Country Artist Spotlight: Cody Jinks
The Most Successful Independent Artist of the Era
When I profiled Luke Bell, I noted one of the things that drew me to his music was the authenticity behind it. The kind of connection to the lyrics you can hear in the performance. It comes through in the pain and joy on display. When you hear it, you know every note was picked on purpose. Every pause and inflection is there for a reason and the person singing is the one who made those decisions.
My musical tastes tend toward “outlaw” or old-school country music. I recently discovered the term, Ameripolitian, which may describe my taste about as well as any word, but I think serious music fans of any genre connect with the same things about music.
Fans love artists who are original and have something to say. Who do something unique to them. Whether it’s lyrics, voice, guitar playing, musical structure, or something else, our favorite artists all have something that makes them special to us.
I largely quit listening to music radio some years ago. I won’t go on a big rant about the cookie-cutter nature of most of what you find there. Or, in my case, the lack of what I call “real country music,” but for a variety of reasons, I started searching out music elsewhere and left the radio for morning shows, and times I didn’t have another option.
That said, nobody likes a sellout. But there are reasons people sell out, and I don’t necessarily blame them. It pays. And being a full-time musician is expensive.
This makes the story of Cody Jinks that much more impressive when you consider how up against it he was:
“The tour schedule was tough. I had two small children at home. My wife and I were more than six figures in debt, because I had floated the band on credit cards. You got to think, in 2008, 2009, when the market burst for the first time, gas shot up to $4.50 a gallon — I don’t know if people remember that — but we were on the road making $500 a night, and that was going to gas. That song is just everything that’s going through a 32-year-old’s mind that has absolutely zero idea what he’s doing or how the hell he’s going to get out.”
The song he’s talking about is called Loud and Heavy, which is now certified platinum, and is just being released to the radio market. It’s quite the feat and may have the potential to, if not turn the music industry on its head, at least make the radio market a little bit more friendly to up-and-coming independent artists.
When they can look at radio and major studios and say, “I have platinum songs without you. I’m headlining festivals and arena shows without you,” it gives independent artists the power to resist the nip, tuck, and stuff in a box formula of Nashville and L.A.
The song is being released to radio now, under Jinks’ own label, Late August Records, humorously dubbed “A record company for misfits.”
It will be interesting to see how this hard-earned success will play out for the remainder of his career. We’ve all seen what happens to bands when they move from young, hungry, and raw to rich, pampered, and lazy.
Not that Jinks is pampered or lazy. He’s obviously worked very hard for a long time and is still touring. But he says that he wants to branch out into acting and voice-over work and start a record label.
When I discovered Jinks in 2019 or 2020, he could still be found playing the club circuit, so hopefully, these new projects don’t impact his prolific songwriting because his storytelling ability is phenomenal and what really sets him apart as an artist. You would think he actually lived through the Dust Bowl with his song Dirt.
And don’t even get me started on David.
When he veers into the personal — which he often does — he does so without being self-absorbed or navel-gazing. He tells stories of his experiences, taking accountability for his failings and problems in a relatable way. He’s self-deprecating without being self-loathing or whiny.
I was surprised to find out Hippies and Cowboys isn’t his best performing song because it’s the one people I talk to associate with him the most. He just about puts the listener in the bar with him as he’s on stage at yet another honky tonk.
Then, of course, there’s Mama’s Song, where he describes his writing process in a song to his mother, which involves “half a six-pack of Old Milwaukee and half a bag of weed.” Who doesn’t love a lyric like that?
He also branches out into some other, more fun type songs. Big Last Name is a bit of Southern Fried Rock/honky tonk combo with some fun instrumental elements thrown in.
There are a ton more songs I’d like to link to, and while Loud and Heavy is Platinum, Hippies and Cowboys and Mama’s Song are both Gold, the other songs I linked in this article are not among his most well known; they’re just some of my favorites.
What sets Jinks apart from other writers and musicians is that he writes almost every song himself. I know that’s not exactly uncommon for indie artists, but with Cody Jinks, they’re not just songs; they’re good songs. Really good songs.
Big Last Name is the only one I can think of where he is a co-writer. A handful of covers aside, I have yet to check a song and not see his name listed as the writer.
There are other artists out there who I think could replicate Cody Jinks’ outsider model to success, and I will spotlight some in future articles who have been successful in their own right traveling similar paths. However, I don’t think it’s possible for very many artists.
The internet, with YouTube and other streaming services, is helping to democratize the music industry a bit. Fans can share recordings of local and regional bands, and indie artists can garner a loyal cult following more easily. But most simply don’t have the talent to produce such a volume of quality music over two decades.
For that, Cody Jinks deserves all the credit and awards he is finally receiving.
Until next time, Friends. Cast no Stones
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