Driving through the Oklahoma plains in the back seat listening to the harmonic sounds of Walker McGuire just felt right that fall. Throwback to when I visited my friends attending Oklahoma State University in the fall of 2016. I fell in love with the raw unique sounds of the country duo. Walker McGuire had a sound of their own with song lyrics to make any newly single girl’s heart throb with songs like Till Tomorrow. Now as a newly engaged girl, they still make my heart throb with songs like Mysteries of the World.
This is why I couldn’t have been more excited to hear they were making their way to the heart of the Midwest to perform in Lima, OH right before my 29th birthday. I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate than rocking out to their music with $2 beers at UNOH Event Center. I was so excited to get up close with a small crowd. Walker McGuire took time to tell the stories behind their songs and hit songs they have written for major recording artists like Luke Combs. I even got the chance to meet them and tell about my interview with 90 Proof Twang as they are co-writers in the single Bench Seat. Read on to hear the story behind the music…
“Within six months we had a publishing deal. I could stop waiting tables and he could stop selling software. It was a blessing. When we got our first deal, we went down to Mexico to write some songs. For any of you that have been down to Mexico, you know there can be some distractions down there. With the tequila, food and the women. This song was written on an airlines napkin on our way back from Mexico about a girl we met. We shot a music video in Key West a couple years ago. We weren’t going to put it on our record, and then our label said that song is going on your record because it reminds everyone of their first trip to Mexico.”
Song: Ol What’s Her Name:
“You guys ever heard of Old Dominion? Those guys write a lot of different songs for artists in Nashville. They write killer songs. They wrote a song a couple years ago called I’m On It. We heard it, called them and said, ‘Would you mind if we take this song, record it and make it a Walker McGuire song?’ At first they said no because they were going to put it on their next record. We decided to send them a cure-all to change their mind, whiskey. Whiskey fixes everything! This is one of our new songs.”
Song: I’m On It
“Were any of you embarrassed by your first car? I’m lucky I had one, but probably shouldn’t have had one at all. We were song writing and I said I probably would have picked up more girls if I had a pick up truck in high school or a better car.”
Song: Pick Up Game
“Johnny grew up in Kansas City, when he was young a girl moved to town from California. We were drinking beer one night while writing and Johnny told me about this girl. We thought we have to write a song about this girl, her name was Holly. This song will be on the second record and if you know it, you’ve been listening to us for awhile.”
Song: Holly Would
“I (Jordan Walker) was at a bar and a guy came up to me in a Carhart jacket, ball cap and a big red beard. He said his name was Luke and he just moved here (Nashville) from North Carolina and I want to write songs. He said he knew I was in a band Walker McGuire and he would love to write a song with me someday. I said, ‘Luke I got a plan. Since these beers are $4.25 a piece and I got a 12 pack at my house and drink my roommate’s beer’, since he had a little bit of money and I had zero dollars at the time.”
“So we went to my house to think of an idea to write. I asked if he had been going through anything? He said hold on and started texting. I said who are you texting? He said I’m texting my ex-girlfriend. I said we might as well go back to the bar we’re not going to write anything tonight. He said, no I want to write a song. I said let’s write a song about your ex-girlfriend. He said, no man we can’t do that. About the time he said that his phone rang. He said, Hello… I really don’t have time to deal with this. I said, is that your ex-girlfriend. He said, no that was my ex-girlfriend’s mom.”
“I said, why don’t we write a song about your ex-girlfriend and her mom. He asked how we would phrase it? I said I think we call her mom you ex-future mother in law. He loved that idea… As of last year on my birthday this was the number one song in the country for two weeks in a row. This song changed my life and bought me a lot of stuff I don’t need. This is my first ever number one song, called When It Rains It Pours.”
Walker McGuire has just released their self-titled EP
Click on each song below to learn the story behind the songs!
It was awesome to meet the guys and I can’t wait to see their show again with all the stories behind their music!
Photo Credit: Walker McGuire Facebook and Luke Combs Facebook
A. “If it’s what you want to do, just believe in yourself and go for it. There’s going to be people that ask what’s your plan? You’re not always going to have a plan; it’s an uncertain career path. You got to chase after what you love and once you decide to do it, it’s like anything else. You have to treat it like it’s more than a 9 to 5 job because you can never clock out. It’s practice, write, and reading helps a lot lyrically. When you are ready to do it, you have to be in a city like New York, Nashville or LA to write and network with other writers that can feed your creative process and help you grow.”
Q. Take me back to the beginning of your career, tell me how you found your love and talent for music and decided to make it a career aspiration?
A. “That album was totally different, sometimes I feel it wasn’t received how I wanted it to be. I can understand why, because it’s my fifth album now and people had an expectation of what I would sound like because of the previous four albums. The Blue Roof Sessions intentionally wasn’t like that. As an artist, I wanted to do something different. Why would an actor make the same movie over and over? As a writer and producer as well, half those songs I had for years. I wrote the song ‘Work on Love’ so long ago, but just never found the right album to put it on. When I committed to making an edgy record, I had all these ideas of songs that would work so well. Just like ‘Don’t Forget Where You Come From’ or ‘What the Heaven’ wouldn’t have fit The Blue Roof Sessions record.”
Q. What is it like to play new music for a crowd and see how they receive it? 
A. “Take every gig you can and play as much as you can because you never know when that one person that can make a difference is out there listening. It doesn’t have to be a record label; it could be someone like you spreading the word in Cincinnati. It takes that one person to get the ball rolling sometimes. For me in college it was a big deal, I would play at every fraternity and sorority party, every bar that was available to me. It didn’t matter the money, I would play two in one day if I could.”
Q. How are your Texas fans different from when you travel to other states?
“On the new album I have a song called ‘So God Made a Farmer.’ I played at the Texas FFA Convention years ago for 10,000 kids. It was one of the coolest gigs I’ve ever played. I still have some people tell me it was the best show they ever saw 8 years ago when they were 15 years old. In 2013, I was watching the super bowl and there was a 
“In college I got involved in classical piano, I had been taking formal lessons on reading music and playing by ear. I started my own country band and played at local bars. It was always me and a piano at the front of the stage with my band behind me.”
A. “Everyday you start with a blank document; it’s like when a painter starts with a blank canvas. On that canvas you paint a picture of whatever you’re feeling that day. I enjoy sharing my stories of growing up in a small town and on the farm with other writers, both emotional and funny. It’s cool to see the story of however I’m feeling come to life on a blank piece of paper. Nothing gives greater satisfaction than seeing your song come to life in the studio, especially with some of the greatest musicians in Nashville.”
“My fiancé and I are getting married in June and she plays a big part in my career in supporting me. She’s seen the ride of my music ever since ten years ago when we met. She’s from Chicago and we met in our college town of central Illinois. We went our separate ways after college and reconnected years later.”
A. “Taylor Swift made me really break out (into music) and start writing. I also listened to Miley Cyrus, Hannah Montana and Disney music.”
Q. How do you develop your set list between playing your originals and cover songs people want to hear?
A. “After living in Pittsburg I moved back home and started playing in local bars. Each crowd and venue kept getting bigger. My friends, family and fans would tell me all the time that I need to go to Nashville and chase my dream. I was working a full-time job, playing every weekend and having a lot of fun. I didn’t ignore those comments at first, but brushed them off for a while. Then it hit me that I could really give this a shot. I love doing it (music) and if I could call it a career and have fun then it’s not a job.”
A. “It’s hard for me on what to call our sound or style of music. It’s definitely influenced by country music, but I grew up playing in rock bands. I love that heavy distortion, big loud cabs and right in your face rock n’ roll. So if we can mix hard heavy rock n’ roll with 90’s to early 2000’s country music sound, that’s what we’re trying to do and find new sounds overtime. The original music we were playing a year ago is different from what we are playing now. We have evolved and are constantly trying to find new sounds and tones to make us different.”
Encouraged by Blake Shelton’s words, Josh values making his unique sound. “Everybody out there is going to find their own way somehow. We are going to go the hard way and pave our own path, find our own sound and eventually be different from what people are used to hearing on country radio,” says Gallagher.
A. “The new single ‘How Bout You?’ will be released in February. This song was written with two good buddies, Mark Addison Chandler and Will Duvall. We sat down and were throwing around some ideas and Will started playing a little riff on his guitar, which is the opening guitar lick on the song. Once we started writing it, all three of us fell in love with it. That song came out of nowhere and they say the best songs come when you’re not expecting them.”
As he impressed Miley Cyrus on The Voice stage, Josh knows what happens off the stage is all preparation for what happens on it. “I’ve been focusing this past year on looking at things from a songwriter’s standpoint instead of the artist; to go into a write with an open mind.
A. “We are all still struggling to get our voices heard that’s for sure. You have to absolutely love it first of all. If it’s a hobby of yours that’s awesome, but if you think you really want to do it for a living, go for it to the fullest extent. When you fall in love with something you do for a living, then it’s not work. You wake up everyday and count your blessings if you get to that point. I’m still counting my blessings everyday, we still have a long way to go, but we are having a good time on the way there. So I would say, if you love it, do it. It’s going to be scary but you got to pull the trigger. Don’t tell yourself you’ll do it next month or even tomorrow, whether it’s moving to Nashville or picking up a guitar or singing.”
Knowing the sky is the limit, Josh pushes himself to accomplish his goals and encourages others to do the same. “You have to be bold and push yourself outside of your comfort zone to get there. When you make yourself do it and push yourself, you find it’s easy. Be persistent, it’s going to be hard, I still struggle with stuff. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it. People are going to tell you the rest of your life, whether you are a musician, a principal, a plumber, a race car driver or whatever, that you aren’t good enough. So don’t let their negativity bring you down, rise above it. Take the high road and then a few years from then you can say ‘I told you!’ says Gallagher.
There is a place where moonshine, mountains and music all come together in Tennessee. When you walk to the melodies on the Island in Pigeon Forge or follow the sound of the banjo through The Holler in Gatlinburg, you will likely find yourself rocking in a chair or dancing with strangers to the sounds of Monroeville.
Masterful Bassist, Paul Watson, remembers watching Monroeville play from the audience years ago and told himself that was the band he wanted to play for. “Matt wanted me to fill in three years ago. Then as soon as I put the phone down with another guy asking me (to play for a different band) Matt called me and wanted to hire me. It was awesome.”
Character is important to the Monroeville brand. Matt learned the integrity of Paul when he was searching for a bassist. “I knew about Chevy before Paul. I didn’t realize what Paul did. Chevy had been filling in with us every few months. I needed a bass player first so I called Paul and asked if his cousin Chevy played bass too. Instead of saying he played bass, he said Chevy could play. Paul was honest even though it was the job he wanted. So that told me about his character,” said Matt.
Q. What is the inspiration and concept behind the album Worlds Apart?
Q. Why is the message of the opening track “Push On” important to share right away on the album?
“I’m beginning to understand it’s not about getting some huge break. That can happen, but it’s more about one fan at a time. We can build a relationship with fans. Every day we have thousands of people that hear us play. If we can just get a handful of people everyday that we connect with, they become apart of something bigger than the band, it’s like a family. Those people support you in some way; as long as you’re playing they’ll always be fans. Once I learned that concept, you can build off that. Monroeville has a brand. We are the guys next door that happen to be rock stars… You have to be true to yourself. Nobody is going to get your dream for you,” said Matt.
Cherish has seen how hard the business is first hand through her father, Johnny Lee (country music legend, Urban Cowboy’s “Lookin’ For Love”) and mother, Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing on hit TV show, “DALLAS”). She quickly gained her own recognition as a singer and songwriter in Music City. “Nashville has been so incredibly gracious to me. I’ve written with the most beautiful and talented writers, performed at the infamous Bluebird Cafe, the prestigious Tin Pan South Songwriter Festival. I’ve also performed with my Papa Bear at The Ryman Auditorium and The Grand Ole Opry, along with so many other bad ass venues around town. I met my husband here, our precious baby was born here, I’ve recorded my album here! I owe so much to this city. I can’t get over how people just want to up lift you and champion you here!”
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Lee just released her first single “Tequila Cowgirl,” along with her music video debut. It is about an all American girl- a hard worker; she’s got her head on straight, knows right from wrong and lives by that. She loves Jesus and tequila. She loves her animals and is thankful for what she has. While she doesn’t need a man and won’t share her bed with just anyone, she is looking forward to meeting the right one. Any guy would be considered lucky to bring her home to meet his mama, and every girl wants to be her best friend! The song has an intimate, nostalgic feel to it with a healthy dose of country music.
It is amazing the aging process bourbon has to go through. My favorite part of the tour was walking inside one of the barrel rooms and seeing endless barrels stacked stories high. They all had their date on the outside and it was fun to remember back to what I was doing at that time. I saw a barrel that was filled in 2008, that’s when I was crowned Ohio Pork Industry Queen. It can take anywhere from four to nine or more years for bourbon to age. That’s a quality that makes bourbon special, you can’t rush the process. Good things take time and are worth the wait. It’s great to see preparation, hard work and patience pay off. There is love and passion in each sip. I admire Jim Beam’s passion and legacy. Just like how farming is continued on in family generations, so is Jim Beam Bourbon.
I also appreciated the agricultural production bourbon supports. They start with a secret mix of corn (at least 51%), rye and barley malt – their “Mash Bill”. It feeds into a 10,000-gallon cooker. Here they add limestone filtered Kentucky water, along with some “set back”—up to 40% of the old mash from the last distillation. You and learn more at 
