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'Meat and Candy': An Interview with Old Dominion's Matthew Ramsey

Daniel Hautzinger
Matthew Ramsey, lead singer of Old Dominion, on Soundstage. (Courtesy of Raney Images)
Matthew Ramsey, lead singer of Old Dominion, on Soundstage. (Courtesy of Raney Images)

On Thursday, February 9 at 9:00 pm, the breakthrough country band Old Dominion brings their well-crafted ear candy songs to Soundstage. Singer Matthew Ramsey talked to us about the band's upcoming album, touring life, and the story behind their debut album, Meat and Candy

How does it feel to be on stage after working behind the scenes as a songwriter?

“It’s a different world that we’re in now. We’re in the process of making our second album right now. We’re in the studio to finish it this week, and it should probably be out late summer or early fall. As a songwriter, you write a song and think it’s great and right for an artist, and then they don’t record it and you’re throwing your hands up, going ‘Why didn’t they record this song, I know it’s great!’ But now, as a recording artist, you realize that yes, it might be a great song, but it might not fit what your project is or what you’re trying to say. You’re not just writing song after song after song after song. We still do that, but now we have to be a little bit more critical about how those songs are going to represent us.”

Matthew Ramsey of Old Dominion. (Courtesy of Raney Images)(Courtesy of Raney Images)What is it like to write songs as a band?

“If you work in Nashville, you know that co-writing is important. As writers, it helps you get better and get the best song you possibly can. Luckily, we were all already writing together a lot before the band became a thing. We realized we worked well together as writers. Like Meat and Candy, this next album is going to be written by us and our inner circle of songwriters. It’s a very collaborative thing.”

What direction are you going in with the next album?

“Our first album, we were trying to kick the door open a little bit. We were trying to show off our chops, but we also wanted to deliver an album that was full of hits. You can’t tour as much as we are and not evolve in sound, so with the next album we’re trying to show that we’re still the same band, but we’re the next step of that same band. We want to show off a little bit more of that mature side. To show people that we’re going to be around for a little bit, we’re not just a fluff band. We have things to say.”

What are the difficulties of writing while touring?

“It’s not as easy as it was when we were not touring. But we have a megabus, and sometimes we’ll bring some of our songwriter friends out, and they’ll come out on a weekend with us and we’ll write. It’s kind of nice when we do it like that, because it forces us to write. But the schedule out here is so crazy, with the meet-and-greets and the shows, that writing does slow down.”

How do you adapt songs from the studio to the stage?

“It’s a challenge, but it’s fun. The good thing is, for the most part, it is us playing in the studio. So when we translate that to the stage, hopefully, the idea is that it still sounds like us. It’s still our chemistry. It is a bit of a challenge taking it to the stage and figuring out what parts are important and what parts are just kind of candy.”

Where does the title Meat and Candy come from?

“It came out of a meeting when we were first trying to decide what songs we were going to record. We made a list of songs that we felt like could be contenders for the album, and as I read down them, I said, ‘Man, it seems like there’s a lot of fun, ear-candy, sing-along songs. We need to throw some meat in there to show that we’re capable of more substantial songwriting too. We have candy, but we need meat and candy on this album.’ And we all laughed, and someone said we should call it “Meat and Candy.” Our label questioned us a few times, and people would go, ‘Are you sure you want to call it that?’ But we never looked back.

Old Dominion on Soundstage. (Courtesy of Raney Images)(Courtesy of Raney Images)What are you looking forward to right now?

“We’re definitely looking forward to some new music. We’re starting to work those moments into the set and are excited about it. I’m also looking forward to being done recording. I love the recording process, but I hate the process of trying to pick the songs—we’re in the process of picking the first single right now. It’s so hard and nerve-wracking. But I know we’re going to come out with a great album. It seems like the fans are ready for new music, and we’re very excited to give it to them.”