What’s in a reputation? For Muscadine Bloodline, a title rebrand might have been the spark that elevated the nation duo from everlasting school city cowl band to now taking part in in entrance of sold-out audiences at professional soccer stadiums.
It’s now 9 years since Gary Stanton and Charlie Muncaster selected ditching not solely their house state of Alabama but additionally their nondescript stage title—Gary and Charlie—and head to Nashville in pursuit of nation music stardom. Not solely did Muscodine Bloodline sound extra like an actual band, the change helped forge a each a friendship and now devoted partnership with a sole objective of launching their distinctive type of nation music worldwide.
“We always joked that all band names sucked unless it worked out,” Muncaster says. “We’re still chugging along. So hopefully it’s working out just fine.”
The self funding has paid off greater than the 2 might have envisioned. Since transferring to the Music Metropolis, the indie nation artists have constructed an enormous cult following—and their success is now blowing up on a nationwide platform. They’ve acquired a brand new album, The Coastal Plain, which has been critically acclaimed. And along with their very own U.S. tour in help of their work, they’re additionally at the moment opening the for rap-country crossover famous person Publish Malone.
“We were just running around as Gary and Charlie, because we didn’t know that we were really going to work together in an official capacity,” Muncaster says. “Once we finally built a lot of chemistry, and decided we were going to do this thing together, we decided we need to have a band name. We wanted something that rhymed and something that sounded inherently southern, and we landed on Muscadine.”
Their careers are reliant on one another’s full consideration. This has required Stanton and Muncaster to grow to be almost inseparable—and never simply onstage or the recording studio.
“There’s the aspect of putting your life into Charlie’s hands and his into yours,” Stanton says. “We both represent each other—and we’ve been pretty much married for nine years. We’ve seen each other a lot—sometimes more than our spouses.”
The 2 have now developed a teammate-like camaraderie within the weightroom as effectively. Muncaster, now six years sober, has needed to depend on Stanton—a lifelong health buff—to assist him regain his well being. As we speak, Muncaster is down is greater than 50 kilos in his bodily pursuit of changing into a greater conditioned nation performer.
And whereas weightlifting and conditioning have allowed each of them to indicate off a little bit of their nation muscle, higher efficiency onstage is permitting Muscadine Bloodline to showcase their high-energy stage exhibits on a nationwide stage.
“We want to sound good, and have you leave our show saying that was a great live band,” Muncaster says. “We’re confident that if we can get you to a show, you’ll buy another ticket because it was a good enough performance to warrant another buy.”
Staying Sober and Staying Devoted to Health
Muncaster started taking part in guitar at age 14, however admits to essentially having no preliminary need to pursue music till school. This was in regards to the time when voice started to develop in addition to his instrument expertise. His onstage profession started taking part in nightly gigs alongside the Auburn bar scene. As he performed for largely pals early on, he began incomes some money—as effectively with free meals and booze.
“The moment for me was when I was like, ‘Oh, I can drink free beer and get 300 or 400 bucks?” he remembers. “That was my jumpstart moment into music.”
Quickly after he paired up with Stanton, who had completed up school at Southern Miss with a level in music administration. After listening to constructive opinions among the many native crowed, the 2 quickly determined that it was the suitable time to move to Nashville. “Within like six months, we started to really see some traction,” Stanton remembers. “We’re like, dang let’s keep at it.”
On the street to music success, nonetheless, the late-night efficiency got here at a well being value for Muncaster—he ballooned to over 270 kilos. Fortuitously, he discovered the willpower to drop alcohol chilly turkey. Since then he hasn’t had a drink in over six years.
“I started realizing that no good decision I’ve ever made has come from being hammered,” he admits. “So for me it was as simple as saying to myself, it’s easier for a guy like me to be sober.”
However what Muncaster didn’t have was a plan to drop the 50-plus kilos of additional weight he’d steadily gained. The additional poundage started affecting his efficiency onstage. Fortuitously, Stanton was the weightroom function mannequin Muncaster wanted. The 2 started understanding collectively, with the assistance of non-public coach Matt Clean. Clean was a pal of Stanton’s throughout school on the College of Southern Mississippi.
Stanton by no means wanted to make use of a troublesome love method to get Muncaster to hitch him within the fitness center, however as a substitute supplied a lead by instance method—consistency. That’s all Muncaster wanted.
“I would tell Charlie that I’ve been going to the gym, and eventually Charlie decided to tag along,” Stanton says. “From there we’ve gone by means of spurts of understanding day by day collectively. Some days, if Charlie desires to go play a spherical of golf, he’ll go try this. Or if we’re not going to work out on a day, we’ll provide you with a plan for issues we have to avoid.
Coaching grew to become a sample forming staple in Muncaster’s day after day world. He started catching on to sure life-style changes—meal prepping being one. And the wholesome habits started to snowball, with Muncaster asking questions and Stanton at all times there to reply.
“He was literally, like the first person in my life at age 23, who showed me how to count calories,” Muncaster stated. “And it blew my mind.”
Now, Muncaster sports activities a 220 pound body, because of a gradual and constant exercise and weight loss plan routine. “I’d really check out what he was doing in the beginning,” Muncaster says. “Then I’d be like, alright, I’m gonna cook some grilled chicken and rice and call it a day. The more I learned the easier it became.”
Stanton sees the progress, and is proud to be part of his associate’s transformation.
“To Charlie’s credit, he’s done it healthy,” he says. “It’s not like a crash weight loss plan to succeed in a objective, then give up and three months later he’s again to the place he was. I really feel like Charlie’s acquired, like, a reasonably good grasp on what he wants.’
Muscodine Bloodline Are Companions on the Stage and the Weightroom
Earlier than deciding on Muscadine Bloodline because the official title, Stanton and Muncaster toyed round with different choices. One was Dry County Riot.
“It sounded too much like a southern metal band,” Stanton says. They settled on combining “Muscadine”—a domestically grown grape—with “Bloodline,” a easy time period representing their southern heritage. And the phrases kind of rhymed too. “We came along Muscadine Bloodline, and it was like, We don’t hate that. So that’s where we landed,” Stanton says.
Even with a elaborate new title a repeatedly increasing worldwide fanbase, the 2 admit separating themselves from their Alabama and southern traditions won’t ever be an possibility. “You cant hide these rednecks,” Muncaster says.
The closest “non-southern” exercise could be Muncaster’s penchant for golf, which he does as typically as time permits. Stanton, in the meantime stays an avid hunter who purposely stays away from the hyperlinks. “I have addictive personality,” he says. “I just don’t have room for one more [hobby]. If I do, I’ll try to be playing on the tour if I start.”
The 2, nonetheless have developed a wholesome sample for getting in a exercise irrespective of town they roll into. Having an Anytime Health membership helps. “Twenty bucks a month get you into any gym in America,” Muncaster says. “That’s pretty healthy.”
Stanton has been heavy into weightlifting since highschool soccer and baseball days. “It’s been a part of my life forever,” he says. “I kind of learned the ropes during high school workouts for football and baseball.”
Whereas the 5’6”, 165-pound former athlete is a seasoned veteran within the fitness center, Muncaster is rapidly changing into a dependable pec-building protegé. He’s continuously gobbling up fast coaching ideas Stanton throws at him whereas on the identical time burning energy all through this weight-loss journey.
They’ll additionally depend on a exercise program created by coach Matt Clean. Stanton and Clean have recognized one another since their school days at Southern Miss. “We’ll open it up and do the workouts specifically made for me and Charlie,” Stanton says. “Over the last two years, he’s helped us maintain a strategy, especially on the road.”
Stanton says usually they’ll do a two-on (higher physique, decrease physique), one-off break up, with Sundays put aside for R&R. On the street nonetheless, they often are likely to sort out full-body exercises when soundcheck, media appearances and different commitments go away them with little time.
“Gary has set a good example, and I’m starting to catch on,” Muncaster says. “I’ve been like, I wonder what that’s like to be healthy. Once you start catching on to that, you also start wanting to be better in certain other areas. And that’s kind of the trickle down effect it had.”
A Duo Made for the Lengthy and Regular Run to Success
On the street, when the temptations of post-concert pizzas, Oreos, or a chilly beer hover backstage, Stanton tries to return ready with more healthy options. He’ll oftentimes fill the tour bus fridge with deer meat or turkey breast ready following one among his current searching journeys.
However whereas they each proceed to maintain their waistlines down with higher meal choices, the Muscadine Bloodline duo understands that their actual meal tickets are their voices. So preserving them wholesome evening in and evening out is as essential as counting macros.
“We’re not Greek gods like Riley Green or Parker McCollum,” Stanton says laughing. “So we have to go out and sound good every night.”
Earlier than and after each live performance, Stanton and Muncaster go over a bunch of vocal workouts and breath work so as their voices keep on level for every 90 minute present and to additionally forestall fatigue the vocal chords. Consuming tea helps as effectively, the duo says.
“I’ll do breathing exercises before I go on stage,” Muncaster says, “because I gotta hold these big breaths to sing. I feel like if we don’t do our warmups, we’ll literally get worn out. Then you’re worried about the next night.”
Whereas their songwriting for The Coastal Plain—with southern melodic ballads akin to 90-10 has been labeled “sneaky good, sometimes overtly stellar,” the pair desires to current to their latest followers that their reside performances are much more dazzling because the opinions.
“You’ll just have to come out and see one and figure out,” Stanton says. We’re very detailed in how we construct a circulate of songs. We don’t simply stand up there and simply play. We attempt to take your 90-minute journey of what we’re engaged on for the time being. Our objective is you simply sound is healthier than we did on the data.”
Within the minds of Muscodine Bloodline, the rise to nation music as impartial artists has been a sluggish and regular climb—they usually’re OK with that—whereas seeing others skyrocket to success. In 2020, they teamed with present nation music phenom Lainey Wilson on “Pieces.” Whereas her rise to worldwide stardom seems to some to have come at meteoric speeds, Stanton and Muncaster nonetheless take the sluggish and regular grind method to proceed transferring ahead.
“If you’re looking at your career and saying, ‘Why aren’t we here?’ I think that’s a huge lesson that we’ve learned to avoid along the way,” Muncaster says. “It doesn’t matter what anyone else is doing— I’m happy for them. What we’re doing is is what we’re doing. We can’t and don’t compare to everybody else. We like to say, ‘Be where your feet are.’”
