May 19, 2024 • 44 mins
Join us for the second episode of Backstory Sessions' 12th season where we discuss the launch of the new website, BackstorySessions.com as well as future plans for it. Listen to some interesting tales about our recent animal encounters too!
Our awesome guest this week, singer/songwriter Paige King Johnson, shares the story of her journey from growing up in a small town and moving to Nashville to follow her dreams. Find out what made her put aside living in Nashville full time, and how she manages her writing, recording, and busy touring schedule. From the gift of her first guitar, the recent release of her latest single, "Somebody's Gotta Do It", Paige has an inspiring story you won't want to miss. Find out what her and Cat have in common in the business world, and what led to Paige starting that venture. She also shares her thoughts on co-writing and working with and opening for lots of mainstream artists.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Music.
(00:15):
Hey everybody, it's Kat, and I want to welcome you to this episode of Backstory Sessions.
I'm joined today by my co-host, Matt.
Hey, Matt. Hey, Kat. Hey, everyone. How are you?
Well, here we are. And now we know this is Season 12, Episode 2.
Indeed we do, yes. Season 12.
(00:38):
And you know, how do we know it? Like, some from memory, which is great for us.
But also from the website. Yes, that's true. It is on the website now.
So as you all may recall, we were talking about getting the BackstorySessions.com
(01:00):
website up and running, and it currently is.
So, you know, go check it out.
You know, there's not a whole lot there yet, But we will, you know,
you can listen to the latest episode and there's links to,
I guess, all the different places where the podcast is.
(01:26):
And what else is there? About us.
Yeah. Yeah. We got to add a little bit more to that. Yeah.
But, you know, I mean, the main thing is just to, like, bookmark that and know
that you can always go there to listen to the episode, the latest one.
(01:47):
And, you know, very soon you'll be able to listen to more of them.
But also, you know, that is a common question we get about, you know,
are you on this? Are you on Spotify?
Are you on Pandora? Whatever. ever so going
to the website is one easy way to make sure you don't miss the episode because
(02:10):
you can just listen right there or you know you can click on the links that
will take you to apple or spotify or you know whatever so i think that's going
to be really helpful for listeners
yep definitely we will have uh you can contact us there if you like,
(02:32):
yeah i got some of the nice emails this time yeah just don't make them too long,
we do not like massive emails they
actually come
to me so it doesn't matter you can write as much
as you want yeah well i'm sure you'll share the good ones with me yeah well
(02:56):
i'll send you other complaints for sure yes yes nothing has changed in 12 seasons
no no i mean why change a good thing right.
Yeah, exactly what I was thinking.
Well, I'm excited. I mean, I know a lot of work has gone into the website and
(03:19):
we've been talking about it for a while.
And it's really good to see another, you know, another milestone for Backstory
Sessions be like checked off.
Yeah one of these days we gotta decide on
t-shirt designs and you know get that
up on the website that's probably coming soon yeah t-shirts and other items
(03:45):
you know yes yes i'm not quite sure what else yet but uh we do have a few things
that we've been talking about well i think it's cool to have some merch for the,
you know, if you like your favorite podcast, you can just like.
Yeah, for sure. And then we're going to add some stuff as we,
(04:08):
you know, as the site develops more, there'll be a little bit more stuff added.
I have a few ideas for different things and just got to get it all programmed
in, which, you know, it takes a little bit. but finding the time to do it is the main thing.
Well, I think people will be pleased. It looks very nice. So great job there.
(04:31):
And, you know, also just being able to go and listen to the episode.
I think that's really very important.
So. Yep, for sure.
Yeah. And, you know, a little bit about us is all right, too.
If you've ever wondered, like, you know, where did these people come from? Yeah.
(04:55):
Yeah. Yeah, well, I'm sure, you know, that was one of the things that I was talking about.
Right now, it's just a couple lines each about us.
We'll have to add more as time goes on.
Yeah, photos we may or may not like, but... Yeah, yeah.
Flipholders, we'll just call it that. Yeah, I actually just hate having my picture taken.
(05:20):
So, I mean, that's one of the reasons why I don't want to put a lot of photos
there. And I just love taking it. So there you go.
I mean, you know, that's how I balance out right there.
Yeah, you probably have more pictures of me than I've taken of myself in the last 20 years.
Yeah, I would say so. You know, I try not to miss an opportunity to get one.
(05:46):
Yeah, there are some good ones.
Yeah, for sure. you know
it'll be like how funerals one
day oh yeah great i'll
be like i can make the whole i'll volunteer and
be like i will do the whole memorial video it's pretty morbid thought but thanks
(06:08):
i guess yeah well you know i'll put all the good ones there so no worries you
see like oh i loved this one where he was like yeah.
But, yeah, I mean, I'm so happy that the website is up and running.
I'm so happy we're in season 12.
(06:31):
And, you know, we have a really good guest today. And that's always exciting, too.
This is a really good season. And, you know, Cammie we had last week and continuing with the females.
Yay. Because, you know, a lot of seasons it's been male dominated.
So it's really nice to get to, you know, kick it off with some male guests.
(06:57):
You're responsible for finding the guests. So I think, is this a concerted effort
by you to make this season all females?
It is not. But, you know, it's nice with cards like, you know,
deal you bad hand where that you can.
I mean, just sometimes it's just a luck of the way it falls.
(07:20):
And some seasons have been a little bit, you know, more evenly mixed than others.
But you just kind of have to go with who's available and, you know,
who's doing what that they, you know, are wanting to talk about.
So, a lot of times early on, that was the males.
(07:41):
And, you know, of course, I do not mind interviewing them.
But, you know, saying that it is not.
I think our next interview after this one is actually a guy.
Yeah, yeah. So, you know, there will be a mix.
This will not be an all-female season. But, you know, I do think that we'll
(08:07):
have, like, more closer split.
So it'll be a little bit more balanced, which we could probably always use.
Yeah. You know, we're a little bit unbalanced at times. Like when we didn't
know. What season it was.
Yeah. Yeah, like that. Yeah.
(08:29):
But she, you know, she's a singer-songwriter. So, you know, we,
like, it's nice to get writers because we love them, of course.
And so songwriters are, it's really cool when we get the people that also,
besides singing and playing, that they also write their own stuff.
(08:51):
So she's one of those. And actually, you know, her single just dropped like a couple of days ago.
So you can go on the Facebook page into our Backstory Sessions group and read all about that.
And, you know, even about Paige, because we promote all the week leading up
(09:15):
to the release of this episode. Yep.
It'll be interesting to find out her story. story
well you know i've been noticing that
there's a lot of wildlife stories to tell
yeah yeah you
know just today we have had like a back and forth of quite a few little interesting
(09:41):
things happening yeah so i have a there's like a big tree stump out in my backyard
that But they cut down a tree.
It must have been quite a while ago because it's pretty rotted.
And, you know, things have started digging in there every now and then, looking for whatever.
(10:03):
And apparently the local woodpeckers have taken a liking to this old stump looking for bugs.
And they've actually drilled a hole in the side of it. But it's probably about,
I would say, six inches in diameter.
And it goes in probably, I don't know, 18 inches or so.
(10:25):
Yeah, I mean, it really would look like the Grand Canyon or something of,
you know, like, it's amazing to me how, just like how a woodpecker.
I mean, I guess there's more than one of them. I don't know.
But, like, how they could do that.
Yeah, I've seen actually two of them. I don't know, you know,
(10:46):
how many at a time, but I've seen one digging in there a little bit.
Obviously, he flew away when I opened the back door.
But I know there are two of them because I've seen them flying around.
Yes, and tell about what they look like because that is so cute.
Yeah, they're a sort of dark gray body and they have like red mohawk and some
(11:11):
sort of white stripe or something on them.
So, I don't know, they're, like, you know, like, pretty prevalent in this area.
Well, you know, like Mohawk Mike. Yeah, Woody Woodpecker.
Yeah, exactly. So, I mean, I don't have, I've only seen like a woodpecker from
(11:32):
a distance, like more or less hearing the noise that they make,
you know, and not really seeing them that up close.
But, you know, I've had my own little wildlife stories today.
Day like i just saw a baby
opossum oh i mean
(11:54):
i think he's a baby because he's like really pretty
small yeah he definitely is and
and the ones i've seen you know the other ones i've
seen look like huge rats you know
like really big yeah with long tail pointy nose
yes yes so he's still
(12:14):
in the cute stage you know and he just like come
creeping up the hill and i
don't know he's just adorable but i hope
he's not lost from his family you know but and i don't really like know what
to do so i just hope he's okay but earlier even before him i saw an unidentified
(12:39):
creature so i I don't really know what he was.
I thought, so there were three of whatever they are.
I thought maybe they were groundhogs, but, you know, then again, I don't really know.
Yeah, I mean, you sent me the picture, and they don't look like groundhogs to me.
Yeah, so, you know, really, if you're not a squirrel or an opossum or a raccoon
(13:03):
or a groundhog, I really don't know about you.
So you know so I just call them groundhogs because I don't really know what
they were right yeah it's not a not a rabbit no not a rabbit um so you know I mean.
It's just fascinating, like, the things that are around us that we had no idea about.
(13:28):
Yeah, we have a lot of deer up here and coyotes, apparently.
And I think there's some fox and things like that roaming around.
Oh, well, I think there are coyote here, too.
My son tells me that. But I don't know. And I've never seen one up close or
(13:48):
actually, I've never seen one here yet.
Yeah. Well, I mean, maybe they'll come and, you know, take up residence in the
mine up there behind your house.
Yeah. Well, I'm, you know, I'm told that one day that's going to explode and
the raccoons and all that that live in it are going to go flying through the air.
(14:14):
Yeah. Yeah, that'll be an interesting day, I'm sure.
Yes, yes, I do hope that I'm able to capture that on video to send you.
Yeah, do you have any, like, has there been any, like, estimation as far as when this might happen?
Well, I mean, the person that was saying it led me to believe it would be already,
(14:38):
you know, have happened.
So I guess it could happen any day now.
Well, there's that to look forward to. Yeah, I can.
Hard to top that. If we don't hear from Kat next week, we'll know what happened.
(15:01):
I don't know how long it would take you to notice.
You probably like wouldn't make this till it was podcast time. Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure.
All right. Well, any other wildlife stories you want to relay before we talk to Paige?
Well, yes, I do want to say that I do not want to see a snake.
(15:22):
So, you know, I know they're out there and all of that,
but that is absolutely one thing that
you know i've had to like block
people on facebook because of
snakes yes because they have pet ones
and oh and you can't you can't oh no i mean i do not want to be i don't want
(15:45):
to see one like i'm not one of those people that think they're cute in any way
if you're wonderful you know but i just can't deal with that with people like with
them wrapped around their neck and everything else.
And, uh, yeah. Well, I mean, I guess I'm, you know, not a huge fan of them either,
(16:05):
but, uh, you know, certainly not.
They run screaming from them or whatever.
Oh, but you know, I've had the book.
So while we're talking about it, I've had to block people from putting funeral pictures on too.
That's another thing I can't tolerate. You know, why would people do that?
I don't know. know, like, you know, if you must,
(16:28):
if you feel like you must, like, remember the dead or whatever,
like, I don't know why you would share that with the whole,
I mean, you know, you're just scrolling through looking at the kittens and,
you know, all the cute little kids of the world, whatever people,
you know, like, their food,
you know, and all of a sudden,
(16:52):
You know, there's, like, a dead person up close. You have some really strange
friends on your Facebook.
Well, I mean, as I said, they're gone now because, like, really,
you don't get a pass on that.
I can't deal with that one, so.
All right. Well, yeah. And from that, we go to.
(17:16):
I don't know how to transition.
Yeah. There's no good segue for that one.
No. Well, we'll just say, you know, that Peeta's music is very uplifting.
And, you know, it's the bright spot in your day. So you're not going to scroll past her.
(17:36):
You're going to stop and listen, like, when you see her.
Because, you know, she's very talented. And she writes her own stuff.
And she's on tour. And let's just say this about her. I mean,
she is on tour right now, right before we're getting ready to do this interview.
She will be going on stage like, you know, like five minutes after we stop this interview.
(18:03):
Well, I hope we don't piss her off.
Let's do it so we can be like, oh, I think it's time to be happy.
Happy but i mean really you know that is
a nice that is a nice musician that will
take the time to talk with us yeah right
(18:24):
before going on stage so i appreciate that
page yep i do too well let's talk the page and uh you know find out a backstory
and see if we can not upset her before she goes us on stage well um here's a
50 50 chance right all right all right well here we go,
(18:47):
Paige, I want to welcome you to Backstory Sessions. We are so excited to have you as our guest today.
Well, thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here.
Well, I cannot believe you are getting ready to go on stage in like,
I don't know, 45 minutes.
So you are a real trooper to like do this interview and then go right on stage.
(19:13):
What's it like getting ready you know like what's going through your mind before 45 minutes before,
i would say probably if it would have been 10 years ago i probably would have
been freaking out you know probably had some kind of very structured ritual
and all the things but after you know being a live musician and an entertainer
(19:34):
for so long it honestly truly does It does feel like second nature to be on stage.
And, you know, in some cases it kind of feels even weirder when you're not on the stage.
So it really, you know, it's just like regular normal life right up until I
step onto any kind of stage that I'm on.
So in some ways, this might be the weird part.
Like in the interview, rather, you know, the music, because that sounds like
(19:58):
that's just a part of your life.
Yes, it is. And it has been, you know, ever since I was a little girl.
I've loved music and just loved, you know, everything about it,
how I brought people together.
And once I started growing up and things started clicking in my brain of,
OK, you know, maybe this is this is something that I was meant to actually take further in life.
(20:20):
And so, you know, it started as something of just an appreciation for and then
slowly turned into a hobby that turned into now my full time job.
And it's just such a blessing to be able to say that.
So you grew up in North Carolina. What was the musical influences like as you were growing up?
A lot of classical.
(20:42):
One in our household and on top of that we
were a family of cowboys and cowgirls so
we listened to any artists that resembled
that lifestyle at all and you know a lot of Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard
and Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline and and then whenever I started getting to
you know choose a little bit of what I was listening to it was a lot of 90s
(21:05):
country because I'm a 90s kid and so there's a lot of both of those influences
that are very heavy on my music.
So how does your grandfather fit into this encouragement of your music career.
Really honestly and truly he's the
biggest reason why this is my job my papa bought me my first guitar when i was
(21:28):
10 years old as a christmas present and really just kind of encouraged me to
see where the thing could take me and what it could do for me and before that
I'd really just taken a few, I dabbled in piano lessons,
but, you know, he saw how much joy that music brought me.
And so he wanted to, you know, see what that next level could be for me.
(21:49):
And just a few short months after he bought me that guitar, he ended up passing away.
And so he's kind of my reason every night that I step on the stage and I think
about him and I'm just, you know, so grateful for that,
the belief that he had in me and the willingness to invest in me so young and
you know be able to push me to where i am today so how did you put guitar on your.
(22:13):
Christmas list or did he just see it was no it wasn't on the christmas list
it was just something that he had seen and i think he had probably talked to
my parents a little bit about it to see like hey are you okay if i do this kind
of a thing but yeah it was a complete.
So well you know what was going through your mind when you opened the present
(22:38):
and saw the guitar well you know as a 10 year old you're like oh my gosh i'm
a superstar now because i have a guitar and i can make noise on it and,
There was, you know, a lot of excitement and all the things.
And of course, I probably stayed up way too late that night playing things that
did not make sense and probably did not sound good on it that night.
(23:00):
But, you know, it was just, it was a really cool thing for me.
And even at the time at a young age, you know, I did realize that,
hey, this could open up, you know, a new world for me.
And I wasn't necessarily thinking that I would be a musician one day,
but just, you know, that I could learn something different and maybe be able
to play guitar at school or play guitar at church or something like that.
(23:21):
Did you find that you preferred guitar to piano?
I do. I did back then. And I still do just because that is my main instrument.
But if I could go back to that 10-year-old girl, I would have said,
hey, let's start guitar lessons, but maybe let's also stay in piano lessons
too, because there's a lot to be learned there.
And so I do encourage a lot lot of people if they ask me if they have kids like
(23:46):
hey they want to start out music I say definitely start on piano and even if
they pick something else up you know it's it's good to still hold on to that
that knowledge because you know it truly is the foundation of all music.
So you mentioned that you know there was a point where music was a hobby and then it wasn't so So,
(24:11):
you know, what happened to make you start thinking like this might be a career choice?
It was right around the time I was a sophomore in high school.
I think that was when the light bulbs kind of started coming on.
And I had the realization of, hey, you know, music is this great thing that people enjoy.
(24:31):
But also like people can pay their bills by being a musician and traveling around
and playing music all the time. And I think before then, it was just kind of
always this thing in the back of my head of, oh, you'd have a job and you could
play music on the side, but.
That was really when the world of the business side of you to me and alongside
the time I was starting to play more gigs out and had started my own little
(24:56):
dinner theater back in my hometown.
And so that was where, you know, all those doors kind of started opening up
to me of, Hey, there is, you know, there's ways that people make money and they
put food on the table through music.
And that was when the game kind of changed for me.
And I started trying to figure out, okay, OK, well, how how can I make this my job one day?
(25:19):
A dinner theater. Now, that is very interesting.
Yeah, well, I was, like I said, around sophomore in high school,
and that was really when I started taking music seriously.
And like I said, was playing out a little bit more. And I was getting frustrated
because I was so young and, you know, they weren't going to let a 15 or 16 year
(25:43):
old into a bar late night to go play a show.
And so I kept telling my parents, I'm like, gosh, I just wish that I could have a place to play.
And I come from a very entrepreneurial family and all of us kind of looked at
each other at the same time and was like, well, why don't we just make a place?
And so I went to my parents and asked for their help and just asked if they
(26:06):
would trust me to be able to go and go into something like that very blindly
and be willing to make the mistakes with me and clean them up as we went along and all the things.
You know, it was messy to begin with, but that was really where I started getting
my hands dirty in the business side of music and started learning the ins and
outs of what has to go on to put shows together and run a venue and all the things.
(26:28):
And that really equipped me to make the move to Nashville eventually after high school.
So what did you name the dinner theater?
It was called Country on the Outskirts of Town because we were just outside
of my hometown where we had the dinner theater. Well, interesting.
(26:49):
So is the entrepreneurial spirit still in you?
Are you always thinking of what's the next step or the next way?
Yes, very much so. And, you know, I tell people all the time when they start
quizzing me about, you know, the business side of music is that as just purely
(27:10):
a consumer of music, You really,
truly don't realize how much planning goes into just the release of one song,
let alone whole albums and singles that come along with music videos and all the things.
And so I do think that I thrive so much as an artist because I am still an independent
artist and a lot of everything is homegrown and grassroots and all the things.
(27:35):
And so I enjoy kind of getting my hands dirty and sitting down and looking at
the calendar and saying, OK, how can this fit into this plan and how can we
capitalize on this and all the things?
So there's a lot of ways for an entrepreneurial minded person like myself to
be able to kind of, you know, work that muscle and be able to explore different
ideas in the world of music.
(27:57):
Do you think that's a gift that you have too, like the gift of music?
Is that another talent to be able to see all those pieces and how they might fit?
Absolutely. Whenever I was younger, I used to get frustrated because I get told a lot.
I'm a very type A person and I always get told that I'm a right brain creative,
(28:19):
which I guess means that I'm a very put together or creative person
and other creative people can be very a
lot more open to creative ideas but they don't exactly
know how to filter through them or make sense of them and
all the things and when I first started out
in music it frustrated me that I wasn't the loosey-goosey open
to any kind of idea kind of a creative but as I've started getting deeper and
(28:42):
deeper into my career as an artist alongside being songwriter I've come to appreciate
that and realize that you know that That is something that a lot of those creatives
and songwriters and artists out there are longing for is to,
you know, be able to have an understanding of stuff like that.
So I now do not take it for granted like I did whenever I was younger.
(29:03):
Sure. Well, let's talk about your songwriting. You know, when did you realize
that you had that talent?
It was really when I moved to Nashville that I started writing songs and exploring,
you know, what that looked like and how do I find my voice as a writer?
And what do people want to listen to? What do they want to sit down and hear
(29:25):
about all the things that for a long time? I think I really didn't explore that
world because I thought, I'm just a 16-year-old.
You know, what kind of life have I lived to be able to sit down and write a
song about something that people would care about?
But Nashville really opened me up to the idea of not only songwriting,
but co-writing, because that town is so big on collaborations and everything
(29:49):
that kind of comes along with that.
And so I was taught very early on in Nashville that, you know,
if you don't learn to start kind of opening yourself up to writing and co-writing
and all the things that you're automatically going to be five steps behind everybody else.
So what do you gain from co-writing? What's the experience been like for you? Is it easy? Hard? hard.
(30:12):
It's like anything else. It's a learned, you know, thing.
It's a learned skill that you have to work at all the time.
And I joke, but really not joking when I tell people that going into a new co-write
is kind of like going on a blind date because you're,
you know, you're going into a room with one or two new people and you're going
(30:35):
to sit down and introduce yourselves and find out about each other.
And then three hours later, you're hopefully going to come out with a song and
you've spilled your heart out in those three hours.
And it can be intimidating for people who are new to Nashville or just new to
the idea of co-writing in general.
But over the years, I have learned so much, not only about myself,
(30:56):
but just about the business and about how to become a better writer.
And there's definitely a craft to it.
And although I have learned quite a bit over the years. I still have a lot more
that I could learn just like with anything else.
So is it like a blind date and that, you know, fairly soon into it,
(31:18):
if this is going to be a, you know, a match?
I would say yes. And, you know, hopefully usually with the rights and stuff,
it's with people that you've made some kind of connection with at one point or another.
So you kind of have an idea of like, hey, we understand each other on this level
or they understand that, you know, my music tends to go towards these themes
(31:41):
or ideas or something like that. But.
It's always just kind of up in the air and you just put in the time and hope
that something good comes out of it.
So, have you ever had a bad experience where it just fell apart?
I think probably every writer can say that about some point in their life and
(32:05):
really it was more early on whenever you moved to Nashville and,
you know, you're told very quickly that once you're
once you're starting out and trying to build that circle around you you
really just have to be open to writing with anybody and
saying yes to anybody just to start trying
to find that circle of your own and so early on you know there were definitely
some rights that could have been matched up a little bit better but now that
(32:28):
I've spent over eight and a half years in Nashville I really have you know honed
in on who my circle is and who I write best with and you know I'm always I'm very grateful for that.
So how does the song come to you?
Is it lyrics first or do they come with a melody? How does it work?
(32:49):
It's really different every time for me. And that's something that was frustrating
for me, you know, being the very organized creative that I am at the beginning
when I was trying to figure out, okay, how do you write songs?
And everybody was like, well, it just kind of happens. And I'm thinking,
well, is there not like a step-by-step something that we start with?
(33:10):
But it really is. It does just kind of happen.
And sometimes I can be driving down the road and some kind of melody idea will come to me.
And so I'll grab my phone really quickly and, you know, sing it into my phone
to be able to record it that way.
Or sometimes it is just kind of like a song title
(33:31):
idea or a chorus idea or
something like that and you write that down and you know the
the melody might come to you at
a later time uh does it seem the
ideas come at like the weirdest times and
place yes the amount
of song ideas i've had wake me up in the
(33:51):
the middle of the night is absurd and also
I find that I get a lot of inspiration
when I'm out on walks and that's probably because that's really
the only time that I'll truly unplug you know
from the real world and so I do try to take my phone with me when I go out on
walks just because there does tend to be some inspiration that comes at that
(34:16):
time yeah well what was the first song that you wrote. Do you remember that one?
I think it was a song about.
Called that cowgirl which only saw the light of day for a very short time and then uh.
Thankfully so it didn't really get out
(34:37):
into the world anymore because i look back on that and i'm like oh
goodness that was not that was not a high
quality song at all were you
that cowgirl like it was it
was loosely based on my mom at the time yeah
interesting so what
has been your favorite song that you've written and that's a hard question it
(35:03):
always tends to be the most recent one that i've written at the time just because
you know i say i don't have kids but a lot of my songs and a lot of songwriters
will say that their songs are like their kids and And so there's, you know,
there's a lot of novelty to the new things that come around,
but there have been a few in the past few years that I've written that really do mean a lot.
(35:26):
And one of them being one of my singles called I Thank God, just because I am
such a big person of faith and that's such a big part of my life and my career.
And that song just means a lot to me and has opened up the door to be able to
have a lot of cool conversations with strangers about their faith.
And, you know, that's just, that's the dream to be able to do that.
(35:48):
Well, and then you were named the first ever musical ambassador.
Yes. Carolina. And so that enabled you, as I understand, to write like several songs or. Yes.
So what was that like?
It was amazing to work with the Department of Agriculture in North Carolina
(36:08):
was a dream because I was a farm kid.
And I grew up in 4-H and
FFA and all the things and so to be able to kind of open up that world and marry
my love for music with my love for agriculture was you know really the biggest
dream come true ever and took me to a lot of cool places all around my home
(36:30):
state of North Carolina that I hadn't seen before.
And so was that more of like storytelling song or what came out,
like what type of songs come out.
Yeah, a lot of storytelling songs, really, just because I heard so many great
stories from farmers and ranchers all over the state of North Carolina.
(36:51):
And, you know, from that, there's always bound to be some kind of inspiration to come.
And there was definitely some, you know, that I've held on to and have made
it into different rights later on, you know, after that.
So, you ended up moving to Nashville, or do you just go back and forth?
(37:13):
So, I moved out there after high school and went to college in Nashville and
was there for about five years.
And then once COVID hit, I ended up, like a lot of people, kind of going back
home for a little while to figure things out.
And now I just split time back and forth, and I'm grateful to have both places to call home.
(37:34):
So but who's the first famous person that you ran into at nashville that's a good question.
I don't know in like the happenstance world i couldn't tell you but one of the
first jobs that i had in nashville that opened up the door to start you know
(37:58):
being introduced to some higher
level, higher profile people.
I interned at CMA in my senior year of college in Nashville.
And so with them, I mean, you know, CMA works with all the best of the best
artists in the industry.
And so, you know, over my semester there, I was introduced to Carrie Underwood
(38:22):
and Luke Bryan and, you know, a whole lot of other people that I was just like,
oh my goodness, this is this real life so did
it still feel like starstruck meeting
that a little bit yeah and it really just depends on the people but the more
time that I've spent in this industry and you know the more notoriety that I
(38:45):
receive myself you really just continue to realize that at the end of
the day, all these people are just people, you know, and so whenever I do get
to meet them, I'm really honestly just more excited to learn who they are as
a person and, you know, just hear about their regular, shmegular day-to-day life.
(39:06):
So it's always a treat whenever you do kind of get to know those people on a
more personal level like that.
All right. So tell us about the show you're getting ready to perform.
What songs, you know, do you have new songs that are you're performing on this particular night or?
(39:27):
Yeah, well, I'm releasing a new song coming up next week.
And so that one will definitely be on the set list tonight, as well as some
more tunes and maybe even some brand new ones.
I was just in Nashville this week writing a lot. So we might even try some of those out as well, too.
But yeah, we're in Clarksville, Virginia tonight and just really excited to
(39:51):
be back here with all my Virginia people.
Yeah. So tell us about the new song that's releasing next week.
Yes. Well, it's called Somebody's Gotta Do It. And it's a nice little funny
kind of sarcastic song I wrote with two great songwriters in Nashville,
Terry Jo Box and Scott Sean White.
(40:14):
And it's I always tease and say that it's a song about how much of a chore it
can be to love my husband some days.
But, you know, when you listen to the song, you really there there is a lot
of light and and just humor to the song.
And so I'm excited to to get it out into the world.
So so what does he think of it he thinks
(40:35):
it's funny he laughed so hard whenever i played it
for him the first time which was the reaction that i was hoping for so it got
his stamp of approval so hopefully it gets everybody else's yeah well i can't
wait to hear it and so i know you're getting you know our time is uh limited
with you but so i'll just end with as you think
(40:57):
about songs you know throughout your whole life if if there were just three
songs only that could exist in the world for you what what would they be like
what are three songs that really,
you probably could listen to for the rest of your life if you had to oh my lord
(41:18):
this has got to be worse than torture.
Wow just three
more it's just
i'm thinking for time no no i know amazing
grace is always a favorite of mine as well as i could literally just throw a
(41:38):
dart at any laurie mckenna song whatsoever she's one of my favorite songwriters
but humble and kind she was a
writer on and is You know, one of the most beautifully written songs ever.
Oh, gosh. The last one. I feel like we need a fun one. We need.
Oh, goodness. We'll take. It's five o'clock somewhere.
(42:03):
Okay.
Or do you have a question that you would like to ask in our last minutes here?
So, I guess I was curious what your husband thinks of your careers.
Is he like a musical person as well?
No, he is not whatsoever. And I love it.
(42:26):
We both have our own little worlds and we can appreciate what the other person
does in their careers and cheer each other on from the sidelines.
But he is such a great supporter of me and has been from day one.
The night I met him, I told him we met in the Raleigh area in North Carolina
and I was going back to Nashville the next day.
And I said, well, just so you know, I'm a songwriter and I'm going to be a big
(42:49):
deal one day. You're going to have to travel around behind me if you're going to be with me.
And here he is seven years later. So, you know,
I guess the speech worked and he is such a supporter of me and we have a lot
of fun getting to travel around to new places for shows all the time. And he's just the best.
Yeah. So on your website that you're traveling down to Florida and you're going
(43:15):
to be like all over North Carolina and stuff coming up in the next couple of months. Yes.
Yes. Yes, I have a lot of travel coming up, up and down the East Coast in the
Southeast over the next couple of months.
So if people are anywhere nearby, they should come catch a show.
How many dates a year are you doing?
(43:35):
About 150 is usually the number that we end on every year.
Yeah, so we stay pretty busy. That's quite a lot.
All right. so I know it's getting time and we want to wish you the best on your
show tonight and release of your next single and thank you so much for coming by,
(43:58):
well thank you so much for having me on I really appreciate y'all.
Music.
Music.
(00:15):
Hey everybody, it's Kat, and I want to welcome you to this episode of Backstory Sessions.
I'm joined today by my co-host, Matt.
Hey, Matt. Hey, Kat. Hey, everyone. How are you?
Well, here we are. And now we know this is Season 12, Episode 2.
Indeed we do, yes. Season 12.
(00:38):
And you know, how do we know it? Like, some from memory, which is great for us.
But also from the website. Yes, that's true. It is on the website now.
So as you all may recall, we were talking about getting the BackstorySessions.com
(01:00):
website up and running, and it currently is.
So, you know, go check it out.
You know, there's not a whole lot there yet, But we will, you know,
you can listen to the latest episode and there's links to,
I guess, all the different places where the podcast is.
(01:26):
And what else is there? About us.
Yeah. Yeah. We got to add a little bit more to that. Yeah.
But, you know, I mean, the main thing is just to, like, bookmark that and know
that you can always go there to listen to the episode, the latest one.
(01:47):
And, you know, very soon you'll be able to listen to more of them.
But also, you know, that is a common question we get about, you know,
are you on this? Are you on Spotify?
Are you on Pandora? Whatever. ever so going
to the website is one easy way to make sure you don't miss the episode because
(02:10):
you can just listen right there or you know you can click on the links that
will take you to apple or spotify or you know whatever so i think that's going
to be really helpful for listeners
yep definitely we will have uh you can contact us there if you like,
(02:32):
yeah i got some of the nice emails this time yeah just don't make them too long,
we do not like massive emails they
actually come
to me so it doesn't matter you can write as much
as you want yeah well i'm sure you'll share the good ones with me yeah well
(02:56):
i'll send you other complaints for sure yes yes nothing has changed in 12 seasons
no no i mean why change a good thing right.
Yeah, exactly what I was thinking.
Well, I'm excited. I mean, I know a lot of work has gone into the website and
(03:19):
we've been talking about it for a while.
And it's really good to see another, you know, another milestone for Backstory
Sessions be like checked off.
Yeah one of these days we gotta decide on
t-shirt designs and you know get that
up on the website that's probably coming soon yeah t-shirts and other items
(03:45):
you know yes yes i'm not quite sure what else yet but uh we do have a few things
that we've been talking about well i think it's cool to have some merch for the,
you know, if you like your favorite podcast, you can just like.
Yeah, for sure. And then we're going to add some stuff as we,
(04:08):
you know, as the site develops more, there'll be a little bit more stuff added.
I have a few ideas for different things and just got to get it all programmed
in, which, you know, it takes a little bit. but finding the time to do it is the main thing.
Well, I think people will be pleased. It looks very nice. So great job there.
(04:31):
And, you know, also just being able to go and listen to the episode.
I think that's really very important.
So. Yep, for sure.
Yeah. And, you know, a little bit about us is all right, too.
If you've ever wondered, like, you know, where did these people come from? Yeah.
(04:55):
Yeah. Yeah, well, I'm sure, you know, that was one of the things that I was talking about.
Right now, it's just a couple lines each about us.
We'll have to add more as time goes on.
Yeah, photos we may or may not like, but... Yeah, yeah.
Flipholders, we'll just call it that. Yeah, I actually just hate having my picture taken.
(05:20):
So, I mean, that's one of the reasons why I don't want to put a lot of photos
there. And I just love taking it. So there you go.
I mean, you know, that's how I balance out right there.
Yeah, you probably have more pictures of me than I've taken of myself in the last 20 years.
Yeah, I would say so. You know, I try not to miss an opportunity to get one.
(05:46):
Yeah, there are some good ones.
Yeah, for sure. you know
it'll be like how funerals one
day oh yeah great i'll
be like i can make the whole i'll volunteer and
be like i will do the whole memorial video it's pretty morbid thought but thanks
(06:08):
i guess yeah well you know i'll put all the good ones there so no worries you
see like oh i loved this one where he was like yeah.
But, yeah, I mean, I'm so happy that the website is up and running.
I'm so happy we're in season 12.
(06:31):
And, you know, we have a really good guest today. And that's always exciting, too.
This is a really good season. And, you know, Cammie we had last week and continuing with the females.
Yay. Because, you know, a lot of seasons it's been male dominated.
So it's really nice to get to, you know, kick it off with some male guests.
(06:57):
You're responsible for finding the guests. So I think, is this a concerted effort
by you to make this season all females?
It is not. But, you know, it's nice with cards like, you know,
deal you bad hand where that you can.
I mean, just sometimes it's just a luck of the way it falls.
(07:20):
And some seasons have been a little bit, you know, more evenly mixed than others.
But you just kind of have to go with who's available and, you know,
who's doing what that they, you know, are wanting to talk about.
So, a lot of times early on, that was the males.
(07:41):
And, you know, of course, I do not mind interviewing them.
But, you know, saying that it is not.
I think our next interview after this one is actually a guy.
Yeah, yeah. So, you know, there will be a mix.
This will not be an all-female season. But, you know, I do think that we'll
(08:07):
have, like, more closer split.
So it'll be a little bit more balanced, which we could probably always use.
Yeah. You know, we're a little bit unbalanced at times. Like when we didn't
know. What season it was.
Yeah. Yeah, like that. Yeah.
(08:29):
But she, you know, she's a singer-songwriter. So, you know, we,
like, it's nice to get writers because we love them, of course.
And so songwriters are, it's really cool when we get the people that also,
besides singing and playing, that they also write their own stuff.
(08:51):
So she's one of those. And actually, you know, her single just dropped like a couple of days ago.
So you can go on the Facebook page into our Backstory Sessions group and read all about that.
And, you know, even about Paige, because we promote all the week leading up
(09:15):
to the release of this episode. Yep.
It'll be interesting to find out her story. story
well you know i've been noticing that
there's a lot of wildlife stories to tell
yeah yeah you
know just today we have had like a back and forth of quite a few little interesting
(09:41):
things happening yeah so i have a there's like a big tree stump out in my backyard
that But they cut down a tree.
It must have been quite a while ago because it's pretty rotted.
And, you know, things have started digging in there every now and then, looking for whatever.
(10:03):
And apparently the local woodpeckers have taken a liking to this old stump looking for bugs.
And they've actually drilled a hole in the side of it. But it's probably about,
I would say, six inches in diameter.
And it goes in probably, I don't know, 18 inches or so.
(10:25):
Yeah, I mean, it really would look like the Grand Canyon or something of,
you know, like, it's amazing to me how, just like how a woodpecker.
I mean, I guess there's more than one of them. I don't know.
But, like, how they could do that.
Yeah, I've seen actually two of them. I don't know, you know,
(10:46):
how many at a time, but I've seen one digging in there a little bit.
Obviously, he flew away when I opened the back door.
But I know there are two of them because I've seen them flying around.
Yes, and tell about what they look like because that is so cute.
Yeah, they're a sort of dark gray body and they have like red mohawk and some
(11:11):
sort of white stripe or something on them.
So, I don't know, they're, like, you know, like, pretty prevalent in this area.
Well, you know, like Mohawk Mike. Yeah, Woody Woodpecker.
Yeah, exactly. So, I mean, I don't have, I've only seen like a woodpecker from
(11:32):
a distance, like more or less hearing the noise that they make,
you know, and not really seeing them that up close.
But, you know, I've had my own little wildlife stories today.
Day like i just saw a baby
opossum oh i mean
(11:54):
i think he's a baby because he's like really pretty
small yeah he definitely is and
and the ones i've seen you know the other ones i've
seen look like huge rats you know
like really big yeah with long tail pointy nose
yes yes so he's still
(12:14):
in the cute stage you know and he just like come
creeping up the hill and i
don't know he's just adorable but i hope
he's not lost from his family you know but and i don't really like know what
to do so i just hope he's okay but earlier even before him i saw an unidentified
(12:39):
creature so i I don't really know what he was.
I thought, so there were three of whatever they are.
I thought maybe they were groundhogs, but, you know, then again, I don't really know.
Yeah, I mean, you sent me the picture, and they don't look like groundhogs to me.
Yeah, so, you know, really, if you're not a squirrel or an opossum or a raccoon
(13:03):
or a groundhog, I really don't know about you.
So you know so I just call them groundhogs because I don't really know what
they were right yeah it's not a not a rabbit no not a rabbit um so you know I mean.
It's just fascinating, like, the things that are around us that we had no idea about.
(13:28):
Yeah, we have a lot of deer up here and coyotes, apparently.
And I think there's some fox and things like that roaming around.
Oh, well, I think there are coyote here, too.
My son tells me that. But I don't know. And I've never seen one up close or
(13:48):
actually, I've never seen one here yet.
Yeah. Well, I mean, maybe they'll come and, you know, take up residence in the
mine up there behind your house.
Yeah. Well, I'm, you know, I'm told that one day that's going to explode and
the raccoons and all that that live in it are going to go flying through the air.
(14:14):
Yeah. Yeah, that'll be an interesting day, I'm sure.
Yes, yes, I do hope that I'm able to capture that on video to send you.
Yeah, do you have any, like, has there been any, like, estimation as far as when this might happen?
Well, I mean, the person that was saying it led me to believe it would be already,
(14:38):
you know, have happened.
So I guess it could happen any day now.
Well, there's that to look forward to. Yeah, I can.
Hard to top that. If we don't hear from Kat next week, we'll know what happened.
(15:01):
I don't know how long it would take you to notice.
You probably like wouldn't make this till it was podcast time. Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure.
All right. Well, any other wildlife stories you want to relay before we talk to Paige?
Well, yes, I do want to say that I do not want to see a snake.
(15:22):
So, you know, I know they're out there and all of that,
but that is absolutely one thing that
you know i've had to like block
people on facebook because of
snakes yes because they have pet ones
and oh and you can't you can't oh no i mean i do not want to be i don't want
(15:45):
to see one like i'm not one of those people that think they're cute in any way
if you're wonderful you know but i just can't deal with that with people like with
them wrapped around their neck and everything else.
And, uh, yeah. Well, I mean, I guess I'm, you know, not a huge fan of them either,
(16:05):
but, uh, you know, certainly not.
They run screaming from them or whatever.
Oh, but you know, I've had the book.
So while we're talking about it, I've had to block people from putting funeral pictures on too.
That's another thing I can't tolerate. You know, why would people do that?
I don't know. know, like, you know, if you must,
(16:28):
if you feel like you must, like, remember the dead or whatever,
like, I don't know why you would share that with the whole,
I mean, you know, you're just scrolling through looking at the kittens and,
you know, all the cute little kids of the world, whatever people,
you know, like, their food,
you know, and all of a sudden,
(16:52):
You know, there's, like, a dead person up close. You have some really strange
friends on your Facebook.
Well, I mean, as I said, they're gone now because, like, really,
you don't get a pass on that.
I can't deal with that one, so.
All right. Well, yeah. And from that, we go to.
(17:16):
I don't know how to transition.
Yeah. There's no good segue for that one.
No. Well, we'll just say, you know, that Peeta's music is very uplifting.
And, you know, it's the bright spot in your day. So you're not going to scroll past her.
(17:36):
You're going to stop and listen, like, when you see her.
Because, you know, she's very talented. And she writes her own stuff.
And she's on tour. And let's just say this about her. I mean,
she is on tour right now, right before we're getting ready to do this interview.
She will be going on stage like, you know, like five minutes after we stop this interview.
(18:03):
Well, I hope we don't piss her off.
Let's do it so we can be like, oh, I think it's time to be happy.
Happy but i mean really you know that is
a nice that is a nice musician that will
take the time to talk with us yeah right
(18:24):
before going on stage so i appreciate that
page yep i do too well let's talk the page and uh you know find out a backstory
and see if we can not upset her before she goes us on stage well um here's a
50 50 chance right all right all right well here we go,
(18:47):
Paige, I want to welcome you to Backstory Sessions. We are so excited to have you as our guest today.
Well, thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here.
Well, I cannot believe you are getting ready to go on stage in like,
I don't know, 45 minutes.
So you are a real trooper to like do this interview and then go right on stage.
(19:13):
What's it like getting ready you know like what's going through your mind before 45 minutes before,
i would say probably if it would have been 10 years ago i probably would have
been freaking out you know probably had some kind of very structured ritual
and all the things but after you know being a live musician and an entertainer
(19:34):
for so long it honestly truly does It does feel like second nature to be on stage.
And, you know, in some cases it kind of feels even weirder when you're not on the stage.
So it really, you know, it's just like regular normal life right up until I
step onto any kind of stage that I'm on.
So in some ways, this might be the weird part.
Like in the interview, rather, you know, the music, because that sounds like
(19:58):
that's just a part of your life.
Yes, it is. And it has been, you know, ever since I was a little girl.
I've loved music and just loved, you know, everything about it,
how I brought people together.
And once I started growing up and things started clicking in my brain of,
OK, you know, maybe this is this is something that I was meant to actually take further in life.
(20:20):
And so, you know, it started as something of just an appreciation for and then
slowly turned into a hobby that turned into now my full time job.
And it's just such a blessing to be able to say that.
So you grew up in North Carolina. What was the musical influences like as you were growing up?
A lot of classical.
(20:42):
One in our household and on top of that we
were a family of cowboys and cowgirls so
we listened to any artists that resembled
that lifestyle at all and you know a lot of Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard
and Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline and and then whenever I started getting to
you know choose a little bit of what I was listening to it was a lot of 90s
(21:05):
country because I'm a 90s kid and so there's a lot of both of those influences
that are very heavy on my music.
So how does your grandfather fit into this encouragement of your music career.
Really honestly and truly he's the
biggest reason why this is my job my papa bought me my first guitar when i was
(21:28):
10 years old as a christmas present and really just kind of encouraged me to
see where the thing could take me and what it could do for me and before that
I'd really just taken a few, I dabbled in piano lessons,
but, you know, he saw how much joy that music brought me.
And so he wanted to, you know, see what that next level could be for me.
(21:49):
And just a few short months after he bought me that guitar, he ended up passing away.
And so he's kind of my reason every night that I step on the stage and I think
about him and I'm just, you know, so grateful for that,
the belief that he had in me and the willingness to invest in me so young and
you know be able to push me to where i am today so how did you put guitar on your.
(22:13):
Christmas list or did he just see it was no it wasn't on the christmas list
it was just something that he had seen and i think he had probably talked to
my parents a little bit about it to see like hey are you okay if i do this kind
of a thing but yeah it was a complete.
So well you know what was going through your mind when you opened the present
(22:38):
and saw the guitar well you know as a 10 year old you're like oh my gosh i'm
a superstar now because i have a guitar and i can make noise on it and,
There was, you know, a lot of excitement and all the things.
And of course, I probably stayed up way too late that night playing things that
did not make sense and probably did not sound good on it that night.
(23:00):
But, you know, it was just, it was a really cool thing for me.
And even at the time at a young age, you know, I did realize that,
hey, this could open up, you know, a new world for me.
And I wasn't necessarily thinking that I would be a musician one day,
but just, you know, that I could learn something different and maybe be able
to play guitar at school or play guitar at church or something like that.
(23:21):
Did you find that you preferred guitar to piano?
I do. I did back then. And I still do just because that is my main instrument.
But if I could go back to that 10-year-old girl, I would have said,
hey, let's start guitar lessons, but maybe let's also stay in piano lessons
too, because there's a lot to be learned there.
And so I do encourage a lot lot of people if they ask me if they have kids like
(23:46):
hey they want to start out music I say definitely start on piano and even if
they pick something else up you know it's it's good to still hold on to that
that knowledge because you know it truly is the foundation of all music.
So you mentioned that you know there was a point where music was a hobby and then it wasn't so So,
(24:11):
you know, what happened to make you start thinking like this might be a career choice?
It was right around the time I was a sophomore in high school.
I think that was when the light bulbs kind of started coming on.
And I had the realization of, hey, you know, music is this great thing that people enjoy.
(24:31):
But also like people can pay their bills by being a musician and traveling around
and playing music all the time. And I think before then, it was just kind of
always this thing in the back of my head of, oh, you'd have a job and you could
play music on the side, but.
That was really when the world of the business side of you to me and alongside
the time I was starting to play more gigs out and had started my own little
(24:56):
dinner theater back in my hometown.
And so that was where, you know, all those doors kind of started opening up
to me of, Hey, there is, you know, there's ways that people make money and they
put food on the table through music.
And that was when the game kind of changed for me.
And I started trying to figure out, okay, OK, well, how how can I make this my job one day?
(25:19):
A dinner theater. Now, that is very interesting.
Yeah, well, I was, like I said, around sophomore in high school,
and that was really when I started taking music seriously.
And like I said, was playing out a little bit more. And I was getting frustrated
because I was so young and, you know, they weren't going to let a 15 or 16 year
(25:43):
old into a bar late night to go play a show.
And so I kept telling my parents, I'm like, gosh, I just wish that I could have a place to play.
And I come from a very entrepreneurial family and all of us kind of looked at
each other at the same time and was like, well, why don't we just make a place?
And so I went to my parents and asked for their help and just asked if they
(26:06):
would trust me to be able to go and go into something like that very blindly
and be willing to make the mistakes with me and clean them up as we went along and all the things.
You know, it was messy to begin with, but that was really where I started getting
my hands dirty in the business side of music and started learning the ins and
outs of what has to go on to put shows together and run a venue and all the things.
(26:28):
And that really equipped me to make the move to Nashville eventually after high school.
So what did you name the dinner theater?
It was called Country on the Outskirts of Town because we were just outside
of my hometown where we had the dinner theater. Well, interesting.
(26:49):
So is the entrepreneurial spirit still in you?
Are you always thinking of what's the next step or the next way?
Yes, very much so. And, you know, I tell people all the time when they start
quizzing me about, you know, the business side of music is that as just purely
(27:10):
a consumer of music, You really,
truly don't realize how much planning goes into just the release of one song,
let alone whole albums and singles that come along with music videos and all the things.
And so I do think that I thrive so much as an artist because I am still an independent
artist and a lot of everything is homegrown and grassroots and all the things.
(27:35):
And so I enjoy kind of getting my hands dirty and sitting down and looking at
the calendar and saying, OK, how can this fit into this plan and how can we
capitalize on this and all the things?
So there's a lot of ways for an entrepreneurial minded person like myself to
be able to kind of, you know, work that muscle and be able to explore different
ideas in the world of music.
(27:57):
Do you think that's a gift that you have too, like the gift of music?
Is that another talent to be able to see all those pieces and how they might fit?
Absolutely. Whenever I was younger, I used to get frustrated because I get told a lot.
I'm a very type A person and I always get told that I'm a right brain creative,
(28:19):
which I guess means that I'm a very put together or creative person
and other creative people can be very a
lot more open to creative ideas but they don't exactly
know how to filter through them or make sense of them and
all the things and when I first started out
in music it frustrated me that I wasn't the loosey-goosey open
to any kind of idea kind of a creative but as I've started getting deeper and
(28:42):
deeper into my career as an artist alongside being songwriter I've come to appreciate
that and realize that you know that That is something that a lot of those creatives
and songwriters and artists out there are longing for is to,
you know, be able to have an understanding of stuff like that.
So I now do not take it for granted like I did whenever I was younger.
(29:03):
Sure. Well, let's talk about your songwriting. You know, when did you realize
that you had that talent?
It was really when I moved to Nashville that I started writing songs and exploring,
you know, what that looked like and how do I find my voice as a writer?
And what do people want to listen to? What do they want to sit down and hear
(29:25):
about all the things that for a long time? I think I really didn't explore that
world because I thought, I'm just a 16-year-old.
You know, what kind of life have I lived to be able to sit down and write a
song about something that people would care about?
But Nashville really opened me up to the idea of not only songwriting,
but co-writing, because that town is so big on collaborations and everything
(29:49):
that kind of comes along with that.
And so I was taught very early on in Nashville that, you know,
if you don't learn to start kind of opening yourself up to writing and co-writing
and all the things that you're automatically going to be five steps behind everybody else.
So what do you gain from co-writing? What's the experience been like for you? Is it easy? Hard? hard.
(30:12):
It's like anything else. It's a learned, you know, thing.
It's a learned skill that you have to work at all the time.
And I joke, but really not joking when I tell people that going into a new co-write
is kind of like going on a blind date because you're,
you know, you're going into a room with one or two new people and you're going
(30:35):
to sit down and introduce yourselves and find out about each other.
And then three hours later, you're hopefully going to come out with a song and
you've spilled your heart out in those three hours.
And it can be intimidating for people who are new to Nashville or just new to
the idea of co-writing in general.
But over the years, I have learned so much, not only about myself,
(30:56):
but just about the business and about how to become a better writer.
And there's definitely a craft to it.
And although I have learned quite a bit over the years. I still have a lot more
that I could learn just like with anything else.
So is it like a blind date and that, you know, fairly soon into it,
(31:18):
if this is going to be a, you know, a match?
I would say yes. And, you know, hopefully usually with the rights and stuff,
it's with people that you've made some kind of connection with at one point or another.
So you kind of have an idea of like, hey, we understand each other on this level
or they understand that, you know, my music tends to go towards these themes
(31:41):
or ideas or something like that. But.
It's always just kind of up in the air and you just put in the time and hope
that something good comes out of it.
So, have you ever had a bad experience where it just fell apart?
I think probably every writer can say that about some point in their life and
(32:05):
really it was more early on whenever you moved to Nashville and,
you know, you're told very quickly that once you're
once you're starting out and trying to build that circle around you you
really just have to be open to writing with anybody and
saying yes to anybody just to start trying
to find that circle of your own and so early on you know there were definitely
some rights that could have been matched up a little bit better but now that
(32:28):
I've spent over eight and a half years in Nashville I really have you know honed
in on who my circle is and who I write best with and you know I'm always I'm very grateful for that.
So how does the song come to you?
Is it lyrics first or do they come with a melody? How does it work?
(32:49):
It's really different every time for me. And that's something that was frustrating
for me, you know, being the very organized creative that I am at the beginning
when I was trying to figure out, okay, how do you write songs?
And everybody was like, well, it just kind of happens. And I'm thinking,
well, is there not like a step-by-step something that we start with?
(33:10):
But it really is. It does just kind of happen.
And sometimes I can be driving down the road and some kind of melody idea will come to me.
And so I'll grab my phone really quickly and, you know, sing it into my phone
to be able to record it that way.
Or sometimes it is just kind of like a song title
(33:31):
idea or a chorus idea or
something like that and you write that down and you know the
the melody might come to you at
a later time uh does it seem the
ideas come at like the weirdest times and
place yes the amount
of song ideas i've had wake me up in the
(33:51):
the middle of the night is absurd and also
I find that I get a lot of inspiration
when I'm out on walks and that's probably because that's really
the only time that I'll truly unplug you know
from the real world and so I do try to take my phone with me when I go out on
walks just because there does tend to be some inspiration that comes at that
(34:16):
time yeah well what was the first song that you wrote. Do you remember that one?
I think it was a song about.
Called that cowgirl which only saw the light of day for a very short time and then uh.
Thankfully so it didn't really get out
(34:37):
into the world anymore because i look back on that and i'm like oh
goodness that was not that was not a high
quality song at all were you
that cowgirl like it was it
was loosely based on my mom at the time yeah
interesting so what
has been your favorite song that you've written and that's a hard question it
(35:03):
always tends to be the most recent one that i've written at the time just because
you know i say i don't have kids but a lot of my songs and a lot of songwriters
will say that their songs are like their kids and And so there's, you know,
there's a lot of novelty to the new things that come around,
but there have been a few in the past few years that I've written that really do mean a lot.
(35:26):
And one of them being one of my singles called I Thank God, just because I am
such a big person of faith and that's such a big part of my life and my career.
And that song just means a lot to me and has opened up the door to be able to
have a lot of cool conversations with strangers about their faith.
And, you know, that's just, that's the dream to be able to do that.
(35:48):
Well, and then you were named the first ever musical ambassador.
Yes. Carolina. And so that enabled you, as I understand, to write like several songs or. Yes.
So what was that like?
It was amazing to work with the Department of Agriculture in North Carolina
(36:08):
was a dream because I was a farm kid.
And I grew up in 4-H and
FFA and all the things and so to be able to kind of open up that world and marry
my love for music with my love for agriculture was you know really the biggest
dream come true ever and took me to a lot of cool places all around my home
(36:30):
state of North Carolina that I hadn't seen before.
And so was that more of like storytelling song or what came out,
like what type of songs come out.
Yeah, a lot of storytelling songs, really, just because I heard so many great
stories from farmers and ranchers all over the state of North Carolina.
(36:51):
And, you know, from that, there's always bound to be some kind of inspiration to come.
And there was definitely some, you know, that I've held on to and have made
it into different rights later on, you know, after that.
So, you ended up moving to Nashville, or do you just go back and forth?
(37:13):
So, I moved out there after high school and went to college in Nashville and
was there for about five years.
And then once COVID hit, I ended up, like a lot of people, kind of going back
home for a little while to figure things out.
And now I just split time back and forth, and I'm grateful to have both places to call home.
(37:34):
So but who's the first famous person that you ran into at nashville that's a good question.
I don't know in like the happenstance world i couldn't tell you but one of the
first jobs that i had in nashville that opened up the door to start you know
(37:58):
being introduced to some higher
level, higher profile people.
I interned at CMA in my senior year of college in Nashville.
And so with them, I mean, you know, CMA works with all the best of the best
artists in the industry.
And so, you know, over my semester there, I was introduced to Carrie Underwood
(38:22):
and Luke Bryan and, you know, a whole lot of other people that I was just like,
oh my goodness, this is this real life so did
it still feel like starstruck meeting
that a little bit yeah and it really just depends on the people but the more
time that I've spent in this industry and you know the more notoriety that I
(38:45):
receive myself you really just continue to realize that at the end of
the day, all these people are just people, you know, and so whenever I do get
to meet them, I'm really honestly just more excited to learn who they are as
a person and, you know, just hear about their regular, shmegular day-to-day life.
(39:06):
So it's always a treat whenever you do kind of get to know those people on a
more personal level like that.
All right. So tell us about the show you're getting ready to perform.
What songs, you know, do you have new songs that are you're performing on this particular night or?
(39:27):
Yeah, well, I'm releasing a new song coming up next week.
And so that one will definitely be on the set list tonight, as well as some
more tunes and maybe even some brand new ones.
I was just in Nashville this week writing a lot. So we might even try some of those out as well, too.
But yeah, we're in Clarksville, Virginia tonight and just really excited to
(39:51):
be back here with all my Virginia people.
Yeah. So tell us about the new song that's releasing next week.
Yes. Well, it's called Somebody's Gotta Do It. And it's a nice little funny
kind of sarcastic song I wrote with two great songwriters in Nashville,
Terry Jo Box and Scott Sean White.
(40:14):
And it's I always tease and say that it's a song about how much of a chore it
can be to love my husband some days.
But, you know, when you listen to the song, you really there there is a lot
of light and and just humor to the song.
And so I'm excited to to get it out into the world.
So so what does he think of it he thinks
(40:35):
it's funny he laughed so hard whenever i played it
for him the first time which was the reaction that i was hoping for so it got
his stamp of approval so hopefully it gets everybody else's yeah well i can't
wait to hear it and so i know you're getting you know our time is uh limited
with you but so i'll just end with as you think
(40:57):
about songs you know throughout your whole life if if there were just three
songs only that could exist in the world for you what what would they be like
what are three songs that really,
you probably could listen to for the rest of your life if you had to oh my lord
(41:18):
this has got to be worse than torture.
Wow just three
more it's just
i'm thinking for time no no i know amazing
grace is always a favorite of mine as well as i could literally just throw a
(41:38):
dart at any laurie mckenna song whatsoever she's one of my favorite songwriters
but humble and kind she was a
writer on and is You know, one of the most beautifully written songs ever.
Oh, gosh. The last one. I feel like we need a fun one. We need.
Oh, goodness. We'll take. It's five o'clock somewhere.
(42:03):
Okay.
Or do you have a question that you would like to ask in our last minutes here?
So, I guess I was curious what your husband thinks of your careers.
Is he like a musical person as well?
No, he is not whatsoever. And I love it.
(42:26):
We both have our own little worlds and we can appreciate what the other person
does in their careers and cheer each other on from the sidelines.
But he is such a great supporter of me and has been from day one.
The night I met him, I told him we met in the Raleigh area in North Carolina
and I was going back to Nashville the next day.
And I said, well, just so you know, I'm a songwriter and I'm going to be a big
(42:49):
deal one day. You're going to have to travel around behind me if you're going to be with me.
And here he is seven years later. So, you know,
I guess the speech worked and he is such a supporter of me and we have a lot
of fun getting to travel around to new places for shows all the time. And he's just the best.
Yeah. So on your website that you're traveling down to Florida and you're going
(43:15):
to be like all over North Carolina and stuff coming up in the next couple of months. Yes.
Yes. Yes, I have a lot of travel coming up, up and down the East Coast in the
Southeast over the next couple of months.
So if people are anywhere nearby, they should come catch a show.
How many dates a year are you doing?
(43:35):
About 150 is usually the number that we end on every year.
Yeah, so we stay pretty busy. That's quite a lot.
All right. so I know it's getting time and we want to wish you the best on your
show tonight and release of your next single and thank you so much for coming by,
(43:58):
well thank you so much for having me on I really appreciate y'all.
Music.
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