Americana group The Southern Gothic hail from Nashville, Tennessee and they recently released their new single ‘Up On Your Love’ featuring Ketch Secor from Old Crow Medicine Show.
Led by songwriter Connor Christian, The Southern Gothic released their EP ‘Burnin’ Moonlight’ in 2020, building on the foundations of the success they’ve already enjoyed.
I caught up with Connor to talk about the single, discuss their career so far and to find out what else they have coming up…
You recently released your new single ‘Up On Your Love’. What’s the story behind the song?
That song was written with some friends on a songwriter’s retreat in the western US. We all woke up early, were having our respective coffee, smoke, breakfast, morning whatever, as the sun was coming up over the mountains out there. We’d been teasing another songwriter, calling her ‘hummingbird’ because she was all over the place in all the different groups. Russell Sutton (“My Boy”-Elvie Shane) was working with that melody. In a pretty fast write, Andrew Rollins and I jumped on guitar, Kelly Walls jumped in to hep with Lyrics too. Pretty soon the 4 of us had a really great song
Ketch Secor from Old Crow Medicine Show appears on the track. How did that collaboration come about and what was he like to work with?
Ketch is a great dude. He started a primary school in Nashville that my kids attend. Sometimes he’s kind enough to check out my songs and give me feedback. When I sent this new version of this song over he already knew the song generally as his son had been wearing it OUT in their car. So he offered to cut some fiddle on the track if I’d cook enough dinner for he and the kids to join my family. It was an easy yes on my part and we knocked out that fiddling and singing REAL quick, and got right down to some homemade pad thai.
What are your plans for new releases this year? Is there an EP or an album on the way?
There is, in fact, a yet-untitled EP or LP coming this year. We have a second, really fun and sorta off the wall single coming in April followed by a ton of new Southern Gothic music. Some of my favorite new tunes – “Talkin’ in My Sleep” “Over the Edge” “Don’t Let Me Find It” and “Whiskey Fix” are a really a great mix – Getting back to our musical roots while still exploring some new territory.
How have you coped through the pandemic and what did you do to keep yourselves busy while you couldn’t tour?
Well, during that time I actually opened a couple businesses here in Nashville doing tour and tax accounting for musicians. It’s something I’ve gotten great at over the years of touring , and it definitely helped get through financially. Mentally, of course, it took a toll, but having family and a few close friends were really life savers
What would you say you learned about yourself during that time?
I’m not sure what I learned – I certainly remembered a lot about what I like – books, vinyl I hadn’t listened to in a long time. I certainly went down a sneaker head rabbit hole. If I didn’t have too many pairs of shoes before, I sure do now! lol
For those that don’t know, how did The Southern Gothic come to be?
The Southern Gothic evolved out of a band Shawn and I were in called Princess. We played real Elton John style piano rock/classic rock. We did a few songs/shows with a fiddle player and people really loved the new vibe. We started getting asked to open for bigger acts, and before long we’d hire not one but TWO dueling fiddle players. After that we played thousands of shows and really honed what we did to a sharp edge on the road. That was how it started…
Do you have any plans to get over to the UK for some live shows and what’s your relationship with your UK fans like?
We sure hope so. We have some Scandinavian shows booked this year, so we’re doing our damnedest to get to the UK and maybe some of Europe. We’ve never been to UK, so we’re really excited to meet some people, make some friends and fans over there
What other plans do you have for 2022?
Between the EP, releasing 5 singles, the tour and the new businesses, that pretty much covers it!! We’re gonna try and stay busy and on your radar ALL year long.
‘Up On Your Love’ featuring Ketch Secor is available to stream and download now. Listen to it below:
