YMC EXCLUSIVE: FIRSTS + LASTS WITH RAYNE JOHNSON

RAYNE JOHNSON HITS US WITH A FEW OF HIS FAVORITE “FIRSTS” AND “LASTS”.

HIS NEW SINGLE “LAST NAME” IS NOW AVAILABLE EVERYWHERE! STREAM BELOW.

FIRST CAR

WHEN I WAS 14 I STARTED MOWING LAWNS TO START SAVING MONEY....ABOUT A YEAR LATER ON THE WAY TO CHURCH I SAY A WHITE 1989 GMC JIMMY SITTING ON A USED CAR LOT AND TOLD MY DAD I WANTED IT...AT 15 1/2 MY DAD TOOK ME THERE WITH THE MONEY I’D SAVED AND WE BOUGHT IT! I CLEANED OUT OUR GARAGE THAT NO CAR HAD EVER BEEN IN AND I PULLED IT IN....CLEANED AND SAT IN IT LISTENING TO MUSIC FOR 6 MONTHS UNTIL I COULD DRIVE.

LAST CAR

FAST FORWARD TO A 2 YEARS AGO I STARTED SAVING AGAIN FOR MY DREAM CAR...WHITE 6 SPEED JEEP WRANGLER UNLIMITED! A YEAR LATER I DROVE 4 1/2 HRS TO CLEVELAND, OHIO AND PAYED CASH FOR ONE I FOUND.

FIRST CAMPING TRIP

AT THE TIME I DIDN’T KNOW IT BUT WHEN I WAS A KID I WAS PRETTY POOR SO TENT CAMPING BECAME OUR VACATIONS FOR YEARS. MY FIRST TIME CAMPING WAS WITH MY MOTHER AND FATHER AT A STATE PARK CALLED HUSTON WOODS. MY MOM WAS THE BEST COOK EVER SO I REMEMBER CAMP STOVE MEALS AND BIKE RIDES VIVIDLY!

LAST CAMPING TRIP

MY WIFE AND I TOOK A TRIP TO RED RIVER GORGE AND BACKPACKED 11 MILES AND DID AN OVERNIGHT CAMP! NOW THAT I’M A LITTLE OLDER I’VE TRADED THE CAMPGROUND BIKE RIDES FOR LONG HIKES AND CAMPING IN THE MOUNTAINS.

LAST DRINK

LATELY MY WIFE HAS BEEN ON A KICK OF MAKING AVIATORS, AKA “THE AVIATION.” ITS A CLASSIC COCKTAIL MADE WITH GIN, MARASCHINO LIQUEUR, CRÈCHE DE VIOLETTE, AND LEMON JUICE. I ALSO TEND TO DRINK CAPTAIN MORGAN AND PINEAPPLE JUICE WITH A SPLASH OF CHERRY.

FIRST SONG

YOU’RE MAKING ME REACH WAY BACK FOR THIS ONE. FIRST SONG I WROTE WAS CALLED "LOVE IS THE ANSWER." I WAS YOUNG, IT WAS SIMPLE BUT HAD GOOD MEANING. LYRICALLY, IT JUST ENCOURAGED THAT JUDGMENT AND HATE AREN’T THE ANSWER, BUT LOVE IS!”

STREAM “LAST NAME” BELOW!

YMC: 'NEED 2 KNOW' WEEKLY (7.25.20)

 
 

YOUR WEEKLY RUNDOWN OF HOT MUSIC PICKS YOU DON’T WANT MISS. ALL GENRES AND ALL SIZES. STRAIGHT FROM MUSIC CITY.

IT’S TAYLOR SWIFT WEEK, BITCHES!
SHE DROPPED “FOLKLORE” ON FRIDAY. THIS IS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW.

 

INDIE A+R (7/24/2020)

 
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YOUR WEEKLY ROUND UP OF INDEPENDENT NASHVILLE MUSIC RELEASES OF ALL GENRES. SUBMITTED TO AND STUMBLED UPON BY YOUNG MUSIC CITY - FOR YOUR MUSIC DISCOVERY.


LEVI HUMMON - “GOOD TASTE”


RICHARD MARTIN - “DRINKING GAMES”


KONNOR - “BACK TO LIFE”


JERICHO ROSE - “YOURLOVER”


TEDADORE - “COOPED UP”


THE BEASLEY BROTHERS - “WHAT WE BELIEVED”


KRYSTAL KING - “SLOW LOVE”


MICHELLE BROOKE - “OTHER SIDE OF THE TRUTH”


MAD WELSLEY FT. TREV LEIGH - “CHAMPAGNE TASTE”


MAE ESTES - “BEST SIDE”


PORT CITIES FT. EMMA-LEE - “I STILL SEE YOU AT PARTIES”

FEATURE: KATIE MAC - "TILL IT HURTS"

New Nashville-based songs that smack? Here’s one of them! Check out the new single “Till it Hurts” by pop artist, Katie Mac.

"Till It Hurts is the second single off my upcoming EP and I'm so stoked to have it out in the world! While it may sound like it's about heartbreak, it's actually about finding something that you feel so deeply that you know losing it will be painful. I got the idea when I was worried I would never really, "feel" something worth losing again. I wrote it with two great friends, Kipper Gray and Shir Czopp and was fortunate enough to vocal produce myself in quarantine, and then trusted Kipper to really make the track come to life." 

5 FACTS ABOUT RISER HOUSE’S KARL MICHAEL

Get to know Riser House’s new signee, Karl Michael. Here’s 5 awesome facts about the British artist and writer taking over music row!

From McDonalds to Millions (of streams)

Trying to make ends meet, Michael worked at a London McDonalds, and then a construction site, while he figured out how to move to Nashville. Now, Michael has penned songs for other artists that have garnered over 100 million total streams on Spotify. And he’s just getting started…

Star power

Karl worked with Bruno Mars to write “Can We Dance” by The Vamps. Other credits include “Beautiful Me” by Dappy and “Loner” by YUNGBLUD. He also has releases by fellow European label artists such as Andrea Faustini, Arlissa, Tulisa, and John de Sohn. 

 
 

He will give you chills

Karl’s covers of Harry Styles’ “Adore You” & Justin Bieber’s “Changes” will give you chills. Don’t believe us? Listen for yourself. 

 
 

It all starts with a song

In a very “only-in-Nashville” story, a chance co-write in late 2018 with Riser House songwriter, Dallas Wilson, led to a song that has changed the course of Karl Michael’s career. After Wilson turned in a rough demo of “Highs and The Lows” (releasing August 28)the team at Riser House had to meet the man behind the voice. Over the following year, Michael spent time between London, Nashville and LA penning and producing the first collection of songs that truly represent Karl Michael, the artist. 

What’s next

With the recent release of his debut single, “Beautiful Creature”, Michael has stepped out into the spotlight for his artist debut. It is the first of several coming singles this summer and fall, which were recorded in Nashville and LA with all-star producers Jon Levine (Dua Lipa, Alessia Cara, The Struts) and Scott Spock (Rihanna, Britney Spears, Avril Lavigne).

STREAM - “BEAUTIFUL CREATURE” BELOW

SMALL TALK WITH SWEETTALKER

We’ve got a quick Q+A with Nashville’s only Beatles-inspired psychedelic, rock / pop band; Sweettalker.
Check out the new single, “Tomorrow” below!

Q+A

YOU RECENTLY RELEASED A SINGLE CALLED ‘TOMORROW’ TELL US A BIT ABOUT THAT.

RYAN: Tomorrow was such a fun song to write and record. One of my favorite studio memories while making the EP happened while recording this song. We had been working at Columbia Studio and Quonset Hut that day, tracking the cello and violin for different songs. At one point, our engineer tells me about a friend he’d run into in the hallway outside, and insists that if there are any remaining piano parts to be tracked, that we should meet this guy Rocco. About that time I hear pawing at the studio door, it opens and we are met with the sweetest little seeing eye dog “Gidget” and Rocco in tow. She leads him into the studio and lays down next to him as he sits down at the piano. The rest of the day was filled with the joyous and infectious sounds of a man with perfect pitch with his perfect pup adding their magic to our music. I remember at one point while recording the intro for Tomorrow, we were all running around the piano in a circle making random noises and stomping our feet while he was playing. It was just so random and fun that day. And we made some great friends while we were at it. 

YOU HAVE SUCH A COOL AND ECLECTIC SOUND - TALK ABOUR YOUR INSPIRATIONS AND INFLUENCES AS A BAND.

DAVID: We love ELO, The Beatles, Queen, The Beach Boys. They were a huge inspiration with this new stuff, especially Jeff Lynne / ELO. I’d say we were also influenced by a wide range of others like Jellyfish, Kacey Musgraves, Daft Punk, Stevie Nicks, and Randy Newman, to name a few. There are just so many artists, big and small, doing their thing so well, and we admire that. I think that’s just it though, the hope is to listen back to something you made with all the heart you have, and with your favorite influences in mind, but hear something that stands on its own and has its own thing. That was certainly our mission going into this, and we hope it translates. 

TALK ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE OF BEING A ROCK BAND IN MUSIC CITY. ANYTHING YOU CAN SPEAK ON THE COMMUNITY, FAVORITE VENUES, OR OTHER GREAT ACTS IN TOWN?

RYAN: Yeah, a lot of people maybe don’t realize how rock n roll plays a big part of the actual local culture of Nashville. With big name rockers in town like Jack White and Dan Auerbach still recording and putting out cool shit, and the East Nashville rock n roll scene being full of great independent bands like The Minks, Microwave Mountain, Quiet Oaks, Okey Dokey, and Deeohgee, there’s a lot to hear and talk about in terms of “rock music” in Nashville, I think. 

Regarding great ‘rock’ outlets and venues, as if the tornado didn’t screw us up enough, destroying some of our favorite east side spots like The Basement East and severely damaging others; the ongoing lockdowns have caused so many great local spots to close down or suffer tremendously as well. It’s all just really sad to think about. Places where we shared our music and creative energy with others now sit empty and closed or worse, while most of us lose our minds at home, waiting for things to get better. I’m trying to remain hopeful; and in the meantime, extend support and love to the local spots that are able to be open now. We all need each other now more than ever.

 
 

YOU’RE GEARING UP TO RELEASE A PROJECT CALLED “PARADISE,” OF WHICH WAS CO-PRODUCED BY GRAMMY NOMINATED, MATT GOLDMAN. WHAT CAN FANS EXPECT?

RYAN: After touring and putting out singles for a few years, we had a growing sense that there was something yet to be desired creatively from the group. We had written a few songs we thought to be promising, but knew we needed to stop everything else and get to work on something bigger. Every moment from then on was focused on writing and refining music, building the right production team, and facilitating the fruition of the project as best we could. It was an experience like one we had only dreamed about before and it was finally happening. Anyone could tell we were all as nervous AND as excited as we had ever been before. 

Our Producer, Matt Goldman was a pivotal acquisition for the project. His experience and passion for music and production made him an obvious candidate, but specifically our personal respect for him and his work put him at the top of our dream team list. Nashville local Joel Parks was also an invaluable ally throughout the whole process. He’s been a close friend since before either of us lived in Nashville and one that commands my full respect when it comes to the subjective matters of music and taste. -

Everyone on the team had either met, or were already friends but had never worked together on a project, so it was special for everyone, I think. We all felt like we were making music with people we liked, so the ideas flowed and seemed to come naturally. Even since recording this EP together, other collaborations have been spawned from the working relationships formed throughout the process. In my perfect world, Paradise will not have been one great work completed, but a branching journey into many great works begun. 

 
 


ANYTHING WE CAN LOOK FORWARD TO FROM THE BAND?

DAVID: Yes! We’re releasing our first EP titled Paradise on August 28th and we couldn’t be more excited about it. 

CHECK OUT THE NEW SINGLE, “TOMORROW”

INDIE A+R (7/19/2020)

 
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YOUR WEEKLY ROUND UP OF INDEPENDENT NASHVILLE MUSIC RELEASES OF ALL GENRES. SUBMITTED TO AND STUMBLED UPON BY YOUNG MUSIC CITY - FOR YOUR MUSIC DISCOVERY.

CASSADEE POPE - “HOODIE”


SAVANNAH KAY - “HONEY WHISKEY”


KAREN MCCORMICK - “HEARTBROKEN GIRLS”


THE JENSEN SISTERS - “BEAT OF A BAD HABIT”


CHEY ROSE - “FOR A FRIEND”


RECENT RUMORS - “ONLY ONE”


MONA LISA TRIBE - “SECONDS”


MR. EMOTIONAL - “HEAD IN THE CLOUDS”


BAYTAY - “NOT A WORRY”


JERICHO ROSE - “YOURLOVER”

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FAITH SCHUELER, GREG KEYS - “EVER YOURS”

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JOY OLADOKUN - “SMOKE”


GRAHAM BARHAM - “FEELINGS”


XO ERA - “MIDNIGHT FEELINGS”


KELSEY BOVEY - “MAGNETIC”


DANNY MCMAHON - “MY KINDA CITY”


JOHN ALLAN MILLER - “ONCE IN A BLUE MOON”

15 UNSIGNED MALES YOU NEED TO KNOW

GET HYPE TO THESE 15 UNSIGNED DUDES, STRAIGHT OUT OF MUSIC CITY.

PHANGS