Connor Daly

Connor Daly brings fresh perspective to Nashville's music scene as an Americana artist who made the leap from Virginia to Music City just eight months ago. Despite being relatively new to the area, he's already conquered some of Nashville's most revered songwriter venues, including the legendary Bluebird Cafe.

The contrast between these iconic venues reveals much about Nashville's songwriting culture. As Connor explains, "The Bluebird felt very casual... like I was playing in a living room somewhere," noting how the venue's unassuming strip mall location belies its worldwide fame. Meanwhile, The Listening Room placed him under bright lights on an actual stage—both experiences offering different creative energies while sharing an audience that truly listens to the lyrics.

Connor's debut album "Colors Fade" showcases his songwriting talents developed long before his Nashville move. Recorded across prestigious studios including Reba McEntire's Starstruck and the renowned Castle Studios, the album represents years of creative development. His songwriting process offers fascinating insight into how songs naturally evolve: "I like to start out with just playing chords... start humming a melody... try not to think too hard, try to leave my brain out of it and just start thinking of words and feelings that the melodies are bringing out."

Nashville has introduced Connor to the collaborative art of co-writing after years of creating alone in Virginia. This adjustment highlights the relationship-like dynamics between songwriters who must find creative chemistry. His duet "Fake One Tear" with Mary Heather Hickman demonstrates how social media connections can lead to meaningful artistic collaborations in today's music industry.

Ready to discover an authentic voice in Americana music? Follow Connor Daly Music on all social platforms and visit connordalymusic.com to stay updated on new releases and performances as his Nashville journey continues to unfold.

Episode Links

• Connor Daly: https://connordalymusic.com/

Transcript

Meeting Connor Daly

Tony Scott 0:21

Welcome to The Jay Franze Show, a behind-the-curtain look at the entertainment industry, with insights you can't pay for and stories you've never heard. Now here's your host, Jay Franze.

Jay Franze 0:49

And we are coming at you live. I am Jay Franze, and with me tonight is the Rachel to my Ross, my beautiful co-host, Miss Tiffany Mason.

Tiffany Mason 0:58

Hello Jay.

Jay Franze 1:04

So if you would like to join in, comment or fire off any questions, please feel free to visit jayfranze. com. All right, folks, tonight we have a very special guest with us. I said it once, I will say it again we have a very special guest. We have a country music or Americana recording artist All depends on how you want to look at it Hailing from the great state of Tennessee, we have Connor Daly. Connor, sir, how are you?

Connor Daly 1:27

Good, how's it going? Thanks for having me on.

Jay Franze 1:30

All right, let's just jump in. Let's start with it. You're from Virginia, you're living in Tennessee. Which do you like better?

Connor Daly 1:37

Oh man, that's a loaded question I know.

Tiffany Mason 1:39

That's why we're starting yeah, how are you gonna make him?

Jay Franze 1:42

choose. Let's start right out of the gate, buddy it's a strong start.

Connor Daly 1:46

Well, obviously you know I love, love virginia and my family's still there, so I always love going back to visit them and virginia is obviously a beautiful state with the appalachians and the trail going along the Western side of Virginia. You know, for what I'm doing right now in the music business, nashville is definitely a better place to be for that. So definitely good things about both places. I don't know if I can pick or choose.

Jay Franze 2:15

All right. Well, you're playing politics well.

Tiffany Mason 2:19

You said Nashville is good for what you're doing now. What are you doing now?

Connor Daly 2:23

Let's see what am I doing now. I've been doing, you know, a bunch of co-writes, writers, rounds and trying to play some shows, and then I'm recording some music. So pretty much all that stuff. It helps if you're in Nashville.

Jay Franze 2:36

How long have you been in Nashville?

Connor Daly 2:38

I've been in Nashville for eight months now.

Jay Franze 2:41

Okay, so you're still a baby.

Connor Daly 2:43

Relatively new.

Jay Franze 2:44

What part of town did you land in?

Connor Daly 2:46

12 South area.

Jay Franze 2:48

Not too shabby, huh, yeah, right there in the thick of things.

Connor Daly 2:52

Yeah, the location's perfect.

Jay Franze 2:54

Are you down in the gulch itself?

Connor Daly 2:56

No, it's a couple streets off of actual 12 South area. All right, you can like walk in.

Tiffany Mason 3:02

Now correct me if I'm wrong. Out of the Gulch makes it sound like you're out of the flood zone. Is that what that is?

Jay Franze 3:09

No, it's not quite the flood zone. Think of numbers being going from one from the river. So you're going from one all the way up to 12. He's far enough out, but the gulch is a trendy area. It's beautiful and a bunch of restaurants and stuff.

Connor Daly 3:26

Wasn't always like that, but it is yeah, that's, that's what I've heard, but it looks nice now. Yeah, that's all that matters. Now it's the time you're there.

Jay Franze 3:34

When I, when I was there, it was not like that yeah that's all right. So you're making your way around Nashville itself and you've had a chance. Within eight months, you're playing some iconic venues, including the Bluebird, so we know the Bluebird is a place you go to listen to music. You get your hand slapped if you talk during a show. What? Was your experience like playing at the Bluebird.

Connor Daly 3:57

It was very unique. I thought that I was going to be more nervous just because of how you know much of a staple place it was to play and you know it obviously was a dream to play there. But it felt so casual at the same time, because the writers' rounds it's just four or so people just in the center of the room, just in a circle, and then just the sound system was so good and it was a packed house the night that I was there and for like a packed house for the Bluebird, that's like maybe 70 people. So it's not like too many, but it felt very cool to play there. It was definitely a bucket list kind of place to play.

Jay Franze 4:35

It definitely is. How nervous were you?

Connor Daly 4:38

A little bit. In the beginning I was a little bit nervous but, like I said, I wasn't as nervous as I thought I was going to be, just because the setup was so casual and it just kind of felt like I was playing in a living room somewhere.

Jay Franze 4:51

It essentially is right.

Connor Daly 4:53

Yeah, and you can't really see everybody looking at you because they're all around you, so I guess that made it a little bit easier.

Tiffany Mason 5:01

I imagine it's like a speech right, like you're super nervous before it, but you, you know, strum those first few chords or you sing the first few words and it's kind of off to the races in your comfort zone yeah, yeah, pretty much.

Playing Iconic Nashville Venues

Connor Daly 5:12

I mean obviously I don't get, you know, as nervous as I used to just because I've done it a good amount, but there's always going to be those little nerves in the beginning, no matter where I'm playing.

Jay Franze 5:23

Yeah, were you surprised where the Bluebird was?

Connor Daly 5:26

Yeah. Yeah, it was in like a little tiny shopping center with like.

Jay Franze 5:31

A little strip mall.

Connor Daly 5:32

There's like a wedding dress shop and then like a haircut place or something, but it was very understated, oh yeah.

Jay Franze 5:39

But then the line goes around the corner down the street there yeah, exactly it's a pretty main street for a line to be going down the side, like that and stuff. But yeah, it's pretty cool.

Tiffany Mason 5:49

I like it yeah I feel like it must be like going to the white house. Have you ever seen like on tv? You know they show this massive building and then you go to dc and you see the front of it and it's like that's the capital, the white house. And then you go to the back and then you see what you see on tv. But yeah, same idea where it's like this big, iconic place and you're so excited and you get there. You're like huh, not what I thought.

Connor Daly 6:15

That's exactly how it was just like a little hole in the wall.

Jay Franze 6:17

It was cool it's a awesome place I I mean it really is and the fact that the people go there to truly hear the stories behind the songs and they sit back and listen. It is also a tourist place, so people go because they want to go see it, but most people are going because they want to meet the people who wrote the songs and hear the stories behind them. So did you notice a difference between that audience compared to your normal audience?

Connor Daly 6:43

Well, I guess, like the main shows that I'm doing nowadays are like kind of three or four hour gigs, so the audience of those shows are going to be a lot different than like a writer's round or like a listening room type kind of place.

Jay Franze 6:58

Well, that was my next question for you is you've had a chance to play both the Bluebird and the Listening Room, so what was it like playing at the Listening Room, and which do you prefer?

Connor Daly 7:09

the Listening Room. I was nervous for and even when I started playing I was nervous what made that different? There's a lot of people, so there's more people in the listening room and you're actually on a stage and the lights are just super bright and it's so quiet. But you know that there's a bunch of people out there, which was a weird feeling and, yeah, it just felt like a little bit more like I was in the spotlight literally. I mean, they're so different. Describe the differences to us.

Tiffany Mason 7:38

Yeah, I've never been to either, so help our listeners paint the scene for us yeah, for sure.

Connor Daly 7:43

So you know I'm not a professional on them, but I've played one time at each each of the venues. The bluebird, I I guess, like people think, is more like an iconic type place, like you kind of know where it is, even if you're from a different country.

Jay Franze 7:58

It's been on tv so many different times yeah, for sure, and it's.

Connor Daly 8:03

It's just been around so long and so many amazing legendary players got their start at the bluebird cafe, so I feel like that's kind of the main thing about the bluebird the listening room is still new. Listening room is yeah, it's, it's, it's newer. It's tough to get into the listening room. It's hard to get around.

Tiffany Mason 8:22

As a spectator or as a performer, as a performer.

Connor Daly 8:27

If you want to spectate, the listening room is much easier to get into Than the Bluebird. They're both good shows to go watch.

Jay Franze 8:36

The Bluebird has been on TV. It's been on the TV show nashville. It's on every documentary that ever has anything to do with nashville.

Tiffany Mason 8:44

So it's got a very, very tourist heavy crowd and it's a very small venue, so it's it's a lot harder to get in there, especially on a good night yeah, now, connor, were you able to make your demands as a celebrity that you are in both venues and who accommodated those demands better?

Connor Daly 9:08

I didn't really have many demands when I was playing there.

Jay Franze 9:11

She wants to know what color the M&Ms were.

Connor Daly 9:14

Yeah, well, the listening room had a green room and the Bluebird does not have a green room.

Tiffany Mason 9:18

Okay.

Connor Daly 9:19

So I guess the listening room wins that one just by default yeah, bluebird's small it's. Uh, you just kind of have to just wait around, you know, with everybody else, and then you go sit down, which is cool because it's kind of unique, yeah, the listening room. I felt very professional to walk into the green room, have snacks, get drinks and then we'll just walk out like onto the stage so which one did you like better?

Connor Daly 9:44

guys are asking tough questions. They're. They're both cool, I think. The bluebird, honestly. I mean, it was just like just the experience of playing the bluebird. I think I'd rather play there again. Nice, it's the ambiance of it, it's all right were you the only one that played that night. No, so I was on a round with three other people. What does?

Tiffany Mason 10:03

it mean to be on a round? Do you all take one song at a time? Or you play, then somebody else plays, then somebody else plays.

Connor Daly 10:11

Yeah, so writer's round, there's typically three or four people and they just go down the line. You start with one person, you play a song, and then the next person, next person, next person, next person, and then, if you have like an hour-long slot, if you have four people, you play three songs. If you have three people, you play four songs.

Tiffany Mason 10:29

Very cool.

Jay Franze 10:29

Yeah, sometimes it gets pretty interesting when they start playing with each other. So he'll get up there and play, and then someone will start singing along with them or playing along with them.

Connor Daly 10:39

Yeah, sure, I mean people.

Tiffany Mason 10:42

I feel like that would like. No, let me have my turn.

Jay Franze 10:47

Yeah.

Connor Daly 10:49

A lot of people do kind of just start playing, especially if they like know the people up there and like they know the songs that they're playing. Did that?

Tiffany Mason 10:57

happen with you.

Connor Daly 10:59

Yeah, sometimes If there's a really good guitar player or somebody like that on the stage, they'll just figure out the key right away and just start playing along. It's always fun.

Jay Franze 11:10

It is pretty cool. Most of them will play the little lead parts throughout the song. It's not like they're trying to be distracting. If somebody is good at harmonies, they'll pick up on what he's singing throughout the choruses and they'll jump into a little harmony part.

Tiffany Mason 11:26

Yeah, nice, I would think it would calm the nerves a little bit too, just to have someone kind of you know, figuratively put their arm around you and say, hey, I'm here on stage with you, buddy.

Connor Daly 11:35

Yeah, pretty much, especially if they're playing like guitar alongside you and it doesn't make you as nervous to like mess up, because if they're playing it might block a bad note or something like that.

Tiffany Mason 11:46

And you just say it was them.

Jay Franze 11:48

Yeah, of course that's a good point. What kind of challenges did you have that night playing at the Bluebird?

Connor Daly 11:57

I'm sure for songwriters that the hardest thing to do is to like play to a room of people who are truly listening to your song. Whether they have to listen, like are forced to listen to the Bluebird or not, it just feels good to have people actually listening to your song. That's like the main thing that a lot of people do is songwriting. I put, you know, my heart and a lot of time into my songs and people take the time to actually listen to them makes me feel good. Yeah, of course.

Jay Franze 12:23

Now compare that to the festivals you played, especially the ones in your hometown Crossroad Festival.

Connor Daly 12:29

Yeah.

Jay Franze 12:30

What's it like playing a festival versus playing a venue like these?

Connor Daly 12:34

Festivals are longer and I don't want to say more fun, but there's more drinking that goes along with festivals. Sometimes that makes it a little bit more fun. The few festivals I've done, I've done short sets. I go up and play four songs and go back to having fun.

Jay Franze 12:56

What's it like playing the one in your hometown.

Festival Experiences and Hometown Shows

Connor Daly 12:59

It was cool. I grew up in Loudoun County in Virginia and they had a loudon county music festival and I know the guy who, like, runs it every year and it it's become like a really big festival in loudon county and, uh, I played it last september it was like two months after I moved down to nashville, so it was like my first, first festival playing as like a Nashville musician.

Jay Franze 13:22

Alright, and how does that compare to the other festivals you've played?

Connor Daly 13:26

It was cool. It was at like a winery, so it was kind of half about the wine and half about the music.

Jay Franze 13:32

I'm starting to notice a pattern here.

Connor Daly 13:34

Yeah, music and alcohol go hand in hand, so this is where the challenges come in. I got it.

Jay Franze 13:42

No, it makes more sense now, exactly yeah.

Tiffany Mason 13:45

This is making me think of a festival we're getting ready to have in our town and I'm dying to go and just hear all the songwriter stories, like that's what I really want to get from it. But every time I go with a friend they end up talking to me the whole time and getting drink after drink after drink, and I'm like, no, no, I don't want to go and have a drink fest. I want to go and have, you know, a think fest. I want to go and, like, feel these words that these artists have taken time to, you know, develop these songs and evoke emotion out of us and say the things that we can't say, you know, like I just want to hear all this, all the songs.

Connor Daly 14:18

But apparently, connor, you as well like to have fun too, yeah you know, yeah you know what they say simple answer folks simple answer yeah, period, yeah, for sure yeah, there's definitely different people that go to music festivals and stuff people that how many?

Tiffany Mason 14:38

people were able to show up that you know like family members or friends, or you know, do you? Obviously, I would think, in your hometown or your home county that you have, you know, a lot of local support, so did you feel like a lot of people came out? You know what was that like? Are you a local celebrity to?

Jay Franze 14:54

you know your family and friends, and even strangers maybe I am not a local celebrity as of now okay, we're working on it yeah, other than like after tonight will be that's what I was gonna say after tonight for sure, yeah, thanks again sorry, connor yeah, other than, like my friends and family, not many strangers are showing up to my shows quite yet, but that's gonna change for sure that's gonna change. I, I see it yeah, how did you end up on the news?

Connor Daly 15:27

he had a couple of drinks and he was having fun yeah, I think like the biggest like news thing that I've thought was pretty cool was a loudon county. They have a magazine called Loudoun now and uh, they did like a an interview and the interviewer came out to like a show and took pictures and then I was on the front page of Loudoun now, which like goes all over Loudoun County like right before I moved down. So that was like one of the coolest things.

Jay Franze 15:55

Well, weren't you on news too?

Connor Daly 15:57

Yeah, yeah, I wasn't sure which one you're referring to.

Jay Franze 16:00

And before you go to that, though, is Loudon now the same as Maverick?

Connor Daly 16:05

It is not.

Jay Franze 16:06

So you're on the cover of Maverick as well.

Connor Daly 16:08

Yes.

Jay Franze 16:09

Yep. So what you're saying is you're a cover boy.

Connor Daly 16:12

Yeah, I guess so. Okay, that's awesome, there's no way around it.

Jay Franze 16:18

So how'd you get on the news itself?

Connor Daly 16:21

So when I was, I put out my debut album last summer Colors Fade, Colors, fade, yep, yep, it's a 12-song album. It's my debut album and like around that, putting singles out and around putting the album out, I was working with a PR team so they were kind of getting me interviews and news stations and all that sort of thing. That was really cool to do all that stuff supporting the album. Did you like it? Yeah, I enjoyed most of it. I like writing songs, I like playing my songs, I like recording songs. I'm going to be honest, I like that stuff a little better than talking about it, but I'm sure every artist feels that way.

Jay Franze 17:05

I would hope so, dear God, I would hope so.

Connor Daly 17:08

Yeah, but I enjoyed it as much as the next person. I mean, I was lucky to get a lot of stuff Very nice.

Colors Fade Album and Studio Recording

Jay Franze 17:14

I mean it's pretty impressive especially to be there in Nashville and be on the news, have a couple cover shots and stuff. I mean it's pretty impressive especially to be there in Nashville and be on the news, have a couple of cover shots and stuff. I mean it's pretty good.

Connor Daly 17:23

Yeah, it felt very cool.

Jay Franze 17:25

So we mentioned the album. Where did you record the album?

Connor Daly 17:29

The album was kind of pieced together in a few different teams like I was working with and a few different studios, but most of the songs got recorded at Castle Studios.

Jay Franze 17:44

Franklin.

Connor Daly 17:44

Yeah, Franklin, and then Dark Horse. A few of the songs were recorded there.

Jay Franze 17:50

So two really crappy studios.

Connor Daly 17:52

Yeah, yeah, super, super low, low bar.

Jay Franze 17:55

Yeah, yeah.

Connor Daly 17:55

But the songs turned out great, you know, surprisingly.

Jay Franze 17:59

So they were recorded in the greater nashville area. Did you write?

Connor Daly 18:04

them in the greater nashville area, the songs that came out on colors fade, the first album I put out last summer. It takes a while to uh, write songs, make demos, organize them, go, record them, mix, master and master and then, you know, do the whole plan to put them out on social media and all that sort of thing. So it takes a long time to put out singles in an album, as I'm sure you guys are aware of. So at the time like pretty much all the songs on there were, by this point at least like two years old. So I wrote them all back in Virginia.

Tiffany Mason 18:41

Connor. I think I read somewhere that it took you like six years writing songs, right? So this is something you've been doing for a while in Virginia, right?

Connor Daly 18:50

Yeah, so I got my start just playing guitar in school. I started singing guitar in seventh grade and then played it in school all throughout high school and then during college, my freshman year, I tried to write a song, just for fun. You know, I was, you know, bored in my room and you know what else am I gonna do?

Connor Daly 19:08

okay are sitting like right in the corner. I was like I'm gonna try to write a song. I know how to play some chords, so might as well try to write a song. And uh, I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I was going to and it turned out. It obviously is not my best song. It's it's never gonna see the light of day, I hope, but it was not it's like many people's first podcast episode.

Connor Daly 19:27

Connor, it's okay yeah, like I haven't listened to it in years and I'm gonna keep it up, but it turned out good and kind of got me the itch to keep going.

Tiffany Mason 19:37

I personally, you know I say all the time when we do our wednesday night episodes that I really appreciate when the words are just so clever, and so you know I've been listening to a couple of songs and the brown leaves clinging to the tree. But she's clinging to you, but in the end she couldn't even fake a tear for you like I.

Tiffany Mason 19:57

Just such great words and um you know, yeah, what is the song, uh, where he says if you stop telling lies about me, I won't tell the truth about you. It made me think of that, you know, like, just such, like, kind of like a slam, but like, just like a sentimental slam, yeah so I really I think that you do a great job with the songwriting and good imagery and great words.

Connor Daly 20:23

Yeah, thank you so much. I appreciate that.

Jay Franze 20:26

Well, let's start there for a second. What is your songwriting process like now?

Connor Daly 20:33

I wrote a song today, so normal day, so it should be fresh in my mind. So typically I just sit down with my guitar I like to start out with, just like playing chords, you know, lay the groundwork on the song, I guess, in my mind, and then I put my phone down, hit record on my voice memos so like I don't lose anything if I forget it, and uh, just start playing the chords and start humming a melody. And then by that point, like once I get a melody that I like, I try not to think too hard, try to leave my brain out of it and just start thinking of words and feelings that the melodies are bringing out Gets a little bit different every song from there. But that's pretty much how the beginnings of the songs are formed.

Jay Franze 21:18

So you're starting with picking up a guitar and playing some chords, then forming a melody around that and then forming the words around your melody.

Connor Daly 21:26

Exactly, yeah, a lot of people have to have a title or a hook or something to start writing. I've just never done it that way.

Jay Franze 21:34

So when you co-write, then are you able to adapt to different styles.

Connor Daly 21:39

Yeah. Yeah, that part's been interesting, but I've cause I've, like, pretty much only written by myself. You know, being from Virginia, like, where I spent most of my time writing not many music people around there to co-write with, so co-writing was definitely a new kind of thing for me, but I've really enjoyed it so far. I think it's cool to sit down and be creative with another person what was the biggest difference to you?

Connor Daly 22:04

having somebody else like in the room just present. Yeah, exactly because I feel like most of the time I probably sound crazy, you know recording something in my voice memos, but I don't really care because I'm all by myself. So it's kind of I I find myself like having to think a little bit more before like putting a phrase down or something like that, when somebody else is like looking at the same google sheet so does that make you more hesitant?

Connor Daly 22:31

well, yeah, I guess so, but it also makes me think a little bit more, I guess. So maybe it would get me to the same point, as if you know my normal writing style.

Jay Franze 22:42

Do you think that once you get a deep enough connection with somebody, that hesitation will go away and you'll be more like you are when you're by yourself?

Connor Daly 22:51

Yeah, for sure, it's kind of like a. I found that co-writing is kind of like a relationship, whereas some people write really well together. Some people are great at melodies, some people are great at words and lyrics.

Jay Franze 23:07

Some people are just Tiffany.

Tiffany Mason 23:09

Well, that brings up an interesting thought I was having. Oh boy, um, oh boy. Have you written with women and men and was there one that was easier? Is one more gentle with words or feedback, or you know? Have you noticed a difference or not an issue?

Connor Daly 23:30

um, I've had two co-writes with no three co-writes, no four co-writes with Linda.

Jay Franze 23:35

So far now.

Connor Daly 23:37

You're just making things up there's four I had to like. I'm just counting one after the other in my head, I don't know. I feel like it's kind of like a weird dynamic, almost I don't know. I feel like girls tend to be. There's like a difference between what girls write in their songs and what guys write in their songs.

Tiffany Mason 23:58

Yours was about a truck and she said it was about a breakup.

Connor Daly 24:02

Most of the guys' songs are about trucks and beers. I don't really write much about that sort of thing. There's definitely a different style depending on who's going to be singing the song, whether it's going to be from a girl perspective or a guy perspective.

Jay Franze 24:17

We mentioned the style of your music earlier being country, but I said it's kind of got that Americana type flair to it. I'm assuming that's because of where you grew up and the type of music that you're experiencing in that area. And you said there's probably not enough people, like there are in Nashville, to co-write with. But I would say that that area has plenty of people to write with. But I would say that that area has plenty of people to write with. It's just kind of a different style of music to to probably work on and it's probably a different type of writing process.

Connor Daly 24:42

Yeah, no, that's for sure.

Tiffany Mason 24:44

Jay, do you know how? How do you? Okay, so let's say he was still up and coming and he wasn't in Nashville on his way. How would he have found a co-writer? Is that something? He just put an ad in the newspaper.

Jay Franze 24:59

Co-writers are us.

Tiffany Mason 25:01

Yeah.

Jay Franze 25:02

Craigslist. No, I mean, obviously you get your local music scene and you want to tap into it. But then there's also the heavyweights. And if you try to make a career out of it, even if you don't live in the area, you're going to want to make your way to Nashville, make a career out of it, even if you don't live in the area. You're going to want to make your way to Nashville. You're going to want to find the other professionals. It's not just Nashville. I mean, la has co-writers, new York has co-writers, but if you want to be the co-writer in country music, you're going to want to be in Nashville for sure. Is that where you see?

Tiffany Mason 25:32

yourself Connor Country music.

Connor Daly 25:35

Yeah, sort of Well, describe your style to us. Yeah, I'm really bad at describing my style All right, well, that's done, you got this.

Tiffany Mason 25:43

You got this, connor.

Connor Daly 25:45

I'm just going to try to use some keywords. You know, I say that my genre is Americana, but I don't really know what Americana is. Dude Blunt to you guys.

Jay Franze 25:58

It's acoustic instruments written in the heart of the US of A yeah, pretty much.

Connor Daly 26:03

It's like a big umbrella over a bunch of sub genres, like people that don't necessarily fit specifically in one genre or another. Like it has some R&B, some folk, bluegrass country like singer songwriter stuff. So I think I fit like americana singer songwriter kind of style right yeah, it's, you know real instruments acoustic guitar, heavy and um, just like storytelling I mean it could even include rock music.

Jay Franze 26:33

I mean it's anything to in my, in my opinion it's yeah, it's traditional instruments performed from the heart, for sure.

Connor Daly 26:42

Exactly, I like that definition. I'm going to stick with that one. There you go.

Jay Franze 26:46

Glad I could help you out tonight.

Tiffany Mason 26:48

Write it down, Connor, so you have it later. Put it in your voice notes quick.

Jay Franze 26:53

All right, you've written these songs over a period of time. Then you get to take them into these amazing studios. So I'm sure you didn't just go knocking on the door of these amazing studios and saying, let me in. There has to be somebody who connected you, some producer so who produced your project for you.

Connor Daly 27:11

Like I said, Colors Fade was kind of piecemealed together a little bit. I worked with one team and then a different team over the span of two years to record that project. All right well, let's start with the first team. So I worked with Todd Tidwell and Kyle Lewis. They both co-produced half of the song six songs. Todd Tidwell is a very talented producer. He works at Starstruck Studios in Nashville Reba's place. Yeah, yeah, he knows Reba personally and he was a very cool guy. He's super talented.

Jay Franze 27:44

Tiffany, just for backstory, Starstruck is Reba McIntyre's studio and when she first built that studio in Nashville, right on Music Row, right next to Sony, and she has a helicopter port on the roof and she used to fly in in her helicopter and then leave and they had to make her stop it because it was interrupting every other recording studio in the area for sure. Oh my goodness, that's funny wow a little backstory he works at a starstruck, but took you somewhere else. So why did he take you somewhere else?

Connor Daly 28:18

oh, we recorded in star stroke, so that was. That was six of the songs that were recorded in star stroke okay, so star struck as well yeah so did he hire the musicians as well?

Connor Daly 28:30

so he co-produced it with a guy named kyle lewis who uh, if you know magg Rose, he's the guitarist in Maggie Rose's band. We kind of got a connection, like a mutual connection, through a friend in Virginia who knew Austin Marshall, which is Maggie's husband. So we got into it. We were lucky to connect with them and we were lucky for them to work with us for six of the songs. They turned out great. I worked with a team called Charlotte Avenue Entertainment.

Jay Franze 29:01

Oh yeah.

Connor Daly 29:01

Yep, an artist development team down here in Nashville. They were great to work with and um Will Golly produced the other six songs on the album.

Jay Franze 29:13

All right, and which studio did he take you to?

Connor Daly 29:16

Uh, that's the group that we've went outside of. Starstruck, so Starstruck, and then the other other two places.

Jay Franze 29:22

They split their time between Dark Horse and Castle.

Connor Daly 29:25

Yeah, they're, they're. They're really good at getting, uh, some cool spots to record around town Definitely cool.

Jay Franze 29:31

All three of those are amazing places. Anybody would be lucky to set foot in one of those studios, and you've been in all three, so that's awesome, but tell us about the musicians who played on the project.

Connor Daly 29:44

Yeah. So, like I said, it was a very unique way to record an album, but the six songs that I recorded with Todd Tidwell and Kyle Lewis Maggie Rose's band actually played on the six songs recorded there and then the other six songs with Will. We just had some very talented studio guys come in and play on the tracks.

Jay Franze 30:11

Do you remember any of their names?

Connor Daly 30:14

I've never played with names. I know Chris Knoll played keys. He's been playing for his whole life. He played with John Denver back in the day.

Jay Franze 30:23

I get it. I've worked as an engineer in Nashville for almost 30 years and I can tell you when the artist comes in. They're coming in typically to sing maybe one or two songs within a book of a day. The musicians are just churning through and through and through and through. So the artist is lucky if they even get introduced to the musicians half the time.

Tiffany Mason 30:44

Yeah, that is so crazy to me that I mean I get it. This whole studio thing, you know you want the talented people taking over whatever, but I just don't get how the music comes alive when the band doesn't have a relationship. Clearly it works. Clearly there's no issue.

Jay Franze 31:06

Well, you know what I would say? They have a relationship, I mean they play with each other almost every day.

Tiffany Mason 31:12

Well, the studio musicians, right, but they don't have that relationship with the artists. And so that's what always kind of just blows my mind Like when you see people on stage, it seems like you know you're kind of singing to one of the guitarists, or you know, know you're kind of singing to the one of the guitarists, or you know you're kind of looking over to backup vocals or whatever, and it seems like there's some kind of connection and there's this great chemistry on stage and they're pulling you in and they, they likely do.

Connor Daly 31:37

they've been on the road and they've, you know, formed these relationships, whereas it's interesting to me that the, the music, still translates void of that relationship yeah, it's kind of a unique thing for studio guys, the, the great studio musicians in nashville like they make their living playing in the studio, playing on however many songs like every single day it's amazing, it's just amazing.

Jay Franze 32:02

They don't watch I mean, they record an entire song from start to finish in under an hour.

Connor Daly 32:07

Yeah, they try to do like a song an hour. They just put like the sheet in front of them and just start, you know, doing like two or three takes and that's about it.

Jay Franze 32:16

Yeah, it's absolutely amazing to watch. But I think, tiffany, to your point there, you get a band like you know, a rock band like a Bon Jovi or whoever where they travel and play you know world tours and travel with each other. It's the friend relationship and the charisma that they have together. It's not necessarily the musicianship, because a lot of times those type of bands may not even be the best musicians out there.

Jay Franze 32:42

I mean in that particular band you had some good musicians, some musicians out there. I mean in that particular band you had some good musicians, some. However, it's the friendship and the charisma that that band has together from being on the road and so forth. Where in Nashville those musicians have that friendship and camaraderie? Because they're in the studio with each other almost the same musicians in different pockets for day after day after day, but their musicianship is without flaw.

Jay Franze 33:06

So I mean, if you want them to play something with a little more swing, you can just ask for more swing and they'll give it to you. You know more edge and you got it so. I think the difference between the two is just raw passion for your art and then your raw talent to be able to produce whatever somebody tells you.

Connor Daly 33:26

Yeah, that's a great way to explain it.

Jay Franze 33:28

Well, let me ask you another question, sir. You have a song Fake One Tear, not intended for a duet, but somehow ended up as a duet. So why don't we start by telling us how it ended up as a duet, Sure?

Connor Daly 33:43

So that was one of the songs I wrote in my apartment in virginia which is like pretty much all the songs that I wrote were was in there, and I initially had it like strumming and uh, just like by myself, and I had a, had a second verse and stuff.

Connor Daly 34:00

I came down to nashville like a year and a half ago at this point to do like a week of co-writes and stuff. So I was sitting down in the Airbnb like the night before the, the co-write, the, the next co-write the next day, and I was with a girl named Jennifer Hart and then her husband, rob Ricotta Robert Ricotta, I remembered his name. So I was kind of like scrolling through my songs. I was like I wonder what song I should try to bring in. I would just start like finger picking the song and it sounded like really pretty. You know, I was going going into right with a girl, so like well, I could get the girl's perspective on the song to try to, you know, write it from her side and um, I went in with that idea and they loved the song, they loved the melody and we just kind of ran with it and it turned out great. I had this great duet. It may or may not go on the album, but I really wanted to if we could find somebody to sing on it.

Jay Franze 34:59

All right. Well, that's my next question. How did? You meet her, mary Heather Hickman. How did you?

Connor Daly 35:05

meet her? Yeah, hickman, how did you meet her? Yeah, so I just knew her from social media and, um, yeah, we, we like followed each other for a while and um, there you go, tiffany.

Jay Franze 35:14

That's how you find people these days.

Connor Daly 35:16

Yeah, exactly yeah. I thought her voice was like really organic and it felt like very real.

Tiffany Mason 35:33

I thought it would fit the song. You know exactly what I was hoping it would sound like. We reached out to her and she wanted to be on the song and turned out great. Now, after you record that song, who is the first person you call? Or after you write? You do this collaboration, you're co-writing the song and you're like man, we freaking nailed it. Who gets the first call?

Connor Daly 35:45

um well come on connor my parents are very involved. Um, I think my mom would be upset if I said my dad oh, but it's like a she's very supportive. I don't want to say my dad's a little bit more musical than she is, but my dad, you know, tries to help out with a lot of the musical decisions, like going into studios and stuff like that.

Jay Franze 36:09

He's, he's a big part of it so which one of them do you like better?

Tiffany Mason 36:15

not fair jay. Which one of your daughters do you like better?

Connor Daly 36:18

lucy, answer that. Um, I I texted them before I was jumping on here, so they're probably watching right now. Oops, sorry guys. Hey, mom and Dad, mom and Dad Daily, I'm sorry we're having technical difficulties and they're both very supportive and I'm lucky to have them.

Jay Franze 36:36

Fair enough, we'll let you slide on that one. Tiffany asks those hard questions all the time I tell her not to do it.

Tiffany Mason 36:45

I was going to ask did you use any of those studios? I mean, they all look so cool Were any of them in your videos?

Connor Daly 36:53

No, no One of the things like going forward I've always been really bad at social media and like planning ahead on like getting content while I'm doing like musical things yeah that's, that's kind of the plan for this year. So I'm going in the studio next month and I'm gonna I'm gonna record a bunch of like video, but yeah, exactly a lot of content yep things move way too fast when you're in the studio for you to divide your your attention.

Jay Franze 37:23

You would need somebody else to do it for you.

Connor Daly 37:25

Exactly, it goes by so fast, especially when you've got a bunch of studio guys.

Jay Franze 37:31

Yeah, if you've got a room booked for, say, 15 hours, 15 songs you're going to knock out in that day, and then you're only three of those songs. You can't stop that train from moving. You just can't. You've got to gotta go in, be right there ready for that light to turn red and go yeah, it's definitely a well-oiled machine that it's hard to stop well, maybe your dad, who you clearly favor, could come up and help you because, what do the moms do?

Tiffany Mason 38:01

the moms do nothing.

Jay Franze 38:02

I was saying he favors his mom, so I get that. We're trying to help you out here, See, it obviously appears as if you favor them equally. Yeah, all right. As Miss Tiffany talks about backdrops for your videos, you have another video, worked Harder, and it's in front of a cabin. So where did you find the cabin?

Connor Daly 38:27

Uh, we found it on Airbnb and uh, yeah, we, we got it for a night, but nobody stayed the night there. We just went in the afternoon and uh recorded like at sunset and then like a little bit into night, yeah, it was uh Johnny Cash. It was like a, a Cash's cabin or something like that. Nice. I think it was like actually his that he had or something that's awesome. It was like all decorated with Johnny Cash stuff on the inside it was cool.

Jay Franze 38:57

So, sir, what's it like being in your 30s?

Connor Daly 39:02

I'm not in my 30s, not quite Two days ago.

Tiffany Mason 39:06

Wasn't it your birthday two days ago.

Connor Daly 39:08

I turned 26.

Jay Franze 39:09

26? Tiffany, man, you're way off girl.

Tiffany Mason 39:14

I'm pulling up your.

Jay Franze 39:14

Instagram right now. Connor, that is not even close.

Connor Daly 39:16

I was worried people were going to get confused because I said another year closer to 30, hashtag four to go and I was like I don't know if people are going to understand that, but Tiffany, you're fired, you are out.

Jay Franze 39:33

You may as well just go away.

Tiffany Mason 39:34

Tiffany, you're fired, goodbye.

Jay Franze 39:38

Oh, Tiffany.

Tiffany Mason 39:39

You heard the man.

Jay Franze 39:42

All right.

Tiffany Mason 39:43

Well, happy birthday.

Jay Franze 39:44

No, forget his birthday now, come back in four years. He said it should be happy birthday. Yeah, well, no, forget his birthday now, come back in four years. Happy birthday no four years and he's 30 happy birthday, connor happy birthday wait, were you in kentucky?

Tiffany Mason 39:59

uh no again in your story, you, you had Jack Daniels.

Connor Daly 40:06

Yeah, it's in Tennessee.

Tiffany Mason 40:10

Oh, I didn't realize any of that was in Tennessee, because that's whiskey, not bourbon. That's why.

Connor Daly 40:16

Yeah, it's like they're making. That's like the one plant where they make all their whiskey.

Tiffany Mason 40:20

Guys, I pay for this blonde but.

Jay Franze 40:25

You really don't have to. Oh, I love you so much. All right, we mentioned your parents earlier. We do this thing here we call Unsung Heroes, where we take a moment to shine the light on somebody who may have worked behind the scenes or supported you along the way. Is there anybody you'd like to shine a little light on?

Connor Daly 40:46

Yeah, of course Can I say both my parents again.

Jay Franze 40:51

You can absolutely Don't get yourself in trouble now.

Connor Daly 40:54

All right. They've both been super supportive and helpful to get me to this point. I definitely wouldn't be doing music probably even if they weren't there to support me and listen to a lot of the bad songs that I've written along the way I would drive home from school I lived like 35 minutes away, so I'd drive home, my mom would cook some dinner and I'd play some new songs, so they kept me motivated to keep writing and keep going. Yeah, and I wouldn't be here without the both of them.

Jay Franze 41:26

All right. Well, we have done it. We've reached the top of the hour. We've actually blown past the top of the hour, which does mean we have reached the end of the show. So if you've enjoyed the show, tell a friend if you have not Miss Tiffany.

Tiffany Mason 41:37

Tell two.

Jay Franze 41:38

Tell two. You can reach out to all of us over at jayfranze. com. We will be happy to keep this conversation going. Miss Tiffany, my friend, you have anything you'd like to leave us with?

Final Thoughts and Social Media

Tiffany Mason 41:50

Yes, looking forward to seeing Connor Daly on Daly's Place stage in Jacksonville, florida. Book it first place. Let me know We'll be there. I'll be following on social so I'll already know you're going to be there. Nice, okay, sounds good.

Connor Daly 42:01

Connor, sir, Nice, Okay sounds good, Connor.

Jay Franze 42:02

sir, we'd like to leave the final words to you.

Connor Daly 42:07

So you can find me at Connor Daily Music on pretty much any social platform and then I've got a website, connordailymusic. com. If you want to be up to date on music and shows and stuff like that at Connor Daily, I'll see you guys there, Awesome All right folks On that note have a good night.