: I think that’s experience I wouldn’t trade for nothing because it makes me who I am. I spent years playing and covering other country songs. The way that I sing and the way that I play just derives from my experience on stage playing other people’s music. I can’t help but sound like everything that I’ve listened to and gone out and performed for people.

SL: I have to ask, who are your favorite artists to cover?

SP: I really love covering anything Eric Church, just because most of his stuff is right there in the key that I am comfortable singing. I’m not saying that it’s easy to sing, but it’s comfortable to be singing in the key that he sings in. Also, he’s a songwriter himself, so I can relate to what he does as an artist and as a songwriter to be able to go out and do his stuff. I love covering George Strait, Kenny Chesney, Alabama, and Garth Brooks. I love covering songs that people know and are familiar with. Hank Williams Junior, you talk about turning a crowd around. If you are playing in a bar or a honkey tonk or something like that, all you got to do to get the crowd going or get the crowd rowdy, all you got to do is play a Hank Williams song. Then sit back and kind of watch what happens. Those are some of the people I enjoy covering. I’m a big Dierks Bentley fan, I love covering his stuff too. I have been following him since his debut album.

SL: I’ve actually met him before and he’s a really nice guy.

SP: He is, he’s too nice. We somehow keep running into each other. I hope that I can get put on tour with somebody nice like that. He keeps giving me advice. The first time I met him I was playing on Luke Bryan’s tour bus. It was on his first headlining tour and Luke was opening for him. I was on Luke’s bus playing and Dierks came over. It was a big after party and everyone was just hanging out and having fun. I asked him for advice that was early on in my career, back in 2008. He just kept telling me, emphasized that I needed to move to Nashville for starters. Get up there and start meeting people, hit the ground running with my songs. And he just kept talking about how important it was. Everyone I have ever met who was successful in the business that’s all we ever talked about. How you need to write your own music, you need to write with other people. You need to write, write, write so that I what I did. I love writing, it’s one of my favorite things about the business, expressing myself. Knowing that a song that I write my help somebody get through a bad time, or feel better about a good time in their lives. Country music is awesome, I love it. It has gotten me through some tough times. That’s kind of what played a big part in my transition over to focusing on country music, being able to relate to something going on in my own life.

SL: My experience with him was as ACL Fest one year. I came running up to his autograph table probably five minutes after he was supposed to have left his autograph table, but he still signed a bunch of stuff for my brother in law who was in Iraq. It meant a lot to him.

SP: He’s just a nice guy, his wife and his whole family, they are just really good people.

SL: And it’s always good to hear that he is as nice to the people inside the industry as he is to the fans who buy his merchandise.

SP: I just know that it’s something that I go back to. Where I am at in my career, I don’t think that I should be signing autographs but people ask me for it. I just think back to…I’m no better than anybody else but someone is digging my music, it’s awesome. And I think back to when I was waiting in line to get his autograph and I remember that feeling. You want to feel like you know somebody and you want to see if they are real or not, if their music matches up with who they are as a person. That’s something that is so, so important. Going back to your question about finding my voice and who I am as an artist, that was probably the most important thing--When the album is done can I go out and play it for people or give it to people, confident giving it to people, that I can tell them at the end of the day that this is me, not only as an artist, but as a person. That was everything to me. I can tell you right now that if you listen to all eleven songs on the album that they are true stories about me and they are experiences I have had good and bad. That’s everything to me, because then you’ll know that I’m being sincere and that I’m telling the truth. I think that’s important. I wouldn’t want to go out and be somebody I’m not for success. Whatever, I may be I’m a real person and I want people to know me inside out. I want people to feel like they got a friend.

SL: We have something in common. We both grew up in very small towns. How small was your home town?

SP: About six thousand people. It wasn’t crazy, crazy small, like a caution light town. Six thousand people, 4-A high school. We had a theatre that played two different movies, only on Friday and Saturday. There was a seven o’clock movie which was usually rated G and the rated R movie played at nine o’clock. There was a bar in the city limits, which was like a restaurant on the lower level and a bar on the top. Go figure, it was the nicest restaurant in town. That was the only bar inside the city limits. There were honkey tonks down the county road in the middle of nowhere. We’d sneak in with a fake id or whatever to get in to see the country bands play when I was in high school. There wasn’t much to do. We had to make our own fun. I grew up fishing and hunting and playing sports, that was kind of what kept me busy. Like I said, we had to make our own mischief because we didn’t have a mall to go to. There was this gas station in the middle of town and we would all just meet up there, and just kind of drop the tailgate. Everyone would hang around and figure out whose cow pasture would we go to and light a bonfire. That was my teenage days, and high school days pretty much in a nutshell. One of the songs that I’ve written that I’m putting on the next album is called “Sixteen in a Small Town.” Its paints the perfect picture of growing up in a small town, like you did yourself. Turning sixteen was awesome. You went from being bored living in a place where there’s not much to do to now, “I’m sixteen and I can drive. I can have my car or have my pickup and just go riding around. That was a highlight of your high school life. A lot of people can relate to, I guess even if it wasn’t that small town. Turning sixteen is a big deal because you get to drive.

SL: It’s like the first step is you get your bike, and that gives you a greater level of mobility. Then you get your car and that means that you can go anywhere. Even if you never do it, you could get in your car and drive clear across the country if you wanted to.

SP: Exactly. The first day I turned sixteen, I drove to Mobile, Alabama. I’ll never forget it, I just felt like I was free. I had the windows rolled down and I had my Dierks Bentley cd cranked all the way up. I’ll never forget that feeling.

SL: You’re also from Alabama, correct.

SP: Yes, Demopolis Alabama.

SL: I grew up in Cove, Oregon. It’s not the tiniest town on the face of the planet, because we were the biggest school in our league, but it had 435 people. I played sports against the last public boarding school in the country. It’s a boarding school because the area around it is so rural that the only way to go to high school is to sleep over. It gave you some perspective on how small your town was because no matter how small you thought it was, it was never going to be smaller than that.

SP: That’s why I brought up the caution light thing, because sometimes your idea of a small town is completely different from somebody else. There were small towns around my hometown, so that’s why I always say that. A lot of my friends had cattle farms and catfish farms all around us and that was usually the caution light towns. They don’t have a post office or anything.

SL: Do you feel the view of the South, and particularly Alabama, because there are a lot of Alabama jokes out there, in our media is becoming more balanced or are there still a lot of stereotypes?

SP: I think there are a lot of stereotypes. There’s just so many different kinds of people, when you think of people from the South. You come here to Birmingham and you have people living in Mountainbrook that are living in two to five million dollar mansions and its a subdivision of all these people who just have tons of money living up on the hill. Then you just go about 20 miles down the road and you have redneck people living on some county road flying rebel flags, beer drinking in Honkey Tonks on the weekend and hollering “Hell, Yeah!” every time they hear a Hank song. The South is very diverse when it comes to the people down here. Your idea of redneck and mine are two different things.

SL: And I think a lot of times the word Redneck is used as a simplification, where you are only allowed to be one thing if you are from a small town. Especially if you are from a small town and have an accent. My dad has a lot of guns and if he was going to be a character on a TV show that is the only thing there would be, just the guns, the hunting and the fishing, but he was also a railroader who drove trains for 30 years, he has 10,000 books, he has an odd collection of tiny little glass figurines, and none of those things would be explored.

SP: There’s a lot of haters out there, especially in this business. I have just gotten used to being able to hear no for an answer a lot, and hear people who are very critical of the way that I sing and the way that I talk. You have to accept who you are. Got made you the way that you are and you were created for a reason. Be comfortable in your own skin. Be proud of who you are and where you come from. Just, you gotta get used to that. The world is a pretty cruel place sometimes and you got to be able to shake a lot of stuff off. Shake them haters off (laugh).

SL: It does seem that the one place that you are getting a lot of small town life is in mainstream country music right now. Do you feel this is going to help your chances of getting played on the radio?

SP: I hear it from people in the business all the time that you just gotta know who your fans are. Obviously, I know that a lot of my fans are gong to be from small towns. I think that it does help in the country music genre because of the lifestyle that comes along with liking country music. The majority of the demographic I would say would be able to relate to my music and to myself as a person and as an artist. The genre is taking a lot of heat from critics and other genres. I think it’s going to help me in the long run. But again, going back to my faith, I believe that I am going to work hard and what I’m doing and I’m going to give it everything I got and whatever God has planned for my career and the music he has blessed me with, I am just going to stay open and take whatever comes my way.

SL: I read an interview that was a few months old. You were still debating between finding a label and self-releasing your album….

SP: That was older. I have decided—I talked with my management, my whole team, we decided to go independent. We started our own label and we’re rocking and rolling now. I think it was the best fit for me. I had a couple of offers, but it really didn’t make sense for me. I think of myself as an indie artist, because I’m a singer songwriter. The indie route just made sense on paper. It made more sense as a musician, as a writer. It’s not that I have to have control, but it allows me to express myself a lot more, more so than if I were tied to a label, a major label at that which is basically telling me what I need to do, what my music is supposed to sound like, what I am supposed to wear and all that. That would definitely be a great job. It just feels right, it feels comfortable where I’m at right now. We kind of control our own destiny. Like I said, we’re rocking and rolling with it.

SL: And sometimes independent media outlets like NPR stations and local small radio station are easier to get access to than conglomerate radio stations.

SP: Right.

SL: A lot of artists are going the independent route these days. What are some of the technologies that have made that such a viable option for artists?

SP: The internet. I mean, seriously. You can reach the masses these days just on the internet. I mean, I believe you have to have money to make money, but with that said it all comes back to how much work you want to put into it. With social media today, Facebook, Twitter, all that good stuff, you can reach a lot of people without having a major label backing you. The music industry is changing. These days the label works mostly as a distribution company. They’re putting you and the product in front of people. With technology in the recording studio you have some people, even national acts, cutting albums in somebody’s basement. The quality you can get in today’s world is just phenomenal. You can get a million dollar studio quality recording in your basement. We did a lot of work on my album out of some big time studios that have millions of dollars of gear in them and you can hear it, and it’s awesome. But we also did a lot of overdub work, a lot of things out of the basement at my house and out of my producer’s basement. We mixed it up a good bit. We even tracked some of the tracking, the drums in particular, to analog two inch tape. There are only two companies in the world who make that anymore and it’s like three hundred and fifty dollars a roll. A lot of people don’t do it anymore, but you can hear that sound like you hear on a vinyl record when it’s tracked analog. You are hearing exactly what you’d hear in a studio, it’s not digitized or anything, it’s just raw sound. I wanted to incorporate that on the album because I’m a big vinyl record fan. I collect them. So we mixed. The technology definitely helps out in today’s indie world. I wanted to mix…I took the best of both worlds. I took the old and the new and found somewhere in between. That’s what the music sounds like altogether. It’s right in the middle of traditional and modern country.

SL: I knew my interview was a little old because it said you were engaged and you mentioned you got married and had a baby. Congratulations on both of those.

SP: Thank you.

SL: One of the songs that was mentioned in the interview was “She Won’t Be Lonely” which you wrote for your wife. Is that going to be on the album?

SP: “She Won’t Be Lonely” is track nine on the album. I actually didn’t write that one about my wife. That song is a, how can I put this…It’s a tribute to all of my ex-girlfriends. When I wrote it, back when I did, it was my way of giving myself closure. When I met Amanda, I thought this is how it’s supposed to be. I finally found somebody who gets me. It immediately felt like this is the woman that God created for me, and this was who he had in mind for me when he put her into this world. I felt that for the first time in my life and it gave me a better understand on my relationships. The song was intended to tell people just because it didn’t work out with somebody, it has nothing to do with them or you. It just wasn’t in the books. I was basically saying, “Nothing against you, nothing against that girl, she’s awesome and amazing. She’s going to make somebody a great wife someday. I know a girl like her, she won’t be lonely. She’s beautiful, she’s smart, she’s funny, she’s awesome. It just wasn’t meant for us to be together.” My ex-girlfriends, we had some ups and downs for sure, but I know we just weren’t supposed to be together. But it was fun and a learning experience and I guess we get songs out of it.

SL: You have your album coming out in May. If someone was trying to figure out who you are as an artist, kind of checking out to see if they want to buy the album, which two songs should they listen to first?

SP: Number one, “Good at Goodbye.” There’s just something about that song. It wasn’t supposed to be on the album, and it kind of popped up out of nowhere. The song is about an old man who lived up the street from my parents. My dad kept telling me to write a song about him because his wife died seven years ago. He would come down the street with his dog. He had to ride one of those scooter things and he would come down and feed the ducks on the pond. His dog would be running right behind him. I would talk to him every time I came home. I finally sat down and something came to me, and I wrote a song for him. He died about two weeks after that and he never got to hear it. That’s why I kept playing it in the studio when I was working on the album. That’s how my producer hear it, and the rest is history. I love it because of the story. I love it because of that old man. He was a really sweet old man. I honestly feel like he is on that track in spirit. It’s about him, and it’s about hope.

Nobody likes goodbyes, and that’s what the songs is about. You’ll never get good at goodbye. And at the end of the song it all comes together. “I can hear your voice and you’re taking my hand, I can finally see the light, who said you’ll never get good at goodbye.” The only time saying goodbye is when the good Lord is taking your hand to go be with him. That’s how the song idea came about, and it’s just a beautiful song and I’m so grateful that the good Lord blessed me with that song because it’s amazing. The second song...it’s so difficult to do this because I love all the songs. They’re all true stories and their all my life. I would say “Country Side of Mine,” because it really tells who I am. Its kind a funny song about when I was out playing all these college towns. I come from a small town, about like your town, so you kind of have an idea what I’m talking about. I came up to go out and play all these bars in all the college towns There’s all these sorority girls in the bars just drinking and having a good time. They’re loving all the Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton and George Strait that I’m playing and singing. I was single at the time and the girls just loved country music and they wanted to talk to me after the show and on my breaks. I’m just sitting there thinking, when I first dove into it, these girls are wearing Tory Burch shoes and Burberry coats. I’m just sitting there thinking “what the hell do you want with a guy like me, I don’t understand it. You’re from Atlanta, you went to private school. You’re upper class, you live the high class life and I’m just a nobody from a small town, country singer drinking bud light.” That’s kind of what the song is about, and if you listen to if you can see that. “What’s a city girl like you want with a country boy like me,” is kind of where the song was derived from. The second verse talks about my adventures early on coming up to Nashville and meeting people, diving into the shark infested world of country music. I got burned a couple of times and lessons learned. I’ll never do it again.

I had somebody take my money a couple of times when it came to producing and recording. You come up there and it’s just people everywhere hounding you. They can do this for you and they can do that for you, all you got to do it just listen to me and trust me. I found, like I said it was a learning experience, look at somebody’s track record. Whether it’s a writer like myself or a musician like me who has been in the business over a period. Look at their track record, what they have done, what they have accomplished, who they’ve worked with and then determine whether or not it’s the right business decision for you. The second verse is about my first producer in Nashville. We did a single and I never heard from him again. The second verse is about him. He was not a man of his word. I recorded a song that he wanted me to record that I didn’t even write. It turns out that he wrote the song and he got a demo. But, I’m making a comeback and I found out who I am as an artist, and you know what, you can have it buddy because you missed out on something good. And I’m going to prove you wrong. He didn’t like the fact that I was country and that I sang the way that I did. He was trying to make me be something I wasn’t. The whole song…there is one thing that you cannot change and that is the country side of mine. That song tells who I am as an artist and a little bit about my adventures with the sorority girls. - Stormy Lewis

This newcomer from Alabama has a nice blend of the tradtiional sounds which he was raised on with some contemporary sounds. This track is one of our favorites off of his debut album Good At Goodbye. Get to know more about Steven Padilla's process for making Good At Goodbye in our exclusive feature interview with him by clicking here. - Matt Bjorke

Steven Padilla and band stopped in our studios last week to talk about some upcoming shows and the new album ‘Good at Goodbye’. We had the chance to grab a live acoustic version of ‘Country Side of Mine’.

I’m digging this record. Steven wrote all 11 songs. Adam Hood co-wrote “Peaches & Pines and Stephen Jemigan co-wrote “Country Side of Mine”. The new album produced by Steven Padilla and Don Srygley is available today.
The band is super talented. Brandon Peoples – Stand up Bass, Jesse Suttle – Percussion and Gary Edmonds – lead Guitar.
We look forward to seeing Steven’s success! Check out the talent in our live studio recording of Country Side of Mine:

Grab Songs from “Good at Goodbye” on iTunes today!
Good at Goodbye - Scott Shepherd

We recently introduced you to Steven Padilla, charismatic Alabama singer/songwriter who pours his heart and soul into his work and has the undeniable ability to translate life into song. Steven’s full length album Good at Goodbye was released yesterday and this eleven track compilation serves as a window into the man behind the music. With each of the tracks being penned by Steven, listeners are introduced to his past, present, and what he foresees in his future; stories which are supplemented by country/pop/rock instrumentation and will appeal to the music lover in everybody.

Steven’s album can best be summarized by two lines in his song “Forgiveness.” The confident vocalist sings “I understand if you don’t like the songs that I sing. They’re just a product of who I am and I wouldn’t change a thing.” The album, from front to back, provides listeners with a detailed account of Steven Padilla. Beginning with the very honky-tonk country sounding “Peaches and Pines,” which sets the tone for the album which reads like a journal, Steven openly shares his life with listeners as if they were dear friends and confidantes and makes no apologies for who he is as a person.

Good at Goodbye can be described as a walk through the life of Steven Padilla, including stories of ex-girlfriends, acquaintances from the past, love, life, and lessons learned. Whether Steven is crooning about his heartache or simply reflecting on the complexities of life, his soulful, soothing vocals make being on this eleven track ride pure joy. One of the album’s highlights is the title track, which, as Steven explained during a recent interview with #CMchat, is a story of his former elderly neighbor. Before Steven was able to play the track for this man who inspired the beautiful tribute, the man passed away. Since the song was penned, it has held a very special place in Steven’s heart, and it will, likewise, hold a special place in listeners’ hearts upon hitting play for the first time.

“Forgiveness” is another standout track on the album, as it breeds the above-referenced theme to the entire project. “Forgiveness” purports to identify the mistakes made in life and recognizes that, despite knowing what’s right, the wrongs happen from time to time. However, at the end of the day, a prayer of repentance can be said and a request for love can be made. “If I Didn’t Have You,” a tribute to Steven’s wife and newborn daughter, aptly rounds out the album in the final spot, as the song focuses on his present day life. The track discusses how Steven was made into a better man through his relationship with the woman of his dreams and the birth of his daughter. Steven admits that, before these ladies entered his life, he thought of only himself, but he was reborn and is now a changed man.

If you want to get to know country music newcomer Steven Padilla on an extremely intimate level, look no further. His full length album, packed from start to finish with songs written by the singer, is as personal as they come and honors that for which country music is best known – its honesty. Steven shines on this project and is just intriguing enough to make listeners wonder what else this talented singer/songwriter has up his sleeve for the next album he is already reportedly crafting.

Steven shares on this album that he isn’t good at goodbye, and, lucky for Steven, it doesn’t appear he will have to worry about bidding farewell to the country music industry anytime soon if this album is any indication of what his future holds. - Jen Swirsky

Steven Padilla – Good At Goodbye
***½ (out of 4 stars)
Label: PADMA Records

Good At Goodbye is Steven Padilla’s debut album and the careful song selection is very successful at achieving just what a debut album should; through the songs, it is easy to feel that you are getting to know something about who Steven Padilla is, and just what he is capable of as a musician. It is a solid album that will please any country music lover in search of an album full of consistent new tunes.

There’s a maturity about the songs of Steven Padilla that is refreshing. Sure, he still sings about some of the same things that the rest of country music’s current crop of leading men sing about, but there’s also another, more complex side of him that keeps things interesting.

Musically, Mr. Padilla is firmly rooted in traditional country, but he also has one boot stepping forward, in search of contemporary sounds and techniques to keep his old fashioned musical taste relevant. Vocally, he has a relaxed, natural quality that is a perfect fit for the sensible lyrics he sings.

For the good of country music, here’s hoping that Good At Goodbye is only the beginning for Steven Padilla.

Essential Downloads: “Country Side Of Mine,” “Good At Goodbye,” “7 Minutes,” “This Woman In My Life.” - Greg Victor

A native of Hoover, Alabama, the word “Real” is very important to Steven Padilla. That commitment comes through when you listen to the first singe, “Peaches & Pines.” It’s a perfectly Country cut, complete with a very traditional arrangement. The lyrics have a spiritual overtone about it that evokes some of the latter day work of Johnny Cash. He can also take you on an emotional journey through your life as well. I don’t know if there’s anyone who can’t identify with the reality of “Forgiveness.” He handles the track with the right amount of both vulnerability and strength – a tough balance to strike.

At the same time, Good At Goodbye is not all heavy. Take a track like “Fishin,” for example. The song will definitely resonate with fans of Bryan and Aldean, as it’s tailor made to fit right in. “7 Minutes” is very radio-friendly, as is “Get You Alone,” which will strike a chord with anyone who works the 40 hour week – or more, just to spend a few special moments with that special someone. He also pays tribute to that woman in the romantic “That Woman In My Life,” which details how that special someone can change it all.

The quickest point between two points is a straight line, and Padilla’s songwriting is very much on the mark. You won’t need Cliff’s Notes to understand where he’s coming from, but you will likely look up during any of these songs and think “How did he know what I was going through.” And, that is the sign of a great artist! - Chuck Dauphin

Once again, an artist from the mysterious, nebulous world of independently-signed artists has found his way to my desk for review. This time around, I'm looking at Steven Padilla, an Alabaman who, according to cmchatlive.com, calls his album Good at Goodbye "a great mix between traditional and modern country." The album most certainly lives up to that promise, as its themes are easily identifiable as country — broken hearts, good times in the woods/down backroads/wherever, bad boys set right by good women, etc. — set apart by a modern, edgy production and solid, mostly sharp lyrics.

The album kicks off with a trio of good ol' boy songs. Lead track "Peaches & Pines" has a Jay Joyce-esque swampiness to it, with its low-strung acoustic guitar, tight percussion, and tempo changes bringing to mind Eric Church's "Creepin'." The lyric is at the same time an ode to his Southern upbringing and faith, and while it never really seems to settle in either direction, it still has enough interesting lines and melodic merit to keep it afloat. "Country Side of Mine" is a charming tale of city girl meets country boy in the first verse, with the male stating clearly that she's wasting her time if she doesn't like his truck or boots. The song takes an interesting twist in the second verse, as he gives the same message to Nashville record execs who try to reshape his singing image into something he's not. If predictable, the song's message is at least honest, and stated plainly without feeling confrontational.

"Fishin'" is another simple story about meeting a nice girl and, well, fishin' with her. It hits a lot of the common "bro-country" tropes — hot girl, truck, tailgate, beer, you know the drill — but it gets beyond them and into a few glimpses of real-world struggles that are cast aside (pardon the pun) by just going out and fishing with a girl. (It's also probably the only time since Mark McGuinn's short-lived heyday that a song has had both a banjo and a drum machine in it. And the inclusion of the Andy Griffifh Show whistling at the end is a nice touch.) Speaking of good-time recreations, "Get You Alone" has a guy inviting a woman wearied by her job a chance to get out on some old dirt road. It wears its well-worn theme well, helped greatly by its smooth, steel-heavy production. Similar "7 Minutes" is an offer of not much more than fish and beer-related good times, although I don't quite understand what the hook "7 minutes on ice" is referring to. (Is this some sex metaphor I'm not familiar with?)

But the album's not all about good times. The thumping drums and ragged time signature of "Good at Goodbye" give more sonic creativity to an already solidly-written tale of post-breakup sadness. Such themes are getting increasingly rare in the country field, so it's great to hear a solidly-written one ("It'll never get better if you don't try" is a particularly strong and meaningful line) with "modern" touches, especially the payoff guitar solo at the end. Similarly, "She Won't Be Lonely" has the man looking back at his relationship, taking away from it that "a girl like her, she won't be lonely." The song's somber tone reflects his loneliness well enough, too. "No Time to Think" is about a woman who has all the material possessions one could ask for, but feels held back by the mundanity of it all and wants to pursue her dreams. This interesting character sketch is probably one of the best songs on the album simply because of its unique theme.

"This Woman in My Life" is a tale of a man who's lived a rough life, but is set on the right patch by the perfect woman. Yet again, it's a familiar theme, but it's told in credible fashion and given a slight twist with a marriage proposal for that same woman: "I don't wanna take this trip unless you're gonna go." Similarly, he's looking back on "life and all the stupid things [he's] done" in "Forgiveness," where he prays for a little help in straightening out the right from the wrong. The jump from that to his statement that it's okay if you don't like his music is a bit jarring, but every bit as sincere. Closing off the album is another ode to — no, not a good woman, but the big guy. The Man Upstairs™. God. I've said it before: the religious-themed songs ending so many male artists' albums lately are a fine touch, as they always work. Good at Goodbye is an incredibly solid album that blends the old and the new. While no individual song is a total knockout, it boasts a remarkable consistency that makes for a pretty darn good listen. A few lyrically dip their toes into what some may consider "bro-country" but they never dive in headfirst, thanks in part to the constantly intriguing production and Padilla's unpretentious voice. It's the production that brings to mind a less brash version of Eric Church, while the song selection and smooth baritone singing recall the better songs on Dustin Lynch's debut or most recent Joe Nichols cuts. Here's hoping that Padilla is one of those rare indie acts that moves out from under the radar in years to come.


4 out 5 Stars* - Bobby Peacock

The debut album from newcomer Steven Padilla, "Good At Goodbye," has been released, and the talented newcomer tells The 615 that he is glad to finally have it out for his fans. That being said, the singer admitted to Billboard that one person who definitely isn’t listening to the disc that much – is him. He says each time he listens, he thinks of how he can better his music.

"I'm already thinking about how I want to do the next album, and how I can make it better. I’m already thinking about different sounds or different microphones for different songs. I try not to listen to it because I listened to it so much when we were making it. I just got burned out. You can only listen so much," he says with a smile.

"Good At Goodbye" is a mixture of nostalgic tips of the hat to his native Crimson Tide country – as well a few heartfelt love songs about his wife Amanda. One of the former on the album is "Peaches and Pines," of which he said "That was a co-write with Adam Hood. We had never written together, and I had the riff of the song – but no lyrics at the time. We wanted to talk about home, about the city versus back home in the sticks. That’s where that came from. It does take me back home every time I listen to it. I feel like a lot of country music fans can relate to that small town lifestyle."

It's a lifestyle he can attest to, having grown up on rural Demopolis, Alabama – population 7,483. Padilla says entertainment options aren’t that plentiful in the heart of Marengo County, so he was drawn to the golden arches. "There is a McDonalds there, and I grew up on McDonalds," he said. "I got out of my hometown and moved to Tuscaloosa, started working out, and got rid of all of that excess weight that I built over the years. We had to make our own fun most of the time, whether that was going down to the river, riding backroads, off-roading, hunting, fishing, or sports."

Then, there are songs like "This Woman In My Life," which document the love that he feels for his wife and daughter. "I spent years playing college towns in bars acting the fool. I was caught up the drinking and partying lifestyle, then I met my wife and she got me out of that hole, That’s what ‘This Woman In My Life’ talks about – meeting her and her opening up my eyes to the craft and ability that God gave me – and setting my mind to using it."

He also channels those emotions on another cut from the CD. "'If I Didn’t Have You' is more of a spiritual song, about the baby before she was born, my wife, and the last verse is about Jesus. I got very spiritual this year, and gave my life to Christ, got baptized, and things just started happening. That was basically my shout out to everything I have in my life that I can’t do without - my wife and family, and God."

Padilla has serviced the album to country radio, though he and his team haven’t narrowed on a particular focus track. Instead, they are just merely trying to spread the word about his talent. "We’re trying to build a buzz about the record, and reach out to as many people as possible. We’re planning on a showcase in Nashville to draw some people out in the industry just to let them know what we’re doing. The man upstairs is in control. I trust in him, and that he’s going to make some things happen." - Chuck Dauphin