Latest / Takin’ A Walk Nashville / Discovering Nashville's Music Legacy: Alex Miller's Journey Through Country Music and Personal Growth
Transcript
- 0:01Speaker 1: Taking a Walk Nashville.
- 0:02Speaker 2: Hey, y'all, this is Sarah Harrelson, your host of the
- 0:05Speaker 2: Taking a Walk Nashville podcast. Today, I'm back at the
- 0:08Speaker 2: Russell Hotel in East Nashville, and I'm sitting here with
- 0:12Speaker 2: country artist Alex Miller. You probably remember him from American
- 0:18Speaker 2: Idol Season nineteen. He was only seventeen years old when
- 0:22Speaker 2: he was on American Idol. That brought him fame and
- 0:25Speaker 2: changed his life. In twenty twenty one, now at twenty
- 0:29Speaker 2: two years old, he's released a full album, Miller Time,
- 0:33Speaker 2: and two EPs Country and My Daddy's Dad. We are
- 0:38Speaker 2: looking forward to talking about his latest album, More Country
- 0:41Speaker 2: Than You, that just released. He has some great duets
- 0:45Speaker 2: on it with Emily Anne Roberts, Tracy Bird. He covered
- 0:49Speaker 2: Too Much Fun by Darryl Singletary on the album. I
- 0:53Speaker 2: love his voice and I'm so excited for you guys
- 0:56Speaker 2: to hear my conversation with Alex Miller. He has shared
- 1:01Speaker 2: lineups with Brooks and Dunn, Hank Williams, Junior, Josh Turner.
- 1:05Speaker 2: The list goes on and on, So please join me
- 1:10Speaker 2: as we sit down and speak with Alex Miller today.
- 1:19Speaker 1: Welcome to Taking a Walk Nashville with your hosts singer
- 1:22Speaker 1: songwriter Sarah Harrelson.
- 1:25Speaker 2: Hello, everyone, It's Sarah Harrelson, your host of the Taking
- 1:28Speaker 2: a Walk Nashville podcast, and today I have with me
- 1:32Speaker 2: country artist Alex Miller. How are you today?
- 1:35Speaker 1: I'm good? How are you?
- 1:36Speaker 2: I'm good. I'm so glad to finally meet you. And
- 1:39Speaker 2: we were just talking about your latest album that just
- 1:42Speaker 2: released on April tenth, More Country than You. I love
- 1:46Speaker 2: this album. There's a lot to discuss about it, and
- 1:49Speaker 2: you've mentioned that this latest project shows the work that
- 1:53Speaker 2: you've put into growing as a singer and songwriter since
- 1:57Speaker 2: your time on American Idol a few years ago. So
- 2:00Speaker 2: what's the biggest difference you have seen in your voice
- 2:04Speaker 2: or you're writing today compared to back in twenty twenty one.
- 2:08Speaker 3: Well, twenty one, maybe I was eighteen years old, so
- 2:12Speaker 3: you know, I'd rarely do anything about life. But at
- 2:14Speaker 3: twenty two, almost twenty three, now I feel like I've
- 2:18Speaker 3: just matured as an adult and learned so much about
- 2:23Speaker 3: more about the music and more about the people in
- 2:24Speaker 3: the music.
- 2:26Speaker 1: I think my voice is certainly matured. I think it.
- 2:29Speaker 3: Sound more like a man now, less like an eighteen
- 2:31Speaker 3: year old kid. But I think the record is really
- 2:35Speaker 3: a testament to me and it shows all different sides
- 2:38Speaker 3: of me and the stuff that I love.
- 2:39Speaker 2: Yeah, well, even back then, you can tell your voice
- 2:42Speaker 2: is so mature for your age and your wise beyond
- 2:45Speaker 2: your ears and your voice. Just listening to on the
- 2:48Speaker 2: new record takes us back in time with a traditional
- 2:51Speaker 2: country sound. So you did a cover of Darryl Singletary's
- 2:57Speaker 2: song too Much Fun? You did a song with Trees.
- 3:00Speaker 2: Were those some of your influences growing up?
- 3:03Speaker 1: Oh? Absolutely.
- 3:04Speaker 3: Daryl Singletary, He's like one of the greatest country singers
- 3:07Speaker 3: of the nineties and I love his voice, very low
- 3:11Speaker 3: registered voice and Tracy Bird. I mean, you know, if
- 3:15Speaker 3: you're a nineties country fan, you've done the Watermelon Crawl,
- 3:18Speaker 3: you know. So it's it's one of my favorite one
- 3:22Speaker 3: of my favorite songs and one of my favorite artists,
- 3:24Speaker 3: and just it's an honor to have him on this record.
- 3:26Speaker 2: Yeah, I bet that was so much fun collaborating with him.
- 3:30Speaker 2: What was it like recording that song with him? Because
- 3:33Speaker 2: he didn't take part in the writing of it, correct.
- 3:36Speaker 1: He didn't know.
- 3:37Speaker 3: I just wanted to And it's that's a crazy story.
- 3:40Speaker 3: So I was you believe in small things can lead
- 3:43Speaker 3: to big things.
- 3:44Speaker 1: Yeah, Well, I was getting on an elevator. I met
- 3:47Speaker 1: Tracy on the elevator.
- 3:48Speaker 3: Wow, and he invited me to lunch with him that day,
- 3:52Speaker 3: and it was just it was just a whim. I
- 3:54Speaker 3: met him and he just liked what I was doing
- 3:57Speaker 3: and he recognized me from TikTok is what he said.
- 4:00Speaker 3: You're on TikTok, ain't you boy?
- 4:01Speaker 1: I said yeah. So I got his number and he
- 4:04Speaker 1: said if ever needed advice, to let him know.
- 4:06Speaker 3: And I've asked him several things, more business related things,
- 4:10Speaker 3: but I've asked him several things throughout the last couple
- 4:13Speaker 3: of years.
- 4:14Speaker 1: He needs helped me on them.
- 4:15Speaker 3: And so I wanted to write a song to kind
- 4:17Speaker 3: of just commemorate our friendship and kind of say thank
- 4:20Speaker 3: you to him in a way. And so I wrote
- 4:22Speaker 3: the Bird with Jerry Sally and I send him a
- 4:24Speaker 3: song and I asked him, say, would you want to
- 4:28Speaker 3: do this with me? And he said absolutely. So working
- 4:31Speaker 3: with him though, was great. So we actually recorded here
- 4:34Speaker 3: in Nashville my parts and sent his stuff to his
- 4:37Speaker 3: Stell guitar player. His name's Joe Rogers, and sent it
- 4:41Speaker 3: down to Beaumont, Texas, and they record down there. Because
- 4:44Speaker 3: he's so busy and I'm so busy, it was kind
- 4:45Speaker 3: of tough to get us together, but yeah, it was.
- 4:49Speaker 3: It's just when I heard his voice back to me,
- 4:51Speaker 3: I'll never forget we was. It was me and my
- 4:53Speaker 3: dad was listening to it. And you know, dad's a
- 4:55Speaker 3: huge Tracy Bird, George Strait, Mark Chestnut fan, so I
- 5:00Speaker 3: know it made him really proud and my dad really
- 5:02Speaker 3: proud to have that record.
- 5:03Speaker 2: Oh that's amazing. And have you performed a song together
- 5:06Speaker 2: in person?
- 5:07Speaker 1: Yes, we have.
- 5:07Speaker 3: We we did a show together in Little Valley, New
- 5:10Speaker 3: York and he got up and there's a clip of
- 5:13Speaker 3: it on my Instagram, Facebook stuff.
- 5:16Speaker 2: That's so awesome to be able to perform a song
- 5:20Speaker 2: and do a collaboration with one of your influences. So
- 5:23Speaker 2: how do you balance staying, you know, firmly planted in
- 5:27Speaker 2: a modern soundscape today while maintaining the energy of traditional
- 5:31Speaker 2: and classic country.
- 5:33Speaker 1: It's not too hard for me. I just am who
- 5:34Speaker 1: I am ashamed of it?
- 5:36Speaker 3: I'm I'm you know, I just do the music that
- 5:39Speaker 3: I love and either people like it or they won't.
- 5:42Speaker 3: And I'm pretty content with that.
- 5:44Speaker 2: Yeah, well, I love that. You know, traditional country sounds
- 5:48Speaker 2: are definitely resurfacing in though.
- 5:50Speaker 1: I think there's a place for me now.
- 5:51Speaker 3: If it had been you know, ten to fifteen years ago,
- 5:53Speaker 3: there may not have been a place for me. But
- 5:56Speaker 3: there's nobody. There's not really a Kentucky artist doing what
- 5:58Speaker 3: I'm doing right now either. So I'm glad to be
- 6:01Speaker 3: representing my state and representing my people back home. And
- 6:05Speaker 3: I think that's why people like what I'm doing is
- 6:08Speaker 3: because I do do that.
- 6:09Speaker 2: Yeah, you're from Lancaster, Kentucky.
- 6:11Speaker 1: That's not so far, correct me. I'm just kidding.
- 6:16Speaker 3: You'd have a way harder time pronouncing my county name
- 6:20Speaker 3: than you would my city.
- 6:21Speaker 2: What's the county name?
- 6:22Speaker 1: Uh, well, it's spelled g A R R A R
- 6:25Speaker 1: D gared. That's how we say. A lot of people
- 6:28Speaker 1: say Gerard and Gerard, but it's Geared. Okay. Anyway, that's
- 6:32Speaker 1: the Kentucky thing. People say Louisville wrong too, that's true,
- 6:34Speaker 1: that's true.
- 6:35Speaker 2: And where you're from is not far from Lexington, correct,
- 6:39Speaker 2: That's very right.
- 6:39Speaker 1: Yeah, so I believe Blue.
- 6:41Speaker 3: Sorry to everybody else that pulls for all the other
- 6:43Speaker 3: SEC teams.
- 6:45Speaker 1: Kentucky all away from me.
- 6:46Speaker 2: Well, it's not too far from Nashville. And you know,
- 6:49Speaker 2: you are still rooted in Kentucky. You're an ambassador for
- 6:53Speaker 2: the Kentucky Proud program, a recipient of the American f
- 6:57Speaker 2: FA degree. So how does your upbringing in Kentucky influence
- 7:04Speaker 2: your country sound and what does it mean to still
- 7:07Speaker 2: be involved in the community.
- 7:08Speaker 3: Well, it's a great honor to be at Kentucky and
- 7:11Speaker 3: to be from Kentucky. Being able to tell people where
- 7:15Speaker 3: I'm from is one of my favorite things because everybody asks,
- 7:17Speaker 3: you know the accent of mine, They where are you from? Well, yeah,
- 7:21Speaker 3: a lot of people think it's Texas, but it's very,
- 7:23Speaker 3: very Kentucky. And it's a great honor of the Kentucky
- 7:27Speaker 3: Proud folks. That's the Department of Agriculture, and I got
- 7:30Speaker 3: to thank my FFA for that.
- 7:32Speaker 1: I knew some people and the staff.
- 7:34Speaker 3: There at the Department of Agriculture there in Kentucky, and
- 7:39Speaker 3: they asked if I want to be there in Brandon Bastard,
- 7:40Speaker 3: and I said absolutely. And what that is, folks, is
- 7:43Speaker 3: all the products that are made of Kentucky. Like I
- 7:45Speaker 3: think Jim Beam even falls under that there's a lot
- 7:47Speaker 3: of a lot of really neat things that are from
- 7:49Speaker 3: our state that get.
- 7:50Speaker 1: Exported out tell everywhere else.
- 7:52Speaker 3: And it's called Kentucky prowd. So if you see Kentucky
- 7:55Speaker 3: prowd and make sure you buy some of that stuff.
- 7:58Speaker 2: Very cool. Do you go back to Kentucky Lot?
- 8:00Speaker 3: Actually this weekend, it's just my I guess I was
- 8:03Speaker 3: one of those heirs. But I'm playing my hometown show
- 8:07Speaker 3: May the second, and it's going to be a great night.
- 8:11Speaker 3: Hopefully all my friends and family will be there and
- 8:13Speaker 3: that should be enough to fill the place.
- 8:16Speaker 2: Yeah, that'll be great. Great to connect with your community again.
- 8:20Speaker 2: And you know, just at twenty two years old, now
- 8:23Speaker 2: you've already released a full album two EPs. How did
- 8:26Speaker 2: those previous projects, Miller Time, my Daddy's Dad, how did
- 8:31Speaker 2: those pave the way for this specific new album More
- 8:34Speaker 2: country than you.
- 8:36Speaker 3: I think Miller Time did what it was supposed to do.
- 8:38Speaker 3: It was it planned to me firmly in the traditional
- 8:41Speaker 3: country world, and that's where I wanted to be. And
- 8:45Speaker 3: with the other records, I think that it showed how
- 8:47Speaker 3: I was going to grow and what I wanted to do.
- 8:49Speaker 3: And I think more character than you, it's just another
- 8:52Speaker 3: stepping stone in that.
- 8:54Speaker 2: Yeah, it's such a fun album. You have another collaboration
- 8:57Speaker 2: on this album, the title track, More Country than You.
- 9:00Speaker 2: It features a really fun rivalry with Emily and Roberts.
- 9:05Speaker 2: So tell us how did that collaboration come together and
- 9:08Speaker 2: who actually wins the crown of cous thriest of them all.
- 9:13Speaker 3: I'll say this, I think as far as a female,
- 9:16Speaker 3: she may be the countries, and as far as a male,
- 9:18Speaker 3: I probably might be the country in the genre right now.
- 9:21Speaker 1: But I don't know. I think that song came about
- 9:26Speaker 1: a TikTok. Again, I gotta give a.
- 9:28Speaker 3: Lot of credit to that little lap But I saw
- 9:32Speaker 3: her when a whole lot of little on her songs
- 9:34Speaker 3: came out. I'd messaged her and told her how much
- 9:36Speaker 3: I appreciated that song and loved that song, and she said, well,
- 9:39Speaker 3: we need to get together and rite sometime, and I said, yeah,
- 9:42Speaker 3: we do. And it turns out we knew a lot
- 9:43Speaker 3: of the same people, and so it just kind of
- 9:46Speaker 3: was a match made in heaven. And then my buddy
- 9:51Speaker 3: Bill White, he's in the Country Music this Jockey's Hall
- 9:54Speaker 3: of Fame. I brought him in on this song and
- 9:57Speaker 3: he had that idea more country than you for the
- 9:59Speaker 3: both of us. US and the rest of y' all
- 10:02Speaker 3: can go listen to you right now. But it's a
- 10:05Speaker 3: great song, and I'm just very thankful for him laying
- 10:08Speaker 3: And you know, she was just nominated.
- 10:11Speaker 1: For the ACM New Female the Year.
- 10:13Speaker 3: We're all kind of upset she didn't win, But anyway,
- 10:17Speaker 3: I really appreciate her and her and her family or
- 10:20Speaker 3: her husband.
- 10:20Speaker 1: They're all just great people.
- 10:21Speaker 2: So yeah, it's such a fun song. She just won
- 10:25Speaker 2: an award and recognition for AI m P Yeah Publishers,
- 10:29Speaker 2: So she's doing great. Everyone should check out that song.
- 10:33Speaker 2: I love it. Have You also co wrote several songs
- 10:35Speaker 2: on this album, including Memories in Gin and Why does
- 10:39Speaker 2: My Heartache? So, when you're in the writing room with
- 10:42Speaker 2: someone like Jerry Sally, what's your primary goal for the
- 10:46Speaker 2: story you want to tell?
- 10:48Speaker 3: I just want to get a great song, like That's
- 10:50Speaker 3: all I care about, you know. I don't go into
- 10:52Speaker 3: it with I go into it with an idea like
- 10:54Speaker 3: why does my Heartache? That was my idea. Memories and
- 10:58Speaker 3: gen that was my idea. I just go in there
- 11:01Speaker 3: with that, and uh, the best idea wins, and the
- 11:04Speaker 3: best lyric wins. So you know, everybody has a little
- 11:07Speaker 3: different process. You know, people asked, what do you come
- 11:09Speaker 3: up with the melody or the lyrics first? And I
- 11:12Speaker 3: always start with the words, because that's what you got
- 11:14Speaker 3: to sing.
- 11:14Speaker 2: Okay. Yeah, And I love hearing a song about Jen
- 11:18Speaker 2: because you see, most country songs are about whiskey exactly,
- 11:21Speaker 2: well mixed up.
- 11:22Speaker 1: A little bit. You know.
- 11:22Speaker 3: Hagrid has a great song called Misery Injin. Yes, and
- 11:27Speaker 3: I just thought i'd add a little extra to it.
- 11:28Speaker 3: This is a heartbreak cocktail, that one is.
- 11:31Speaker 2: Yeah, I love it. And this album was also recorded
- 11:34Speaker 2: at Gorilla's Nest in Ashland City, that's just northwest of town.
- 11:37Speaker 1: Yeah, it's too country to cut here.
- 11:41Speaker 2: Well, that's what I love about Nashville's You don't have
- 11:43Speaker 2: to go too far out of the city limits. You're
- 11:45Speaker 2: still in Davidson County. Fine country. Oh yeah, countryside here.
- 11:50Speaker 3: I'd say you'd probably find more people out in the
- 11:52Speaker 3: country than you would hear but that's that Maybe that's
- 11:55Speaker 3: just me.
- 11:55Speaker 2: Yeah, Ashland City is definitely a country. What was it
- 11:58Speaker 2: like recording your album at that studio?
- 12:01Speaker 1: It's a great studio.
- 12:03Speaker 3: It was awesome, you know, I had, you know, Mike
- 12:07Speaker 3: Johnson and some of the greatest. Gordon Mote was on
- 12:10Speaker 3: this record, Janey Flehner, who's a ACM Musician of the Year,
- 12:14Speaker 3: I think or CMA either one incredible group of musicians.
- 12:19Speaker 1: James Mitchell was on guitar.
- 12:22Speaker 3: I had the cream of the crop when it came
- 12:23Speaker 3: to the band that was playing on this project, So
- 12:26Speaker 3: I couldn't ask for better players and musicians.
- 12:28Speaker 1: On my projects.
- 12:29Speaker 2: Yeah, the production is amazing and going to your performances
- 12:34Speaker 2: now you've been able to perform at iconic venues such
- 12:37Speaker 2: as Grendel Opry, the Ryman Country Music Hall of Fame.
- 12:41Speaker 2: Is there one moment on those stages that stands out
- 12:45Speaker 2: for you as that I've made at second or what
- 12:48Speaker 2: are your thoughts on those stages being able to perform there.
- 12:52Speaker 1: I don't know.
- 12:52Speaker 3: I think I made a moment was definitely the Opry,
- 12:56Speaker 3: But who's to say I've made it?
- 12:58Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, I still got a long way to go.
- 13:00Speaker 3: I think I think that was certainly it singing that
- 13:02Speaker 3: song about my grandpa and knowing how many people would
- 13:06Speaker 3: just kill for that opportunity, and I'm representing not only me,
- 13:09Speaker 3: but my state, my family. That was the greatest honor
- 13:14Speaker 3: I've had so far, and I'm so thankful that I've
- 13:16Speaker 3: got to do that, and I'm thankful all the people
- 13:18Speaker 3: that got me there.
- 13:19Speaker 2: It's amazing how much you have accomplished at such a
- 13:23Speaker 2: young age. And you also have more upcoming shows this summer.
- 13:27Speaker 2: And you're also going to Norway. Have you ever been
- 13:30Speaker 2: there before?
- 13:31Speaker 1: No, I've never been to Norway.
- 13:33Speaker 3: I guess I'm gonna have to learn me some Norwegian
- 13:35Speaker 3: or they're going to have to have a he'll bildy
- 13:36Speaker 3: translator wanting them two.
- 13:38Speaker 1: But I'm excited to go.
- 13:39Speaker 3: I've never been out of the country, across the never
- 13:42Speaker 3: flown across the pond, so this will be a first
- 13:44Speaker 3: time for me.
- 13:45Speaker 2: That'll be very exciting. And you have a lot of
- 13:47Speaker 2: shows coming up in the States this summer as well,
- 13:49Speaker 2: don't you.
- 13:50Speaker 1: I do.
- 13:50Speaker 3: I'm playing Oklahoma City with Aaron Watson, at the Kentucky
- 13:54Speaker 3: State Fair with Ernest. I'm about to do something with
- 13:57Speaker 3: Chris Cagle and got Craig mulrgan and Parmally doing some
- 14:02Speaker 3: shows with them. So I've been I'm busy, little b
- 14:04Speaker 3: this year.
- 14:05Speaker 2: Amazing. Yeah, you are sharing the stages with a lot
- 14:08Speaker 2: of amazing artists, Alex. I hope everyone will listen to
- 14:13Speaker 2: your new country, your new album More Country than You.
- 14:16Speaker 2: And my last question for you today we are on
- 14:18Speaker 2: taking a walk Nashville. So my question is what is
- 14:22Speaker 2: the most memorable walk you have ever taken in Nashville.
- 14:27Speaker 3: In Nashville, well, I actually try to walk every day.
- 14:31Speaker 3: That's something that I do just keep the weight off.
- 14:34Speaker 3: But anyway, my most memorable walk in Nashville me and
- 14:38Speaker 3: my grandpa took a trip here in twenty twenty one
- 14:42Speaker 3: and getting the walk through the Hall of Fame with
- 14:44Speaker 3: him was probably my favorite walk.
- 14:46Speaker 1: I've got the tape.
- 14:46Speaker 2: Oh that's special. It is Is there a specific exhibit
- 14:50Speaker 2: that you were drawn to the most?
- 14:53Speaker 1: Well? To me? At that point in time.
- 14:56Speaker 3: He loved Hank Williams Senior, all the old classic guys,
- 15:01Speaker 3: so getting to see them was really neat. We also
- 15:03Speaker 3: got to go to Arnstub Record Shop, which is now
- 15:05Speaker 3: not really what it was. At one point it was
- 15:08Speaker 3: wherever it was still the et shop and had all
- 15:11Speaker 3: the records in there. So was He always thought that
- 15:14Speaker 3: was neat because he was born in forty seven and
- 15:15Speaker 3: it started in forty seven, so he really liked Arnestubb.
- 15:19Speaker 3: That was his favorite, so getting to go there with
- 15:21Speaker 3: him was really neat too.
- 15:22Speaker 2: Oh that's so special. Yeah, we did an episode actually
- 15:25Speaker 2: taking a walk through the Country Music Hall of Fame.
- 15:27Speaker 1: Oh that's cool cast.
- 15:28Speaker 2: Yeah, so that was a lot of fun. Alex Miller,
- 15:32Speaker 2: thank you so much for being on Taking a Walk
- 15:34Speaker 2: Nashville today.
- 15:34Speaker 1: It was a good take a walk with you. Thanks
- 15:39Speaker 1: for listening to Taking a Walk Nashville with Sarah Harrelson.
- 15:43Speaker 1: Please check out our other shows produced by Buzznight Media Productions,
- 15:47Speaker 1: Comedy Saved Me and Music Saved Me hosted by Lynn Hoffman,
- 15:52Speaker 1: and Taking a Walk hosted by Yours Truly buzz Night.
- 15:56Speaker 1: All shows are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and are
- 16:01Speaker 1: part of the iHeart podcast network