October 17, 2023 • 16 mins
Buzz Knight is takin' a walk with Country Music Artist Onoleigh. She has created a new take on music incorporating her interests in country, Americana, and rock music.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Taking a Walk.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
You have to figure out a way to really know
what you have to say, how you want to say it,
and ultimately, like I said, just be unapologetic about it. Inconsistent,
I would argue, consistency is the most important as well.
No matter who you are, what you are, just just
be there and show up every single time.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Welcome to the Taking a Walk Podcast, hosted by Buzz Night.
We explore musicians who are Hall of Famers, and we
love discovering new artists as well. Today Buzz speaks with
a new artist who combines Americana country and rock roots
to her own original style. Honaly was lauded as an
artist to watch by Music Connection and is releasing new
(00:40):
music co written by John Oates of Hall and Oates Fame.
Let's join Buzz next with Honorly on Taking a Walk.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Well, Honorly, thanks for being on the Taking a Walk Podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Appreciate it absolutely, Thank you so much for having me.
I'm excited it's.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
A virtual edition.
Speaker 4 (00:59):
But nonetheless, were together, So when were you first inspired
by music?
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Oh my gosh, I gotta be honest, this has been
just kind of a lifetime, you know, accumulation of things
that are kind of pinpointed to what I'm doing now.
But early on, I mean I was always singing and
dancing and kind of performing for the family, if you will.
And then it wasn't really till middle school did I
kind of enroll in band and do the chorus thing
and kind of go that route. And then high school
(01:28):
I was I was given a really cool opportunity to
be a drum major the conductor in our marching band,
and music kind of started shifting me in ways that
I didn't know. I was really starting to love that.
I was in soccer as well, but the music really
took over and then just kind of moving forward, you know, college,
I had a couple of musical experiences, and it wasn't
(01:49):
until well I really set into you know, thinking about
what I really wanted to do with the rest of
my life. Did I say all of these crazy random
points in the past kind of created this beautiful constellation
that I'm like, I got to follow music now. It's
where my heart and soul is. So started very early,
but it really randomly kind of found me and now
here we are. I have no complaint.
Speaker 4 (02:10):
So, and your music is fueled by a lot of
different influences, I sense there's an Americana piece, there's sort
of rootsy rock, there's country. Talk about the influences that
really shaped you musically.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Yeah, I mean I grew up in a tiny cornfield
surround her town in the old Illinois and so out there.
I mean, you just listen to so many different forms
of media, and I didn't really know what I was
listening to or why. I just knew that I liked it,
and so I try even when i'm creating now, I'm
not very good at you know, conforming to a box
or you know, putting myself kind of in. This is
(02:50):
the type of music that I play. It just feels good.
So really just a lot of a lot of what
I do and how I'm doing it now, it's just
it speaks a lot to me, and it's what I
pro we listened to a little bit growing now. My
influences very much were like Fleetwood, mac Adele oh Man,
a lot of pop honestly growing up because that's kind
of what we knew. And then of course Cherry Underwood,
(03:11):
huge Carrie Underwood fan, those big notes, things like that.
So it's really just, you know, just a bunch of
things that have kind of come together and we're seeing
what it looks like now.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
But yeah, I sent some Eagles also were an influence, definitely.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Yes, how'd you know the harmony is all that stuff
super super much?
Speaker 1 (03:30):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (03:32):
And first concert experience? What was that for you?
Speaker 1 (03:37):
So?
Speaker 2 (03:37):
Actually, I think I want to say I want to
say my first concert was twenty fifteen. I went and
saw Sam Smith in Chicago. This is when he was
just really into the balance and the you know, all
the really beautiful, beautiful stuff. I was a big fan
of that, and me and one of my best friends
were it was. It was also my parents drove us,
(03:58):
so that was a really cool concert experience. And since then,
I mean, living in Nashville, there's concerts literally every night
of the week. So I tried very much to really
bop around and learn from the best. But yeah, it
definitely started kind of kind of then.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
So and some pretty neat venues in Nashville, for sure.
What are some of the places that you're playing at
these days?
Speaker 2 (04:21):
So where I'm playing? Okay, the coolest one that I
played recently, I'll be honest, was the Country Music Hall
of Fame, the CMA Theater. Y'all, Okay, The acoustics in
that room are already insane. I mean, if you've ever
been in there, I hadn't before I played. So you
walk in, you're on this like you know, round stage whatever,
and it's I mean, it just goes up and up
and up. There's so many stories, so many balconies, and yeah,
(04:44):
it was. It was very full, very cool. I opened
for the one and only Jar Notes from Hall of Notes.
He's got kind of a solo thing going on right
now and he had me open for him. So it
was a really really great experience, and again just being
in such an iconic venue. I actually sang Clin Song
along with my original stuff because I was like, if
I'm at the CNA Theater, like we got to do
(05:04):
some Patsy Client. So it was a really cool night overall,
and definitely one of my favorite that I that I've
played in Nashville.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
Have you played the Bluebird?
Speaker 1 (05:13):
I have?
Speaker 2 (05:13):
I have played the Bluebird? You're right. That was a
couple that was actually right before the pandemic happened, which
I was super lucky. We were one of the last
rounds before they took like the in the round out
and then I think recently they just added it back in,
but that was also phenomenal just having like audience members
looking over your shoulders and like looking at all your
set notes and you're singing. I mean, it's you're really
in the middle there, you know. So it was it
(05:35):
was a really cool experience as well.
Speaker 4 (05:37):
Yes, well I'm gonna not let you get away with
talking about John Oates and how you and he met
and then ultimately how you collaborated.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
So how did that happen?
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Yeah, so like during the pandemic, obviously everything was super virtual,
and he was like, I want you to I want
to interview to this writer Nathan Chapman, which, for those
of you listening and watching, Nathan Chapman is like one
of the huge reasons why Taylor Swift is who she is.
He wrote on the first two albums, like really really
created all of that stuff. So he connected us and
(06:12):
we actually virtually wrote Walls, which is a song that's
coming out actually before the end of the year. I
believe November twenty ninth is the date we just set.
But we wrote this song was started on Zoom and
Zoom Crash because everyone was writing on Zoom, and then
we moved over to Google Meet and we finished the song.
So that was really my first like writing experience with John.
(06:35):
And then after lo again during the pandemic, we're all
just kind of write and doing our thing. And I
was sitting out on my patio one day and I
had this idea for you know, I was like, sunshine
and lemonade. That's that reminds you of better days, you know.
YadA YadA texted him and he came up with this
really cool melody. So he was asked to put together
(06:56):
I guess a musical thing for this movie called Gringa
that just came out this last year, and the song
was actually selected for like my first movie, Sink and
things like that. So John was huge in that piece
as well. So we wrote a song, got that in there.
It's called Sunshine Lemonade. So pretty much John has been
a very very cool mentor moving along the way, you know,
and just kind of showing me the ropes but letting
(07:17):
me do it myself at the same time. He's just
he's iconic. I mean, he truly is a legend. So
it's been it's been an honor, but that is genuinely
the connection and how we've been doing it. And then Yeah,
recently had me open for him, and hopefully we'll do
a few more shows coming up too. So I'm so excited.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
But yeah, that is sensational.
Speaker 4 (07:35):
Big fan of certainly his work and Hall and Oates
work overall.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
And that's so exciting.
Speaker 4 (07:42):
So Walls comes at this important topic of you know,
sort of music and you know, mental health really and
you're going to be on the other podcast that we produce,
which is called Music Saved Me.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
So tell folks why the song Walls you think is
an important song in these days?
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Oh? Absolutely So for those of you listening, as will
kind of some background on it. I went to the
University of Missouri and I got my degree in social work.
I was actually a middle school guidance counselor, and I
was working very closely with a lot of students, telling
them to pursue what scares them the most. I wasn't doing
that for myself, and so I dropped everything moved to
Nashville the hopes of limb by example right, And I
(08:34):
realized in that situation that if your cup is not full,
you cannot pour in anybody else's. And so songwriting for
me is a way that I can keep my cup
full and also pour into others. So with that in mind,
Walls Walls is written about just I was in my
childhood bedroom for the very first time since the pandemic began,
and I'm looking around and we'll disclosure. High school was
(08:57):
extremely hard for me and a huge reason why I
came a guidance counselor, because I was like, I want
to make sure students number feel as a world as
I felt. Struggling with depression, struggling with anxiety, things like
that very much what I struggle with on a daily basis.
Still it's you know, it's a fight, but Walls is
genuinely about looking at those walls that watched you grow
up your childhood bedroom, and it was saying, if you
(09:18):
could get me through this really tough time in my life,
Like you can get me through this pandemic. You can
get me through when the world literally, you know, everything
shuts down, everything goes through. So it's really just a
conversation with the most personal piece of your life, you know,
these walls, like who are you when no one's watching?
Who are you when no one's present? You're just complete self? Right,
(09:39):
And so it's a very vulnerable song and to answer
your question the importance of something like that, I think,
I think we only know who we truly are when
when doors are closed, right and like when there's no
other chaos and no other anything. And so I think
that stripped down honesty with yourself is very very important,
and that's actually the answer to better is when you're
just very honest with who you are and who you
(10:01):
want to become truly. So I hope that this song
genuinely provides like solace and comfort for a lot of people,
and it's sure as he does for me. So that's
kind of kind of the overview I guess answer to
your question is mental health is extremely important to talk about.
I think taking the stigma away that it's something to
be ashamed of. I would argue a lot more people,
(10:22):
you know, that we all look up to on a
daily basis, feel it and are struggling with it. It's
just it's hard to talk about, you know. So that's
really the long answer to all of that, but it
is extremely important to sing about and to really share.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
Definitely.
Speaker 4 (10:39):
We've had Jelly Roll on this podcast and also on
Music Save Me, and he talks about certainly the empathetic
nature of his music, which you also share that quality
with your music, the empathetic nature of music. Do you
(11:00):
believe there is a movement towards musicians, and particularly musicians
in Nashville, for really writing and creating music with some empathy.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Absolutely, And I would argue too. I mean, I used
to think sympathy, empathy, they were all kind of the
same thing. But from my understanding, you know, empathy is
feeling with somebody. Sympathy is feeling for them, and I
think there's one of those things. When writing from a
very empathetic standpoint, you're really getting in the gritty with people.
You know, You're like, I feel this with you. And
(11:36):
I think when you write from that type of standpoint,
and Jelly World does a very very great job about
this as well, is he's feeling with the people going
through it. He obviously has been through some things, you know,
and he's very open about it, his struggle with it
and how it's a continuing struggle. You know, it never
really ends. You just learn the tools how to be better.
And I think if more, you know, people really do
write about it. I mean, I think music is therapy
(11:58):
in a sense, which is ultimately why I still argue
that I use my social work degree on a daily basis,
you know, But I do think that there's this movement
coming through and artists really showing that platform that it's
okay to feel. And even when you've got quote everything,
you know, Jelly Roll, all these people, you still struggle,
like the human emotion is real, paying the mands to
(12:18):
be felt, and I think shedding light on that is
extremely important for everyone listening. And again, it's just the
human experience, you know, so definitely.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
And another one of your songs, Tightrope, is really about
life balance and the importance of that. Talk about that.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Yeah, so that song actually comes out tomorrow. And my
co writer Kenney Foster phenomenal, phenomenal guy. I was going
through it a couple of years ago, as it just
never ends, truly. But I walked in through this skill, right,
and I was telling him kind of where I was
at in life, and you know, I was trying to
come up with these concepts and these ideas that were
a little happier than I felt. He kind of stopped
(12:58):
me and he was like, Hey, is this a song
you want to write or a song you need to write?
Speaker 1 (13:02):
You know?
Speaker 2 (13:02):
When I really came up with this, and it changed
the way I look at songwriting. I said, oh my gosh,
I got to stop trying to fit the mold of
what people want to hear and really just saying like
this is this is where I'm at. I needed to
write that song. So Tightrope is very much about balancing
the complexities of life, right, life, death, comfort, regret, you know,
all these things. And when you're chasing a dream, or
(13:23):
you're chasing something bigger than yourself, or sometimes just surviving,
and that's an accomplishment in itself, you know it, it's
hard to keep that balance. It's hard to stay on
that tightrope, especially when there's so much unknown. So Tightrope
is really just this metaphorical song about life and and
keeping balance and feeling it all and ultimately pursuing something
(13:45):
bigger than yourself. So it's it's uh. It was one
of those first songs that I really wrote for me,
and I've sang it out quite a few times and
I had great response on it, and I realized, man,
I gotta put this song now. So it's been a journey,
but here we are.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
Well.
Speaker 4 (14:01):
Lastly, you mentioned Nathan Chapman and your work with Nathan
and obviously then his connection with Taylor Swift. So I
can't help but ask you, as a woman in Nashville
and in the music scene, what path.
Speaker 3 (14:19):
Has Taylor Swift helped folks like you? Forge?
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Hey, oh, this is a great question. I think Taylor
is just unapologetically herself and that's something that I've genuinely
learned and struggle with on a daily basis. On it
is still just reminding that myself that I have a
voice and that what I have to say matters. And
Taylor's really articulate and great at that. I would argue
Dolly Parton she's great at that. Share They're all great
(14:46):
at these women in the industry. They know that you know,
what they have to say matters, and they hold a
lot of weight and what they say, and I think
there's so much beauty in that. And you know, following
something like that, you have to figure out a way
to really know what you have to say, how you
want to say it, and ultimately, like I said, just
(15:06):
be unapologetic about it. Inconsistent, I would argue, consistency is
the most important as well. No matter who you are,
what you are, just just be there and show up
every single time. But yeah, Taylor is amazing and one
of actually one of my best girlfriends. She's a huge
Taylor Swift thing. I and I recently at the Country
Music Hall of Fame show, I had Paul Saidoiti, which
(15:28):
is Taylor's guitar player, playing with me that day too.
So it's kind of been this crazy full circle, a
lot of Taylor Swift connections, if you will, in my circle,
which has been very exciting knowing that surrounding myself with
some good people and give nothing but great things to
say about her. But she's she's also just a wonderful
business woman, and I think that's another element too that
I'm really trying to incorporate that yes, it is about
(15:50):
the music, but you know, you got to get people
to hear the music too and and stick up for
what you believe in. And I think it's it's been
amazing really to watch somebody paint the way. So I'm excited.
Speaker 4 (16:01):
Tonally, congratulations and good luck on everything, and thank you
for being on our.
Speaker 3 (16:07):
Taking a Walk.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Absolutely, thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Thanks for listening to Taking a Walk. Share this podcast
with your friends and listen for more episodes. On the
iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Taking a Walk.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
You have to figure out a way to really know
what you have to say, how you want to say it,
and ultimately, like I said, just be unapologetic about it. Inconsistent,
I would argue, consistency is the most important as well.
No matter who you are, what you are, just just
be there and show up every single time.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Welcome to the Taking a Walk Podcast, hosted by Buzz Night.
We explore musicians who are Hall of Famers, and we
love discovering new artists as well. Today Buzz speaks with
a new artist who combines Americana country and rock roots
to her own original style. Honaly was lauded as an
artist to watch by Music Connection and is releasing new
(00:40):
music co written by John Oates of Hall and Oates Fame.
Let's join Buzz next with Honorly on Taking a Walk.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Well, Honorly, thanks for being on the Taking a Walk Podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Appreciate it absolutely, Thank you so much for having me.
I'm excited it's.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
A virtual edition.
Speaker 4 (00:59):
But nonetheless, were together, So when were you first inspired
by music?
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Oh my gosh, I gotta be honest, this has been
just kind of a lifetime, you know, accumulation of things
that are kind of pinpointed to what I'm doing now.
But early on, I mean I was always singing and
dancing and kind of performing for the family, if you will.
And then it wasn't really till middle school did I
kind of enroll in band and do the chorus thing
and kind of go that route. And then high school
(01:28):
I was I was given a really cool opportunity to
be a drum major the conductor in our marching band,
and music kind of started shifting me in ways that
I didn't know. I was really starting to love that.
I was in soccer as well, but the music really
took over and then just kind of moving forward, you know, college,
I had a couple of musical experiences, and it wasn't
(01:49):
until well I really set into you know, thinking about
what I really wanted to do with the rest of
my life. Did I say all of these crazy random
points in the past kind of created this beautiful constellation
that I'm like, I got to follow music now. It's
where my heart and soul is. So started very early,
but it really randomly kind of found me and now
here we are. I have no complaint.
Speaker 4 (02:10):
So, and your music is fueled by a lot of
different influences, I sense there's an Americana piece, there's sort
of rootsy rock, there's country. Talk about the influences that
really shaped you musically.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Yeah, I mean I grew up in a tiny cornfield
surround her town in the old Illinois and so out there.
I mean, you just listen to so many different forms
of media, and I didn't really know what I was
listening to or why. I just knew that I liked it,
and so I try even when i'm creating now, I'm
not very good at you know, conforming to a box
or you know, putting myself kind of in. This is
(02:50):
the type of music that I play. It just feels good.
So really just a lot of a lot of what
I do and how I'm doing it now, it's just
it speaks a lot to me, and it's what I
pro we listened to a little bit growing now. My
influences very much were like Fleetwood, mac Adele oh Man,
a lot of pop honestly growing up because that's kind
of what we knew. And then of course Cherry Underwood,
(03:11):
huge Carrie Underwood fan, those big notes, things like that.
So it's really just, you know, just a bunch of
things that have kind of come together and we're seeing
what it looks like now.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
But yeah, I sent some Eagles also were an influence, definitely.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Yes, how'd you know the harmony is all that stuff
super super much?
Speaker 1 (03:30):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (03:32):
And first concert experience? What was that for you?
Speaker 1 (03:37):
So?
Speaker 2 (03:37):
Actually, I think I want to say I want to
say my first concert was twenty fifteen. I went and
saw Sam Smith in Chicago. This is when he was
just really into the balance and the you know, all
the really beautiful, beautiful stuff. I was a big fan
of that, and me and one of my best friends
were it was. It was also my parents drove us,
(03:58):
so that was a really cool concert experience. And since then,
I mean, living in Nashville, there's concerts literally every night
of the week. So I tried very much to really
bop around and learn from the best. But yeah, it
definitely started kind of kind of then.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
So and some pretty neat venues in Nashville, for sure.
What are some of the places that you're playing at
these days?
Speaker 2 (04:21):
So where I'm playing? Okay, the coolest one that I
played recently, I'll be honest, was the Country Music Hall
of Fame, the CMA Theater. Y'all, Okay, The acoustics in
that room are already insane. I mean, if you've ever
been in there, I hadn't before I played. So you
walk in, you're on this like you know, round stage whatever,
and it's I mean, it just goes up and up
and up. There's so many stories, so many balconies, and yeah,
(04:44):
it was. It was very full, very cool. I opened
for the one and only Jar Notes from Hall of Notes.
He's got kind of a solo thing going on right
now and he had me open for him. So it
was a really really great experience, and again just being
in such an iconic venue. I actually sang Clin Song
along with my original stuff because I was like, if
I'm at the CNA Theater, like we got to do
(05:04):
some Patsy Client. So it was a really cool night overall,
and definitely one of my favorite that I that I've
played in Nashville.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
Have you played the Bluebird?
Speaker 1 (05:13):
I have?
Speaker 2 (05:13):
I have played the Bluebird? You're right. That was a
couple that was actually right before the pandemic happened, which
I was super lucky. We were one of the last
rounds before they took like the in the round out
and then I think recently they just added it back in,
but that was also phenomenal just having like audience members
looking over your shoulders and like looking at all your
set notes and you're singing. I mean, it's you're really
in the middle there, you know. So it was it
(05:35):
was a really cool experience as well.
Speaker 4 (05:37):
Yes, well I'm gonna not let you get away with
talking about John Oates and how you and he met
and then ultimately how you collaborated.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
So how did that happen?
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Yeah, so like during the pandemic, obviously everything was super virtual,
and he was like, I want you to I want
to interview to this writer Nathan Chapman, which, for those
of you listening and watching, Nathan Chapman is like one
of the huge reasons why Taylor Swift is who she is.
He wrote on the first two albums, like really really
created all of that stuff. So he connected us and
(06:12):
we actually virtually wrote Walls, which is a song that's
coming out actually before the end of the year. I
believe November twenty ninth is the date we just set.
But we wrote this song was started on Zoom and
Zoom Crash because everyone was writing on Zoom, and then
we moved over to Google Meet and we finished the song.
So that was really my first like writing experience with John.
(06:35):
And then after lo again during the pandemic, we're all
just kind of write and doing our thing. And I
was sitting out on my patio one day and I
had this idea for you know, I was like, sunshine
and lemonade. That's that reminds you of better days, you know.
YadA YadA texted him and he came up with this
really cool melody. So he was asked to put together
(06:56):
I guess a musical thing for this movie called Gringa
that just came out this last year, and the song
was actually selected for like my first movie, Sink and
things like that. So John was huge in that piece
as well. So we wrote a song, got that in there.
It's called Sunshine Lemonade. So pretty much John has been
a very very cool mentor moving along the way, you know,
and just kind of showing me the ropes but letting
(07:17):
me do it myself at the same time. He's just
he's iconic. I mean, he truly is a legend. So
it's been it's been an honor, but that is genuinely
the connection and how we've been doing it. And then Yeah,
recently had me open for him, and hopefully we'll do
a few more shows coming up too. So I'm so excited.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
But yeah, that is sensational.
Speaker 4 (07:35):
Big fan of certainly his work and Hall and Oates
work overall.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
And that's so exciting.
Speaker 4 (07:42):
So Walls comes at this important topic of you know,
sort of music and you know, mental health really and
you're going to be on the other podcast that we produce,
which is called Music Saved Me.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
So tell folks why the song Walls you think is
an important song in these days?
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Oh? Absolutely So for those of you listening, as will
kind of some background on it. I went to the
University of Missouri and I got my degree in social work.
I was actually a middle school guidance counselor, and I
was working very closely with a lot of students, telling
them to pursue what scares them the most. I wasn't doing
that for myself, and so I dropped everything moved to
Nashville the hopes of limb by example right, And I
(08:34):
realized in that situation that if your cup is not full,
you cannot pour in anybody else's. And so songwriting for
me is a way that I can keep my cup
full and also pour into others. So with that in mind,
Walls Walls is written about just I was in my
childhood bedroom for the very first time since the pandemic began,
and I'm looking around and we'll disclosure. High school was
(08:57):
extremely hard for me and a huge reason why I
came a guidance counselor, because I was like, I want
to make sure students number feel as a world as
I felt. Struggling with depression, struggling with anxiety, things like
that very much what I struggle with on a daily basis.
Still it's you know, it's a fight, but Walls is
genuinely about looking at those walls that watched you grow
up your childhood bedroom, and it was saying, if you
(09:18):
could get me through this really tough time in my life,
Like you can get me through this pandemic. You can
get me through when the world literally, you know, everything
shuts down, everything goes through. So it's really just a
conversation with the most personal piece of your life, you know,
these walls, like who are you when no one's watching?
Who are you when no one's present? You're just complete self? Right,
(09:39):
And so it's a very vulnerable song and to answer
your question the importance of something like that, I think,
I think we only know who we truly are when
when doors are closed, right and like when there's no
other chaos and no other anything. And so I think
that stripped down honesty with yourself is very very important,
and that's actually the answer to better is when you're
just very honest with who you are and who you
(10:01):
want to become truly. So I hope that this song
genuinely provides like solace and comfort for a lot of people,
and it's sure as he does for me. So that's
kind of kind of the overview I guess answer to
your question is mental health is extremely important to talk about.
I think taking the stigma away that it's something to
be ashamed of. I would argue a lot more people,
(10:22):
you know, that we all look up to on a
daily basis, feel it and are struggling with it. It's
just it's hard to talk about, you know. So that's
really the long answer to all of that, but it
is extremely important to sing about and to really share.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
Definitely.
Speaker 4 (10:39):
We've had Jelly Roll on this podcast and also on
Music Save Me, and he talks about certainly the empathetic
nature of his music, which you also share that quality
with your music, the empathetic nature of music. Do you
(11:00):
believe there is a movement towards musicians, and particularly musicians
in Nashville, for really writing and creating music with some empathy.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Absolutely, And I would argue too. I mean, I used
to think sympathy, empathy, they were all kind of the
same thing. But from my understanding, you know, empathy is
feeling with somebody. Sympathy is feeling for them, and I
think there's one of those things. When writing from a
very empathetic standpoint, you're really getting in the gritty with people.
You know, You're like, I feel this with you. And
(11:36):
I think when you write from that type of standpoint,
and Jelly World does a very very great job about
this as well, is he's feeling with the people going
through it. He obviously has been through some things, you know,
and he's very open about it, his struggle with it
and how it's a continuing struggle. You know, it never
really ends. You just learn the tools how to be better.
And I think if more, you know, people really do
write about it. I mean, I think music is therapy
(11:58):
in a sense, which is ultimately why I still argue
that I use my social work degree on a daily basis,
you know, But I do think that there's this movement
coming through and artists really showing that platform that it's
okay to feel. And even when you've got quote everything,
you know, Jelly Roll, all these people, you still struggle,
like the human emotion is real, paying the mands to
(12:18):
be felt, and I think shedding light on that is
extremely important for everyone listening. And again, it's just the
human experience, you know, so definitely.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
And another one of your songs, Tightrope, is really about
life balance and the importance of that. Talk about that.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Yeah, so that song actually comes out tomorrow. And my
co writer Kenney Foster phenomenal, phenomenal guy. I was going
through it a couple of years ago, as it just
never ends, truly. But I walked in through this skill, right,
and I was telling him kind of where I was
at in life, and you know, I was trying to
come up with these concepts and these ideas that were
a little happier than I felt. He kind of stopped
(12:58):
me and he was like, Hey, is this a song
you want to write or a song you need to write?
Speaker 1 (13:02):
You know?
Speaker 2 (13:02):
When I really came up with this, and it changed
the way I look at songwriting. I said, oh my gosh,
I got to stop trying to fit the mold of
what people want to hear and really just saying like
this is this is where I'm at. I needed to
write that song. So Tightrope is very much about balancing
the complexities of life, right, life, death, comfort, regret, you know,
all these things. And when you're chasing a dream, or
(13:23):
you're chasing something bigger than yourself, or sometimes just surviving,
and that's an accomplishment in itself, you know it, it's
hard to keep that balance. It's hard to stay on
that tightrope, especially when there's so much unknown. So Tightrope
is really just this metaphorical song about life and and
keeping balance and feeling it all and ultimately pursuing something
(13:45):
bigger than yourself. So it's it's uh. It was one
of those first songs that I really wrote for me,
and I've sang it out quite a few times and
I had great response on it, and I realized, man,
I gotta put this song now. So it's been a journey,
but here we are.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
Well.
Speaker 4 (14:01):
Lastly, you mentioned Nathan Chapman and your work with Nathan
and obviously then his connection with Taylor Swift. So I
can't help but ask you, as a woman in Nashville
and in the music scene, what path.
Speaker 3 (14:19):
Has Taylor Swift helped folks like you? Forge?
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Hey, oh, this is a great question. I think Taylor
is just unapologetically herself and that's something that I've genuinely
learned and struggle with on a daily basis. On it
is still just reminding that myself that I have a
voice and that what I have to say matters. And
Taylor's really articulate and great at that. I would argue
Dolly Parton she's great at that. Share They're all great
(14:46):
at these women in the industry. They know that you know,
what they have to say matters, and they hold a
lot of weight and what they say, and I think
there's so much beauty in that. And you know, following
something like that, you have to figure out a way
to really know what you have to say, how you
want to say it, and ultimately, like I said, just
(15:06):
be unapologetic about it. Inconsistent, I would argue, consistency is
the most important as well. No matter who you are,
what you are, just just be there and show up
every single time. But yeah, Taylor is amazing and one
of actually one of my best girlfriends. She's a huge
Taylor Swift thing. I and I recently at the Country
Music Hall of Fame show, I had Paul Saidoiti, which
(15:28):
is Taylor's guitar player, playing with me that day too.
So it's kind of been this crazy full circle, a
lot of Taylor Swift connections, if you will, in my circle,
which has been very exciting knowing that surrounding myself with
some good people and give nothing but great things to
say about her. But she's she's also just a wonderful
business woman, and I think that's another element too that
I'm really trying to incorporate that yes, it is about
(15:50):
the music, but you know, you got to get people
to hear the music too and and stick up for
what you believe in. And I think it's it's been
amazing really to watch somebody paint the way. So I'm excited.
Speaker 4 (16:01):
Tonally, congratulations and good luck on everything, and thank you
for being on our.
Speaker 3 (16:07):
Taking a Walk.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Absolutely, thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Thanks for listening to Taking a Walk. Share this podcast
with your friends and listen for more episodes. On the
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