Q&A With Ashley Monroe

Not only is Monroe friends with Shelton’s wife, Miranda Lambert, but Shelton officiated Monroe’s wedding. So, obviously, she had her own take on the matter.

Monroe wrote one of the best country albums of 2013 with Like A Rose, her second full-length effort. That’s not just our opinion – it’s the assessment of other mags like Rolling Stone, which ranked the LP as No. 1 on its list of the “10 Best Country Albums of 2013” as well as including it in the “50 Best Albums of 2013.” The New York Times’s Jon Caramanica is another fan, naming Like A Rose as one of his top 10 albums of the year.

Although Monroe is also known as one-third of Pistol Annies – with Lambert and Angaleena Presley – it’s getting clear that her future will be solo endeavors. Interview below….

We’re a business magazine so let’s just start right off by talking about the people who work on your behalf. You’re with Rod Essig at Creative Artists Agency.

I think I met him when I was 15, on my very first showcase for RCA. They passed but Rod loved me then. I remember him saying, “Whatever I can do.” He’s just been a constant in my life [even] for a while [when] he wasn’t working with me. So he actually cared.

I guess he just believed in me. I had a friend who worked at William Morris and I didn’t have a lot of gigs, anyway, so I was going back and forth. It wouldn’t have been very profitable for either (agency).

But when it came time for this record I wanted to change everything: management and agency. I just wanted to switch it all up, and Rod was the obvious choice for me.

What are his plans for you?

He knows whom I should play in front of. He knows the crowds I feel the best in front of. I don’t get the crowd pumped and partying because I’m (laughs) singing about (sad stories in songs like) “The Morning After” and “Like A Rose.” So he really pays close attention to where he books me, and I appreciate it.

How did you run into your manager?

Grady – do you know John Grady? Well, he was head of Sony when he signed me. He signed Miranda (Lambert) and Gretchen (Wilson), and he just thought that I – well, I always joke that I’m a 92-year-old man on the inside and just happened to be a young girl on the outside. But he gets that. He gets my songs, all of it. So we made that first record on Sony and I was out on my radio tour and I got a call that Sony and BMG merged. I didn’t understand what that all meant until everybody at Sony, including Grady, got let go.

But he’s another fan who’s been a constant, and he’s always cared about what I’ve been doing and always wants to hear what I’m doing, even when he wasn’t working with me. He’s the one I tell everything to. We always have an email exchange every morning while we’re drinking coffee, just touching base about life, music, all of it.

Ever feel like the dorky kid in the back of the classroom who has all the answers?

I don’t think I have all the answers but I think I have a lot to say. I think I’m holding a lot [back] and am just waiting for a chance to say it. I think the last record is an example of being able to say it, and being able to be heard.

But your music is intelligent, and that seems to be uncool these days.

Yeah, it’s hard to say what’s cool and what’s not cool. I’ve never really known. I just try to be me, whatever that is. These days, when you’re you, that’s what makes you cool. People who try too hard, I always think, “Gosh, they must not be comfortable in their own skin.” I just want to do what I do. I’m confident in what I’m doing and if you agree with what I’m saying, then it’s cool.

So there’s new music coming out?

Oh my gosh, yes. I just had my first “song meeting,” you could say, yesterday. I sat down and played [the label and management] 23 new songs I have written. I was a nervous wreck. But the good news is I passed. It went great so, yup, I think we’re going to get going in February and March. I’m so inspired. I’ve got a lot of good ideas. I’m ready to go back in.

Blake Shelton got in trouble last year for talking about new country versus the old timers. Yet, he’s featured on one of Like A Rose’s more traditional country songs.

I know! When all of that was blowing up, Blake was devastated. It’s so interesting to me that people will jump on anything to get mad at. Here’s Blake Shelton – yes, he’s a big star – but he’s also one of my dearest friends. And there is not one person, and I’m not just saying this, who could sit there and quote every musician who’s played on every record. I can text him right now and say, “Hey, who wrote such-and-such song in 1982?” and he would tell me. He is an encyclopedia of country music.

And for someone who cares so much, for them to attack him, I was thinking, “Ugh! That should be the last person they should be attacking!” But I think he handled it well and I think he proves himself. You can hear him sing on “You Ain’t Dolly (And You Ain’t Porter).” He’s got one of the best country, male voices ever. I’ve never heard him miss a note. So yeah, I’m a fan of my Blake, and I’ll protect him.

Pollstar had an interview with Blake Shelton about 15 years ago when we put him on the cover and we said, “So, we understand you started off as a child?” and he goes, “That’s really astute of you! I think we all started off as a child.”

Ha! What a smartass. I’ll have to use that line. Hey, I really appreciate ya’ll putting me on the cover, too! It’s awesome. I’m really honored and excited, and that’s the truth. I’m looking forward to it.

Good. Because we’re looking forward to your career.

Yeah, me too!

Upcoming dates for Ashley Monroe:

March 1 – Grand Ronde, Ore., Spirit Mountain Casino     
April 11 – Elizabethton, Tenn., Bonnie Kate Theatre     
April 12 – Fairmont, W.Va., West Virginia Country Music Hall Of Fame     
April 13 – Alexandria, Va., Birchmere     
April 14 – New York, N.Y., Joe’s Pub     
April 26 – Indio, Calif., Empire Polo Club (Stagecoach)
June 14 – Winsted, Minn., (Winstock Country Music Festival)
July 4 – Nashville, Tenn., Riverfront Park     
July 18 – Cincinnati, Ohio, Sawyer Point (Buckle Up Music Festival)
July 20 – Brooklyn, Mich., Field Adjacent To Michigan International Speedway (Faster Horses Country Fest)
Aug. 7 – Detroit Lakes, Minn., Soo Pass Ranch (WE Fest)

For more information please visit AshleyMonroe.com