Johnny Chops and His Stories of Redemption

 

All photos taken at the Post on River East in Fort Worth by Alan Mercer

Johnny Chops has been writing and performing music since his uncle gave him a battered acoustic guitar at age 16. Coming from a musical family, it wasn’t a big stretch for him to begin walking down a path searching for songs. His grandfather, a Lubbock, Texas carpenter with no musical training, played fiddle and guitar to entertain his 11 children. His father recently retired from a 40-year career as a choir director and music educator. 

Since 2002, Johnny has spent a large part of his career as bass player and songwriting contributor in the Randy Rogers Band. Together they have recorded 8 studio and 2 live albums on both major and independent labels, as well as extensively toured the United States more than 100 dates a year.  With solo albums in 2013 (Sticks & Stones) and 2018 (Johnny Chops & The Razors) he began charting his own path as an independent songwriter, while also holding steady with his band mates in RRB.

During extensive touring throughout 2018 and 2019, Johnny continued his daily and weekly habit of songwriting, amassing a mountain of new material to choose from for his next release.  2020 obviously had other plans. In the face of the global pandemic and virtual shutdown of the live music industry, Johnny and his wife, Andy, channeled their creative energies to confront this new reality with a positive new single, titled simply, “Hope is Contagious Too.”

To finish out 2020 with another good note, he released his single “My Own Piece of Heaven” and an accompanying video which has quickly gained thousands of views in its first week of release. In March of 2021 his single and video “Trouble with the Truth” premiered on the Bluegrass Situation and showcased his video production and directing talents. 

In 2023 Johnny finds himself following another of his dreams by acting in the Western movie titled 'Killin' Jim Kelly'. 

Alan Mercer:  I love all your music and I was wondering what your general message is?

Johnny Chops:  I like to tell stories. First and foremost, for me, it’s about the story. I like stories about redemption.

AM:  I did notice that theme.

JC:  Not from an organized religion point of view, but there is a spirituality that is interesting to me. I like to tell the story of the struggle between right and wrong inside people. I think it’s a compelling story to tell.

AM:  Would you say you have experienced these kinds of struggles?

JC:  For sure, absolutely. In my younger days I was much wilder and after whatever the shiniest thing was at the time. As I’ve aged, I find myself searching for things with more meaning.

AM:  Your latest songs are less bluesy and have all had a "pretty" quality. Is that a conscious choice you’ve been making?

JC:  I will say I’ve focused more on lyrics. I don’t want to say positive, but I found a couple of songs on my last full-length album that resonated more than others and I wanted to explore that. I don’t know that it was conscious that I wanted to make a happier, nicer sound. I think they were just the three best songs I had written by that point. They said the most of what I wanted to say most truthfully.

AM:  Do you write by yourself?

JC:  Mostly, I do co-write occasionally but it’s not my go to.

AM:  Talk to me about your song, ‘Ten Cent Talkers’.

JC:  I was watching the news a lot. That is my commentary on the world at the time. I wrote that in 2016.

AM:  The world has gotten even more that way since.

JC:  It did. They didn’t listen to my song, apparently. (Laughter)

AM:  You do have a good sense of humor that comes through.

JC:  Good, I’m glad about that.

AM:  Where did you film the video for ‘My Own Piece of Heaven’?

JC:  We filmed that in my Austin neighborhood. My wife drove my truck with my DP in the back and I followed them around. We did plan the route out and I did time it with the song. I looked for places that wouldn’t have too much traffic.

AM:  You have 2 jobs because you are the bass player for Randy Rogers. How long have you been playing with that band?

JC: I started in 2002 so it’s been 21 years.

AM:  I guess that’s your full-time job.

JC:  Yes, there are definitely more Randy Rogers followers on Spotify than Johnny Chops, which is fine. That job pays my mortgage and keeps my dogs fed.

AM:  Your Bassett Hounds are famous.

JC:  They deserve it.

AM:  I love dogs, so I love them.

JC:  It’s kind of a cheap shot, right? You got me with the cute dogs.

AM:  I don’t think it is because there are so many of us that genuinely like seeing them. Do you work more with Randy Rogers or by yourself?

JC:  Right now, we play between 70 and 90 shows a year, so that’s probably the lion’s share of my year performance wise. As we’ve gotten older, and we have some security in the markets we play, we’ve been able to maintain. We have our markets that we do OK in. That sustains us and allows everybody to either have a family and kids or in my case to do other projects. I’m OK with that. I don’t know how much I want to do this solo gig because life on the road is hard. It’s a grind and that might take the fun out of it.

AM:  As a solo artist to you stay in Texas?

JC:  Mostly. I did do a run out in California a couple years ago. I also did a brief little run on the East coast with an artist by the name of Kevin Daniel. He’s out of Nashville now. I supported him because he came and did some shows with me here in Texas. I went to the Carolinas and Georgia. Mostly I stick to Texas and play in Austin, Houston, and the panhandle.

AM:  Have you ever done anything solo in a Randy Rogers show?

JC:  Not really. I opened a couple of shows here and there back when I put that full length record out. He was kind enough to let me open a few shows. It’s a lot of work for me to do in one day. I didn’t love it. Generally, they like to put someone on support who can draw a big crowd.

AM:  Let’s talk about your song, ‘Only When You’re Breathing’.

JC:  That song went through a lot of different identities in pre-production. I wasn’t sure where it was going to go. It’s a stream of consciousness about my feelings toward the lack of concern for what’s really happening. When people in general can go no, no. no, this is the story I want to tell, whether it’s true or not. It started out as one thing but then when we got in the studio, we started having fun with it and it became this cool jam thing. A lot of that has to do with David Abeyta who helped me produce that record, as well as the band. Everybody chipped in for the arrangement of that song. It started as a simple stripped down repetitive Blues riff, and I feel like it became something bigger.

AM:  Blues seems to be the basis of your music.

JC:  Definitely for me. When I was 16 and 17, my mom was into these bar blues bands and I snuck in a few times. The music just resonated with me. I certainly haven’t had a hard enough life to deserve real blues, but I think blues speaks to everyone.

AM:  What do you see in your future? Are you going to continue releasing singles?

JC:   Probably, right now I’m doing something completely different. I’m acting in a Western movie. It’s really fun.

AM:  How did you get cast in the movie?

JC:  I did acting and theater in high school. I actually went to college to be a director, but I started picking up gigs as a bass player. I decided to just do that. I lost interest in the college thing. I had totally forgotten about acting and I didn’t know how to pursue it as a 19-year-old. It didn’t seem like a thing I could pursue in real life. So, during covid I set up a profile on a casting web site, just as kind of a lark. I thought maybe I would get a commercial. It was just something fun to do.

AM:  Did you get cast in anything else?

JC:  I did. I got a political ad in Austin and I got another commercial. I did a short film last year in Houston and another short film in Austin. I auditioned for the Western and I got the part. I’m loving it. It’s really fun.

AM:  I have a feeling you are a good actor. Many musicians are good actors because you have to act your music and lyrics.

JC:  Absolutely. They are related art forms with the performance part. I’m excited about this new chapter of my life.

To learn more about johnny Chops visit his web site https://johnnychopsmusic.com/

If you would like to donate to the movie go here 

Jenn Ford: Authentic Roadhouse Country Music

 

Photo by JME Studios

Jenn Ford has been singing her entire life.  Born and raised in East Texas, Jenn first started performing in church, school choir and marching band. She attended college as a vocal music major and was a member of several select groups and ensembles, before joining the US Army. During her time with the Military Police, Jenn was selected to tour with The United States Army Soldier Show, the 62nd Army Band; and eventually assigned to The United States Army Europe Band and Chorus.

​Jenn's experience includes radio, television, and stage production, all while pursuing her career as a singer-songwriter. A vast range of musical influences from Patsy Cline to Credence Clearwater Revival to ZZ Top, gives Jenn the diversity to entertain a wide range of audiences.

Having performed worldwide in front of military audiences as large as 40,000, Jenn is at home in front of a crowd, and draws her energy from it.  Her gritty, soulful tones that have a bluesy flavor, while staying true to her roots as an East Texas country gal with lots of sass.

I talked to the East Texas Singer/Songwriter over the phone about her latest release, ‘Americana Radio’ which is an album of her versions of 10 iconic songs we all know. I expected to enjoy my conversation with her, but I received so much more than I could ever have imagined. Jenn Ford is an immense amount of presence, even over the phone. Time has only enhanced her beauty and talent. Now, in her mid 40's, with years of experience on stage, is her time. She's talented, smart, driven and savvy about the realities of life and she's ready to Rock n' Roll her way to superstardom and I believe she will do it. 

Photo by JME Studios

Alan Mercer:  Did this album happen out of the blue?

Jenn Ford: I was offered a chance to record for Texas Country Records in 2017. I wasn’t shooting for country music when I decided to start singing. I had been singing my whole life. I had a heavy metal band, and I was in the army band in army entertainment for 6 years when I was in military service for 11 years.

AM:  Wow! That’s amazing already.

JF:  I did military police work, but they figured out I could sing, so I kept getting pulled into special duty assignments. I have sung all types of music, but I’ve always loved southern rock, blues, and country. I’ve always loved roots-based music.

AM:  Yet, you were in a heavy metal band?

JF:  The heavy metal thing was a one off, but I had a great time doing it. That’s where my songwriting started to take shape. Then Linda Wilson from the Texas Country Music Association was putting together her first award show. I had already hosted other award shows, so she asked me if I wanted to be a part of it.

AM:  Did you know who she was?

JF:  Yes, I grew up in Carthage with her kids. I was absolutely interested. I wanted to help her make it happen. I thought I was just going to be the MC but two weeks before the show she asked if I could sing one of my original country songs at the awards show and I just said, yes. I didn’t have a country song, so I wrote a country song that day.

AM:  Jenn, that is outrageous.

JF:   I’m not afraid to get on stage and be in front of people. BJ Mezek was there, and he asked me to write for him and 2 weeks later I got a call from Linda. They wanted to record a single, so I wrote 6 songs and sent them, and they decided to record all 6 and give me a record deal. I had no band and no country image I could nail down. I spent the next couple years finding my way. I noticed I kept getting further away from country music. I always felt I had an edge, so I called myself roadhouse country because that’s a little bit of everything. You never know what you’re going to get when you walk into a roadhouse. There are always all kinds of characters in there.

Photo by Live Beautifully Photography

AM:  Who’s idea was it to do an album of covers?

JF:  It was my idea to do an album of all covers. I wanted to do all epic songs from American songwriters that are iconic and that had impacted me as a musician the most. Some I had already been performing on stage like ‘She Talks To Angels’ and ‘Gold Dust Woman’ which has been a staple for me for years, but I never thought I would record ‘Black Hole Sun’ but I did it because of Chris Cornell.

AM:  It’s a great final song to end the album.

JF:  I put it at the end of the album to be like the extra track, like they used to do in the old days and put a hidden track on there.

AM:  The order of the songs is so perfect.

JF:  I picked the order. I tried to do the pacing to where it would ease folks into it. I have loved ‘Angel From Montgomery’ forever. I put a lot of thought into that. I’ve been singing that song for years because it’s so beautiful. I’ve always been able to relate to that song about a middle-aged woman. This is my first production credit also.

AM:  You sing ‘Whipping Post’ with authority.

JF:  That comes from a real story. Whenever I’m on stage I try to put myself somewhere that I felt wherever the original artist was at.

AM:  Did you draw from personal experience as well?

JF: There are so many relationships that I have been through, that I can draw from. I have felt the betrayal that comes from someone breaking up with you, many times. I’ve been crushed and filled with anger and sadness and exhaustion. I tried to pull all of that into the song.

AM:  You definitely connect emotionally with all the songs.

JF:  Another one I feel strongly about is ‘She Talks to Angels’. I used to be that girl at the bar who would be drinking because she was so sad. I’ve seen those girls at the bar who are trying to figure it all out. You have to have grace for that person. I think a lot of people go through that and are out there flapping in the wind with no direction. That song comes from the girl not loving herself, even though everyone else loved her. I feel like at times I didn’t love myself. I was filled with chaos in my twenties. I look at all the tunes like that. I can connect with every single song.

AM:  What would you say is the main reason you recorded this album?

JF:  I want to create an interest. I don’t want to be a bar band anymore. I want to be a touring artist. I feel like this is the time I need to seize opportunities. The time is short.

AM:  You should only record music that is real and resonates with you.

JF:  Thank you for saying that. I think I will be more authentic and that more people will connect with me.

 

Photo by JME Studios

Photo by JME Studios

To learn more about Jenn Ford visit her website https://www.jennford.com/

Cory Cross: Garage Rock & Outlaw Rhythms

 

All photos taken in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards by Alan Mercer

Cory Cross is a singer/songwriter born and raised in Fort Worth, TX. Cory got his musical start playing n church, and has been crafting his unique blend of Bluegrass, Americana, and George-Jones inspired Country Music since he was a teenager. His songs have been featured on radio stations across Texas, and his albums have been reviewed and featured by publications such as Fort Worth Weekly and Dallas Observer. Cory continues to perform with his band all around Texas and has several records out on all streaming platforms, including the EP “Holy Spirits” and hit single “I Can’t Walk the Line.”

Alan Mercer: How long have you been performing and writing music?

Cory Cross:  Let’s see, I’m 35 now and I started playing music in church when I was 15, so I’ve been on stages playing music for over half my life. I was 19 when I played my first secular show. I’ve taken time off and worked for the Christian ministry as a music director for a few years, then gave that up and worked full time off and on for about 15 years, but my latest run has been almost 2 years of me working in music full time. Ironically enough, it was when covid started that I quit my ay job and I released an EP right before the lockdown. I’ve been going full time since everything opened up again.

AM:  You are a unique blend of someone who has experience and is also a new artist.

CC:  Yes, I do have the experience of all the little things like working with sound guys, how to write an email, how to get paid, how to promote a show, so I have enough experience with that. When I got started again, I had a solid infrastructure, but I would consider what we’re doing now as new, as far as my personal direction. It’s a new band. We’ve only been together for about a year. Previously I was playing more coffee shops doing the singer/songwriter type of stuff. I was doing a bunch of acoustic shows and now we do primarily full band shows in the dancehall honky-tonks, which is something that I hadn’t done before.

AM:  Who are the musical influences for this new work?

CC:  From the stuff we’re doing right now, we’re definitely drawing from the 90’s stuff that I was hearing on the radio when I was fishing with my uncle. That would be Clint Black, George Strait, Alan Jackson and a lot of that stuff. Me and the rest of the guys in the band have all played in rock n roll bands. Our live shows have that flavor as well.

AM:  Are you recording anything now?

CC:  Yes, we just finished recording a 4 song LIVE in the studio EP. Instead of tracking everything separately like you normally do in a studio, we wanted to capture the feeling of being at a live show. The EP is called ‘Live At Tomahawk Studios’ that will be out in June. We did the music videos in the studio for each song. We just released the video for ‘I Can’t Walk The Line’. I wrote some tunes for this project as well. April 7 is when the first single from the EP, ‘Done Being Good For Good’ will be released. The video is already out and we got over 200 views in less than 2 weeks so we are stoked.

AM:  I can sense your career is about to lift off.

CC:  We believe that too.

AM:  Do you split your time between Fort Worth and Shreveport?

CC:  Yes, I live in Shreveport and my girlfriend works in Shreveport, but my family lives in Fort Worth, so we are splitting our time between the two places. We do runs with Thursday, Friday, Saturday in Fort Worth and then I’ll do weekday restaurants in Shreveport.

AM:  Those restaurant jobs are acoustic, aren’t they?

CC:  Usually. I have a steel guitar player in Shreveport and in Fort Worth. Normally we do the acoustic stuff.

AM:  Do you have any tours coming up?

CC:  We actually have a tour out west in May and June. We’re going out to California and doing stops along the way. We’re going to do 5 or 6 dates in the LA area ad then head over to Colorado.

AM:  They will love you out there.

CC:  There is a market out there for this kind of music.  When we were in our early 20’s we were all in the punk scene and now I feel like our crowd is out there dancing the two-step to honky-tonk music. That’s cool man. I dig it.

AM:  I talk to a lot of musicians, and everyone seems to have a punk music background.

CC:  I know, isn’t that funny? 

AM:  Why do you think that is?

CC:  When we were first discovering music was when Nirvana hit the scene. A lot of people are like me and when we listened to one band, we wanted to go back and hear what influenced them. Kurt Cobain was listening to the Misfits. We are tracing it back, so when we started playing music at 19, we were playing that punk rock stuff. Back in Austin we were doing really sloppy, fast surf rock.

AM:  Where are you getting your current inspiration from?

CC:  It’s the live shows and what the crowds are responding to the most and usually it’s the old 90’s stuff they can dance to. I’m writing my own versions of those without being derivative. I’m throwing in my own influences like the garage rock stuff and mixing it with the outlaw rhythms like Waylon. I’m playing 6 times a week right now and with a full band we are playing 5 or 6 times a month.

AM:  Why do you think you are playing so much right now?

CC:  We were all locked up with covid and now that we are out again people want to get out there and dance. I’m really proud of my singer/songwriter songs and I think there is a place for that, but we are trying to capture the joy of a live setting.  

AM:  I love your song, ‘I Can’t Walk The Line’. Where did that come from?

CC:  I remember vividly getting ready for worship practice at church and that little rift just came to me. I was thinking back to my experience outside the law. It’s a little tongue and cheek.

AM:  I love the humor.

CC:  One of the things I like about country music is the wit. George Jones ‘I’ll Get Over Her When The Grass Grows Over me’, it’s like a punch line. ‘If Drinking Don’t Kill Me, Her Memory Will’, there’s a set up and a punch line. It’s a sad subject matter but you want people to experience some joy.

AM:  You mentioned growing up in the church. Can you tell me a little about that?

CC:  Yes, my dad was a pastor, and my grandfather was a pastor, my great grandfather was a pastor, my brother was a pastor, and my uncle was a pastor. I did that for a little bit and my faith is the most important thing to me, but I feel like God moved me in this direction. It wasn’t like I turned my back on my faith, I just went in a different direction. It’s so important in my life, that now in the secular arena I can be a voice to someone who this can be helpful for. Maybe they won’t hear a sermon or a worship song, but they might follow me and hear my story and then explore their own faith. It could save their life as it really did save my life.

To learn more about Cory Cross visit his web site https://www.corycrossmusic.com/

 

Lee Mays: The Award Winning Smooth Jazzman

 

All photos by Alan Mercer except the 2 album covers

Lee Mays, a.k.a. Percy Mays, is a singer, songwriter, and producer who is internationally recognized and critically acclaimed. In 1976, Mr. Mays made his mark in the world of contemporary Christian music with the release of his self-made vinyl album, "Shine Your Love". In 1978, the title song, "Shine Your Love" was released as a single on Word Records by The Cruse Family. That song contributed to The Cruse Family's 1978 album entitled, "Transformation", which won the Dove Award for "Best Album of the Year".

Since the early 2000’s, the “Shine Your Love” album has been a highly sought after item on internet auction sites such as eBay, Yahoo Japan, and other auction sites due to the fact that it had become a vinyl collector’s gem over the decades. The music of “Shine You Love” has also been licensed by several independent record companies including The Numero Group in August 2022.

Lee's first album 'Shine Your Love' from 1978 under the name Percy Mays

In December of 2015, Mr. Mays released the “Real Love” CD on the Soul Invasion record label. The 13 songs on the “Real Love” CD contain a mixture of smooth jazz and R&B/Soul sounds. In 2014, the single, “Give Me Another Chance” featuring Fulton Turnage, was among the year’s Top-30 songs in the United Kingdom on the Global Soul Radio Station, which is UK’s #1 Internet radio show.

From 2015 to 2021, art directors and booking agents in jazz clubs and concert halls booked Mr. Mays for concert appearances in major cities throughout Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Belarus, and Italy. To his credit, Lee currently has one Italian feature film and three Italian short films in which his music can be heard.

Lee Mays 'Real Love' album cover

In August 2022, Lee won the Amsterdam Freedom Independent Film Festival's Best Original Score award for his compilation of 11 songs in the Italian short film, La Carrozza dei Sogni (The Carriage of Dreams), directed by Frances Sapphire.

In March 2023, Lee won Best Original Score for a second time with La Carrozza dei Sogni at the 2023 Luis Buñuel Memorial Awards in Calcutta, India.

Alan Mercer:  Lee, you have a brand new song coming out. What can you tell me about it?

Lee Mays:  The new song is called ‘Rainbow In My Heart’ and it’s actually not a new song. I’ve been playing with it for the last few years. Now, I have beefed up the production and finetuned it. I got the software, that I’ve had for years, off the shelf when we were on lockdown. I taught myself to use it because what else was there to do?

AM:  Covid was good for musicians in a way.

LM:  Yes, I had to become introspective, like we all did. I had been spending thousands of dollars a year going to recording studios in Dallas. There is nothing like going form spending ten thousand dollars a year to spending nothing on production. I only had to pay for the musicians. It’s all been a learning process for me for the last three years. I have learned how to be a good studio engineer. That is really something for me because I am a musician, an artistic person. I am not a technical person. I could never be an electrical engineer.

AM:  Was learning this technical side as hard as you thought it would be?

LM:  I used to think it was complicated, but the more I sat down and learned it, it wasn’t as hard as I originally thought. I’m more talented and smarter than I thought I was. I’ve taught myself just about everything I’ve learned how to do in life. I taught myself how to play piano and guitar. I even taught myself how to sing. Back in the old days I was told by a good friend that I wasn’t a singer. Back when I was in college, I was in a trio in Canyon, Texas. They are good friends of mine to this day. They were all state choir back in high school. They were tenors and I was a comedian. I was considered the Bill Cosby of West Texas.

AM:  That’s the hardest job in the world.

LM:  It is the hardest but it was easy for me because all I had to do was listen to the old Bill Cosby records and I did impersonations of him. That was good enough for me and the audience. Of course, today I wouldn’t touch anything by Bill Cosby. It was fun back then. We had a music comedy show and we would travel to schools and churches and do shows. I was writing songs way back as far as 1970 and the guys were doing my songs in the shows. One day I told them I wanted to sing. I saw these guys getting all the glory. I played bass in the background. I would see all the girls loving the singers and I wanted some of that. Those guys told me I was a good songwriter, a good bass player and a good comedian but I was not a singer. It was two against one, so I said, OK. Fast forward five years and those guys recorded a country gospel album and then I did an album called ‘Shine Your Love’ and guess which album got all the airplay. The album that I produced, wrote, and sang on. Today it’s a collector’s item.  

AM:  It’s wrong to tell people they can’t sing. It’s simply a different style.

LM:  It is wrong. A lot of it has to do with desire and your heart. If you have the heart for something and a desire for something, you can do it. I had to teach myself how to sing. It was the same thing when I recorded the ‘Real Love’ album back in 2015. I didn’t think I was good enough to sing some of the songs I had written so I didn’t sing half the songs I wrote. I picked my favorite singers from Dallas and I asked them to sing because I felt they could do it better than me.

AM:  Much like Quincy Jones.

LM: Yes, then my good friend, Fulton Turnage, who is a great singer and my saxophone player, sang on the album. I took him with me to Russia in 2016 where we did a duet together and it was a smash hit. This was my first time in Russia. Everywhere we went, the people loved our show. He sang some of my songs. The next year when I was returning to Russia, he couldn’t go. I had to learn how to sing the songs that he sang because they had to be sung and the audience loved it. I’ve had to learn how to adapt and be what I had to be in order to get the music across.

AM:  You have your own unique way with a song, and you have a niche all to yourself. You should be celebrated for it.

LM:  I’ve heard people say that. My record label in Nashville told me they wanted me on their roster because there is nobody who can do what you do. It’s cool to have that distinction.

AM:  I like you working with other artists also.

LM:  When I was last in Italy I teamed up with a young Rap/Hip Hop artist out of Milan. He is coming out with a single and I am featured on it. That will be a mix of smooth jazz and rap. His name is Sclaise and he’s very talented. I’m looking forward to this release.

AM:  Is it in Italian?

LM:  The rap is Italian, but my vocals are in English. We did a music video in a city north of Milan called Arona. It’s a beautiful resort city. It’s a worldwide release so hopefully we will get some airplay in the United States as well.

AM:  Lee, your songs always seem to be and stay at the top of the charts even though you don’t play live shows very much.

LM:  That is so interesting. I’ve been an artist on ReverbNation since 2014. Throughout the whole time, my music has always been at the top of the charts in the genre of R&B/Soul and Smooth Jazz. Right now, ‘Rainbow In My Heart’ is the number one song in Dallas/Fort Worth and it’s been that way for months. I know people are listening to my music. It’s really come as a surprise. I never thought that week after week, month after month and year after year, my songs would stay so popular. Maybe because they sound more commercial.

AM:  You have a good commercial ear.

LM:  Many years ago, I as offered a job in Nashville to be a staff writer for Bobby Goldsboro Music. This was back in the 1980s. They guy that offered me the job used to be in a band I was in back in California and he wrote commercials. He wrote lots of famous jingles and commercials.

AM:  Obviously, you didn’t accept that job.

LM:  At the time I couldn’t make it work. I would have had to move to Nashville, so I never took the job.

AM:  Are you going to keep releasing songs on the MC1 Nashville label?

LM:  Yes, although I may decide to release a single independently. I’ve got a song called ‘Won’t You Be My Girl’ and I finally have it sounding the way I want it to sound.

AM:  You also write Gospel songs, don’t you?

LM:  Yes, I have a gospel song I wrote about 25 years ago about a lady I was dating at the time, and she had a little dog that was 13 years old and when the dog passed, it tore her up. That was her child. The family dog is like a baby. Since I was not a pet owner, I was surprised by how devastating it was for her, so I decided to write a song inspired by a dog who died. The title of the song is ‘He Will Take Care Of You’.  It’s a song designed to comfort.

AM:  So many people need comforting all the time.

LM:  You don’t need to have lost a pet to be able to relate to the song. It’s about somebody caring for you enough that no matter what happens you will be taken care of. I hope I can release it on MC1 Nashville’s gospel label.

AM:  Gospel music is your roots.

LM:  That is my roots. I started playing piano in my dad’s church when I was nine years old. My dad was a Baptist minister. There was nobody to play piano and my dad told me I had to learn so I could play.

AM:  When did you start playing jazz?

LM:  I started playing jazz chords when I was 17. One of my favorite bands back then was the band, Chicago. I love those kind of chords so I started playing that jazzy type of stuff. Then by the time I was 18 I started writing the songs that would be on the ‘Shine Your Love’ album.

AM:  Do you have any goals left at this time?

LM:  I just want to be where I’m wanted the most. I had been busy in Russia and Ukraine from 2015 to 2019. Of course, when Russia invaded Ukraine, I had to cancel everything. I almost moved to Moscow. I had moved out of my apartment, and I had considered relocating to Moscow because when I was there I would get calls every day from all over the Russian federation to come perform. I was also getting calls from Italy. The Italian people love me, so I might relocate to Rome or Milan. All I want to do is work. I want to be in front of audiences and perform my music. That’s my passion.

To learn more about Lee Mays visit his ReverbNation page

 

Ryan Glenn Makes The Most Out Of Every Moment

 

Ryan Glenn photographed at Second Rodeo Brewing in the historic Stockyards in Fort Worth,TX

“Distinctive and authentic, Glenn keeps things fresh while proving age is no barrier when it comes to maintaining a traditional sound.” Helen Jones - Americana UK

 

North Texas singer-songwriter Ryan Glenn's unique style and sound has been compared to a wide range of music icons, spanning from Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly to Hank Williams and Johnny Cash and even Bob Dylan. One thing is for certain, his live show is an experience that is anything but typical. Blending the best of Rockabilly, Texas Blues and Country, Ryan Glenn & The Honky Tonk Heat offers a variety of musical styles presented with energy and precision. The band's original approach to classic music has landed them on stages all over Texas from Gruene Hall to the State Fair of Texas, where audiences are surprised to learn that this accomplished entertainer is merely 21 years old.  

Ryan Glenn's first full length album Faraway Rose

Ryan and his band released their first LP "Faraway Rose" in April of 2021, produced by Dallas music icon John Pedigo and featuring guest appearances by Joshua Ray Walker, Ken Bethea (Old 97's), Jaret Reddick (Bowling for Soup), Kevin Geil (Two Tons of Steel) and others. Currently the band is in production on their second album, this time with producer Tim Lightyear at the helm, scheduled to be released in 2023. 

I met with Ryan before his performance at Second Rodeo Brewing in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards where he told me what was going on in his world.

Alan Mercer:  Ryan, when did you start playing music?

Ryan Glenn:  I started playing music when I was around 15 years old.

AM:  And you were already recording by the age of 17?

RG:  Yes sir, I released my first record in 2019 when I was 17 years old.

AM:  That isn’t the easiest thing to do. Can you give me a little background on how it all happened?

RG:  I’ve always been into music, and I’ve always loved music. I feel very grateful and lucky and privileged to be born in a family of musicians. My grandmother has been a musician since the 1970s when she was real young. My mom and my stepdad have both been musicians since they were real young, so I’ve been submerged in this culture and environment my whole life.

AM:  You have total support and that makes a big difference.

RG:  Yes sir, I am very blessed.

AM:  When you recorded your first EP, did you have someone backing that project?

RG:  I was in high school so my parents helped me with it. I was working for it and saved up money in a savings account. We just used the home studio of my bass player at the time. It was 4 songs that I wrote and a cover of the Queen song, ‘Another One Bites The Dust’.

AM:  It’s unlikely that a person my age would be able to relate to a 17-year-old musicians songs, and yet I was totally blown away by your music and I realized it had nothing to do with age. How did you blend the rockabilly sound of yesteryear with a modern contemporary sound of today?

RG:  I think what it is, is I just listen to so much music. I have so many different heroes and influences. I have my big heroes in the Rockabilly field like Elvis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Eddie Cochran, who I love. Then I also have heroes like Aerosmith and Queen and heroes in the Punk field like The Clash. ‘London Calling’ is one of my favorite albums ever. I love Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson. I also love newer music. Billie Eilish has some great music. I grew up listening to 90s Alt-Rock too.

AM:  I hear the Punk and Alt-Rock influences and I hope they never leave you.

RG:  No sir, they won’t.

AM:  When did you record your first full length album?

RG:  We recorded it in 2020. We hit the studio a few weeks after I graduated from High School. I graduated during the pandemic. Everyone else was getting ready for college and I went into the studio to make a record.

AM:  That sounds so cool. How did it make you feel to be making a record as opposed to going to school?

RG:  Actually, in a way it did feel like going to school. I fell in love with the studio, and it led me to an internship at Audio Dallas under Paul Osborne and later on becoming a full-time assistant engineer for local producer Tim Lightyear. It was like getting my education in many ways, and besides all that it just felt natural. My friends who wanted to be nurses went to nursing school, my friends who wanted to be business majors went to a business school, and I wanted to be a musician, so I made a record. I honestly haven’t spent that much time out of the studio since!

AM:  What kind of reaction do you get from people when they hear your recordings?

RG:  I like to think it’s pretty positive. I’ve been featured by different news sources a few times. I was on NPRs 20 Under 20 when I was still a teenager. I’ve been played on some of the local radio stations. I feel like I get a positive reaction but there is a lot of not knowing how to classify me as an artist. I think that’s the biggest thing. People are struggling to figure out what kind of music I am making. For a while that really bugged me because I want people to know what they are listening to. Then I realized that when Elvis was making music nobody knew how to classify him either.

AM:  Not knowing how to classify you means you’re good.

RG:  I appreciate that.

AM:  You are an innovator and moving forward.

RG:  Thank you. When I realized that not everyone is able to describe what my music is, I realized that it meant I was able to make any kind of music I wanted. I can make what feels natural.

AM:  I would say your music best fits in the Americana genre. Do you agree and if so why or why not?     

RG:  That’s typically how we tend to brand ourselves just because of the wide range of “Americana” artists there are. Many of my friends in the business that classify themselves as Americana, really fit more into categories of rockabilly, Texas blues, or Western swing. It’s a really eclectic genre and covers a lot of ground.

AM:  Your song ‘Piper’ is mind blowing! It’s the perfect song to open the album.

RG:  We knew when we were tracking it that it would be the best song to start off with. Even now, in 2023, we still open all of our shows with that song. It’s a fun song and we have a lot of fun performing it. It gets you hyped up. It works on the band as well. It might be a slow night, or I might be tired from doing a whole string of shows but when we play that song, we are in it.

AM:  I want to talk about your cover of ‘All Of Me’. I’ve never heard it done by anyone the way you do it. Who came up with that arrangement?

RG:  That was me. I love doing songs by the people who influence me but I don’t like doing it the way they did it.

AM:  Who was the influence for it?

RG:  Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald.

AM:  Are you familiar with Jazz music?

RG:  I love jazz music. I have jazz players in my band. My steel guitar player and my fiddle player and my drummer all have jazz and classical backgrounds.

AM:  Is there any Western Swing in your repertoire?

RG:  I love that stuff. I’m a big Bob Wills fan and Two Tons of Steel is one of my favorite bands in the world. Kevin Geil from that band has been a mentor to me.

AM:  Have you got your third album recorded yet?

RG:  We’re working on it right now. 2 of the 5 songs from the EP are finished.

AM:  You are smart to do an EP again. People aren’t listening to albums as much right now.

RG:  No, with social media, people’s intake of content is so limited. People can’t digest big albums like they used to be able to.

AM:  When do we, the public get to hear the new music?

RG:  We want to have the first single out in a few months. We want it out very soon.

AM:  Are there any plans to tour outside the Dallas/Fort Worth area?

RG:  For sure. We went down to Houston last month and we are going to be in Marfa for Spring break. We are going to be going down south more. 

AM:  Do you have time for a personal life?

RG:  No, I spend all of my time practicing or playing shows and I also work in a studio. I spend a lot of time in the studio.

AM:  Your live shows are gaining a reputation as superb. Do you do your own booking?

RG:  I do my own booking. I wear a lot of different hats. I’m blessed to have the family I’m in. My parents have been booking bands their whole life. My dad actually plays in my band with me. He’s my bass player. I never feel like I’m doing it by myself. I wear a lot of hats but so does everyone else in my family. I always have support and I always have people on my side. I know not everyone has that so I count my blessings.

AM:  Your family is clearly an important part of your life and career. Can you believe how blessed you really are?

RG: No sir I really can’t, and because of that I used to find myself taking it for granted a lot. I don’t think I’m ever going to fully understand the sacrifices my family makes for me until I have one of my own. I’ve grown up a lot, and I recognize it more lately than ever before. I try to make the most out of every opportunity with them, so many people don’t have the privilege of a family, much less one who serves as a support system. I try to make the most out of every moment and try to pay the blessings God gives me forward every chance I get.

To learn more about Ryan Glenn and see where he is performing visit his website https://ryanglennband.com/