Jake Owen: How My Bank Teller Kickstarted My Music Career

"She switched banks, and I went with her," the musician says with a laugh. "She's my go-to girl!"

Published on May 22, 2015 05:35PM EDT

When it comes to getting what he wants, Jake Owen has a knack for thinking outside the box.

So it’s not surprising that when he moved to Nashville to pursue a music career at age 23, he thought a good place to start making industry connections was his local … bank!

“I had a little money from playing acoustic gigs that paid tips … enough to pay for my first month’s rent,” Owen, now 33, tells Glamour. “More than just putting money away in a bank, I wanted to start a relationship with people in town.

“I figured why not go [to the bank] on Music Row that deals with other musicians and music-industry people, so when they ask me why I’m in town and I say, ‘To get something going,’ maybe [the teller will know] someone that can help me, and that’s exactly what happened. She asked me what I did, and I told her, and she said, ‘I’d love to hear your music,’ so I gave it to her. Next thing I know, I got a call.”

And yes, that special teller is still his banker! “She switched banks, and I went with her,” Owen says with a laugh. “She’s my go-to girl!”

Check out more of the highlights from Owen’s interview below:

On how wife Lacey feels about his new short ‘do:
She likes it. She cut hers short as well – above her shoulders. The consensus seems to be … I mean, it’s weird, people come up to me and say, “You look way better with short hair,” and I’m like, “S—, I wish someone had told me this 10 years ago!” I’m the same guy, it’s just hair.

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The fellow country artist he’d call to come pick him up if his tour bus broke down:
I’d probably call Kenny Chesney to come get me because he’d probably swoop in on his jet and get me out there. Or he could stop in his tour bus since we’re on tour together and come get me.

The three things he’d want with him if stranded on a deserted island:
A Merle Haggard CD, a cooler of Budweiser, and my dog.

His pre-show ritual:
Kiss my little girl [daughter Pearl, 2½] and tell her I have to go to work, and she loves on me and hugs on me, and then I go have a great night.

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Owen’s new single, “Real Life,” is out Tuesday.

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