Drake White NASH Country Weekly Page 2

POSITIVE
VISION
DRAKE WHITE keeps
his eye on the prize:
happiness.
24
NASH Country Weekly • February 15, 2016
Drake by David McClister/BMLG; Drake & Alex by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images; perf by Scott Legato/Getty Images
WITH BOUNDLESS ENERGY AND an
undeniable voice that he showcases
every week in his YouTube series,
Freestyle Friday, Drake White leaves
his heart and soul on the table
with every song and performance.
While his first single—the gutsy,
bluesy, infectious “It Feels Good”—
is reminiscent of fun summer days
growing up by the water in Hokes
Bluff, Ala. (population 4,300),
Drake’s latest single, “Livin’ the
Dream,” gives further insight into
his hometown values.
With a soulful, upbeat groove,
“Livin’ the Dream” isn’t about finding fame and fortune. It’s about
being grateful for everything that
you have right now, not worrying so
much about tomorrow and finding
the beauty in the everyday gifts and
relationships you’ve been given.
“I write a lot of my own songs,”
Drake says. “But when I first heard
“Livin’ the Dream” several months
ago, I listened through it a couple of
times and thought, ‘This is what it
is all about, this is what we do.’ Of
course I wouldn’t have a problem
putting my own spin on this song
and putting it out to the world. I’ll
be the first to admit, there are a lot
of bad things going on in the world
but you have a choice to focus on
the bad stuff or the good stuff. This
song encompasses a man who focuses on the good stuff every morning when he wakes up. He has a
roof over his head, a truck and his
woman—and he’s good.”
Similar to the song’s lyric of Look
at us with a picket fence, don’t got
a lot of money, but we’re making a
dent, the good stuff for Drake includes spending time with his wife,
Alex, and dreaming about ways they
can work together to inspire others to live their dreams. A former
elementary school teacher, Alex left
her teaching career shortly after the
couple got married in 2014 to open
her own catering business, Milk &
Honey Food Company.
“She’s passionate about cooking
the same way I am passionate about
Drake opens for Zac Brown Band at Comerica Park in Detroit in September 2015; (below) Drake and wife Alex walk the red carpet
at the 2015 ASCAP Awards in Nashville.
music,” says Drake with a smile.
“From the way she prepares it to
the way she displays it to take it to
people, it all goes back to her heart
and that she just wants to take care
of others. And it tastes so good.”
Inspired by his wife, and hoping to
use his and her collective gifts and
talents to help others, Drake looked
to Zac Brown for advice on how to
build a career, a family and a nonprofit that gives back. The two became friends while Drake opened for
Zac Brown Band on tour last year.
“I’m a firm believer that if you
want to do something, find somebody who has already done it and
ask them what they did,” says
Drake. “Everyone’s path is different, so I’m not speaking musically, of course, I’m talking about
building a band, keeping your wife
happy and raising kids. Zac has
this incredible camp called Camp
Southern Ground that helps kids
overcome difficulties to reach their
full potential. I would love to form
a cool camp like that, and I wanted
to find out how he did it. We went
duck hunting together and he said,
‘I’ll help you any way I can. I’m
an open book.’ So my job now is to
figure out the questions I need answered and just ask him. I think a
lot of people have dreams that they
want to accomplish but they don’t
take the time to lay out their vision
or write down the goals they want
to achieve. So I wrote my [goals and
vision] down on a poster board and
pasted it on the wall years ago, and
I continue to build upon it. I told
Zac about it and he was like, ‘Man,
look at this.’ And he showed me
a photo of something similar. You
have to have a vision.”
ASHLEY EICHER
February 15, 2016 • NASH Country Weekly
25