Two days later On his 43rd birthday last August, country star Cody Jinks woke up, turned to his wife and said he was quitting drinking.
“And I haven't touched a drop since,” says Jinks Rolling rock. “I gave it to God. Take it from me. I don't want it anymore. I am full. I drank everything. I drank it all.”
Well documented as being a bit rough around the edges and defensive of those who try in vain to understand him, Jinx is rather upbeat in conversation these days – with a sense of self not felt in decades.
“I quit drinking, broke up with my longtime manager and started therapy. Everything was happening at the same time,” says Jinks. “And this record is really a page turner I hope in my life.”
On the surface, Change the Game, which dropped Friday, is Jinks' signature mix of country gold and dusty honky-tonk boots, all with just enough spit shine for crossover appeal. That combination has led the Texas native to become a national trailblazer in recent years, with a loyal army of fans who connect with his hard-hitting journey.
“Everybody can see how much everybody's selling, the prices of the gigs and stuff like that. But at the end of the day, I'm a songwriter and an artist,” says Jinks. “And if that's who you really are, take more control of what you do. You'll be much happier and your fans will get more of a pure product.”
On Change the Game, Jinx trades ego for hard scrabble and road toughness for vulnerability, responsibility, and redemption. Track titles like “Take This Bottle” and “Sober Thing” expose a new layer of Jinks, lyrically and sonically.
“A lot of the stuff on the record was hard to get out, but it's about growing and learning.” Jinx says. “Every record I write is my life. That was just in a really vulnerable spot.”
Like a battered soul too tired to continue fighting his demons with booze on “Wasted,” Jinx lets out not a sigh of regret, but relief that he hit the brakes before turning into the ditch: “I can't turn back the time I had/I didn't I can make amends/Rewrite the past/Changed my ways before it's too late.'
“I really don't know where the darkness is [comes from] inside me And I think a lot of people have that,” says Jinks. “But at the end of the day, my songs end with hope. Take a stand and be the light in the darkness.”
Jinks points to his early days in Fort Worth's metal and punk scenes for why he decided to shake up his management team: Now, he's going it alone.
“I'm 43 years old, I've been doing this for 25 years,” says Jinks. “I know how this business works. I will go back to making the decisions that I think are right.”
But Jinks doesn't have a chip on his shoulder when it comes to the corporate side of country music. He doesn't consider himself “illegal” either. “I don't mind the outlaw's nickname. But I don't go around calling myself illegal because I'm not,” he says. “I'm going to walk around and say, 'I'm a punk.' He leans hard on his DIY roots now, to maintain control of his music, his business and, most importantly, his sanity.
“The way I'm trying to change the game now is I'm trying to help artists realize that you don't need a record label,” Jinks says. “Nashville's big thing is just part of the bigger music picture – they're going to do what they do and screw the artists over.
With a headlining tour starting next month and running through 2024, including several dates supporting Luke Combs, Jinks has a lot ahead of him. But he approaches it with the perspective of an artist who has done some self-reflection.
He is honest when it comes to discussing treatment. When asked about being a director and dealing with personal issues in the public eye, Jinks recalls an article he read in a rock magazine when he was a teenager. It was Megadeth's Dave Mustaine, who spoke candidly about aging and prioritizing his health.
“I was like, 'That doesn't sound very rock 'n' roll,'” Jinks says. “But you know what? You wake up and one day you are there. If you're lucky.”
from our partners at https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/cody-jinks-sober-therapy-change-the-game-1234993652/