When Brantley Gilbert first came on the scene, he quickly developed a reputation for being a bit of a tough guy, and he’s not surprised because he laughs and says people got that impression, “Probably because I handed it to them on a silver platter.  One of my favorite parts of my job is that I am that what you see is what you get guy. And when I first came on the scene I wasn’t necessarily trying to impress a whole lot of people. You know I was doing my thing.”

Since making that first impression, a lot has changed in Brantley’s life, but he says, “I feel like my first impression took place at a point in my life where I was I was using, I was drinking, and not that that’s to blame for everything. I was a rough dude. I had a big misconception of what tough was. I thought tough was being physically tough and I found through the years that being tough is more about being emotionally and morally tough.”

Brantley understands that his appearance may give some people a false impression.  He says, “Throughout my life I think people have had to get to know me a little bit before they truly understand things.  I think you know the tattoos and the earrings and the rings and chains and everything, I think that definitely has a tendency to throw people off, and rightfully so, and that is who I am. Like I said, what you see is what you get, but there’s a lot more to it than tattoos and chains.  If you look at the tattoos they all tell a story.”

If you want to understand who Brantley Gilbert is and what he’s about, a good place to start would be his latest album, The Devil Don’t Sleep.  Not only does it feature his latest single, “The Weekend,” but it also contains 15 additional songs that tell the story of who he is and what he’s been through over the last 3 years.

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Brantley Gilbert – tough guy image  1:10

“Probably because I handed it to them on a silver platter (laugh).  One of my favorite parts of my job is that I am that what you see is what you get guy. And when I first came on the scene I wasn’t necessarily trying to impress a whole lot of people. You know I was doing my thing. I feel like you know evolving as a person and as an artist through the years a lot of that’s changed. But I feel like my first impression took place at a point in my life where I was I was using, I was drinking, and not that that’s to blame for everything. I was a rough dude. I had a big misconception of what tough was. I thought tough was being physically tough and I found through the years that being tough is more about being emotionally and morally tough. And throughout my life I think people have had to get to know me a little bit before they truly understand things.  I think you know the tattoos and the earrings and the rings and chains and everything, I think that definitely has a tendency to throw people off, and rightfully so, and that is who I am. Like I said, what you see is what you get, but there’s a lot more to it than tattoos and chains.  If you look at the tattoos they all tell a story.”