Backstage Pass Radio

S4: E14: Savannah Rae - A Voice So Rare With Tejano Flare

April 26, 2023 Backstage Pass Radio Season 4 Episode 14
Backstage Pass Radio
S4: E14: Savannah Rae - A Voice So Rare With Tejano Flare
Show Notes Transcript

Date: April 26, 2023
Name of podcast: Backstage Pass Radio
Episode title and number:  S4: E14 - Savannah Rae  - A Voice So Rare With Tejano Flare


Artist Bio -
Savannah Rae is an all-American country singer-songwriter who proudly hails from San Antonio, Texas. Born into a music and arts-loving family, Savannah’s own journey to becoming a fast-rising entertainer and songwriter was inspired by a trip to an Evanescence concert in 2009.

Not long after that, at age 11, she was enrolled into vocal and guitar lessons at GRAMMY award-winning Michael Morales’ Rockstar Academy. Since then, Savannah has given hundreds of performances in intimate venues around the US, all the way to the Texas State Fair & Wisconsin Country Fest where she opened for Jason Aldean and Way Out West Fest opening for Jon Pardi. She’s also made appearances on the American Music Awards and on NBC’s The Voice, along with being a brand ambassador for Boot Barn, Country Outfitter, C Force Water by Chuck Norris, Miranda Lambert’s clothing line, Idyllwind, Elixir Strings, Gator Cases, and the Picklejar App.

Throughout 2023, Savannah will release a series of country-rock-Spanglish songs further propelling her into the spotlight.


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Artist Media Handles:
Website - www.thesavannahrae.com.com
Instagram  - https://www.instagram.com/thesavannahrae
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/thesavannahraemusic


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Randy Hulsey 

 

Savannah Rae Mixdown Master

Sun, Apr 23, 2023 11:38AM • 52:17

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

artists, independent artists, people, music, song, country, savannah, nashville, listening, backstage pass, musician, bit, play, honestly, called, listeners, rock, big, little bit, Wisconsin, Savannah Rae, Savannah Rae Music, Georgette Jones, Freddy Fender, Nashville, Boerne Texas, Cypress Texas, Crystal Vision Studio, Randy Hulsey, Randy Hulsey Music, Randy Hulsey Podcast, Backstage Pass Radio, Backstage Pass Radio Podcast

 

SPEAKERS

Randy Hulsey, Savannah Rae, Adam Gordon

 

Randy Hulsey  00:00

Today I have a singer songwriter coming to you guys from Music City. I hope you all are doing well. It's Randy Hulsey with backstage pass radio. My guest today is a native San Antonio Texan but now calls Nashville home. She has an angelic voice with a country and Tejano flair. So saddle up and we'll take a ride out to Nashville and chat with up and coming superstar Savannah Ray when we return.

 

Adam Gordon  00:25

This is backstage pass radio, the podcast that's designed for the music junkie with a thirst for musical knowledge. Hi, this is Adam Gordon. And I want to thank you all for joining us today. Make sure you like subscribe and turn the alerts on for this and all upcoming podcasts. And now here's your host of backstage pass radio. Randy Halsey.

 

Randy Hulsey  00:54

Savannah, hello. Hi, how are you?

 

Savannah Rae  00:58

I'm doing great. How are you doing?

 

Randy Hulsey  00:59

I'm doing well. Well, it's nice to finally get to see you and take some time to get to know you. So welcome. Yeah,

 

01:07

thank you so much for having me on. Happy to be here.

 

Randy Hulsey  01:09

Yeah, I think that we might have had to reschedule once or twice. But here we are. So that's a good thing. Finally. Finally, scheduled schedules are always a funny thing with a couple of musicians. And we're here. So that's good. I appreciate Paula helping get this set up for us. So yeah, definitely shout out to Paul. Yeah, right on. So you made the move to Nashville. I guess I just found this out the other day. I know you were born and raised kind of in the San Antonio area. But you made the move to Nashville. Hmm.

 

01:41

Right. Right. Yeah. I mean, born and raised in San Antonio, I've actually lived in about 15 different states. But born and raised in San Antonio, I always claim that as home actually a little town right outside of San Antonio called Bernie, if you've ever heard of it. That's where I'm from. I would say San Antonio, because not a lot of people know where Bernie is.

 

Randy Hulsey  01:59

It's easier sometimes. And so like you. I'm from Cypress, Texas, which is northwest Houston. So sometimes it's I say Cypress and then I catch myself for people out of the state. And it's easier to just say Houston because they can visualize that in the mind's eye. Right?

 

02:15

Exactly. Yeah, no, so I just say San Antonio, but yeah, it definitely happened to be here in Tennessee. It's actually pretty reminiscent of Texas, so it was pretty easy to get me acclimated

 

Randy Hulsey  02:25

Sure. Pretty easy transition for you. Uh huh.

 

02:29

Pretty easy transition. They you know, it's it's southern they got crazy allergies here. The whole thing. Oh,

 

Randy Hulsey  02:37

don't get me started on the pollen. So I just start I was working on my, my pool today. And I'm like, why does this thing just not want to turn blue? But if you look outside, all the cars are yellow. Like, how can anything be clean around here? It's It's nuts.

 

02:51

It's insane. I've been sick for like the past two weeks with but just just crazy allergies,

 

Randy Hulsey  02:57

which for a vocalist is never fun having to fight allergies and sinus stuff, right?

 

03:02

Oh, it is the worst. About three days ago, I just opened my mouth to sing and just nothing came out. So we'll try again another

 

Randy Hulsey  03:10

day. It is funny because sometimes when I'm playing with so I'm in an acoustic duo here. And you go through the whole sinus thing. You have the drainage, you've been coughing you get on stage, and like you said, either the voice cracks or it doesn't come out. And it's like, am I going through puberty at this age? Like what's going on here? Right,

 

03:32

exactly. Yeah, it is a mess. And it is so unpredictable. Like one day you'll be fine. And then the next day you'll just be dying. And it's just the life of living in Tennessee.

 

Randy Hulsey  03:42

Exactly. Well, when did the move to Nashville take place for you?

 

03:46

About three or four years ago? So pretty. You've been there a while relatively recent. Yeah.

 

Randy Hulsey  03:54

Nashville is where you're calling base camp for yourself. Now you're you're permanently situated in Nashville. Right? Right. Right, right. Yep. And I had a few other artists on my show back in I think it was season two, and they were from the greater San Antonio area too. And those artists being let's see here. Did I have Creek Fisher? Gabe Garcia. I don't know if you're familiar with either of the artists Bree Bagwell and Paul Eason were both on the show. Paul plays with a group called the Wilder blue and I think he was with Kevin Fowler for a number of years but so lots of great talent out of the San Antonio area, you included. So who was Savannah Ray before you got in to music? What kept you busy as a kid? Were you a music kid? Were you a sports kid? Talk to the listeners a little bit about pre music, right like what you're doing now.

 

04:53

Honestly, I started music when I was 12. So there was not a whole lot of pre made music because it was pretty much always about music for me. You know, I grew up in a music and arts loving family. Not that my family did anything musical, but they just appreciated music that is loved music, you know, from the minute pretty much that I came out the womb, they were like, here's a whole bunch of music that you can listen to everything from country to rock to pop to like 16th century like lute music, you name it, they pretty much just let me enjoy it. And so, at around 10 or 11, my parents started taking me to concerts, and I just, I loved going to different concerts and different festivals. And I remember specifically, when I was 11 years old, I went to an Evanescence concert, and the lead singer of Evanescence name is Amy Lee. He's incredible, incredible vocalist. And I remember I remember turning to my mom, when we were at this concert, and I said, I want to be just like her, you know, I want to do what she's doing. And thankfully, my parents took me very seriously when I said that. And they enrolled me into vocal lessons and guitar lessons. And I had my first like, full band show at age 12, at this place called Sam's Burger Joint. And so that pretty much kind of sealed the deal for me. And from there, I was just like, music, music music. I didn't do much else other than music. I mean, you know, I had different activities such as a, you know, soccer bass. I like to ride horses and stuff. But I was not the greatest at sports. Thankfully, I found music. That sounds typical playing basketball,

 

Randy Hulsey  06:34

right? Well, that sounds typical. A lot of musicians. I think they all dabbled in sports, but they knew at an early age that that was going to kind of be it for them. Right. And yeah, I don't think it's always important that your parents have a musical background like they like they're an instrumentalist. But just the love for music will filter down, I think, through the generations. My mom was a pianist, but my dad had really no musical background. And I don't even know that it was her playing the piano that gave me my love for music, but it was always in the house, it was in the cars. And it was a variation of a lot of things. So I like you, you know, we had that instilled in us at a very early age. And you go and see shows like that it's very impressionable at a young age, especially an 11 year old girl, you know, that's probably the prime age of, you know, you're grabbing on to whoever right is like, Oh, my God, I want to be like her what? And as well as boys, right? Boys are not excluded from that. But I totally get it. I totally get it. So the parents didn't play any musical instruments, right?

 

07:45

No, not at all. I was the, I guess, the first musician of my family.

 

Randy Hulsey  07:49

So any siblings and and were they not musically inclined? You didn't follow them?

 

07:56

Brother. We were about 10 years apart. So he's a he's 14 right now. And he has zero interest in music. But as of recently, I will say he is more getting into maybe the production side of things. He likes a different type of music. Not that I don't like it. It's just you know, like, I'm pretty country, pretty country rock. So he likes like rapping, you know, trap and like different stuff like that. So he's actually getting more into beat making and a whole lot of that stuff. So we'll see what happens with that. It could be a hobby, it could be something that he really wants to pursue, you know, so we'll see. Well,

 

Randy Hulsey  08:35

I'm like you, you know, like, I'm not a big hip hop guy. And like, I totally respect it. Right. It's a fine art. And I couldn't even begin to rap nor you know, nobody would listen to that. But that is an art like that. It takes talent to do that. You know, it's, it's pretty cool. And to make beats as well, like, not everybody can just make cool beats like I couldn't do it. So

 

08:58

sure. Yeah. Oh, yeah, definitely. I mean, I grew up listening to like, maybe 90s rap. So that's, you know, probably something that I relate with a little bit more. He's obviously more modern. He's 14. Yeah, he likes all the new stuff. But yeah, it's definitely something like I said, Not my wheelhouse. I like you know, country music, rock music that kind of stuff. But we'll see if he if that's something that he wants to get into.

 

Randy Hulsey  09:22

Yeah, and it's interesting because a lot of artists who were you know hard rock people at one time or rap people they're crossing over. I mean, look at Robert Plant do and stuff with who is it Alison Krauss now and you know, big have Led Zeppelin fame and, you know, Kid Rock crossing over into country, Aaron Lewis going from stain to country like, I mean, I think it's, you know, I guess some people would say you're a sellout. You know, there's always going to be the haters. But what they've done that you have to give them props for is they've made themselves irrelevant, and they've stayed relevant and as you know, In this business, if you're not relevant, you're just you were something somebody was listening to 15 years ago, and you're not selling records, you're not touring, you're not doing anything. So it's all about staying relevant. I think that's a big part of the game.

 

10:14

I mean, honestly, that's one of the coolest things to me, you know that people are able to crossover and do different genres, because, you know, take somebody like Aaron Lewis, he's incredible, just such an incredible talent and the fact that he can do both, yes. Like, that resonates almost more with me at the fact that he can do rock and he can do country. Yeah.

 

Randy Hulsey  10:35

I love that. Yeah, well, and you're, you're really not too far off crossing over either. Right. So and we'll talk a little bit more about that. But you've played all over the country. And we'll get into some of the upcoming shows that you have a little bit later on. But you've been fortunate enough to open for some big names. Sure. A couple of the memorable ones with the listeners or a memorable one that kind of stuck out in your mind. And why was it special to you?

 

11:04

Sure, I probably have like three that I can think of off the top of my head. So when I was 16, I opened up on the main Chevrolet staged at the Texas State Fair for Jason all teen. That was crazy. You know, I was only 16 years old. That's why I was super nervous. It was it was really, really cool. And then, you know, fast forward almost seven, eight years after that. I actually got to play another show opening up for Jason all Dana, we played country Fest in Wisconsin, last year, which was one of our best, best shows out of the year, he was so fun. People in Wisconsin, are just they have different energy about them are just so excited to get out there. And just honestly party. So much fun, you know, and as musicians, you feed off the crowd. So if the crowd is feeling it, it's a great show. The third one was actually last year as well. We opened up for John party our first ever sold out stadium show, which was you know, that's incredible. Yeah, I'm an independent artists that doesn't really, I don't really, I can't think of many independent artists that get to do fun shows crazy big shows like that all the time. So it's a it was a huge deal. And definitely one of our best shows out of last year.

 

Randy Hulsey  12:18

Well, good for you. It's interesting that you say that, you know, Wisconsin because I've had quite a few Nashville folks on my show. And I see them going to Wisconsin a lot. There's something about there's something going on in Wisconsin that I don't know about. I'm gonna make myself a note here. And I'm gonna have to go search for some, you know, artists up in that area, because I kind of want to see what's going on in the scene up there. Centers? Well, it's

 

12:45

very interesting, because I was talking to actually some of the people that went to country fest that saw me and you know, stayed for the entire show. And I was talking to them, I was like, Wow, you guys are crazy. Like, what? What's going on? Like, are y'all just really excited to see country music, and they basically said that it is just cold for nine months out of the year, freezing cold for nine months out of the year. So the three months that they get a warm weather, they just go insane. They go wild, they go crazy. And I'm like, You know what? That makes a lot of sense. It

 

Randy Hulsey  13:16

certainly does from the mouths

 

13:19

of a Wisconsinite. That is what they told me.

 

Randy Hulsey  13:22

And before you started saying that I had already thought that in my brain, it's like when you're locked up in a house for eight months out of the year, it's snow and you can't get out and do a damn thing. When as soon as that sun comes up, it's like, Yee ha it is time to go out and party, right?

 

13:39

Oh, yeah. And boy, did they, Wisconsin, Wisconsin has always been really great. And we're going back there a few times this year that I'm really excited. Very cool.

 

Randy Hulsey  13:48

Very cool. And we'll talk about that in a minute. how impactful is it to an up and coming and independent artists for that matter? To get to share the stage with you know, the bigger name artists what does that do for an independent up and coming artists popularity for followers for that? Can you speak to that? Yeah, of

 

14:14

course. I mean, those are the shows that you dream of booking because when you're an independent artists, you do everything yourself, pretty much unless you know you have a booking agency unless you have a really great manager, you know, different kinds of stuff like that. For me, I don't we do everything ourselves, which is you know, it's a lot of work but it does make the shows that come around like that, that much sweeter when we do get to play them because it's like, wow, we did this ourselves and this is awesome. And then you know, to be able to share the stage with people of that caliber with artists of that caliber, you know, that are selling out stadiums. It's it's just honestly it's an honor of course but it also is It does lend a bit of credit to your name, you know, it's like, oh, I don't know who this girl is. I've never heard of her. But she's on the bill with this huge artists. So let me go check out her music, you know, let me go see what she's all about. And chances are, you know, if granted, if your music is decent, you gained a fan, you gained a follower. And so it lends a bit of credibility to your name. And then also, like I said, sharing the stage with people like that. It's just so cool. And you know, I remember John, John party, whatever, he went on stage, you know, he and he shouted out, the rest of us, they play with him. And it's just, it's just, it's a really cool thing to be able to hear people that you know, you heard on the radio. Oh, they know who you are. Sure. And that's, that's such a cool thing. Yeah. And

 

Randy Hulsey  15:47

I think you probably hear some horror stories from time to time. Like, you know, the bigger names have, you know, smaller names on the bill, but yet they don't come out of their, their trailer or whatever, and mingle with some of the opening acts, there's probably some of that that goes on to which is a shame.

 

16:05

No, yeah. I mean, there's a lot of moments that are like that, I can think of so many different moments that I have reached out to different artists that I've really looked up to, you know, over the course of my career and just I just love their music and, you know, I'll message them and you know, just be like, Hey, I would love to open up a show for you, anytime, any place like you name it, I that's like a dream, you know, sort of thing and definitely it Yeah. And I mean, you know, it's a shame too, because like you said, they were in my shoes not that long ago and that is a promise that I've always made to myself you know, if I ever do get to that point of which there at that I I will always support you know, smaller artists because like I said, that used to be me and so it's a bit disheartening sometimes but it's also motivating because I'm like, You know what, I'm going to do it

 

Randy Hulsey  17:07

well, there's there's an old adage to Savannah and it's called reap what you sow right and basically meaning you know, do unto others right it so be you know be like that to the younger generation because when you get there you'll want to reciprocate what you were not you know, getting from the artists back when you were coming up as an independent artists so that's a great attitude to have for sure. You released a single I think it was this year called till I can make it on my own correct yes. Okay. And I would like to share a short clip with the listeners and then we'll come back and chat a little bit about the song if that's okay with you all right standby

 

17:56

dance deal so seven is a C has to get better debt or debt stay unknown my son de se esta Killua

 

18:27

but no matter how many times you know chances are my teams will have no pride from

 

18:54

who they'll be

 

19:01

lean on you. That song

 

Randy Hulsey  19:14

I love that song. What a great job. You did a fantastic job on the song. Congratulations on that. Thank you. So I love the rendition. And this was an actually an old song that I believe was co written. I don't know who one of the writers was, but Tammy Wynette was a writer on the song and you performed it with Georgette Jones, who's the daughter of George Jones and Tammy Wynette. Right. How did that collaboration with Georgia come about? First of all, and I've never personally heard her sing, which is why I love the show because I get exposed to new artists that and not that either one of you are new artists, but you're new to me. And I love that because I fall in love with artists that I probably maybe never would have listened to but share with the listeners how the collaboration came about with Georgia. Sure. So

 

20:04

we had the same producer, and his name is Buddy, hi, who's out there in Nashville. And he kind of basically said, Hey, I know, Georgia, you know, and you guys, you guys should, you know, work on a song together. And I was like, hmm, that would be really cool. And I was like, I wonder if we could do maybe one of you know, her mom's songs. That would be, you know, in honor, because there's a new show, George and Tammy, that it's out. And so I was like, that would be really cool to do one of her mom songs. And thankfully, Giorgio, you know, was completely on board with that. She was like, of course, here. Yeah. And then also, we want to do a little bit of a spin, because I do do some Latin country time, every so often, which is, you know, it's really fun for me, and also to just kind of throw a little bit of my heritage in there every so often. And so, it was such a fun spin to be able to put that on a classic country song. And Giorgio was super excited about it. Because she basically said that, you know, her music, her mom's music is getting kind of pushed to a whole new demographic of people that maybe would not have listened to it before. And so it was just a really fun project. And I was so excited. And so just honored that Georgia wanted to be a part of it. And it's, it's a really, really cool and fun song for sure.

 

Randy Hulsey  21:30

It really is. And she has a beautiful voice. And speaking of beautiful voices. I wanted to chat with you a little bit about the stent on the voice. Would you care to talk about that? Or? Okay, okay. Well share with the listeners. Yeah, share with the listeners a little bit just about your experience on the voice because I've had a few people on the show that have either had American Idol experience or the voice experience. And they're all different, right? So I wanted to hear maybe what your experience with the voice was all about.

 

22:07

You know, I'm probably I'm probably in the few. There's, there's probably actually a lot of not a lot of people talking about. But I'm probably in the area that wasn't the biggest fan of my time on that show. It was really quick. And honestly, I'm not even sure that you'll be able to find any of my videos out there anymore. But it was just not really what I expected it to be. And it was just

 

Randy Hulsey  22:36

kind of lackluster. Yeah.

 

22:38

And it is what it is. I mean, it was a time and I'm glad that I you know, had that experience. But I'm just glad that I didn't do any other show.

 

Randy Hulsey  22:50

Okay, fair enough. And was there anything that you may be picked up from the show? That was that's, or that has been helpful? In your day to day? As a musician? Was there any value that you got from the show that you're using today? Or maybe not so much?

 

23:12

And probably go with maybe not so much, you know, but I think everything is an experience that I can learn something from, I will say it is so awesome to be able to see behind the scenes at the large scale television production. Okay, you know, I did the voice got to see the behind the scenes of that I was on the American Music Awards. That was incredible, you know, just seeing all the different moving pieces. And then as soon as someone goes, Okay, you know, hit your mark. It's just live. And I'm like, wow, that was absolutely chaos. And but then, you know, what the viewer sees is just this perfect, polished, you know, it's it just the coolest thing to see behind the scenes of actual production like that. So that was, you know, because I'm on the music side of things. I don't always get to see, you know, television production like that. And so that was that was a really cool thing to see. I will say.

 

Randy Hulsey  24:02

Absolutely. Anyway, in 2022, you released a cover of an old song that went too well and that was actually a number one hit. And it was probably long before you were born. This is a song called before the next teardrop falls. Let's treat the listeners to a little bit of that clip and then we'll come back and chat a little more about that song okay.

 

24:59

Yes Thank

 

25:18

you drama

 

25:39

I love you

 

Randy Hulsey  25:49

and I love that rendition too. I also love when an artist takes a multilingual approach at, you know, a song in general, which you also did on your till I can make it on my own. I'm not sure if you know the history behind the song or not, but I wanted to share some interesting things about the song because that's a song that I grew up with as a kid. Do you know a lot of the back story behind the song at all?

 

26:21

I mean, I know, you know, some of it. But please, I mean, go ahead. Go ahead.

 

Randy Hulsey  26:27

No, I. So like 1975 Freddie fender, right, recorded the song. And it was interesting because he was from San Benito, Texas, which is down in the valley, right close to the Mexican, the Mexico Texas border. And I think that song, if my memory serves me correctly, it was recorded by a lot of artists. And maybe Jerry Lee Lewis recorded a rendition of it as well. But Freddy's was you know, it went to number one, I think the record sold like over a million units. And it basically kind of vaulted him to winning Album of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year in 1975. So I'm not sure if you knew all that or not. But I'm kind of a gearhead when it comes to the music. I love all the backstories of the songs and whatnot. So I wanted to ask you, how did that song come about for you? Was that a recommendation of somebody else was that one that you grew up listening to as well.

 

27:34

I mean, I would probably say a little bit of both. There was a lot of different things that kind of contributed to doing that song. Because I am, like I said, I do love to kind of bring a little bit of my heritage into my music as much as I can. And so I'm always kind of looking for different ways to spin you know, that's Spanish Spanglish Latin country say, it's super fun for me. And then also, we were in contact with a couple members of Freddie's family. And I was like, Huh, I wonder if that could be something that we could do, you know, if we did a cover of Friday song, because I think there's something going on with he's being inducted somewhere doing something. And I was like, Okay, well, why don't I, you know, give you my version of, you know, one of his songs. So that's, of course, one of his most popular and one of my favorites of his. So I was like, well, let's try it out. Let's see if we can do this. And it was a it was a really cool thing to be able to record that. And I'm just glad that everyone seems to really be enjoying it. It's

 

Randy Hulsey  28:47

great. Yeah, I love it. And something tells me that if I tried to do the same song, it just wouldn't sound the same, because I don't know. I don't have the lat the nice Spanish accent and whatnot. So that sounds really great when you do it. And so so a great job on the cover. And I know Freddie would have been proud. I wanted to feature one more single and that was a song that you released. I think it was 2021 and it was one of you know, one of my favorites when I was listening kind of going down the list of all your songs. That one really stuck out to me and it's a song called typical Texas girl. So if we can share a clip with that, and with the listeners that come back, we'll chat about that one as well.

 

29:53

Country Strong

 

Randy Hulsey  30:25

I love the line. Stop looking down. My eyes are up here. That's, that's, that's great. Certainly guys don't do that right? Never, never happens, right? How did the song come about and what inspired the song?

 

30:41

So I had the pleasure of writing this song. It was me and my friend Jesse Isley. And then Pam Tillis, you know, country music legend payout we love her. She actually was able to hop on this track as well and lend a little bit of her her writing credits to the song and it was it was pretty much just, you know, being all about from Texas, but you know, being proud of my roots being a typical Texas girl, but we wanted to have a fun little sassy approach, like you said, Stop looking down. My eyes are appear. I mean, that's, it's just fun. Yeah. Well, how it's a little fun, a little dirty. Yeah. And

 

Randy Hulsey  31:21

how did the collaboration with Pam Tillis come about for you.

 

31:26

I was working with a management team at the time that had a really great relationship with her. And we had gotten to hang out a little bit over the course of that relationship and you know, foster a really, really cool friendship. And you know, it's always such a cool thing to be able to meet people in person who you grew up listening to. No, I grew up listening to Ben. Yeah, I'm like, maybe it was Memphis when I was six years old listening to that. And I think it's so cool to not only be able to meet those kinds of people, but to be able to work with them as well. So when she expressed intent that, oh, it would be really cool. If we could get on a track together, write a song together, you know, get something going. I was like, Yes, please. Yeah, of course, you know, let's do it. And so, obviously, such an honor to be able to work with a literal Legend of country music. And so typical Texas girl was pretty much born after that. And it would not be that same song. Without her. She is incredible. She's an incredible writer. Just so clever, honestly. Really, really honored to be able to write that one with her. Well, I love

 

Randy Hulsey  32:39

the song. Great, great job on that. I was also thinking back, you know, you were talking a little bit earlier about, you know, your indie artist, being an indie artist, is the goal to always remain an indie artist, or is the goal of an indie artist to get signed to a big label? And the reason I ask is because I've had people on my show and their exact quotes were I give to middle fingers to the establishment, I don't want to be a part of that. I want to be an independent artists. So from Savannah Ray, what is your goal as a musician to remain independent or to get on a label?

 

33:20

I mean, it honestly comes down to personal preference, some people love, you know, being an independent artist. And, you know, with that comes certain pros, such as you have 100%, creative control of everything that you do you make every single decision for yourself like that, is you your career, you were putting the stamp on it, yes, no one's touching that and a lot of people have made, you know, some incredibly successful careers out of being independent artists, and a lot of them do stay independent. A lot of them get, you know, pretty popular as an independent artist, and then they'll sign with a label later on, because they have more of a bargaining chip with the label. And then a lot of people come straight out the gate, just like, I need that label. And there's, there's a lot of things that, you know, for example, if you're an independent artists, you gain a large following you sign to a label, people will be like, Oh, they're selling out, you know, and people can say whatever they want, but at the end of the day, there's a lot of things that I think the general public doesn't realize, when you are an independent artists that there are certain walls that are very difficult to break down as an independent artist. So almost so many things are kind of like a like when you're interviewing for a job, for example, you're brand new, you know, to your job field, you're interviewing for a job, and then they're like, Okay, this is an entry level position. But where are your references? And you're like, This is an entry level position. Why do I need references but you know, I have to get this job in order to have references it's it's one of those a whole kind of endless cycles of things sometimes as an independent artist, and, you know, it's oftentimes difficult to get a booking agent, oftentimes difficult to get on certain shows, to get on the radio to get, you know, certain things that come with being on a label get you, as well as the financial aspect of things. Being a musician is kind of like one of the worst jobs ever, as far as finances go, it's just how it is. It's such an expensive industry. And, I mean, for example, most independent artists, they make enough to pay their band, and that's it. And then they're just left eating ramen for the rest of, you know, the week until the next show. So it's, um, it's a struggle, you know, when you go out, you see a live show, people are like, Hey, go visit the merch table in the back, that's how we know we're gonna get to the next stop. And 99% of the time, they are not kidding, when they say that, like, it is literally, you know, musicians surviving off of scraps. And a lot of people do that for years and years and years, until they finally catch a break. And they're like, Ah, this is what we've been working for, for so long, you know, and some of that burden kind of gets released off of them when they do sign a deal. Because there's, there is a lot of different stuff that is potentially good with signing a job, but also, you know, you are signing over a little bit of your artistic integrity, like if and other people have a say in what you're doing. And there's a little bit more writing on you, as an artist, because at that point in time, you are a business and, you know, labels have to make money somehow, too. So it's, it's a whole interesting thing. And honestly, it's, it's really intriguing to me to see what is going to happen with myself, you know, I'm not opposed to a label by any means, just has to be the right fit, you know, it's a symbiotic relationship. Everybody has to get along, everybody has to see, you know, the vision of what, say, I would want to sound like what I want music to sound like what I want as an artist, and it's, it's just all about finding that right fit and finding, you know, kind of that home to house your music, because that's essentially what it's going to be you know, it's your music that's going to be at home for however long your deal is for So

 

Randy Hulsey  37:15

yeah, that's exactly right. And I had a Hall of Fame artist on my show, I think it was back in maybe season three. And I was asking him, he's an old school rock guy, a Hall of Fame band again. And I asked him how he has seen the music, business change. And he said, you know, back in the 70s, and 80s, we were making, we were out tour, we were selling records, we were making money hand over fist. And he said what I see these days, it's people that it's talented artists that have to be t shirt salesmen to make a living. And I've said it before on shows that it's important. When listeners go out and listen to the savannah rays and the local and the national artists that are in the artist, it's important to go and buy that CD, and to buy that vinyl or buy that T shirt because that is a large portion of your income. Am I incorrect by saying that?

 

38:14

Oh, no. 100% I mean, ah, as far as shows, go, you know, the independent artists just really aren't making much at all. And I mean, there's a whole other side of that, but especially out in LA, I used to live there for a while a lot of people are actually paying to play out there. And that is a whole different side of things that is hearable. Fully, that doesn't really happen so much in Nashville, or, you know, other places like that. But also, I think it is a bit genre based to a lot of that happens in the pop world. A lot of that happens. I've even seen some of that happening in the rock world lately. Which is unfortunate. As far as country goes, I feel like it's a little bit better. As far as that's concerned. You know, you're getting paid, even if it's, you know, 50 bucks to play downtown kid rocks for four hours. Yeah. At least you're getting something. Yeah, exactly.

 

Randy Hulsey  39:08

Well, and I think it's interesting, because I think that a lot of people do think that being a musician is a glamorous thing, because it's portrayed is that way and it certainly can be I'm not saying that it's not. I think when you get to that level, it can be a quote unquote glamorous thing. And I and I guess the analogy that I would use as my, my son in law was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates, right? And so he played professional baseball straight out of high school and a lot of people would say, Wow, I envy you. You're, you know, you're a professional baseball player. But you know, in the system before you make it to the major leagues, it's like being that indie artists, you know, you're working your ass off to get to the major leagues right then basically so there's a lot of scratching and claw on that you have to do. Now, maybe the money's a little lacking, you know, the the accommodations are maybe a little lacking. So it's probably not as glamorous as being a George Strait, right? Or if you are, if you equate that to, you know, an a rod or you know, whoever, right? Those guys are living in the lap of luxury, right? Because they've been in the right place at the right time with with a skill set. And, you know, you just hope as an artist, or baseball player or a bowler or whatever the widget is that you get to that level at some point in time, but it's work in progress until you do, right.

 

40:38

Oh, yeah, I mean, I know so many of my favorite artists that were just absolute road dogs for eight to 10 years before they caught a break. Sure. And, you know, I've been able to know some of them personally, and just hearing some of the stories and stuff that they went through on the road. I'm like, Man, that is rough. Like that is rough. And, you know, I've had a lot of similar experiences myself, too. And I mean, there's a lot that goes into it. And so you really have to stick with it honestly, like, if you if that's what you want to do, then you have to 110% all the way. Because you just never know, some some days, you're like, oh, I don't know if this is gonna happen. But we're just gonna have to keep trucking along. Because

 

Randy Hulsey  41:28

timing is everything, right? Timing is everything. And you never know where you're going to be and who's going to hear you, that changes your life. And if anybody thinks that these big artists just walked into Nashville or wherever and made it big, you need to watch somebody like Garth Brooks documentary, right? I mean, that guy was basically kicked out of Nashville. They didn't nobody wanted him. He, I mean, he went back to Oklahoma. And I don't remember how many times he went back to Oklahoma from Nashville. But I mean, that guy just didn't walk into Nashville and make it there was he had to go through hell a little bit before he got to heaven. And he will tell you that.

 

42:09

Yeah, you have to I mean, you're gonna get 99 noes before you get one. Yes. And I mean, honestly, you have to have talent, of course. But a lot of it is hard work. And honestly, a lot of it is luck. Like being in the right place at the right time, you know, some head of a label just randomly heard you, or just, you know, he was in a great mood that night, or just, you know, something, it doesn't even matter. Like, it's just, it's all about luck and hard work. And, you know, if you have talent to back that up, then it's just, it's not gonna be smooth sailing, right? It'll be a little bit, you know, yes, maybe it might take you six years instead of 10.

 

Randy Hulsey  42:48

Exactly. And in you know what, there's a small percentage of what you said earlier of doing the right thing, being the artist that fist bumps the younger artist or as or spends time with that up and coming artists, it's those things that set you apart from everybody else that's doing exactly what you do. Because there's 10 million Savannah rays out there, at the end of the day, how are you? How are you standing out? How are you being relevant? Why do people need to listen to you versus the other 73 zillion Savannah rays, right. And I think when you have that attitude, people remember those things. And that's something that I tried to instill in my kids growing up, you can go out and be the best hockey player on the rink, you can be the best softball player. But if you have a bad attitude, people will remember that before they remember anything that you did on that ice. And I believe that I really believe that. And I think that you will stand out, you know, having that, you know, how can I help the up and comer? Right? People remember those things? For sure. So that's important. So it's talent. It's looks, it's knowing the right people being in the right place at the right time. But it's the little things that matter a lot to

 

44:05

Sure. Yeah, I mean, 100% there's so much that goes into making a successful artists. And you know, to try to attack it from all angles. That's just what we hope to do. And we're just going to try our best and we're just going to keep at it honestly, because that's all you can do.

 

Randy Hulsey  44:25

That's all you can do. share with the listeners what's coming up as it relates to maybe new music or new projects that you can talk about.

 

44:36

Sure. Yeah. So I'm constantly writing constantly working in the studio over here in Nashville. So I have a bunch of new music that I can't wait to release. It's definitely more on the country rock side of things, which is where I've been wanting to go for a very long time. So I finally have you know, the the songs that I feel really confident about and I finally have those songs and we're going to do it. So expect new music hopefully with In the next few weeks here, we're gonna keep rolling them out until the end of the year because like I said, we've been writing a lot we were on the road for 10 months last year and it was a lot and it didn't really leave a whole lot of time for writing. So I made a stance I was okay first couple months 2023 we're gonna, we're gonna get back to it. And so we have and we've come up with some really, really fun stuff that I can't wait to, you know, release and then of course play out on the road. We have a bunch of different dates coming up for this year that I'm super excited. I think we're going to the Carolinas in about a week and a half and then after that it's just shows after shows all the way from California to Florida so trying to get out there as much as I possibly can

 

Randy Hulsey  45:46

need to get need to get get more in Wisconsin, you know, you got to get more in Wisconsin, right.

 

45:52

The Spooner rodeo I think that's July 6 through eighth this year. So yeah, three nights in Spooner, Wisconsin. Right

 

Randy Hulsey  46:00

on. It'll be a rockin time. Yeah. Right on. And I meant to ask you earlier, you said this music is going to be kind of more along the country, rock side? Would you consider yourself more country than rock or more rock than country?

 

46:17

Um, I think that that's probably one of the greatest questions of my current musical journey. What do I consider myself more? No, it is just such a mix. And I think that honestly, every song is different to like, some of my songs coming out and they're a lot more rock than they are country, they will be mostly a rock track, and it will be a country vocal. It's really reminiscent of what maybe Hardy is doing in the country scene right now. Maybe a little less screaming. I don't have that talent, right. But it's definitely more of a rock track with the country vocal. And then, you know, there will be some some country elements though, as well to, you know, keep it keeping it a little country. But you know, it's really 5050. Right now, I have a lot of different songs that could go either way. And then of course, I throw the Spanglish in there to really mess everything up. Right as well. It's a it's a unique sound, I think, though, and that's what makes it really fun. And I'm just really excited to get this new material out there for everybody to hear. Yeah. And

 

Randy Hulsey  47:18

it's great to not pigeonhole yourself. You know, we talked a little bit about that earlier. And genres really mean nothing, I wasn't really asking you to kind of label yourself in a genre or a box. But growing up as a young girl, you know, you talked about Evanescence earlier, what were you really grasping onto musically, but was it country that you were listening to as a young teenage girl? Or was it more on the rock side? Who were you listening to?

 

47:45

Yeah, I mean, I've always listened to country you know, that's, that's where I come from. I mean, I'm from Bernie, Texas. It's pretty much like George Strait is the king. You know, I mean, I listened to George Strait, Clint Black Garth, of course, Chris Ledoux. All of those guys. And then of course, I listened to, you know, the edgier side of country, which I loved back in the day, you know, Miranda Lambert, Gretchen Wilson and Monterey and all those fun stuff. But I really did grasp onto rock because that's what my parents loved the most out of everything I would probably say. So I mean, 80s rock is probably my favorite era of that. Yeah. Motley Crue is my favorite band, Def Leppard, all of that fun stuff. But I loved everything from the cure to kiss to Nine Inch Nails Depeche Mode, Nirvana. I mean, you name it, I loved it. And then of course, like some of the newer rock that was falling in reverse pierce the veil, 30 Seconds to Mars, like I loved all that fun stuff, too. Like I've, I've been to at least three to four times more rock concerts, and I happen to country concerts. That's just what I grew up on. And so I do love both though. And so to be able to take some of those influences, and throw a little sprinkle of that into the country that I'm making. It's interesting. I say it's very reminiscent of hearty, maybe a little bit of Jelly Roll Jelly Rolls, kind of doing that crossover thing to which I love co ed. So obviously a big Texas country guy, that I don't even know what type of music he plays, but he's one of my favorites.

 

Randy Hulsey  49:20

I think a lot of these artists don't even know what they play, right? They just do it in it and it works for him. Right? And if you ask him what genre it is, they're like, what's the genre? I don't even what what does that even mean? Right? They don't even care and why do you need to care?

 

49:35

Yeah, exactly. As long as the music is good, like I genuinely do not care. So I mean, it's, it's obviously a work in progress and just kind of honing in on what I want to say as an artist. What I want that to sound like sonically as well. So it's, it's been a lot of fun to kind of traverse that whole new side of things. Sure.

 

Randy Hulsey  49:56

Where can the listeners find Savannah? right on social media

 

50:02

so you can find me any social media is the savannah Ray Savannah just like Georgia and RA E and the Savannah ray.com. If you type in Savannah Ray anywhere you will more than likely find me I try to keep it really easy.

 

Randy Hulsey  50:17

And I will point out that it is the Savannah rei.com Because I went out and look for Savannah rei.com. And it's a it's an artist, I believe, named Savannah ray. So yeah, is

 

50:27

there another one out there? Yeah, there's

 

Randy Hulsey  50:29

somebody that owns that domain. And it wasn't you. Like this doesn't look like her. So? Yeah, the savannah Ray. The th e That's correct. Well, listen, Savannah, thank you so much for chatting with me. It's been great having you share your story with myself and the listeners. You've been the delight. So thank you for spending time with me this evening. And you guys make sure you go out and follow Savannah on her social medias. And don't forget that you can also find her at the Savannah ray.com By the way, my daughter's middle name is Ray. And yeah, and check out the merch on that site. Take care of Savannah and all the local artists out there out doing their things. I asked the listeners to like, share and subscribe to the podcast. And you can also find the Show on Facebook at backstage pass radio podcast on Instagram at backstage pass radio, Twitter at backstage pass PC and on the website at backstage pass radio.com You guys make sure you take care of yourselves and each other and we'll see you right back here on the next episode of backstage pass radio.

 

Adam Gordon  51:40

Thanks so much for joining us. We hope you enjoyed today's episode of backstage pass radio. Make sure to follow Randy on Facebook and Instagram at Randy Hulsey music and on Twitter at our Halsey music. Also make sure to like subscribe and turn on alerts for upcoming podcasts. If you enjoyed the podcast, make sure to share the link with a friend and tell them backstage pass radio is the best show on the web for everything music. We'll see you next time right here on backstage pass radio