Interview: Shallow Side’s Eric Boatright Celebrates New Album

Shallow Side were on top of the world. In 2016, Loudwire’s readers voted them the Best New Artist. In 2019, they released their debut full-length, Saints & Sinners.

Then in 2020, everything changed for Shallow Side — and the entire world.

“Everything was perfect,” frontman Eric Boatright told Chuck Armstrong on Loudwire Nights Tuesday (July 23). “We were getting free beers at the bar, making an album with Elvis Baskette and then some labels started like jockeying for position. We’re like, ‘This is going to be nice.'”

Boatright opened up about growing up in a trailer park and how Shallow Side’s success meant everything to him.

“This was going to solidify my spot at the meth table where I grew up,” he said. “I was going to be like, ‘Yo, now I’m somebody.'”

As soon as the band got their debut LP out, the pandemic hit and all the momentum Boatright and his bandmates were feeling came to a screeching halt.

“It went from so much going on, so much fun, to sit down. Be quiet. Can’t do it no more.”

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Fortunately, the slowness of the pandemic forced the band to get better and better at their craft while committing to the future of Shallow Side.

“This could be an ant hill to some people, but for me, this is the Taj Mahal,” Boatright said about where the band is today, celebrating Reflections. “The world keeps spinning.”

Boatright admitted to the Loudwire Nights audience that as he’s reflected on the early days of Shallow Side and their experience during the pandemic, he realized that they never had a goal in mind when they were starting out — which seems to only amplify his gratitude.

“If you look back on how Shallow Side started, there was no ambition to become the greatest,” he said.

“We’re lucky to be here.”

What Else Did Shallow Side’s Eric Boatright Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

• What would happen if Shallow Side sold as many records as Garth Brooks or Taylor Swift: “It would be the most interesting thing you’ve ever seen, like a lottery winner, but times 10.”
• How their debut album took shape following the initial release of 2018’s Origins
• Why it’s stressful for him to release a full-length album rather than singles

Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below

Eric Boatright joined Loudwire Nights on Tuesday, July 23; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand.