Long before Kix Brooks first made his mark as a songwriter and later with Brooks & Dunn, he was an aspiring artist and a young guy who had a business idea: he wanted to buy a bar and be his own house band — at least, until his dad stepped in with a few choice words of wisdom. (AUDIO INFO BELOW)

• Dad was right! Coming to Nashville helped shape Kix’s career, writing hit songs and later teaming up as part of the most successful duo in country music history! And Dad would be mighty proud with Kix’s upcoming solo debut for his longtime record label, set for release on September 11th! Featuring the title track, “New to This Town,” the album is available for pre-order right , on iTunes.
• Be listening soon for Kix’s brand new single, a terrific track called “Bring It on Home”!
• And in other cool Kix news, it was revealed this week that Kix will be performing on ABC’s Good Morning America on September 12th, just one day after his album release!
• Keep up with all things Kix online at KixBrooks.com, and be sure to follow him on Twitter @KixBrooks.

  Kix Brooks recalls a time when his father helped steer him in the right career direction. (1:28) (note content)
“A friend of mine owned a club that I played at a lot, and he was gonna sell it. So I had this great idea I was gonna borrow some money from my father, I was gonna buy this club, was gonna be the house band during the week, and then have other acts on the weekend and whatever, you know? And my dad and I were so close, we…I mean, we talked on the golf course, here, there, everywhere. But I actually remember makin’ a meeting with him and went down to his office and sat with him, and I had this plan and I laid it all out for him. And he sat there smokin’ a cigar and listenin’ to every word very intently, giving me full respect for my plan, you know, and I got done, and he’s just sittin’ there lookin’ at me. (laughs) I said, ‘Well, what do you think?’ He goes, ‘I think it’s a bad idea.’ And I said, ‘Well, why?’ He said, ‘Well, in the first place, you know, you’re tryin’ to be a big fish in a small pond.’ And he said, ‘That’s never a good idea.’ He said, ‘You know, you need to go to Nashville or somewhere where there’s great players, great musicians, great artists, if that’s what you want to do, and figure out how to be one of those guys. And the other thing is, you don’t know a damn thing about the bar business!’ (laughs) So that was just kind of the way he operated. And ’til the day he died, he was always a lot smarter than me, and it was always great to have him to be able call and get some good advice.”