By Brent Thompson
Brad Tursi has always kept busy, both as a member of Old Dominion and as a lauded songwriter for other artists. Now, the Nashville-by-way-of-Connecticut artist has released his first solo outing, Parallel Love. The album – an efficient 10-track release that clocks in below 30 minutes – puts a spotlight on Tursi’s introspective side. Recently, he spoke with us by phone from his Nashville home.
Southern Stages: Brad, thanks for your time. We are really enjoying Parallel Love. How did you decide that this was the right time to release a solo album?
Brad Tursi: I felt like there were so many songs that had built up over the years that I knew weren’t right for my band, Old Dominion. It was sort of an epiphany and these songs need a life of their own and something internally just clicked.
Southern Stages: Are the album’s songs new compositions, older ones or a mixture of both?
Tursi: They’re a combination of both. “Oh Darlin'” and “Where You Been” – those songs are probably 12 years old. Some songs you think are good and then you go back six months later and say, “Yeah, they’re really not that good,” but those two stuck around and withstood the test of time. Some are brand new, but somehow they all fit together. They’re all coming from the same place which is my brain [laughs] -that’s the common theme.
Southern Stages: How do you decide what songs fit Old Dominion and what songs fit you as a solo artist?
Tursi: Honestly, lately it’s easier for me to separate them. If it’s something that I really want to say about my life, I usually just keep it for myself. I’ll work on it sometimes for weeks and months – they songs I write for myself, I can take more time on them. When I was younger, I would start them and I would bring them to other songwriters to get them recorded. They would often not turn out the way that I wanted them to because we were trying to make them into something that they weren’t supposed to be. Now, they don’t all don’t have to sound like hits – I can take them in the direction I want them to go. I come from a folky, James Taylor-ish background and the band is a little more pop and rock and roll.
Southern Stages: How would you describe your writing process? Is it done by inspiration or by schedule?
Tursi: I do both. I’m about to go write a song at 12 o’clock today with a couple of people, so there’s still that professional songwriter schedule I keep because I’m still interested in writing songs with other people. I like to be creative mostly early in the morning – get coffee and play the guitar and see what happens. If you get something started that day, great – if you don’t, just try again the next day.
Southern Stages: I know this question may be premature, but are there plans or songs already in the works for another solo record?
Tursi: I definitely have the songs already. It feels a little early, like I would be offending Parallel Love [laughs] – I’ve got to wait a few more months for it to happen. But I’m definitely excited to get back in there and do some more stuff.
Southern Stages: Some artists say that – given the accessibility provided by Spotify, Youtube, satellite radio and other modern outlets – this is a great time to be an artist. Others say – for the same reason – it makes it difficult to be found among the crowd. How do you view the current climate of the music industry?
Tursi: It is difficult, especially for someone who’s a little older like myself. The way that people break on Tik Tok doesn’t come naturally to me. It’s a struggle for me to do the social media because I’m really not that interesting [laughs]. It is an incredible tool – you can reach the whole world all by yourself. It can’t be stressed enough how important it is to make that part of your plan if you’re trying to get your music out there. But, like you said, at the same time there’s probably 100,000 songs getting uploaded to Spotify every day and it’s a big pond out there and it’s hard to get heard. All you can do is keep doing what you’re doing and hopefully people will like it.
Southern Stages: How does your schedule look from until the end of the year?
Tursi: It’s pretty light for the rest of the year. The band is going to be in the studio and there will be time to get this second solo record started. Next year is going to be a big year.
Southern Stages: As a guitarist, are you a “gearhead” that visits music stores while on tour?
Tursi: I made a couple of purchases this year. In Austin, I bought an old (Gibson) J-45 and when I’m in Seattle I go to Emerald City because they always have great guitars. Nashville has a lot of great shops, too, so I do a lot of my shopping around here.