Longtime Spring City Singer Releases "East Tennessee" Album

June 30, 2021

Spring City, TN -- Tate Fugate was born in Rockwood, Tennessee but has lived in Spring City his whole life. He has been fan of country music throughout the years.  Tate has played many venues around the county and beyond over the last few years. I would categrize his music as hard charging country. When Tate plays, people get their moneys worth. One of the annual events he has performed in is the "Shake the Lake" Festival" held in Veteran's Park in Spring City and that one is just around the corner.

Tate cut a new album in Nashville and it is available for download. He also has CDs for sale locally. The new country album “East Tennessee” by Tate Fugate is now available for download on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and many other music streaming sites. All the songs are originals written by Tate Fugate. The album was recorded in Nashville with some of Nashville’s great studio musicians. The album is made up of some serious songs as well as a few that might make you laugh. Tate likes writing about things I’ve seen or experienced in his life.

Tate said, "I think anytime you can write something that has some truth to it people can relate to it. You might recognize some of the people and places I talk about in my songs. I’m proud of where I come from and I love writing about it.”

Songs in the new album "East Tennessee"

                   1 Where You Come From

                   2 Higher Ground

                   3 Call The Law

                   4  Rufus And The Rooster

                   5 My Hands Are Tied

                   6 Cold Heart In You

                   7 Beer Joint Boogie

                   8 18 To 80

                   9 Lookin Down On Me

                  10 My Last Song

             

Back in May, Tate uploaded a new video for one of the new songs on the album entitled “Higher Ground”. The song is about the flooding of the Rhea Springs Community by the construction of Watts Bar Dam. Back in 2019 Tate did a satire video called "Methamphetamine Blues" filmed partially at the downtown Dayton Eagles Nest barber shop. You can visit Tate's facebook page and I have posted a link to the videos he has available for listening..

What was the biggest influence on your music?

"My dad is a huge country music fan so he was playing records and listening to country radio when I was a kid.  I fell in love with country music when I was 3 or 4 years old.  In all honesty, I didn’t know there was anything else out there until my older sister started playing disco records on her record player."

What instruments do you play?

"I play guitar mainly but I can fill in on the bass if I have to and I mess around on the fiddle some but nothing serious."

Is there a country music musician who influenced your music?

"I would have to say that Merle Haggard has probably been my biggest musical influence along with George Jones and Johnny Paycheck.  When I was a kid I worked for a guy named Moon Miller in Spring City.  Moon had a music store and he played piano and sang locally.  Sometimes he and his friends would get together and play in the store.  I got to see Pig Robbins play in there along with other local musicians that were friends of Moon.  That was some of the only live music that I ever saw as a kid and I knew that was what I wanted to do when I got older and better on the guitar."

Do you have a favorite venue, that your have played?

"I played Ole Red in Gatlinburg with my son, Camden a while back.  That was pretty cool and I played a show in Jacksonville FL that was fun too.  It was cool to play for a whole new audience that wasn’t family and friends and see if I could entertain them.  I love playing around home too.  Terrace View Marina is one of my regular gigs and I enjoy that.  I also like playing Shake the Lake(July 4th celebration) in Spring City.  It’s the biggest thing we have in our little town and I love seeing all the people come out and getting the opportunity to play for them."

Talk about your song writing.

"I love writing about true stories if possible.  I think a song that is true is easier to write. The story is already there, you just have to make the verses rhyme."

Who is your favorite musical artist?

"I would have to say my favorite musical artist is Loretta Lynn.  She’s pure country and has never tried to change for anyone.  She is the voice of the Appalachian people."

Who are the members of your band?

"My band members are Levi Leatherwood on drums, Ernie Robinson on bass, Alan Shubert on piano, Jeff Logsdon on acoustic guitar and vocals, and my son Camden on lead guitar. "

How would you categorize your music?

"I would consider my music “Outlaw Country” or “Traditional Country”.  Not all my songs have happy endings but that’s country music and that’s the way it should be.  You shouldn’t try to sugar coat everything.  You have to write about the good times as well as the bad."