S4: E15: - Season Ammons - Steel Hearts in Gruene Texas

Season Ammons Master

Sat, May 06, 2023 10:16PM • 2:02:54

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

song, record, artists, album, music, listeners, write, people, talking, americana, cool, backstage pass, studio, love, nashville, season, radio, put, texas, LyndonHughes, TheWilderBlue, AmericanIdol, AmericasGotTalent, NashvilleStar, JimBeamandNicotine, AbbeyRoad, NeonSideOfTown, YellowDogStudios, CrystalVisionStudio, NoRestraint, Randy Hulsey, Season Ammons, Season Ammons Music, Randy Hulsey Music, Randy Hulsey Podcast, Backstage Pass Radio, Backstage Pass Radio Podcast, Music Interview , Best Music Podcast

SPEAKERS

Season Ammons, Adam Gordon, Randy Hulsey

Randy Hulsey  00:00

Today I have made the drive over to historic green Texas to talk with a Texas singer songwriter that calls this area home. It's Randy Hulsey with backstage pass radio, and I am excited to get the opportunity to chat with a past nominee for Female Vocalist of the Year. She is also a touring artist and has had her work listed on multiple charts. I hope you guys are ready, because I will treat you to some great stories and some great music from my friend season Ammons when we return.

Adam Gordon  00:28

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  00:58

Well, hello, finally. Well, hello. Hello. Hello. I am here with the talented season admins. And it's great to finally see you. And it's great to hang out with you for a while. How are you?

Season Ammons  01:10

I'm doing good. You know, I was just glad to be kind of back out on the PR trail. The new releasing trail. Yes, they

Randy Hulsey  01:21

like grind. Yes. Grind? Yeah. Well, it's a beautiful day. I drove in from Cypress and the weather is absolutely amazing today. It's like why can every day be like this? Awesome. Yes. It's like what is it? 7475 degrees sunny, cool, breezy. Yeah, it's it's amazing. Well, first of all, I wanted to give a quick shout out to my friends and both are past guests here on backstage pass radio, Bray Bagwell, and Paul Eason, thank you guys for having us in the intimate setting of your home. So I think Bree was my season two episode 17 guest and we recorded that in my home studio in Cyprus. And then Paul was, I think he was season three, maybe episode seven. And we recorded that at dosey. Doe and the woodlands. So I called the Wilder blue when they were in town. Yeah. I said, Hey, I'll meet you meet you guys over there. And we'll set up shop upstairs. Yeah, thank you. Thank you. So

Season Ammons  02:30

they're a great bunch of guys. And you could tell the camaraderie was like, Yeah, sawed off. Yeah. You could tell it. We're having fun.

Randy Hulsey  02:37

Yeah, it seemed like a real brotherhood. And that came out a lot in that show. Because, you know, it's a, basically a five person, democracy, right. Everything is decided equally amongst the band. And that's sometimes not always the case with musicians. It's always one is at the head of the pecking order, and then there's the underlings. Right. And you never know. So yeah,

Season Ammons  02:59

their music is amazing, too. I've been really watching and, and loving their music and you just like you don't hear like the five part harmony and just the songwriting. And the musicianship so I'm just like, floored, you know, so anyway, yeah, I tuned into that one. I really enjoyed it.

Randy Hulsey  03:17

It's very palatable to the ears to hear great harmonies, especially five different parts, right. Well, now he's so you're pretty local, to the area and about how far are you from? So we're in the home of Bree Bagwell right now? How far are you from her house?

Season Ammons  03:37

I'm about 12 minutes.

Randy Hulsey  03:39

Half an easy drive to get here.

Season Ammons  03:42

Well, and but I also spent a lot of time in LaGrange, which is where my, my family ranch is.

Randy Hulsey  03:48

I remember you telling me that early on, because I was thinking, you know, you're

Season Ammons  03:51

in Houston. And I thought, well, you know, that's not a far drive from Lagrange. So I kept thinking if I was, yeah, my family ranch, I could just drive out to you. Oh, yeah. You know, or if I happen to have been doing a show out in Houston, it would have been super easy to come by your place, but I wasn't, you know, I won't. We're always running and gunning. I get

Randy Hulsey  04:13

it. Well, I would think that Lagrange probably might be pretty close to halfway. Well, I would think so.

Season Ammons  04:19

takes me an hour and a half. From here to get to Lagrange. And then depending on you know, what part of Houston you're going to

Randy Hulsey  04:26

write? Well, the cool thing is, if you're going out I 10 you can get off at the toll road and 99 So it's like really West Houston, you don't bend downtown is another what? 20 miles in town. So yeah, it's a little quicker to get here than most people would from the Houston area. Yeah. So two hour I think it was like literally two hours and 15 minutes door to door. Yeah. And I

Season Ammons  04:50

used to live in Houston. I lived in spring Cypress for three years. So I know the area well and I always I enjoyed that area but And that's kind of where, you know, I initially kind of started kind of my trajectory of getting into the music. Business. Okay, now not that I've, I mean, I've always been doing music, but it wasn't until it was about 2010 actually is when I made the sort of defining line in the sand where I said, Okay, I'm going to do music full time, this is going to be my job, I'm going to be an artist and like, what does that mean? And through I mean, just a series of just joining different networks and just going to writing retreats and joining like Folk Alliance and going to actually, in Sai Nashville Songwriters Association International, which they have different chapters and the chapter that I went to in Houston, they held their meetings at dosey. Doe, oh, well, so I would go to dosey doe, it was like, once a week we'd meet and everybody would share their songs, you'd get critiqued, and you sometimes will get a writing prompt. And then so that's kind of where I started networking meeting people and, and funny enough to it's like, through the couple of years, I was doing this networking and realizing like I needed to make an album. I didn't even know what that meant. What it meant to be like singer songwriter putting out records independently, like just learning all of these things. I went to a workshop called so I've made a record now what? And I hadn't even made a record yet. And I but I was just learning. Like, what do you even do? Because it can be so overwhelming to just try to step back and look at like, what how do you make this your job? And so anyway, through through some networking through that I ended up getting in touch with Lyndon Hughes, Wilder blue shirt. Yeah, so and stormy Cooper, who had a studio that he had just started opening, and I was one of his first clients lend Linden. And so my first project called I'm alive is my first album, I guess, that I that I put out and this was in 2012. It's called I'm alive. And so lindens on on it playing drums, stormy Cooper, who's Rogers bass player, a longtime bass player playing bass, and so when Lyndon engineered it and so, through him, that's actually how I met Bree Bagwell. Okay, so Bree was just now putting out her first sort of EP. And they came to me as I was in the studio one day working on my on a live album, and he said, Hey, I got this set. You know, this chick who's putting out something? Would you be interested in singing backups for her? And I said, Sure, you know, I was like, excited to be doing any, anything at the end quote, industry. So. So here's this chick I'd never met, and I'm hearing her music, and I'm singing her some background super hard. And it's just like, I fell in love. And I thought, how cool is this to I mean, here's another female artist who's, who's working and putting out music too. So that's how, you know I got started in Houston, meeting some of these people moving through what it means and what it takes to be an independent artist, without a label without any other sources, but yourself and your own ingenuity and

Randy Hulsey  08:33

No, no backing of the machine. Right? Yeah. because

Season Ammons  08:37

prior to that, I really, I really thought you you had to, like get signed, or you had to get discovered or, you know, I had tried things like American Idol I had tried out for America's Got Talent twice. I even did Nashville Star, which I actually made the semi regional finals. I was like, pretty much almost on TV. That was the beat that was the beginnings of me understanding what the machine behind things. I had never been around at camera crew and getting interviewed and things like that. So I kind of saw the back end of things and I didn't ultimately get on, you know, that was the show that made Miranda Lambert Nashville Star and also buddy jewel, and some others. And then of course it after, I don't know, I think seven seasons, they quit doing it. But anyways, I through that whole process. It also showed me that that's not what I wanted. I didn't necessarily want to get controlled by the industry. And I was like, Okay, how do I make this work? What do I do without all of that? How am I myself going to move forward and make my own records?

Randy Hulsey  09:52

Well, I guess there's pros and cons to being an indie artist, right and back in the day, everybody wanted to be on a major Like, I don't recall any such thing as the end the artists back 30 years ago or whatever, right? You either got signed by EMI or Sony or capital or you've just or you just kept pounding the pavement. That's pretty much what it amounted to.

Season Ammons  10:16

Yeah, you had to there were there was no other way. Yeah. I mean, you had to get signed.

Randy Hulsey  10:22

You mentioned Lyndon Hughes from the Wilder blue and my memories coming back to me, it gets a little cloudy sometimes. But he's a woodlands guy. He lives in The Woodlands. If I remember correctly, you mentioned something just a second ago, you said something about a writing prompt. explain to the listeners what does that mean? In your world? In an artist world? You go to a songwriter, round or songwriter get together? What does that mean? Or a writing prompt?

Season Ammons  10:53

So it's just made to, to open your imagination. So so if someone gives you a writing prompt, I'm okay. So in a group setting, you're you're usually talking about the process of writing, and what makes a good song, what is a listener listening to because there's a difference between the listener and the artist, but you don't want there to seem like there's any, any difference. So

Randy Hulsey  11:20

disconnect it, yeah,

Season Ammons  11:21

and you just connect it, but the listener doesn't realize why they love a song the way that they do, but it is formulated. And I, I innately knew that but didn't really understand it, it's almost like math, two plus two is always going to equal four. And there's, that's why that equation always works. So in songwriting, the process of writing a hit song or a song that somehow communicates to the listener, there is a formula that is always in the background, the listener is not aware of, but it's it is what is your what's what draws the ear. And so in these writing groups and things like that, you get prompted to say, you know, to write about a certain topic, a certain subject, a certain emotion, an architect, archetype scuze, me or a theme of some sort. And so that drives your imagination to sort of get out of your own head, your own experiences, and or pull from your own experiences, and somehow try to relate it to a wider audience to where it's, you know, it's a universal theme, okay? And so that just, it actually challenges you, it pushes you to say, Okay, I've never had this X, Y, Z experience. Now, I'm gonna go challenge myself and go try to write about it, and also formulate it into a verse chorus verse chorus, and, and put it down in three minutes. I mean, that's essentially you're writing a story, it's a short story, you have three minutes or for three to five minutes. Sure, essentially, to write a movie, you have to make it make sense for the listener to grab on and then beyond words, you have a whole musical element of things where you don't know it but your emotions can be manipulated by a certain chord or

Randy Hulsey  13:21

a major or a minor chord can tell a difference in the story or exactly

Season Ammons  13:24

and people don't people that are not musicians or not writers or whatever, they they don't know why, but they do they know that it moves them and that's the beauty of music and it's like it's fascinating to me, it really

Randy Hulsey  13:40

is it's an amazing thing. And speaking of music, I was wondering if you would be so kind as to maybe really get us go and with maybe a song of your choice

Season Ammons  13:50

absolutely awesome enough to do you want me to set the song up? Right this is Jim Beam and nicotine.

14:13

GM GMV and nicotine just to add on Have you pursued Nadra to vote how am I

14:36

still love you?

14:54

You walked away so easily The

15:11

Jim Beam Nick CI just some of the place in me through you

15:29

just J

15:34

still needs you when

15:52

you walk

15:53

away is ugly

16:10

Maverick mob role man Jimmy

16:27

filma

16:30

toast

16:44

just turned on I don't have the cigarette

16:58

germs can

17:05

still love

17:06

you

Randy Hulsey  17:14

Well, damn, that was nice. That was really nice. And I mentioned to you before I hit the record button being a an acoustic artist two, I think there's so much rawness and realness and just an acoustic guitar and a vocalist. And that was awesome. Thanks for sharing that. Yeah.

Season Ammons  17:33

That was the, the Yeah, the acoustic version because this the studio version, which, actually, that was my first top 40 single on the Texas music charts. And for people who know that song, you'll know, that's a drastic difference from the studio version versus this version, which is the original way that I wrote the song initially. And then of course, you know, when you get in the studio, there's, you know, arrangement, things and production styles that sort of mold the song. And sometimes it can go a different direction, which, which was fine, which was great. But I like both versions, and it's fun to be able to do to do both. And

Randy Hulsey  18:13

it's nice to hear the whole production with the band. But there's nothing to me that resonates better than just that. Just the one on one with the instrument. I mean, it doesn't it doesn't get better than that. To me it does.

Season Ammons  18:27

You and my mom, both my mom will say all that, you know, I love all your records. She's like, but I just like you and your guitar. Sure. And even when I play with a full band, or even stripped down a trio, which I'm which what I'm playing with now, is she still is and some people some people just prefer, they just like the stripped down version or you know, but but I like a band. I like having the full sound.

Randy Hulsey  18:51

Yeah, no, I get it. And I think that shows, being by yourself shows a vulnerable side of the artists. It's kind of like you open up your heart and you open your mouth and what comes out of your heart goes out of your mouth. And that's what we hear. Yeah, that's what the listener gets to hear.

Season Ammons  19:10

Yeah, cuz there's no hiding anything. I mean, it's just you. And that's it. It's a very vulnerable place, which, which is why I like doing listening rooms. It's very specific concerts that are geared for the listener, listening rooms, and it's just you and your guitar. And that's, that's the way it is and that's those are vulnerable stages versus being on a big stage with the band and the lights and, you know, that type of thing. They're two totally different animals and I enjoy doing both, but there are some there's a total difference and, and all of it

Randy Hulsey  19:44

there is and I've been asked in interviews myself, like do you get Do you get nervous before you play? And I said, you know, I, if I'm going to play a room that has 300 people in it or whatever I don't it's just it's kind of what I do. But if you put me in front of four people, yeah, it's a different mindset. Do you agree with that? Like, you're because they're all like all eyes on and they're attentive to every note you're picking every, you know. And granted, there's some non musical people that would never pick up on the intricate misfires of a note on the guitar on your butt, but you know it right? And you just, oh my gosh, everybody, everybody, but you just keep on playing and you know, kind of thing. And

Season Ammons  20:36

then it's like, all eyes are on you. Versus like, at a big show where, you know, people are doing a million other things like at a festival people are walking around, they're talking, yeah, they're dance. And there's, you know, there's just a lot of distractions versus a small room where there's only like, set like, you know, 50 people in the room. And everyone's looking at you and, and you can hear a pin drop. That's a very vulnerable place, which is a place here in town called the Redbird listening room. I don't know if you've been there. But yeah, it's very small place. I'm actually playing there in May 27. That's a place that I get super nervous. And also the Bugle Boy, which is, if you've been out there, that's Lagrange. Okay. And the big boys have very intimate room. very precisely, prestigious sound. Are you just getting away? So those are those

Randy Hulsey  21:25

kinds of rooms? It's like about three songs in is when you hit your stride. Feel good now, right? It's like, okay, I can actually breathe. I don't feel like I'm panting up here. Right. Yeah. So yeah. You shared a little bit about the production of the song, share a little bit of the how the writing came about, you know, how did the How did the song shape up for you? What inspired the song?

Season Ammons  21:49

Well, Jim Beam and nicotine in particular, I was actually I wrote it when I was living in Houston. So that was, that was back in Gosh, it would have been 2013 ish. Anyway, I was going through a divorce. And I literally didn't know how to cope with what was going on. And it was I was just doing the only thing that I knew how to do, which was just drink and smoke. I was totally numbing out. And, you know, that's just that's just the way that it was. And when I finally got around to dealing with my reality, it was like, it was like Jim, Jim Beam and nicotine. It just came to me. And I thought, why hasn't anyone written a song about this? Or you know, it's such a, it seemed like such a cliche thing like Jim Beam and nicotine. But um, but those were the two things that it was like, I had a drink in my hand and a cigarette, the other

Randy Hulsey  22:50

two best friends. Yeah. And

Season Ammons  22:51

that's the line. It's like, I got my friends. Marlboro Man. Yeah. And Jim Beam, you know, it's like to keep me company like that. Those you know. So that's how it came. So you know, real true life tear in your beer type. And I wanted to write like, a really good country, like crying song. And I needed that for myself.

Randy Hulsey  23:15

Well, that sounds like a good traditional country song. Yeah, you know, for sure, as we know, traditional country, on an average season. How many songs might you as a songwriter write in a month? And I know, it's, it's a hypothetical question. But just on average, like, how many might you write i

Season Ammons  23:34

On average, I would say one a month. But I mean, I get clusters, where I might get two or three a month. And then sometimes, I might go months without writing anything. I had a long writer's block during COVID. For almost a year, I did not write anything, and it was extremely scary. And I've come to deal with writer's block, and I just don't worry about it anymore. I really don't

Randy Hulsey  24:05

come when they come.

Season Ammons  24:07

They always do and I just you know, I just let and I don't sit down all the time and specifically sit down to write it. A melody will come to me a lyric will come to me. Some sort of inspiration will come sometimes I'm just feeling emotional and like that's what I go to. I just grabbed my guitar. And it's just sort of like my friend and I just sort of just an end sometimes something will come out sometimes it won't. But regardless, I'm just kind of doodling and I totally get that happened. But you know, I don't I'm not disciplined necessarily in my writing. Except for when I was doing those. Those workshops and things like that when I first got started, and and I have thought about maybe trying to do some some more writing stuff, but I don't really have a lot of time for it. Is it With everything that I do as a as an independent artist, I just kind of let the songs come to me. They'll write themselves when they get there. And I just let the process sort of take its own course. And it's up to me. It's a God thing. And I just don't interfere. Well, I

Randy Hulsey  25:17

mean, you say writer's block, around COVID. I mean, what was there was nothing at that time to inspire anybody for anything. It was we were holed up in a freakin house. You couldn't do shit, right? Yeah. And while it was a great time to write, because there was nothing else to do, I mean, but there was yet there was no, where was the inspiration even coming from? So it was like you had time finally to sit and do your craft, but yet there was nothing to pull from? Yeah, so it was a it was kind of a weird,

Season Ammons  25:48

weird time in my life. I think for everybody. It was just like a I felt like I was in The Twilight Zone. Yeah, it just didn't feel real. And I still look back on it and go, like, I can't believe that happened. I mean, it's just so strange. And, and I, you know, I, I did end up writing some stuff out of COVID. There, actually, a new single that just released last month was called helped me was written during COVID. And then I wrote another song called the storm, which was really great song. I can't wait to get that one out. And, you know, some stuff did come out. But it was, I didn't like you said, I was not inspired. I didn't even want to pick up my instrument because I was seriously just depressed. I mean, not being able to play anywhere and not be able to go out. My business was shut down, no money coming in. I just, I didn't do like the live streams. And everybody hopped on that show. I didn't do any of that. Because I just I felt just so uninspired and out of it and depressed. So I was just like, Screw it. So I there were months, I didn't even pick up an instrument. And I just kind of said, well, it'll come back to me, or it won't, because I kept thinking, because I was I was struggling with like, my identity at all. And I thought, Well, who am I? If I'm not doing music? So what does that look like? What? What am I? And so I thought, well, if I don't end up picking a good an instrument backup again, then so be it. I just sort of had a level of acceptance, in a

Randy Hulsey  27:25

sense, it was like, come to peace with that kind of did. And it was

Season Ammons  27:28

kind of bittersweet. I sort of I had finally kind of hit a breaking point. Because I went through like a mental just everything like depression, anxiety, all of it, but then also experienced small bits of joy just from little things. I mean, it's such a crazy time. So ultimately, I've found acceptance in all of it and was just like, maybe this is another path like maybe I'm supposed to do something else. I don't really know. But we'll we'll see. And that that was fine with me.

Randy Hulsey  28:01

Well, in the truest sense of the written words by seasoned admins, I think there were probably a lot of people during that time that were leaning on Jim Beam and nicotine, right. And that's it's a horrible thought to think that so many, you know, how many people slipped into depression and whatnot, because luckily, knock on wood, it didn't affect my income, my living, I don't play music for a living. But I couldn't imagine being shut down for a year and somebody saying you just can't make money, right? Like, I mean, it's tough. I mean, it's, it can just wear you out mentally at there's, you feel like there's no self worth, like you don't bring any value to your family. And I guess if you're on your own, that's one thing if you have young kids at home, which which I didn't dare to COVID all my kids are grown. But nevertheless, I mean, we all have different scenarios. And a bunch of there was a lot of the Jim Beam and nicotine going on during those times.

Season Ammons  29:08

And for me, man, it was Yeah, I like it was sort of it became a crutch again, and I hadn't drank and like yours. I mean, I you know, I had sort of put away put away the Jim Beam and nicotine and, you know, was living a healthy lifestyle. And I just, you know, I just said,

Randy Hulsey  29:28

I don't know what else to do. Whatever.

Season Ammons  29:30

Yeah, I really did. You know, when you can even go work out or, you know, I don't know it. I found ways to get creative. I mean, I literally went through it was a Yo yo, for me, there wouldn't be times where I would just be like, Okay, I can go outside and I can walk like that's my sanity. I can walk every single day and I can walk for miles. And that would clear my head that would be fine. And then there was other days where I was like, well, that's pointless. I mean, Not Yes, I can't go to the grocery store. And then when I would go to the grocery store, it would be so full, it would be full of anxiety because it's just so odd. Not seeing things on the shelf and like, the masks and it was just like, I felt

Randy Hulsey  30:14

wondering if you are too close to people and like everything, like everything. Yeah, yeah. So

Season Ammons  30:19

it was it was, like I said, I felt like I was in The Twilight Zone. And I, I had good days, and I had bad days. And there was times, I mean, the bad days were bad. And then I just had these other very, like, feelings of like, okay, I get who I am. Like, it was a spiritual and psychological evolution for me, I got to know who I will I went down deep into myself and found, you know, things I thought I had put away and forgotten about. But man, they came back up, a lot of things came back to the surface, and it was fine. It was I needed a look at it. And it was like, All right, this isn't all bad. And it was just like a setup, just a total level of acceptance. And, and being okay, with just how weird everything was.

Randy Hulsey  31:08

Well, sometimes sometimes, you know, I was just thinking sometimes you have to, you have to hit a rock bottom to realize how good your life really is. And sometimes you don't see the forest for the trees. You think how everything sucks for me. And then you go to that place, right? Where it's just, you can't work. You can't do this, you can't do that. You're just sulking all the time. You're like, Well, wait a minute, my life before COVID was actually pretty badass considering what a man now right? So it's like, it's almost like a rude awakening. Be thankful for, for your talents. You're healthy. Okay, you're in a rut, but you'll get out of the rut. It's a temporary. Yeah, it lasted a little longer than everybody thought it would. But, you know, maybe maybe it's just it was a character building time for us. And

Season Ammons  31:57

I think as a society, I think, you know, I think we all learned something in some way or some other we were all affected. I think we all have our own story of how it shut us down or didn't I mean, there's, everybody sort of went through, like, I think you said like a reset. Yeah, it was some. And I think at some sense, we all kind of hit some sort of rock bottom where it was like, Okay, this wasn't working for me. And now, you know, I watched a lot of people that actually pivoted and like, were more successful, because it was like, it forced them to change what they were doing. And they had to pivot this other direction. And it was like, Okay, this is better now, you know, and, and I, you know, I looked for the stories like that, that were that were that were inspiring like that. And I want you know, it was, yeah, what an interesting time, but

Randy Hulsey  32:48

there really was, well, I guess we'll move on past the morbid portion of this, the show now because I think before long, I'm looking at like nine bottles of whiskey over there. And we might be getting into, if we keep talking like this season, we might be hitting the Jim Beam and the ticket thing before I leave. Yeah. Yeah, right. Let's, let's go to a happy place. So you mentioned earlier, something about the spring Cypress area. And I didn't want to get into detail. But did you grow up in that area, like as a youngster like, what? Where did where were you born? And then? And then how did you find your way to that area? Because that's my stomping ground now, right? Yeah. So

Season Ammons  33:27

I grew up in Dallas, actually, I was born and raised in Dallas, and I grew up in the suburbs. And garland went to high school in Garland and graduated and then surely after graduation, I mean, I was I was always like, really hard headed, always kind of on my own kind of journey and path and I actually left and left home at 17 I was on work program. I was like, you know, I had my I had a car. You had a job. You know, I've been working, just kind of doing my own thing. And once I graduated, I ended up trying to go to community college first semester and just trying on and I realized it wasn't for me. I just there was something else that was really really digging in on me. I had been playing guitar and then inquire, inquire was sort of what opened my voice up. I was actually extremely shy growing up, didn't actually really know that I could sing till I was about 14 and got a guitar in my hands just it clicked for me like music. It was like all of a sudden I kind of went like, this is what I can do. Like this is the thing that I've been missing and wanting to do. And I either of the writing part of it came really naturally for me because I was always a poetry writer and a short story writer, so I realized that songs were just poetry set to music, so That was kind of going on for me. And so after graduating in college and things like that, I was like there's something that is like pulling at me. I gotta get out of Dallas like, I'm just I want to leave. Yeah, this restlessness was just undercurrent and I had considered moving to Branson, Missouri, or Nashville, Tennessee, and they each offered me two different things like the reason I thought about Branson was because of like the shows, I kept thinking, I can go to Branson and do like, what I'm what I did in high school, which was like show choir and, and I was singing in the opera as I had gotten my started right at the garland opera, which is where LeAnn Rimes got her start and was doing the opera scene, and learning how to be on stage and learning how to work a mic and work with the band, things like that. So I thought Branson would be really cool because I could work and get to know the industry more but Nashville offered like, was songwriting capital of the world. And that just really, really drew in on my heart. So healing, and I just, so that's ultimately what I decided I was going to move to Nashville. So I moved, I moved to Nashville in 1999. And I didn't have any friends, any family, no understanding of what I was doing. I just moved there the classic story of my pilot up and go exactly, yeah. And, you know, everybody thought it was crazy. So why don't you just move to Austin? And I said, Well, that's not big enough. It's not far enough. It's not, you know, it wasn't adventurous enough for me. So anyway, got to Nashville and I lived there for for three, almost four years and did the grind of as far as like, just exploring. Being on my own, you know, being out in a city I didn't, wasn't familiar with meeting people networking, I worked at a music store, I worked multiple waitress jobs. I worked at a carwash I worked at a temp service. I mean, you name it, I did it. And the meantime, I was honing in on writing chops and getting into these writing circles and things like that. And, but but then I ended up meeting my, my now ex husband, and he was born and raised in Franklin, Tennessee, which is just south of south of Nashville. So anyway, met him and he was in the military. And we we got married, and through his military career, we ended up moving all over the country. And that's I put kind of music aside and was a stay at home military wife, I had two sons up in Connecticut, we were stationed in Groton, New London, Connecticut for several years. And I had both my sons up there. And ultimately, through his military career, we ended up getting stationed in Houston. So that was that must have been 2007 or eight. And anyway, that's how I got there. And what and by that point that my kids, my boys were a little bit older. And that's kind of when I thought, You know what, I want to try to do this music again, like, what does this look like? How can I make this work? So we were there for three years. And then we ended up moving to Florida after that. So I was in Florida for quite a quite a long time. And then I just recently moved back was 2018 I moved back to this area, and then that's what I got, you know, started in reestablishing kind of my my Texas connections because it actually all started back in 2010. Back when I was living in Houston back when I you know had met you know, stormy Cooper and Linden and Bree and that whole thing and it's like since then I had put out multiple records and then now here I was back in Texas and it was like time to reignite sort of my my Texas roots and kind of get rejected and and that's that's what I did.

Randy Hulsey  39:01

Well, I think they wrote a song about you years ago called I've been everywhere so still hearts and neon side of town, I believe. Correct me if I'm wrong are your most recent LPs? Yes, out Correct. Correct. Talk to the listeners about the recording of steal hearts. And I'll and I'll set this up by saying that you brought a vinyl a piece of vinyl for me that you were kind enough to sign. A lot of times I'll give the vinyls away to show listeners. But for the listeners. This one's not this one's not going to be given away. This one's gonna stay in the collection but it's an awesome presentation, the whole liner notes everything talk to the listeners a little bit about the recording of steel hearts.

Season Ammons  39:53

So yeah, when I got back to Texas and 2018 and I I met my producer Dave Perry fall over at Yellow Dog studios. And Dave has had a connection with Abbey Road Studios in London for the last decade. He has worked on several projects at Abbey Road. So through his connection

Randy Hulsey  40:15

to me do something with green day he did and like the puppets and okay, and he's, I thought his name sounded familiar when you said it, it's like wait a minute,

Season Ammons  40:23

and he's done some, some work on some of the Beatles remastered stuff. He's so he's she's done a lot of stuff over in that studio. And when Dave and I were making these records, so I put out me on side of town and I put out steel hearts. In the same year, I was basically simultaneously recording them at the same time, me on side of town was recorded basically in like five days at Yellow Dog studios in Wimberley. And we push that out to sort of reignite my my Texas roots and to get some action on the Texas music charts. And also to sort of show my diversity, I'm going to seriously diverse writer and I don't stay in one genre. And that's good and bad. And we could talk about that later, too. But so once we hit sort of released me on side of town, we were working on steel hearts, which was the Abbey Road album. We for this record for steel hearts, we were specifically looking for a real soulful blues, sort of a Muscle Shoals Stax feeling like old record, and we we wanted to add strings to the record strings at such an element of, of emotion to anything. And just through talking through the production and what we wanted for this album. Dave sort of said, well, you know, we could go over to Abbey Road, and cut some strings over there. And I went, are you? Are you serious? You know, is this That's for real? And he was like, Well, you know, let me let me see what we can do. You know, and he didn't, and we, it really just kind of played around in both of our minds. And ultimately, it was just a matter of like getting the date set and things like that and getting over to Abbey Road. And I I literally couldn't believe it. I was just like going is this really, really a possibility? Can we really get an Abbey Road? He's like, Yeah, we will get over there. So the, the backbone of this record we actually recorded at at the Dave studio in Wimberley and the backbone, meaning I brought in my old Florida band, because I mentioned I lived in Florida for almost 10 years. And I had a really great rhythm section, good band. And I still have these players with me and I'm actually playing with them next month when I go to Florida. But I was so tight with these guys, that I brought them to Wimberley we recorded the backbone of this entire record. So just like the rhythm section, and my guitar player, Scott Rockwood, and he, he plays in many other bands. But anyway, once we kind of laid that down the foundation, then we went over to Abbey Road. And we recorded the strings in studio two, which is where the Beatles recorded and everything was done all analog. So all the strings then we did some other like sprinkling in we had, we had some other London based musicians that came over and sprinkled in and, and then of course, I cut all my vocals over there. And so it was, it was quite an experience. i It really changed me as a vocalist to be in the presence of this historical you know, just have a fun that is phenomenal. I mean, I still like speechless when I think about it. I was so excited and nervous and just beside myself when I was there because I thought I'm only here for this moment in this time. And I'm going to capture you know, these these vocals, the songs and I have one shot and it's like I might never ever do this again. This might be the biggest thing I ever do. And that feeling of knowing that like we're gonna capture this I pushed myself in vocally of places I've never been before because I just was emotionally charged and the result is one hell of a record. I'm very very proud of this record and it's it's amazing and then not on top of not only did we record there we also we we got it mixed and we mastered it there at Abbey Road. So I got to watch Shawn McGee who's been at Abbey Road for Forever, he's mastered everybody from the Rolling Stones to like the Beatles, and he's seen every record come through there. So I watched him with a heated sapphire tip actually cut the record. So that was like, phenomenal for me to watch because you have to make the call it a mother, the cut the mother, and then from there, that is where all of your other records get pressed from. So I got to watch them actually cut my record.

Randy Hulsey  45:31

This this whole thing had to have been kind of a hair raising experience for you almost surreal. I mean, studio studio two, when you when you talk about studio two, some of the best, and most hit songs of our time came out of that studio, right? I mean, I don't know if that sets in while you're in the studio or feds, if it's kind of when you get home and it hits you or if it hits you before you go. I don't know. But at some point in time, you had to have said, Holy shit, like, what am I doing here? Or why was I there like kind of

Season Ammons  46:05

a million times and I probably cried like a dozen times because it was just extremely emotional. And something else I learned was that like 90% of a lot of Hollywood scores. They're recorded, right there in studio two, because it's like the number one place in the entire world to record strings. There's something about that room. And if, if anyone's not ever seen studio two, it's huge. It's like this, like big warehouse size of like a gymnasium. And, and you're up high, like you're perched in the studio room, like with a glass window and you're looking down. And then you know, you've got the whole orchestra was down there. And we had a conductor. And so when I first heard the strings getting laid on some of the songs, I mean, talk about, like you said, surreal. I mean, I was just like goosebumps. I was crying. I was just like, this is just phenomenal. So cool. And then of course lady Madonna piano was down there. I got to play it. And it

Randy Hulsey  47:12

Yeah, what a cool, what a cool experience. And I can remember when I was in Nashville, I had gone out in 2007 and recorded with a friend and Ronnie Milsap studio. But while I was there, I took a tour of the studio there in Nashville where Elvis had made a lot of his hit records, and just being in the same room with the X on the floor where the vocal mic was, like, was I ever a huge Elvis fan? No. But I'm also a music junkie, you know, and I respect the art. And I respect the artists no matter what the genre, but I'm like, Dude stood right here recording some of the greatest songs of our time. It's really, and that's from somebody that wasn't even recording in that studio. So I can only imagine how you must have felt, you know, being being at your record in studio. It was very

Season Ammons  48:12

out of body to be honest, very out of body. And that's why I think some of the vocal takes on this record in particular are just I listened back and I go holy, what that's that's me. And it was because of i I'm sitting here just flooded, who's totally floored and flooded with emotion and just like, yeah, totally surreal and out of body.

Randy Hulsey  48:37

Are you 100% happy with the outcome of the record? Or Or looking back? This is kind of a loaded question and I'm not really meaning it to be a loaded question, but and we won't talk about the money you invested you share that with me before hitting the record button, but it's an investment right? Yes. And you look back you listen to this record now. Do you have that moment where you say I should have done this there this there? Do you have those moments even after such an out of body kind of experience or whatever? Or are you ultimately just perfectly content with the way it came out?

Season Ammons  49:15

I'm actually 100% happy with it. I mean there's there's not one song on here that I just I know that I mean I literally you know yeah, I'm happy with this album from front to back because it's an actual album like it tells a story. These songs Okay, they're made for like you put the record on. I mean, these songs are on digital if you can listen to them on you know, Spotify or whatever but it's it's not quite the same. Because this is like talk about LP like long play. This is a very long play album. Every song on here is like five minutes long. This is like old school where If it takes you two minutes to just get into the song, you know, it takes you two and a half minutes to even get to the chorus, because there's so many layers and so much build up. And the other thing that we did is on the record, which is not on digital, is we sort of an ode to Abbey Road, the album from The Beatles, the songs go from one to the next, there's no break in them. So there's some somatic things going on. The first song, show me your love, there's some cool things that you can hear that are only on the record, that are not on the digital. So that to me there. That's the fun part of an album is it's an actual experience. You look at the artwork on here and talking about the packaging and stuff. I mean, this was a huge undertaking, a lot of artwork is involved in this and there's a huge booklet in here. The booklet tells the stories behind the songs, there's pictures of me in the ALP and the in the studio walk in the walk the huge motherboard, just and then of course liner notes for days because this took a huge amount, a lot of people to make this record talking about a lot of people that were involved in this record. So yes, from from front to back, I would I would say I'm 100% happy with this album, and I wouldn't change when changing a thing about it.

Randy Hulsey  51:27

And it's cool red vinyl today, which is really cool. Well, as you were, as you were talking about that I kind of flashback to a point in time where maybe a year and a half ago, I went out and bought my first piece of vinyl now, of course I listened to vinyl as a kid growing up. It was very nostalgic. And it was a very hair raising moment for me to bust the wrapper on that record. And to sit and physically hold a record in my hand for the first time in over 30 years. And when you're a musician, you're really into that kind of thing for the typical person. That means nothing to them, right. But to me, I sat there and was like, I just went back in Mr. P bodies time machine, right? It was so it was so weird to listen to the music because you listen to those albums. Totally different than what you listen to Spotify. And if you don't believe that we talk, right because there's no way that you listen to that the same way you listen to a digital download from from Spotify, totally different experience and looking at the pictures and the intricacy of the artwork. And you you know you the listeners can't see this album, I would highly suggest they go out and buy the record. But you know, there's a whole story in the pictures and the flow of the artwork that you never get with clicking on Play on Pandora. Yeah, right.

Season Ammons  53:01

Yeah, it's a it's a sensory all of it was a I wanted it to be a sensory experience. Because we are lacking that in music these days. And I this is a boutique item, it's you know, it's definitely for the the music nerds. I'm one of those I wanted to know, where it was recorded who was the producer who's on the record, you know, that's sort of what I think is definitely missing in the industry these days is like the mystique I think is gone. Now artists are expected to be so I'm available and transparent all the time, which I think is cool in some ways. But you know, you before the internet, the only way you got to know an artist was by reading in a magazine,

Randy Hulsey  53:50

or you know, circus magazine.

Season Ammons  53:53

Or maybe you would see if see an interview on MTV or you know, you'd catch a 60 minute special about them or you just and just from what was being put out. I mean, you would look at their their pictures, their photos, you would read everything in their liner notes. And so that's sort of missing. So now you kind of have to be everywhere all the time. But and that's fine. We know you have to go with the times. But I wanted a piece of art that was sort of a throwback and for the real. The real listeners out there that want to really take a look and see a piece of tangible artwork and this just goes beyond just the music is like a total experience a sensory all the way you touch it. You hold it, you get to look at it and read it and

Randy Hulsey  54:48

yeah, you have this. That's kind of what I said to you earlier, in a roundabout way when you're a little old lady 50 years from now, right because you're a young lady, but you can sit and you can hold that Your hand and say, I am so proud that I did this when I did it. But as you were saying that I was thinking, this is another moment where I realized how cool it was that I ever started the podcast, because since we've been sitting here, we've talked about, you know, the same thought process around liner notes, Coors lights, Marlboro lights, you know, all of these things, it's like, you connect with people. And, you know, if I would have seen you at a store today, we probably would have walked past each other and not even looked at one another, right? But you sit down, and you get to talk into people. It's like, holy cow, we have so many things that are like, spot on, you know, geek and with the music, being musicians, ourselves, it's kind of a cool thing. You know,

Season Ammons  55:49

it is cool. And I don't get the opportunity to it's cool to have nice longer conversations with someone versus a quick, you know, five minute interview or whatever. So this is, you know, this is the LP, right? Yeah,

Randy Hulsey  56:04

it's the LP. And you know, I've thought about that, you know, I read a bunch of stuff as I was spinning up the podcast back in 2020. And I'm like, How long should a podcast be, and everybody's like, well, this longer that long, but at the end of the day, it's a podcast, it can be however long you want it to be. And I said, you know, what, if I'm going to go out of my way to find an artist that touches me, or I moved by their music, I don't want to talk to him for five minutes, I want to find out what makes their mind it goes back to the geeking out on the liner notes and stuff. I want to hear you play the songs. But I want to know about the songs where was your head at were you in a bad place. And I'm not looking for dirt. That's not what this is about.

Season Ammons  56:50

But it's the ability to, to find commonality, sure.

Randy Hulsey  56:54

That and just to get to know the artist, because I think when you know, everything about the artist, not everything about the artist, but if you know more about the artist and the music, you listen to it differently.

Season Ammons  57:05

I believe I 100, right, I believe and I'm invested in artists, that you know, and I've, I feel that way with a lot of artists that I've been like watching or I saw them play at a nothing show. And then you get to watch them come up and you almost feel like you're rooting them on like you're a part of their team. And I mean, I get, you know, girl crushed over plenty of artists that I've been watching come up and I'm like, Yes, she's doing it, you know. And so I get totally invested in other artists and other people in the same sense.

Randy Hulsey  57:40

Yeah, I totally get that I'm the good inside of the song kind of guy. So when you're singing it, I'm like, I'm dissecting it in my mind, not from a technical is she singing it right? Or she? I'm listening for the story. It's all about the story for me. And so many people just hear a bass line, or they hear a beat or the rhythm section together. They don't realize that that's a three and a half minute story of somebody's life. Right? That's why everybody relates to your song, or that song or that hit song. Because those people are people to that write the songs, right? They're just like you and I, they are you right? So it's, it's interesting that you've talked about studio two. And you know, while we were still kind of on the topic of London, you also played the Bedford law you or was it while you were there? Or did you go back for another tour over there and you just played you happen to play it.

Season Ammons  58:40

So we went back, so went twice, actually to London wants to record and do everything. And then the second trip was to do the photoshoot for this album, and to do the mixing in the mastering and then also to do some touring. Yeah, so hitting up the Bedford and some other places and then also went to went to Scotland and did some radio tour of their state with some of some friends and then did some shows over there. So it was sort of a hodgepodge of like, we got to get a bunch of things done and let's let's fit in some, some shows. Let's do some radio. Let's do the photo shoot, which was amazing. This photoshoot took all day. And we went to three or four different locations all throughout London. We had a London based award winning photographer Joe Brady, who took all these photos and started with hair and makeup at like nine o'clock in the morning. And by 1030 in the morning, and this isn't March that we went and this was March of 2019. So over there in London, it is still cold in March. And so I'm out we're outside I mean all these shoots were outside on the front cover. I'm in one have the oldest cathedrals in London. And this is outside, you can't tell. But we had to Photoshop out there's like sleet. It was actually raining when we were in a cab heading to this first location. And I'm in this sheer dress this and by the way, I got this dress at a thrift store a couple of years ago and I bought it not knowing when or where I would wear it, but I knew that I would wear it. And I got it for 20 bucks anyway, I was like, That's my dress, and I ended up taking it with me and wearing it. And so it's freezing. So I have a big I have a trench coat. But the minute we get there, I mean I have to schlep off the coat. And we're taking these photos and it is like zero to Korea. I mean, it's cold, it's freezing, freezing, freezing. And it was a lot of work with a lot of fun. I literally had to put on just this total facade in my mind of like, not go just not Yeah, yeah, I kept I was like I'm working. Like I have got I have this one day, I've got this photographer for this one day, this is it. And so even here at this, some of these other photos to like here, I'm at the Tower Bridge. And by the way, this was another dress I had found at a thrift store in London while I was there, because I only had the one dress and I hadn't packed a whole lot. So I thought you know what, I'm not going to worry about it. I'm just gonna go to the thrift store. And I'll find some stuff to put together from my other photoshoots. And I did. So anyway, this was I have to show you some of the raw images as well, because they're stunning. And I'm what was what was so cool was that it was raining, we got to this location and it finally it stopped raining sleeting while we were there. And then on the on our way to the second location, which was at the London, the London Tower Bridge. There was clouds, I mean, they're talking like dark luminous clouds because of the storm that was there was rolling out and then the sun was coming in from the other side. So literally, it was like darkest night on one side and Beautiful Ruins on the other. It was still cold. But you would die when I show you some of these images because we got like 800 of them. And as you can see, we only used about what four or four. I mean, the raw images were amazing. I have to show you some of them were just like Unreal. I'll share I'll share some

Randy Hulsey  1:02:29

of them. Yeah, I will well the so the listeners have to kind of see the record in your mind's eye but I do encourage you to look at seasons website and pick up the record. It's very intricate. It's a very beautiful record. I haven't heard the songs on it yet, but I can't wait to listen but if they're half as good as the artwork is it must be phenomenal. And I guess that would be a great segue into maybe another song of your choice if you don't mind

Season Ammons  1:03:00

Sure no problem I got a brand new album that I'm working on right now and so it's coming out in July so I'll play a play a new song off of this new album alright this is new single it's called I could get used to this

1:03:46

one that you won't see me

1:03:52

taking different labor as you get

1:04:02

used to having to love having you around

1:04:19

begin

1:04:34

has it seems

1:04:44

that you're false thank you so desperately

1:04:59

Good News. See how you

1:05:02

love me?

Randy Hulsey  1:06:36

I can get used to this great song, it sounded wonderful nice backbeat kind of song. And you have very nice vocal control. I really liked the vocal. Thank you. Nice, nicely done.

Season Ammons  1:06:53

It's interesting because you know, when you're, when you're your voice is very dynamic. You have to have dynamics with a microphone. Sure, I think that I learned a long time ago how to work with my vocals and the dynamics are everything tone and dynamics are huge when it comes to vocals. And I work really hard at those things. Because there's a I mean, there's a lot to be said, sometimes it's just being quieter, or even having a crescendo and decrescendo and also your vibrato you don't always you know, vibrato is a big thing too. So holding out a note with no vibrato versus using it sparingly or also faster or slower vibrato that all key to sort of having your own sound and, you know, stylistically that's sort of what makes me a stylized vocalist. Sure.

Randy Hulsey  1:07:49

Well, it's pretty cool that, you know, all the choral terminology, crescendos and decrescendos. And I'm sure there's listeners out there right now that said, what did she just say? Like, what is she? Was she talking another language? Right? I know exactly what you were talking about. And of course, the listeners, they're seeing you through the mind's eye, as I sat here and watched you across probably what six feet from you, you would get way away from the microphone for some of the more you know, in your face vocals, and then you're right back up on the mic for the softer stuff, right. So you really know how to work the distance of the mic, which goes back to tone and first style,

Season Ammons  1:08:33

right? Yeah, yeah, I mean, cuz you don't want it to you want to sound good. And you could make it I know, you could probably make it sound good. But I you know, I know my vocal power. And if you push too much air on top of a vocal mic, it's going to blow the mic out. And it won't sound good right? And it's just it's not flattering. So I've just learned over the years of doing this for so long of of your microphone is another instrument right? And so is your voice so you have to learn how to make them play together nicely.

Randy Hulsey  1:09:05

I agree. I agree. And this was a song that is coming out the summer Correct. Do I have my facts correct or you're recording this now talk to me about Yes, the song out now but it's putting being put on a record that will be coming out? Yes. And you tell the story, right. I'm not doing a very good job articulating where the hell the song is coming from.

Season Ammons  1:09:29

This is it's a it's a new single. It just came out. Just a couple of days ago on Friday, it was on the whatever day that was anyway, it's it's a single off of my latest album, which the album will be coming out in July. The new album is called no restraint. Okay, and so far, I've already released two singles off of this new album, okay. The first single is called helped me helped me was sent out to Americana radio, it's actually out On an Americana, promotional campaign, if you will, and I will actually be going out to hit the road in a couple of weeks, I'll be gone for three weeks on a radio tour, hitting the I'm going nationwide going all over the southeast and to promote that single so, you know, singles are so the way albums are put out, they're so different nowadays. And you sort of have to play a lot of different tactics to get your music out. So for this album, this is an Americana album. It's definitely an adult alternative album. It's it's got a lot of cool sounds to it. I'm so excited about it. So a little bit more funkier a little more more groovier than steel Hearts is still Hearts is more dramatic and very cathartic. And no restraint. It's this really funky, really fun. Because there's a there's a lot of variety on this album as well. But anyway, help me is the song that's out on Americana. It's hitting the charts. It's when we're in the top 100 right now with that, and it was also released on Spotify as well too. But this new single I could get used to this is just right now a digital single release right now. All the songs will end up on the album, the album comes out in full in July. But so there's just a different tactic. When it comes to digital releases, you're supposed to be releasing something every six weeks on digital platforms, leading up to the release of a full album. So I'm taking an analog approach. And I'm also taking a digital approach the analog is the radio and working the Americana and triple a triple A's adults alternative album AAA stations and things like that. So so that's sort of, you know, radio is not dead. So radio still plays a big important part in your PR and your promotional things like that. So, so in digital world, it's different. They want something every six weeks and so that's what I'm doing so I can get used to this is out now you can get it on Spotify. So you just sort of the acoustic version, right? The studio version is way cool. It's got Glenn Fukunaga on it. He's an incredible funky bass player. It's got JJ Johnson, who's actually was Tedeschi trucks drummer for a decade or more. Now he was John Barish drummer for a while now he's with Gary Clark Jr. So he's a super Funky Drummer and he is a bad bad to the bone. And so that the song really really grooves and I'm like, loving loving the song. So I

Randy Hulsey  1:12:42

look forward to to hearing some material for sure. Well, I guess over time, there's been some special accolades and I wanted to chat for just a quick minute about a few of them. First of all, you have had your music on various charts and some of the charts that I think you might have found your cell phone what billboard triple A and America album charts I think was another maybe routes was another Do you remember the first song that ever charted for you? And which charts was it on?

Season Ammons  1:13:18

Yeah, so it was Jim Beam A nicotine Okay, that was my first top 40 single on the Texas music charts. And then after that was daddy raised hill which was off of so neon side of town that Texas country record had for top 40 singles on it. So it was neon side of town. Then it had a daddy raised Hill. Then it had Oh, what was the other one? So funny. Oh, had a damn good man. And then it had me on side of town the title track and then simultaneously while while damn good man was charting top 40 in the Texas music charts, steel Hearts was charting as an album It Was it was in the Americana charts. And the single show me your love off of this album to hit hit the Americana charts at the Yeah, the roots reporting chart actually the album was like top 20 album of 2020 and the risk reporting chart and then yeah, the triple A chart so Americana charts, triple A charts, rich charts and Texas music charts, all of all, all over all over the place. And you know, I always thought growing up as a kid it really confused me I couldn't understand on the radio why? There was only certain music on certain stations and I just thought Why isn't there like, why is it feel so separated as like why can't there be one station that has all this music because I loved all kinds of music. And I also didn't understand why there couldn't be one singer that could just do all of these things. So I think I'm doing that now.

Randy Hulsey  1:15:13

Yeah, that's awesome. That's called diversity. Right? Totally. Yeah. Well, I think it's important to point out to the listeners, that I don't know the exact count. But I think there, there's probably been over a half a million streams of your music now. So congrats. Yeah.

Season Ammons  1:15:28

And hopefully more now that we've got the new album coming out and some other stuff, it's streaming is important. It really is. It helps the numbers, you know, we need we actually need more numbers. It's like, it's funny how it's a numbers game, especially when it comes to talent buyers, people that are booking festivals. And when you're trying to get in to get booked somewhere or play a very prestigious venue. If your numbers aren't high enough, they won't look at you. So it means a lot to me, anytime anybody streams, my music, or downloads it or puts me in their playlist or shares it with a friend. It may seem like a small trivial thing, but it really really does add up. I think

Randy Hulsey  1:16:17

so many people overlook the simple ways that they can help a musician out is just like, whether it's sharing something that you post on social media, like how long does it take for somebody to hit the share button, right? And that information gets disseminated to so many more people that way. And I think people get complacent and lazy with doing that. Or, you know, I jokingly say to my family, just pull up my podcast and hit play and turn the volume down and go to bed. Right? Yeah, give me like 78 more string, right. You know, like, I don't really care. And I say that tongue in cheek. Because I'm not too worried about monetizing the show. But you're an artist. And this is how you make your living. And you know, being here at breeze house, this is how Paul and Bree make their living. And every little thing that the listener does, helps you guys out. So for the listeners don't look past the small things, even if it's not if even if you're not doing something monetarily. Right, it's the other little things that can be so beneficial to write to artists like season. Yeah, I

Season Ammons  1:17:27

mean, because we're not making a lot of money on on streaming. I mean, we you know, we make a fraction of a fraction of a penny per stream. But the streaming numbers equates into metrics and metrics equate into other things. Yes. When it when when you have people looking at you, whether that's the industry, or radio, or talent buyers or festivals, they're looking at your metrics. So while No, I'm not going to make a million dollars off of streaming, unless you're Taylor Swift, and you know, you're just, it's not very much money I get, I get like $23 A quarter, per quarter of the year from Spotify, and iTunes and apple and all this stuff. And I'm like, you know,

Randy Hulsey  1:18:11

when she's paying me $22 To be on the show. So you made a buck, you made a buck season, don't spend it all in one spot. Know,

Season Ammons  1:18:20

but you know, it's like that I don't you know, like I said, I'm not getting rich off of that. But it's it does the streaming matters. And then the downloads, you know, you can I'm gonna make 68 cents per download. I mean, it's cost you $1 To download the song, well, I'll get 68 cents, but so if you download an album, that's better, but streaming streaming, streaming and adding to playlists and sharing that So

Randy Hulsey  1:18:44

So Thanks for telling me that because i i Don't guess I don't have any of my music out there. Just not how I That's not how I roll. It's not what I do. So I've never paid attention to downloads versus stream. So you're saying that if I go and this album, I download the whole album or even a single you get paid more for the downloads than you do for me just clicking play and streaming? Correct. Okay.

Season Ammons  1:19:13

But it's good to have both it'd be great. Yeah, download it, and you can have it anytime but then Yeah, still stream it so that you can get the numbers up because the more streams you have on a specific song, it'll get picked up by other bigger playlists and when you can get exposed to a bigger artists playlist and you get hooked in with Tedeschi trucks or whoever it is somebody bigger you're added onto their playlists you're exposed to all of their fans and it just grows your metrics.

Randy Hulsey  1:19:42

I had a guest from Nashville on my show. Her name was Jen Bostick, and she said that she got on the rock band train got on their playlist and amazing things happen from that. So and if you're not in the music game, you really don't know all these little The intricacies behind the scenes like I mean, as musical as I am, I didn't even know that about the downloads. So that's, that's good for me to know. Because, you know, there's a lot of artists like yourself that I'll just go and download, you know, to help you guys out. And that's such an easy way to Yeah, for you know, if you have a Spotify subscription, download a record download, you know, yes stream it to but I'm not saying don't do it in lieu of but I mean do both. Yeah, for sure. Really?

Season Ammons  1:20:29

It's it's goes all very long way.

Randy Hulsey  1:20:32

Well, I learned something new today. Yeah. Well, over the years you've been nominated for, I think it was best country artist. You were nominated for Best Female Vocalist. What do the nominations mean? What do you think the nominations mean to artists in general, but what do they mean, to season Ammons? When you get nominated for something?

Season Ammons  1:20:58

Well, it's it's a really great feeling. It may it's there's a validation there that at least your peers and your industry are recognizing, yeah, that they're seeing us. You know, it's just, it just means Okay, your efforts are not going unnoticed to get a nomination and it, it just it fuels the fire keeps the kind of passion going. Because sometimes you can feel like you're out here, just barely treading water and you're like, does it even matter? Like who does it, you know, so, so it, it feels good. So so it's like a pat on the back. Like, you know, good job, you know, and that's, it's great. And, and it also helps, you know, it's feathers and hats. It's, it's when you're, you're writing your bio, and it's your bio is your resume. And once again, when it comes to talent buyers, and when you're trying to book that bigger show, or you're trying to get the opening act, with the bigger artists, they're looking at that too. So if you're getting recognized within the industry, you're also getting recognized by other artists within the industry. You're getting those nods? Yeah, it really does help to fuel your career. And it, it just shows that, you know, you're legit, really, and you know, that it's your career. And it's not just a passion or a hobby, or it's just something you do on the weekends. No, it's like that. This actually shows people gifts, people need to see real results and people. They you know, I mean, it's see seems trivial, but

Randy Hulsey  1:22:39

I don't think it matters if you're a garbage man, or you're a dishwasher. We all need that validation. And I think probably musicians needed a little more than most right? Because we don't know we're a different breed, I think right? And there needs to be more self validating for us to say, Hey, Randy, you're irrelevant or a season you're, you're irrelevant. You're really good, you know, okay, thanks for telling me that now you fueled me to go do it. Another day. Right. Yeah, yeah. And so I don't think that, I guess my point there is that everybody needs the validation. It's not, you know, the accolades are great. Some people could care less about the accolades. There's, I don't think there's many people that would just discount them. But I've asked that question to many artists that have been on the show. And they say, it's great to be recognized by your peers, it means that we're doing something right, for sure. Right. And I didn't know if you had that share that same sentiment or not. Yeah, and it's

Season Ammons  1:23:43

not like you, you know, that I that you have to have it because at the end of the day, you know, it's like, I love doing what I do it there's a lot of validation just at a show, when you got people showing up. When people come and buy tickets to your show, people come up and want to spend their hard earned money. I mean, you know, and there's, you get nuggets and nuggets, nuggets of validation all the time. And that's great. I mean, that's just honestly what keeps me going whenever I play a song and someone says, oh my gosh, you know, that made me cry, or that I related to that. It's like, you know, those all those things add up to

Randy Hulsey  1:24:23

like fuel the fire they do they all do. I get it. I'll do Will you release the single this year called helped me and that's a great song. By the way. I've streamed that and listened to it. Where was that single recorded?

Season Ammons  1:24:37

So that single is going to be on the new album, the new album, yes. And that now it'll be on no restraint. So that song that whole album was recorded at Yellow Dog, okay? in Wimberley. Okay, so this will make my like fourth album I've made with Dave Percival at Yellow Dog studios. Got a great working relationship with him. We just gelled really well together. I love making records over there, it feels like home. So we actually recorded this album during, during the pandemic. And, and it was a stark, like contrast from steel hearts. Because there wasn't a bunch of extras really, there was just a couple of handful of people, we were having to really scale back on a lot of things. You know, wasn't a lot of money wasn't a lot of like, we had to be careful there was, you know, just, it was a weird time to be making a record. But But anyway, so yeah, helped me is the song that we sent out to Americana radio, and it's doing very well. And that's the song I'll be out promoting when I when I go on tour along with the entire record because Americana is a is an album formatted chart system. They do like singles, but they're not a single driven chart charts charting system. So they're more into the album. So help me is just sort of a highlight on the entire album. And but that's sort of the one we're focusing on right now. So that one, you know, and I had considered trying to send it out to Texas radio, Texas country radio, because it's not quite Texas country, but there's some elements about it that may, it could have worked. But I, I talked to a couple of Texas promoters and just let them listen to it. And they both had said, well, it doesn't quite fit the mold, you know, Connexus country. So because I've had a lot of people ask, well, when are you going to put another Texas like country because you know, Texas country is very specific. And to get back on the charts and get back in the Texas country scene, you really have to you have to go it has to be very specific production quality. So while I have an entire batch of country songs that could easily I could easily record tomorrow. I just it's just hard to kind of keep everything going. And I'm you know, I've just got to do one thing at a time. And we tried the dual thing. And that worked really well between the outside of town and steel hearts. And we did that and it worked. So for now I'm going to just concentrate on no restraint, and the singles off of that which are helped me.

Randy Hulsey  1:27:38

Yeah, you might have mentioned this earlier. And when I'm talking to somebody, my brain is going I'm already thinking of about 50 things, right? And I don't remember if you told me that the new record coming out is going to be an LP or an EP, did you an LP, LP, so Okay, yeah. So that'd be quite a few songs on there. Yeah, yeah. Awesome. I look forward to that. And then other than that, is there anything musically or project wise that you might be working on that you can or want to share with the listeners? We'll, or you can plead the fifth. But this is your platform,

Season Ammons  1:28:19

right? Well, I am I am still working on this other little project. That I don't know when I'm gonna put it out. It is. It's such a interesting, weird, it's not weird, but it's just me. It's just different. But really interesting. Do you know who Burt Bacharach is? Sure. Okay.

Randy Hulsey  1:28:42

So I'm not 15 years old.

Season Ammons  1:28:46

So I'm actually working on some Burt Bacharach fun covers that. I don't know when we're gonna put it out. But it's just a little fun thing that I was wanting to do. And

Randy Hulsey  1:29:01

you're dating yourself? Yeah.

Season Ammons  1:29:05

Hey, I was in love with all

Randy Hulsey  1:29:08

I get it. I get it. I'm, I'm totally. I get it. Some of the best music is stuff that we heard our parents list. Yeah,

Season Ammons  1:29:15

that's exactly it. I mean, that's thing, like I grew up listening to 50s 60s and 70s. Sure, you know, born in the 70s, a kid in the 80s, a teenager in the 90s all the meanwhile getting all that music from the 80s like grown up in the 80s and then like being a teenager angst, you know, 90s, grunge MTV all that but But meanwhile, yes, having the 50s 60s and 70s like be the heart of my childhood or, like, to me, that's

Randy Hulsey  1:29:47

great time. Yeah, are massive

Season Ammons  1:29:49

Motown and, you know, so. So, it wasn't until later that I realized like Burt Bacharach wrote all the songs that I loved, you know, and and had loved grown up so and then it so so that's just a little something I could talk more about it but I'm gonna hold off because there's still a lot of work to be done on it and it probably won't put it out till probably next year maybe or maybe at Christmas time it'll be just a little fun little pop of like, look at this over here. Like what else can I do for you to look at this?

Randy Hulsey  1:30:25

Well, when you get to that point, you need to call me so I get first dibs. You owe me

Season Ammons  1:30:32

Yeah, yeah, no, I really you would love it. I think you'll like it. Well, I

Randy Hulsey  1:30:36

was gonna say I can't say that I was ever a Burt Bacharach fan. But now if you said you were gonna do like a Barry Manilow? I'm like, I'm standing in line. Now, the old stuff is is great, because for me, those were very formidable years. You know what the music shaped me in the 70s. And I think for me, like I say this all the time. 78 was like the year they just did it for me. I don't know if it was the age that I was. But there was to me, like, of every other year of music went away, and I had to keep 119 78 wouldn't be hit for me. I don't know why. Yeah, that's fine. Maybe Maybe I was falling in love as a young boy then. And maybe that's how I tie. You know, getting girl crazy. I was a you know, I was in middle school. And like, there was just a lot of things happening for me back then. Right. And it just takes me back to a good place in time.

Season Ammons  1:31:38

I think a lot of people can relate to that. Because there are definitely music is like that to where it just sets your tone. Like could have been the best summer that summer that for sure. All of these certain

Randy Hulsey  1:31:50

hits were there and very impactful.

Season Ammons  1:31:52

I have I have a couple of summers that that were like, there were songs that just like they take me back. Yeah, really. I know that. I mean, everybody can relate to that. But it's so weird how music does

Randy Hulsey  1:32:04

and you hear him and you say to him down? Yeah, that's just damn that's it. Man, I remember that. Like it was yesterday. I don't remember what I ate for lunch yesterday. 1978. March 30. Like, I remember that. You know, it's the weirdest thing

Season Ammons  1:32:20

Mills do that for you too. Can you smell things?

Randy Hulsey  1:32:24

Sometimes? Yeah, sometimes, but there, but for me, it's a song that will that will just set it all off. I mean, it will take me right back to man. I remember being by the community pool here and that song for the first time. And there was this girl that I was in love with. It's that right? And it's like, wow, I haven't really thought about the smells too much. But I heard somebody the other day. Say that that smells will take them back to a place in time. So you're the second one I've heard say this and the like the last week?

Season Ammons  1:32:58

Yeah. I have things like certain like grasses in the summer that I'll smell that just take me back to my childhood or even like so I've gone into some churches before that have this like smell about them. That reminds me of like Sunday school. And even like fire burning off in the distance or you know, yeah, or the smell of fall. You know, I don't know brings back there. There'll be a memory that might get shocked. But yeah, I'm also a weirdo. I like the smell of burnt matches. I love the smell of skunks and I love the smell gasoline. So I'm just

Randy Hulsey  1:33:37

wouldn't say my foot well yeah, I was gonna go somewhere with the skunk

Season Ammons  1:33:43

far away smell of like a skunk like drifting it like I don't I don't know why just It's smells comforting to me and I can't describe it.

Randy Hulsey  1:33:52

Yeah, she's in your weird. I love bringing weirdos. Only kidding. Only kidding. Would you share one more song with the listeners?

Season Ammons  1:34:02

Sure. I'd love to. I got a brand new one for you do it. Okay, what's it called? It's called Finally.

Randy Hulsey  1:34:08

Finally. Well it's finally here.

Season Ammons  1:34:09

Let's finally hear it yeah,

Randy Hulsey  1:34:11

we'll talk about it when you

1:34:25

finally found a word

1:34:31

letting go of the past wandered all the way that I could change the hands on helmets

1:34:50

just trying to make it home

1:35:00

There is nothing

1:35:01

but the truth all roads

1:35:04

lead back

1:35:18

to found a way

1:35:20

to understand you

1:35:23

holding on to an hourglass

1:35:29

real labs just completing wisdom

1:35:34

if you haven't in history

1:35:39

is that dama Howard just trying to make it home with Caesar so

1:35:54

there's nothing but the truth

1:36:13

Alpha finally found a way

1:36:16

to love you letting go

1:36:26

is the word I needed I had all this time

1:36:31

moment

1:36:38

just tried to make it

1:36:48

long enough to

1:36:50

find true

1:36:54

sleep back to you

1:37:07

all

1:37:24

Rose Lee lead back

Randy Hulsey  1:37:32

that was great season. I enjoyed that. And I took the headphones off and it sounds so much better outside of the headphones. So just just the ambiance and the acoustics of the room. So nice. So

Season Ammons  1:37:44

thank you. Yeah, brand new and still actually kind of learning that song. It's it's interesting that you'll write a song and it takes a while for it to settle in and become like the back of your hand. So thanks for letting me try it on.

Randy Hulsey  1:38:00

And we won't share the behind the scenes of how you had to remember the song. We'll have to tell Bree, what we use to but but that's the fun part of

Season Ammons  1:38:10

Sharpie out you're holding cue card.

Randy Hulsey  1:38:14

Exactly. Taping things to the wall. So that was a song called finally. Right. And it's not it's not our star. It's just kind of a figment both not even a figment of your imagination, but it's yeah, it's

Season Ammons  1:38:29

still you know, I write all the songs. And this is just the most recent song I've written that I'm actually really just proud of, because it's a real poignant song. And it's a songwriters song. I love a good hook. I'm a I'm a hook. I'm a hook lady, man. I love writing catchy stuff. I love pop music. I love pop music. And actually, my new album, no restraint has a lot of pop on. And pop is not a bad word. You know, a lot of people think it is. But pop just means popular, meaning it got popular. So it's a pop song. But anyway, this song, finally is just one of those songs where it wrote itself. I didn't I didn't have anything to do with it. I mean, it just kind of came through me. And to me, those are some of the more real personal songs. And what's funny is when the songs write themselves, like, I'm still trying to figure out what the songs about even for myself. Yeah. And it has everything to do with me. I mean, I know like, I mean, the reason why it's called finally is because every single line of the song starts with I finally and of course, yes, it ends with all roads lead back to you. So I'd wrestled with what should I name the song but there was something about finally that stood out to me but but this song is not in a pop format is because it has the way that it's structured. It's not a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, non cut and dry. And, yes, there's a hook, which is, towards the end, there's a hook phrase, but every, there's three verses and the verses are also choruses. So it doesn't make any sense. But it does. I don't even know what you would call this structure in the writing world, but every for every verse slash chorus, every verse starts with I finally, and that it all it ends with all roads lead back to you. So it's, you know, I finally found a way to forgive you, I finally found a way to understand you, I finally found a way to love you. And, and I, like, I'm, I think I'm talking to myself, I'm talking to like, God

Randy Hulsey  1:40:46

be anybody. Yes, that's the beauty of a song you can use, you can insert whatever person in there.

Season Ammons  1:40:53

I mean, I'm talking about every person that's ever hurt me, or that I've heard, like, it's everything. So I'm still processing this song for myself. And but I just wanted to share, you know, just sort of a newer song that's just so the listeners can hear some of my other writing styles and just sort of something that's fresh and new and may find its way on an album later. And I've got a lot of songs that never make the records that you know, when when you're making a record usually come with like 20 songs in hand, and then they all get, you cut them down to where you get maybe 10 or 12. So I have a lot of songs that I that have never solved records. And I have a dream that I will put these singer songwriter re songs, the songs that are sad, the sad songs, the ones that are really introspective, and the ones that aren't pop songs that don't have like this crazy, awesome hook there. You got to sit and think about them. So that to me is probably the next thing that I will work on also is I've got about 20 songs. And I know it sounds a little ambitious, but I'm thinking about doing a double LP, putting like 20 songs and make a not a lot of production. Just super simple. I mean, like guitar vocal, making it a real personal album of just here's the songs not a

Randy Hulsey  1:42:22

big production. Yeah,

Season Ammons  1:42:24

I mean, it'd be good high quality production, but it's not like I would have a lot of production. But interesting things like harp, I mean, like the harp string tarp, not the harmonica harp, but just really good instrumentation, but not a whole lot. So yeah.

Randy Hulsey  1:42:43

If you I don't think I will. I know artists don't like to be put in a box, like, you're this or you're that. But if you had to put yourself in a genre box, where would you best fit? Because you do. You're You're interesting. And I've had multiple artists that are they don't know. I mean, they kind of know what they are, but they can float in and out of genres. Americana, you know, you talked about funk country, like there's, there's different things going on. And I think I called my last guest a mutt, right? Like, you know, you're like a mutt of an artist, which is a totally like a term of their reference error, right? But that just means that you're versatile. And you're and you're diverse and what you do, but what do you think your genre box would be?

Season Ammons  1:43:38

Honestly, the best shopper box would be americano because it's an umbrella. I mean, Americana is an umbrella of everything that doesn't fit in something else. Yeah, and an Americana umbrella encompasses folk, blues solo rock, bluegrass country alt country you know it's just it's like a catch all. I get it so that's I mean that's another reason why this new album no restraint is going to Americana rather than Texas country because Texas country is very specific. Yes Adam I get it so so you know and I do I definitely right more Americana style versus Texas country and honestly there's plenty more songs that I could put out like I said tomorrow we just have to put a date it's a Texas production behind it and that's very specific you know, talking more fiddle and more pedal steel and things like that to to make it a Texas to make it fit in a Texas country box. And I love I love Texas country and I've like said I can't wait to put out another I don't know if it would be an album or a single or something. But I want to kind of at least kind of dip my toe back over there and be like, Hey, I'm still here because As I'm still a member of like the Texas Music Association and things like that, I haven't been nominated for anything because I haven't put anything out you know. So it's it's an interesting position to be in, but

Randy Hulsey  1:45:12

Well, it's it's a good thing to be a mutt, I think. Because you're, again, you're diverse and you can you can do Texas country one day and Americana the next and they always say there's an old adage don't put all your eggs in one basket. And people I mean, look at look at guys like Robert Plant from Led Zeppelin crossing over to country look at Aaron Lewis from stained how big he is with the whole MAPE I don't know how you'd classify what he's doing now kind of a outlawed kind of thing, but it's country. You know, it's basically country. Maybe you could call it Americana. But from an Americana genre, who who pops for you in that genre? Who do you love but and I want to tell you who I love and I just want to see if it's another thing that we kind of match up on. So

Season Ammons  1:46:03

um, I love Nikki lane. Okay, and I like Margo price. I like Brittany Howard from the Alabama Shakes. Mavis Staples just put out a record too. But it she fit in the Americana bubble just because I forget who produced her but, but then

Randy Hulsey  1:46:26

what about from a male artists perspective?

Season Ammons  1:46:29

Well, let's see male artists I would say JJ gray and Mark Broussard. Nathaniel Ratliff. Sturgill Simpson. Oh, what's his name? I can't take my hands to heaven. That's wild. I'll remember in a minute but and you tell me because I'm

Randy Hulsey  1:46:58

well, I think I think we're I think the whole Americana thing was set off with me as a as a performer wanting to open up to multiple genres and cover some stuff from different people. I think Jason is Bolon the four Oh, yeah, for sure. For me,

Season Ammons  1:47:15

I was gonna say also, when I was on the female run was Amanda friars. Love her. And Jason

Randy Hulsey  1:47:23

woman. Yes. Yes.

Season Ammons  1:47:25

Brandi Carlile? Yes. But yeah, Jason is bull. Yes. 100%. You know, he's coming out with a documentary

Randy Hulsey  1:47:33

I've already seen. Oh, yeah. Yeah, it looks like it'd be dying. What are the stuff that he writes is just like, wow, I know. I mean, if you listen to songs, like vampires, and elephant, those are such deep songs, you know, elephant talks about somebody dying from cancer, and then vampires. It's really, you know, what if we could live forever? What if we could stay in love forever? One of us is gonna leave first, right? And the other one's gonna be left. And it's, it's, yeah, yeah, they're deep stuff prolific.

Season Ammons  1:48:09

He's definitely like, on the prolific side, and sometimes as a songwriter, when I, when I look at some of my catalogue of songs, and I, and I'll compare to somebody like Jason his bull, and I go, I'll never write anything like that, you know, and I can get down on myself. And then I'll write something like finally and I'm like, Okay, this is, you know, you have good writing chops, you know, but, you know, he's not over there. Right. And like, these hooky, you know, pop songs, you know? No, I mean, we're talking deep human emotion. That is really, the way he exposes. Yes. It's just incredible.

Randy Hulsey  1:48:51

It's a little on the darker side, too, right. Sure. Yeah. Cuz he's, there's been a lot of trials and tribulations in his life with alcohol and things like that. It's all self admitted. It's not something that Randy on backstage pass radio is telling stories on Jason. I mean, and watch the documentary. I mean, it's it all comes out in there big time. I would drive by truckers.

Season Ammons  1:49:13

Oh, yeah. I know. I mean, and I think a lot of artists struggle in that department. Yeah, I for one have and I don't know what it is, I've always thought why is it the artist, the artist? The struggle, like it's, it's the inner turmoil of being an artist. I don't really know. But why is it like nine out of 10 artists will fall at some point by the wayside for drugs and alcohol, depression, all this stuff over here on the dark side that we can tend to fall into it's I don't hardly know any other artists that haven't at least dip their toe over there but managed to pull themselves back up and, you know, some some form or the other.

Randy Hulsey  1:49:58

I think part of it season is that At the artist is a public figure. And there's a lot of eyes on the artist from a local singer songwriter like myself to the rushes of the world, right or the lens up lens of the world, right? But we're in a public eye and people are following. I don't like to lump myself into that category, but people are following artists like you and Bri. And it's like all I mean, they're always watching, right? So when you say, it seems like it's the artist that is going through the depression and the drugs and alcohol, there's probably a lot more that would just your average everyday people. They just don't have the scrutiny of eyes on them all the time. So it's not as pronounced I say, Yeah, is the only way I can explain it. But what do I know? Today, right, yeah. It's Randy's theory. It's a randy ism. Right. Yeah.

Season Ammons  1:50:56

I love Jason. Jason is what I love about Ray LaMontagne and Sierra Farrell. Okay, they just put out a new song to that. I'm just in love. I

Randy Hulsey  1:51:04

have to check all these people out. Yeah, some of them I haven't heard of, but a lot of them I have. share with the listeners. What is coming up by way of tour or shows for you that you'd like people to know that that you can either remember that you want to pull up either way is fine.

Season Ammons  1:51:24

Well, I can say right now that coming in in May, like I'm going out on a three week radio tour, promotional radio tour, and I will be going everywhere from Cushing, Oklahoma, to Tulsa to Memphis, to Nashville, Knoxville, opa. locka, Alabama going to be in Chattanooga. I'm hitting up North Carolina, Hillsborough, Asheville, going to Carbonaro, Georgia, Atlanta. And then I'm going to, I'll end up in Destin, Florida. For the final end of this, this radio tour. I'm going out on another radio tour in July, but I'll be ending this radio tour on my birthday. May 20. And I'll turn my lucky 44 I'm so excited. That's my number 44 has always been my number side.

Randy Hulsey  1:52:21

Gosh, that's ancient. Oh season

Season Ammons  1:52:27

are great. You know, there's a lot of means just the beginning but the May 20 is my birthday. And I'm doing a big birthday show in Destin with my old Florida band. Oh, cool. So but full band show and, and so I'm super excited about that. What's your date

Randy Hulsey  1:52:45

on the Old Quarter? And Galveston? Yes. For the local Houston listeners.

Season Ammons  1:52:51

Yeah. So that is going to be it's July 7,

Randy Hulsey  1:52:58

July 7. Quarter. Yeah, down and down on the island. So for people that are local to Backstage Pass radio down in the league city and Kima and Galveston area make sure and even if you're not down on the island, go see season down there. Yeah. And go see season at all of these shows that she's talking about. But I'm picking on my local listener. Well, I'm gonna

Season Ammons  1:53:21

be playing the continental club. Oh, cool in in what days that I'm cars coming up. It's in June. Well, anyway, there's some really great shows that I've been adding and I'm updating my calendar constantly because I've been working really hard to just get the quality venues that I want to. So that includes so may 27. I'm going to be at the Red Bird listening room here in New Braunfels. And that's a listening room and tickets are on sale they're gonna sell out we're already getting close the continental club June 1, June 1, and that's in Houston and and playing some places. So the beautiful boy I'm flying which is which is near it's kind of Houston. It's not that far but but I'm gonna list all my dates. All my dates are always on my website, which is real simple. It's season ammons.com. But but then yeah, in July, I'm going back on a nother radio tour to hit up a different region. Be going to Colorado and doing some shows along the way to Colorado and hitting the Northeast Seaboard. So I'm going to be doing a lot of traveling and so you got to follow me on Facebook and Instagram because I'm going to be sort of letting people know where I'm going to be the stations that are playing me the radio stations and then also keeping you updated on the new album no restraint which comes out July 21. Okay, so and I'm super excited to reveal Will the artwork about some really great, amazing artwork coming

Randy Hulsey  1:55:04

forward? Well, if it's anything like this one here, this

Season Ammons  1:55:07

so it'll be it'll be totally different. I wanted to go to complete opposite. So you see how intricate this one is? This, this new album is going to be very I'll give you a hint. It'll be black and white. Okay, so I'm going with super sleek, just simple. So I'm wanting to be like totally different. And I am working on some vinyl for the new album. It's just it's cost a lot of money. So I might have to do pre sales before I actually do vinyl for the new album. But I really, really want to because the the photography is like, wow, like, I'm so excited. I'm like, well, it'll reveal it. So

Randy Hulsey  1:55:47

I can tell you one person that will support you. If nobody else does. I will. So thank you. Where can the listeners find you? You talked about season ammons.com That's probably the main landing page for you and merch and tour. What other socials Are you on that the listeners should pay attention to you. I mean, a lot of artists are not on all of the platforms, but which ones pertain to you.

Season Ammons  1:56:14

So Facebook and Instagram are my biggest. So you can follow me on both of those. I also put videos up on YouTube. So you can you know, subscribe to my YouTube channel. I am on Tik Tok, I don't do a whole lot on tick tock, but I'm up there. And I bear I don't do anything on Twitter. It's not really a platform that speaks to me. But you know, Spotify, iTunes, those are big ones for me, and I'm on Pandora as well, too. But it's Spotify and iTunes are the biggest ones to get the metrics that we were talking about earlier. So those are the big ones. And most importantly, go to my website and sign up for my newsletter. Okay, that means a lot because I only send one newsletter out a month at the beginning of the month, so that you can look ahead at the month, see where I'm playing, see what I'm up to. I just do a nice little, you know, an overview of what's coming up for the month and I Don't bombard you with a bunch of crap it so sign up for the newsletter. That way you can kind of stay connected to what I'm doing. And you can plan for shows and see what's coming up.

Randy Hulsey  1:57:21

Yep, good point. And it doesn't cost you anything. No, it doesn't cost anything. And I wanted to stress that with the listeners. Because the way and I've done a lot of research. When I started the podcast and in they say for podcasters even start a mailing list because there's no scrutiny with email, where is you get on Facebook, the Instagram, there's algorithms on there where if you post something, and you've got 5000 followers, there might be 800 of them that see that and the others never even know. And it's I don't know why that. I guess it's a money thing. Right? The companies can can get you on by in sponsorships. And it just pisses me off. And I'm not I'm not even going to get into that conversation on the show I told myself not to but for the listeners that aren't aware of the podcasting side and the musician side of the business, jump on your favorite artists mailing list, because if season sends that out to 800 People 800 People will receive those emails, right, unless they're not good emails, of course. But there's nobody, there's no machines that are AI or whatever, they're scrutinizing that from you getting that information.

Season Ammons  1:58:39

I mean, and that's what made me start my mailing list was that I would put out a post about shows and there would be so many people that would say, Well, I wish I would have known I'm like, I mean, I put it out there and they're like, Oh no, it didn't show up on my feed or, or the other thing is that I would spend a lot of time creating some content. And I get like, you know, 10 likes, and I have, you know, 10 10,000 followers, it's like, you know, and so yeah, it was very frustrating. So I just started doing my mailing list and my newsletter. So I'm like, okay, I can handle one newsletter a month and just kind of sort of do a rundown of, here's what I'm doing. Here's where I'm at, and that way, it's directly to you. And there's no middleman and then and you know, it's like you said it's just it's coming from Bing. Yeah. And I like I said, I put it out the front of the month, so that way, you can see oh, okay, she's playing at the continental club on this day. Like we can plan for it. Because, you know, we all like to make plans. You don't want to see a post that day and be like, Oh, she's, we can't make it. You know? It's, you know, we're all we're all inundated with so many things these days. And I don't want to be one of those things to where, you know, I'm not gonna Send out a million emails either like

Randy Hulsey  2:00:03

well and then but But in all fairness the listeners if you did they have the choice to unsubscribe to right so get on the mailing list you guys that are listening get on the mailing list and support the artists that way. Season it's been so cool chatting with you finally here in the hill country and Bri mag wells house. I feel I kind of feel like we ran her out. But whatever. Show listen is we're talking about her.

Season Ammons  2:00:37

Her day off too. But you know, I think her in whiskey when I know she's, she's running with her head cut off a lot like me. It's like it's it's not one thing. It's another so yeah, to me, I'm the same way you just you. There's always something to do an errand to run. You got to do this. You got to do that. She's always stepping infection. And she's a lady that I truly admire. She is genuine. She's really cool. And yeah, it was super awesome of her to let us come crash her place on her day off while she has so much stuff going on. So we can get to work over there. Start mailing some of her merchandise

Randy Hulsey  2:01:14

we could but I think she's having some issues, pay pay and to ship all that out. There's like a credit card issue or something. But she was trying to figure all that out earlier. But nevertheless, it's been super cool chat with you. I've loved the music. I love the stories. Can't wait to listen to the vinyl. So thank you for that.

Season Ammons  2:01:32

Thanks so much for and yeah, I've enjoyed hanging out with you. Yeah, it's

Randy Hulsey  2:01:35

totally My pleasure. And thank you to Bree and Paul for having us in your home and for being accommodating of season and I hope you guys go out and follow season on all over social media outlets. And don't forget you can also find her at season ammons.com. I ask the listeners to like, share and subscribe to the podcast. You can find it 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 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  2:02:17

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