BobbyCast Presents: Unsigned & Independent: Graham Nancarrow on Staying True to His Roots

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Speaker 1: Hey, everybody, Bobby here, thank you for listening to the Bobby Cast. I want to share with you guys a new six part limited series that we're gonna feature over the coming weeks. It's called Unsigned and Independent, hosted by Kevin O'Connell, who you may know is kick off Kevin from my sports podcast Whistles. But this six part series features unsigned and independent artists and bands in Nashville. So this whole series was made to highlight the journey and the grind that musicians go through trying to make any country music. The artist featured on this podcast, they're doing it all themselves, no labels, no management, with most not even a publishing team. So Kevin will bring you their stories of what touring, writing, and recording music is like when you've got to do it all by yourself. So even if you don't know their names, I think you'll be inspired by their passion to do what they love and maybe you become a fan. New episodes every Monday for a while here on the bobbycast feed for the next six weeks. The episode now is Graham named Caro and Kevin said he moved to town and this is the first artist he saw at Tootsie's. So he's been here for a while. But it's cool. Remember when I first moved down, I saw people and I was like, day, I can't believe everybody's as good. And then you realize everybody is this good. So it's a hard place to make it, but that's what this whole series is about. Here is episode one of the Bobby Cast presents Unsigned and Independent with Kevin O'Connell and Joy. Hey. This is Kevin, host of Unsigned and Independent. I appreciate you listening to this podcast series. You can find me on social media and Twitter and Instagram at Kickoff Kevin. On this first episode, we have Graham man Care. You can follow him on social media at Graham Nan Carol. Graham's a great guy. We dive into his story and him moving out to Nashville about five years ago from San Diego and what that journey has been like for him. He's an independent artist, so he does everything on his own, from his bookings to his showing, his traveling, whatever it may be. So he's got some great stories about, you know, maybe breaking down on the bus or what it's like to try to make it by yourself with no agency, no management, anything like that, and I hope you enjoy it. Thanks again for listening, Graham. What's up man? Thanks for being here. I just saw in your social media recently that you were out on the road. It looked like you might have been touring. Is that right? It was a residency at MGM at Loser's Bar, which you know of where they do whiskey jam. When you go on tour, is that something that you plan far in advance, because obviously you have to you have to make sure you're getting paid for it, and there's a lot of I mean, it's not like, hey, you just pick up and leaving. Going onto a lot harder than I thought. So for a guy that's trying to make it in the industry but randomly goes on tour or not randomly, I don't know if you randomly do. What is that like for you as an artist to try to make it in that lifestyle. Uh, it's tougher than I thought. I still love it. Um. I'm independent and independent artists, so I don't have a bus driver. My band comes with me. We've got a big old Sprinter van. Comfy. Um. But but you know, you run into things and that's why people do have managers and publicists and all that stuff so much so you're your your your publicist, you're your manager, you're singing. Yeah, every's a lot. Yeah, but you know, I trust that if I would keep working hard, things will things will happen. I agree. Because you've been out here for what two thousands seventeen so about five years or so, and you've been on the grind. Yeah, man, that's what this is about. We're here to talk about the grind. You national musician artists. They're everywhere out here in our backyard. And I've only been here a year and a half, about a year and a half, and I remember my first weekend here. I was like, damn, there's so much talent here, so much it's insane. It's a blessing too as a as an artist. Right, So what's that like for you to go through those years of that grind? I mean, late nights, early mornings, you never know if you're gonna play, you don't know, if I don't know. It's the ups and downs. So take us through it. What's that like for you? Unreal? Uh. The first time I got here, I went straight down to tutsis because my buddy had a place to play, and sure enough, playing four or five nights a week for four hours at a time, no breaks, real low dough and having to run the tip jug and just really you know, humiliating stuff at times. But it really got my chops off, chops up for entertaining. When I moved here, I thought I was kind of hit a ceiling. So many people were like moved to Nashville, and finally I checked it out after made a record out here, and I love it so basically it's taught me how to entertain and it's introduced me to thousands of musicians now. So when I go on the road, if someone can't make it, there's ten other guitar players that can. And it's a special thing. But I definitely I broke my back right right as I moved out here, and she went straight down to plan and it and my voice was going, you know, and the drinking and everything. It's really hard to keep it together. I always say, if I was in my young twenties and nationalist, no way I would have been able to live. Seriously, I would have been in jail. Can you imagine anyway broke her back? How do you break your back? Mountain biking. I thought you're gonna say you're performing on stage and you got crazy and yeah, I should come up with yeah right, that sucks. Okay, So back when you first got out here, yeah, and uh it was just Mountain Bigo with my mom, and uh, what brought me out here was a dude named Vance Powell. My bandon name Carroll, My band named Carol in San Diego had a tenure run had us, we got signed, and when I moved out here, we got an opportunity to work with Vance Powell, who does all Jack Jack White stuff, Chris Stapleton's Fish's New record like this Guy's. He worked with Martina McBride. He was head of Blackbird with her husband. Just a legend and a great dude. Anyway, So we made a record called Hot Chicken based off his explanation of the hot Chicken consequence, which you could figure out on your own, use your imagination. Yeah. Yeah, So anyways, Uh, yeah, man, when I fell I fell in love with this town. Thirty days here, we stayed on the East Side and just I'm like, okay, it's time. Yeah, and you knew it right away. I mean, within those thirty days you're like, Okay, I'm here. Yeah, I'm gonna I'm gonna see where this takes me. I want to grind it out and see where. And at first, you know, when I don't know about you. But when I traveled sometimes I get like in a little bit of a homesick depression. And I think it was winter times. It was a little cloudy, and I didn't know anybody. Yeah you know, um, but I fell in love with it. Realized people are really nice here. That's my favorite part of all natural everyone, what's your favorite part? Probably the people, especially because us we come from I'm from southern California as well, you know Orange County of Yeah, you're the people driving up the housing. Yeah, they love us, and then they love to come visit. Yeah exactly. But so we know, you know, you get a lot of superficial people out there in southern California and you come to Nashville and it's just a totally different refreshing tastes of people. New people, and everyone's from somewhere else and you all kind of have the same mindset. So that's what makes it so easy to transition here. I feel like for anybody, no matter where you're from, and then but it is hard, right to leave southern California. So what was like? What was that like leaving? Because you go back all the time, job back, Man, it was hard to leave. I had to play yesterday, so we and and I was getting back for this, right. Uh, it's I missed the ocean. I missed the waves. Um yeah, because you're a surfer, and missed my family. Yeah, I love surfing. Did yeah, Um, but you know, it's always there. I'm grateful to have family there so I could cruise there when I'm able to and play there. And it's a great market, and uh, it's it's my biggest market. Yeah. I do some analytics on bands in town, and it shows you where your hits are, and that's that's the biggest market still for me. Even even living out here in natural you still get that out there. Yeah. I did see when I moved to Nashville, all these dots around Nashville start popping up, which which is cool because it's so central, right, and all these people flock here from Ohio and all around the country. Right. So, and then they take the music back with them and listened to its special people that you played with. I saw online guys like Thomas Rhett, Billy Farrington, Chris Stapleton, Josh Abbott. I saw you play a Nissan Stadium this year with the NHL Classic. I mean that was mind blowing. Yeah, dude, I was actually stranded in New Mexico with a broken down van on tour and bowling through. My bandmate and partner in crime called and he's like, what do you think about singing at the Stadium Classic. I'm like, dude, I bought the ticket right away. I'm in yeah, I know. I left the van at the shop and flew out and absolutely out there five minutes late, and really, you know, yeah, I didn't even have a chance to like have a beer, but it was awesome. Do you have somebody that's top of the head when somebody says, hey, who have you played with? That's the most memorable. Oh dude, John Fogerty, Really that guy put on the most amazing show I've ever seen. A stage coach two thousand six. We were in the back watching from behind, and uh, We're like, we gotta be out front, even though it was thousands of people and I don't like crowds, like being in the middle. And we went and it was number one. He played every single song about ten clicks faster, and he's like, uh so it was just electric, dude, and the whole imagine the whole stadium singing. Have you have the scene? You know all time? Yeah? Really that's up there? Even what was like Stapleton? I mean you probably Stapleton watched up front too? Okay? Where was that a stagecoach as well? Okay? And he's unreal that voice. I believe that voice is probably the best in country music in my opinion. When I have to play a song of his, I have to like tune my guitar down massively. What's that like? Then? You know, when you're out on Broadway or wherever you're playing here in Nashville and somebody comes up to you because they think that you know every single song of all time, right, like hey, I got I'm giving you twenty bucks you should play this, and you're like, uh, dude, like I don't know every single song. So what's that like? If somebody comes up and they're like, hey, can you play this? And you're like maybe they show me the money, and they show you the money, what do you do? Thing is the band sees the money too, So I kind of is I do what I can to make it happen, and if not, I do honky tonk negotiation and try and work out something maybe by the same artist, but another song, yeah, along the same line. Just keep them some somewhat happy, and they always are. I mean sometimes it's their wedding anniversary song and they're kind of bummed, and I'll go outside and listen to it on my phone and come back in, and you know, I'll do the best I can. They're all doing the dance on the on the floor in front of you two with the wife are exactly, man, some of the things that go down on that street. Yeah, I'm sure you can tell some stories that I don't know if you'd be able to make it on that I don't know if I can remember some of the stories. We had good times. So yeah, I'm kind of cutting it low, cutting it down on Broadway. It's just not the I've had my time. It's not the best environment to uh be healthy, and like my sleep schedules still messed up, dude. I went to sleep at like four thirty last night. Yeah, and I'm like on mellow tone in and trying to just doesn't work because we did those ten to two shifts for so long. Do you ever get on a consistent schedule? I mean in the five out here that you've been out here? Yeah, I did when I was you knows, doesn't let you play anywhere else but their bar. So I had a good schedule there Today, Jay's Allen Jackson's bar for a while and just kind of, you know, broadening my horizons. I love playing out of state. I've always wanted the tour, so that's coming true and I'm just doing that a lot. You're just Nan Caro now right. Well, yeah, my my band from San Diego's Nan Caro. Uh. We had my buddy Russell played lap steel. He kinda isn't able to play anymore unfortunately. Um so all of Nan Carroll didn't move out here. So I kind of formed when I met John Bolinger one night we were playing on stage and he called me a Goddamn Saint and I'm like, hey, dude, that would be a great band name, and so he's like, what do you think about that? So I changed my name Carrol Page to Goddamn Saints and I got some you know, not not really flak, but just a couple of people were like, Okay, like this guy doesn't really care, but I'm punk rock and I think it's a time to be real and it's it's art. God Damn Finings is kind of funny and I hear red next Day it all the time. So they kick him at for it, right, you know what I mean? I mean, I asked God if it was cool. I got all the signs it was. So do you have that name still or no? Yeah? Yeah, I keep changing my Instagram. I run like five pages and it's just really tiring me out. So I'm trying to streamline it down to one without losing all the followers. Yeah. Have you talked to somebody in the industry, whether it's you know, record deal or whatever label and they're like, you know, we like you, but we can't with this name. We can have to do with it? Or has it not gotten to that point? I guess a couple of shows, maybe hey, can we use nan Carol instead? Um? Corporate things just depends really, Um, haven't ran into too much trouble? No, no, no, I mean it's kind of funny, right, I mean, it definitely sticks out, Yeah, it does. And all my favorite bands like bad religion, sex pistols. They weren't necessarily Yeah, that's that's true. Now that you say that, all those names are kind of like my hand. They're about yeah, exactly, And you can't help with to think, like, wait this name, I need to hear this right right? Yeah, Graham name Carol is hard to remember. Yeah, goddamn saying it's this kind of remember. So you're gonna stick with that moving forward? Then? Right for for my project with Bollinger? Yet, I love projects. All my heroes have like four five bands. Some of them have like forty bands, you know what I mean? Like, who are some of the other guys out here that um have kind of influenced you and gotten you to where you're at now? Um, I know you talked a little bit about it earlier, but is there's some Bollinger you're with him all the time, right or when you're with that dude? Yeah, sow him. He's huge, uh, And it's really cool to get a guy like him to be like, dude, you're great, let's play together. You know. It's like, oh man, I gotta step up now. And he's such a great player that I've worked hard to keep at that level. Vance pal like I mentioned earlier, Uh, total sweetheart. He got my first gig in town at Basement East, which is not an easy place to get into. You know, there's a lot of touring acts that come through and that was back in sixteen. Um who else? Oh Rett Miller? Okay, Old ninety Sevens. He's pretty much the reason that I that I'm here and met Vance. Yeah. And then my bass player Joe is the one that connected connected us all because he started with Old ninety Sevens originally in Texas. Have you um seen some people out here that you've met from the beginning and seeing maybe now that there to a place whether it's with a record, you know, a labeled deal, whatever it may be, where you're like, damn, I want that, Like how did he get their kind of thing? Or no? Multiple people probably bands are younger kids and it's awesome. I'm happy for him. You see it happen every day. Then what is that like for you? A guy still trying to get your break and you see those guys, I mean, do you hold not maybe not towards them necessarily personally, but you know what, why not me? Yeah? Exactly? You know what? No? Because uh Bowlander said this thing to me the other day, and I thought it was so cool. He said, there's this old story. There's these two fish, and one of the fishes like frantic, and he's running around, swimming around and he finds this other fish. He's like, hey, where's the ocean? And the fish goes, dude, you're in the ocean. It's like, no, no, no, I'm looking for the ocean. Tell me where it is. And that's the whole, the whole lesson there is, like I don't want to sound cocky, but in my mind, I've made it. I'm doing what I love and this is a process, you know, life his life. So I just gotta ride out the wave and enjoy every second of it. Because I look back sometimes in those days on Broadway that we were growing, it were actually really fun, you know, and at times I was miserable and couldn't wait to get off stage. Um. So yeah, I mean I'm not I don't have any animosity towards anybody with success. It's all about the journey. Everyone's journey is different than anyone else, and that's what makes it so great. And like you were saying, even for myself, you look back a couple of years and you're like, damn. Like at that that time, you're like, I don't even know what's gonna happen this, And then you look back now and you're like, wow, I've come a long way in two years. But you don't even realize it until you sit there and you think about it. We always want more right now. Yeah, it's it's kind of programmed into us as Americans. I just feel like, as a kid, you know, like do well at school, go to college. Yeah, I wish they would have said, hey, junior college works too. Yeah that's what I did. Really, Yeah, we don't need to be paying all this money for that, right right if you're still just partying and exactly and it was smart you're around before the social media age. I'm grateful. Yeah, I got to put my teeth And what's that like for you to see people, you know, get this success? I mean good for everybody. Like we're saying, but you've been around in both eras, you've seen it before and then you've seen during and then now what's going on now? Are you big on social media? Like do you try to use that platform? I mean, I'm sure you could assume I'm not really really into it, and there's nothing weirder to me than filming myself. I feel like if I'm filming myself, then that means nobody else is willing to film me. I should just stop. But social media, however, has absolutely help me grow my career. Yes, yeah, TikTok uh. I got a call from a lady who wants to manage me through there. It's like, I don't know, I dove in and got over my little whatever it was about it. You know, Yeah, it's the new way, and I don't want to be that old guy like kids these days, and you know what, some of them are making it work. I know, isn't that. I already feel like I'm thirty one and I feel like I'm I'm an old man because I don't want to TikTok. I don't want Yeah, guess what's another thing. I gotta TikTok about a week ago. I don't even know what I'm doing. You're awesome, dude, I mean great, You'll do fine. I mean that's the thing is when I heard TikTok, I'm like another social media platform and now we're gonna we're gonna lip sync our songs and try to get a bunch of views and it's just saturated. But it's working and it's the hottest thing right now. So yeah, it's one of those it's either you get on the train and move with it or it's gonna leave you guys behind, right absolutely, yeah, yeah, And what do you want to corporate or whatever? Owned by somebody else? And algorithm will change. The algorithm is pretty special on that thing. I don't know how it works, but I know I don't really trust it either. Yeah, but if it works for you or whoever, then do your thing, you know what I mean. So tell me about this song. Get on up, get on a new one. It's a brand new song, got a great sound, dude. I'll play a little clip of it real quick right here. Just you can hear it. I mean, you can't help but to hear that, just like you start bobbing your head, stomp your feet, man, and you just can't help it. No, I mean, and the musicians on there are just fired, dude. We got volunteer uh Andy Hall, Darren Tario on bass, who's been on tour with Garth Brooks. I mean, everybody, and if you hear that, bassline. It's just so good. And then I had my friend Tara Lynn coming just the background or yea the background girl. Yeah yeah, um, she was in addition to it. We needed something else, you know, I can because they're my friends, Like, you know, there's got to be like a calling answer thing because it's really catchy. So we got her in there. She's the best tears a saint. I see her. Are you on your Instagram a lot? Right? Yeah, we're we're good friends. We wrote a song together called I Understand I Will Never Understand, and um premiered on CMT and got some love on some other platforms, so really pretty cool. That's awesome. Yeah, it was. It was a part song, you know, me and Bolinger and her sat down and we were like we usually talk, and we were talking about what was going on in the in the States right now with you know, I mean, George Floyd had just passed away and all this stuff was going on. There were riots in Nashville, and so we sat down amongst the chaos and and wrote that song and it was really cool. That's awesome. Yeah, thanks. You find that inspiration from usually what's going on in the world or whatever kind of hit you that day. Yeah, whatever, it does vary a lot of times it's like a melody first, or one word or a little phrase that I'll kind of try and wrap it all around. You know. Co writing has really been awesome. I didn't co write until I moved here, really. Yeah. Found a lot of people that you connect with and yeah, and it's I mean, you know, teamwork makes the dream work. That's right, That's right. Is there a goal out here for you where you think, like, hey, if I get to this point, or if I signed this deal or whatever it may be. I mean, is there an ultimate goal for you or you just kind of going along and doing what you can in you know, hopefully something will fall into place. My goal has always been put out records. My heroes did that, and that's that's the old school way to me. Um, put out records, shows, tour for the rest of my life. Then, I mean, I doesn't have to be with a major, like like, you don't need any of that, right, No, no disrespect to labels, like if it was a good deal, man, I'd be all over it. Um. But these days so much is in our hands as artists, and we could do so much on our own and maybe that will create the interest in the label or a manager, you know, all the things that we need. But the label has seemed to from what I've understood in the industry, I seemed to kind of the important it has gone down unless it's a big label that cares about you. Of course. Um I've had experiences with labels. Uh. I was signed on I was eighteen to a punk rock label and Rancid took and took us under their wing up in northern California. Really yeah, man helped us make a great record at the record plant in Sausalito or Salsalito, which is like a legendary place where just crazy stories. So a lot of crazy stories, odes and bathrooms, you know, San Francisco since since the sixties, and can imagine all the stories. Oh yeah, I can only imagine. But hey, Graham, I really appreciate you coming in here today. This is a lot of fun. Your story is awesome, and just stay on the ground, keep doing what you're doing your outlook. Everything will fall into place. There's no doubt about it. And for everybody that's listening, go check them out. Graham nan Caro on Instagram, Twitter, check me out, Kick off Kevin on Instagram and Twitter. Graham, thanks a lot. Let's do it again sometime. Thanks Kevin, DU's a blast, dude,