Kix Brooks Reveals He’s About Halfway Done With a New Album

He'll always be known for his 20-year run as half of Brooks and Dunn, but Kix Brooks is keeping himself plenty busy since the split. While former bandmate Ronnie Dunn is preparing to release his debut solo effort, Brooks is making progress with writing some new music of his own -- that is, when he can can find a little downtime to do so around his commitments to two upcoming acting roles and his 'American Country Countdown' show. The singer is in no rush to get a new record out to fans and radio, but he's got a good number of songs brewing.

"I've got probably half of an album done," Brooks tells Taste of Country from the red carpet at a recent event in New York. "But I'm actually growin' a little scruff here. I'm fixin' to start a new movie in a few weeks, and I just finished another movie which has kind of slowed down my recording process, but my label seems to be very supportive about my movie roles. They're not in a hurry, and I'm not either, honestly."

"The new movie is called 'To Kill a Memory,'' he continues. "They're actually building a cast right now. The movie I just got finished with is called 'Thrift Store Cowboy.' It's kind of a darker version [of the original]. It's fun, it really is. I was actually a theatre major in college, so it's really fun to get around to try to remember some of those skills."

The thespian in Brooks may be showing himself right now with all this film work, but you can't take the music out of a musician. "I've written, I've got a couple things ... one that probably will be in the 'Thrift Store' movie is a song I wrote called 'Moonshine Road," Brooks notes. "It's pretty rockin' and it's pretty swampy, and I'm sort of writing some more songs around it. It's a little different than Brooks and Dunn music. It's just kind of where I'm from."

Brooks tells Taste of Country that he's got nothing but kind words to send Dunn's way, regarding this year's solo ACM performance and the release of 'Bleed Red': "I think he's doin' great. He's doin' good and I'm happy for him."

"He was really ready to just take the time and run on into his solo career, and I'm a little more inclined to take a step back and scratch my head while I'm working on this. We're not the same guy!" he adds.

Times have changed for both Brooks and Dunn, and things seem to be going well for the both of them as they pursue separate paths. Though Brooks has his own new songs on the back burner for the time being, he's thrilled to be watching the blossoming careers of the country newcomers whom he's worked with thanks to 'American Country Countdown.'

"It's a little different, not touring with Brooks and Dunn after 20 years of doing it," he admits. "But I'm still doing quite a few shows right now. I'm doing the on the road series with American Country Countdown, working with any number of different acts: Luke Bryan, Craig Morgan, Lee Brice, Thompson Square. There's a lot of great music going on. That's one thing, doing the countdown show … there's a lot of great talent out there and it's always fun to see what breaks through and what rises to the top. The fans always decide that, always have, always will."

If you happen to be one of those lucky new acts on the rise, Brooks has one piece of solid advice: "Believe in what you're doing, and keep doing it. Perseverance seems to be the common denominator on anyone that's ever made it."

Watch the Brooks and Dunn 'Cowgirls Don't Cry' Video (From 2008)