Eric Paslay Talks Being a Songwriter and an Artist: ‘Neither Is Easy’

Eric Paslay first found success as a songwriter, while he was still getting his career as an started. The Texan wrote No. 1 hit singles such as Jake Owen's "Barefoot Blue Jean Night" and Love and Theft's "Angel Eyes," among others, while also releasing songs such as "Friday Night" and "Song About a Girl" from his own self-titled debut album. As he climbs the charts with "High Class," the debut single from his upcoming sophomore album, Paslay says that he has no plans of ever abandoning one side of the music business for the other.

"I like doing both," Paslay tells The Boot. "Neither is easy, but I always say, it’s like I was one of the writers of the letters for a long time here in Nashville, and now I’m a messenger. So you’re out of town a lot more, but you get to see the reaction of what you’ve been writing for years and years. I don’t have kids yet, but they say you love them the same but differently."

However, the 32-year-old acknowledges that working on his own career as an artist does make it more challenging to continue writing songs, both for himself and for others.

"It’s a cool, weird little balance," Paslay admits. "I don’t get to write a lot right now, either; I’m out playing a lot of shows. But I’m balancing all of that out gradually."

Paslay adds that as his career continues to flourish, he has found that getting airplay on radio is more challenging than he imagined -- but he isn't about to be deterred.

"[I didn't know] how much of a miracle it is when stuff gets played a lot on the radio. It really is," he says. "All I know is to put out great songs and keep playing them with all my heart."

Download "High Class" on iTunes.