Conrad Moore – Folk Stories of the Southern Working Man
Watch on YouTube
Subscribe for new episodes, Grit Sessions & more
Listen to this episode
In This Episode
There's something refreshingly honest about an artist who refuses to be boxed in by genre conventions, and Conrad Moore—a North Georgia singer-songwriter with the weathered soul of someone who's lived every story he sings—is exactly that kind of artist. When asked how he'd describe his music, Moore doesn't reach for industry jargon or the safe harbour of familiar categories. Instead, he circles back to something fundamental: "When I open my mouth this is what comes out. I didn't have a dart board and choose a genre." It's a simple statement that cuts to the heart of what makes his work so compelling in an age of algorithmic playlists and marketing-speak.
The roots of Conrad Moore's artistry run deep into Southern Appalachia, a place where folk storytelling, working-class struggles, and the raw beauty of the landscape have always been inseparable from the music. Growing up in a blue-collar world shaped by the oil and gas industries, Moore absorbed the vernacular of American labour—the petroliana, as he calls it, referencing those rusted Shell and Texaco signs that pepper forgotten corners of the South. These aren't just nostalgic tokens for Moore; they're emblems of a way of life, markers of the human drama that unfolds in the margins of industrial America.
When I open my mouth this is what comes out—I didn't have a dart board and choose a genre.
— Conrad Moore
What Moore calls "Southern folk" sits somewhere in the contested territory between country, Americana, and roots music—labels he wears lightly, if at all. His work is rooted in the Appalachian tradition of using song to document the human condition: the romance, the heartbreak, the weight of making a living, the way Mother Nature plays with the landscape and the people who inhabit it. There's dirt under the fingernails of his storytelling, whiskey in the corners, and an unflinching gaze at both the beauty and the brutality of working-class existence.
What's particularly striking about Moore's approach is his resistance to the commodification of authenticity that plagues modern music. He's not interested in performing a version of "Southern-ness" designed to appeal to a demographic. His songs emerge from lived experience and genuine observation—half-truths and motel rooms, yes, but truths nonetheless. The specificity matters. When Moore talks about understanding petroliana or growing up immersed in a blue-collar society, you can hear the difference between someone speaking from knowledge and someone speaking from affectation.
You can tell when you hear those sounds come from that place and there's usually little hints of it—that's uniquely Southern Appalachia.
— Conrad Moore
The Rugged Revival podcast conversation with Moore feels like a genuine meeting of kindred spirits rather than a promotional exercise. The hosts clearly understand the distinction Moore is making about genre and authenticity, and they've created space for him to articulate what drives his work beyond chart positions and streaming metrics. His willingness to challenge the industry's obsession with numbers while maintaining his artistic integrity suggests an artist more concerned with resonance than reach—though the two needn't be mutually exclusive.
For listeners navigating the increasingly murky waters of contemporary roots music, Moore represents something valuable: an artist rooted in tradition but not beholden to it, aware of his influences but uninterested in pastiche. His songs about the working man—their struggles, their loves, their relationship with the land—speak to experiences that remain largely absent from mainstream country music's current landscape. These are stories that deserve to be heard, not because they're fashionably retro, but because they're true.
The full episode offers far more depth than can be captured here, including Moore's own journey from his Southern Baptist upbringing through to his current work. For anyone serious about understanding where contemporary roots and Americana music is heading, and who wants to hear from artists making work with genuine artistic conviction, Conrad Moore's episode is essential listening. This is the real thing—not a simulation of authenticity, but the genuine article.
when [Applause] [Music] youash [Music] broke so this is the rugged Revival podcast we are the home of the UK's country Americana and Roots Music Community uh and firstly I just want to welcome back rugged Ronnie how are you doing mate how are you feeling there we go um I'm very good uh it's great to be back um after my breast reduction surgery as you said last time so I can take these off there back down back down to a double D these days back down to a double D so there we go it's lovely to be back and lovely to be on with uh our next guest fantastic and and going into that so yes we've got a very awesome guest joining us on today's show The One and Only Conrad Moore and we were talking just before the show been pestering Conrad to come on the show for quite some time and he's finally caved uh so thank you uh just a very quick intro for from me to to comrad so comrad is a singer songwriter from North Georgia uh we've been huge fans of his work since he released his debut album save the Southland which is around 2022 23 um but like I said to all the guests I think it's better if you introduce yourself and talk about your style of music because you'll put it into much better words than we can mate so over to you comrade welcome mate thank you thank you guys for having me um yeah I guess starting out with the uh I guess how do I introduce myself um normally I uh what I what I do I call it I call it country music but as you know like in our modern state of things like that gets very confusing very quickly um I guess the industry would call it Americana um I'm I'm okay with that um as long as as long as Americana is defined well um I guess I kind I grew up in a in a blue collar generation you know that was the society that I was around um and I guess the uh the oil industry is Big you know shell signs Texico that kind of thing like they call that petrolea which I understand that very well when you see that old rusty sign in the antique shop or you see uh the collection of oil cans in a guy's garage like you know exactly what that is that's American Oil uh not not always American oil but it's the American oil industry you know um and the gas industry there um so Americana to me is like something that's just uniquely Americans so like uh these the appalachin hills where we all grew up um it's you can tell when you hear those sounds come from that that place and there's usually little hints of it it may be cryptic it may be a little bit metaphorical but you know without a doubt that that's uniquely uh Southern Appalachia so I guess like Southern fol would be a better subg genre for what I the kind of music that I create um you know and I talk to guys sometimes that um after they see you you know certain I hate that the industry's gone to numbers but now they see like oh you're doing pretty well on Spotify I used to do Americano I used to do you know and I'm like I tell them like when I open my mouth this is what comes out I'm not I didn't I didn't have a dart board and choose a choose a genre it's like that's just what happened so um but yeah I mean that's that's pretty much the uh quick and dirty to what I'm into no I I love that um definition mate because well you just get lost in the source and we we've we've changed the introduction to this show several times because if you mentioned country some people think oh it's pop country we think no not not for us not to be kind of derogative towards pop country that's not our thing uh Americana is like a sort of weird captur all and don't really know entirely what it stands for but I'm hoping it kind of hits the nail in terms of what we need and then Roots I think that kind of captures some of the kind of bluesy stuff because we have some you know it's not strictly country uh there's people from from Appalachia too that that kind of more the blues and R&B even seen um so it's it's hard and you don't want to be pigeon Hol either mate but I love that term petroliana um and it does kind of strike images of the Old Shell signs and you know I'm a big fan of American Pickers so when they're shoveling through these old bars man that's what that reminds me of um that that sort of thing um so fantastic so welcome to the show mate it's uh it's really good to to speak to you mate um so I think a good place to to start with I'll hand over to Ronnie and we always going to go back to the beginning okay let's go back to the roots as we speak um absolutely comrad great to have you on Lovely to meet you and uh and great to be back you're my first my first podcast back so thank you uh and I'll be gentle with me um so con I I'm my alltime favorite question that TJ's missed off quite a few times actually um but I want to go back to where did baby Conrad start um where your first steps were and going into your teenage years if you could share that with us okay um yeah I guess uh early early on uh I was I was raised very Southern Baptist uh in the church we were always singing uh singing there my mom was I was in the choir um so I can't a lot of us around here came from that background um that's where maybe you learn I didn't learn music theory there but I learned uh that conviction and the um when you when you sing something and mean it um kind of thing um and you know and those were the early days but as as that progressed you kind of uh you start to explore different genres of music and like what what makes you feel a certain way or U really what what describes how you feel um musically um and so I got my first guitar when I was uh I was probably six or seven and it was it was more of a drum back then than it was a guitar but that's how we that's how we started um it was an old classical deal it probably even had uh it had nylon strings they could have even been some cheaper version of plastic um but I was always enamored with the shape of a guitar just there was just something about that when you see it sitting in the room or um you know before you even play it you it just looks like a work of art on its own um so that always drew me in um and my dad had this old Yamaha under the bed that the action on it was probably a half inch off the frontboard and so after I had abandoned the the toy that I had I found that and slowly learned the GC and D around you know 10 11 12 years old and um then at that point you kind of start creating things that you know in the privacy of the bedroom you wouldn't putting it that on the record but um that's kind of where the that's where the that's where the true the true mud lives you know um and so you know leading on up to that I was always really quiet about it it's nothing that U you know through high school it's like I don't know you maybe think well if I do get good enough at this I can impress a girl or if you know I learn how to be funny and I can play guitar like this will be the the one two punch you know um but then as I as I continued to spend time with that after work I realized it was medicine like it was completely medicinal in a way that um it's like if you don't take it you're in trouble um you know and then and then the songwriting be you know started to do the same thing where that whatever that energy is that is asking you to put the antenna up and listen for what you should write down all of those things it took me long time to learn all that or just realize all of it that it was that something was speaking from a different place um to create um you know then one of my uh several years after After High School one of my you know my ride or die best friend was telling him that story I said it's that's it's my medicine man I'm afraid if I if I share it that it's its efficacy is going to go away you know and and all he said was other people need medicine too and so that at that point I was like okay maybe maybe I am an [ __ ] for sitting here holding these things in to myself and just you know just only only taking the medicine for me I felt like a you know I felt like a dope them like no no one can have this so that kind of you know that's the the story of I guess how we how I began writing and exploring those Avenues and trying to figure out what this whole thing is about that's pretty and I love I love the the two things that you've described in there which is you said and no one's actually ever said that uh around the shape of a guitar you know that they said it's just you know just fascinated by this guitar this musical instrument this box the way it's shaped you know where it stands in a room that's um yeah that's that's that's really interesting thank you uh and and then I think you're the second person that said it's it's the medicine I love the way you put that um I love the way that you know that that the other person did as well um and and quite rightly you know you should have shared it with the world and you have so uh thank God for that really um so what looking at your your sort of early early days in music what were the artists that you looked to that you heard that um maybe encouraged you to to start playing a bit more or start writing a bit more yeah I was um I guess it was probably I might have played a few gigs while I was still in high school but shortly after in the College Years that's when we kind of you know breaking out of the hometown shell and and live in other places um I started to get into and coming out of the church as well there was a lot of I listen to a lot of Christian music growing up and so when I got the chance to explore myself like oh okay this didn't U this didn't kill me I didn't burn from the inside out and you know and it's like oh that actually was kind of nice you know so um playing in coffee shops and stuff like that I felt like I had to like I I was a Bob Dylan fan I like the lyrics and I like his meter and rhyme and you know learning try how to how to let the rhyme fall at the end of the measure that kind of thing um and I felt like I had to play things that were familiar as well I just came up with Originals all the time you got a you got a crowd full of people that think well he can sing in key but no one knows what the hell he's talking about so Dylan Dylan was a heavy influence then and Raa montain um hell of a songwriter um that kind of stuff his the power in his voice just moves a room you know with or without a guitar um but I would say you know you know my my discovery of other artist was uh unorthodox in a way because of how I had come out of the the Baptist upgreen so it was kind of sporadic where most people would have said I started with uh the the Rolling Stones and then went back and tried to find Delta Blues you know and that my my order was all mixed up you know so it took me a while to get to you know Albert King Freddy King BB King you know work my way through um all the Delta guys and then um and of course I you know love the Rolling Stones love uh Leonard skinnard like it's just you know that southern southern rock is was its own its own thing I just couldn't make that music by myself so I think when I I would take I would take some licks and some inspiration from that and then still put it into a storytelling folk song um and I uh I play well with others I just don't always do that a lot of times and the and it's hard it's harder to book you know yeah harder to keep the band together so um but inspiration wise my my stuff is all over the map um you know I was in the military for a little bit and I I promise I was the only dude in the barracks listening to Patty Griffin you know there's no there was no there was no boundaries on anything I like if I if I if I hear it once and it made me feel something I'm going to listen to it again yeah thank you and just probably just a side question really but I know you said about uh your journey but I just wanted to see you know has your personal Journey sort of shapes the kind of stories that you want to tell through your songs um you know is that is it about your personal experiences life is it going through you I know I've listened to a lot of your a lot of your songs especially on YouTube there's a couple that I'll mention later won't ruin it for TJ yet but um there's a couple that you introduced it and I thought it was hilarious uh to be honest one in particular but um yeah just yeah um yeah and sometimes like uh I've got songs that I that piece together over 10 year span um that I just didn't feel like we're ready to finish or you know that kind of thing and then I've got some like Ballad of the well is more of a story um not necessarily about any particular individual or my myself and it fell out of the sky in an afternoon uh probably 3 or four hours that song would start to finish buttoned up um you know minus a bridge or something like that um but then the ones that are more personal they usually take longer it's like I can't I can't uh my rule is stay out of the cheese meaning don't don't say cheesy [ __ ] oh I love because because you hear that that's like the first thing you hear when when you hear a hear the the cheesiness in a song you're like yeah next yeah for me for me that's how I rock so it's like it's one of those things where I'm like don't do that as long as you don't do that it's okay unless it's just the absolute truth and that's how you decide to tell it you know um but so it's a it's a blend between um a lot of times I'll get a I'll get a more of a theme based idea instead of lyric lyrics and I just want to write about a certain theme whether it's uh you know redemption or um just you know in my in my personal life I've always been trying to appease the societal standard and this was secondary music was always secondary whereas you know that that battle creates this tension in life for you like I should be doing this one thing and that's what my heart feels like but I'm over here trying to finish my college degree and you know I I call that um sitting through [ __ ] just to say I didn't quit um it's like okay I've I've uh I've achieved the thing that you wanted me to achieve I have the piece of paper like now leave me alone you know um which a lot of people would say that's counterintuitive and that you're wasting time in in in your career in the process but I honestly believe too if I had started playing shows and running the roads like I'm doing now in my mid-30s in my mid 20s I may not even be here um because at that point I couldn't handle the pressures of certain things like you know capes or Temptations but you know I kind of had the time I think the timing is right for everything it's like okay well now I have the discipline and I know where my boundaries are so it's easier to it's easier to mingle because sometimes you can get lost really quick in a city that you don't you know you don't you don't know anyone you're thousand miles from home and um you never know you know you gota you got to really know what you're about at that certain point so it's all timing yeah and well personally thanks for sharing out I think there's um one of the parts that TJ will definitely agree with you uh around the cheese and he he'll know that be using that term going forward um but I think you know from what you were saying there about what you've been doing in your sort of mid-30s and then if you were doing it in your mid 20s it would have been different um everything happens for a reason I'm a great believer in that everything happens for a reason um so just on a on another bit of a personal note really was there any point in your early days that you you doubted your path in music was there any point that you thought this isn't for me or I don't think I could continue this bit of a personal question but yeah um there has been there's there's been times like and I think every songwriter will tell you this that there's a there's a trigger that goes off is as soon as your ass hits a couch to try to relax and be lazy it's like what are you doing why are you doing that why are you not doing the thing um and it's a constant it's just a constant uh and I wouldn't say it's a pressure it's just a constant calling um but there's been times where I tried to like okay I'm gonna lay that down that's not that's not my burden anymore um and it only like not you can't even make it 24 hours before whatever that thing is is like grab the guitar see what that like oh you you had something that the squirrel on the tree over there inspired me to do something or you know I thought of I thought of a line that I should you know should be exploring so it's like U there there has been time there's never been a time where I was just like I will never do that again but there's been times where I'm like I really want this weight off of me um so and then learning how to just deal with that being on your shoulders all the time is is a different thing so um and it's it's not a obsessive you can obsess about it if you if you'd like to but it's uh it's one of those things where I try not to obsess about it and I say like you know I'm not going to miss the best song ever like because I used to have that fear like if I don't do this I'm going to miss that window and it might that that may happen but it'll go on to the next guy or girl and it'll still get out so if I look at that in a way that's like it doesn't have to be mine as long as it gets out there's enough for everybody there's enough to go around so it'll be you know it'll be okay thank you thanks corad now I'm going to take a bit of a side step if that's right uh if you will indulge me comr so what we're going to do we normally do themes uh show so we have just missed St Patrick's Day by the skin of our teeth uh so as we know it was St Patrick's Day on Monday Monday the 17th of March um I want to know the last two questions for me before I hand over to TJ is have you got any Irish Roots comrade and what did you do for St Patrick's Day and if you didn't do anything just make it up it sound that's okay I've got answers for both of those do I've never taken the uh I've never done a full DNA test but I know I'm Scots Irish by the family name history so more used to be om Mora o o apostrophe Mora however however you spell Mora and then of course in the course of uh migration it became more at some point so I know it I know it's back there somewhere I've just never bit the bullet and been like okay let's find out um you know find out where we from I think somebody some somebody at some point had a little affair with some some natives though because I have a hard time with the cool here but but yeah I uh on St Patrick's Day I just went down to the uh local Mexican restaurant in town and U I know some of the bartenders and cats over there so probably got the better point of get there than you did over in England yeah nothing nothing too exciting but brilliant yeah well thank you for sharing that with me sure um and I'm very proud of that so I'm actually oen I'm very proud of it an oen O Apostrophe Reen as opposed to aen but we won't go into that story um because this is your show and I want to talk about you do a bit of research yeah I did do a bit of research about your name Conrad because I thought Conrad it's got to be an Irish background it's got to be an Irish name and actually it's not it's Germanic they do have a lot of comrades in Ireland and fair play to the Irish fair play for all of the omos the Moos and the edans in Ireland Santa so if you're listening Sant and I'm going to drink my Guinness today because I missed out on some Patricks but there we go anyway back to you over to TJ well there's absolutely no Irish in me my family uh common londoners and uh Southerners in England so yeah no we didn't do much for some Patrick's day but there you go so yeah it's uh you know really interesting to hear about your background comrade and and you know growing up and where you've kind of got to now um before we move on I think anyone who's not subscribing to Conrad socials make sure that you do um you know some interesting stuff going on always uh playing a gig somewhere so it's great to know whereabouts you are and I say this in the most heterosexual way possible mate but you are a snappy dresser um so I've gone double den tonight in homage of comrade Mo um I can't pull it off I'll make him change comrade sorry sorry about that looks great great so I I have mustache mvy and uh yeah I'm I'm trying to copy you with the my my kind of clothing I'm I'm not pulling it off very well anyway so oh we'll move on um so self sort guitarist and vocalist you know I I I kind of trolled through your your bio online uh as we do with most people you were quite difficult to kind of do research on because your your socials are quite succinct and otherwise it's it's your website so you you kind of put up a bit of a fight for us to to do some research but it makes it more of the interesting conversation to kind of let it flow anyway mate um so one thing I did see um one of the more recent posts was that say save the Southland that's the worst title for anyone with a lisp like me um so thanks for that but uh it's hit over 1 million streams on Spotify since it was released so congratulations mate um that's a incredible achievement man so I suppose that's a great place to start tell us kind of how those releases and that that particular one came about because there was there was a lot of noise online about it in in terms of praising it and uh pointing people into your direction and and that's how I kind of came to to kind of hear your music and it was I'm glad I did um so yeah Focus through that mate yeah um so on that on that entire record um I I guess I I didn't decide that was going to be the title track until we were done tracking um but at the time I had a had the handful of songs that I thought were you know worthy of studio time and um I had a friend that was living in Nashville at the time and she put me in contact with a guy named Saul philcox Littlefield Saul Littlefield Saul philcox some people know him as both sumits hyphenated but he's an excellent guitar player he's been on everything from Luke Coles Tim McGraw I mean you name it he's been on they call him they call him the solic copter because you can just shred um so he he kind of worked as producer and lead guitarist on that record and um when I told him the idea that I kind of had for the song um I was uh I was playing through a bunch of those songs and I was I was nibbling on mushrooms a little bit here and there nothing too crazy just you know just get just getting uh getting getting grounded you know and uh he said what's the theme you're going for and I said swampadelic and so at that point they had they had been going down to muscle shs to record um and he had a spot down there that was ready to go and uh as soon as he said muscle shs I was like let's go and it's right there by Florence Alabama huge huge music history and um I was like yeah let's let's make it happen and so he he gathered up some other Nashville um Hired Guns um like miles mcferson was on drums uh Whit Wright was on pedal steel um an old guy named LC Thurman on the keys um but I got lucky in the fact that that East Avalon reporters had the only operational Echo chamber in muscle shs so if you've never seen what that is it's a it's a Concrete Shack out out behind the building but it's got all the corners are chamfered so there's no there's no way there's no way for the sound to terminate so it just it just spirals you know um so I mean there was a lot of things we did a lot of the pedal steel was ran out to the echo chamber so a lot of those haunty uh kind of spooky Vibes came came wow and at one point it was uh it was a little bit of overdub we played most of that live but the overdub my favorite piece we ran the petal steel into a Leslie organ cabinet with a rotor on it and then ran that out to the echo chamber so it's like this whole you know everything like it just G it gave you chills in the in the studio listening to it um and so and save the Southland was the last song that I had written uh on that Sixt track EP so it was the it was the newest um and it just kind of held everything uh and it's it's a short two and a half minute you know little song um but I have I do have an extended version that I may may or may not be about to record acoustically put out a put out a video on that soon um but that whole idea of It kind of just like you know even with the flare gun on the uh on the album cover was like a call a call for help but like not really needing one if that makes sense it's like we can we'll send up a flare but we're going to deal with it however we deal with this you know just the way everybody was with Co at the time and it just seemed like just seemed like everybody had that Eerie anxiety yeah you know about them and and it just kind of spun off to you know where I was looking around and driving one day and I was just like man this place has still got a lot of potential and you know just the the region that I'm from and people need to know what I mean when I say you know this is all worth saving and and paying attention to it so um that's kind of the long roundabout story to how that that whole record came about from start to finish no super interesting and um I I love the album Cav I think it's quite an iconic piece of of your work and instantly when you see that you recognize it it's one of yours and um you're giv away some your secrets as well in terms of how you've recorded because I was listening to Brack and Brian today because it's one of my favorites um and I was like how is he getting that sound it's very unique in terms of the pedal steel and some parts it doesn't even sound like a pedal steel because of like you say the the echo chamber that it's been kind of run through and it just sounds incredible so it's uh yeah a fantastic piece of work mate and congratulations again for for kind of hitting that Milestone and may that continue mate um so on this show we we invite obviously lots of different guests and predominantly because we're selfish people we we pick people that we're fans of so we are genuinely listen to your music uh as we do with every guest that comes on and you know it's an excuse to talk you uh and and Fanboy out that's kind of what we do it's as simple as that really isn't it um and it's it's a good medium but um but it's interesting to find out kind of the background of each artist and where you grew up and you know we're nearly 20 episodes in now and we we kind of took a step back the other week um when we were talking offline and you know in terms of where we've actually been on the map drinking as we talking talking a lot of shite at the time but uh but there were some interesting titbits that came up and it was like you know where where have we actually been obviously we've been in the UK with Jack Browning we've been over to Kentucky to Texas recently um but actually north Georgia has been represented really well on the show by no intention at all of us it's just you know we we only find out sometimes through speaking that that that's kind of where you're from um so we've had Eli Kane Jonathan pton more recently Jesse Williams was on too and and now yourself so you know out of nearly 20 episodes to be represented that well so for me it's obviously a hot bed of talented people in your region so maybe that's a good place to kind of tell us what the got beic like it's got to be Yes sounds like a song that comrad wrote probably but yeah it's interesting what what is the you know the music scene like where you are um well I think it I think it varies so you got to me there's a lot of uh you can always go find a Bluegrass Jam somewhere close um which I'm not a I'm not a huge Bluegrass fan but um I understand the roots of that and where it came from and I feel like when I practice some of those licks it makes my playing better um so you got the possibilities for that local the old school stuff and then you know you're you know couple hours from Atlanta a couple hours from or you know a few hours from Nashville you can it's kind of a thorough Fair um for the southeast where you can really go see you can go see the big stuff if you'd like to um or you know you can go find some local shows around here like and uh I would say that um it's not I don't I hate to say this and sound like a not in a boastful way but it's not it's not always great you know what I mean just like anything you're going to find different varieties of of things but I like the support of the scene around here is um it's super supportive especially for anybody who's touring because they just know the ins and outs and the grind of that and um how little it pays and that kind of thing so I guess the uh that that side of it I do love it's like nobody I I saw a quote recently that said no uh no musician's ever gonna judge you for trying to sing a song you know so when I see someone else up there I know what that feels like on stage so um I would never cast that kind of judgment and saying oh I would have done this different I would have done that like that's how the piece of art came out you know that's um that's what it is like the scabs and scars all the Blood Sweat and Tears all together so um but I do wish there was a better I wish there was a little more Community I guess immediately in in my immediate vicinity because I kind of have to go reach out I saw you guys were uh you guys you guys meet up with kbyt h some of those guys yeah yeah kby was over few moments ago yeah yeah yeah I like I love that style of of Music he puts out and so I kind of travel you know and go the pow River sessions kind of connected to some of them Jordan Lee King and I'm at I'm playing with Jonathan and Abigail in a couple weeks down in coming Georgia so so it's a I guess once you once you get into it you realize the world is a lot smaller that music world than than you would have thought about it when you're trying to attack it you know initially um but that doesn't mean that it gets any easier trying to trying to book gigs and um I feel like most your PR and uh you know booking agencies now want an easy project they're not trying to build something from the ground up um which I understand that but um if you could you could have that approach or you could leave that Talent lay somewhere forever until they become jaded and decide they don't want to do it anymore um so it's a it's it's all kind of a catch 22 as far as the scene that music scene is concerned around here yeah that's interesting I mean we speak to a lot of artists and one of the questions we generally ask is where do you receive the most support a lot of them say it's outside of their kind of Hometown and I'm sure it was the north Georgia artist that said actually um a lot of it was within uh and the artists from Virginia like Colby T Helms um said the same so there are some good Community kind of aspects to to where you are but like you say in some places it's not so prevalent and you've got to cast your net perhaps a bit further um right but but you're playing with some fantastic people you know Jonathan and Abigail pton I mean we had Jonathan on and again one of our favorite artists and playing likes of Red Rocks you know it's a pretty damn incredible for an independent artist you know booking his own stuff primarily and then going to back to work doing the day job the next day and so is this your kind of full-time occupation now um well I've uh yes and no I've gone back and forth a few times I was uh I've always you know done some kind of work on the side whether it was a you know full-time all the time or part-time and this was kind of been the background um but to be honest over the last couple years I have quit and started a con you know working as with a subcontractor and then got out of that again because it one the music was either feast or famine you had time to do a side gig or you didn't so it's just that back and forth you know can get can get you a lot of times when you're thinking like this these bills are still due at this point um we don't have anything on the books until until then so trying to juggle those the guarantee with the with the faith side of it is a is a challenge so um I've actually been back helping my dad at his small engine shop some on the side too which is is nice when it's family because you kind of um come and go as as need be but um struggle to stay present when you're when you're there sometimes yeah yeah you get the flexibility when uh when it's Dad I suppose don't you mate um which is cool so so of I suppose social media is a very difficult thing to manage on top of just playing the music writing the music playing venues Etc I mean how how do you deal with that sort of things because some people just go viral overnight with one song and no grind and in other words grinding it out day in day out and just finding it a little bit more difficult how's your going of Journey with that um well I my my journey with social media has kind of been a struggle because that's always been the place that I that I hated the most um as far as when I saw when I would see something that just kind of get was cringy to me and I didn't I didn't want to ever have the possibility of me coming across that way um which is a pride thing and it's a vulnerability thing um but you know you just see all the guys that are they have the every every week they say the same thing leading into it it was just so to me it was so uh mechanic that I didn't I didn't like the approach to it but then you know recently I've had some realizations that you can either run the roads for 15 years and hope to build a fan base or you can use this millions of avenues of free advertisement you know so there's a quote that I like that say what do you call a what do you call a fisherman without a line in the water just a man so if you're not you know if you're not doing it like you know you can you can either run the roads like that and try to build your fan base or you can not not attempt to go viral but you got to put it out there to uh possibly buy pass that step of we'll hire you but you need two years of experience first so that that Gap is what I think social media is great for and you don't even have to pay for the sponsored ads if you have got something worth sharing you know um just trying to let that spread organically and hope for the best um but also putting that in a place priority wise where it doesn't come before the art I think a lot of times U people can just go for the viral thing whatever that whatever that looks like and attempt it and it may not be what was you know coming through that day that everyone really needed to hear because they were just trying to they were just aiming at this virality idea that it may or may not be authentic that's uh it's a good way of looking at it you know and and the music that you guys create is all about authenticity and I suppose it's always that battle of of keeping that in check with the social media side that can be very inauthentic and we struggle with that ourselves just just as a podcast you know we don't want to put out you know spam stuff out for the sake of it oh [ __ ] yeah exactly if we're got to say we don't want to put any old [ __ ] out but we got to you know be the kind of you know resistance we need to put stuff out uh but try not to force the kind of issue so now thanks for sharing that mate um so obviously going back to your um social media and and kind of trolling through that you're playing tons and tons of gigs which is fantastic to see some some really cool venues where where's your kind of favorite hangout spots where's your favorite place to play um so I I guess over the last uh the last couple years that uh my favorite place that I've played there's a a a Listening Room in dun North Carolina called bird's nest Listening Room um Sean and Carla bass or they music fans through and through and decided like you know we're kind of we're kind of done traveling so much for this let's make a venue and uh have people come to us and I love The Listening Room idea too because I've played a lot of noisy bars I've played a lot of places where like people could care less um no matter how good the song is they're going to be loud and talk and uh laugh and cry and scream and all those things and you can't you can't take it personally but it is nice when you step into a room where the venue owner steps up there and tells everyone shut your pie hole an artist is about about to play to right so that one really it stands out to me I've played did a few few times opening up for some other folks and um I did a run with Tommy Prim uh to start the year off and there's another spot called the Reeves theater in North Carolina and it's just like a it's been remodeled but it's it's the old Auditorium style and for some reason I just love that U that listening uh setup when you got you know a place that's made to listen to music um or listen to a show watch a show um and it's kind of the same way where the vibe is tune in you know for we're only going to be here for two hours so you can save your save your other stories for just a little bit and listen to some music you know yeah so so far those kind of places really stand out to me because um because I'm getting attention to right I say to you should be shut your piles yeah that's fantastic and um you know you mentioned um doing the Power River sessions as well I I love that sort of thing you know we're trying to kind of replicate something over here in the UK under the rugged Revival Banner of of something like that because it's just fantastic to get that kind of raw kind of music Across in in those settings and we've got lots of beautiful settings over in the UK that we can kind of uh use for that aesthetic um so have you have you got plans to do any more power River sessions or anything of that kind yeah ne's been trying to get me to come back back up there he really wants to just go fishing so but I assume when we go when we go fish we're going to we're going to do some music as well um because I think one of the things you run into when you do that um if you don't do it on a few different days you have three or four videos where you're in the same clo you know what I mean in the social media side of things um it doesn't take a you know detective to figure out they filmed all that one afternoon um so you know unless you're going to change clothes and do a few different takes of different songs um but I would love to get back up there just because it I mean it reminds me a lot of home right there it's not it's not too far away but what he's done is that Grassroots thing where it started out with him sitting on a cooler by that same river and then it's led to what it is now you know um and I love those full circle stories like that so anything that's that's out there and that hits that vein I I would gladly be a part of enjoy doing that well yeah I think um I think we need to keep to keep up uh we need to take up fishing that's what we need to do because because everybody that we spok to is like we're going fishing uh do some videos right why are we not there that's what we need to do yeah we don't have many good fishing spots that's probably why mate not like over there but um yeah I encourage everyone to go and check out the YouTube video for the Power River session because that that is my favorite song that you've put out so far the whis SK night it's uh it's incredible and the way it's recorded I've been sharing the hell out of that for anyone that will listen to me um which yeah hopefully it's quite a lot so um fantastic so over to you Ronnie I've been talking for a long time here so uh I'll let you have the Lim light back mate can I possibly do that I was actually just looking at I was actually just trying to find the song that resisting to over the last week um and I cannot find it for the life me but it was a it was a live set that you were doing um one was the Brack and Bryan song and the other one was uh and I I couldn't remember the name of it but I'll get it before the end maybe sing a bit for us and we'll we'll try and guess what you were listening yeah it would sound like I'm doctoring a cat behind the uh behind the screen so I won't um anyway so uh talking about playlists we started a playlist TJ and I uh well mostly TJ uh started a playlist um and it's exclusive for our podcast guests and artists that we meet on the road um so what two songs should we add to this that reflect your work so everyone can check you out um I would say one would be keys to the castle um and my explanation on that is um Spotify just has changed this used to it was an artist top five and then that that stream number but now you can click more and see so I think because of where keys of the castle was on the track list he got buried um a little bit and um but it's really like a to me when I when I play that song live I I just I feel every piece of it and that's more of a and the metaphors that are in it that's just really a it's a song that I um I just I I give it a lot of love so I'd like to see it give little more love out there and I truly believe in the power of the playlist too because that's how I find a lot of new new music myself um so keys to the castle and I don't know the other one would just have to be you guys favorite we'll argue over that one then that's fine I'm up for a fight that's great thank you very much um so so back over to you really I just wanted to know um what's the best album or single that you've listened to I I was asking P I was going to try and reduce the time down because there's been so many and so many different decent changes in in and and and sort of um American Roots but um what what is the best Alum album or or single that you've listened to in the last 10 years I'm going to keep it as 10 years because then that covers Us SP a bit of old school a bit of new school a bit of everything so over to you so I need to and and I need to pick one album or one single one well I'll give you two go on okay well you can have two that's so that's so difficult because when I the way that I listen to music I'll uh I'm I'm a top down listener if there if there's a body of work there um but I'll get stuck on something for month or two and then I you know move on to the next the next thing but but I but I won't forget about it I'll go back to it when something else pulls me back in but um God the best that's I hate those I hate those questions well maybe sorry about that I'll go back um well I don't I could go on and on about different ones I I think um so going back to the authenticity thing um are you guys familiar with Ian no um so he's you know he's got a couple records um that I keep going back to but um just that to me would be and I'm not I'm not saying he is the best or couldn't be the best or whatever else like that but to me that is the most Genuine Music coming out of Southern Appalachia um in that realm where he's got the uh the song about Irene just the kind of the the drunken Misfit of the family that stumbles back up to family dinner and she's just you know it's so embodies like so many people that I know around here um and it's like damn how does he write about that kind of stuff so it seems so fluid for him for it to come out that way um or singing about shade tree mechanics or things like that um CU sometimes that's where that's where you get into that cheese category when you're trying to you don't want to say you know step by step what you're doing through your day you want it to be metaphorical and you want it to sound artistic and um but I think he's uh River fools is a if I had to pick one I I keep going back that single all the time thank you very much sure so on the we as you will know we as we explained the in the introduction we we tried to bring emerging Talent on we tried to get our favorite artists on here to to talk to now it's a bit of a time so so you can give a shout out to some someone that you might think is an emerging artist or emerging Talent um that you think people that listen to this show would like to listen to Or should be listening to okay are questions here we go yeah um I say you kind of saying someone that is probably not on much of a radar but should be absolutely yeah yeah I honestly um are you guys familiar with Jordan Lee King yeah yeah a little bit he he knows those guys um I've I've been trying to press press him on to um anybody I can just his lyrics um can I name more than one abely course there's another band uh out of Asheville called the greaty Birds um that everyone should check out um Ash Asheville North Carolina is kind of a unique music music scene but there's a lot of lot of good stuff going on up there and I'm not sure if those guys are even still playing together if they've parted off into other bands but um they've got some they've got some tracks out there um check out a track called Billy Packer um and I think it's I'm I'm afraid to move my phone because it might um it might hang us up um but uh I'm trying to think of anybody else that might be um man there there's so many there's so many good ones it's hard to yeah it's hard to say who you who you shouldn't Miss um I we we'll certainly have a look we'll certainly have a look at them but but following you know podcasts like you guys are doing and then uh channels like P River that's the best way right now to find you know that I to find like genuine that's being created now just because the creation process is so much different than it used to be so and everybody's distracted you know they if they're not willing to listen to you for five seconds they're not gonna give you they're not from the yeah and this is why you know we love bringing uh you know yourselves on people like yourself who are um you know striving and and have worked hard for a long long time to to to do what you're doing um the amount I've I was shocked when I first started this you know well nearly 20 episodes now as as TJ was saying um when I first started getting involved in this I didn't realize how much uh time effort lack of money there is in this whole world of of this music of of good talented artists and we've had some uh including yourself we've had some incredible people on this show we're very very lucky to be able to do this um and and to have you join us so you know shout out to you and and all the rest of the artists that have joined us on here um because it is such a difficult World it really is and I didn't realize you know it's been a learning curve for me every minute of the day so um yeah I appreciate it so so just a bit of advice from you um comrade so if you've got emerging Talent if you've got emerging artists you're saying that you know you when you were going to the Baptist Church six seven years old you know all the way through to where you are now um what what advice would you give these upand cominging artists or people that may have a bit of a hidden voice that aren't really quite ready to step out and say I've got a voice on me I can I can write a song I can because it's not just about singing It's about playing music and playing instruments what what would you advise these people yeah I would um I I would say I would say two things mainly um one is if you're especially if you're a songwriter um and this is probably specifically two songwriters um but be careful where you put the audience in your priority list because there's a lot of times where like say I lyric came across my table and it gave me chills that's that's the most important thing not thinking like oh what's this crowd gonna think at this venue or I could picture myself at Red Rock saying this like you know if you put if that priority is is audience first it's just never you're you're going to be quicker to the cheese at that rate than you would be if you just let it let it be um so I think just making sure that the art actually comes first and and don't don't sweat everything else you're going to have to concern yourself with it to to make any traction but not letting that bog you down to the point where you don't do anything because it seems overwhelming um and I guess the second thing would be um just like when I stepped into the studio down there in muscle sh if I had researched all of those Nashville session players I probably couldn't have walked in the door out of just nervousness because I you know but I decided to like okay I'll meet them when I get there and see you know how you know how we all interact and um they're all a-listers um and that was just the thing that I fell into and I had a I had a thought that morning before we started tracking um I don't belong here these guys are too talented um I don't know anything um I don't Know music theory I don't know I could play a few chords and and write a few songs um and then there was this uh I went to the bathroom in that place and as I was washing my hands someone had written in Reverse so that it would read forward on the mirror be kind to you so and it was like you know just be kind to yourself and so I was like okay I can I can handle this and um just went in there and we did our thing but what I realized was none of those guys were songwriters so the kind of the way the music industry works if it's a pyramid you got all these badass players you got producers you got audio engineers and then at the top you've got the source material which is the songwriter but in the industry it's more like this so the the artist is going to be on the lowest totem po most of the time in any given room but if you pull that Source material away everything else really has nowhere to no Foundation um because that's what they want they're looking for new fresh material to play you know so ideally you know if you got your own band you guys grew up together and you you know you've been friends for 15 20 years that that's a lot stronger Bond but if you find yourself in these different rooms different places like you know remember your worth is kind of what I would tell artist because impostor syndrome is very real um especially when you get out into the wild like that that's Fant fantastic bit of advice and and you know and listen up you know the the the couple of words that you just said they be kind to you absolutely and um you know fantastic advice so thank you very much um now we want some gossip let's not mess around let's not mess around here right um I I've got a couple of random questions and I know that you know we're taking a lot of your time up but no good it's been it's been so good so far um that TJ's got some questions he still wants to ask but a couple of random ones um you've played a lot of gigs uh obviously recently uh and um I want to know what's your favorite thing to do after a gig uh drink beer perfect move on right sounds good no I would say sometimes depending on the depending on the time set time I like to I like to eat well before or wait till after um so a lot of times if we especially if it's a place you've been to you know where the hot spot is for good food so um taking care of that you never want to go you never want to leave the table and step on stage if that makes sense give give give some buffer time for that yeah and then outside of music I know you mentioned about fishing but uh is there anything else that you like doing is there anything else you get involved in um that people wouldn't expect you to be involved in uh yeah probably so I uh I am um the fly fishing bug bit me several years ago and then I got into tiing my own flies and my OCD loved that too so um so those between those two and I got a a dual sport motorcycle I ride with a with some friends so we anytime we get a chance you know the the beautiful thing about dual sport is you don't have to trailer the thing to the off-road site um so you can you know rip around and do all those things and cut up like a teenager um and then I do that a little white waterer kaying um I wouldn't uh if there's any kayakers that listen to this I'm not a not an expert I just enjoy uh enjoy the thrill of that um and there's places in that world where you can only see them if you got in a kayak and and went down we're we're lucky to have the chatuga right over here in South Carolina next to us and what's a Confluence so it's on both sides but there's some just some beautiful places down in there that you wouldn't you wouldn't hike to but you can get to them pretty swiftly with a with a few friends and a couple kayaks comr I've just realized how boring my life is uh outside of work outside of work and outside of podcasting um but I've uh maybe I need to look at doing other Hobbies but no amazing thank you um and I've got one a question uh because I know that TJ is bursting to ask his questions um I've asked couple of artist this and I think it's so important um another personal question about you um but I want to know your top three goals and it could be your top three goals for the rest of your life it could be your top three goals within the next three months six months nine months whichever but I'd love to know what are your top three goals going forward okay top three um questions um I would say I'd say my very my number one goal is have fun no matter what um it's so easy to get bogged down with all the red tape of life you know you just can't forget that um you take a take a few breaths in and out and move your hands move your feet okay we're not it's not as bad as it seems um or bad as the as the uh smoking mirror would have us believe um so I I write that a lot too in journaling and stuff I'll be I'll be trying to get in you know introspective and then I'll just incap I'm just like have fun so I that doesn't sound like a good goal for making money but that's my that's my number one have fun and uh I guess the second is um would be uh my the way you know in my process is like work steady um each day like instead of trying to Waterfall or you're trying to get everything done and like this has all got to happen now it's all got to be be here so um you know as far as that goes just work just work steady at a pace that doesn't wear you out and doesn't uh doesn't underdo it or overdo it um in you know in that sense um and I know that those don't sound like uh these don't sound like great uh goals on on paper they probably wouldn't but as far as lifestyle they they work um and my my third one would be more tangible is like how how I look at the music industry is I'd like to be playing x amount of shows say 150 shows a year and doing still doing the things that I love to do on the side um and then also I'd like to get into like you know helping young artist kind of navigate some of this stuff so that's that's on my list um you know because I'm I'm 37 at this point I don't know if I can I can probably do this for a little while but who knows what the what the cut off is according to society are they gonna want to listen to a 55y old you know Haggard dude sing about sing about these things so oh that's kind of in my back burner like I've always want always want to be in in the industry somehow in some fashion so um yeah well I I know that you'll you know them three goals maybe we'll come back in a in a few years and and ask you how you getting on with the with the fre goals but I'm I'm sure that you will stay true to them uh because you you've done all of them so far in this in this podcast so um anyway I'm going to stop waffling now I'll hand over to TJ thank you thank you very much and know is commendable mate to to kind of have a goal where you're supporting and giving back to kind of the young artist and you make yourself sound like you're so old you're 37 now I feel old cuz I'm 40 so than us it's all right Adam Hood's still going and I'm sure I don't know I don't guess how old listen if Willie Nelson is still going we're all right yeah that's true absolutely absolutely and I like your story about you know the the impostor syndrome and stuff I think we all have those sort of um elements in our life I mean actually me and Ronnie have reverse impostor syndrome what you think we can do absolutely anything despite having zero Talent so uh and we we did that the other night when we had a few whiskies I do recall and uh I play guitar very badly uh Ronnie sings semi okay I think it sounded all right that night and we were going to book a recording studio that cost a lot of money I'm glad we did I can't believe you can remember all that I remember everything um so uh yeah we need to we need to calm down with our our OS I think mate but uh but it's great in terms of uh it's always good to find out what what's coming up next for you mate and you you mentioned um kind of re-recording save the Southland as an acoustic piece and you know what what else is kind of coming up that you can reveal at this stage or kind of yeah um I have uh this is not too much to say but I most people would assume this after a record being out two years I'm I'm right riding for an LP um I I want to have a 10 or 12 track body of work I feel like that's that's in order for someone at this stage in the in the business um and then we may do the single game for a little while after that but um I I still need to finish up I have the uh the ungodly amount of Unfinished songs that you never know you know and part of that's my fault where you need you need to sit down and finish that stuff um but sometimes if it's not if it's not coming in you can't force it um so we got we got some more writing to do for that as ECT um and I do I can't say who it's with at the moment but I've got a good June July tour coming up um with a good friend of Benjamin Todds I'll say that much um I'm not they probably wouldn't mind if I said it but I I haven't talked to them so I don't want to I don't want to spoil anything but um that'll be that'll be a big run um and then going back to the social media thing is you guys will probably see a lot more of that out of me um over the next several months and through the rest of this year because um it's just got to happen um if I as much as I as much as I hate it it's got to happen so I've got some I've got some good video ideas that I'm G to do some with some with a crew and then some just by myself I've got a uh I've got an old 2006 Tacoma with a power jack in the back of it so we can just go park that thing off anywhere and hopefully get it far enough away from the microphone where I can run a 200 foot cable and put the amp up with a microphone and guitar and make some things happen so sweet hope hopefully that sounds perfect and you you can Reveal Your Secrets when I pretend to stop recording later on uh that's how we normally get you guys um so yeah I mean we talked about I mean we touched them on the artists that have been over to the UK recently like kobby T Helms and uh there was a few Appalachian artists as well Daniel Kane Lance Rogers and Hunter Flynn uh as well so I met met those guys over in Stafford uh I think it was last month I forget time moves so quickly um so it's great I I think there there's a real appetite in the UK and those guys have have set an amazing kind of path where we can do almost a cultural exchange where we can you know swap our guys and you come over and you know is that something that you you'd ever kind of considered or interested in doing yeah AB absolutely um uh it's just a it's just a thing where sometimes if I if I think about it too much I'm like how is this going to work or how is this if I'm not if I'm not making any money here how am I going to go make some money in the UK um but those things are go go back to the half fun aspect some things you just go do because they feel right um but to me it's all it all goes back to the art like if I get a chance to go share something anywhere that that calls I I would be I'd be honored to so there's definitely definitely no roadblocks between between uh here and there awesome we will try and make it happen mate as best as we can the contacts that we've got but um no that's really cool man um so in terms of I mean we keep talking about you know artists it is a struggle for a lot of people it's not the money in in it that people just assume there is even if you've got a a million streams on Spotify the the amount that kind of ends up in your pocket is is obscene you know in comparison to you know the Spotify people um so in terms of how you know we can support you or your fans can support you or listeners what what is kind of the best way that kind of works for for you um the best thing right now um until I've got a bigger uh merch pool I'm trying to get some stuff going where that's uh where that's available online all the time um not quite there yet but the best thing that anybody can do is just tell a friend and hope that that friend tells another friend um because uh the way that spreads is you know it's like a slow fire kind of it has to work its way out at its own pace and um you know and if people out there are expecting it overnight I think that's a fatal flaw too because you're gonna you're going to get let down if that's your if that's your hope even if you think you have the greatest song ever written um you know those things are out of our out of our control the uh the Oliver Anthony of the interweb or you know that's few that's few and far between so yeah just tell a tell a friend and tell them to tell a friend we will certainly do be doing that mate for sure um we've been talking a long time Dan and I particularly um is there anything you want to plug or anything you want to ask us particularly um over to you mate um I would say um I don't know you put me on the spot we like to do that yeah now I guess I I guess if I had any questions for you guys it would be uh what do you uh what are what are things that you look for in an artist that you would like to have on your show or is that you know something I guess in in a in a more direct sense is how how can I be more appealing to other podcasters or venue owners or things like that for my perspective because I I was the one pushing to have you on um just doing what you're doing um your music is fantastic um I think the way that you Market yourself is great great Aesthetics like I said at the beginning trying to copy your your look mate it's not working very well um but I I think me me and me and Ronnie as simplistic people if the music is good we we like you um can't really give much advice on the marketing stuff because we're just not experts in that that side but um from from what we like is what we like and you know you're obviously pulling out some incredible music can't wait to hear what what you're pulling out next from what you're saying and I think it's just um perhaps just keeping people informed you know more often and like say it is a struggle to do the social media side because a it feels cringe B it's a Time aspect and knowing how to work the algorithm I've given up trying to figure that thing out a long time ago um because you can just get consumed by it but I think it's just pulling out things that represent you really well and if you do that authentically then I think people will naturally gravitate to you particularly with your music and and your look mate so that that's what I would say for you um anything from you Ronnie uh you've nailed it I I I just think you know be yourself everything that you've done here tonight um on this show is is absolutely the right thing to do uh and we always look for you know the fact it is the music but the artist you know be be a good person just be up for a laugh um do exactly what you're doing um and actually we're just here to try and help the one community that you said do you want closer to yourself we want to be able to be closer to people here uh and to bring the community closer to them we are one big Community we'll always look after each other uh and I'm hoping that will be the same we just want that sort of as you said tell a friend or hand on a favor you know hand it down down the line um to to that community so no you're smashing it so fantastic that's all the questions I have mate so uh Ronnie would you like to kind of do the the final honors mate well comrad uh it has been an absolute pleasure um to meet you it's been an absolute pleasure uh to share your thoughts and and all your history uh from you know from a very very young age um and to everybody you've been listening to the totally talented inspiring and Epic comrade Mo thank you so much for joining us comrade if you've got a drink near you if you wouldn't mind raising it because we do this at the end of can I can I go get it go for it yeah yeah it's only uh it's only 18 after five here so I have to rules it's not a work day you have to wait until after five yeah we're good now something about 5:00 somewhere song somewhere or whatever you yeah anyway so we're going to raise a glass glass we're going to raise a toast to the grit the grind and to the Revival cheers and slanta for listening all the best
Comments
Keep listening
Related Episodes
Anna Victoria
Inside North Carolina's Appalachian Music Scene | Anna Victoria
Anna Victoria joins Camden for an honest conversation about growing up in the mountains of North Carolina, discovering her voice as a songwriter and navigating life as an independent Country and Americana artist. We talk about learning to perform live, protecting her voice, finding confidence on stage, the influence of Appalachian music and artists such as Luke Combs, Sierra Ferrell and Dolly Parton, balancing music with motherhood, and the challenge of staying creative in a world driven by social media. It's a thoughtful conversation about music, family, creativity and staying true to yourself while building a career in independent music. Chapters 00:00 – Introductions, Weaverville, childhood. 02:00 – Singing, vocal health and beginning her musical journey. 06:00 – The pandemic, booking gigs and developing as a live performer. 09:00 – Coping with distractions, confidence and performing. 12:00 – Appalachian influences, Luke Combs, Sierra Ferrell, Dolly Parton and mountain songwriting. 15:00 – Family life, being a stay-at-home mum, social media and balancing music with everyday life. #lukecombs #sierraferrell #dollyparton Subscribe to The Rugged Revival. Share it with your friends. Support independent music! Listen to the full podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6wnHcgA73o1aiiKaz882vH?si=30aabdaa220a4628 Follow The Rugged Revival: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theruggedrevival/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theruggedrevival Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094507520679 Website: www.theruggedrevival.com Email: ruggedrevival@hotmail.com
Ben Morrison
The Brothers Comatose: Ben Morrison on 18 Years of Music, Family & Touring
Ben Morrison of The Brothers Comatose joins the Rugged Revival Podcast for an honest conversation about nearly two decades ...
Pat Reedy
Pat Reedy on Busking, Nashville & Building a Country Music Career
Pat Reedy joins Camden to discuss leaving construction behind for country music, busking in New Orleans, life in Nashville, ...
Mike Tod
Keeping Traditional Folk Music Alive in Nashville | Mike Tod Podcast
Mike Tod joins Camden to discuss traditional folk music, Canadian roots, life in Nashville, forgotten songs, unusual instruments and why preserving musical history still matters today.Originally from Canada and now based in Nashville, Mike explores the stories behind traditional songs, the connections between folk music around the world and how old music continues to influence modern artists. We also discuss his unique "Crankenstein" instrument, musical curiosity, collecting songs from the past and the importance of keeping traditions alive for future generations.Chapters00:00 Introduction00:00:30 Growing Up in Canada00:02:20 Discovering Music & The Crankenstein00:04:10 The Story Behind The Crankenstein00:05:20 Drones, Folk Traditions & Ancient Music00:08:10 Learning Guitar & Performing Original Songs00:09:40 Accessing Traditional Music in the Digital Age00:11:20 Researching Music History00:12:10 Playing The Crankenstein Live00:14:00 Creating Atmospheric Sounds & Live Performance00:16:00 Traditional Songs & Musical Origins00:17:50 The Artists Influencing Mike Today00:19:20 Studying Philosophy & Creative Thinking00:22:00 Horror, Heavy Music & Folk Culture00:24:00 Scottish Heritage & Family History00:27:10 Final ThoughtsSubscribe to The Rugged Revival. Share it with your friends. Support independent music!Listen to the full podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6wnHcgA73o1aiiKaz882vH?si=30aabdaa220a4628Follow The Rugged Revival:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theruggedrevival/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theruggedrevivalFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094507520679Website: www.theruggedrevival.comEmail: ruggedrevival@hotmail.com