Uncle Kracker brings Midwest tour to McGuffy's

Uncle Kracker and Rehab, with the Gary Jeffries Band

Anyone with children knows they can be infuriating at times, but they can also be incredibly inspiring. For Uncle Kracker, who was born Matt Shafer, it was his young daughter’s suggestion to make a more upbeat album that sparked him to craft the songs on his latest LP “Happy Hour.”

“She said to me, ‘I can’t really dance to any of your songs,’” he said. “Not that I needed to make a dance record, but it dawned on me that I tend to write a lot of acoustic ballads and mid-tempo type tunes. And I thought, ‘It’s pretty bad when your own kids won’t listen to your records. Your own kids!’

“At the end of the day, people want to have fun more than they want to cry,” he added. “I realized that it was time for something a little more upbeat and positive, and that’s what I ended up with on ‘Happy Hour.’”

The album, the follow-up to 2004’s “Seventy Two and Sunny,” doesn’t completely jettison the former Kid Rock DJ’s knack for rootsy rock with traces of classic rock and country. Those elements are still there, especially on the cover of Bob Seger’s “Main Street” and acoustic ballad, “Me Again.” However, those innate Midwestern sensibilities are bolstered by bright, sunny songs like “Smile,” “Good to Be Me” and “I Hate California.”

Kracker — who co-wrote Kid Rock hits such as “Bawitdaba,” “All Summer Long” and “Cowboy” before venturing out on his own in 2000 — admits it wasn’t easy getting to this point. He recorded an entirely different album a few years ago, which he scrapped.

“I just decided it wasn’t the right record,” he said. “It didn’t feel relevant.”

Uncle Kracker, currently on tour in the Midwest, performs at McGuffy's House of Rock on Friday, March 26.

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