Steve Moakler Shares Track-by-Track Insights Into His New Album, ‘Born Ready’

On Friday (June 15), Steve Moakler released his fifth studio album, Born Ready, a collection of songs he says were all inspired by some aspect of life on the road.

Some take on the excitement and adventure of rolling down a highway, while others reflect on travel's lonelier aspects and the importance of having something -- or someone -- to come home to. Still other songs, such as "Chesney" and "One More Troubadour," find Moakler taking his place among his peers and idols in the world of country music, traveling along the highways that others like him have traveled before, or reading the posters on the walls at the clubs he plays and thinking about those who have played those same clubs before him.

"I really wanted this record to capture the spirit of being on the road, and closing a distance between where you are and where you want to be," Moakler explains during an interview with The Boot. "There's a lot that goes along with that, a lot of emotions. Nostalgia, true love, longing -- it's all in there. There's definitely some coming-of-age songs about identity."

One such song, "Thirty," is a meditation on Moakler's age (he turned 30 in 2017), and marks a milestone in his personal and professional life. Moakler says a physical manifestation of his new decade came in the form of a van accident that he was involved in during his Born Ready Tour in April.

"That accident we got in, I think about it as marking the age," Moakler says. "I think if there's anything I've learned at 30 -- and this is what that song is about -- is the importance of making peace with who you are and where you are. I had so many dreams at 18, and a lot of them didn't come true or haven't come true yet. That can be something that beats you down, or it can be something that drives you, but most importantly, I have to remember what I'm thankful for. There's so much to be thankful for."

To learn more about each of the songs on Born Ready, flip through the gallery above for a track-by-track guide to the album, in Moakler's own words.