BY LESLEY HASTINGS
A favourite with so many UK country music fans, Ashley McBryde was a welcome addition to last Saturday’s BST Hyde Park show which of course was headlined by super star Garth Brooks.
It was a while since I’d interviewed Ashley, and the first time for Country Lowdown, but she’s the type of artist who never forgets those who have supported her from the start and greeted me like a long lost friend.
And that’s how our chat began….reminiscing about her first visit here to play C2C in 2018 (including that tiny NY-LON stage) and subsequent headline show at The Borderline where I first interviewed her. We embraced her from the start, and she has continued to play here on a regular basis …including that incredible fan club party last year….
“You supported me from the very first note that I sang, probably even before I got over here! Wish more of us were encouraged from the get go (maybe we are now?) that when you start to build your career, when you first get your deal in Nashville, that you start to build your career here. It’s the best move!”
What message does she have for her UK fans?
“My biggest message would be thank you. You loved me from the start, and every time I come back to play the rooms have to be bigger and bigger because you are listening, you are sharing it with your friends and family. I loved that fan club party! And I promise to find more places to do them so it’s not in just one region”.
It’s the first time I’d spoken to Ashley since she opened up about her alcohol addiction…..after congratulating her on 4 years of sobriety I mentioned it must be particularly hard working in an industry and specifically a genre that often celebrates and glorifies the drinking culture….
“Thank you. And yes it does, I don’t think that really resonated with me, I didn’t put those two things together. But it’s always been a part of country music, and I don’t ever want that to change, but after I stopped drinking I realised I needed to find other things to write songs about! I thought I was so clever writing every song with whiskey in the title, but it was actually the lowest common denominator. The least intelligent song I could have written. So finding other things to write about apart from how drunk I could be has been a nice challenge!”
And had Ashley noticed any difference to her vocal cords since she quit drinking?
“I noticed almost immediately. Thirty days in. Drinking causes inflammation, causes reflux to be worse….I think my whole body was always in fight mode ….fighting a hangover, fighting a craving…..my body looks entirely different now because it’s not fighting so hard to stay alive. I left treatment on a Tuesday, on Wednesday I got on the (tour) bus and Thursday I sang a show. I noticed that night and thought ‘Oh my God, if it feels this good at thirty days I can’t wait to see what sixty days feels like’, and that’s kind of been a good motivator though out my journey so far”.
Moving on to Ashley’s new album “Wild” which documents her personal journey to date so well…..I love that there’s some old fan favourites on there which found a place to land
“Finally!!!”
And that “What If We Don’t” found a new place to land
“It was perfect for this record”
But I wondered about when it came to writing new songs for the album were there any which were particularly tough emotionally, in the knowledge that some hard home truths would come out which her family would be hearing?
“On the day we wrote ‘Hand Me Downs’ it wasn’t hard to write it, it was hard to process after we’d written it. Sort of ‘oh no, what have we done, I feel good about it but if my family hear it, will they feel good about it?’. And then I just had to decide it’s not up to me whether they feel good or bad about it. It did the work in me that needed to be done. There’s work it needs to do for somebody else. So making the decision to put it on a record was a weighted decision. It could really hurt my father’s feelings, but it’s just the truth on paper and it rhymes!”
I mentioned her co-writes on that gem, Jessie-Jo Dillon and Laura Veltz….
“Yes!!! I love writing with them. They are just brilliant”.
Which led me nicely on to the writing credits on the album…something I always look at….there’s a lot of outside cuts this time….
“More outside cuts than I’ve ever done! I think up til now there’s only been two …trying to balance this record out with ‘Water in the River’ and ‘Creosote’ and ‘Rattlesnake’ I thought we are really trying to tell my story, but what I haven’t done is ask writers what else they’ve got that tells my story. And I found writers like Lauren Hungate, one of the writers on ‘Lines In The Carpet’ which is one thousand percent my story ….that’s Lauren, Lori Mc Kenna and Caroline Watkins. And when I found ‘Wild’…..I’ve waited my whole life even to hear that song!”
That was going to be my next question! When Ashley first heard ‘Wild’ (I’m a massive fan of Matraca Berg, one of the co-writers) did she automatically know she needed to cut it?
“Oh yes. From the first verse. I said ‘we’ll listen to the rest of it but this is mine’!!! And I didn’t know who the writers were. That’s one of the rules, I cannot know the writers before I hear a song, that way no one gets an advantage or disadvantage. And then after the first verse I said you’ve got to tell me the writers, and was told Matraca, Jeremy Spillman and Makayla Lynne. I wasn’t familiar with Makayla Lynne at the time …she’s fantastic….so of course that caused me to dive into her catalogue. But anyway when I heard ‘Wild’ the things it made me feel, the visions it put in my brain, I knew immediately it was my job to make sure this song gets heard. It’s ok if it’s on this record, and it’s ok if it’s on one after this record, but now I’ve heard this it’s my obligation to make sure other people hear this. Because other people will feel this way, and I can’t be selfish about this .
Whatever feelings I’ve had, whatever I’ve gone through, whatever trauma I’ve encountered, I’m not the only one: if something made a feeling rise in me it needs to have the chance to do that for somebody else” .
Given that, are any of the songs in particular resonating with fans?
” ‘Hand Me Downs’, I’m getting a lot of comments like ‘how dare you ask me to feel my feelings’, and ‘The Bottle Tells Me So’…..that’s the one I’ve got the most messages about. Whether it’s someone saying ‘I have a loved one that struggles with addiction or alcoholism, or I myself am thinking I have a problem and this song gave me a place to feel safe for a little while.
And at the shows, hearing people sing that song at the top of their lungs is moving. You’ll see it tonight, it’s moving”.
So on to tonight (I swear Ashley saw my list of questions!) ….it’s an enormous show isn’t it, I mean really enormous…
“Yesss! It’s a huge show. If I wrap my brain around it I’m probably going to freak myself out. I have to go ‘ it’s just a show….breathe have a cigarette, do what you have to do….’ ”
Her last show here was so totally different….a solo acoustic one to just a few hundred lucky fans in a church ….
“Yes which is one of my favourite shows I’ve played in the last several years. Something about All Saints Church felt special because it operates also as a place of worship and a venue for music, and those two things are kind of the same thing and sometimes they’re not at all. I love that that space holds room for both things. It doesn’t matter what you believe, or what type of connection you’re chasing, that room made that connection possible, whatever you call it”.
And today you have the band with you ….
“Yes! Deadhorse is ready to go”!
From the new album what are Ashley’s favourite songs to perform in these contrasting formats?
“Full band….’Arkansas Mud’ is the most fun because it’s so drum and guitar riff heavy.
‘Hand Me Downs’ hits just as hard either way.
Everybody in the band’s favourite to play together is ‘Behind Bars’. I went around them all and asked, and everybody said ‘Behind Bars’ and ‘Wild’ ….’Wild’ is kind of tough acoustic because it is so emotional and if there’s no band to lean back into you really have to carry it. It’s probably the hardest song I’ve ever sung”.
I was getting “wrap this up” signals, but I had to ask Ashley very quickly if we are getting a full “Wild” tour here at some point?
“I’m not allowed to say anything about that right now……”
Ha I think that may well be a “watch this space” type of answer….as soon as County Lowdown gets any more information we will let you know!
I managed to get Ashley to sign both my Opry 100 programme and my BST ticket before thanking her again for her time and wishing her a great set ….which she and the boys definitely delivered, I’m sure you’ll agree if you witnessed it! And yes, I was singing’ Behind Bars’ at the top of my lungs, Ashley. Most likely way out of tune.
More artist information here