← On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
On the Bus with Troy Vollhoffer
Ep5: Lindsay Ell
00:42:21
Lindsay Ell is on the bus - she and Troy chat moving to Nashville, the allure of country music in Europe, and Bachman-Turner Overdrive!
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- [00:00]
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- [00:30]
Lindsay Ell
Dad, I've actually found learning at home has been better than I thought and I feel I'm much farther ahead than many of my friends.
- [00:39]
Troy Volhofer
You know, we really noticed this and your mom and I have been thinking how we can make this work. We looked at Laurel Springs School who offer a personalized approach to learning where you can revisit material on your schedule.
- [00:51]
Lindsay Ell
Wow, dad, that sounds great. I've just been to Laurel Spring School's website. You know, they have classes in all kinds of subjects and a real focus on getting me ready for college.
- [01:02]
Troy Volhofer
Yes, it's an online school with great teachers who are there for you. It's a more personalized approach to learning.
- [01:09]
Lindsay Ell
Visit laurelsprings.com to learn more about a unique way of getting your child the personalized education they need. For 30 years, Laurel Springs School has been engaging global learners in grades kindergarten through 12th grade and integrating their passions and pursuits. Laurel Springs School, we build an education around you. I want a long road that just won't stop winding I want that lightning that's so bright it's blinding.
- [01:46]
Stormy Warren
Well, hey there everyone. It's Stormy Warren welcoming you on the bus at Country Thunder, with executive producer Troy Volhofer coming to you from Music City. We can't wait to chat with all of our friends in country music. Get ready for real talk about the state of the music industry, Thoughts and insights from some of its biggest stars, and more than a few backstage stories from the six annual Country Thunder events held all across North America. I know I'll be sharing some great stories in a future episode. So buckle up and get ready for your new favorite podcast. Here's Troy.
- [02:26]
Troy Volhofer
We have a very special guest today, our good friend Lindsay L. Spencer visiting. And unfortunately, we're not on the bus today.
- [02:34]
Lindsay Ell
We're. We're at.
- [02:35]
Troy Volhofer
They're at the bar at my house and. But it's a good feeling. Lindsay, what have you been doing during this time?
- [02:41]
Lindsay Ell
Troy, it is so good to see you. And your bar is beautiful, by the way. It's like rocking. There's I'm Surrounded by instruments I've never felt more at home. I gosh, where do we start? 2020 has been quite the year.
- [02:55]
Troy Volhofer
The record.
- [02:56]
Lindsay Ell
The record, yeah. So we had always planned to release my sophomore album in August. And at the beginning of, you know, March, I guess, you know, we just had finished playing a show in Berlin. We're on the plane back home. It was when the world was like, all kind of falling apart. Everything was like, what's, what's about to happen? And. And we were just like, you know what, we should just continue. Plan as usual. We'll just continue to release the record in August. And then when we get there, if things change, we'll see. I kind of felt bad for some of my friends who had released records right at the beginning because it was kind of the moment where everybody was like, ah, what's happening? But by the time August rolled around, everybody kind of figured it out. You know, we were used to this just digital world. You know, everybody was hopping on zooms left, right and center. And. And so releasing art, I think, is even so much more important this year because I think we need music and we need that extra, you know, thing to help us feel like there's so much going on in our world right now. And music is just such a beautiful thing that allows us to do that. So I poured my heart and soul into this record. And as an artist, it is kind of heartbreaking to be like, we had so many cool things planned for this release and we. I was gonna like, go all over the world and. And during street week, we were gonna do all this stuff and none of it could happen. And so it. It was a very good lesson of learning how to pivot and sometimes how we think something needs to happen or this is what needs to. This is how the record needs to be released. It just sometimes doesn't work that way. And yet in hindsight, something even more beautiful happens sometimes. And so I was very proud to still release the record amidst 2020, amidst a global pandemic. And we were able to do some really cool things. You know, I was actually doing press. Like, some of my friends would be like, this is great. I'm going on vacation. And I'm like, vacation? I've been putting in 16 hour days. I've been like. Because at the beginning of the pandemic, I was still finishing recording the record. And so my producer, Dan Hough, has a studio in his house. I have a studio in my house. I would record things and send him files. He'd work his magic, send them back. So I was finishing recording the record, doing like promo creative and then releasing it. And we decided about five years ago, I around the release of a single, I decided to do a 24 hour show that downtown Nashville and I was busking on Broadway. And if people don't know who are listening what busking is, it's where like you stand on the street with your guitar case open and you just stand there and play.
- [05:46]
Troy Volhofer
I love that.
- [05:47]
Lindsay Ell
And originally I was like, you know, I'll just go downtown and play for eight hours. And the head of my label, Mr. John Lobo was like, you know, 24 seems like this nice round number that, you know, we could talk about. And I was sitting there and I'm like, 24 hours. So I did this, you know, this, this concert for 24 hours. I played on Broadway and I was so exhausted by the end of it, but we were raising money for children's Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville and doing all these cool things. But at the end of that 24 hour show, I was like, that is the last time I am ever doing a 24 hour show again. That was so exhausting. Now fast forward five years later, we are in the midst of a global pandemic and what do I come up with? But I'm like, I need to do another 24 hour show, guys. I need to do another 24 hour show. So we started the minute the record went live in Tonga, which is the time zone before New Zealand. It's like the first time zone. And it was very cool because we were able to feature every time zone. We went Tonga to New Zealand, to Australia, to Japan. We went every time zone around the world and I had guests in each time zone. So in Tonga we had famous Olympian PETA, who's known for like walking into Olympic stadium with like his chest all. And he was amazing and he just wrote this book and he was so inspiring. And then we had musicians and actors and chefs. I was like cooking like with this chef in New York and it was insane. Troy. Like I was able to really showcase the world and show that we're all navigating through this time together. And meanwhile being able to like bring on some really cool guests and have them share their art and their wisdom. And it was a magical 24 hours. And my band came and surprised me for the last hour and. And then we played the record top to bottom. So releasing a record in the midst of a global pandemic was a big thing. And yet it. It was just a really cool time, you know, and I loved doing a 24 hour livestream event. You know, we had over 40 million impressions and it was just like, it was crazy.
- [08:00]
Troy Volhofer
So, Lindsay, those are big numbers. And you've seemed to, you know, I'm aware of your international appeal to audiences that are just not North America, but globally. Yeah, in Europe. But you have spent a lot of time in Europe. You have worked the trenches. Yeah, let's talk about Europe a little bit.
- [08:17]
Lindsay Ell
I love touring Europe and it is definitely a place in the world that it takes investment. You know, I went over there with the band Perry for my first tour and that was about eight years ago. I just signed my record deal. I was just releasing.
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Troy Volhofer
Were they a country act at that time or had they changed to pop?
- [08:32]
Lindsay Ell
They were a country act. And I had just released my first single to country radio. And I was kind of in that time of my life when I was like, come, look out world, here I come. And it was my first worldwide tour. So we had about 50 shows in North America and then about 20 over in Europe. And since then I've been on six different tours over to Europe. And it is such a beautiful market. The fans like in the UK and in church Germany, and they're just so wonderful because, you know, radio over there is a lot more artist focused. It's a lot less single focused. So over here in North America, you know, you'll. You'll have a lot of fans be like, oh, I love that song. And sometimes they don't even know who sings that song, but they love that song. And when they see that song live, they're like, oh my gosh, this song's amazing. But over in Europe, I find a lot of fans because radio is a lot more about, like, they'll hear a song and then they'll go find out who that artist is and listen to your whole discography. So by the time they're buying a ticket to go see your show, they know every single song that you are going to play on stage that night, even the B sides on your record. And so from my first tour with the band Perry, the whole crowd knew my songs. And at that point, that was really early on in my for sure like, career after I moved down to Nashville and I was like, this is crazy. I'm not used to the audience knowing my songs. This is so weird. And from that point forward, it just grew and grew and grew. And I remember my first headlining tour. Our first show was at the Borderline in London. It's a venue that isn't open anymore and it's just such a special venue. It's like one of those hot, sweaty clubs. It fits about like 400 people or something. And I sold it out. And it was just me and a loop pedal because I couldn't afford to take a band over to Europe because it's so expensive. And, and so I like, start and I had like a laptop set up on stage and I'm like looping all this stuff and, and. And then I start. My first song was Waiting on youn in my set. And I remember that audience saying the words to my first song, my set so loud that I stepped away from the mic and I was like, this is crazy. Like, this is crazy. The fans in Europe are truly special. And so I have loved touring over there a lot. You know, being from Canada, living in the States, everything I do has just been viewed at. At least in my brain, from an international perspective from the beginning. And so to me, developing a new market, you know, when you look at an act who's established, like Luke Bryant, for instance, for him to put on a show in the States versus putting on that whole show in Europe, that's a big difference in terms of cost. For me, when I started, everything was expensive. It was like, well, it's expensive. I do it here, it's expensive if I do there, so I might as well build all these markets at the same time. And that's kind of how I've looked at it from the beginning. And so I've been able to, you know, tour Canada and tour the States, tour Europe and even Australia. I got to go there for my first time just last year. And you do the festival over there? I did, yeah.
- [11:41]
Troy Volhofer
How was it?
- [11:42]
Lindsay Ell
It was awesome. Like, to see. Oh my gosh, you need to go to our. You would absolutely love it. It's. It's. Again, it's kind of like fans in the uk, they have that dedication to musicians and songwriters. And like, as a guitar player, I was like, it was funny because again, I hired a band in, in Australia and I ended up hiring my now music director who has now moved to Nashville. And it's like, just crazy how the world works. But at that time, I just hired this band from Sydney and. And it was the first time I hadn't played two tracks in a long time. Like, as musicians, I don't want to get all nerdy for people listening to this podcast because they probably don't care. But, but. But a lot of us play to these big orchestras that make our sound sound so big on stage. But when we went to Sydney. I again was just doing it. I was traveling with me in a suitcase and a guitar and making it work. And it was the first time I hadn't played to tracks in forever. And I came alive on the stage at cmc. I was like, this is amazing. I feel like I'm superwoman right now. I can do anything. Because to tracks, your songs are like on this grid. And it's like 1, 2, 3, 4. And so when you're touring so much, I mean, we tour a lot. Not this year, but last year we played 235 shows in a year. We were on the road 280 days. And when you're playing that much, your sets become sort of like a little bit cookie cutter. Like you have like 60 minute sets, you have 75 minute sets, you have 30 minute sets. And I always leave a portion of my set that is a little bit open ended so that as a guitar player I can go off or I can throw in different songs or whatever, but the main portion of your show stays pretty succinct. And so I remembered those shows in, in Australia. My first few shows, I just felt I was so free. I'm like, I can play an 8 minute guitar solo. I can do this. And the band was so killer that they would just follow me.
- [13:44]
Troy Volhofer
It's like driving a fast car.
- [13:46]
Lindsay Ell
It was like driving like, I've never driven a Lamborghini, but when I can imagine in my mind what sitting in a Lambo would feel like. Yeah. And I was like on top of subwoofers, like in my five inch heels playing guitar. And then I was like leaning down on the stage. I'm just like, who. Who was that? Who just played that show? But. But yes, as a very long answer to your question, I love touring internationally and it just, it opens up your mind to how small this world really is. You know, you get on a plane and six hours later you're on the other side of the world and getting to absorb like human beings in different cultures who put their pants on one leg at a time. Maybe they speak a different language, but we're all so similar. And it's just, it's a really eye opening experience touring internationally. I love it so much.
- [14:41]
Troy Volhofer
It's really an interesting time for country music. From an international standpoint. It seems like you're. There's a few artists that are really taking the international market seriously and I think it's really great for the whole format. My question to you is, did you have a Canadian record deal or did you sign a U.S. deal. What was your first record deal? Was it Canadian or was it a US Deal?
- [15:02]
Lindsay Ell
Good question. So I have been doing this ever since I was a little girl. I mean, I started playing instruments when I was, like, piano at 6, guitar at 8, started playing shows at 10. I met Randy Bachman when I was 13, and Randy became like another dad to me, you know, from Guess who bto. My parents were huge bto, like, Guess who fans. And so the first time he came to our house, my mom was, like, freaking out because she was like, I gotta make sure the house is clean. And she was, like, running around. And Randy pulls up to her house in a stretch limo. And at that point, like, I grew up, like, in just a regular neighborhood and stuff. And so a stretch limo pulls up to the house, and it's like, what is going on?
- [15:45]
Troy Volhofer
To the movies.
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Lindsay Ell
What's going on?
- [15:46]
Troy Volhofer
Yeah.
- [15:48]
Lindsay Ell
But Randy became like another dad to me growing up. And I would go out to Salt Spring island at the time and. And record in the summers when I was off school. And my dad would come out with me, and we'd just hang out there for a couple weeks. And he really taught me how to write, how to record. And Randy was the one who essentially discovered me when I was that young. And I got offered my first record deal when I was 16.
- [16:09]
Troy Volhofer
Where did he. Where did he find you? Like, where did.
- [16:12]
Lindsay Ell
He found me through a songwriting buddy in Alberta. I was playing, like, all these little festivals and county fairs, and, I mean, if a refrigerator door opened, I was, like, there for the grand opening. But, yeah, he met me through a songwriting buddy, and he got given this demo CD that I made in my CD ROM in my computer of Jan Arden cover songs, Tommy Emanuel cover songs, and a few of my things I'd written. And he was like, this sounds like a young female Chet Atkins. I need to. I need to meet this girl.
- [16:51]
Troy Volhofer
What a compliment.
- [16:52]
Lindsay Ell
And so we just started writing, and I just. I soaked it up like a sponge. Like, Randy would sit there and play all these jazz chords up and down the neck, and I was just like, randy, what is that? And before then, like, I learned how to play guitar going to bluegrass camps with my dad when I was little. And Shania was my idol. And I would get mad if my brother changed the radio station away from the country station. I would be like, don't change the radio station. But when I met Randy and saw him play all these crazy chords, he really got me into jazz and blues and rock guitar. Like, I knew who Stevie Ray Vaughn was, and Hendrix and Clapton, but I didn't really know who they were. And so Randy opened up my brain to a whole new vocabulary. And in my teens, like from 13 to 20, I just dove into that world. Like, I. I couldn't even come back from it for a long time. Like, we went on tour with Buddy Guy when I was.
- [17:48]
Troy Volhofer
You did?
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Lindsay Ell
Yeah, we toured.
- [17:50]
Troy Volhofer
Wow.
- [17:51]
Lindsay Ell
Canada with Buddy. And he invited me down to Chicago a couple of times. And I. I have all of that to thank from Randy, really, because he. He opened up, you know, a whole new world of, of music and, and genre. And, you know, I think it's why I'm drawn to players like Keith Urban so much now, because my playing as a guitar player is far more bluesier than anything else. And, and just learning how you can mold those worlds and music is just supposed to be music. At the end of the day, it's not in these, like, finite lines of, like, this is this, this is this. This is what I like. Like, we just know what we like as, as. As humans. And so, so, yeah, another very long. Answer your question. I'll just.
- [18:32]
Troy Volhofer
Oh, I love it though, you know.
- [18:34]
Lindsay Ell
But I got offered a record deal when I was 16, thanks to Randy, because he, you know, introduced me to, like, guitar companies and a few of the music industry in Toronto, a few people. And I have Alan Reed to thank, who now isn't at the. At the record label that offered. He sat me down when I was 16 years old being offered my first record deal. I'm like, now is the time. I'm going to be a rock star. Mom and dad, I'm getting a record deal. Like, this is it. And Alan's like, lindsay, you shouldn't sign this deal. And he was the one offering it to me. And I was like, what do you mean? Like, this is my chance. I'm ready. I have a. We had a record done because I'd been working with Randy on it and we had artwork done. Like, I still have it. And it never got released on the label officially under this deal, because he was like, you shouldn't sign this deal because you are so young and you have the rest of your career ahead of you and you, like, need to explore. He's like, you have so much time. Like, go right, go to la, go to New York, go to Nashville. Just really find out who you are. Don't sign this deal right, right now and lock yourself in. And I am so grateful for Alan Reed for, for giving me that advice because from that point I had so many friends. I have so many friends who sign Canadian record deals and then they cannot. And then they come down to the States to try to sign deals and nobody wants to sign them because you have to pay a whole bunch of people. And pieces of the pie are already taken up when record labels down here in the States have lines of really talented artists waiting outside their door to get deals. And so in hindsight, I'm so grateful for it because at the time, I thought my life was over. And really, he just gave me a huge gift. Like, I went down to LA and wrote songs for about six months, and then somebody was like, hey, Lindsay, you should check out Nashville. Like, I think you'd really like it. And. And yeah, I bought a plane ticket and showed up with my guitar.
- [20:39]
Troy Volhofer
And so what year was that?
- [20:41]
Lindsay Ell
Okay, so that was. We're in 2020. That was 2010, when I first came to Nashville and I knew nobody. I was obviously Canadian, so I couldn't make money in the States. I didn't have a visa at that point. I. I just had a guitar. And so I. For the longest time, I would. I was going to school, I was waiting tables. I went to. I was at Bishop Carolina, went to University of Calgary, taking a business degree. I was like, super nerdy. I was like, valedictorian. I graduated high school year early, went into university for a couple years, and then dropped out of university and was like, mom and Dad, I want to go do music. But. So you can. You can imagine how well that conversation went. But. But right around that time, I was juggling school, I was juggling a job. I was playing gigs on the weekend just to make enough money to buy a plane ticket down to Nashville where I could go write songs. And sure, like, I knew nobody in town. Like, I knew, like, one person's name on a piece of paper that I got from my friend in la. And other than that, I was just trying to meet people. So I would book what they call in town, triples, which, as a songwriter, you write a song from like 10 to 1, 2 to 6, 7 to 9. And then I'd go to writers rounds at night, and so I would write three songs in a day, which now you couldn't. Like the. I never want to write triples so much. But. But I was just trying to meet and trying to write, and I was just being a sponge, trying to absorb it all. And then I'd go to writers rounds at night and. And watch these incredible songwriters play these songs. And then I'd go up to them after the show and be like, hi, my name's Lindsay, will you write a song with me?
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Troy Volhofer
Really?
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Lindsay Ell
And it's just how I was like, well, I gotta figure this out and now's as good a time as any and I just have to meet people. So I literally just one by one met songwriters and I that for about two weeks and then that's all the what I could afford. And so I'd fly back to Calgary where I'd wait more tables and I'd play shows on the weekend. And I was like rescheduling midterms to try to like work through my business degree at the time. And. And so I went back and forth for about a year and a half and it was chaotic and crazy.
- [23:02]
Troy Volhofer
So did John Loba sign you? Was he the guy who signed you to your first job?
- [23:06]
Lindsay Ell
So Benny Brown and John Loba. John was still working at the label then, but. But yeah, Broken Bow. Benny Brown was the head of Broken Bow at the time and, and John was his right hand man and. And yet they signed me.
- [23:19]
Troy Volhofer
That's exciting. You know, we touched on, you know, in previous podcasts we've touched on the Canadian artist who has not come to national and got a U.S. deal. And unfortunately, you know, there's a lot of them who kind of just, you know, have great success in Canada and the international success is just diamond. And it's kind of a thing that I've been trying to work on the international committee with the cma. But it's a tough battle. And you summed it up. I think you've been the first artist who actually summed it up and really understands how that was. And I mean, you look at all of the Canadian artists that we'll call Canadian artists like Terry Clark, Shania, Lindsay L all came to America to get their record deal. And you know, we can talk about great artists like Michelle Wright, we can talk about Patricia Conroy, it's a great songwriter, absolutely. But never had the ability to be able to make a record in America that worked because of her Canadian record deals. And it's just, it's kind of a tragedy in a sense.
- [24:18]
Lindsay Ell
You know, it's kind of a tragedy and yet at the same time it's just about looking at it in a different way. Right. I mean, I love so many of the Canadian labels. And the funny part about it is that initial when I was like taking meetings with Randy, I met a guy by the name of Warren Kopnick who works at Sony Music in Canada. And that wasn't the place I ended up being offered a deal at. But I was so close to working with Warren, like years before when I was taking meetings with Randy Bachmann in Toronto and Fast forward, I signed my record deal in Nashville and I end up working with Warren because he was the Canadian side of our team. And so at the end of the day, I ended up working with the same people. I just kind of did it a different way.
- [25:08]
Troy Volhofer
It's just reversed.
- [25:09]
Lindsay Ell
It's reversed.
- [25:10]
Troy Volhofer
Yeah. And it's. It's interesting and how it really does work that way.
- [25:14]
Lindsay Ell
Yeah, it's.
- [25:14]
Troy Volhofer
I have a BTO story, so please. When I was a young kid, I was like nine years old, I saw Bachman Turner Overdrive and the opening act was. Charlie Daniels was the first support act. The second support act was Bob Seeger.
- [25:30]
Lindsay Ell
Amazing.
- [25:31]
Troy Volhofer
And I got into a conversation with David Corlew who managed Charlie up until his passing, and David said, yeah, that was in the Regina, Saskatchewan. And that was the last show that Charlie did on the tour because he was miss billed and the Canadian audience wasn't getting Charlie Daniels. Yeah. So that would have been like 1975, when Bachman turned Overdrive were the biggest band in the world at that time. And it was so interesting, you know, fast forward four or five years. Charlie Daniels comes out in 1979 when Devil Went down to Georgia and has a number one and he's doing arenas.
- [26:06]
Lindsay Ell
Massive.
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Troy Volhofer
You know, so it's kind of interesting. It's a story of never letting up, never quitting, you know, so true.
- [26:12]
Lindsay Ell
And there's so many stories like that. Like, that's so cool. True. I love that story. I mean, Little Big Town. I've talked to them a number of, like, just backstage playing festivals or whatever, hanging out, and they're on their like fourth record deal or something like. And they're some of the sweetest human beings on the planet. Like, they're so down to earth and just, just such beautiful people. But. But they are an example of just resilience and of just keeping at it. Like, keep going. If you love this as much as, as what it really takes, then you just keep doing your thing and eventually you find the way. Eventually you release Devil Went down to Georgia and it takes over the world.
- [26:53]
Troy Volhofer
You know, it's interesting how we've all committed our, our lives to show business and, and the artist is always the one that the audience sees. And there's so many other people behind the scenes who, you know, have given careers in this business, you know, and, and those, you know, those are the ones who are really suffering right now. And we're trying to help. Everyone's trying to help them out and hopefully that we're getting past it right now. But, yeah, those guys need a lot of help. You know, everyone forgets that, you know, how do you get the gear to the gig as a truck driver? How do you get. How do you get your band to the gig or in yourself? It's a bus driver, you know, and those are. The guys are out of work right now. I mean, people don't really understand how decimated show business is right now.
- [27:33]
Lindsay Ell
They don't really understand. And when you. When you take a look at. I mean, sometimes you've seen the bigger tours, like, post pictures of their crew at the end of a tour or whatever, and you see 200 people on stage. Like, you don't really, as a fan going to a show, you don't really understand that the number of human beings behind that stage making that whole thing happen. I mean, the same with every single show you put on. You have like an incredible and enormous team doing so much to. To help keep greasing the wheels and making them work. And. Yeah, I. I mean, to my own band and crew and to all my friends, bands and crews, they have been definitely feeling this year in. In completely different ways. I mean, my. My band, like, my friend House was like, well, I guess this summer I'm gonna go clean pools. And, you know, I think. I think Carly Pierce's band, like, started a landscaping company. Like, they're just all like, well, we gotta figure it out.
- [28:44]
Troy Volhofer
I have a question for you. So Metallica was your first concert?
- [28:49]
Lindsay Ell
Yes. Good job in knowing that. Yeah, Metallica was my first concert. I went with a friend of mine from school and his dad was an engineer, so had like one of the boxes, like, and I was just like, wow, I get to go to a box.
- [29:04]
Troy Volhofer
Was it in Calgary?
- [29:05]
Lindsay Ell
Is in Calgary at the Saddle Dome. And the pot smoke was so thick in the Saddle Dome that I couldn't even see the stage. And I was like, is every concert like this? Like, I think it was 10 at the time. And I'm like, this is crazy. Like, what goes on at Conc. This is insane. And then my second show was Terry Clark, and it was much different than the Metallica concert. So I got the good full spectrum.
- [29:31]
Troy Volhofer
Oh, that's fantastic. I've worked with Metallica since 1994. No way. Yeah, they're. They're probably, you know, that's a band that just keeps on ticking. And I mean, they're Creative. And they're. It was funny that one day I heard a conversation about classic rock, and they definitely don't fall into that category. But, you know, it was kind of like, you know, even ACDC is kind of like a. A classic rock act now. This band has stayed relevant. So anyways, I just wanted to bring that up because they're doing their thing this coming Saturday for a fundraiser. Make a Wish. And anyways, so I love that you've.
- [30:05]
Lindsay Ell
Worked with them since 94, so probably the show I saw, you were working with them at the time.
- [30:09]
Troy Volhofer
We would have been, yeah.
- [30:10]
Lindsay Ell
That's so crazy. The musicality of Metallica as a guitar nerd is so inspiring to me. I mean, I'm so grateful that that was like my first live music experience because it's just like. Like, wow. Like, the depth of what goes into their shows is just incredible.
- [30:25]
Troy Volhofer
Yeah. I mean, I think James Hatfield's probably one of the best rhythm players that they're. Honestly, I mean, Keith Richards and James Hetfield, I mean, they're. They're special.
- [30:34]
Lindsay Ell
They're very special.
- [30:35]
Troy Volhofer
And that leads us into the next little discussion that I want to take you down the road on is I think the lines are being blurred now in music, which is a good thing, at least in my opinion. And I think that you're seeing a lot of crossover stuff. See, Luke. I mean, Luke Combs right now is on. Has two songs on the top and in Australia, on a pop. Well, a non genre.
- [30:59]
Lindsay Ell
Yeah.
- [30:59]
Troy Volhofer
Radio chart. Right. Where do you see it?
- [31:02]
Lindsay Ell
You've.
- [31:02]
Troy Volhofer
You've tasted the international waters. Where do you see country music in ten years from now?
- [31:08]
Lindsay Ell
I'm so excited about the future of country music because, you know, we've seen artists come into the format even in the past five years that have really excited. Expanded the potential of what country music is. And fans who don't normally listen to country music, they're like, oh, I don't like country music, but I like Maren Morris. And it's like, okay, well, that's country music. Or when Sam Hunt came on the scene. Well, I don't like country music, but I like Sam Hunt. And I think you have artists like that who are on one side of the spectrum, and then you have more traditional artists like John Party, who make traditional country cool from a young demographic perspective. And so being able to invite new listeners into the format to be like country music is all of these things, and I think it's such a beautiful thing. And internationally, you know, it's. It's in Australia, country Music is the cool thing. Like, it is not saying that it's not cool here, but it is, like the cutting edge, like, cool thing. And so it's been interesting to watch country music develop. You know, in. In the uk country is still this niche format and genre that the fans who love it are so into it and dedicated, which is why going over to play show there is so special. But. But it's slowly growing. And you see, like, streaming numbers for country music in the UK have like, doubled this year. Like, it's insane, like, watching them grow so fast. And so I'm very excited about one, the education of what country music really is to a lot of the world who haven't listened to country music before, even haven't welcomed it into. Into what they listen to. And I'm just so excited about, like, being able to tour and play shows and, you know, see more country music festivals pop up. Like, watching C2C grow as a brand all over Europe and how it's gone from just being in London at the O2 to now having Berlin and Amsterdam and Dublin and Glasgow, and it's incredible. Like, it's really spreading and it's so contagiously, like, optimistic. I'mma far too far too fast I'm a hug that let's go last I'm a heart with good intent there's still a complicated mess Imma say what's on my mind at the right at the wrong time so here I go first.
- [33:33]
Troy Volhofer
Time I met you, it was in Las Vegas, and I think we were going to a party at your agent's agency.
- [33:42]
Lindsay Ell
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [33:43]
Troy Volhofer
And it was funny because I'm originally from Canada. And it was like, hey, Lindsay, you gotta meet another Canadian. The agent says, I think it was Rob Eckerman.
- [33:51]
Lindsay Ell
That's right.
- [33:51]
Troy Volhofer
You gotta meet another Canadian. Lindsay. Oh, hey, Lindsay. Nice to meet you. Where are you from? She goes, I'm from Calgary. I go, I'm from Regina. Oh, my God. My family's from Regina's.
- [33:58]
Lindsay Ell
From Regina. Yeah.
- [33:59]
Troy Volhofer
So then we find out that we. Your grandfather, when he retired from. He ran the Softsea Theater in Regina, that when he retired, he came to work for me while I was still playing hockey. And it was like we had this whole bonding moment in like, about 10 minutes. It was so bizarre and so.
- [34:18]
Lindsay Ell
It was so bizarre. And the world works in such crazy ways, but the fact that you were able to work with my grandpa in. In such a special way. And I'm like, probably saying off the record things right now, but Troy is one of the kindest human beings that you're ever gonna meet in this industry. I mean, partly probably because he is Canadian and he's just so wonderful, but he just, like, truly cares about his job. I'm talking about this like you're not sitting right in front of me, but you truly care. And it's really hard and difficult to find people who. Who are such fans of music like you are and who truly care about every single human being who works with you.
- [34:58]
Troy Volhofer
I'm blushing and.
- [34:59]
Lindsay Ell
Well, good blush. Blush away. And it's just. It's such a pleasure to work with you. And I love playing your shows and I just. I'm really grateful to be able to do shows with you, but you gave me one of the nicest presents that somebody has given me in a long time. And so Troy found my grandpa business card from the center of the arts. As I'm like choking up and you framed it. And this is one of the sweetest gifts. I lost my grandpa a few years ago, and so this means so much to me. It's good to sit in my studio. Thank you so much.
- [35:34]
Troy Volhofer
Oh, you're welcome. He was a brilliant man. What a piano player. He was.
- [35:38]
Lindsay Ell
What a piano player. I mean, he was the reason why my brother and I started on piano both when we were six years old. My mom played piano. Everybody. My mom has four brothers and sisters. Everybody in the family plays piano.
- [35:51]
Troy Volhofer
Yeah, it was unbelievable. Yeah, he was a great player.
- [35:54]
Lindsay Ell
He's an incredible musician.
- [35:55]
Troy Volhofer
Great man. True gentleman. He was amazing. And it was funny because he came back from that fair convention in las Vegas and he had. He had. He had landed like four different gigs for us. Well, one was a p. E in vancouver. The medicine hat stampede. It was awesome.
- [36:20]
Lindsay Ell
Man row we've ever gone down Friday.
- [36:23]
Amazon Recruitment
Night bleachers Sunday view drain a county.
- [36:27]
Lindsay Ell
Lim out without a memory you everywhere forever room I won't get Every time the ball tender fills it up again Everybody knows why I'm here and you.
- [36:40]
Amazon Recruitment
Ain'T around.
- [36:43]
Lindsay Ell
Girl Heavens in a small town stays in a small.
- [36:48]
Troy Volhofer
It was country thunder, Alberta, Calgary. And we had an all female night. The first time we've ever done that. And. And Lindsay was part of it. Megan Patrick. Was Terry Clark there? No, I don't think Terry Clark.
- [37:01]
Lindsay Ell
I wish Terry Clark.
- [37:05]
Troy Volhofer
Yeah. And so after we all kind of got our picture taken, and Tanya goes, where's the vodka? And I go, well, I'm a bus. Let's go. So she heads straight to the bus. And I look at Lindsay and Megan Patrick. Megan Patrick. Thinks she's a redneck. And. And I like to agree with her. So Megan's a redneck, right?
- [37:27]
Lindsay Ell
I love her.
- [37:28]
Troy Volhofer
Lindsay, you're not a redneck. And I'm like, all right, if you guys want to see something that is really interesting, come on, let's go. So we sat on my bus and Tanya started telling stories that were probably the most interesting stories I've ever heard coming from the mouth. Like, from.
- [37:46]
Lindsay Ell
It was crazy. Like, just being in the presence of that woman, and she has, like, no filter, and yet she just has this, like, energy around her. And yet some of the stories of. You think you're, like, listening to the Grand Ole Opry, like, historic recollection of, like, all of these legends.
- [38:09]
Troy Volhofer
She talks about Alvis, like, Like, Elvis was just a guy, you know, Like, Elvis is the king of rock and roll, right? I mean, Elvis is guy, you know, a music God, right?
- [38:17]
Lindsay Ell
She's like, Elvis. We're like, what? She's lived such a beautiful life and. And is incredible that, you know, she's still playing shows. And that was a magical night for sure.
- [38:28]
Troy Volhofer
And, you know, it's ironic because, I mean, just to touch on Tanya for a second, it's like she's had so much success, you know, I know Brandi Carlisle has championed her career, but there's a resurrection of Tanya, his career, and I'm just amazed. I so appreciate the history of our business and where we've come from, and artists who carry the torch through different generations. And she can still do it, and she's fantastic. And I just thought that night. And there's one thing that cracked me up. So we had a bunch of hockey players on the bus that night. And she goes, all right, guys, so how many of you guys have your teeth? And we all go, well, we all have our teeth still. She goes, well, I don't have mine because Glen Campbell punched them out. And I was like, whoa, it was a great night.
- [39:10]
Lindsay Ell
And also, I remember, like, we were drinking some wine, me, you, and Megan, we were like, in a conversation talking about something. And then we look over and the gentleman sitting next to Tanya has his shirt off. And it was like, what just happened? Like, he's. He's just sitting there with his shirt off, and she's like, he's a good looking man right there. And it's just like, Tanya Tucker, God bless, like, that woman.
- [39:35]
Troy Volhofer
And, you know, I just want to end on this note. You are probably one of the most exciting artists right now to watch. And I think that our listeners, if you Get a chance to see Lindsay Ella coming up in 2021. It's a must see. Make sure you get out there and see her. Your career is definitely on the trajectory of monster strides and I really think that in a year from now we're going to be talking and you're going to have an accolades of trophies and awards and I truly believe that, I mean already have the number one you got with Brantley Gilbert, which is fantastic. Congratulations on that. The number one in Canada, I mean. And great, like great music. I mean your music is different than other people's and other artists and I think your creativity is off the charts and I'm just a plus. You're a beautiful person and I love you and thanks for being here today.
- [40:26]
Lindsay Ell
Now you're making me blush and well.
- [40:28]
Troy Volhofer
It'S true though, it is because you know, very seldom you find somebody who you really, really connect with. And I mean on all levels. And thank you so much for being my friend and it's great.
- [40:37]
Lindsay Ell
Thank you for being my friend. Thank you for being able to create such incredible stages that as an artist, I mean we play a lot of festivals and a lot of shows and yours are truly special. Like whenever I see that coming up on my calendar, I'm like, that's gonna be a really, really good day. And you just have this way of creating an environment where fans feel like they're part of it, you know, and it's a really bad way of explaining it, I guess, but when, when a fan walks in, they just feel like they're in this living room, like this extended living room in the middle of like a field or something. But just the way you light it, the way you organize how an audience like looks at the stage, it's just, it's, it's truly special.
- [41:26]
Stormy Warren
Well, the bus is rolling to a stop. Thank you so much to our guests this week. And don't forget to like subscribe and leave a review wherever you listen. We'll see you next week.
- [41:51]
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