Above is my interview with country artist Chase Mitchell. We talk about his new album Chase Your Bliss, Taylor Swift, his young start, and a lot more. If you’re interested in reading the interview. It will be up next Wednesday (June 21st).
This interview has been edited for clarity and flow.
On May 25, for episode 4 of the Backline Beat Podcast, I hopped on Zoom to talk to singer-songwriter Season Ammons. We chatted about her upcoming album, No Restraint, her favourite song she’s ever written, her influences, and a lot more.
You can watch the interview above. Or read it below.
Jade Dempsey: How are you?
Season Ammons: I’m good, nice to meet you, I like your name.
I like yours, What’s the story behind it. I’ve never heard Season before?
Yeah, my mom, she couldn’t decide between autumn and summer…So she just said, I’m going to name her all the seasons. So…and I’m the only girl, I have three brothers, and they’re actually pretty normal names, Jeremy Randy and Derek. But I came. Yeah, I got season. Which is kind of cool because it works, you know, in this industry. It’s you know, I have a built in stage name, and I do get asked all the time. Is that your real name or your stage name. I’m like, it’s…my real first name. And it happens to be a great stage name.
Introduce yourself for people that might not know you.
What’s going on, y’all? My name is Chase Mitchell. I’m a country singer, songwriter. I’m also a husband and father. We live here in Nashville, Tennessee, and I’m just a dude chasing my purpose through music.
Can you talk a little bit about your young start?
So I was actually the age of my oldest daughter Brooklyn. She’s 9 years old, so I was 9 years old when I got my first recording contract and management contract. I was very, very young. I was in a boy band called Lucky we did a lot of stuff with like Radio Disney. It was like a cheesy concert series called peanut butter and jams. So this was like back when, like little Romeo, and like Aaron Carter, was like just getting started early early 2000’s.
You toured with Destiny’s Child, and Outkast, and others like that, right?
On the Disney Radio stuff there were all sorts of events they’d have us come and open up for whatever the big artist was at the time. So like, Vitamin C, Lil’ Zane, Outkast, Destiny’s Child before they became really just Beyoncé. There were a lot of crazy moments…it was pretty wild. It was definitely an amazing experience, so young.
How did you find your way to country music from there?
I was about 14 years old when the boy band I had been in for years, was starting to breakup and do their own thing, and go their separate ways. Tim stayed in Atlanta, Justin went out to LA. I was like, what am I going to do? I tried going back to school for like, a year, and I just had nothing in common with any of the students. It was difficult for me to go back to school, after those few years of being homeschooled and being on the road. So immediately my parent were like, “If music is really what you want to do, we have a few contacts there in Nashville.” Because at the time my parents kept up with all of my affairs, ’cause I was only like 9, 10, 11 years old. So, I didn’t remember at the time, but now I’m a huge fan of his, but Mark Wills, we had opened up for, and he was like a huge 90’s country superstar. And so my parents kept his contact and knew someone in Nashville, in his camp. And so we quickly realized just because you know someone, it doesn’t mean anything in Nashville. Nashville is a town that you really have to like be in, and you have to immerse yourself, and you gotta be willing to write for years and go to coffee shops and meet with people and go to their showcases. And it’s a relationship town. So that’s kind of what got us going, to kick me into the direction of Nashville and then it would be several years later, kind of pursuing that avenue that I would end up eventually getting signed to my first booking agency as a country artist. I was like 15 or 16 time, with Buddy Lee Attractions. And they put me on the road doing a bunch of dates so got to open for, like Taylor Swift, Jason Alden. We got to play some side stages on a festival for Rascal Flatts. There was some really really cool moments over the years, working for the agency. But that’s pretty much what got me into country music.
What were you playing then? Did you have an album out? If you’re opening for Taylor Swift…though this would’ve been young Taylor Swift.
2008. She had definitely started to blow up, because it was wild to see all the people that showed up for her concert. But yeah, this was the 2008 Country Concert in the Hills in Fort Laramie, Ohio. It was wild.
But no, we didn’t have an album out. Well I’d say we didn’t have an album out in the pretence of it wasn’t out in the market doing like huge numbers, or signed to a label or anything like that. But I had made a couple records at that point in time, here in town.
We were just really relentless, we said yes to everything, so whether it was like a small little club, little smoky bar, or a big festival. Since we said yes to just everything over the course of a few years, it just kind of ended up in a situation where I was opening for a bunch of cool artists at some different festivals that the Summer and Fall, and Taylor just happened to be the headliner, for that one day. I’ll never forget that, that was amazing.
I can imagine. Especially in the Nashville scene, did you ever cross paths?
Our path definitely crossed, back in the day, a little bit. ‘Cause really, between teenagers in country music, that were trying to make it, that were more pop, it was really just Taylor and I. Billy Graham had kinda blown up a little bit, but he wasn’t really like a crossover country artist. He was more traditional. So really it was just Taylor and I, that was that young doing pop country, before pop country was even like a thing. I know she probably went though all her phases of feeling like and outsider, just like I have.
A matter of fact, we just got back from Chicago. I took my daughters and my wife, my producer and co-manager Danny Rader, hooked us up with some Taylor Swift tickets, in Chicago this last weekend. And week spent the weekend in Chicago seeing her, which is amazing to see how far she’s come, you know. And she’s stayed true to her guns. But yeah, our paths have crossed a few times.
From then ’til now, can you talk a little bit about that transition? I read that you took a break from music for a bit.
Yes, actually, I just wrote a song. It’s called “The Storm”, and it’s not out yet. I don’t have it on an album, but it pretty much wrote itself. And it, it’s a very emotional song, but it’s also got a lot of…what’s the word?…There’s hope, even thought the song is bittersweet. There’s a hope about it, and for the longest time when I would try to sing it out, I would get like, a lump in the back of my throat. I could almost not sing it for a very long time…Now that I’m singing it out, I’ve had people coming up to me and say that song brought me to tears…That song I hope to get recorded very soon because it’s a really good one. I think it’s the best one I’ve ever written so far, but it definitely is “The Storm” is just the archetype, the archetypal theme of like the energy of, sometimes you have to sit in a level of acceptance of wherever you are in your life. And you literally have to let the storm just pass over you. And while that sucks, and sometimes it’s not fun, there’s always sort of a renewal process, because a storm might devastate and distrust everything. But through it all, eventually, you know, the sun is going to some back out, things are going to change, and sometimes destruction is necessary for a renewal. So yeah…
So be on the lookout for that one. I’m already making plans to get it recorded very soon.
Would you just release it as a single, or wait until the next album?
I think it would be a stand alone single, because I’ve had so many people go, “where’s the song? I want this song,” and I’m going, “I haven’t even put out my new album yet.” I kind of have to pace it. But I’ve been thinking it would be a standalone single. I’m thinking the fall. And then I might eventually put it on another album. I can always tack it onto something else. But it’s a really good one, and I’ve already got people wanting it. When dozens and dozens of people go, “I need this song in my life” then that tells me somethings like gotta get it done.
I can’t wait to hear it.
Your sound is quite varied from song to song on the album. I’ve seen you joke about it in videos. Do you set out to do that? Or do you just do what the song dictates?
Yeah, you nailed it. I don’t ever think I’m just gonna stay in one lane, or just write something in particular. It’s just whatever comes through. And and I’ve gotten to a point in my life, and I will always have been this way where I just didn’t care that it was country, or that it was folk, or that I’m writing a pop song, or this isa a rock song or I’ve written, you know, some jazz ones. I just never thought about it too much, because I was like, well, my name is season like it’s kind of expected at this point, as a lot of people just know that I’m sort of all over the place, and I don’t. I don’t really stay in one lane. So at this point, like, I don’t care. And I just go. Well, that’s just my sound. My sound is this. And I’m okay with that. So I just go, it’s fine, whatever comes through. If it’s a good song, and it makes the record then great.
The closest thing I ever did to making like a “true” album was in 2019 I put out a Texas country record called Neon Side of Town, and it was a very specific Texas country, which is different than Nashville country or anything else, but it had four Top4o songs on the Texas charts…And I specifically picked songs that fell in that genre. And there were a few that actually weren’t but because we put a…it was a production style. I mean, that’s the other thing, if you put a very specific production style behind certain songs, they can all be country or pop, or whatever leaning you want it to be. So anyway Neon Side of Town, is the closest thing to like, “I’m going to stay in this lane, Texas country.” And I love that record and it’s great. But yeah, for this next record. I mean, like you said, it’s kinda all over the place. It’s like you hear one thing, and then it doesn’t represent the next thing. But there’s still a cohesiveness to the record. But it’s very bi-polar.
Seeing as we’ve been talking about more recent stuff. Where did you get your start in music?
So I picked up a guitar when I was about 15 years old and I taught myself how to play guitar and piano. I used to write a lot of short stories and poems. I was very big into poetry in a young age, and I just sort of had the the light bulb moment where I thought, where I realized that songs were just poems put to music. And so there was a power that I felt when I picked up a guitar, and I would just would take a poem that I had to start making a melody with chords I was making up. And I was like, this is a thing, and I can do this. And it just came really naturally to me, and I ended up moving to Nashville when I was right out of high school, and I lived there for several years and just wanted to learn more about songwriting. So that’s why I moved there. I guess that’s kinda where I got my start. I kinda sorta had this dream of being a musician, being an artist, even though I didn’t really know that that meant. I used to think you had to get a record deal, or you had to get discovered, or something like that. And it wasn’t until 2010 that the music industry was changing. Streaming was really coming along. You had the internet, and you were seeing this DIY thing really explode. And it was like, okay, this is kind of the new frontier to where independent artists can can do it without a label. I mean, it’s easier, but it’s also harder. There’s a big thing in between there where yeah, you can put your own music out there. But there’s things that a record label would do for you that now you’re responsible for doing, because you pretty much are the record label. And so there’s there’s a lot of responsibility there. But there’s a lot of freedom, because I’m able to make records. And so, since 2010, started kind of going down the path of how do you become an artist? What does that even mean? You know, just learning the business and I realized, you can be talented and writing songs and playing shows. There was whole other side of getting their music out there. And what did that even mean? So that that took several years and and multiple albums of me kind of moving through the machine, even the indie machine to finally get even to where I’m at right now. and it’s it’s just a process. I think it’s it’s part of the evolution of an independent artist.
Is there advice you’d give to your 2010 self, knowing what you know now?
Well I guess I would say, just keep focused on moving forward. I was so worried about everything being absolutely perfect that I was almost afraid to launch at first, you know? I would spend a lot of time just looking over every every little minute detail that I wouldn’t actually like, press the send button, to whatever it would be. It was everything from the website to pictures to cards, I mean, because when I was just getting started, I meat, you had to get all your assets together and kind of have your stuff. And I guess if I had to say to myself that long ago, I would say, just put it out there and just keep moving. Keep moving. Don’t stress about it because you’re going to keep changing. This isn’t going to stay the same. So while you could put out a website right now. It just needs to be out there right now. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Yes, get the good stuff, but then move on and don’t fret about it because you have songs to write, and you’ve got a recording studio to book, and you’ve got a million other things, and you’re getting hung up on one little detail, you’re wasting time. So that’s definitely what I would say is, just you know, you’re gonna keep changing your outlines are gonna change. Your everything’s gonna change. So what you put out now is just a little snapshot of what you’re doing. And it’s not forever.
I completely get that. I’m still trying to teach myself that. I feel like in 10 years it’ll be like, okay, somewhere along the line you got that. I’m trying to tell myself that, but I’m not listening to myself.
I know. And don’t get me wrong. I’m still like hung up on certain stuff. I mean, you know, Make sure it’s the right picture or the right this or I mean but I think it gets easier. You’re able to just go yes, or go, or like that works that doesn’t work. And I think that only comes with time. And I think that’s the beauty of the evolution of whatever I mean. A small business. I mean, you’re an entrepreneur, you know. We’re all doing our thing, our creative thing. And I think that’s beauty of it is like that we’re all learning every single step. So I think It’s not good, it’s not bad. It’s just part of the process.
You work with a trio when you perform. Do you work with the same lineup, or does it change?
Yeah. So, I’m in Texas right now…The last couple years after the pandemic, I mean, it was like just trying to get back out there again. I have had the same trio, so an upright bass player and a percussionist. That line up has pretty much stayed the same for the last year and a half. But I do have a band in Florida that I just reunited with when I was doing shows there. And there’s some key players in Florida that have been with me for a decade, but some of the other players kind of rotate. Prior to the pandemic, I sort of had a rotating cast of players for different shows, because every show is kind of different. And some band members can travel, some can’t. But when you’re talking like big players, That’s their job, too, is that they’re just full time. They’re called side men or session players, you know, and they can pick up the gig any time anywhere, and it’s like no time has passed. They’re just that good. You can just send them the music, and then they show up on stage, and it’s like you’ve been playing together forever. So I’m actually looking to expand after the summer and sort of regroup and get some other players in. I’m building a band right now for for next year, essentially, to get out and promote this record a little bit more. So I’ll be having some other players on board. And eah, I mean, between doing some solo stuff here and there, I mostly prefer playing with the band, because it’s it’s a lot of fun. nd you know, if hings kind of move in the right direction, then I’ll be able to secure solid players that will travel with me full time. But it takes a lot of commitment from other players to to be out on the road. And some of them can’t commit. So it’s like you might have players that can commit to, you know, 6 weeks here, or whatever. But you know, this is the name of the the game.
Calling back to Memphis Minnie. Who are some of you influences, both past and more recent?
So I love Motown, and I especially love Ray Charles. I loved Gladys Knight. Stevie Wonder is a big one. Love Stevie Wonder. I loved Tina Turner, which we just lost. And I loved, you know, even like in the seventies. I definitely loved Heart, Fleetwood Mac, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles. and you know, in the eighties, of course, I really loved Phil Collins. Billy Joel, Cyndi Lauper…And more recently I would say. Im really enjoying, Jamie Harris. I love Britney Howard from the Alabama Shakes, Margot Price, Nikki Lane, Marc Broussard…Man, there’s so many. Paul Cauthen right now is really cool. American Aquarium. There’s some Texas artists that I really like, Bri Bagwell. She’s really good, and Jamie Harris is actually a Texan as well. But I think she’s up in Nashville. But she’s an amazing songwriter. Check her out.
Just as we’re wrapping up here. The question I ask everyone. If you met a civilization that had never hear music before, what would you play them. It could be one of your songs, or anything from history?
Wow. That would be, you know, I think I would play them…”Imagine” There’s just something about that song that I’ve loved since I was a kid. The melody always hits me. I remember I used to cry as a kid whenever I would hear that song, and others by the Beatles, but I think it really sums up lyrically…it’s just a great song. I think yeah, that’s the one I’d go with.
Song?
“Yesterday” by The Beatles
Album?
She’s So Unusual by Cyndi Lauper
Band/Artist?
Stevie Wonder
Venue:
Play? Red Rocks
Watch? Eddie’s Attic
Movie?
Fried Green Tomatoes
Book?
Women Who Run With The Wolves
Food?
Mexican
First Concert:
Watched? Santana
Played? With my show-choir when I was 14.
Hey, Jade here. Thanks for visiting Backline Beat. If you like the site and would like to help support it, I’d be very grateful. Every little bit helps. Right now I’m an army of one, and would like at some point to be able to bring on other voices, to be a part of Backline Beat. Below, are links to Patreon, PayPal, and Linktree.
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— Jade Dempsey