ITS Home Edition: Parmalee

Mac in the seventies. Those have switched up to zoom, so they're less like Fleetwood Mac in the seventies than ever before. But partly has also been connecting with fans on YouTube with a stripped down performance series called The Piano Sessions that they've released as an album. And I was really interested in what Matt had to say about playing some socially distant shows, including one that involved the

audience in boats. You know, we started this home edition of Inside the Studio to let you know how artists were coping with quarantine, how it's impacting their lives in the way they make their music. And I have to tell you, as a music fan. Hearing these stories and listening to the music they've been making it it really helps me keep hope alive, although this may be the first time I've ever hoped to have a boat Anyway.

If you enjoy this episode, be sure to listen to the I Heart Radio podcast that Jordan's hosts, which is called Rivals Music's Greatest Feuds and which is available wherever you get your podcasts. Hello everyone, my name is Jordan Runtalg but enough about me. My guest today is a lead singer for Parmelay, the heck country band he founded with his brother, his cousin, and his best friend. They burst onto the scene in twelve with the Morning After Party anthem must have had a good time getting a

hangover just thinking about it. Then they followed it up the next year with their smash Carolina, which paid tribute to their beloved home state. In February of this year, the band released their latest single, Just the Way, a collaboration with Blanco Brown that celebrates the imperfections and indiosyncrasies of the ones we love. I'm so happy to welcome Matt Thomas. Thank you so much for being here today. So happy to be here man first and foremost, How

the hell are you? How does quarantine life find you today? It's been great. Um, We've been getting a lot of work done in the middle of a house remodel, so being home is actually it's a mess. But we're we're a little bit at a time, you know, you know, we're we're doing the best we can with it. Wow. Okay, so you're feeling not only creatively invigorated, but also remodeling your entire house. Yeah that's wow. Okay, Yeah, well all right,

a lot ago with that. Damn. I mean, the music seed in Nashville so collaborative, Like, how is just sort of being apart from everyone impacted your process for making music? It's been crazy. Uh, we've kind of gotten back together with our co writers and I'm lucky our producer has been staying with us pretty much the whole quarantine, So

we've been, uh, we've been working on stuff. Um, it's weird not being able to have that connection and get in a room and you know, just have that energy and that the access to that every day is kind of I'm missing it. But the Zoom rights have been going actually pretty good. I can't lie. I mean, it's not bad. I think everybody was scared at first. I don't know about this, and then I think it's going good. You know, what is the typical writing day for you?

Look like? I mean you approach it almost like going to the office. You sit down and get your guitar, go to the piano or I think, Um, it varies. It's hard to say. Now it's we're writing with a purpose, the purpose of uh, you know, follow up single for Just the Way album, that kind of thing. But I think it's it is like an office visit out here a lot, honestly, which can get kind of bored after a while. But you never know. It might be a

late night jam session. It might be you know, an iPhone idea come up and then you just run grab the guitar and then you start working on it. But generally everybody has an eleven o'clock writing appointment. He goes sitting in a room and what do you got? What do you got? Had this idea? What does that sound like? Are your are you have a ton of ideas and

you have guitar legs out? I mean it's just varies. Um, you'd never know, really what are you working on now that you're really excited about Oh man, I just uh, I just did about four vocals on these songs we had recorded back in December that I've been sitting around and waiting and so we're really excited brand new songs for everybody. Uh, and and writing. I gotta do a vocal this afternoon. We are going down to do another

vocal tomorrow on the song. So all these songs kind of that are little work tapes of demos, are kind of getting worked worked up, you know, into songs. So I do ask you about just the way I mean, it's such a positive song, which you know, obviously we definitely need more of that in times like this. What was the genesis of that sort of loving the the imperfections of your of your partner. Yeah, I think I

think that message is so strong. It's just, uh, everybody needs to note that their love just the way God made them. You know, you're not you can't be perfect. And you know, when I heard that come up in the writing room, I was just blown away when I heard that line. You know, it's like everybody needs to hear this. Let's just go. And it's been such a cool thing to see the positivity behind it and people connecting with it, and the TikTok videos and all the

stuff going on. Man, it's crazy. And the music video too. I mean, just everyone's reactions to give them the flowers was beautiful. Did they know sort of what was what they prepped in advance of what was gonna happen? Not really, and neither were we We kind of were, but I don't know. There's some videos where I went out and gay flowers to random girls, just out in public, and that was. That was tough. Like it, trust me, it was. It was really awesome to see the reaction for the

ones who got it, but some of them didn't. They freaked out, you know, thought I was trying to sell them something. But um, that gesture was really cool. I saw a real person out in public. I was just handing random people flowers and it was It was really awesome. So they had the idea for the video, but they really didn't tell us, didn't tell the girls nor us. They were like, we're gonna get you to handle a flower,

and so it was cool. Man. I think it's um, it's very surprising to see people's reaction to that, and it's just a little gesture, but it's really really cool, really meaningful. How did how did Blanco Brown get involved? Well, we met Blanco a couple of years ago at the c m A Awards, I think it was he was talking to the president of our label and the president of the company. So I looked at him. I said, who is this guy? He's talking to the top two

people that I record label. I need to know this guy. Need to meet him. He's he's interesting. He looked interested. Anyway, I was like, I gotta meet this guy. So we basically just walked up to him, Barry and I and said, hey, what's up. We're Matt Berry from Parmay, and who are you? And what do you do? You you want to write? Basically just today, let's do it. And so we exchanged numbers and I think about six months went by and he came out to the house and we just hit

it off like that, became friends. And I didn't even know what he did. I said, what are you seeing? What he said, well, I do this. I got stuff called trailer Trap, and I was like, well, let's here it. So we sat in my living room, cranked it up loud, and he just played us all these songs and he animated it, saying, I was like, I don't know what this is, but it's cool and I dig it and it's gonna it's gonna catch people, I'm telling you. So we wrote some songs and then about six months later

he had to get up. I've never even heard it. This was way before we get up, when we were writing, and it came out and boom until we had been buzzed the whole time, and this song we had just the way kind of in the pocket, and and just away kept coming up. We kept playing it on the bus and everybody loved it, but it just wasn't quite right, like something's missing, the production is not quite We did like five versions of it. They're like, man, we need something.

And David Fanning, our producer manager, he said, why don't you get Blanco on it? So I was like yeah, and I called him up. We went to Atlanta like two days later, drove down there and got a studio and he never sang it before that night the recording year. Really I sent it to him, but but our voices just missed so good, and I knew he could sing, but I don't think anybody else out here really hurt him sing unless they've been to a show. So it was just uh one of those things, man, just kind

of fell from the sky. How it all happened. I mean, you know that's where all the best stuff comes from. Yeah, it's great. I mean it's just it's such a romantic song. What you call your imperfections, I call beautiful. I mean that's just such a sentiment of a true romantic which leads me to ask, what's the most romantic thing you've ever done? Oh man, that's a good one. Uh let me think for people listening right now, I see his face turning very red right now, I have to admit

I'm not too good in that department. I guess um. I think probably some some roses in the bedroom kind of thing. You know, done that a couple of times. I say, hand and I roses on the street. Is like, it's pretty damn romantic too, Yeah I did say that. Yeah, Oh man, I mean you know a lot of bands they described themselves like a family, which but that's you know, literally true from your case, your your your brother, your cousin, your best friend, and you started playing music with in

your father's band. Was there ever a moment for you when music didn't seem like it was gonna be your future. Did you know from early on that like that was really what you're gonna be doing. I knew I wanted to do it. We didn't know how. We didn't have anybody to show us anything about. All we knew was start a band, start playing your songs, and somebody from a record that was gonna come down and pluck you up and give you a record deal, and it's gonna

be all gravy after that, you know. So it was nobody and my dad played in and like the local backporch scene and local you know, bars and stuff, and we played with him and that, and uh, he was really good and we we knew, but that was as far as it went. I mean, we never really went out of town with him to play maybe an hour up the road once a month maybe to good play a show somewhere. But once we decided to be Parmaly,

we all kind of made a pack together. Before we Parmarily, we were cover band for about a year and a half and we were doing like the what we call menu venues where you you know, you have a menu and you have a venue. But they paid, they paid guarantees. I love that they so they were they were they paid money because they're restaurant, and but you had to play four hours and you had to play you know, at least eight percent covers, and they didn't mind if

you threw in a couple of your songs. But we had a couple of songs that people started asking about, shot a video and it was exciting, and so at one point I think we were like, hey, do we want to really do this? And everybody said, yeah, let's go. And we decided from that moment on we were just gonna do all our own music and we're gonna not not really do mini covers. It's all to be an

original band. And we went from making you know, maybe six hundred dollars a night bringing your p a in and playing three or four hours, to making maybe a hundred dollars a night just a hundred total or of play for free, to to play thirty minutes or an hour of your own hour and a half of your own music. So we took that jump early on in the start of Parmaly, when we started it and we knew we wanted to do it, we just kept trying and kept doing it. Kept doing it, kept doing it.

Uh ran up to credit cards. When somebody said no, we said, okay, why And if they explained why, we would go try to fix that. Why Or somebody said you should go work with this person that we thought might have a glimpse of a chance of getting us to the next level, we would go work with that person. Always try to find a positive light in any situation and chase that instead of dwelling on the negative stuff. I think that's the key to it. And you're or

just being done them. I don't know. You know, well, you were working with Nikki six for a while from Motley Crewe. What was that like? I had no idea about that. Recently it was awesome, man, it was killer Um we around California working on some music just back in two thousand six. I think it's really cool. Uh. The producer had worked with Nikki Uh in his band Rides of Destruction, so there was a little relationship there and we hit him up and like, hey, man, we're

in town. We want to you write and co produce with us, like two or three songs, And so he came to the student you and we wrote and produced a recorded a couple of songs. It was really cool. I mean the songs were okay looking back, I mean that it was good. It was. But the coolest part was when he walked into the studio and you're like,

holy sh it, there's Nicki Sis on there. And then the other cool part was he was in the middle of writing the Heroin Diaries, so we said it the mixing board and he read us his actual written note of the night he died and came back. Oh my god, it's like story time with Nikki Sids gather around the campfire, gather on the mixing desk. Yeah, that's cool man. He was as a band. You've you've been through so much. There was the robbery in South Carolina a decade ago.

I mean, it's it's hard to imagine even coming back from that. What's been keeping you moving forward since then? And you know now in in in Corona times, Um, you know it's coming up on the tenth year anniversary of the shooting. And for those out there who don't know, Um, we were playing a club on a Monday night in a little town called rock Hill, South Carolina. I think we might have fifteen people at the show, maybe maybe twenty. I don't know. I know we got paid like nothing

at night fifteen. I don't know what it was. But anyway, we had an r V out back of the club at the end of the night and Scott and I are on the r V and Barry and Josh were in the club packing up, and uh, some dudes, we had, some dudes knocked on the door, came in with bandanas and uh wanted one of our cash. And we didn't

really we didn't have any cash. We didn't make any of that night, you know, but they thought we were the you know, the big Rocks fan in the r Yeah, in the r V, you know, like a r V um. But yeah, they had guns. They had guns pointed at me my head, demanded cash. And Scott um, he's a concealed carrier. He was in the back of the r V and he I was asking for help and so he came back and engaged that they fired on fired

on us, demanding money. And Scott he had his he had his handgun with him and he got the gunfight right there in the r V, you know, five of us in a little lounge, and uh, he got shot three times, but he took he took out both the guys. One guy's not here anymore, the other guys in prison. But Scott was shot three times and almost died. He had he hit us for more r so he bled out. Um. Luckily there was a there was a police officer like right beside the club at McDonald's, so he came. I

was able to get the ambulance there fast. But Scott went in and the doctor told us he said, I mean he he was just shaking his head like this. He's like most people with this injury have a five percent chance of living five percent. So uh, he had to go in and he had like three life saving surgeries. He was in the hospital for forty days, in a coma for ten days. Uh. He had They had to slice his foot open on his calf to drain the fluid. And that's his kick throwing pedal, so his leg wasn't working.

I mean, we went from dialysis, not he's going to stay on the dialysis rest of his life, his foot not amputating his leg. It was all this worst case scenario stuff. And not only that, the other guys print that the other guy that he shot was on the same floor. So it's almost like we had our people there, and once his people came up, it was just a mess, you know. So luckily, somehow we pounded through it. Forty days later, he came back to came back home. He

still had open wounds. We had to dress it became nurses, he did. We did double physical therapy to kid him out of there. It's like, I mean, we were a team. And and got home and and uh, about four months or we came back out to Nashville and nobody really knew how bad it was, but we were going to get that record deal. And so we did a showcase about four months later, and uh that the owner of Broken Boat Records, like, he said, you boys passed the test,

I'm gonna sign you. So I mean, it's crazy, man. And then, uh, you know, it's like this man, it's up and down. It's always been up and down and always gonna be up and down. But I think that made us. That just locked us in forever. And we had, you know, we had been a band that was two thousand and ten. We had already been a band for ten years at that point, still hadn't had a record deal, still riding around doing clubs and didn't get shot in the club. Yeah, but we had Nashville. That was kind

of promising that. Look, Nashville was on the horizon. We knew we had to get back out to Nashville because we could get us record deal. And if you could get a record deal, we could change things, you know. So yeah, I mean now to say that's ten years or you know that was ten years ago, it was crazy. Man. It's flies by. I mean, just in time when when so many musicians are really scared just about you know, how how are they gonna make it with without being

able tour and stuff. I mean, that's just thank you for sharing that. Such an incredible story of just perseverance and pressing on and and just following the music too. And I think it's a good message to share at times like this too, that you can endure and you can survive. Absolutely, man, I think, Um, I don't know. My dad always told us, he said, we sit, what

what do we do next? We never knew, we didn't have anybody, didn't have anybody to say, well, this is the game plan, this is the map you should take. He's I just keep on plug and keep on much to us, So we just follow that motto. I guess I was gonna say, I noticed that I knew a new not not a face, but a new figure in a lot of your press photos. Big Blue the pickup truck. Yeah, oh yeah, dude. We we used to uh that's what

we drove to work in every day. We used to work with my dad in the logging woods, cutting trees, and uh that truck from the time we were We actually took that truck to our very first uh show when we were like fourteen. Yeah, that was that was the first uh, that was our vehicle, and every show we ever played with him and his band, we loaded a gear in the back of that truck. Was always

in the gig. And so when he passed in two thousand six, we had the trucks sitting here, and sitting here about a couple of years ago, we took it into the restoration shop and it's being you know, we're gonna get it back out on the road so we can kind of ride in it again. Maybe take it to a show. Oh yeah, I was gonna say, you that should like that should be like your big like grand arrival, like you know, a black and you got that and maybe to see amazed. We'll take oh man,

drop us off. I mean not being able to perform right now. I know it's got to be so tough, but but how are you staying connected to the fans. I've been watching the piano sessions and those have been so great. Yeah, you know, actually we did. We played a couple of shows this week. It was yeah, we did. We played some shows. We um, you know, we we went and you know, everybody's distance. Everybody wears the masks when we load in. Every crew guy wears masks when

you load in the other cruise wearing. They had you know, stationed off places for people to sit. Everybody did good. They stayed away. It was outdoors. Um, you know, everybody kind of followed those social distancing rules and it went great. You know, I mean meet and Greece can't really do meet and greets, and it's a little strange, you know, when you get there, it's not the same camaraderie and nobody can come up to the front of the stage.

Everybody's way. But the second show we played was the coolest. We did a a private show on a boat dock overlooking the whole lake and was the fourth of July fireworks. Um, but that was really cool man. I mean to see, I bet there was five boats out in front of us, but you know, everybody's in their own boat. We're on stage away from everybody. Um, and it worked, you know, I think, I think, I think there's a way to do shows in this venue. And no it's not the same,

but there's still a way to do shows. And if everybody kind of follows rules and does it correct. Driving boats show, I've never heard of that. That's a really cool idea. That was the best, man. And then the coolest part was I was able to hop on a pontoon and uh and go seeing, you know, go meander through the whole boats, you know some one. That was the best part. Man, It's great. What's been I mean

that this sounds like this one was up there. But what's sort of the most incredible, bizarre and the same amazing show you've ever played? Like all different types, I'm sure. Um on the on the deck of the U. S. Battleship Dewey in the middle of the Persian golf WHOA, that was the coolest, man. We did a show for the troops UH service members out in UH in a in the middle of the like said the Persian golf.

They flew us from a helicopter from a aircraft carrier all the way to this battleship that was out in the middle of the water, landing on it. And man, that was a small deck to land on. Two we were coming in. I was like freaking out. But it was awesome, toy. They had all the sailors up there and they shut the boat down. It was just pure quiet, dark and we just played acoustic on the deck for

you know, about fifty people. It was killer Man. And stayed the night there and then I went back to the battleship and played the show and that as well. I think that was probably the coolest experience, man, we've we've ever had. Oh yeah, that's amazing. Wow, spent the night on the boat. Yeah, the bhip the coolest thing. I think. Um, those uh, they were up there for an extended period of time for that run, they had

all been up there longer than like six months. I think it's interesting that you can't understand how hard everybody's working on a day to day basis unless you're actually there and you see what everybody does, and and it's, um, everybody's so happy to have you there and they want to show you what they do. So we got to see all the missiles, we got to see all the computers that run everything, we got to drive the boat. It's just a yeah, that's cool man, it's fun. That's incredible.

Hopefully get you back out on the road with everybody, you know, being able to crowd surf and stuff like that soon. I know, man, it's it's a I'm feeling I really miss it. I think I know everybody is. It's just in you and you can't especially when you

when something reminds you. The other day we started up hacking a trailer to do some rehearsals, and you just you have this glimpse of a memory of just being at a festival or something, and like knowing it's just those things hit you every once in a while you're like, damn, I miss being on the road. I really hate and we can't be out there, you know, doing it like that. So hopefully we'll get back out sooner than later. Has there been a silver lining for you throughout this whole

uh quarantine lockdown or deal. You're getting this stuff done around my house and I wouldn't been able to do that. Sounds about you know, I gotta, I gotta, I gotta do it myself. You know, used to be on the road and you have somebody come to take care of it. But I'm here and I was like, oh, I'm not playing the show. I can go help help the guys

out and just worked. Um. Other than that, I mean, I think I think everybody's kind of reflecting on life and and getting closer to your loved ones and staying in contact with them and just kind of uh, you know, the personal time you get to spend with everybody, and and uh, just kind of I think it's it's checking. Everybody's like Okay, this can't happen. You know. It's kind of look back on things in a different light and reflect on things in a little different way. Um. So yeah,

it's just changed. Man, Like we're gonna have to come out of this thing and it's never gonna be like it was. You know, think about the mask thing. You know, four months ago, if somebody told you put a mask on everybody, No, man, I can't do it. I don't know. Now you know, everybody's just wearing them. It's like a normal, It's like okay whatever, you know, it's not that big a deal put a mask on you know what I'm saying. Um, So it's a new norm. But we'll we'll, we'll roll

with with the punches. You know what can we look forward to? You said you're working on the new album? How far along any What are you when you think fans can expect that? Oh? Man, Well, we're just writing songs and and the best songs always win. And you never know if you put together an album or EP or just another single. Um, but we will have something. Uh. The Piano Sessions was the latest thing we put out, which was really fun. We're gonna have something coming out. Um.

I think it's gonna be next week. They keep pushing it back, but you have to stay tuned for the information on our socials at Parmament Music. So um, cool little thing we did. Man. Just I think right now it's just about finding and writing and and just trying to get the best possible songs we can for everybody

and focusing in on that and the shows too. I mean we still we have shows books um at the in August, September, October, and hopefully everybody's figuring out how to do it, because there is a correct way to do it. I feel like we can all do it correct. If everybody kind of goes in on it and does it right, we can still do shows. I love the pianos a stud I love the cover of Drops to

Jupidy Thanks man. I love that song. I remember hearing that song going, oh man, and then for the love of me, I can't understand why we haven't been covering that song since it came out. I don't know why. The light boat went off in my head. Like last year, I was like, let's do Drops the Jupiter and I was like, well, I love the song. Why have you not covered as perfect? Yeah? Oh my god, it's really made it your own. It's crazy, man, Yeah, I love I love it man. It's it's it's hard finding those

cover songs to do. Man. That worked for for a band for us, but that's definitely one that um, I gotta love the song before I've covered you know, that's the main thing. So I love that song. What was your favorite song to cover when you were doing uh menu venues? Oh man, one of the bankers was killing in the name of we Acoustic cootst that guy's going and then we might play let's get it on to say the same set. So that is a hell of a one too punch Wow, yeah, and all all intertwines. Man,

we grew up listening to all that stuff. They are always two crowd pleasers. Well my, my, my last question. I always love to ask. This is fascinating what people to say if you could snap your fingers right now and how everything go back to normal and no more quarantine, no more virus. What's the very very first thing you would do? Person? You'd hug trip, you want to take a restaurant, you want to go to what what would

you do? I'd go home to see my mom. I had seen her in six months I think I mean FaceTime, but not actually seen her. And my grandmother. I have to actually have two grandmothers that are in their eighties, uh, still living awesome, and they're they're doing well, and it's like, you know, I don't want to think I would kiss the virus and go you know, it's tough. So I'd love to go hug their next. You know that is a good answer. Man. Thank you so much for your music.

It's real pleasure. Hey, thank you so much. It's pleasure being here. We'll hope to see you soon. Absolutely. We hope you enjoyed this episode of Inside the Studio Home Edition, a production of I heart Radio. For more episodes of Inside the Studio and other shows from I heart Radio, check out the I heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast