EXCLUSIVE: Cody Belew Talks New Cover ‘A Thousand Miles From Nowhere’

Cody Belew moved to Nashville in 2012 from his native Arkansas and has since built up a strong following in Music City and has become one of the most revered singer/songwriters on the circuit. His latest offering comes in the form of a brilliant cover of Dwight Yoakam’s hit ‘A Thousand Miles From Nowhere’.

Here we chat exclusively with Cody to discuss the release further:

Congratulations on the release of your new single, how are you finding the response so far?
It never gets old- releasing new music. I love the entire process from creation to release, but once you hand it over to the listeners it no longer belongs to you. I knew we had something special when we were in the studio recording this song. We were really only doing it for social media content, but when it started taking shape I knew that it deserved a bigger space than that. So far, folks are reflecting that feeling in their response. It’s good to get back in the saddle!

What made you decide to record your own version of this track?
It was actually the genius of Anastasia Brown- head of A&R at my label, One Vision Music. I’ve always loved Dwight Yoakam. He was actually a big influence for my song “The Choice (A Lonely Heart Makes) that I released last year. But I would’ve NEVER thought of “A Thousand Miles From Nowhere.” When she casually mentioned me taking a crack at it I immediately knew how I wanted to interpret it.

What do you feel you bring to this rendition?
I wanted to express in music this unique moment we’re all living in. Isolation. Loneliness. Yoakam’s lyrics are genius in their melancholy. So I knew if we just leaned into that feeling with the tempo and instrumentation we’d have something that everyone could relate to in real-time.

Do you have any set goals in mind for this offering?
Well, I’d love for it to be added to a few of those mega playlists that can launch an artist forward, but it’s already achieved what we hoped. I’m getting to talk about it with you! My fans, who’ve been patiently waiting, are listening and sharing and ready for what we’re planning next. This was meant to be the appetizer before the main course!

What do you hope listeners take away from your cover?
When I listen to it it’s like a mental pause. I can take a deep breath, close my eyes, and escape the troubles of the day. And that’s important right now. We’re just being pelted by one thing or another from week to week. So I hope that’s what they get from it- a 3-minute escape. A moment to exhale and reset.

How are you finding sharing new music during this time?
I’m finding it thrilling as a newly signed artist! I’ve been an independent singer/songwriter all these years and I think I can speak for all the indie acts out there when I say that releasing music without the support of a label and/or PR and/or radio promotions team is like watching the fruits of your labor die on the vine. Handing that burden to a family of individuals with the shared goal of a successful launch is a lifted weight that’s hard to describe.

Have you come up with any innovative ways to promote your music?
We have some really fun stuff planned for Christmas but they keep telling me I’m not allowed to talk about it! But I’ll tell ya, I think the only card I’ve not played is showing more skin! HAHA! That seems to be what sells in this Instagram world we live in. …I’m doing my push-ups just in case!

Looking ahead, what else can we expect from you this year?
Well, there’s that Christmas carrot that I keep waving. After that, we’re planning to release songs from my forthcoming album “The Wreck.” It’s a project of all original music- most of which I wrote by myself. I’m so excited about that release and hope we can get back together to talk about it in the new year.

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