On
The Road With Parmalee – Tracy Nightingale
The Road With Parmalee – Tracy Nightingale
Coming
off of their second Opry performance just 48 hours prior to sitting
down with me, the boys of Parmalee still had a lingering excitement
among them. “It was a lot cooler this time. The first time, it was
The Grand Ole Opry and we’d never done it before and it was one of
those lifetime achievement things.” says Barry Knox (bass). He
continues “So I think every single one of us was nervous.” Josh
McSwain (guitar) adds “This time was much more relaxed. We were
still nervous but nothing like the first time.”
off of their second Opry performance just 48 hours prior to sitting
down with me, the boys of Parmalee still had a lingering excitement
among them. “It was a lot cooler this time. The first time, it was
The Grand Ole Opry and we’d never done it before and it was one of
those lifetime achievement things.” says Barry Knox (bass). He
continues “So I think every single one of us was nervous.” Josh
McSwain (guitar) adds “This time was much more relaxed. We were
still nervous but nothing like the first time.”
Parmalees
second single “Carolina” has done decent on the charts and was
what most of the fans were waiting to hear at Country Thunder in Twin
Lakes, WI on a hot July 19th afternoon. Putting some finishing
touches on an EP due out sometime soon, Matt Thomas (lead vocals,
guitar) explains “Next year we will do a full length record but
we’re going to release some new music real soon.” Comprised of 2
brothers, a cousin and a childhood friend, Parmalees first single
“Musta Had a Good Time” was written based on some life
experiences the group shared growing up. Curious how a lifetime
together allows for creative freedom, Matt explained “I think we
always kind of challenge each other to keep coming up with ideas. You
always have to make a move forward and that’s part of being an
artist.” Josh says “We’ve always written on life experiences,
but until a couple of years ago we didn’t have all the experiences
that we have now.” And those life experiences aren’t all the kind
that make for a party song. In 2010 after a club show, Scott Thomas
(drums) was shot three times during an attempted robbery on the bands
RV. Early on, it wasn’t a forgone conclusion that he would survive.
Josh continues “That experience alone kind of changed all of us.
Just now knowing we’re not guaranteed the next day. So we’ve
written a couple of songs about that. ‘Another Day Gone’ is one
that will be on the upcoming EP.”
second single “Carolina” has done decent on the charts and was
what most of the fans were waiting to hear at Country Thunder in Twin
Lakes, WI on a hot July 19th afternoon. Putting some finishing
touches on an EP due out sometime soon, Matt Thomas (lead vocals,
guitar) explains “Next year we will do a full length record but
we’re going to release some new music real soon.” Comprised of 2
brothers, a cousin and a childhood friend, Parmalees first single
“Musta Had a Good Time” was written based on some life
experiences the group shared growing up. Curious how a lifetime
together allows for creative freedom, Matt explained “I think we
always kind of challenge each other to keep coming up with ideas. You
always have to make a move forward and that’s part of being an
artist.” Josh says “We’ve always written on life experiences,
but until a couple of years ago we didn’t have all the experiences
that we have now.” And those life experiences aren’t all the kind
that make for a party song. In 2010 after a club show, Scott Thomas
(drums) was shot three times during an attempted robbery on the bands
RV. Early on, it wasn’t a forgone conclusion that he would survive.
Josh continues “That experience alone kind of changed all of us.
Just now knowing we’re not guaranteed the next day. So we’ve
written a couple of songs about that. ‘Another Day Gone’ is one
that will be on the upcoming EP.”
They
joke about other current topics for writing which includes girls.
“There’s only 3 kinds of songs just about in country music,”
says Matt, “There’s love songs, there’s fun time party songs
and then there’s a song about the town.” Josh adds “So the new
one is called ‘Party Girl Town’!” and erupts laughter
throughout the room. Maybe not completely truthful, but nonetheless
it will be exciting to see what this group brings our way next.
joke about other current topics for writing which includes girls.
“There’s only 3 kinds of songs just about in country music,”
says Matt, “There’s love songs, there’s fun time party songs
and then there’s a song about the town.” Josh adds “So the new
one is called ‘Party Girl Town’!” and erupts laughter
throughout the room. Maybe not completely truthful, but nonetheless
it will be exciting to see what this group brings our way next.
Tracy Nightingale for Country Music News International