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Tyler Halverson<\/strong> knows who he is, and sometimes he doesn\u2019t like it. But all of the mistakes he\u2019s made and hearts he\u2019s broken have led him to In Defense of Drinking, his stone-cold honest country album that takes a stark look at a life lived on the road. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a life spent falling in and out of love and finding something to write about, at the expense of your heart and somebody\u2019s else\u2019s,\u201d Halverson says. \u201cI\u2019m not proud of the actions that that boy took to inspire these songs. But I\u2019m very proud of how they turned out. The Nashville scene today is all so pretty and polished, and some artists try to come out looking a certain way, but how about you just show yourself exactly how you are, the good and bad?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Growing up in the tiny town of Canton, South Dakota, Halverson has never been afraid to be himself. Before he answered the call of the road, playing bars and rodeo beer gardens, he spent as much time on his skateboard as he did showing cattle at livestock shows. \u201cI grew up in sale barns and skate parks,\u201d he says, and those two disparate worlds inform the music he makes. There\u2019s a decidedly alt-country edge to the songs on In Defense of Drinking, including the thumping, unrepentant single \u201cMore Hearts Than Horses.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf you come walking my way\/I\u2019ll send you running someday,\u201d he sings over pedal steel and acoustic guitar. It\u2019s an admission as striking as that of Willie and Waylon, when they sang \u201cTake what you need from the ladies and leave them\/with the words of a sad country song\u201d in \u201cMy Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat comes with the territory of being a troubadour,\u201d Halverson says. \u201cIt\u2019s a warning: whatever you\u2019ve heard about cowboys and cowboy singers is probably true, and sometimes you best just leave it alone.\u201d<\/p>\n Texas is in the DNA of the music Halverson writes and records. He\u2019s been all over the Lone Star state with his guitar and harmonica and came up with some of his best songs there. In the tailgate jam \u201cLike a Rodeo,\u201d featuring Australian country star Wade Forster, Halverson struggles to connect with another restless soul: an ambitious barrel racer. \u201cCould she ever love me like the rodeo?\u201d he sings.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou can lose yourself in the troubadour lifestyle, where every night is a damn party and you\u2019re far from your family, your home, and your faith,\u201d he says. \u201cSo, this album may be a little bit of a personal battle: Who are you on the road vs. who are you at home. These songs are often about me admitting that I can be reckless and impulsive, but that I\u2019m trying my best. Conflict isn\u2019t always bad if you can make some good out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n