Tyler Farr Wants to Smack the Person Who Coined the Term ‘Bro-Country’

"Bro-country:" It's a relatively new term in country music, used mostly in reference to popular songs about drinking, hot girls with tan lines, tailgates and, well, drinking some more. Tyler Farr is so over the phrase, however -- in fact, he admits he'd like to smack the person who coined it.

"A lot of my friends sing the new stuff, what they call bro-country," he tells AZ Central. "I mean, whatever. I have no clue what it is and whoever invented that term, I'd like to smack him upside the head."

It would appear the source is Jody Rosen, a journalist, music critic and author who brought "bro-country" to life when talking about Florida Georgia Line's massive song 'Cruise' in 2013.

"In short, 'Cruise' is bro-country: music by and of the tatted, gym-toned, party-hearty young American White dude," Rosen wrote at the time. "It's a movement that has been gathering steam for several years now, and we may look back on 'Cruise' as a turning point, the moment when the balance of power tipped from an older generation of male country stars to the bros."

True, Farr writes about whiskey, pickup trucks and girls, but he insists there's more to his music than just those things -- he was actually influenced in his career by more traditionally-minded country stars.

"George Jones is a big part of my life," Farr says. "My stepdad played guitar for him for 15 years. I spent a whole summer with him, sat at the side of the stage and watched him sing. The first time I ever got chill bumps was watching George Jones sing 'Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes.' And then there's Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard. That's what I listen to when I'm heading to the river, going to the lake. It refreshes me and reminds me of why I do what I do."

Adds the singer, "Not that I don't like a lot of the new stuff."

Farr defends the themes behind bro-country -- he says they're something many country fans can relate to. "I live in Chapel Hill, Tenn., which has the largest tractor pull in the south, and there's not a lot more that you do on the weekends than drink and party," the singer explains, "and I write what I know about. So I am gonna have songs that have partying and hot girls and pickup trucks. There's only so much you can write about. If I don't know anything about vacuums, I'm not gonna be a vacuum salesman. It's as simple as that."

Farr's new album -- which houses the first single 'A Guy Walks Into a Bar' -- is a mix of traditional music and 'new' music, which appeals to the younger generation.

"I've had people call my music new traditional, which I'll take as a compliment. I love traditional music," Farr shares. "But you've gotta get the young kids involved, too, and this was my way of getting the new generation involved without losing the roots, because if you lose the roots of country music, you lose the genre. I write and record real music about what I know about. That's all I do. And it's not rocket science"

Farr is currently on the road with his buddy Jason Aldean and the band who inspired the term bro-country, Florida Georgia Line.

You Think You Know Florida Georgia Line? You Don't

Why You Should Quit Complaining About Modern Country Music