Shawn Camp on Staying in the Moment and Touring in His Customized Mercedes Sprinter

Photo credit: Neilsen Hubbard

Tell us about your tour vehicle. Any notable breakdown stories?

Whenever I’m not flying to a show you’ll see me on the road in my 2012 Mercedes Sprinter, which I’ve had customized and converted into a private RV. It has 56,000 miles on it, and it’s in the shop at this moment, getting it serviced for a trip to North Carolina this weekend! It’s a great vehicle and has never broken down.

How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?

I have an allergy to MSG, so over the years, I’ve learned what restaurants to avoid and which ones I can eat in, without getting a headache! And, I cook my meals once in a while in my Sprinter!

How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?

I don’t usually break strings. It’s a very rare thing if I do… If I break one, I put a whole new set on the guitar. Lately I’ve been using Martin Monell’s (nickel) 13-56 acoustic guitar strings! Like Tony Rice used.

Where do you rehearse?

I don’t rehearse.

What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?

I was just a kid, maybe 12 years old, when I wrote “Tougher Than Leather”.

Every ol’ cowboy that I ever knew
Was as tough as the leather that made up his boots
Playin’ old guitars and singin’ the blues
Wishin’ he had enough money to lose…

Not much of a song, but it was a start!

Describe your first gig.

I played mandolin at a Church’s Fried Chicken Grand Opening in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.

What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?

I was a tour guide at the old Country Music Hall Of Fame in Nashville! That was my favorite day job.

How has your music-related income changed over the past 5-10 years? What do you expect it to look like 5-10 years from now?

I’ve been playing more live shows in the last 10 years, I guess… I’m not really sure how my income has changed. And I have no idea what the next moment will bring, but my intentions are to continue to perform and play to bigger and bigger audiences.

What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?

That’s a tough question… I wouldn’t know how to begin to answer it. I think the best advice I could suggest might be, stay in the moment. It only happens once. Nothing can really be replicated, in music and in life.

Camp began playing guitar as a small child, growing up outside Perryville, Arkansas. Mandolin and fiddle followed, all before he could drive. A prodigy who never knew how to be anything but, Camp moved to Nashville at 20 and found early gigs playing with the Osborne Brothers, Jerry Reed, Alan Jackson, Shelby Lynne, and Trisha Yearwood. Then, he really started writing—and singing with sly grace, smooth but earthy. Camp released his first solo album, Shawn Camp, on the Reprise (Warner Bros.) label, but found his biggest success as a songwriter, penning hits for Willie Nelson, Garth Brooks, Brooks & Dunn, Josh Turner, Blake Shelton, George Strait, and many others. He became a trusted collaborator of John Prine, Loretta Lynn, and, of course, Guy Clark, with whom he wrote constantly and toured occasionally. When Clark won a Grammy in 2014 for his final album, My Favorite Picture of You, Camp took home a statue as one of the record’s producers. In 2015, Camp took home another Grammy, this time as lead vocalist for bluegrass supergroup the Earls of Leicester.

The Ghost of Sis Draper, his latest album, was released on 12 September. Connect with Camp online and on the road.