If Chris Bandi could go back in time to a prior relationship, he would pride himself on being ‘Man Enough Now’ just as he claims in his stream-heavy single.
The country newcomer developed a sense of humor and authenticity by joking about his unfortunate love life in the past, and using those disastrous moments as inspiration in his songwriting. When it came to “Man Enough Now,” he laid out his problematic past for the sake of his music and came out with a relatable track for many other guys to channel in their own relationships.
“I had been thinking about a previous relationship that I was in. I was thinking would we still be together today … If we started dating today, would we make it last or would I still make the same mistakes. I thought to myself, you know, I don’t think I would make the same mistakes because I’m man enough for a relationship and not doing all the stupid boy, immature things that I had done previously. So I had that title,” Bandi explained to Sounds Like Nashville during a recent phone interview.
Adding the acoustic element for the recording process, Bandi focused on keeping the instrumental sounds pure just as they were in the original creative process.
“I think acoustic is more intimate,” he admitted. “It’s just you, a microphone. I was fortunate enough that I had a couple of my good friends come in and play with me for the acoustic video, but it’s just more intimate. It’s you and a guitar and the microphone. There’s no added drums or any sort of effect. It’s just as raw as it can get.”
Bandi still holds on to his former mistakes and life-long memories as a source of material for his songs, including “Man Enough Now” and his other well-known track, “Gone Girl.” Allowing his true-to-life lyrics speak for themselves, he hopes to share his stories by way of the rock-influenced country music he grew up with.
“I know things about life, about break ups, relationships, high school, looking back on college years, and stuff like that. So that’s what I try to stay true to… love, being in love, that kind of stuff when I’m writing. What first drew me to country music was lyrics and how true the lyrics were and the stories. That’s what I’ve loved and that’s what I try to do with every song that I write,” Bandi explained to SLN.
Check out the acoustic version of “Man Enough Now” in this exclusive video premiere and be sure to listen to the song on streaming services now.
