Check out our interview with newcomer Brandon Maddox! You can catch him on the road throughout the southeast United States in the coming months…check out his tour dates here!
1. Where were you when you first heard yourself on the radio, and what was your reaction?
The first time I heard myself on the radio was with my song, “Picture Perfect.” I was on tour in Pennsylvania riding with my manager at that time to an early morning radio interview in Stroudsburg, PA. At first, since the radio wasn’t turned up very loud in the car, I dismissed the faint tones of my song playing thinking I had only heard something else that sounded slightly like it, and that my ears were simply playing tricks on me. I then asked him, “Would you mind if I turn up the radio?” and he said, “sure”, and when I did it was in fact my single at that time, “Picture Perfect” playing on the station! I couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of accomplishment and a rush of confidence that my music was, in fact, getting out there and heard!
2. What is the #1 item on your Bucket List?
Number one on my bucket list is to watch a middle aged female Chukotka Moose give birth in the Koryak Range of Russia! Just kidding, I have so many things I don’t know what to list as number one.
3. What is something that you are extremely passionate about?
Something I’m extremely passionate about is bringing a smile any child’s face that suffers from a childhood disease. I try always to schedule acoustic performances at the local Ronald McDonald Houses in the towns through which I tour. If it takes the kid’s focus off their condition for a few minutes or however long I get to perform, I feel like I’ve booked a successful tour.
4. If you could only listen to one album for the rest of your life, what would it be?
If I could only listen to one album for the rest of my life, it would probably be Marty Robbin’s “Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs.” I’m an “old soul” when it comes to all genres of music though I like some of the new music too when it moves me! This just seems like an album that would be more compelling to me longer (since it would be “for the rest of my life” as you put it) because of the graphic story lines, Robbins, is so famous for depicting through his songwriting!
5. If music wasn’t your career, what would you be doing for a living?
If music wasn’t my career… Hmm, well, I have often thought about that scenario, but I believe I would try to keep some aspect of music in my life. I’ve thought about owning a music store since I have a college Business Management degree, but other than that there really is no Plan B!
6. What would your final meal be if you knew it was your last one?
My final meal would be cedar plank salmon, sugar snap peas, a large sweet potato, and a salad of mixed greens from my garden and homegrown tomatoes!
7. What is your favorite sports team(s)?
Being that I grew up playing baseball, my favorite sports team has always been the Atlanta Braves. I don’t really have time to follow the Braves though nor to watch too much in the way of sports. I try to make time though for the championship games of both football and baseball.
8. What has been your favorite city/town to visit?
My favorite town to visit would probably be Pensacola, FL because of the beach. I met some cool people there too, who continue to encourage me in my music!
9. What are your thoughts on the state of today’s country music?
My thoughts on today’s Country Music is that it has lost a lot of it’s creativity and that it’s become all about what is going to sell thus the tight radio format of the same top 15 songs on repeat. Most of the “Bro Country” as they call it seem to all have the same beat and consist of four guitar chords throughout the entire song! The record labels are still paying the radio stations and whether it’s called “payola” or not in the form of ads they buy on the largest stations.
Country Artists such as Blake Shelton and about all the others are more celebs than the “out of this world” talented artists the public perceives them to be. Staying on the topic of Blake Shelton for instance, he rarely writes any of his own songs (although he and his team choose good ones for him to record from the five to ten Nashville songwriters in the “Good Ole Boys Club”). The public buys into the smoke and mirrors that the industry puts up and therefore believes Blake, Carrie Underwood, and Luke Bryan write all of their own songs, and are more talented than independent acts out there. They couldn’t be more wrong!
10. What is the best advice you could give to an aspiring artist?
The best advice I could give to an aspiring artist is to come to Nashville and see where the competition “bar” is. Nashville is a great gauge of whether you have great songs and great talent, and helps you realize if you “have it” or if your mother just told you that you were amazing and could become a star! If you realize, you “have it”, then go back to your hometown and build your fan following if there’s a Country Music scene there. Start reading books to learn the business side of the Music Industry, which has a lot more business to it than music! Network in Nashville with songwriters you respect, their songwriting, or even in your hometown and then ask if they would like to write. Work on building a catalog of original music writing each song and striving to make it your best. Finally, keep going and don’t stop till you get there!