NASHVILLE MUSIC REPORT – JEREMY PARSONS IS NOT A COWBOY
NASHVILLE MUSIC REPORT – JEREMY PARSONS IS NOT A COWBOY
Beginnings…
If you saw a picture of Jeremy Parsons 6 years ago, you would not think it was the same person. He used to be clean-shaven, and wouldn’t play a show without a cowboy hat or his custom-made Manuel suit. His first release, titled “Doggondest Feeling” was a traditional country piece of work, endorsed by Little Jimmy Dickens. He spent the next couple years traveling the United States and Europe withJett Williams, the infamous daughter of Hank Williams Sr. He toured with the family as an opening act, and garnered experience behind the scenes in a managerial role. He also got his first cut less than a year of being in Nashville after meeting The Grascals at a house party. They fell in love with the song “Out Comes The Sun” after Little Jimmy Dickens told them “you guys would be idiots if you didn’t cut that.”
Jeremy was inspired by the fantastic “Americana” music coming out of Nashville at the time with acts like Jason Isbell, and alt-rock acts like Ryan Adams. Listening to those guys, it’s easy to see how expressive and different they were from what he was doing on stage. The example he likes to give is that the song “He Stopped Loving Her Today” by George Jones doesn’t have the same raw energy as “Cover Me Up” by Jason Isbell, even though they’re emotionally very similar. He started tofeel like playing traditional country was trapping him in a box, that he couldn’t use certain instruments, do crazy guitar solos,
and that even the energy of a song had to feel a specific way in order for his base to accept what he was doing. After years of being the “traditional country kid” in Nashville, it started to feel more like a character than a reflection of who he was.Hard Times…
Jeremy’s personal life changed suddenly, and dramatically when his parents who were married for 48 years suddenly separated. The divorce rocked his foundation and changed his opinion of the people who raised him. He had to take months off of touring to be there for his father and the rest of his family while their entire world changed. He had to step back and put the rest of his life into perspective. His next album “Things I Need To Say”was born from this disruption. The lead single from the album “Burn This House Down” is about letting go of his childhood home and the memories he had there as a happy family unit.
I met Jeremy Parsons at a house party two years ago and would not have guessed at first glance he was an “Americana” artist. He was wearing sweat pants, a bright sweatshirt with cartoons all over it, and rapped the entirety of “8 Mile” by Eminem from memory. He’s not the kind of artist you can fully understand at first glance, and I know that’s how he prefers it.
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