Harper O'Neill

Speaker 1 00:00:13 What is going on everybody? It's your boy, Matt Bere. Welcome back to the In The Round Podcast, episode 81. We've done 81 of these damn things now and today, a very special guest, one of my favorites, uh, folk, a girl who's become a good friend here recently, Ms. Harper O'Neill joining us today, talking about her life, uh, before moving to Nashville. We're having her big girl job being here for about three years and what it's like to be a part of the Fam Jam, her and her badass crew of singer songwriter friends. But before we get to that conversation, we gotta tell y'all about the sponsors, of course, whale Tale Media Wales, and Gracie and Bezy and Paige and the whole crew over there getting it done. Content, content, content. They have got you covered. And you can always buy some cool merch at our writer's rounds that, uh, they just got some cool new shirts in, some cool new hats. Speaker 1 00:01:07 So go check them out. And they even do weddings. If you're getting hitched, whale tail weddings, they'll come out. Whale Tail Media next, our friends from Saxon Studios, Grady and the Boys. A great studio here in Nashville, Tennessee. Big supporters of the industry. Uh, big supporters of us, big supporters of the scene, the up and comers, uh, those, those newer folks, the town. And, uh, they, they get it done. So if you're looking for a place to record a project, check out our friends at Saxon Studios. And then last, but certainly not least, our friends in the Green World, Trailside, cbd. They have a brand new Delta eight product. They're making their own disposable pens. Y'all go check them out. They even got Pineapple Express flavor. It is awesome. Um, our boy Andrew, they're huge supporters and you can always get hooked up by coming to one of our writer's rounds. Go to trailside cbd.com, use the promo code itr checkout, and you save 20% on your order, baby, go check them out. Now, without further ado, we're gonna get into it. Our sit down with the lovely Ms. Harper O'Neill heater on the in the Round podcast. Speaker 1 00:02:20 How you doing today, Ms. Harper? On you. How's that Miller Light treating you? Speaker 2 00:02:23 Man, it is ice cold. Speaker 1 00:02:24 I thought like your, the whole like fam jam crew was like a Coors crew, so I'm, I'm happy to hear that you're in the Miller. Why? So that's Speaker 2 00:02:31 What we got here. Like is the champagne of beers isn't, wait, isn't the things they said about something else Speaker 1 00:02:35 <laugh>? They might, they might, but it's, it's a fine pilsner. It's a tasty fine pilsner. Speaker 2 00:02:39 I prefer Coors tastes like water. Speaker 1 00:02:41 That's, yeah, that's what my, see my grandmother drinks Coors Light. Oh, I'm like, cuz she likes drink. That makes it kind of a Speaker 2 00:02:47 Badass though. So I, Speaker 1 00:02:48 Well it makes it kind of a badass, but it's, cuz I think it's a little bit lighter. She likes that and like wine spritzers. So it's like, for me it's like CO's like, so, and I haven't had a beer in a long time, but yeah, it sounds like, from what I remember, it was watered down. Whereas Miller, you're actually, it's like you're drinking a beer, it Speaker 2 00:03:00 Feels like you're drinking a beer. Yeah. Speaker 1 00:03:01 Yeah. And, and avoiding the calories. And you can drink a lot more of 'em than you can with the Budweiser. Speaker 2 00:03:06 Are we sponsored by them? Speaker 1 00:03:07 <laugh>? We're, we're not, we're sponsored by some other folks that I'm, that you're very, very well familiar with. Yeah. But, um, but how, how have things been going for you? How are you doing on this? Uh, this fine Wednesday, Speaker 2 00:03:18 Man, it's been great. It couldn't be better sitting here chatting with you drinking a beer. Hell yeah. Um, you know, we were just talking right before we kind of pressed play, but I've just kind of been in a, in a writer's block period. So it's always fun to try to see how you escape out of those. Speaker 1 00:03:33 Yeah. Have you been, have you been one of those before? Speaker 2 00:03:35 Yeah, definitely. And I think, um, what worked for me last time was falling in love with music again as a listener. Yeah. And really appreciating just other people's work and other people's craft. Um, because I think it kind of takes your ego out of like your own experience trying to write and create. Yeah. Speaker 1 00:03:52 Yeah. And you were saying that a part of what's created this, this this writer's block you're in right now, it's, it's because of something else that's going well. You're out on the road a lot folks are I have been folks, folks are paying money and going to see Harper O'Neill play on a stage. Speaker 2 00:04:07 I I have been, it reminds me, my booking agent was telling me that, um, getting people to live shows is, is so meaningful because it's causing them to spend two of the most important things, which is their time and their money. Yeah. And so, um, figuring out ways to convince people to do that and spend time with you and your music is, is a whole craft of its own just like songwriting. Yeah. So, I mean, and, and that trans, you know, transfers over to social media and promotion and learning how to like, keep your brand aligned with all those things. So I've definitely been growing, I feel like on that side of things. Um, I'm just, you know, looking for that high of writing the, the, the best song in the world, you Speaker 1 00:04:44 Know? Yeah. Yeah. No, and you, you got to do a lot of that last year. And like, COVID was the year where I definitely found a group of friends that I didn't have before Covid or that I knew of, but became like family with them. Absolutely. And something I'm sure you, you could relate to with that. Speaker 2 00:04:58 Absolutely. The whole crew, I mean, we kind of just buckled down and, and paired off in different ways. And I was telling you I got to track down Gabe Lee, which was so fun for me. Cuz now he's on the road every weekend. Yeah. Um, and and he has, we wrote two great songs last year that are gonna be on a project I'm putting out eventually at some point. Hell yeah. I'm still figuring that out. Um, but it was fun because everyone was in town. Um, and I remember Gabe and I actually one time cuz it was Covid. So, you know, there were times when people were more strict about, you know, not seeing each other. Yeah. And during those periods, Gabe and I actually found a way to like, write songs via like voice memo. So I would like write part and voice memo it, send it back and then he'd add something and send it back. And I tweaked it and like sent it back. And it's actually a song I still sing out and, and Joy a lot. No shit. And it was just a new way to do it. Yeah. But it was, it was kind of neat because like when you're in the room with somebody, you have to respond immediately to their idea. Speaker 1 00:05:52 Gives you more time to think. Doing that voice memo strategy Speaker 2 00:05:55 When he sent it over, instead of having to, to do a knee jerk reaction of I like this, I don't like this. Or, you know, having to respond immediately. I'm able to sit and be like, okay, well what did he mean by this? And like, you know, does it affect me? And I got to sit with it a little and see like, does it make sense with the part that I wrote? And so it was a new way to write songs and he inspired me cause he writes alone a lot. And uh, he inspired me a long time ago that you don't need to get a song done in a three hour period. It's great if you do. And a lot of the best songs of all time were written so quickly, but he works on songs for months at a time, you know? Yeah. And it's just, it, it's never a bad song. It's just an unfinished song. Yeah. Speaker 1 00:06:32 Like why rush it? Why Speaker 2 00:06:33 Rush? Maybe you don't have the life experience to finish the song at the time that you started. Speaker 1 00:06:38 You've got this idea, but you've gotta live out that idea. Speaker 2 00:06:40 Yeah. You have to see what the end is. You don't know. Yeah. So I thought that's been, you know, a super inspiring thing I've learned from him is just is is letting the idea take as long as it needs to take to be written the way it's supposed to be written. Speaker 1 00:06:52 Yeah. That's a good, good lesson and good thing to pick up on right there. So you're from Texas originally, right? Speaker 2 00:06:57 Yes. I'm from outside of Dallas. So Plano, Richardson area. Speaker 1 00:07:00 Okay. East Texas girl. Mm-hmm. Speaker 2 00:07:02 <affirmative> kinda northeast of Dallas. Speaker 1 00:07:03 <laugh> Northeast. Northeast, Northeast. That, that I know Texas is like, it's, I've gotten to go out there quite a bit. Yeah. Touring and stuff and there's, it's like, I mean it is, it is, it's basically its own country and like, Speaker 2 00:07:14 It's its own animal out Speaker 1 00:07:15 There. You've got like the western side where there's, it's very remote. Like you've still got that Western style like mm-hmm. <affirmative> saloons, things like that. You've got down south, like you've got like places, I guess Austin's like Austin, San Antonio, yeah. Houston, all that stuff. And then you got like East Texas, you got North Texas, all that stuff. So what was growing up out there like for you? Speaker 2 00:07:33 Well, I think it's interesting. I've seen more of Texas now having moved out and started to tour than I did growing up. Really? Yeah. Um, so it's been really fun for me to go kind of to these different parts of Texas I've never seen before. Um, and, and kind of experience Texas as like a someone not from there kind of. Yeah. So that's been interesting. But, um, I loved it. I grew up right, right outside of Dallas and then I went to UT Austin for school. Speaker 1 00:07:58 Oh nice. Speaker 2 00:07:58 Hook them horns Baby Speaker 1 00:08:00 La So, so you know, so you know all about, all about Keep Austin weird and love Austin, Texas. Speaker 2 00:08:04 Oh yes. I did my best. Texas Speaker 1 00:08:05 <laugh>. That's, it's a wild, wild town down there. Speaker 2 00:08:08 It is a wild place. And when anybody's like, I'm visiting Texas, where should I go? I'm like, Austin or bust like that is what you need to see. Um, if you go down there. Speaker 1 00:08:16 Did you ever meet Matthew McConaughey? Speaker 2 00:08:18 No. He's still, he started teaching at the university like two years after I left. Oh no. I would've been a film major if that had been the case when I was Speaker 1 00:08:25 There. Unbelievable. I wonder how much that film program, like how many more people are trying to do that. Oh. And I'm pretty sure now that EYs involved, Speaker 2 00:08:31 I'm pretty sure it was like already like, kind of like hard to get into. Yeah. And I'm sure now it's just like, you know, you have to be serious about film, like prove that you're serious about film. Yeah. Speaker 1 00:08:39 What are you doing music stuff when you were going to UT Austin when you were living down there? Speaker 2 00:08:43 So I studied advertising, so I didn't take any music courses or Speaker 1 00:08:46 Anything. What, what were you like playing? Was like, had the music bug bitten you? Speaker 2 00:08:50 Yeah, by that point like I had started, I did like those like local talent shows and things when I was like young growing up. Yeah. And um, you know, I always loved music and I would write, you know, my songs as a kid or whatever and learn the, the every Dixie Chicks song ever. Yeah. You know, made. Um, and then when I went out to school I kind of was like, it's not feasible, it's just a hobby. So I'd play like on sixth Street doing cover sets, um, for honestly just like beer money and like I'd actually go downtown to like, at the time we called it like Dirty six. I don't think anybody goes there anymore. Yeah. But it was like the kind of the wilder part of sixth Street. And I would play from like, you know, I'd do one of those four hour sets, you know, like eight to midnight or nine Speaker 1 00:09:31 Basically the, the Texas equivalent to Broadway. Speaker 2 00:09:34 Absolutely, yes. That's very fair. So I would do that and then I would just go with all the cash in my pocket and go meet my friends downtown cuz they were all down there partying. So I would just like play these gigs, you know, make a couple hundred bucks and then just go absolutely. You know, blow it on the bar tab or whatever, <laugh> across the street. So, but it was good. I mean it taught me a lot about performing and um, I still loved it at the end of all that. Yeah. You Speaker 1 00:09:55 Know? Yeah. I feel like if you can do a, like the four hour cover set, whether it's Broadway, whether it's Sixth Street, whether it's anywhere, if you know how to entertain people that just happen to be in the bar and you gotta play for four hours. Oh yeah. Sometimes with breaks, sometimes without breaks, you are primed. Like that makes you such a better artist on tour from that experience. Speaker 2 00:10:14 I completely agree. I think it's super character building, just like a, to play in a bar where people really aren't listening. You know, they're kind of half listening, Speaker 1 00:10:21 But then you win them over and that's gotta be the coolest feeling when you first win them over. Yeah, Speaker 2 00:10:26 Absolutely. And it's a, it's a craft too. It's, you know, getting someone's attention. Yeah. Understanding your audience and like what kind of songs they want to hear and like what songs they don't want to hear. Speaker 1 00:10:34 Yeah. What was, what was your go-to cover? What was your tip joke song? Oh Speaker 2 00:10:37 Gosh, back in the day. Well, okay. So that was kind of the, the period in time where people would like do acoustic versions of like rapping pop songs. So that was a lot of my set. Okay. By request. Like cuz that was so popular at the time. Um, so that's not my, my favorite, you know, memory <laugh>. Speaker 1 00:10:54 I glad there's no video of that. What was, what what, what song? What songs would those be? Speaker 2 00:10:57 Oh, no, <laugh>. Speaker 1 00:10:58 Like don't No, for real. What would they be? Because I see it, I used to work at, uh, whiskey Row on Broadway. So I, okay. I was there from 2018 to about fall of 2019. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So I would see some of, some people would do that kind of too, but maybe not as much as they went Austin. Speaker 2 00:11:11 I don't remember what they were, Speaker 1 00:11:13 They just, what was like a request you were like, I really don't wanna play this but I'm, I'm gonna have Speaker 2 00:11:17 To play this. Oh, they would request like acoustic country versions of like Drake songs. Like it was bad. Like I should have never done it, but that was so hip at the time. Speaker 1 00:11:24 But I mean, you have to do it when your job there is to entertain people. Well Speaker 2 00:11:27 Like yeah, I'll sing it for 20. Like, come on. Absolutely. So a lot of that and like just, you know, classic Speaker 1 00:11:33 Countries. Were you doing that Kiki, that Kiki song <laugh>? Probably. Did you do that one? Um, that feels like boy, cause that's that time period. Yeah. Cause what years were you down there? Um, Speaker 2 00:11:41 I graduated 2016, so 2012 to 2016. Okay. Yeah. Which was about, you know, when all that was cool. I think the mashups were such a thing. Yes, yes. So I mean, you know, which is great Speaker 1 00:11:52 For country music to the window to the wall. <laugh> always. Yeah, absolutely. And the Joker, every mashup has the joker in it. Speaker 2 00:12:00 Absolutely. Um, but no, it was a super character building time and I still loved it at the end of their like, end of that period of my life. And then when I graduated I still didn't really think it was a, um, you know, feasible career. But actually I kind of have a weird story of how I ended up here. So I'm not sure if you're familiar with Creative Vets? Speaker 1 00:12:20 Yes, I am actually. Okay. Speaker 2 00:12:22 So it's a super cool program, nonprofit organization and um, from, you know, I'm probably butchering their like, you know, mission statement. Yeah. But they help, um, veterans War veterans, uh, cope with PTSD through art. Speaker 1 00:12:35 Yeah. Great. Great organization. Great program. Good people. Speaker 2 00:12:37 Yeah. And it's led by Richard Casper who's just a hell of a guy. Yeah. I just have the utmost respect for him. But when I was a junior I went to Chicago for the summer for my summer internship and I was living at the dorms of the Art Institute downtown. Um, and I was kind of thinking like, I just turned 21, I'm gonna go have this like, you know, young fun college summer at the Art Institute or whatever. And like the first day I walk in I'm like looking around and I'm like, these don't look like, you know, they're much older, you know, and Richard's there he is like very tall, much older. And um, I'm like walking to my room and he's like, Hey, you wanna come have pizza? And I'm like, I guess so I'm like sitting down with all these guys having pizza and he's like, well they're all veterans and they're here for my new program and you know, we're all gonna go down to the Art institute. You should come with us. So like, I spent the whole summer with them just like hanging out. And then he said he had plans to move his program to Nashville to incorporate songwriting as part of the art that he used. Um, you know, Speaker 1 00:13:34 No, no shit. That's awesome. Speaker 2 00:13:35 Yeah. So, you know, we stayed in touch but after the summer I went back to school, I finished up and I got a job in Dallas and I was working in financial services, um, in a marketing position. Speaker 1 00:13:46 Big girl job. Oh yeah. Big girl job baby. Speaker 2 00:13:48 Like 401k. Hey <laugh>. And um, he called me uh, while I was there and he was like, you need to come visit Nashville, you belong here, you have to come. And I was like, you know, okay, I'm not really super fulfilled in this work here and you know, might as well. So I went out there to see Nashville. I stayed with him and his now wife. Um, and they just showed me around town for like a week. And I remember I went to Revival one night and Terry Jo was playing who runs the Freak Show Round. Yep. Love that round. Love her. Yeah, Speaker 1 00:14:17 She's great. Speaker 2 00:14:18 And she sang this song and I was just so moved by this stunning song in this bar. There were like five people in there sitting Speaker 1 00:14:26 On the church, Phoenix, sitting Speaker 2 00:14:27 On the church. There were, I mean, it was just a Tuesday night. And I just remember thinking like, if that's just, if that's the type of stuff that's created here, like I wanna be a part of it. Like I need to be a Speaker 1 00:14:37 Part of it. And on a Tuesday night, like you can't go other places and just have events like that Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Speaker 2 00:14:44 Absolutely. And it, I mean I was, I didn't know, I didn't even know what to expect. Like I was truly moved by the song and just the whole lifestyle of it. So, um, I left and um, went back to Dallas and immediately I was like, I gotta start looking for roommates, I gotta, you know, whatever. And about six months went by, saved up some money and I found some great roommates on Nashville Rooms to Rent. Shout out. Speaker 1 00:15:05 Hey. Speaker 2 00:15:05 Yeah. And, uh, yeah, I ended up moving here. He was the only person I knew when I moved here. Um, yeah. So I don't know if you guys, you know, are interested, go check out the organization. They're always looking for great songwriters. Speaker 1 00:15:15 Yeah, that is, that is a really cool, really cool story. So how'd you end up meeting like Ben and Meg and Tyler and that whole crew? Speaker 2 00:15:21 So, um, Kendall Allard used to run sound at Revival. Okay. She used to be the sound girl there. I don't know if she does anymore, but shout out Kendall. I love you <laugh>. And um, she, one night after I, I was like a month after I moved here and I was playing a different round at Tin Roof and she pulled someone aside, I think it was Vinny cuz he was running it, Vinny or Rob, and was like, Hey, you should have this girl come play at Revival. And, and so I ended up just like doing the round once and I think, you know, you just go enough times and you see the people there and um, yeah, I was just really, you know, thankful that she kind of threw me a bone and decided to like, you know, I didn't know how cool it was that she did that until much later when I kept going and, and seeing how wonderful all the, you know, songwriters are that play that round. Yeah. Um, so it was definitely just, you know, luck I guess. Yeah. And then they all, you know, we all got connected basically through Bible. Speaker 1 00:16:14 Yeah. And you guys are all really cool because one, you all are awesome people. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> two, you're badass Orange and three, you're all super authentic to yourselves, you know, like Thank Speaker 2 00:16:23 You. I appreciate Speaker 1 00:16:23 That you're, you Tyler's him, Gabe's him, Benny's him. Megs are like, everybody is themselves. You guys are doing it your way. You're not like, you guys are are going out and tour and doing what you gotta do is like up and coming artists and all that stuff. But you're not like sacrificing yourselves. Do it. Like it's, the authenticity is so real. And that's what I love about the Fam Jam crew. Speaker 2 00:16:43 The fam Jam crew. Absolutely. And, um, I, I really appreciate that because I think it's, it's my favorite part as a listener when I listen to music is that authenticity. Yeah. When you can tell, um, that it's coming from somewhere, you know, authentic and important to the, to the either the writer or the performer. But I think with us kind of, and I need to run this by them cuz I'm not sure <laugh>, that this is the case with everybody. Maybe it's just me, but I don't necessarily think we set out to do something different. Speaker 1 00:17:10 No, absolutely. Speaker 2 00:17:10 I think we weren't very good at doing it the other way. <laugh>. Yeah. Um, you know, we didn't really fit into the formula, um, in a lot of ways. And so this is kind of what was left for us to do. Speaker 1 00:17:20 And there's other folks that have done that before. I mean, I got, I got a Muscatine record right there. Absolutely. They're, they're doing, they're about to put out this new project that is so different from what they've done, but they say it's the most, most, this is what Muskatine Bloodline is, is what this new stuff is coming. Guys like Adam Hood. Yeah. Guys, guys like, guys like Channing Wilson, like people like that that are very American Aquarium. Another great example. Like they, they're still in that country mold, but fit that Americana term, which Americana Fest was something that just came through. How was that for you guys? I know that was a pretty busy week for the Jam Fam or The Fam Jam. It Speaker 2 00:17:54 Really, I like the Jam Fam too. Speaker 1 00:17:55 Yeah. Jam Jam FAMs good too. Yeah. That's Speaker 2 00:17:57 When we get a little drunk. I think we Speaker 1 00:17:58 The Jam fam <laugh>. Yes. Yeah. Flips over. Speaker 2 00:18:01 Um, no, Americano Fest was amazing. I I felt so honored to be a part of it. Um, and you know, I brought my guitar player Greg Jones, who's just fantastic and we just did the duo thing that we've been kind of doing on the road. Um, thought about getting a full band together, but, you know, in, you know, efforts to being authentic, this is the set right now. Yeah. And it's just kind of us two and we figured out a way to kind of fill it out and make it, um, make it feel, take up a lot of space. Speaker 1 00:18:25 Well I feel, I feel like Americano Fest is a good place to roll that acoustic duo way because people really care about the words. Like that's a crowd that's gonna appreciate the stories. They're not just drunk in the room, whatever. They're there to listen. Absolute. They, they appreciate the art more than a lot of other fans do and the sub-genres of country music. Speaker 2 00:18:42 That's such a, an important note. I mean they're definitely there because they love it, which is great. And I, I, I forget, um, all their names now, but, um, all the other bands that night that were at the Five Spot were just fantastic. I mean like bunch of like really kick-ass girls, the girl before me. Absolutely. Just like shreds un electric guitar. So it was, um, also really inspiring. You know, it's always great to be, um, challenged and to be put in rooms where like you see things that are gonna make you better and make you wanna go home and practice or make you go home and write. So, um, it's really like nights like that that fuel the fire to like Yeah. Keep, keep going, which is, you know, much needed. Speaker 1 00:19:20 Yeah. Now when did that fire you're talking about, when did that fire, once you got here to Nashville start kicking in to where I wanna write some songs and like, I'm not, I don't wanna necessarily want to do what I went to school for, which I feel that same way cuz like I went to school for, I mean, I guess communications major. I'm kind of still doing, I'm still talking into the microphone. Yeah, you are. You definitely, and I'm doing the PR kind of stuff. Like I'm using those skills and whatever. And I'm sure you have skills that you use from college too, but like to make that leap to be like, I'm gonna do this. Speaker 2 00:19:48 Yes. So I think, um, what is kind of helpful for me, sometimes I look back and I'm like, man, I wish I would've moved here sooner. Cause I feel like I'd be, Speaker 1 00:19:57 I think we all, we all say that. Yeah. Speaker 2 00:20:00 But when I really look at my life, I'm very glad I moved when I did because I did what the alternative would be. So I went to school and I moved back and I got a big girl job and I lived in Dallas and, and I had a good time, but I wasn't fulfilled. And so I think that's really when this whole spark ignited for me of, of chasing this and being fulfilled by this because I've always known this has been fulfilling for me. Um, and when I saw that, you know, the other way my life would be wasn't as fulfilling. I didn't have any questions left, you know? Yeah. I'm never sitting here like, I wonder what it would be like if I never did this. I'm sitting here being like, no, this is what I'm doing. This is what I meant to do and you know, I'm gonna do it. Speaker 1 00:20:38 Yeah. And now you're, you're officially doing it full-time now, right? Speaker 2 00:20:41 I am. I did just quit my full-time gig that it, I was so thankful for that job, but it got to the point where it was just Speaker 1 00:20:49 A little overwhelming. We all, we all need the job to keep us here when we first get here. You know? Absolutely. We all, we all need that. Like, like I said, I used to bounce on Broadway, I'd never done security a day in my life. Yeah. <laugh>, I got thrown in the whiskey row and that's incredible. Was confiscating bags of cocaine in the bathroom. Oh, my. Taking fake IDs and breaking up fights and cleaning up drunk girls messes all over the bar and all that, man. But I, and, and, but without that job I wouldn't have made it, I wouldn't have been able to move down here. You know? Absolutely. Just like with you, I mean that, that full, that that big girl job like that was what you needed to move to town, but now your passion's going so well, you're, you're able to go out and do your thing. Speaker 2 00:21:26 Yeah. It's, it's, it's been a great adjustment, you know, to, to realize that there, you know, are opportunities now in what was originally a hobby and a passion for me to create a life. Yeah. Which has been great. But, um, what I'm really thankful for about the job was I was planning to quit at the beginning of 2020 and I had like, got a little serving job set up that I was going, you know, I was gonna work downtown on Second Street or something to kinda like subsidize some income or whatever. Yeah. And this is before my booking deals. I don't really know like why the hell I thought I could quit that job <laugh>. But then Covid hit right about like the week I was gonna quit. Speaker 1 00:22:01 Yeah. Right around St. Patrick's Day. Speaker 2 00:22:03 Yeah. So I was just so thankful that I was able to, to hang onto that job, um, and continue to learn from the guys there. I mean, there are still things I learned from my bosses there about marketing and about just work ethic and Yeah. And so I've, I'm really appreciative for that job and um, you know, just all the, all the things it gave me. Speaker 1 00:22:21 Yeah. No, that, that's awesome. Now you've been able to go out on the road, you've been able to go out lining shows, you've been able to go out opening shows, you've been able to do a little bit of everything where, but some of your favorite places been to or favorite places that you have gone? So Speaker 2 00:22:33 One of them was Joe's on Weed Street. Yes. In Chicago. And that's because Richard Casper, I went with him and the vets that summer to go see a show with Miranda Lambert there. She, her and her band did like a secret after show show there. Speaker 1 00:22:45 Oh, no Speaker 2 00:22:45 Way. And so it was kind of a full circle moment for me. Yeah. Because, you know, we had gone there that summer and um, it was so fun for me to text him and be like, I'll never Casper. I'm playing, I'm going to Joe's on weed. And that was great. I got to open for Ian Mick there. And man, he puts in a great Speaker 1 00:22:58 Show. Another guy that's very authentic, Speaker 2 00:23:00 Very authentic doing his own thing, paving his own road. I mean, and, um, I love his band's outfits were just incredible. They had these like black button ups with his branded BOLO ties on and it just, it absolutely was incredible. Speaker 1 00:23:12 You, you love that Western shirt. Speaker 2 00:23:13 Don't Oh, I love it. I love it. Um, so that was a fun one. I got to play Green Hall, which was great. Yeah. Texas, Speaker 1 00:23:19 That's the, the red dirt, like Texas, that's like a staple venue right there. That's a big deal. Speaker 2 00:23:24 Oh yes. As a Texas girl, that was a, a huge win for me. Um, but I got to open for Bruce Rob Robeson and Kelly Willis. Hell yeah. And you know, they've written some incredible songs. Um, and my, my whole family came down from Dallas. Like we, we had like 30 plus people there, um, in from Dallas, which was just a riot. So there have been some really great ones. And you know, like when you get started, there's also some shows where you play for the bartender. But the truth is, you know, my guitar player, Greg and I, we just have a blast playing and every time we get up on stage, we're just happy to be there doing it truthfully. Yeah. Like, there's nowhere else we'd rather be. Speaker 1 00:24:00 Yeah, absolutely. No, I, you definitely see that. Like, you gotta like, kind of start out and especially when you go to new markets mm-hmm. <affirmative>, which you're a Texas girl, but like you said, you're going to parts of Texas you've never been to or you're going to Oklahoma or you're going up, I'm sure you'll, if you haven't been yet, you'll be going up in the big sky country. Like I could see you doing stuff out there. Yeah. Especially if you're doing dates with Ian and, and just seeing how, seeing where that like your stuff, I think it's gonna be huge out towards those markets. And, but early on when you go out there, you're not, it's tough to sell tickets. Like you can't expect to sell out a show your first time there. Speaker 2 00:24:33 It's, you know, especially for me, I don't have any music out Speaker 1 00:24:36 Yet. Yeah. That's just, that's nothing I wanted to talk about is what's, what's that been like because that's, that's cool to be going out and touring and doing all that, especially without music out. Like folks are gonna know the songs before they come out. Yeah. Because they're listening to 'em Speaker 2 00:24:49 And it's been great, you know, um, I've had, you know, people after shows reach out on social media and be like, hey, like, you know, let me know when the record comes out. I'm, I'm so stoked I can't wait to buy it. And that's, you know, super exciting for me to have some anticipation for it, you know, um, the release. But right now I'm just trying to figure out, um, if what I have is, is the most auth authentic version of, of my work. Um, and how to release it in a way that makes sense. Uh, aligning with the shows and just with where I wanna go from here. So I have the, I have the songs done, I think. Um, so I'm just trying to figure out what it looks like to Speaker 1 00:25:23 Please tell me Dark Par Daisy's one of those. Speaker 2 00:25:25 So I wrote that with Meg after I cut the ep. So that's kinda what I'm thinking too, is I gotta, I gotta maybe reevaluate Speaker 1 00:25:32 Not to, not to add some songs, not to add to your confusion with that, but I love that song. Thank you. There's a lot of appreciate that. And that's the thing too about, cause when did you, when did you start cutting that, that project? Speaker 2 00:25:41 That was at the beginning of this year. Speaker 1 00:25:43 So I was at the beginning of this year. So think about, yeah, that's what's tough. Yeah. And that's something that I've heard from a lot of friends that, that are artists is they'll be like, we got, we got this project set to release, but then we're so excited about the new shit Speaker 2 00:25:55 You did. Oh yeah. I'm sure your whole world changes. Like once you close that chapter, you start writing new stuff, you know, you start expanding your influences, you Speaker 1 00:26:02 Start, but, but if you haven't put that out yet and you're like, do I wanna put out this stuff? Or do I wanna put out this stuff? And that's the position you're in. Yeah. It Speaker 2 00:26:09 Feels far away from who I am now, but you know, it's new to everybody else. They've never heard it. So, um, you know, I'm just working on, on figuring out how to also release effectively. You know, everybody can release music so easily now. Um, that my biggest fear is that it would kind of just get lost in the shuffle. And so trying to strategize around that has been, uh, Speaker 1 00:26:29 And you having that marketing background, you're really thinking about it. It's a good thing, but also kind of occurs cuz then you're like really thinking about this strategy, what about this strategy? How much do I gotta put in this promotion? Should I promote on this? Should I post on this app or this app? Speaker 2 00:26:42 Absolutely. Absolutely. And with no music out, it's, it's harder to understand who your target market is. Yeah. You know, cuz you can't really see the stats of who listens and who shares. Speaker 1 00:26:50 Yep. What originals have been getting like the best crowd response on the road. Speaker 2 00:26:54 Um, people really like over me. Yep. Yep. They love that one. Dark Bar Daisy, all the, all the gals love that. That was a song for the, for the girls who like dive bars. Yeah. Um, and actually I do this, I do two covers in my set and um, those are always, they always go over super fun. One is, um, it's Too Late by Carol King. Hell yeah. And one is the Tracy Chapman tune. I'm drawing a blank on the name now. Gimme one reason. Speaker 1 00:27:19 Okay. Oh hell yeah. Yeah. I could see you crushing that. Cause I, I always see you playing rounds so I never, yeah. I never, I like, I haven't seen a, a Haron show, you know, and like, oh, you gotta Speaker 2 00:27:29 Come Whiskey Jam next week. Speaker 1 00:27:31 Oh fuck yeah, fuck yeah, I'll be there. Which one is it you doing Monday or Thursday? Oh, Speaker 2 00:27:35 Thursday. Thursday. Thursday. Sweet. Yeah. Sweet. I'm pumped. But I think it's kind of cool because, you know, I do a version of country music like we all do probably in Nashville. But when I add those covers to my set, I think it provides some context about where I see the, the songs going. Yeah. And you know, where I see the direction of my music headed, hopefully <laugh>. Um, and it kind of aligns more with that like soul Southern rock kind of thing. Speaker 1 00:27:58 Did you, you grew up listening to a lot of that? Speaker 2 00:28:00 So I was talking to someone yesterday and um, what I think is is funny in hindsight that I didn't really understand was special at the time was my dad listened to a lot of female artists growing up. Really? Which I, which I know now is not super common, especially, you know, for men like dads. Yeah. Um, but I definitely grew up around that type of music and, and just like those voices. So I never thought it was, it was odd, but, um, now I'm forgetting your original question. Speaker 1 00:28:28 Who were like, who, what did you grow up listening to? Oh, what was, yeah. What was, what was a young Harper O'Neal in Dallas, Texas. The east, that area of Texas jamming too. Speaker 2 00:28:38 So, um, obviously the main girls from that time period that like, I mean Carol King is like my all time probably favorite artist. Yeah, yeah. Um, the Dixie Chicks, I mean Susan Didi, I mean like, um, my dad likes Tony Price and Ruthie Foster and it's a Speaker 1 00:28:57 Lot of the older shit. Speaker 2 00:28:58 Yeah. And my mom is kind of like on the other side of that big James Taylor fan, like kind of all the guys from that time. Yeah. She really appreciated. So I got like a good mix. Um, and my dad is funny cuz he says, he says he doesn't like country music. He's like, I don't, I don't, I don't like country music, but he's like Gabe Lee's biggest fan <laugh>. Like when I tell you for Christmas last year, I got him to Gabe Lee records and all he does is spin those two records and he's still like, I hate country music. And I'm just like, what? Like you're the biggest country music fan I've ever heard. Yeah. He just loves it. I think he likes the songwriting, the storytelling, you know, Speaker 1 00:29:34 Type of, he's not, he's not a guy that's gonna crank up the local radio station. Yeah. But he's a guy that if, if he like, he's gonna go and see that style of music. Oh absolutely. The true, the, the deep, deep storytelling style stuff. Speaker 2 00:29:47 Absolutely. And I think too, what I appreciate about my parents growing up is like they loved music. Like they loved listening to it. There was always music on in the house. Speaker 1 00:29:55 Well, I'm interested to hear this one. What was your first concert? Speaker 2 00:29:57 Oh, Aaron Carter in the eighteens. Speaker 1 00:30:00 Hey, there you go. There's the nineties girl right there. Speaker 2 00:30:03 Yeah. There she is. Had to get that poster and everything. Are you Speaker 1 00:30:06 Kidding? How old were you? Speaker 2 00:30:08 Oh gosh. Speaker 1 00:30:09 Had to be really young. If it's an Aaron Carter show. Speaker 2 00:30:11 Yeah. I wanna say like 10 Speaker 1 00:30:13 Because Aaron Carter was the younger one. Nick Carter was the, he was in the backs Streete Boys. He was in the Backstreet Boys. Yeah. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> all them boy bands and shit. Oh Speaker 2 00:30:21 Yeah. I was never a huge one Direction fan, but I am a hairstyles fan now. Speaker 1 00:30:25 Yeah. Cuz what he's doing now. I mean it's, he's like, I I I didn't definitely didn't fuck with One Direction. I worked for a soccer mom radio station in Jersey. So we used to play them all the time. Played a lot of them then followed by like Bruno Mars or T Swift or Bon Jovi, like Oh yeah. That mix station mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And um, but his stuff that he's doing now is freaking cool cause it's, he's getting to be him. Oh yeah. I don't think he's got a label really telling him what to do. They're kind like, fuck it Harry. You do you Speaker 2 00:30:51 It's working whatever it is. Yeah. Keep going. You know? Speaker 1 00:30:54 Yeah. It's kind of like how it kinda reminds you. He is like the next, the latest like British like rocking kind of guy. Totally. Which is what's cool. Yeah. Speaker 2 00:31:02 Big fan. He's actually in town this week. I'm trying to scalp some tickets. Speaker 1 00:31:05 Where's he, is he at Bridgestone? I think he is. I'm I was gonna say he's gotta be a, he's gotta be at Bridgestone. I'm Speaker 2 00:31:09 Sure those tickets are just like astronomical. Speaker 1 00:31:11 Yeah. Tick. Yeah. There's, have you been to, have you been to any shows, like ticketed shows here in Nashville? Speaker 2 00:31:16 Yeah. Well I don't think I've ever bought a ticket. I think somebody always has an extra ticket. Um, yeah, I don't know. I don't know if I've ever bought, Speaker 1 00:31:24 Like have you gone to like the Ryman before for show? Have you gone to like, oh, I guess I did buy Speaker 2 00:31:28 Tickets to the Ryman. Who did I see there? I think I saw Mandolin Orange there. Speaker 1 00:31:33 Oh, nice. Speaker 2 00:31:34 I wanna say it was them because I remember them, um, going no mics and just standing out to this at edge of the stage where like the acoustics are Speaker 1 00:31:42 Great, just singing like third Speaker 2 00:31:43 Church and they ing a whole song just like that. I mean, and you could hear a pin drop <laugh>, it's unbelievable. And I also saw Patty Griffin there. Speaker 1 00:31:50 Oh, sick. Yeah. Speaker 2 00:31:52 I was so bummed. I was actually going with Gabe and some friends and we get there and we miss the opener and I didn't know who the opener was. And so I'm like looking through the, the concert whatever thing that they hand out. It was freaking Lori McKenna. And I was so mad that we were late to that concert because I was just like, what Speaker 1 00:32:10 Are the Speaker 2 00:32:10 Odds? Are you joking? Like, Speaker 1 00:32:11 What are the odds? Speaker 2 00:32:12 The the writer of writers. Yes. You know, and I just had the audacity to show up late and miss the set. Yeah. That's Speaker 1 00:32:19 Unbelievable. Yeah. My first Rman experience was Cody Johnson. And then I've seen, I've done Jason is bull there? Oh my God. I'm too far. You're good. Oh, you're good. You're good. We'll get you, we'll get you some more beer. We'll be hit more than the mic. Oh God. <laugh>. But um, yeah, I saw Kojo at the Ryman, um, with Randall King opening, which that was like an introduction to Texas. Okay. Yeah. For me was seeing those guys and I saw is Bowl, uh, with Oh man. Which that, that was really cool. Um, and then I've seen, I went to that Whiskey Jam thing and then I saw the, the Wallin show right before all of his shit happened. Yeah. Um, which was pretty, pretty crazy. So, man, Speaker 2 00:32:53 So you've seen 'em all? Speaker 1 00:32:54 I've seen quite a few. Yeah. I mean I used to work next to it being on Broadway, which Broadway was Did you go out on Broadway a lot? Like when you first got here or? Speaker 2 00:33:01 I think when I first moved here it was definitely the move. One of my really good friends, uh, his name's Justin Johnson, but his DJ name is Fuss and Font I think. Anyway, he DJs down at the Underground on the roof. Speaker 1 00:33:12 What did Oh, Gavin Degrass bar. Yeah. Hell Speaker 2 00:33:14 Yeah. And so I, he's like now like the main DJ there, if you guys are in town, he should go check it out every weekend he is there, but at the time he was kind of just getting started there. So he would DJ on that like second floor level. Yep. So my friends and I would go because we would just request the songs we wanted to hear, like we knew the dj. There was really no one else in there. So we're like Shania Twain, like play it again <laugh> and uh, so yeah, I think definitely spent more time down there when I first moved here. Now it's like maybe once a year a friend comes to town and they're like, Speaker 1 00:33:42 That's just it for me. Yeah. I only go when when friends come to town. But for me it was like working down there. It's like that was the scene because I hadn't really explored mid, I hadn't taken my ass back to Midtown. Yeah. Yet, you know, or gone over to East East is a place I really gotta start exploring more. Speaker 2 00:33:57 Oh, I love it. I love it over there. I don't live over there. Um, but Speaker 1 00:34:00 I, lake Lakeside. Oh, Lakeside Tavern is a, that's where it's at. That's a cool fucking place. And I thank you guys for bringing me over there that night because after, after, uh, peach Jam or Peach Fest. Speaker 2 00:34:12 Oh yes, we did go. Speaker 1 00:34:14 Yes. Speaker 2 00:34:14 I have Peach Jam. The second Peach Speaker 1 00:34:16 Jam. Yes. Yeah. And you were so right. Yeah. And you, you are the biggest shit talking cool player I have ever met in my life. I knew this was gonna come, come up. Tell you what, I'll tell you what Tyler was telling me about it. I didn't fully believe them. And then we were there. Did you know those guys that you were playing with? No. Those old, they were like old. They were like grown ass like older men. Speaker 2 00:34:35 No, I don't remember this exactly, but I can tell you I definitely didn't know Speaker 1 00:34:40 Them. And you were, and you were and and like you'd miss a shot and just the look on your face. It was like the world was ending Speaker 2 00:34:45 Pool. Pool is one of my favorite hobbies. Like I, I love the game. I love people who love the game and I do become quite a shit Speaker 1 00:34:53 Talker around the table. And you and I mean you love like just the, cuz for me growing up, like we didn't really have that too much in New York, but I've seen that a lot going out on the road. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> people putting the four quarters down on Yes. On the thing they're next or whatever. It's so Speaker 2 00:35:05 Exhilarating. Speaker 1 00:35:06 People get really into it. Speaker 2 00:35:07 Yeah. Well I remember in college there were a couple times like where they um, would make the guys that were playing pick like a girl to play. And so my friend always picked me because I was like an okay player. Yeah. And typically, you know, I don't meet a lot of girls who are, you know, interested even in playing pool. Um, so that's kind of like where I got started playing pool. My dad had a table growing up or whatever. But recently my mom was here. She's a shark. She's a killing player. Like very good and much like me. She plays better when you piss her off a little bit. Yeah. Like once, like once she's just a little angry and man, she ran the table on these guys at Lakeside Lounge. It was a sight, it was a sight to see. It was amazing. Speaker 1 00:35:46 I gotta, I gotta meet mama next time she comes to town. Oh. I feel like me and Mama would've some good times together. I think you would. Speaker 2 00:35:52 Yeah. Speaker 1 00:35:52 I think we Speaker 2 00:35:52 Enjoy it. And then she did a celebratory tequila shot and we were on our way. Speaker 1 00:35:56 Perfect style. How often, how often do the folks come into town? Speaker 2 00:36:00 Um, I think they've been, so it was kind of tricky during, you know, the covid year. Yeah. The heavy covid year. Um, so, and I've only been here about three years now. Speaker 1 00:36:08 Yeah. Same for me. It three October's three is Oh wow. Next month. Three years. You're Speaker 2 00:36:13 For me. Are you gonna celebrate? Speaker 1 00:36:14 I think so. I think we'll, we'll do, we'll we'll figure out something. Okay. You know, we'll have a big, big trailside Delta eight party. There's something. Speaker 2 00:36:20 Oh, there we go. Speaker 1 00:36:21 We'll do something. Speaker 2 00:36:22 You gotta let know we go to Lakeside. Speaker 1 00:36:24 Oh, that's that. That would be the perfect place for it. Speaker 2 00:36:27 I promise not to play any pool that Speaker 1 00:36:28 Day. No, you have to play pool the whole fucking time. You have to play pool. Speaker 2 00:36:31 Pool. I'll bring Speaker 1 00:36:31 My mom then. Yes. And bring your mom. Your mom. Mom is invited for sure. My Speaker 2 00:36:35 Mom is there. My dad's an amazing player too. Uh, but they come through uh, quite a bit. My sister has been a couple times as well. Um, and actually when I first moved here, my first birthday that I had, it was my 25th birthday, which I feel like is like kind of a celebratory, like it's worth celebrating, you know, Speaker 1 00:36:53 25 half, halfway to 50 quarters away. A hundred exactly. Speaker 2 00:36:57 <laugh>. And I didn't really know many people at the time. Um, but I had like nine friends from home <laugh> come and we threw this huge party and it was like Texas themed and they rented the house behind my house at the time it was an Airbnb. And so they all stayed there and it was just like a weekend of just like Texas themed shenanigans. And for like a year after that I'd have people come out to me and be like, oh my God, I had so much fun at your Texas party or whatever. I'm like, I had no, like, I, I didn't know anyone so I didn't know how these people ended up there. I guess like maybe the roommates invited him or something. But it was like a fun bonding thing. As time went on through the first year I was here. Really? Speaker 1 00:37:35 That's awesome. Yeah. The first year here is always like, gets a little blurry. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> definitely gets a little fuzzy cuz you, you experienced Nash Vegas and you got here around the same time I did. You got here 2018 you're saying, right? Yeah. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So it's like, we've even seen this town change a lot in the three years we've been here. Definitely. There's been tall and Skinnys popping up. There's a damn Whole Foods on fucking broad, right? Like it's Speaker 2 00:37:55 Yeah. The Starbucks in East Nashville. Speaker 1 00:37:57 Yeah, there's, they have, they they've that whole fifth and broad thing, like it's not mm-hmm. <affirmative> nonstop. Like just how much this city's grown cuz you're og like, people that have been here for a minute, you know, like Yeah. A guy like Ryan Nelson or somebody like that who's been here for a while. Yeah. And they're like, man, this ain't the town I moved to. But even for us three years later, it's like Oh yeah. Grown tremendously. Speaker 2 00:38:17 Absolutely. It's been, it's been crazy to see. And, um, I don't know. I like this town cause there's something new always happening. Speaker 1 00:38:23 Yeah. I like that too. Speaker 2 00:38:24 I, I I think it's, you know, refreshing. I know, you know, you lose some of the old charm too, which is a, a shame, but, um, there's never a dull moment here, I'll tell you that much. Yeah. You know, I feel like every time I even leave for a couple shows or a weekend or whatever and I come back, I'm like, I feel like I missed out on so much. Yeah. Everybody's got new shit going on. Speaker 1 00:38:41 Yeah. And it's kind of like high school or college where definitely more like college where you go home for the holidays and like the whole town leaves. Yeah. Because everybody's from somewhere else. Yep. And like you said, like you miss that The fomo. Speaker 2 00:38:54 Fomo. Oh, it's so real. Speaker 1 00:38:55 It's very real. Have you gotten over it yet fully because I'm still working on getting over it. Totally. I've gotten better now than I, cause I'm tired from being on the road, then I'm like, I don't have to go out on a Monday. I don't have to go out on a Tuesday. Then there's other nights like, I want to go out. I gotta go out. Speaker 2 00:39:09 I, I have fomo, but I also, I'm kind of an indoor cat. Like I, I have <laugh> Speaker 1 00:39:16 Indoor cat. That's a great analogy right there. Speaker 2 00:39:19 I have to kind of like convince myself to go out and, and do some things and see some shows and stuff. And every time I do, I have a great time. I mean like, I meet someone new or I see a wonderful show or something, but it always takes a little, a little bit to get me outta the house. So that's something I'm working on too. Yeah. Speaker 1 00:39:36 Yeah. Where, where all in town have you lived? Have you been in the same spot since you first got here? So I've been, have you bounced around a Speaker 2 00:39:41 Little bit? Been over in Charlotte Park. Um, when I first moved here and then I moved down to Germantown for the covid year and now I'm back in the nations. Nice. Kind of all on this side Speaker 1 00:39:50 Of town. That west on that, that west side. Yeah. But you but East Nashville's like a hangout spot for a lot of, for you get for you and the crew and Speaker 2 00:39:58 Like Yeah. Oh, I love it over there. I really do. There's just so many like cool dive bars and holes in the Speaker 1 00:40:03 Wall and it's kind of nice because it's not Broadway because Midtowns starting to get really busy. Yeah. Especially on the weekends. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> like, which doesn't really affect if you're going out on the road the weekends, it doesn't really matter. Right. So you can kind of go wherever during the week. But it's like East Nashville still has its East Nashville. I agree. NIST to it. If that's the best way to Speaker 2 00:40:22 Spend. There's there's more pool tables over there Speaker 1 00:40:24 I have to say. Oh, there's plenty more. Plenty more pool tables. The drinks could be a little bit cheaper. You got friends over there? Oh absolutely. You got, you got Dukes. You got, oh, where's, where are some of your favorite late night munchy spots? Cause I know, oh I know you're out with the crew. Y'all are, Dino's Speaker 2 00:40:39 Is a good one. Speaker 1 00:40:40 Dino's. Yeah. I, Speaker 2 00:40:42 I'm trying to think there. What's, what's your, there's not a lot of late night food Speaker 1 00:40:45 Places. What, what's your red door order? Cuz I've learned that Meg McCree and Ben Chapman love red door potato salad. What's your red door order? Speaker 2 00:40:52 My old red door order used to be a pack of Marlboro Lights from that syndrome. Speaker 1 00:40:57 Hey, that's mine too. I have Speaker 2 00:40:58 Since quit. Speaker 1 00:40:59 Hey, good girl. Good girl. Speaker 2 00:41:00 Yeah. So I don't go back to red door much because you know, everyone's smoking outside. Speaker 1 00:41:05 I'm guilty. I'm Speaker 2 00:41:06 Sorry. <laugh>. No, I I miss it. I miss it. But, um, no, I think, don't they have a, their nachos are pretty Speaker 1 00:41:12 Good there. Yeah. They have nachos. They have like deli sandwiches, but they're not like, oh yeah, they do. They're like the the ultimate dive bar deli sandwiches. Right. Go back like it's Yeah. But they take for, and I think part of their strategy mm-hmm. <affirmative> and, and it could be, it could be conspiracy theorist Matt coming out here. Okay, let's hear it. But I think that they take extra long to serve you drinks and serve Ohm. I think I wanna take Serve Your food just to keep you in there because everybody goes in there and the way the, the red lights are and then they turn orange and then they turn yellow by and Speaker 2 00:41:42 Then everyone, you know, shows up and you're just Yeah. Speaker 1 00:41:44 Yeah. It's red door. Just sucks you in. It Speaker 2 00:41:46 Really does. It just sucks Speaker 1 00:41:47 You in Speaker 2 00:41:47 Warp. Speaker 1 00:41:47 Yeah, it is done more. Uh, which one do you like better? The one midtown than the one in East? I've never been to the one in East. Speaker 2 00:41:53 They're just different. They're both great. No. Yeah. Speaker 1 00:41:56 Just different crowds. Yeah. Speaker 2 00:41:57 Just different, you know, atmosphere. But they're both great. Yeah. Yeah. Speaker 1 00:42:02 Yeah. I see. Uh, I I, if I quit the Marlboro Light Habit that I've got, I don't know if I go to Red, I don't know if I can go out cause I don't drink anymore. Yeah. It's like I got like the, the SIGs man I got, I got this shit. This ain't good for you either. Old Copenhagen. Yeah. Ring ride there. But, um, what have some of your favorite bars been to like, go to like, what was like, what was like the first bar we were like, this is the bar I wanna, this is my hangout spot, Speaker 2 00:42:26 Man. Oh. So I, I used to love Beyond the Edge, which they've just now reopened. But that's a, where's that, it's a bar in where, like Five Points East area. Um, and we used to go there all the time when I first moved here, but then unfortunately got hit by the tornado. So it took some time to come back, but they're now like reopened. So Speaker 1 00:42:42 Were you shout out, were you, were you in Germantown when the tornado came through? Speaker 2 00:42:46 Yeah, I was, well I had just, we had just signed a lease there at one of the apartment buildings that the roof got ripped off of. So we had to go quickly find another, another lease downtown. Geez. I know, luckily, you know, for us, we hadn't moved in yet because, I mean, that destruction was unbelievable. Um, but yeah, so we, we were down there just I think in March. I guess that would've been, yeah, the to Speaker 1 00:43:07 2020 tornado hit like two weeks before the world shut down. Yeah. Speaker 2 00:43:11 Oh no. It all came at once and I was just like, okay, Speaker 1 00:43:13 What is happening? 20 20, 20 just kicked our ass real quick. It Speaker 2 00:43:17 Really did. It just felt like an alternate universe almost. But yeah. Um, yeah, so I lived down at Peyton Stakes, um, in Germantown for about a year. Nice. Yeah, it was cool though. They had like a rehearsal room in the apartment complex Speaker 1 00:43:28 That's, that's badass. That's Yeah. With Speaker 2 00:43:29 Like equipment like set up in there. Speaker 1 00:43:31 That's a nice little perk. It was a great pair who need, who needs sound check when you can go, you can go downstairs to the rehearsal. The common area of rehearsal space. And Speaker 2 00:43:39 It was great for writing cuz like, you know, an apartment, I've, I've been in apartments noise complaint wise where it's just not easy to, to create music. Yeah. So I had a lot of rights down there. I mean, Zach Logan, I remember and I wrote a bunch of songs down there, um, Meg, who I write almost like all my songs with, um, Gabe, that's where we tried to go Whiskey for whiskey and I failed miserably. Speaker 1 00:44:02 What, what brand was it? Speaker 2 00:44:04 I don't know. Speaker 1 00:44:05 <laugh> just like whatever Speaker 2 00:44:06 He's Speaker 1 00:44:07 Drinking, whatever, whatever. Gabe. Speaker 2 00:44:08 Me. I didn't bring my own <laugh>. Speaker 1 00:44:12 Are you more of a more, do you prefer writing in the morning and the afternoon or the night? Speaker 2 00:44:17 Um, Speaker 1 00:44:17 Cause I know vibes are a big thing and vibes big thing. Sometimes you're vibe either at night and other times you wake up and you're like, I'm feeling this. Speaker 2 00:44:24 I would say either really early in the morning or really late at night, Speaker 1 00:44:27 What's the latest you've ever written? Latest that night? You've ever written a song you had had, have you written a song and then like, the Sun's come up before? Speaker 2 00:44:34 Mm, maybe. No, probably not. Probably not. No, I don't think so. But Colin and I have a late night right this week, so I'll let you know how long the right to Speaker 1 00:44:43 Oh, that, that, that, that could go off in a lot of different directions with you and Colin in a, in a room. There's, there's, knowing both of you guys, you guys are both, both such fun, like fun people and, and Speaker 2 00:44:52 He's such a deep thinker. Yes. And, and we really get into like, you know, the intricacies of the songs. So I really enjoy writing with him as well. I mean, you know, these rings, you know that song? Yes. Yeah. He and I got that one together and a couple other ones. Um, but he's a great collaborator. Hell Speaker 1 00:45:07 Yeah. Yeah. So, so that's awesome. So, so you've got the music cut. It's not, not quite out yet. You're out on the road busting your ass. Yes sir. Sir, you're, you're killing it here in town. Had a good Americana fest doing your damn thing. Um, a song that's one of my favorites and it's technically you're a feature on it, but to me it's a staple. Your bar now. Oh yeah. Is just, I mean, me and me and Nikki t from Raise Rowdy always joke. Like, when we're at Live Oak, we're like, we gotta take our a we're taking our asses back to Midtown. And we're, yeah. I love that. Like, it's, it's lingo like, and I know we're not the only two people that say stuff like that because there's, that's song just, it's something that living in town or living anywhere people can just relate to and, and the words and it, it's so freaking catchy and thank you. The way you guys harmonize, it's honestly one of my favorites. Like, thank you. I appreciate that. It's, it's a staple. Like whenever I, whenever I see Har Brono, I see Tyler, Tyler Halverson out there at around him like, I want to hear this freaking Speaker 2 00:45:58 Song. Where is your Bruno? So that's like a cool example of what I was talking about earlier, of just taking, letting songs take the time that they need to finish. Because that was a song that Colin and him had started, uh, just the two of them. And I think they had like verse the first verse and part of the chorus and then Colin said, you know, this kind of feels like a duet. I think you should call Harper. And so I was just over at Tyler's one day and you know, he played it, I'm like, we have to finish this song. Yeah. And then I kind of wrote my verse and like, we figured out the harmonies and the rest of the chorus. But, um, it's just a great example of like, that song probably wouldn't be what it was if, um, Colin didn't really have the foresight to be like, you know what, I feel like, you know, we need another, we need another person on this. Yeah. So that's such a, that's a great example of just like letting the song take time to, to become what Speaker 1 00:46:43 It should be. Yeah. And, and for it to have a guy's perspective and a girl's perspective to tell that. So that's the perfect kind of duet right there. Yeah. When you hear, when you really hear both perspectives Speaker 2 00:46:52 Sides of, of the same story. Yeah. Speaker 1 00:46:54 Sides of the same story. And, and it's, it's, it's awesome. And I always enjoy saying the Nicky Tea Yeah. To take her ass back Speaker 2 00:47:01 Our asses back, Speaker 1 00:47:01 Back to Midtown. I love it. Go get lost in the red door hole. Speaker 2 00:47:04 Yes, exactly. Speaker 1 00:47:06 Hell yeah. Hell yeah. So, so it's been, so it's been three years that you've been here. What would you tell besides move here earlier, what would you tell your younger self? Speaker 2 00:47:15 Hmm. Speaker 1 00:47:16 Or first move to town? Speaker 2 00:47:20 Man, I think I would probably say, um, to take your art more seriously sooner. And that just because you're creating, creating it or you're creating it by yourself or you know, you're just getting started, it doesn't mean that it doesn't hold value, you know? So that's something I wish I would've done sooner has been like, man, you really, you know, have a different way to do this and, and a unique style and, um, it's valid. And I wish maybe that that was probably one thing. And then my other thing probably would've been to, uh, practice guitar more seriously sooner, you know? And, and really learn how to accompany yourself, um, from a young age. I think that that's a huge advantage when you can move here Yeah. And really play. So I think probably those two things. Speaker 1 00:48:03 Yeah. How old were you when you wrote your first song? Speaker 2 00:48:07 Oh man, I hope nobody has that <laugh>. I think probably 13, Speaker 1 00:48:13 14. Okay. Okay. So you've been doing the writing, it wasn't just like, like you've been doing the, the like at least jotting things down and you book Oh, absolutely. I was T Swift style doing your thing. Speaker 2 00:48:23 Yeah, yeah. Teen, absolutely. Um, from Yeah, absolutely. Speaker 1 00:48:28 Hell yeah. Oh, that's, that's always, that's always good to, always, always good to like figure out when, cuz some folks start later. Yeah. Some folks start when they're really young. But I feel like a lot, most people start in that, that 13, 14, 15 range. Speaker 2 00:48:40 I think it's at when you're, when you're starting to grow up and you have a lot of emotions and a lot of, uh, feelings and you don't really know quite what to do with them. Um, it's just a great avenue. It's like a therapeutic thing. Yeah. You know? So I think that's probably how it starts for a lot of us is just connection and, and feeling seen and understood. But now I'm thinking about it and you asked earlier how we all got to know each other and actually kind of how we got, I knew Meg one time we were playing this round, it was like two months maybe after I had moved here. And that girl just walked up to me and was like, let's write, let's be friends. Like let's go. And we got together like the next day and wrote still what I considered to be a really great song. And then I feel like the whole thing kind of just went off from there. Like, I'm just so thankful that she just was like, Hey, what's up? You wanna be friends? Like yeah. That's something in this town that I think is hard to do authentically, you know what I mean? Yeah. Speaker 1 00:49:31 Because you, you have the people that just kind of hit you with the we should write sometimes, Speaker 2 00:49:35 Which get together, man. Like Yeah, Speaker 1 00:49:37 Yeah, yeah. I love, I love Speaker 2 00:49:38 And I'm sure I'm guilty of that too. Yeah. Like it's just, it's, I'm, I know I am, it's just part of the language and, and, and I think that speaks to the authenticity of the group, but I don't know why I just thought of that, but had to, how to throw it in Speaker 1 00:49:49 The No, because that's cool because like I know that Meg and Tyler had their internship together Yeah. And then that all kind of got connected and like Ben was coming up from Georgia and couch crashing with, I met X, Y, Z with whoever at that point. Speaker 2 00:50:00 Yeah. I met Ben, he was like hosting revival for the first night or something and I just remember standing next to him and I was like, Hey man, haven't met you yet. He's just like, Hey, I'm Ben. Like, it just, I just vividly kind of remember meeting them all, but I don't really remember when we all kind of became friends, you know? Speaker 1 00:50:15 Yeah. And then dur like you said, during Covid, it's like everybody's got more time on their hands. Oh yeah. That's when people are like, Hey, you wanna come over, hang out on a Friday night since we, since we're not out gig. Speaker 2 00:50:25 Yeah. Got right with Nate Frederick a lot during that time too. Speaker 1 00:50:27 What's, what's writing with Nate Frederick? Like, Speaker 2 00:50:30 Dude, Nate's one of my favorite collaborators as well. I think he approaches it from a totally different mindset that I really enjoy. So one of my favorites we got together is the song Landmine. Yep. Um, and the premise is like, you know, when you're dancing on landmine, shit's gonna blow up. You know, when you know it's not gonna work, there's a point at which you'll figure out it won't work. Yeah. And I remember it was our first right together and I went over to that old house he used to live in, kind of in the, um, Berry Hill area. And I'd never met him before. And we sat in almost silence for like two and a half hours while he kind of just thought about it. And then we wrote the song in like 30 minutes because he just, he likes to fully understand the topic and like fully, you know, let his mind go all the way Yeah. To the end of it. And then he'll kind of just throw things out. I remember he threw out the first line of that song is reminiscing or am I missing you? And I was just like, where the hell did that cover? And that's so cool. Like, you know, when I thought I'm sitting there for two hours, I'm like, okay. Does, does he hate the idea? Like does he, you know, whatever, but he's just, you know, processing it in his own way. So I really enjoy collaborating with him. Speaker 1 00:51:34 Yeah. That's something I don't exper I'm not a songwriter. I got no musical bone in my body. Thank God I can talk and I'm, I'm a decent enough hate with, I doubt that. No, I don't now and I'm okay with that. Yeah. Because I got so many friends that have, their whole body is musical bones. Yeah, absolutely. But, but that is that like those, that first time writing with somebody mm-hmm. <affirmative> is that, is that a tough thing to do? Like, you meet somebody at the bar, you don't really know them and they're like, we should get, we should write. Especially when you first move to town, you're really kind of taking any opportunity you can get cuz you don't have your Oh yeah. You don't have your circle yet. Yeah. So that's gotta be a weird, an interesting thing, especially as a girl too. Writing with writing with guys. Like does that ever, has that ever been like a weird thing? Speaker 2 00:52:13 Yes, absolutely. So I think, you know, any, any right you have with anybody, the question is, you know, how vulnerable you're gonna be willing, how vulnerable you'll willing you're willing to be. Yeah. I can't get my Speaker 1 00:52:27 Words out. Words are hard. Speaker 2 00:52:28 Yeah. Words are hard. I'm a great songwriter. I'm just kidding. <laugh>, how vulnerable you're willing to be kind of affects the whole. Right. So if you're not willing to share your idea, that might be stupid. You're probably not gonna get a good song because when you share your maybe silly idea, you might, you know, charge them to think about something that they hadn't thought about. And then you go from there. So whether they're a new, new co-writer, a writer, you always have, the question for me is like, how open am I gonna be with this person today to share, you know, any idea that comes to my head. Speaker 1 00:52:56 Which is why now life has become you have your, your folks you like to write with. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. I'm, you don't turn down an opportunity to write with someone, write with someone else. Like, you're not just like close-minded with that, but like you have, you have your folks that you're like, these folks get me. Totally. I know, I know, I know a lot about Meg. Meg knows a lot about me. Speaker 2 00:53:14 Well, I was gonna say, Meg's another great example is just like, we're such good friends and she understands me on that level that like we, when we write together, it's so funny because we'll either one of us will say something and the other will just be like, no, that's stupid. And we're like, yeah, no, that's stupid. But it, there's that open level of communication where we're not worried about hurting each other's feelings or like, Speaker 1 00:53:32 You can be honest, Speaker 2 00:53:33 We're just trying to write a good song. Yeah. You know, and whatever it takes to get there is what we're gonna do. You know, we usually like once a month or so, just like have a night and like block it off and just like, get drunk and write three or four songs and then like, meet up like a month later, Speaker 1 00:53:46 Write three or four songs in a night. Speaker 2 00:53:48 Oh, we've done, oh yeah, we've done that plenty many times. Yeah. Speaker 1 00:53:51 How long, how long does that, what's, so you block off at night, what is that like seven to midnight, seven to whenever and then go to go to Lakeside? Yeah, Speaker 2 00:53:57 Absolutely. We'll go get a beer, get lunch, like sit on the back patio and just like Speaker 1 00:54:01 I've, I've heard the back patio. Oh yeah. It's like has been a spot for so many songs. Yeah. Speaker 2 00:54:06 Oh yeah. No, but she's, uh, you know, we've always been able to kind of have that, that co-writing connection. But as far as, um, you know, writing with guys and with girls, there definitely is like a difference of, um, what I feel like my role is in the room when it comes to those things. I don't know whether that's right or wrong, it's just kind of sometimes the way it shakes out to be. Um, but I've had a couple times, I, I found this to be the case more with some guys and I've joked about it with, you know, girlfriends of mine. But, um, sometimes you have to convince them it was their idea for them Yes. To kinda of get on board. Geez. Um, and that's not to say you know, anything about the quality of man or the quality of writer. Yeah. It's just sometimes, you know, I always say that girls kind of start at zero and have to prove themselves and guys kind of start at a hundred and have to Yeah. You know, they can only lose Speaker 1 00:54:54 Ego. Speaker 2 00:54:55 Yeah. There's, there's something there. And uh, you know, luckily I've been able to surround myself with men who are just like so collaborative and they appreciate just good work and it doesn't really matter, you know, where it comes from. So, you know, I've never really had that problem with like, my crew and, and Speaker 1 00:55:10 Those guys. Do you, do you ever have a right early on where it ended up being that it was like, it was with a, with a dude or with a girl and it was like that, like the very like cliche like bro country style or something like that. Like that's the direction it was going and you're like, this isn't me. Have you had those notes before? Well, Speaker 2 00:55:26 I think, I think maybe, but you know, something that I talk about a lot with my friends is, you know, you need to just write what's in the room. Okay. So I've never felt like I was, you know, better than a song that we were writing. Sometimes I felt ill-equipped to write the song. Speaker 1 00:55:41 That's what, that's more what I'm getting at. Absolutely. Speaker 2 00:55:43 Yeah. Yeah. I've definitely been like, oh man, I don't, I don't know how much value I'm gonna bring to this, but, you know, if that's the song that's in the room, you know, the the best thing you can do is write that song, you know? Yeah. That's just what I've, you know, tried to learn and tried to, and, and truthfully there's something to learn from everybody that you come across in a write. Like there's something that they do better than you. There is, there Speaker 1 00:56:05 Just, is there, yeah. Is there, is there value to being that that youngest writer in the room? Have you had, have you had that moment before where you've written with someone and you're like, and you're, you're just kind of soaking it up and learning? Have you Speaker 2 00:56:16 Had a hundred percent? I've had a few rights I can remember where I just, I felt like I got my ass handed to me. Like I was like, maybe I said two words in there, but that's part of it, you know, the part of it is being the worst, most inexperienced one in the room. Speaker 1 00:56:30 Learning and learning. You're, yeah. You're learning so much, especially early on. Speaker 2 00:56:33 Absolutely. And like you, you know, individually what you struggle with and like when you come across somebody that's so good at what you struggle at, like, it, it is a very intimidating process to like overcome. Like it's, it's, it's wild. But I mean, you know, the only way to do it is to go through it and to sit in those rooms. Speaker 1 00:56:51 It's like, it's like jumping off the hot of at the town pool. Only way to do it. Just, just fucking do it, you know? Yeah, absolutely. That's, that's how it goes. So you got Whiskey Jam coming up cuz this is dropping, we're recording this on Wednesday, dropping on Monday. So Whiskey Jam on Thursday. Yeah. You got any, got any other tour dates coming up? You got anything you wanna plug? Speaker 2 00:57:07 I'm really excited about Josh Abbott Fest. Hell yeah. He has been such a wonderful champion of me. I mean, he saw me playing it revival one night, picked me outta the crowd and like, has just supported me so seriously. Speaker 1 00:57:18 Texas all the way, man Texas. All the way Texas forever right there. Speaker 2 00:57:22 And that was, uh, you know, green Hall and getting to meet Josh Abbott where two of my like Texas accomplishments so far. Yeah. So super excited about Josh Abbott Fest. And then, um, in November I'm going on the road with, uh, ward Davis for a couple dates. Speaker 1 00:57:34 Oh hell Speaker 2 00:57:34 Yeah. Yeah. We're going, uh, northeast kind of up there and, Speaker 1 00:57:38 Um, northeast, like where Speaker 2 00:57:39 New York, DC Speaker 1 00:57:40 Have you, have you been up there before? Speaker 2 00:57:42 Uh, not for music, but I've, okay. I've traveled up there before. Okay. So, but I'm really excited to get out Speaker 1 00:57:46 There. There. I was gonna say, you, you go to New York, let me know if you need any recommendations. That's my neck of the woods. We'll, we'll get you, we'll get you to the best dollar slice of pizza you've ever had. You know, they got 'em on every corner. Yes, Speaker 2 00:57:56 Absolutely. Um, and you know, ward has been so wonderful. I was able to do some B GVS for him recently on his new project coming out and, um, he's been super supportive and, um, so I'm excited about that too. So Yeah. Much to look forward to this year. Hell Speaker 1 00:58:10 Yeah. That's awesome. That's, I'm, I'm proud of you. I'm, it's great, great, great to see, great to see friends killing it, you know? Yeah. That's what it's all about. And it's really cool to see yourself, see that whole crew, the fam jam, like after a couple beers, the Jam Fam see the Jam fan absolute out, out there crushing everybody going out on the road doing what they love. And, uh, I think I speak for everybody when I say doesn't matter what song it is, but when you put that first single out, we were all gonna stream and buy and love the shit out of it and cannot wait. Well, thank you so much. Would you, you be cool playing, playing a song for us? Absolutely. To wrap this on up. Uh, which one you wanna play? Speaker 2 00:58:44 I don't know. What do you wanna hear? I Speaker 1 00:58:46 Mean, dark Part Daisies. Speaker 2 00:58:47 All right. That's You Speaker 1 00:58:48 Got it. That's, that's my favorite. Well, well Har grabs that guitar. Make sure you guys follow our girl Harper O'Neal on all the socials. Harper O'Neal music, right? Speaker 2 00:58:55 Harper O'Neal music. Yeah. Yep. Original. <laugh> Speaker 1 00:58:58 Original. And then are you on, you're on the ticks of Speaker 2 00:59:00 Ts on the TikTok Yep. Harper O'Neal music. Yep. Speaker 1 00:59:03 I want, you should do some pool content on uh, Speaker 2 00:59:05 Oh man. Speaker 1 00:59:06 That's, that'd be hilarious. That'd be hilarious. That'd be hilarious. But make sure you follow our girl Harper O'Neal on all the socials. Um, check and see if she's gonna be coming to your town. She's about to hit the road with some folks. And, um, and yeah, be on the lookout for new music debut music coming from our, our girl Harper O'Neill. And, um, but while she's getting the guitar, um, quick shout out to the sponsors, whale Tail Media. Make sure you check out our boy Whale Saxon Studios. A great studio here in town are proud partners in this. And of course, last, but certainly not least, our friends in the Green World from Trailside Woo CBD Emporium. They've got a brand new product. Um, they're making their own disposable pens now, and they, they, they viewed it around last night and they were a huge hit. They brought like 30 units. They were all gone by the first hour, so people are really liking them. So go on, check them out. Trailside cbd.com promo code itr at checkout. 20% off your order now. We're gonna let our girl Harper O'Neill take it away. This is Dark Bar Daisy. Y'all have been listening to the In the Round podcast. Speaker 3 01:00:15 There's nothing new under the sun, so you can, on the patio, happy Flowers. That's Speaker 0 01:02:09 Where Speaker 3 01:02:10 The, that's there's nothing new under the sun. So closer to closing time.