A Life Worth Living – Q&A with MARC BROUSSARD

Marc Broussard is an American singer-songwriter. His style is best described as “Bayou Soul,” a mix of funk, blues, R&B, rock, and pop, matched with distinct Southern roots. In his career, he has released five studio albums, one live album, three EPs, and has charted twice on Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks.

Marc Broussard is the son of acclaimed Louisiana Hall of Fame guitarist and former member of The Boogie Kings, Ted Broussard. Marc was raised in Carencro, Louisiana and Lafayette, Louisiana.

Broussard released his fifth full-length album A Life Worth Living on July 29th of this year. The gracious singer took some time out of his busy tour to answer a few questions for All Access writer, Nicole DeRosa.

Hi Marc! How are you today? Where does this interview find you and what else is on the agenda today besides our interview?

I’m doing better than ever. I’m at home for a quick break in the tour. The only thing on the agenda for tonight is to devour the Veal Osso Buco that my wife is making for dinner.

I just finished listening to your album A Life Worth Living. It sounds like it is your most personal one yet, would you agree? What was the motivation with this album?

I would absolutely agree that this is the most personal album to date. I was inspired to write this record after being freed from the strictures of my prior record deals. I took this opportunity to do some things I’d always wanted to do.

Although the production is intimate, there are also rocking tracks on the album and some other big production numbers. How do you capture inspiration when it comes to you? What’s your songwriting process like?

The songwriting process is different for every song. Sometimes a melody or lyric will come to me out of the blue. Sometimes the music dictates the tone of what the lyric will be. The most important thing for me is to drop everything when inspiration comes and make sure it gets documented in some way, usually with a voice memo app.

There are some beautiful songs about heartache on the album, including, “Life Worth Living,” the title track and “Give Em Hell”. Can you tell me a bit about those songs and the inspiration?

The title cut, “A Life Worth Living,” was written just a few hours after I left the hospital visiting my grandmother. I knew when I left that I would not see her alive again and my heart was broken. Her name was Mamie Ruth Deville and she was an amazing woman who raised an amazing family. The opening line of “Give Em Hell” popped into my head literally moments after reading a text that a dear friend had passed. A sudden coronary dissection took him at age 41. It was devastating to all who knew him and he, being a high school English teacher, knew A LOT of people.

Both of these songs came to me as if they were already written. The most difficult thing about writing them was surrendering to the process. Every line was emotionally exhausting. So it wasn’t so much about trying to be thoughtful as it was about allowing myself to read what was being imbued on my heart.

“You know that when you open yourself for the next line, you will be brought to your knees and that isn’t an easy thing to do. Each line reinforces what you already know: that someone you love dearly is no longer just a phone call away.”

What was the first album you fell in love with and why?

Brian McKnight’s self-titled album featured a beautiful song called One Last Cry. I heard it on the radio and used my allowance to buy the record. I poured over that record for years, just trying to sing like Brian, a man I still consider one of the best singers of my lifetime.

What album sums up your years as a teenager?

Brian McKnight’s “I Remember You”

(It was a long phase)

Who is currently in your playlist? Any guilty pleasure songs sneak in there?

I’ve been digging hard on a group from Louisiana called Baby Bee. Also, there’s a guy called Blake Mills that I only discovered recently that is knocking me out.

Marc, you are very involved in philanthropic work with United Way, Habitat for Humanity and the Entertain The Troops Tour in the Middle East. You were also a founding member of the Momentary Setback Fund to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita and have released an album Bootleg to Benefit the Victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, with all proceeds going to help rebuild your home state, Louisiana. How has that experience been? What is it currently like in Louisiana?

The philanthropy that I’ve been involved in previously was really just an outgrowth of how I was raised. I’ve always been taught that helping people is a duty and a privilege. My past work has informed me and moving forward I have a new venture that is going to do even more to help many more people than ever.

I’m essentially launching a new foundation that will be tied to everything I do from now on. As far as Louisiana today, we’re doing quite well, with one major exception. Louisiana is currently losing land due to erosion at an alarming rate. Luckily, there is a concerted effort to stem the tide and raise awareness and they are making great progress. Unfortunately, the only real solution, in my opinion, is removing the levees that locked the Mississippi River into its current path and allow that river to flood and deposit sediment across the Gulf South. It’s not a real solution, of course, but this is why we are having problems now.

What advice do you have for new artists?

So much advice. I feel that part of my role on this planet is to help young artists find their voices and help navigate what is often a cutthroat business. Firstly, develop a fan base at home. If you’re selling 1000 tickets in your hometown, record labels will come out of the wood works.

Next, get a good lawyer. The best lawyer. And they are all in New York, LA or Nashville. I cannot stress this enough. Get the best lawyer money can buy. There’s much more to cover like songwriting and creativity, in general, but that’s for another time.

Here’s a fun one: If you could spend the day with any artist/musician who would it be and why? Where would you go and what would you do?

There’s a musician by the name of Dickie Landry that I would love to hang with. Full disclosure: I already have hung with him, many times. The story of his life would take a lifetime of conversations to unwrap. I plan on having many more hangs with Dickie in the near future.

What’s on tap next for you this year? What are you most excited about for this year?

I’m headed to Switzerland in a couple of weeks and will be there for nearly a month playing shows. I can’t begin to describe how excited I am to start my European journey. I’ve always wanted to tour Europe and have had some success with the little bit I’ve already done. After that, I’ll be on tour on the West Coast with The Southern Soul Assembly. This is a new project with some amazingly talented guys and our hope is that we’ll be working together for many years. Good things are on the horizon, folks. Stay tuned.

To Learn More About Marc Broussard,

Including Upcoming Tour Dates,

Visit his website here .