– What’s new in the world of Ashley Puckett? Hope all is well?
I’ve always been a “one day at a time” with the future in mind kinda
gal, so I’ve been spending some time now working on me. I’ve been
putting a lot of focus on my upcoming show opening for Mark Chesnutt. The show was postponed until November now, so I have some more time to focus on some song writing, and really perfecting my set lists and such. So I’m keeping busy best I can.
– Let’s talk about your album “Never Say Never”. How was the
recording experience?
The recording experience for this album was so much more than I had expected in many ways. It was so much fun working with a world class studio, my engineer, producer, musicians, and songwriters, they were all so great and I’m very lucky to have had the opportunity I did with the right people. There were a lot of creative moments, a lot of memories made. It was also really cool to see the process, too. Not many people realize how much time and effort goes into these projects and to be able to watch for hours when I wasn’t recording vocals – things like the mixing and editing – it’s all really neat.
– When writing a song, is there such a thing as investing too much time?
I don’t believe so. As a perfectionist, songwriting to me is portraying
something exactly right. I have a handful of songs just barely
unfinished just because I haven’t gotten the right angle yet, or the
right ending or beginning, etc. to me, it’s something I’ll “feel” when
it is done.
– What kind of things inspire you to write music or lyrics?
All kinds of things and many different people. I’m inspired by real
life, real situations, real people, and things I’ve been through or have
seen. I laugh and say that sometimes there are people that inspire a
song or a part of a song and to this day still have no idea. My mind is
always going so I find inspiration everywhere.
– What would be some of your main musical influences today?
To name just a few, Leann Rimes, Lee Ann Womack, Carol King, Miranda Lambert
– Why have you not released a promo video for a song?
I just didn’t believe the timing was right just yet. I’ve had a lot of
focus on all kids of things with the album release and really just
building up a fan base and promoting. I’m excited to do one soon just to me, wasn’t going to make as much of an impact just yet.
– With the music industry shutting down presently. How are you dealing with these issues?
One day at a time. My mind works overtime normally, I always think too much and with everything going on, it just seems to be worse. I feel each day that passes my daily routine changes more and more and I just don’t know when “normal” will be back. It’s a little bit scary, too. I’m just trying to keep busy as much as possible and focus on music and family and praying for a bright end to this sooner rather than later. All we can do right now.
– How important is it for a musician in these difficult times to spend
time on social media to self promote, etc?
It’s very important. Personally, staying connected is a way to keep some “normal” here. And right now, all people are doing is staying home, watching tv, on the internet and social media because most are out of work. Music is hope. Music is medicine. For the fans, they are searching for hope and something to keep them sane and if us artists back away we are missing out on a more personal connection with our fans. Right now, online is where everyone is.
– What would we be surprised to find in your music collection at home?
Well, for a country girl I have a great deal of country tunes, but you
can also find some Josh Groban, a few Latin tunes, some Doors, even some throw backs like M2M.