For most people, going from playing on stage before packed arenas to playing the clubs along Nashville’s Broadway would seem like a step down. But for Tracy Broussard, who has spent the better part of the last two decades on the road as country superstar Blake Shelton’s drummer, it’s provided a measure of balance. The Cankton native used his time during the pandemic to rediscover the reason he fell in love with music in the first place.
“I was home and had plenty of time to practice, but everyone else was home, too,” Broussard explained. “I found all of the practice pads I had in the house and set them up. There were things I had picked up over the years that I don’t know where I picked them up. It was like going back to the drum line at Acadiana High School.”
Getting back to rudiments helped put his playing back in perspective.
“All the things I’ve been doing, playing to a metronome,” Broussard said. “Now was the perfect time to get back to basics and work out the kinks. It let me build my technique back up.”
He also had time to think about his career — and what he would do if the touring industry remained grounded. Luckily for him, he was part of a musical family with deep pockets.
“We were blessed that Blake is a TV star,” Broussard said. “He took care of us through the year. But there were some dark days. Days where I didn’t want to get out of bed.”
What ended up motivating him and helped him get excited again was his passion for sports.
Now that everything’s opened up, I’m playing five or six times a month. I haven’t played that much in 15 years. It’s good for my musical soul.
“If I were not doing music, I would be in sports,” he said. “I have a friend in Wisconsin. First we talked about doing a radio show. Then it was like, ‘Let’s just do a live-stream broadcast on Facebook. Let’s just do something about sports and music.”
That is where Broussard and his friend Jeff Stone hit their first snag. The reason he was free to work on the idea was because the music industry was at a standstill. But so was the professional sports industry.
“We called it ‘Over The Line,’” Broussard said. “Basically it was like our phone conversations. We’d talk three times a week. Then sports started to come back, then the music started to come back.”
The concept quickly solidified into a weekly Facebook show which he is now repackaging as a series of podcasts. And, as the music venues started opening back up, he started doing local gigs — something he had not done in more than a decade.
“I had a friend, Zack Ray, and his drummer wasn’t working out,” Broussard said. “So I told him I’d play. It was taking me back to 1996 when I was trying to get a steady gig. He has a bunch of ’80s country ’90s country. So I got a Spotify playlist and started learning the songs.”
That outlet also reminded Broussard how much he loved the work of playing music.
“Now that everything’s opened up, I’m playing five or six times a month,” he said. “I haven’t played that much in 15 years. It’s good for my musical soul. I love ’90s country. I love going out and seeing people.”
In addition to renewing his musical wellspring, the time off also allowed Broussard to realize that, no matter what else came out of the self-enforced exile of the pandemic, he had some major accomplishments under his belt — and some goals still on his horizon.
“I’m like, I’m good if this is the end of music, I’ve checked a lot of boxes,” Broussard said. “My kids and my wife are happy with me, with who I am. If the touring goes away, I’m still a good dad, a good father. I’m playing with house money as far as my career goes.”