Chad Sullins was working on a new album at Studio E with Eric Hoffman when he passed away in June of 2021. While many of us hoped the recordings he left behind would find their way to a new album, ultimately, we weren’t sure what would become of them. However, Hoffman has decided to finish the songs and release an album, much to everyone’s delight.

The announcement from Hoffman came on October 7th, Chad’s birthday, and they jumped right in and feverishly began working on the songs in the studio.

Hoffman was a longtime friend and bandmate of Sullins, having played with him in various ways through the years, including the final band 10W30.

“Right when we started playing together in 10W30, we immediately went into the studio to work on these songs. He was without a band for 3 years after the Last Call Coalition, and he came to me and said it’s time and we started a band. I had a garage studio at the time, and we recorded there. I had started building the new one, so he knew it would be available as well. That was late 2018 early 2019. Before we played our first show, we started recording songs. Chad was the first person to play a note in here, in the new studio,” said Hoffman.

Sullins spoke about this new album and working at Studio E in our Backstage Queens podcast back in 2019, which you can listen to here.

“Getting Chad into the studio, getting Chad anywhere, was like getting a cat into the bathtub. But when he would come on his own volition, he got in here and worked and he was real good in the studio. But I couldn’t get him for more than a day, so we would do like half a song at a time. I have 7 songs, and I dug to get those, and they are not anywhere close to complete. I probably had him in the studio for a total of 5 days, and that’s what we got,” said Hoffman.

I visited the studio while they were working on the album and asked Hoffman why now? Why did he decide it was time to get this done?

“Right out of the gate people were coming at me beating me up about this record, and it pissed me off. I didn’t want to talk about it. For lack of a better term, the corpse wasn’t even cold yet. I wasn’t ready yet, I didn’t want to talk about it. Then people got pushy and I’m the type of person that you can’t push me. I thought about it, and there were people that were against it, because at one point Chad wasn’t happy with the way things were going with it and he wanted to erase it and start over. I didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes, and I respected them and didn’t want to hurt their feelings, but ultimately, I knew I would make the final decision. Zach Linley hit me up a couple of times, we talked about at least listening to it. He booked some time with me, and we worked on one of his songs. We talked about it a little bit then, but I still just wasn’t ready yet, just wasn’t ready for it. Then he called me on Chad’s birthday, and said he wanted to get some time and got the date booked and I asked what we were going to do, and he said Chad’s stuff. And it was Chad’s birthday, and I said you know what, yeah, we are. Ironically, not 5 minutes later I saw Nick Gibson’s post where he said Chad was trying to tell him something he thought. He’s very spiritual and he really believes that, and he didn’t know what Chad was trying to tell him, but he knew Chad was trying to tell him something. I immediately knew. So, I messaged him, and I said I know exactly what he’s trying to tell you because he’s already told me. And I’m not joking, I see Chad everywhere I go. It’s weird because we weren’t especially like brothers or anything. We were acquaintances who became band mates who became buddies who became friends, but it was short lived. I mean I loved Chad, had a lot of respect for him, as much love as you can have for anybody, but I didn’t know he would infiltrate my life like he is. You can ask my wife, everywhere we go I see Chad; it’s a sticker here, or there’s just something he would say, just all the time it happens to me, and several other people have said it has happened to them as well. Nick talks about it all the time.,” said Hoffman.

Linley was on hand in the studio as well and added his story of meeting and working with Sullins.

“My story is the same, I met Chad through Jared Crank. I lived in Stillwater, but I had moved away from Stillwater 5 years before I ever met Chad. I met Nick when he was just starting out at open mics, and I moved away and moved to Illinois and when I came back to visit one time, I was hanging out with Crank and he took me to Willie’s and there was Chad. Then all of a sudden Chad was coming to Illinois and I started booking with Chad and it just kind of grew from there. He’s one of those people that once he got into your heart, you couldn’t get him out,” said Linley.

Both Hoffman and Linley hold Sullins near and dear to their hearts and feel like finishing the album is the greatest way to honor his music and legacy.

“The great thing about Chad to me, because you know you hear the stories, but Chad Sullins has never ever been anything but sweet to me. I don’t think we even had a disagreement; we would talk and chat and I just loved him. I know where my boundaries are and he knew where his boundaries were and once you know, if things get a little weird to me, I just move along. So, our relationship just grew so fast and quick, and I believe in my heart that on any given night, there’s no one in the world better than Chad Sullins. Any given night, if he’s on fire, there’s no one in the world better than him,” said Hoffman.

Not only does Hoffman want to finish the album, but he has some other great ideas on how to further the impact of this album, and the remaining songs Sullins wrote but never got the chance to record.

“I have all this stuff of his, his music, locked up, and I have his songbooks locked up, and I’m hoarding them and hiding them from people. I don’t want people to touch them, but they don’t belong to me, they belong to his daughter. There is a certain amount of control I’ve had over them, and I just didn’t want to give up the thought of someone being able to create this music. So, when Zach hit me up, I said the first thing I’ve got to do is hit up Presley. So, I reached out to Presley and told her what I thought, told her what I was thinking of doing, what direction I wanted to go in. Her attitude about it was really positive, and gung-ho and thankful. When I told her about the songbooks, my caveat was these are yours and they belong to you, but I would like your blessing and would love your permission to photocopy those songs. We know too many artists, and that’s exactly what Chad wanted, was for people to carry on that art and record his songs. She said absolutely, that it was a beautiful idea and I could copy them and do what I want. I think we have decided with the record, instead of the money going to the kids or whatever, we’re going to take anything we make from it and turn it over to the Red Dirt Relief Fund. When I got hurt, they gave me $5000, when Chad got hurt, they gave him $5000, when Joey got hurt, they gave him $2500. It’s just for us there is no charity out there except for this one. Chad would be thrilled. He did everything those guys asked him to do, and I have too. I just thought it was beautiful and the more I thought about it, anyone that records one of his songs, we’re going to have the same rule. You can record it and put it on your record, but every dime you make from it I want it to go to the Red Dirt Relief Fund,” said Hoffman.

Linley had already recorded a version of Sullins’ HonkyTonk Heaven on his album, and said he was doing the same thing with the proceeds of that song going to Red Dirt Relief.

I caught up with Presley as well and asked how she felt about this project and what it means to her.

“This project means so much to me. Knowing that my dad’s voice is going to be heard again in an entirely new way is something I cannot even describe. I am so grateful to Erok for making this happen and putting in the work to share my dad’s art, because I know that is exactly what he would have wanted. Grief is not linear. Grief is a rollercoaster that has no tracks and no end. I feel like we have all needed time to process that before we could move forward and celebrate this in the way it deserves, and I have so much gratitude that the opportunity exists through Erok and Studio E to care for his work with so much love and passion. With the development of this record, I feel a great movement forward. An opportunity to listen to Dad’s music without debilitating sadness, but renewed inspiration,” said Presley.

As a longtime friend and fan of Sullins, both the creation of this album and the fact that it will go to support Red Dirt Relief brings me so much joy, as I’m sure it will to everyone else.

“I think Chad would think it’s brilliant and he would just love it. The love he has for our music scene surpasses any other musician I know that’s genuine about our music scene. I always tell people I’m a rock-n-roll drummer, I’m just playing red dirt. I mean I like it, but it’s what pays the bills. Listen, there are so many rockers in the red dirt scene just playing it to pay the bills, but they would much rather listen to GWAR. It is what it is, we’re not songwriters, we’re musicians, I’m a side man,” said Hoffman.

This project will include several names in the scene in addition to Hoffman and Linley, like Bryon White, Nick Gibson, Wyatt Wilson, Joey Trevino and more. Hoffman believes Sullins has his hand in choosing the right people for the album as well.

“I want this album done right, I want it to sound right, I want all the right people on it, and they aren’t the people I chose. Listen, Bryon was already on this record, two years ago. Zach is the reason this record it going down right now. Wyatt Wilson, the first song he probably ever learned was a Chad Sullins song, he’s been Uncle Chad since the kid was 2. Nick and Chad have a unique relationship, just like mine and Chad. I’m friends with these guys, yes, but this is only the second time I’ve met Zach. So, I believe that Chad is putting these people in front of me, because why wouldn’t I choose a hundred different people? I don’t know, I just asked who it was supposed to be. I couldn’t leave Joey Trevino out, you know how much he loved Joey and wanted to have Joey in a band. My plan is to build the songs properly, make all the smart decisions that I can. I’m going to talk to all of these guys, and everyone is going to have an opinion. Ultimately, I have to make the decision on everything, but these guys are so damn good and talented. This is not like some group of sweethearts that are coming to collaborate and get each other’s ideas. It feels like there’s a bunch of really great musicians with the same desire. All we have is all we have. So, some of the stuff we have isn’t necessarily his best work, I’m digging songs up and we’re going to have to really work on them,” said Hoffman.

While these particular recordings may not have been what Sullins envisioned being the final product, these are the last recordings we have of him and his new songs. I believe that he would want them worked up and released as his final album, a way for the songs to live on in a way he didn’t have the chance to get them to. And I fully believe Hoffman and this group are the ones to get the job done, and done well. I’m not the only one who believes that as well.

“I know many people are going to have concerns and opinions about how Dad would have done things and what he would want for the project, but I know ultimately that what he would care about most is for his art to be shared with the world, and for the people who loved him to collaborate in putting their passion and creativity into making his final musical address to the world something that truly reaches beyond his life. Once in Enid after a concert, I had a man approach me and tell me how my dad’s music had saved his life when he was going through a hard time after his divorce. That was Dad’s gift to the world. His ability to tell his stories in a raw, honest, and deeply vulnerable way was something that impacted people and continues to impact people, and this record is just another reflection of that gift. It is a final imparting of his ability to touch people’s lives, an ability that does not cease just because he is gone,” said Presley.

Hoffman’s goal is to have the album done by Spring or Summer of next year, and he wants there to be a big album release party to kick it all off. While all of that is still in the pre-planning stages, there will no doubt big a big fanfare to celebrate this album and its release.

“This means more to me than any record I’ve ever worked on, so far. I’ve worked on a lot of records. I just want it to be good and I want it to be something he’d be proud of. I want his fans to say yeah, that’s it. It’s not going to be what you expect from Chad Sullins, it’s going to be different, but that was his choice, these are his songs. It’s a little more mature than some of his early stuff, the writing on this is a lot deeper. There’s a lot of looking out the window at other people’s issues, social issues, outside of just his personal experiences. I have nothing to gain from doing this except for the feel good of doing it,” said Hoffman.

Linley agreed and said he believes these songs are some of Sullins’ best work and he’s excited it will be shared with the world.

“My dad’s true, unending love was music, and I know he would be so proud to see the people he cared about coming together to honor that love, and that’s what this project is. That’s what this project means to me,” said Presley.

Hoffman has been steadily sharing the process of this project on both his personal Facebook page as well as the Chad Sullins & the 10W30 Band Facebook page. It is tentatively being called ‘Till Death Do Us Part’ at this time, but Hoffman says that may change in the end. No matter what it’s called, fans and friends of Sullins will be waiting with bated breath to get our hands on his last gift to the world and are eternally grateful to Hoffman and everyone who is making it possible.

Chad Sullins' Last Recordings Get New Life