Country Artist Katie Dix, Found By Country Royalty, Carving Her Path To Stardom…

Posted on by bchord

One of the best parts of my job is looking for new up and coming talent. I can truly say that looking for artists and finding Katie Dix is one of the best finds yet. Her sound is unrivaled and she is well on the way to an excellent career. We appreciate the time she spent with us and enjoy the interview ! Make sure to give her a like and a follow so you can follow along her journey.

B Chord: So Katie, tell us a little about your background in music. I know you have a great story and a big name in the mix.

Katie Dix: The big name that you mention, most of the younger generation doesn’t quite know who he is. I was born and raised in Bakersfield, CA. The town has always been a big music community. There was always a place to go to listen and dance to live music, so Bakersfield was really wonderful for that. Buck Owens had opened up what he called the Crystal Palace which was half museum, half restaurant and live music venue as well. It was a two story restaurant museum and theatre; it was amazing how he came up with it. I remember being 16 years old and telling my parents that I was going to sing with Buck Owens. They said go for it! I applied to work there and no one would let me get close to him because I was just a little hostess at the time. Then as the years went by, I slowly went back and every single Monday night I would go to karaoke night in the hopes that he would be there by chance. He never was but I thought I would give it a shot. Then one day, I was on the treadmill in this deep 3 mile stint and I get this phone call from Buck Owens and he said he wanted me to come down and sing for him. He said “You have 30 minutes to get here!” He was in the middle of a sound check with the Buckaroos. I’m looking around my car trying to find anything presentable to wear down there. I was pinching my cheeks and trying to find lip gloss….anything to look presentable. I get there and the whole band is there and he asked me “what would you like to sing for me?” I knew so many country songs from hearing them sing and I was so nervous and the only one that I could remember the words for was Crazy by Patsy Cline. I sang that for him and he said “Great, you are going to sing with me tonight!” I got really nervous, because it was a two story concert hall, but it was broadcasted on his radio station KEZZ in Bakersfield and some of the surrounding counties. So all of the people tuning in were going to hear me too. I went and got my hair and makeup done so I would look really good. I should mention at this time I was a waitress at his place and I was in the middle of serving a table some mashed potatoes and gravy and he said “Where is my friend Katie?” I remember shoving the plates to the people and saying “I’ll be right back!” It was so much fun. When I returned to the table, the people said “Did you just go sing?” Every Friday and Saturday from that point on, I got to go to sound check with Buck and the Buckaroos. He served me lunch and he would tell me stories about Hee Haw. I got to meet all of his friends as well….Toby Keith and Brad Paisley as they were regulars. That was always a really fun thing to look forward to. I learned so much music. I was only 19 at the time and I was just so in awe. The stories and how music works, it was so much information.

B Chord: What is it like to be a country artist in the California? It seems like more and more talent is being discovered there!

Katie Dix: Again California is really great for music. No matter where you go, you can find just about everything. Just walk down Hollywood and Sunset and you can find everything. Just in the past couple of years, country music has really grown. In Southern California in Huntingdon Beach and San Diego their country music is really growing. My band and I just performed at the Viper Room. It was amazing to get to say that I got to play there. They just started doing what they call Nashville Nights. That was a nice way to get people that don’t normally see a country act to experience it. The Hotel Café has country shows there several times a month.

B Chord: So let’s talk a little music! I love Wanted It To Be With You. I love the range in your voice and your unique sound. It is all you. Can you tell us about the song writing process?

Katie Dix: I normally write about my best friend and one of these days she is going to realize it is about her. She kind of sparks the inspiration for me. It is really funny to follow the situations she has been in and some of the dates she has been on and how terrible they were. I kind of find it fun to write as if I were her from that standpoint. That last one was about her and she really likes this guy and kind of thought he liked her too. It turned out he was seeing someone else. She wanted him to be the one that settled down with her but it didn’t turn out that way. We were at lunch one day and she was just heartbroken about it.

B Chord: You have a song like that and then you have Second Best. Country with a rock twist to it that I absolutely love! Tell us a little about that.

Katie Dix: That’s one of my favorite songs to play with my band. It’s kind of rock in your face and really fun to play. I wrote that one in about 30 minutes. I was driving home from an event in Palm Springs around 3 a.m. and I thought up the melody and started singing into my phone. I was probably pissed off about something, ha. By the time I got home, there were all these crazy voice memos. I put them together the next day and went into production with it.

B Chord: Where do you usually record?

Katie Dix: I am in love with a producer named Scott Frankford in Woodland Hills, CA. He has got such an ear and a way of bringing out what it should sound like. I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. That’s how I like to record, I sing line by line. We will be in the studio for about 8 hours sometimes. I will think it sounds amazing and Scott will say “Well let’s do it again. Was that really your best?” He truly pulls the best out of me. I highly recommend Scott Frankford to everyone.

B Chord: What are your goals for 2018?

Katie Dix: Well after just getting Thanksgiving and Christmas out of the way, just going back into the studio. I have two new songs that I would like to put into production. One is a very fun female kind of rock anthem and the other one is about a one night stand.

B Chord: Where do you usually play if your fans want to see you perform Live?

Katie Dix: I think my favorite spot is The Cowboy Palace in Chatsworth, CA. It is also featured in Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar video. It is just one of those last honky tonks. It’s really small and bare. They have line dancing. There is another place called Borderline. It’s newer and they have all kinds of bells and whistles and they even have a mechanical bull.

B Chord: You are stranded on an island and you can take only one instrument with you. What would the instrument be and why?

Katie Dix: It would have to be a guitar. I really love how versatile a guitar can be.

Please check out the links below to all of Katie’s social media. Thank you so much Katie and keep up the great work!!

Website – http://www.katiedix.com/

http://www.facebook.com/KatieNDix

http://www.instagram.com/KatieDixMusic

Wanted It To Be You

12227128_10207207513682709_4104428448385171868_n

“Don’t Stop” Lauren Davidson! Your Passion Is Contagious..

Posted on by bchord

I had the privilege of talking with Lauren Davidson about her EP, life, songwriting and being a country singer from New York. Some people don’t realize that country music is everywhere and you need to get out and see Lauren. She is an amazing talent and when she sings you can’t help but be pulled into the song. We wish her all the best and please download her EP! Thank you so much for the interview Lauren, keep up the great work.

B Chord: Lauren, give us a little background about your musical upbringing and how you got started in the business.

Lauren Davidson: I’m an urban country singer/songwriter from New York City who got started with my career at a very young age. My Dad was a singer/songwriter and I’ve been singing ever since I was very little and loved it and then began doing theatre. As I got older, I kind of grew out of the theatre and more into the songwriting and singing and decided to pursue a career as an artist.

B Chord: What is it like to be a country artist in the New York/New Jersey area? A lot of people don’t realize that it is one of the largest markets.

Lauren Davidson: Country radio in this area (New York City) has brought out all of these people that love country music and bring us all together from the northeast corridor. Nash FM has been huge for this area. All of these people and fans are here and have been so welcoming of my music. New York City is such an eclectic city where not everyone is doing music. There is a very strong fan base and following in this area. They just opened a bar fashioned like the Grand Ole Opry, Opry City Stage and I have played there a couple times. The first time that I walked in, I realized that there is a little piece of Nashville now in New York City. I think it is going to change the game for country music in this area.

B Chord: So I saw where you were on the Corvette Nations Video, tell us a little about how that happened?

Lauren Davidson: One of the guys that worked on the show contacted me to do a cover of Route 66 to be featured on their episode. The episode basically takes the corvette through various stops along Route 66 all the way from the beginning to the end. We filmed this video and they featured it at the beginning of the episode.

B Chord: The new EP “Hear Me” is terrific. Can you tell us a little of how long you have been working on this project and how it came about?

Lauren Davidson: The EP was released a little over a year ago on October 7th and prior to that we were working on it in the studio for about 6 months. Because it was my first EP and I had only released two singles, I had all of my songs to choose from and was able to carefully select the ones that really showcased who I really am as an artist. A lot of the songs I had already been performing live. Now that the EP is done, picking songs for singles gives me a lot less to choose from.

B Chord: “Don’t Stop” is your new single. Tell us a little about the song and meaning.

Lauren Davidson: Basically the idea of never giving up on your dreams no matter what they are. Sometimes we have to do things that we really don’t want to do, but no matter what never give up.

B Chord: “Right Here With Me” is my favorite song on the album! I love your vocals and it is a fun love song. How did you come up with that one?

Lauren Davidson: Thank you and that is so funny because it is one of my favorites too and it almost didn’t make the EP. When we were in the studio recording, we had four different songs that we were going to use and we couldn’t decide if we needed a fifth. I write a lot with my Dad and I was up late one night by myself and I had this idea in my head and just start jammin’ some chords down and wrote pretty much the first verse of that song. The next day my Dad came into New York City for us to write and we just popped the song out. We both loved it so much that we decided to include an acoustic version of this song on the EP. I just fell in love with the arrangement of the track and that’s how we have performed it live. It was almost unexpected the way it all happened

B Chord: Where did you film the video for that song?

Lauren Davidson: We filmed the video in Little Stoney Point which is just north of the Jersey/New York border. We basically walked up the mountain and found this place that had a gorgeous overlook and had our video done in about two hours. Austin Hein, was the one who picked the spot and he filmed the video so I can’t take the credit for the location. He did great.

B Chord: Do you have a plan to turn the EP into an album?

Lauren Davidson: We are definitely working on new music in the early portion of the New Year. I think we are going to release a couple of singles. I think it is just a better way to get my music out to my fans more quickly. There may possibly be another EP later.

B Chord: Some of your biggest musical inspirations?

Lauren Davidson: Steve Nicks, Fleetwood Mac, Carole King, Grace Potter, Carrie Underwood, Maren Morris. I am really digging her music right now!

B Chord: Where can people see you play if they want to get out and see you live?

Lauren Davidson: We mainly perform in the tri-state area, but we will be touring a little more and branching out. My next show, I will be hosting a Christmas show at Maxwell’s Tavern in Hoboken on December 21st. It is going to be a big country music Christmas party. After that in the New Year, I will be playing The Palace Theatre in the Stamford, Connecticut area.

B Chord: What is your biggest guilty pleasure song that you will put on and look around to be sure no one is listening?

Lauren Davidson: I don’t have a specific song, but I love the 90’s pop songs, like Brittany Spears and all of the boy bands. I am not even ashamed of it and I can’t stop smiling while they play.

B Chord: You are stranded on an island and you can take only one instrument with you. What would the instrument be and why?

Lauren Davidson: Probably my guitar. It is a Breedlove and was a birthday present last year. It was a special birthday. When my father turned the same age, he received an acoustic guitar as well. The Breedlove is amazing and really cute. Yes, it would have to be my guitar.

I highly recommend seeing Lauren the next time she is in your area. We have attached some of her music and website below. Thank you again Lauren.

Website – https://www.laurendavidsonmusic.com

Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/track/512lLY93LZabHrt3OZGYe7

 

Shooter Jennings Talks Songwriting And The Current Tour..

Posted on by bchord

LRG_DSC00617

I had the chance to catch up with Shooter Jennings at The Fillmore in Silver Spring, Md. for his tour with Jason Boland. When I walked into the venue I knew I was in for a treat when I saw two acoustic guitars with awesome lighting setting the stage. There is nothing better than two singer songwriters who just go at it on the acoustic guitar and spill their lyrical magic. I truly recommend catching this tour at one of their next stops! Thank you Shooter for being awesome and taking the time to talk to us.

B Chord: I love the theme for this tour. How did you and Jason Boland set this tour up?

Shooter Jennings: Well man, I’ve known Jason for a long time and I’ve co-produced his record “Dark and Dirty Mile” a while back and recently in the last couple of years I went and got myself a new booking agent which has been his booking agent for a long time. That’s how this kind of came about. Once we were in there together we started talking about doing this and that and it just got cooked up. We had so much fun doing it that we decided to do it again this year.

B Chord: Give us a little background about the album “Countach” that you released. Being a kid who grew up on 90’s country music and video games, I am in my glory with this one!

Shooter Jennings: I was doing a record that was a tribute to George Jones and at the same time I was flipping out over Georgio so it was like a George and Georgio thing. That’s how it started, but once I delved into Georgio I realized that I went all the way down the rabbit hole with it. It was really weird because I realized how much Georgio’s music had impacted me through movies over the years and it was kind of like a tribute to my childhood.

B Chord: So I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that you are the son of the amazing Waylon Jennings. Can you give us one of your best memories growing up with your father?

Shooter Jennings: I have a lot of good memories with him. I remember we used to do these projects together. We built an arcade cabinet together to put my Nintendo in and he got real frustrated while he was building it. He was just a cool Dad. We were both into the same things. He would play me Dire Straits records and I would play him Nine Inch Nails. It was a great relationship and I saw him different than most.

B Chord: One other related question…In the Highwaymen song, “Backstage At A Willie Nelson Show“, Johnny Cash sings a line about Waylon taking a call from Shooter. Was that true and do you remember the call? Ha!

Shooter Jennings: I remember hearing it later, but I have no idea what it was. I wish I knew.

B Chord: So with the holidays coming up on us, what is one thing you are looking forward to the most?

Shooter Jennings: I love Christmas. I have two kids and I wish it would never stop. I could listen to the music all year long.

B Chord: You are stranded on an island and you can take only one instrument with you. What would the instrument be and why?

Shooter Jennings: I would bring a piano. No particular one I just really love the piano.

Here is how to see more of Shooter Jennings!!

Website: http://www.shooterjennings.com/

LRG_DSC00626

LRG_DSC00630

Photo Credit Top Picture: Billboard / Others: B Chord

 

“My Side Of The Story” By Ryan Sims Is Songwriting At It’s Best…

Posted on by bchord

It was a pleasure to speak to Ryan Sims on his sophomore album “My Side Of The Story”. A true country, rock and Americana sound that has you feeling every emotion in the song. We would like to thank Ryan for his time and wish him all the best and hope to see him on the road soon.

B Chord: Hey man, give us a little insight into your background and how you got into music?

Ryan Sims: At the age of 3, I had this overwhelming urge to play guitar. I’m not really sure where it came from. I did not have anyone in my family that was really a role model for it. It just seemed like that’s what I had to do. I didn’t want to be a firefighter or a cop or a superhero, rather I just wanted to play guitar and sing. It’s a calling man like anything else that God chooses for you. If I didn’t do it, I probably wouldn’t be alive. It’s my reason to be on this earth.

B Chord: You have your new album out “My Side of the Story.” Can you tell us a little bit about the project and the writing process? I know this is a very personal album and very dear to your heart.

Ryan Sims: It all happened out of a tragedy that turned into an opportunity. I was slated to go into the recording studio in April and had all of the songs picked. Some of the songs were ones that I had recorded in the past and didn’t feel like I had done them justice. Then I went through a breakup that was very traumatic with a person that I thought that I would be with forever. She had an affair with a so-called buddy of mine. This was two weeks before I went into the studio and my whole world got turned upside down. I wasn’t really sure how this was going to affect the recording process. What ended up happening was that I threw away all of the plans that I had of recording those songs that I had already written and just began writing my ass off by myself and my producers Justin Gray and Doug Green. We put together six brand new songs that did not exist in the world. So, that tragedy brought about my very best work thus far. Hopefully these songs can help someone else heal like it did for me.

B Chord: Where have you been playing if someone is looking to come out and see you?

Ryan Sims: Right now, I have been in Phoenix where I currently live and we have been agent shopping. So if you want to see me currently you can come to Phoenix. Starting in January, it looks like we will be starting a nationwide tour. Once I hit the road in 2018, I plan to be on the road for an undetermined amount of time. I used to live in Parkville, Maryland and played with my band EastonAshe. It was my first rock band that I toured with for many years and toured the east coast. We played at Ram’s Head, The Record Theatre in Towson and many other venues in the Maryland area.

B Chord: Who are some of your musical influences?

Ryan Sims: My four major influences were: John Cougar Mellencamp, Matchbox 20, James Taylor, Dave Matthews.

B Chord: In that album, I heard a lot of John Cougar Mellencamp in your music.

Ryan Sims: Jimmy Arnoff , who was John Mellencamp’s drummer was on the project as well. I think that is what you were hearing.

B Chord: “AmericanThings” is one of my favorite songs on the album. Tell us a little more about the writing process for this song.

Ryan Sims: That song is the only tune on the record that is written by the producers and myself. When we decided to do this project, we had a problem trying to define what the music was going to be. I think my biggest asset is that I write many different styles of music and it is also my biggest downfall because agents, producers, and music buyers want to be able to tell someone what they are getting. So given that rock and roll and country was primarily what I was writing but not necessarily either, we decided to go with Americana. That being said, I wanted to put a song on the record that really enveloped the whole American theme. So we started talking about what the song should be about. I absolutely love my country and we started talking about the best parts of the United States, so “American Things” came about. The song is just what I love about this country when I wake up every day and then the bridge is about how we are not quite ourselves right now, but it’s not over and we will bounce back because we are Americans and that’s what we do.

B Chord: I love that you are so open and honest about your story. What would you like to share with someone who may be going through the same?

Ryan Sims: I don’t think a writer has any choice but to be honest with their music because the only thing that will suffer if they are not is the music. I really didn’t have a choice than being open and honest with my story or my listeners would pick up on it in my music.

B Chord: “Tragedy” is another very touching song. Can you tell us what inspired the writing of that song?

Ryan Sims: That song is the only song on the record that was written prior to what I call “the situation.” That came about from a previous relationship that ended amicably and it was one of those things where we were absolutely in love with each other but it was just not the right situation. It was probably one of the only adult break ups that I ever had. The chorus just lends to the fact that we all have this idea about what love should be and what relationships should be and a lot of that comes from growing up watching Disney cartoons and life is not a Disney cartoon.

B Chord: You have an all star cast on this album. What was it like working with some of the best musicians on this project?

Ryan Sims: OMG, I got the opportunity to record with what would be considered a supergroup if any of these musicians got together outside of my project. Given that Mellencamp was one of my heroes, having his drummer who it can be safely said that Kenny Aronoff was integral to John Mellencamp’s sound, having him on my record gave me goose bumps. The original drummer, Vinnie Colaiuta who is most sought after drummer in the world, I was on cloud nine being able to get him and at the last minute he had to back out and my producer, Justin Gray said “Well, we got Kenny Aronoff instead, is that okay?” I think my head hit the ceiling when I jumped out of my shoes. Having Darrell Jones from the Rolling Stones….that came about because we were at the Gibson boutique in Beverly Hills and we were talking to the gentleman who ran that store and telling him that we needed a bass player and he said “you should get Darryl Jones” and I said yes we sure should just joking around. He said I’ll call him. I took a deep breath and tried not to show how excited I was. Darrell answered the phone and said he would do it at the “bro price” which is unbelievable. We got Jason “Slim” Gambill from Lady Antebellum via a mutual friend in Los Angeles and Kim Bullard who is Elton John’s keyboard player. I have been finished recording this EP for five months and I still don’t think I have grasped just how great this opportunity was that I just got to experience. Also, these guys were so into the project, they didn’t just lay down their tracks, they put in the time. I think that best idea that we had with these guys was not to give them direction, rather give them the tracks and let them do what they do. As we were getting these tracks back from each player, and listening to this body of work and what is was going to be, my skin hurt from all of the goose bumps that I had all the time.

B Chord: You are a true Inspiration and I am in your corner 100 percent.

Ryan Sims: Thank you so much!

B Chord: You are stranded on an island and you can take only one instrument with you. What would the instrument be and why?

Ryan Sims: That’s a no-brainer! It would have to be my guitar. I just got a new guitar a Collings D1 acoustic and this is my first big boy guitar. Collings is made in Austin, Texas and it is the most perfect instrument that’s ever been created on God’s great earth. Probably will be the last acoustic guitar that I will have to buy. I will probably buy others but because I want them.

Please do yourself a favor and download this album and catch Ryan when he is on tour. All links for Ryan Sims are below. Photo Credit: Mark Morgan

Website – http://www.ryansimsmusic.com

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/RyanSimsBand

 

 

Erick Florence Joins The Country Music World With A Little “Front Porch Dancin”

Posted on by bchord

erickalbum

It was a pleasure to speak with Erick Florence today. He has an incredible story of perseverance and joy. I hope you give him a like and follow and listen to his music. If you are in the South Carolina area look him up and catch his next gig. Erick, thank you so much for speaking with us and wish you all the success in the world man!

B Chord: Hey man, so tell us a little about your musical upbringing and some background on yourself?

Erick Florence: I grew up singing in church as a small child up until the age of 10 or 11 years old. At that point, I became totally engulfed in sports. Sports became my life. I was a baseball kid and played until I was about 17 years old. At that point I moved into playing slow pitch softball at a competitive level until a few years ago. I played in the World Series. I loved music but I didn’t play any instrument and only sang in my car. About three years ago, I injured myself playing softball and they couldn’t do surgery to repair it. I pulled the quad off my hip. So at that point, softball wasn’t as much fun as I couldn’t play like I did in the past. So I was looking for something to do with my time. I started getting away from playing sports and I started feeling bad all the time. It turned out that I had thyroid cancer. It had moved into my vocal chords. It was already stage 2 when they discovered it and they had to remove my thyroid. It is one the easiest cancer to cure if caught early. They had to scrape my vocal chords and the reason I tell you this is that the doctors told me that my voice would not sound the same as before the surgery. God blessed me and within two weeks my voice was back fully. It was weird because I was told it would take months before my voice sounded anything close to what it sounded like prior to the surgery. So I was hanging out with some of my buddies at a Karaoke bar. I was sitting in the back singing along with those performing and was pressured by my friends to go up front and sing. So when I began singing I just loved it! I sang Karaoke two or three times per week for the next year. Finally, at one of the local bars in West Columbia, the owner said we have a date open and we need someone to fill it. She said you find a guitar player and this will be your first show. I didn’t know if I was ready for that. This happened in July of this year and it was my first gig. From then until now I have done twenty shows. I got my first guitar this past Christmas. I had never played before and just picked at it a little bit until March when I lost my job and became bored. I started playing guitar and played six to seven hours per day. I fell in love with it  as I learned and played the chords, I began hearing words to fit the chords. So at that point, I started writing music. I found a producer that I felt comfortable with, Prevo Rogers at 308 Productions in Sluto, SC and sent my music off to him. He asked me to come down and meet with him. I sent him some of the very first songs that I had written. Prevo said he liked them and wanted to sign me. I thought that was really cool as this was all brand new to me. In the meantime, at the studio I started playing Front Porch Dancin. He wanted to know where that came from and I explained that I had just written this song the day before. He told me to put the other stuff on hold as this is where we need to go. I signed with him in September and we released the song in November.

B Chord: I know you are from South Carolina, so where do you mainly play if someone wants to come out and see you?

Erick Florence: Right now we are playing in Lexington, Greater Columbia, West Columbia, and my home bar is Boses in West Columbia. I play at Boses at least once per month. We play any bar or restaurant that will let us in the door.

B Chord: Who are some of your biggest inspirations in music?

Erick Florence: My biggest growing up was Garth. All of his songs are mega hits. I am a 90’s country boy. I love the stories of the 90’s style country music. Garth Brooks, George Strait, Clint Black, and Tracy Lawrence. If we are talking about today’s music, it would be Chris Stapleton. He brings a bluesy sound to country music. I also listen to Lee Brice. I went to high school with Lee. I listen to Lewis’ music as it is a different genre and has a rocky edge.

B Chord: I love the song “Front Porch Dancin.” Can you tell me a little about the writing process of the song?

Erick Florence: I heard a song that was referring to dancing out in the fields or in a road somewhere. It was a good song but it wasn’t realistic. I grew up in the country and I have never stopped in the middle of the road and danced in the headlights. It’s just not something that happens. It was nothing unusual to see my grandparents sitting outside on the porch swing with the radio playing and they would get up and start dancing together. I am really close with my neighbors and we all sit around on our porches and when a song hits them, they will get up and start dancing. When that music hits you, you just start dancing. There just wasn’t a song out there that captures this feeling. One of my neighbors that moved in, Ryan Brazzell has a little girl, Emma and she is on the cover of the song. The focus is on the couple dancing on the porch and that is my neighbors, Ryan and Danielle, but their daughter Emma Grace is looking through the window at them. The day that I met her, I began calling her Emma Jean Grace. She knows that when Mr. Erick comes around he calls her Emma Jean Grace. I incorporated Emma into the song. It tells a real story of a couple in everyday life. My song is actually debuting on Country Radio right now.

B Chord: Can we expect some new music coming out from you soon?

Erick Florence: I’m working on a song right now and hoping to have it by the end of the month. It is called “Gone But Not Forgotten.”  Here in Columbia, we had a good guy and musician, Brandon Burr who was the lead man for the Brandon Burr band and he recently took his life. It really hit hard with the other country musicians in the Columbia area. When I heard the news, my only way to express my feelings was to write words to release my grief. It came together and I shared it with a friend of Brandon’s dad who thought it was really good. On my own and to be respectful to the family, I went to Brandon’s mom and told her that I wrote this song about Brandon. She loved the lyrics and so I am going to push 50 percent of the proceeds from online purchases of that song for the first two months to her family. This will cover the family’s expenses. After those two months, 50 percent of the proceeds will go to National Suicide Prevention. I hope that these monies will help others so they don’t make the same decision as Brandon. I have about 25 songs written and so we have 6 or 7 narrowed down to put on the upcoming EP coming out in the summer.

B Chord: If you could open for one artist who would it be?

Erick Florence: Man, I would love to open for Garth and be in that situation. I’d open for anybody who would have me… Garth and Stapleton.

B Chord: How long have you had the beard?

Erick Florence: After I had surgery 3 years ago, it became really irritating to shave with the incision. I wasn’t going to shave my face and not my neck. So I started to let it grow. It’s been about 3 years now. I have cut it down short only to just start growing it out again.

B Chord: Favorite hobby other than music?

Erick Florence: Playing video games. My favorite is Call of Duty. Before I got into music, one of the things I did was streaming on Twitch. You stream video games and people can see and hear you play the games.

B Chord: You are stranded on an island and you can take only one instrument with you. What would the instrument be and why?

Erick  Florence: If I only have one instrument with me, I would take my guitar. I could amuse myself jamming and writing songs. It would be my Alvarez guitar and I play lefty.

Reverb Nation – https://www.reverbnation.com/erickflorence

Facebook – www.facebook.com/efloscountryshow

Twitter – https://twitter.com/florence8814

Erick3