In the first of five features this week, that I have dubbed “Pre-Boom,” we take a look at Halfway to Hazard, a group that will be performing at Red, White & Boom! this Saturday, July 4th. Halfway to Hazard, a group from here in Kentucky, got their name because the two members always met at the halfway point between their hometowns (Hazard, KY) to practice. Hit the jump below for part of an interview with the duo. Also, stayed tuned for more Pre-Boom blog entries. One will be up each day leading up to the show.

Below is an interview that CountryMusicOnline.net did with Chad Warrix & David Tolliver of Halfway to Hazard. For the full interview, click here to visit their site.

How and when did your first break in the music industry come about?

David: We’ve both been doing this pretty much our whole lives. I’ve don’t ever remember not singing. We’ve always been involved in some form or fashion. I think we both took a hiatus from it for a little while… (Chad during his motorcycle days – He raced in Motorcross and I, myself decided to quit music for a little while and try basketball. I decided I wasn’t good enough to have a career in that, so I went back to the music again. And, I guess you did the same thing too, didn’t you Chad?

Chad: Absolutely – we always came back and saved the best for last. When David and I got together about 4 years ago to start Halfway To Hazard, we started writing a bunch of songs and we enjoyed playing and sharing the stage together. It turned into a cool project. We got a record deal with Mercury and made our first record with Tim McGraw and got our CD out about 5 weeks ago in a store which is really cool – and comes full circle.

Did the small Kentucky towns that you grew up in have any influence on the kind of music you listened to back then and the direction you decided to take with your music now?

David: Absolutely. Growing up around Hazard, KY – pretty much all there was on the radio was Gospel and country and a few rock stations. We both had older sisters and they grew up listening to Led Zeppelin, Journey, and REO Speedwagon, and the bands of the 70’s and 80’s. That was a big influence too. There’s just so much music and so much musical heritage back there and it all comes together and becomes what we’ve done. We’re both children of the 80’s too so we grew up in the hair metal days. Everything back home – we try to draw from all of that when we create our music.

One of the great things about your duo is that you change lead vocals on different songs often… How do you decide who gets to sing lead on which song?

Chad: When we write songs, it just kind of happens. When we’re sitting in a room together with a co-writer or whatever, it’s just whoever is feeling that part of the song that particular day. I know a song like “COLD” – actually was one of the first songs that David and I ever wrote together. And, I found one of the old work tapes of that song and it was actually me singing lead all the way through. So, somehow – I don’t remember when – but it turned into a David song. And, that’s cool – I enjoy hearing him sing it… We do that a lot in the middle of songs too between choruses and verses. “Daisy” was like that and “I’m Tired,” “Countrified,” and several other songs on our record where we actually switch lead vocals right in the middle of the song. It’s fun and it keeps it fresh and it keeps us entertained. We both enjoy hearing each other sing and so it’s a lot of fun. So, even when we write it sometimes, we think about it that way too, but sometimes it just turns out that way… Sometimes it can be a last second decision; sometimes it’s totally calculated, so you just never know.

For your debut CD, you had the chance to work with Byron Gallimore & Tim McGraw. How did you initially get in contact with both of them?

Chad: We were playing a lot of shows around Nashville and most of them were at a place called 3rd & Lindsley. We’d play early – 5 or 6 in the afternoon – because music industry people would get off of work and want to go have a cocktail and talk about business and they would come to watch us. Byron Gallimore was one of those people that kept coming and the first time he came and watched us, he walked up on stage and said ‘Man, I’d really love to work with you guys.” He came several times after that and he just kept reiterating every time – that he really wanted to work with us and we just kind of couldn’t believe it. Byron is one of the most successful guys in Nashville and so respected… We jumped at the chance and after we got all the legal stuff done with the record deal, and then a production agreement with him, he brought in Tim. And, McGraw wanted to work with us too and really shared a passion for the music and loved what we did (the songs we had written, the demos that we had done and our live show) and he wanted to put his name on it too. We started recording not much longer after that at Ocean Way Studios in Nashville and made a great record that David and I, Tim and Byron, and Mercury and everybody is so proud of for our debut record. It’s been a dream come true.

Do you have any favorite experiences of working with Tim in the studio?

David: Just him being there. I remember the first time he walked in and Chad and I kind of looked at each other… We were like “Hey, that’s Tim McGraw.” But, Tim is one of these people that…

Chad: That feeling goes away really fast…

David: He’s just a great guy and once you’re around him for 5 minutes, he makes you feel so comfortable. He was the first person there in the morning; He was the last person to leave at night and he was very involved. We really didn’t know what to expect. We didn’t know if he would just be a signature on the contract or what not – but he was there all the time and we had such a great time working with him in the studio.

Chad: But, we’ve learned about Tim that anything that he does in life, he does 110%. And, we found out that with Halfway To Hazard – it was going to be one of those things. He goes to bat for us over and over again. He’s always defending us, taking us under his wing and sharing information and giving us pointers. And, Faith – she does the same thing for us. They’re both like proud parents. We were on the Soul2Soul tour this year. We’d come off the main stage underneath and they would be there waiting to greet us and give us hugs and high fives, tears in their eyes like proud parents sending their kids off to school every morning. It was a cool thing… and always an open door policy and continues to be with both of them. They’ve been great mentors.

David: And, Tim would brush our hair before the shows – it was awesome. (laughs!)

Stay tuned for tomorrow, when we will post up a feature on Holly Williams, another artist performing at Red, White & Boom! and daughter to Hank Williams Jr, the headliner of the show.