For the last several years, 26-year-old Matt Shafer has made a living spinning and co-writing songs with Kid Rock [ tickets ]. Known to most as Uncle Kracker [ tickets ], he recently released his debut album "Double Wide," a collection of Beach Boys-influenced pop songs interspersed with hard-edged raps.

Kracker and Kid Rock (Bob Ritchie) recorded and mixed "Double Wide" in the back of the platinum-selling rapper's tour bus and various hotel rooms throughout the country.

Christina Fuoco of liveDaily sister site detroit.citysearch.com talked with Kracker about the album, sobriety and sharing a backup band with Kid Rock.

LiveDaily: Is it hard to go from being a DJ to a front man?

Uncle Kracker: It's not that it's harder. It's a whole different ballgame. All of a sudden [I went from] no pressure to pressure. The pressure was there in the behind-the-scenes stuff, but now, being up front, all the pressure is on me. If somebody f****d up, it's on you. And they're just waiting, too.

You think the crowds are waiting for you to make a mistake?

Yeah. I used to watch Bob walk the stage back and forth, and it looked like everybody was watching a tennis match. Nobody really gives a s*** about us [Twisted Brown Trucker, Kid Rock's band]. To watch that and to be put in the same position, it's like people are just waiting. I'm the worst-case scenario kid. That's my outlook on everything.

The CD is quite eclectic. I think people automatically assume that it's a rap album because of your association with Kid Rock. But there are Beach Boys-influenced tunes as well as harder rap numbers.

I'm more laid-back anyway. For the songs, I think I could sit back and listen to that kind of stuff.

Who’s in your CD player now?

I have a six-disc changer in my car. You would see Willie Nelson--a greatest-hits record. You'd see the new Eminem record. You'd see David Allen Coe and DMX. You'd see the Commodores' greatest hits, obviously. The other one would be my CD or the Kid Rock rehearsal CD. I grew up listening to all Motown and country--not by choice. My dad is a big fan of all that stuff. It wasn't until I was older that I got into it. When I was growing up, I was into rap. It wasn't until after I graduated, "Hey, man, these f*****s can actually sing." That George Jones guy, he's not a drunk guy. He can actually sing. It wasn't just a weird voice. It wasn't until then that I figured out that, hey, you actually got to change keys and he can do it seven times in one sentence.

Both of those influences show on "Double Wide."

It wasn't until this record that I actually sang. I really haven't written too many hooks before this record. Then I thought about it, "Damn, what the good is it to have a song without a hook?" My only approach to writing a hook pretty much was going back to what I knew. The only thing I've known is Motown and country.

How did you decide to sing on the record?

I guess it just happened. When I figured out I actually could do it, I did it more. I don't really suck as a singer. My vocal range isn't all over the place so I just keep it where I can do it.

You've been performing with Kid Rock for about nine years. Why now for a record?

A lot of people don't know that I've written a lot of stuff for Bob. Or with Bob anyway, I should say. I co-wrote the bulk of his last record with him. The Kid Rock album went gold when I got the solo deal. It was always something we were gonna do anyway: "Let's break the Kid Rock thing wide open and then do the Kracker thing."

You and Kid Rock are using Twisted Brown Trucker as your backup band. How are you doing to balance touring with Kid Rock and doing your solo shows?

When his slows down, I'll take the Trucker for myself and come back and hop on his. He'll get some time off and he won't.

What does your music pull out of Twisted Brown Trucker that may not be evident with Kid Rock's music?

I don't bring out anything that he couldn't bring out. What we're doing with my record, is getting back to basics. My record, it's obviously a pop record. I'm not afraid to say that. What we're doing is gettin' back to good-sounding live music. Everything's stripped down to the bare essentials. It's all about the song and the music. I think it's been a really long time since people have made really good pop music. There was a point in time when pop music had integrity and pop music was good. I think music always comes full circle back to pop, whether it is good or bad. It's hit or miss. I might not hit every note dead f-----' nuts on, but with a couple beers and the lights set down low, it'll sound like a million bucks live.

Kid Rock and Detroit rapper Paradime appear on your record. Was that a tough decision to have Kid Rock on your record? That could be a good or bad thing.

It's still going either way. I just read a review on my record in this magazine [Gear] that never did Bob any justice. They didn't trash my record, they just didn't do it any justice. I think it was their way of getting back at him. The end of the little caption thing said, "If no one else, I'm sure he's done Kid Rock proud." I think people just miss the point.

Your record is intensely personal record. There are frequent mentions of drugs, drinking and sobriety. Is it difficult to share those issues with the public?

No, it's easy to write about because it's the only thing we know at this point. Nothin' difficult for me about writing this record. It's like finally writing it down on paper was like, "Whew, I said it." When I sing it, it's like, "Here, I have nothin' to hide." That's why [Howard] Stern treats us so good [because] we don't have nothin' to hide. I just don't think we're that open for ridicule at all. We'll sing about our faults. So what is there to go on? Nothin'. If people can sing along with it and relate, it's therapeutic for them too.