CORBIN DOOLEY: WESTERN TRAUMA
A TALE OF REFLECTION & SURVIVAL
We all could use more stories like this week's feature on a regular basis. As we enter the holiday seasons of thanks and celebration of faith with family and friends before turning the page onto a new year, I.A. shares this emotional musical journey.
Born in Fayetteville, Arkansas and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, Corbin Dooley spent decades living a bi-coastal life on the business side of music working with popular alternative, pop & dance artists. A musician himself, he eventually found his calling on the artistic side of the business creating music instead of promoting it. As often happens in the creation of music, Dooley tapped into some deeply personal and emotional topics on his latest release, Western Trauma.
Caught at a particularly vulnerable moment in life, Dooley found himself in the studio using the creation of music to tap into long lingering mental trauma. He was working his way through the emotions of his first girlfriend and a close aunt committing suicide, and then in late 2016, after fighting years of depression, his mother took her life. All three losses, particularly the loss of his mother, left Dooley feeling hopeless and distraught, but the trauma and ongoing therapy inspired a passion for sharing his survival tactics through music, hoping to help others leave everyday darkness and heal. Western Trauma was recorded and produced at the historic EastWest Studios by six-time Grammy Award winning record producer, engineer and mixer Vance Powell, who felt connected to Dooley's story and the theme of the album. The songs are a cinematic take on alternative country music, with retro country elements and lush string arrangements to match the tone of Dooley’s emotional content. I.A. caught up with Dooley for a conversation about the new release and the emotional process behind making it.
with MIchael parrish
on the airWAVES