Koe Wetzel Talks Taking a "Step Back" for '9 Lives' Album on Theo Von's 'This Past Weekend' Podcast

Koe Wetzel's recent album, 9 Lives, marked a departure from the party-fueled antics that have, for years, informed the hitmaker's work. It was a move that initially left him unsure of how his cult following would react, but one that has since paid off.

In a recent episode of Theo Von's This Past Weekend podcast, the artist discussed this shift, his fans, as well as his highly publicized penchant for partying.

"I was kind of curious as to how [the fans] were going to take this new music we put out, they came on with it," the Texas-bred star shared at the top of the podcast. "I think they dug it. We haven’t really veered off from the shit we’ve been doing our whole career.”

9 Lives, however, seems to have ushered in a new era for the hitmaker, something that has been reflected in his press interactions and on the road during his Damn Near Normal tour.

He explained, "It used to be get fucked up, go play music ... write music, throw down, party with everybody. And now it’s kinda, let’s take a step back and calm everything down a little bit.”

“With this record, we tapped into the mainstream side of it, I guess," he continued, also remarking on his recent move from Texas-centric shows to all-out arena gigs across the country.

"Over the last, probably, five years, we got out of Texas and got to pay these crazy arenas and stuff. It’s been wild, and we’ve been blessed. The fans have just come out of the woodworks. It’s cool to have people fuck with the music, fuck with what you’re telling them and it’s wild."

With an album and an expansive tour now in the rearview, it's undoubtedly been a whirlwind year for the hitmaker. "We’ve been so busy, I haven’t had time to step back and actually look at it, kinda see where we’re at, but it’s wild,” he shared on the episode.

When Wetzel spoke to Holler this past Fall, the artist had a similar sentiment surrounding his hectic schedule, explaining, “I’m worn down, but at the same time, it's a good tired, you know. Everything is coming together as planned. We got a lot of cool stuff coming up. We're really excited to be this tired.”

During the interview, he touched on what's to come, confirming that more music is on the way. "We don't know exactly when," he said but added: "We've got a lot of songs that didn't make the record. We had some songs before that we thought about putting out and just didn't, so we got a lot of music in the vault. We're already writing for the new record. The flame is hot right now, so I guess we got to take advantage of it."

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