http://my.nowpublic.com/culture/nick-brumley-talks-about-texas-music-and-tma
The presence of artists from Texas being interviewed in Now Public for the TMA [Texas Music Award] is endless. Nick Brumley is another nominee for the TMA in the category of Male Vocalist. Here is the interview done by E Mail between Texas and Florida.
I was born in Midland, Texas. Me and my mother moved to Farmersville with my grandparents shortly after i was born because my father had died of colon cancer. Growing up i always knew that my father played guitar and wrote songs of his own but i never really got to interested in playing guitar till my senior year of high school. So i was about 18. A good friend of mine had just started learning how to play and convinced me that i should learn. Luckily my mom had an old 1975 Alvarez that my grandfather gave her when she was about 15 but she never played it. So she gave it to me and that was my first guitar and i actually still have it till this day and play it at every show. Writing my own music didnt start happening to i moved to Marshall, Texas to go to school. It wasnt something i really planned to do. It just kinda happened.
2. Who were your musical idols and how were you able to draw inspiration from them to form your own style?
Well my mom was a big Neil Young fan and her favorite album was the Harvest album. She played it all the time and i was intrigued by his sound. It was definitely folk but had the rock/grunge twist to it. The one song that really captured my attention was «Needle and the Damage Done.» I liked the slow ballad sound but the words were so true and powerful. So when i first started writing that’s mainly what i tried to impersonate. I wrote a lot of slow ballads and tried to put as much emotion as i could in every word that i sang. It was very easy to do that because i always wrote about situations that were happening to me at that time. My grandfathers death, my mom having cancer, certain relationships, and all my other trails and troubles were what i wrote about. Here recently ive been writing a little different. More on the lines of rock but still with the folk twist. i still write ballads but now i have a couple of guys i jam with and we all have the same passion for blues and early rock and roll such as led zeppelin and the rolling stones. Its really changed my look on writing and its been a hell of a good time. Im really excited about the next album im working on. Its gonna be different.
3. You were born in Farmersville, Texas. How was your life when you were in Farmersville? Have you returned often?
I was never home much when i grew up in farmersville. I always wandered or went to friends houses. It was rough at times at home so i stayed away as often as i could. We didnt have much money either so pickens were slim. I havent returned to farmersville in a while because my mom and step dad have moved to plano, texas so i havent really found ant reason to go back.
4. What was the inspiration behind the recording of «Nick Brumley»?
I just had a bunch of songs and was told to record them and make an album. So i did. The funny thing about the whole deal was that me and some friends turned a buddies living room into a studio. I didnt have the money to spend in a huge multi-million dollar studio. We all had a bunch of equipment that we had taken on through out the years by being in different bands and bombarded my buddies living room. We called it «Big Ass Sign Out Front Studio.» I spent most of my days there laying down all the tracks and with in about 3 weeks or less i had the album. A good freind of mine named Robert Cook had had some experience with mixing and recording so i sent the tracks to him and he mixed the album.
5. What was your reaction when you found out about your nomination for the TMA?
Well i had had a few beers with some friends at the local bar in marshall called the OS2 pub when i got the call. So i was a little slow to react but once it all caught up to me i was pretty pumped. I never thought when recording the album that it was gonna get any attention at all. I just had these songs and sang them through a little microphone. There were zero expectations.
6. What can Nick Brumely offer to the world that Hollywood cannot offer?
I dont know really. Id like to say true emotions and feelings but i’ve noticed of late that money conquers that also. But i cant fully believe that. I got to believe that there will be change.
7. What concerts have you done to promote your album?
I didnt an album release party at the OS2 in Marshall and have played in the Dallas area quite a bit but havent done much touring because of recording a second album and recording with another band im in called the Good Time Rounders. But i need to get on that
Soon enough i will. Mainly around Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma but i know id like to get over to Florida and up to Georgia, The Carolinas and even up to New York.
9. What is your advice for those who want a career in music?
Well im not willie nelson or anyone like that. Hell, i have a hard enough time listening to my friends advice about women. So i wouldnt know where to start when it come to that. but i guess i would say just to have fun but be honest. A good friend of mine Pap Watson has always told me to «always keep your word and respect peoples property.» I think thats the best advice anyone can give.
Thank everyone for the support and giving me the opportunity to be were i am now.
Thank you for taking the time and best wishes from Florida.
El Noticiero de Alvarez Galloso 