Every so often you come across a great new band that you want everyone to know about and that band for New England Country Music is….OLD DOMINION! The band consists of Matt Ramsey (lead vocals/guitar), Whit Sellers (drums), Geoff Sprung (bass), Trevor Rosen (acoustic guitar/keys) and Brad Tursi (lead guitar). Old Dominion has had a busy few weeks as they just blew the roof off of House of Blues In Boston, opening for Chase Rice on October 2nd. They also just released their self-titled debut EP ‘Old Dominion’ on October 7th and had their music featured on this past Wednesday’s episode of ABC’s Nashville. The guys were generous enough to sit down with us here at New England Country Music to discuss their past, present and future.
Most of you have already heard some of the band’s music without even knowing it as individually they’ve written songs for the likes of Keith Urban, Luke Bryan, The Band Perry, Dustin Lynch, Dierks Bentley and Chris Young. The formation of Old Dominion started pretty easily as Matt Ramsey told us:
“I grew up with Whit. Whit met Geoff and Brad in college and were in bands together – we all played the same circuits. One by one we moved to Nashville for different reasons which is where we met Trevor. I started writing a lot with Trevor and playing shows to showcase the songs and the rest of the guys were my band. We played so much together that we organically became a band.”
Old Dominion like to say that they are “a rock band playing country songs.” The band has such a unique and captivating sounds that it’s not hard to imagine how each member has contributed their different influence into the group. Recently they decided to make a playlist on Spotify with each member being able to pick five songs each. The track listing ranged from Barry White and Merle Haggard to current acts like Echosmith and HAIM. Another thing that sets their sound apart is the fact that Old Dominion write, record and perform all of their own music. We asked them if they could pick a favorite song they’ve written as a group or individually:
“It’s hard to pick a favorite cut. It’s fun to play all of the songs we’ve written for other people at our shows. It’s a great way to show that we are legit. As far as OD songs go – ‘Break Up With Him’ always gets a great reaction.”
Their newest single, ‘Shut Me Up,’ came about from just a simple action. Brad walked into the studio one day and was singing the first line of the song and the title. Along with Matthew and their friend and co-writer Andrew Dorff, the three jumped in and hammered it out quickly as they saw such a fresh way of phrasing the lyric.
Given that the guys have been in Nashville for awhile, It has allowed them the pleasure of working with so many great people in country music. One of the friends they have made is another extremely talented singer/writer, Brandy Clark, who has been on tour with Jennifer Nettles. Trevor and Matthew met her in the songwriting community as all three wrote in the same circles, which led to them writing together. Trevor, Brandy and Shane Mcanally wrote ‘Better Dig Two’ together for The Band Perry. The band says that, “she is truly inspiring as a writer and a person.”
Travelling up and down the road to success has certainly molded Old Dominion into what they are today and aspire one day to play The Ryman and Red Rocks. But when asked about which one of the many venues they have played is the most special to them, the response from Matthew was:
“There’s this little club in Rome, GA called The Brewhouse. They gave us a shot early on as an opener for Uncle Kracker and for whatever reason, our music really resonated with that town. It’s the first honest fan base we earned 100%. So every time we go back there it’s a blast.”
The fans are very dear to the bands heart and social media has been a big part in getting their music out there for the masses to hear, “It (social media) gets more and more important everyday. It’s a new wave of grass roots fan building and a great way to include fans in the process. We love interacting with our fans on socials.”
When out on tour the guys say that their drinks of choice are ‘lots of beer, lots of tequila, lots of coffee and for some reason Geoff is addicted to La Croix.’ Also, if the band was able to choose what 4-5 artists they would pay to see play in an ultimate concert lineup, Old Dominion’s response was: Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Kenny Chesney, Katy Perry and of course….Old Dominion.
You can expect to hear a lot more from these guys in the future as the debut EP and tour with Chase Rice is just the tip of the iceberg. “We have so much more music and we want to find more and more ways to share with our fans.” We here at New England Country Music want to thank Old Dominion for taking the time to speak with us and can’t wait to see what’s to come next.
On a personal note, it was truly an honor to meet such great guys who have such a passion for their music, make fans a top priority and even go out to get their own drinks from the bar before the set. Special thank you to Tommy, (the bands manager), as this guy does it all and was truly a pleasure to work with him and can’t thank him enough for all of his help.
You can follow Old Dominion on Twitter, Facebook, and on their website.
Make sure to go buy their self-titled debut EP ‘Old Dominion’ on iTunes.
This story was written by NECM contributing writer Mike Sullivan. You can follow me on Twitter.