Exploring the Creative Process with Musicians Hazy Blues and Jeremy Parsons at the OBS Festival
Nov 01, 2023
Co-hosted by John Noblitt and Donna Green
Brace yourselves for an exciting journey into the world of musicians Hazy Blues and Jeremy Parsons, who joined us at the Old Bolivar Songwriter Festival in Sanger, Texas. They laid bare their creative processes, from Hazy Blues' evolution from a duo to a four-piece ensemble and their upcoming album release, to Parsons' transition from San Antonio to Nashville, using songwriting as a therapeutic outlet for his unique life experiences.
Immerse yourself in their shared and distinct stories that will inspire and entertain, as they delve into the dynamics of songwriting - solo versus group, and how their life experiences have influenced their music. Get ready to laugh, learn, and maybe even be inspired to pen your own lyrics as you join us on this musical adventure. Whether you're a fan, an aspiring songwriter, or just someone who appreciates good music and storytelling, this episode is a treat you don't want to miss.
You have been listening to The 266 Express, the official podcast of Sanger, TX. IF you have comments or suggestions, please send them to dgreen@sangertexas.org
Brace yourselves for an exciting journey into the world of musicians Hazy Blues and Jeremy Parsons, who joined us at the Old Bolivar Songwriter Festival in Sanger, Texas. They laid bare their creative processes, from Hazy Blues' evolution from a duo to a four-piece ensemble and their upcoming album release, to Parsons' transition from San Antonio to Nashville, using songwriting as a therapeutic outlet for his unique life experiences.
Immerse yourself in their shared and distinct stories that will inspire and entertain, as they delve into the dynamics of songwriting - solo versus group, and how their life experiences have influenced their music. Get ready to laugh, learn, and maybe even be inspired to pen your own lyrics as you join us on this musical adventure. Whether you're a fan, an aspiring songwriter, or just someone who appreciates good music and storytelling, this episode is a treat you don't want to miss.
You have been listening to The 266 Express, the official podcast of Sanger, TX. IF you have comments or suggestions, please send them to dgreen@sangertexas.org
Speaker 1:
Welcome back to the 266 Express. Live from downtown Sanger, texas, at the Old Ballerization Songwriter Festival. I'm Donna Green, I'm here with my co-host, john Noblett, and we have the great fortune of sitting down with two of our performers from today. Oh right, yeah, you guys like to introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got here?
Speaker 2:
I am the Hazy Blues. Well I'm. I'm Melissa of the Hazy Blues. We came here as a four-piece band and started as a duo. We made our first album, our first EP, went straight back to the studio to write our second album, so we just finished it up. It'll be released October 6th. So we were excited to get invited here and the guys were like we don't care if it's 10 minutes, we're going. So we had a great set just at 8 o'clock and it's a bunch of fun. This is a fun festival Lots of good music, good, good.
Speaker 3:
Hey, yeah, I'm Jeremy Parsons. I'm from San Antonio, Texas. I lived in Nashville for 10 years, played at 7 o'clock over at 1886. I had a blast. I drove here in my car. That's how I got here we came from San Antonio too.
Speaker 2:
Oh nice, hello, san Antonio.
Speaker 4:
Riverwalking.
Speaker 3:
San Antonio power. I realize that that's awesome.
Speaker 2:
We are. Yeah, we made we cut my album in the studio, aka my apartment. They make great studios. Yeah, they make great studios when you just put all the stuff out. We used to have a clock in the living room. So one day the drummer is like, hey, we have a gig, I gotta stay at your place. And I'm like, okay, alex, that's cool, I know you're gonna show up. That's how I know why we need to stay here. He said it's music time, we don't need a clock around it. And I'm like we got to go to work, alex.
Speaker 3:
I thought you said a Glock. Yeah, it's good that it's a Glock, it's one of those too.
Speaker 2:
It's OK, we're. It's Texas, it's behind the clock.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, and one in the waistband and two in the shoe and four in the vehicle, in case, just in case, and it's loaded. We don't keep the house separate.
Speaker 3:
No, no, that's too much time. It's not good to go alone, true.
Speaker 2:
True Texan spirit. That's right, that's absolutely right. Yeah, take your Glock, don't leave home without it, don't leave home without it ever. You never know.
Speaker 4:
So songwriting, had you get started songwriting?
Speaker 2:
How did I get started songwriting? I just wrote a song one day. No, as a kid I always wanted to be. I wanted to be a producer, but, growing up in a small town, I grew up in George, west Texas, very small town, two thousand people, so about this size, of the same or different shape. But I always wanted to be a producer. It just didn't happen. I got older, I moved away, left me to Seattle and I was like I want to write a song. And I watched one of those shows one day and I was like I can write a song and I wrote a song. And then I didn't stop writing songs. I just kept writing songs and some of them were really bad and some of them I thought were good, good enough to cut records and to show other people. And so I did and I was in a couple of bands.
Speaker 2:
It's hard to play original music with a lot of people because there's a lot of personalities involved. You know it's something you wrote. And then we went to that songwriting conference this morning. There's a moment where, like, how far away from itself do we truly get? And when you're the writer and you have a group of four people, you're open-minded, but you learn to set certain boundaries. You know, and Stevie Nicks used to say she'd say present certain songs that they wouldn't. She was like I wouldn't let Lindsay Chan sing about them and others. She was just so reminded of her. So it's a cool dynamic to write with a group opposed to writing a love, which is why I sought out bands right where.
Speaker 3:
I prefer to write alone. I don't play well with others. I mean, it's well, it's not. I do a lot of co-writes, but I usually like to co-write. If someone comes to me, like with them, they're like, hey, man, this looks like it's right up your alley. I'm like, oh yeah, let's do that. I love that.
Speaker 3:
But I started I was 17 and I was. I just walked off my football team because my coach was just one of those guys. It was like 102 degrees and he's like walk it off. I'm like I'm gonna walk it to my truck and leave, dude. I was like all right, but I need a new hobby. So what am I gonna do now?
Speaker 3:
I picked up a guitar. I got absolutely hooked on it and then I was like, okay, I'm gonna try playing something and singing at the same time. And then and it was like, okay, now I'll write. Because everyone was like you know, I was going to Cory Marrow shows, pat and Rain, kevin Valor, all those guys. It was a great energy and I was like you got, you just got wrapped up and you got like just completely taken over by it and I haven't stopped At this point. I've written over 3000 songs and I have three records out and put out three singles from what would be a new project. So I love, I love writing. It's been very therapeutic for me through my parents, the boys, a bunch of other stuff. I got a weird live so it's easy to write about stuff.
Speaker 2:
We I think all musicians have an interesting life. It's why I do that. I'll let that channel. That life just brings you some people. We say like why are you right? Well, it's not to be famous or it's not to be rich, because that's very difficult.
Speaker 2:
It's very stupid, but I just write because it's the home, it's what I got and just have to be. It doesn't matter if I sing for one person or no people, 10 people. We write the song. That's the point, that's it. We write the song. My niece is a nephew's thing. I'm famous, so that's enough for them to want to write. Javi's the same. You know just, we want to write because that's what we do, that's our soil, right Songs.
Speaker 2:
And when we don't write songs, I say, when I'm not doing music, I'm in the wrong place. And we're in the wrong place, like your mom says, it's getting trouble. So I stay in the right place because I'm a little older now and a little little bit wiser, but it keeps me in the right place and I've learned intentionality. And making the second album, everybody's advice was hey, we're going in album one. We had these songs be written. They were basic, it was fun, we need more. And they're like go in and write intentional songs, intentionally write. And I'm like okay, intentionally, harness what you want to say. It's different than waking up one morning and saying I feel this.
Speaker 3:
Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:
To really say, from this time we showed up three times a week, since I was in my apartment to write songs, to say, like, what did you do your homework? Yeah, this is what I came up with. Okay, that's a lot of words. We're going to slow it down or lose some words.
Speaker 4:
Yeah, no, that's really interesting because we've had that discussion several times today about you know, are you a write every day writer? Are you? Are inspiration hits writers? Yeah, and we've gotten the full spectrum of answers on that same. You know, I'm a simple man, so it's chicken or egg, you know, because we also have some music or lyrics first and we just got the whole spectrum. Today has been really really interesting to hear the answer.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, you guys are all the same, similar, but very different. It's kind of me it's, it's neat.
Speaker 3:
What's the processes? Yeah, like not every painter starts the same way. You know it's, you know we're. We're word painters, yeah.
Speaker 1:
Yeah.
Speaker 2:
And that's it. Yeah, this album we came up. So we came in really intentional for Summer Spell, our second album they were going to drop on October 6.
Speaker 2:
And it was very intentional. We made these recipes so we wouldn't get lost in the songwriting process. It was stuck and it was about showing up and being disciplined. There's some days like I'm a EMS dispatcher, so when you come out from a 12 or 14 hour here after doing some crazy stuff you didn't even know could happen, and then I would leave my door open so the band could just come in and I would hear the doorbell and just wake up and I get songwriting time. Guys, coffee, coffee, water, show up and here's my notebook. I did my homework here for my thoughts. Songwriting is just fun. Now Good, yeah, yeah yeah.
Speaker 4:
Yeah, well, we've enjoyed having you guys out. Thank you, we couldn't do this without you and we've had a blast. Donna knows where to find you guys. If anybody else is looking, where do they find you?
Speaker 2:
I'm on all major music platforms. You can check out our first album, the Runaround, Anywhere you find music. Our second album, Summer Spell, is going to drop October 6. We've our single out Please Pretty. We made this really cool lyric video. If you guys want to check it out on YouTube, please pretty, by the Hazy Blues and it'll come out and we hope you enjoy it. So yeah, anywhere you can search the internet, you can find us.
Speaker 3:
And I'm just Jeremy Parsons music on Instagram, facebook, jeremyparsonsmusiccom. I have a new single out as well, called Life Fourth Dying Four. That's a Jeremy Parsons on Spotify, itunes. Wherever you listen, it's there, jeremy Parsons, and you shall find it.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, awesome, check it out If you're listening now you can sign up to be a Hazy Head and just go to thehazybluescom and you can join the club. We'll send you some pre-merge and it'll be a fun time. We'll keep you all the latest stuff before it's out Awesome.
Speaker 3:
None of mine is free. Have to pay for it all.
Speaker 4:
Ha, ha ha, thank you again.
Speaker 1:
Thank you guys, so much Hope to have you back next year.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, for sure. We would love to be back. Awesome On the main stage. Yeah, on the main stage, for sure. Thank you.
