Welcome to Music Matters Podcast with Darrell Craig Harris, talking about all things music with celebrities, artists, music business insiders, and more. Aubrey Sellers, how you doing today? Good, how are you? I'm very good. So you are a very busy lady. You have a new single out, Little Rooms, a single end video. The video is really cool. I just was checking that out. The new album, Attachment Theory, comes out actually this week, March 20th, which I think it's Friday, right? That's right. I'm very excited. I can't believe it's finally here. It feels like it takes forever to do everything behind the scenes, and then all of a sudden it's out. All this work, and then it's finally like, here's my baby. I'm presenting it to the world. So you're in Nashville. Are you kind of born and raised in Nashville? Yep. I'm born here. My family's from Texas, and I am an official Texas citizen as well. Oh, okay. But yeah, I'm from Nashville, and the only time I've moved away was for a few years to California, which was fun, but then I came back during COVID times, and I've been back since then. Yeah, and I live in Vegas, and Nashville, it's like Vegas in some ways. I want you to live there. It's really hard to live anywhere else, right? Yes, absolutely. So obviously, songwriting with you is a big part of what you do, but also you have such a cool voice. And I saw you got kind of tagged as Garage Country, which I wanted to ask you about that as well. But talk about this album coming up and the songs, because they're all kind of very story-driven, it seems. Absolutely. Yeah, this is kind of my first concept record called Attachment Theory, and there's actually a podcast that goes with it because it's all about relationships and psychology and all of dissecting people's personalities, and all of that has been something I've been interested in for a long time. And I first heard the term Attachment Theory when I was probably 20 or 21, so a long time ago. And it's been kind of in the back of my mind and something that I've read and studied. And then after a painful relationship experience, I was... We've all had those. I started writing a bunch of songs that I realized were all about that, and it all kind of naturally came together, especially when I wrote the title track, Attachment Theory, with Ken Yates, who is an artist that I love. And I don't remember exactly where I got, like when I got the idea to do the podcast along with it, but I think it was something I'm so passionate about that I wanted to talk about it on a more concrete level, in addition to the music is very healing and all the songs I write come from personal stories. I wanted to talk about that on a more concrete level like I do with my friends. And so that's where the podcast element came about. But yeah, I call my music garage country, I think especially the first two records. This one pushes a little bit more into dreamy alternative territory, I feel like. But I think to giving it its own term was kind of important to me because my music is never really fit in any one genre in particular, at least straight in a straight ahead way. I have a very country voice, and I'm very rock inspired, but I'm also bluegrass inspired. I'm also, you know. Yeah, so there's an alchemy there of different. You can hear that on the album. You actually have done some covers too, which are really, I always check out, which is also really cool. It kind of does the same thing, you kind of jump between some different genres, which is exciting. Totally. Like I love to do straight, like the other day I played the Opry and I did Luxury Liner by Emile Lujaris. And then, you know, and then a couple months ago I recorded a radio head cover that I hope to put out at some point. So yeah, I go between all the things that I'm influenced by. Yeah. I think, you know, people, they try to throw labels on artists. That's something I actually purposely try not to do because I hear different influences, but who actually were some of your early influences, not only for singing, but also songwriting? Yeah. I mean, I love, I think growing up around this industry and Nashville, I was hugely influenced by country songwriting and some of the elements of country songwriting. And I love really traditional country, especially like Doris Jones. I love Dolly Parton. I love Emile Luj. There's also some people that, you know, are kind of Nashville-esque artists, or at least known really well in Nashville, but aren't as country like Patty Griffin, who's, I think she lives in Texas, but anyway, she's known around here. And Buddy and Julie Miller were huge influences on me. And then from the rock space, not only classic rock like Led Zeppelin or CCR, but also like the era of rock that was the Strokes and the White Stripes and Transpyrton and Anne. I really love their first record. And so, yeah, all of that stuff kind of mixed together. And I really love their album Raising Sand by Robert Plant, Allison Krause. And then- I love Allison. And that's a great, that's such a cool duo. Yeah, I know. And that's the thing. And then Jack White produced a record on the Red Elan. And I think those two recs happened when I was probably in middle or high school and had kind of an influence on me just as far as that kind of genre melding, I think. You have a very similar thing because, you know, I was kind of equated back to Dolly and Willie. You hear a couple of notes and you know exactly who that is. And you have that in your voice as well. And that's such a gift. Is that something that you've really worked on developing, or was that always a kind of a natural thing for you? That's so sweet. Thank you very much. I think if you listen to- so my mom is a singer as well. People compare our voices a lot. We sound very similar. So, but yeah, it's not something I consciously developed. I think it's just something that happened naturally for me hearing, you know, the singers around me. My dad sings as well. So I have like both of their influences in my voice. And then, you know, a lot of those sweeter tones that I think like Dolly has and Allison has, I think just comes from listening to their records. And my favorite singers sound like themselves, exactly like you said. It wasn't something I consciously crafted. It's just, I think, come from hearing singers that I love. And then the people that I really love really sound like themselves. I mean, people you might not even think of as singers, but have such a unique voice that you can't help but be moved when you hear them because they're so authentic. People like Steve Orrell, you know, Ralph Stanley is an incredible singer, Bluegrass, who I was really inspired by. So yeah. You mentioned the opera. So are you a member of the opera? You're obviously performing. Not a member. I've actually only played, I think, twice. I had another performance scheduled. So my second record came out February 2020. So it was right before everything shut down. So a lot of the stuff that year got canceled. And I think I had an opera performance canceled because I was looking here by emails the other day to see. But yeah, so that might have been only my second time there. So I rehearsed with some of the band before the show and they were like, how long has it been since you were here? So I think it's been like 10 years. Oh, wow. Yeah. I actually asked last time I was in Nashville, we went to the opera. And I actually had a singer friend of mine who's a star in Finland. And that was her dream to go to the opera. It was such a cool, it's just such a cool vibe. Also the rhyming too is, you really feel the history. What's the weight of that for you doing in that audience? Plus two, like you mentioned, you're not necessarily a straight country artist. So what's that like when you go in there and also to the band guys, like they've seen a million singers. Tell me that experience because a lot of people would be curious. I think you're so right. You're so dead on. I get, I get like a naturally nervous one. If I go up, even growing up around this, like I went to the opera a lot growing up living in Nashville. Like, I think, you know, they do a really great job. Then skill was that there that night with daily and Vincent. And then one of my good friends made his opera debut with his wife as my good friend. And they sang together. That was incredible. I was almost more excited about seeing that, you know, seeing their debut. But he's like an Irish folk artist. And, you know, so that's really cool. So they've got like a good mix of new artists, different kind of stuff. And then, you know, legacy acts who were saying Connie Smith was singing as well that night. So it's a lot of, like you said, pressure, I think. And, and two, I totally think about the fact that, you know, my music has a rock edge. So I'm a little worried sometimes if I don't know how the audience will take it. You know, I'm sure it's a mixed bag of an audience because people just want to see the opera to see the opera. But I'm sure there's a lot of classic country fans, you know, and I tried to throw that Emula Harris song in there to, you know, let people know I love country. Yeah. But you know what? Your voice is it works in that it works for that genre. And I can totally see that. It's also to it's awesome that they've they have been in recent years so open to having different kinds of music. I think it benefits everybody. And it's obviously even rock stars want to play it. Opera because it's just so cool. Tell me about songwriting for you. Like, is that a solitary thing? Is that collaborative? Do you have other people that you co-write with? I know Nashville is kind of known for teams of songwriters. But tell me how that works for you. I do have collaborators. I work with a lot of write by myself as well. For me, like I'm not so much down with the right with a bunch of random people all the time and have like a lot of co-writers in a room. And then a lot of time I'll come in, even if I'm writing with. So I kind of have like the same people I love to write with. And then I'll write with, you know, I'll go like with Kenya. It's like, oh, I really love this artist. I want to see if he wants to write. Like if I already really love what they do and feel like they would naturally get on the same page with me, I'd love to do that. But a lot of the time I write with the same people that I love and have known. Adam Wright is a big one. Park Chizom. Yeah, but I found some new people on this record, too, that are now like part of my permanent writing team, but I absolutely love people that I wrote with trigger happy with and prototype. And so anyway, I keep a running list in my phone of melodies and lyric ideas. And sometimes I'll come in with like a half written song. Sometimes I'll just come in with a line. Sometimes I'll go in. This is more rare, but I'll be like, I don't have anything today. And we'll just start talking and figure something out. But yeah, so we can go either way. It's very rare that I sit down by myself and write a whole song right there, but it does happen occasionally. And then a few of those are on my records. And that's usually like magical when that happens. And I'm like so excited because it really feels like, wow, this just flowed out of somewhere, came out of the ether. Yeah, it's often been said that some of the best songs are written in 10 minutes. And it's like, it comes from a different place, right? You feel like sometimes you're able to connect with that and it's just kind of being downloaded. Absolutely. It's rare for me and probably rare for anyone at that level. But I mean, I'm sure you've heard the story of like Paul McCartney, Renny yesterday from a dream. Yeah. And like, it really does feel like that you sit down and all of a sudden it's like, whoa, and it does, it happens so quickly. So yes, I hope I have another one of those soon. Don't we all? Yeah. You find it's important to stay open to that because it's like, there's so much noise around us all the time. It's hard to like kind of tune into that when it happens. Is it important for you to pay attention when those things happen? You know, you're so right. Like there's a book called Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, where she talks a lot about that, about making sure you're open and ready to channel it when it comes because if you don't catch it right then, then it kind of disappears. Yeah. Kind of flows through your fingers. Yeah. And you can't quite get it again. So I do think that's important. I probably have not. Honestly, I know I haven't recently made enough time. I used to spend a lot more time just sitting around my apartment, you know, playing my guitar and especially in the phase I'm in right now with album promotion, it's like, I don't do that as much. So hopefully once this kind of album cycle tapers off a little, I can get more into that vibe and sit around my guitar and hope something falls out. It's kind of that thing you spend your whole life writing your first album and then do the next album. You have, you have six months and you're touring and you're doing. Yeah. I will say though, I am notoriously very slow at making records. So I do try to live life in between records and not just pump stuff out. Um, and I mean, that's evidenced by the fact that this is my third solo coming out and I put my first album out 10 years ago. So, you know, three records in years. But you know what? It's like, also too, you want to put it out again, like it's heavy, but for people who aren't musicians, these are your children. These songs are your kids. So you don't want to put your kids out into the world until you're really ready to do that, right? Absolutely. And I want to make sure that whatever I'm doing is, like I said, not just, you know, I need to make another record, but I am creatively inspired and have something to say, you know. Yeah. And you've done, um, you mentioned the other records and you've had a lot of critical claim, you've done a lot of TV and touring. Talk about someone, the fun performances you had, because you've toured with a lot of major, major artists. Yeah. Um, when I was first getting started, I was like really fortunate to get to open up for people that probably I was not. Well, honestly, uh, I started opening up for Chris Stapleton right before his kind of launch into the stratosphere. Yeah. Meteoric. Yeah. And I kind of got to like ride that wave with him, which was really crazy. Just like we started, you know, the first show we played together was at Thurden Lensley and Nashville, which is like a small venue. And then of me touring with him, we were playing like massive festivals and amphitheaters and stuff like that. So, um, it was crazy to be on that ride. And then before that, even I was playing like acoustic, you know, opening up for people like Marty Stewart. So yeah, I've been lucky to tour some great people and Miranda Lambert is another one that I've been out with. And more recently, uh, the past, over the past couple of years started last year with Parker McCollum, who has been really amazing to work with. And I've been singing backgrounds with him and then singing some of my own stuff. And I'll be opening some of his shows this year. And, uh, he's been really, really great on every level. So. Yeah. Do you find that, um, doing those kinds of shows, it's like going to school. It's like university for, for, especially young songwriter and performer. Cause Chris, Chris in particular has such a powerful thing going on. Um, yeah. Have you learned a lot just from doing those kinds of shows? Yeah. I mean, with Chris, it's crazy too. Cause before we toured together, I knew him, you know, earlier than that, I had known his wife and, and her sister and I would go around with them when he was in the steel drivers. So I've gotten to see him like station in and like tiny, tiny places. And so it's really cool. Cause I'm like, he's basically just doing. I mean, the music's different a little bit, but as far as him, he's doing the same thing, which is really inspiring. I think because, you know, um, it's really for him about like exposure to the right audience and the right moment catching on to him, you know, and one can finally see like, Oh, this is amazing. And he's just doing the same thing, which I love. Um, with Parker, it's been amazing because I've been closer as far like on the business side of things since I'm kind of in the mix as far as in his orbit, you know, and his, um, you know, he's my boss basically. Well, that's really cool to see like how he handles things on a more, you know, granular granular level, I guess is what I'm trying to say. Um, and so not only am I inspired by seeing all these artists and their artistry, but it's cool to see that sometimes and kind of know how to function when you're doing business stuff. Yeah. And that's, and that's important because, you know, it's not just about music. It's also the business. And of course, and we all have, you have managers and agents that help you, but still it's good to educate yourself and know what's up, especially as a songwriter. Absolutely. Yeah. And I would say to like PSA to anyone who is like trying to get into music, 100% learn this stuff for yourself because, you know, I'm not trying to like fear monger, but people will take advantage of you if you don't know these things. So I would absolutely, the cool thing now, obviously, is that we have such a direct line to the audience, you know, with social media and all this and, and you can totally build, build your career 100% independently. So I feel like it's more important now than ever to learn that side of things and, and kind of run that for yourself. I think it's a really great opportunity. And along those lines, what's some advice that you could give for young artists, young songwriters? Because there's a lot of people that come to Nashville, they have the big dream of making it and it takes often takes years and years, but what's some good advice that you can give folks like that? You know, I think this is my opinion. And there are different opinions on this, but I think being yourself is the most important thing and finding the most authentic expression of yourself and your soul and what you like to do and then doing that. And, and as long as you're consistent with that, um, you know, I think. Eventually, obviously you need to learn about the business side, but eventually I think people can catch on. I think the Chris Staples and story is a great example of that. You know, sometimes because you haven't blown up yet, has nothing to do with your talent or, you know, the type of music you're making even. I mean, it just has to do with the fact that there's a lot of luck involved, a lot of timing involved in this. And, um, and so make sure you're just being the most authentic expression of yourself because then no one can copy you. You know, there is no other you. It's, you're the only person that can do that. Yeah. And it's fine. It's finding your lane because like you mentioned, sometimes it takes years and you have to learn confidence. You have to perform live and just kind of go out and do it. It's one thing to be a TikTok star. It's another thing to stand on stage opening for Miranda Lambert and be able to survive them. And Nashville, you know, in the music business, people will tell you, you know, to, I don't know, kind of chase what's on the radio a little more or whatever it is. And while I think that a lot of the time that can bring you quick success, so many of those artists end up, you know, they have, you know, maybe a couple of number ones and then you never hear about them again because they weren't being themselves. And so, like you said, it's like, do you want the quick thing or do you want the lasting thing? And do you want something that's going to make you happy and something you want to listen to, you know? Yeah. And make you happy and imagine it's important too, but you got to follow your voice. You got to find your voice, which takes, it takes time. It's just, I'm old, I could say that it takes time to find your thing and like, okay, this is who I am. Now I know who I am. So you have a tour coming up and it's going to be, I think starts on April 16th. Talk about that with Jay Jackson. Yes. So I set up at three solo records. I put one other record out with Jade under our duo named Jackson Sellers and that has been such a fun project, but it also kind of came out on the tail end of COVID, so we didn't get to do a ton of shows. And so now we get to do that. We're very excited. So it'll be Jade and then me doing a headline set of both of us doing full band sets and then a Jackson Sellers set at the end. So I'm really excited about that. These are like small venues. Come in guys, get in on the ground floor. Come out. I'm really excited. I love playing with her as someone who's introverted, playing, like getting to share the stage with one of your best friends is so much more fun. A girl, you have girl power going on. Right. Like, while I love to do my own music and that part's going to be fun too. Like us doing it together is just like brings it to a next level. So I'm very excited to do that tour and it's a small amount of dates, but if we get enough people out to these dates, then we can make, we can, you know, schedule some more. Yeah. It's, it's nice to have a partner in crime on the road. Absolutely. Yeah. It helps us make life a little bit nicer. So thank you for joining me. You are a busy lady and I know you've got another interview coming up, which is awesome. I'm happy for that. So everybody, please check out the new album, Attachment Theory. It comes out March 20th. The singles out now, which is Little Rooms. Check out the video. It's on YouTube and tell people how they can find you website and social media and all this stuff. Yeah. It's AubreySellers.com and all my handles on all social media are just Aubrey Sellers and just so you guys know it's IE. Yeah, that's good. That's a good reminder for me. Hey, thanks so much for joining me. I really appreciate it. Um, if you get to Vegas, let me know. I know you're kind of, I think you have some dates coming out this way down the road, but yeah, let me know. I'd love to come, come check you out live and we could do like a little backstage mini interview or something. Absolutely. I'd love that. Have a great day. Thanks, Aubrey. You too. 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