Essential 8: Trey Ackerman

Courtesy of the Artist

Trey Ackerman has country music in his blood.  His singer-songwriter grandmother, Patti White, toured with artists like Bill Monroe and Faron Young while his father, Willie Ackerman, was a first-call session player and the staff drummer on the Grand Ole Opry and Hee Haw. 

As Trey grew up, his early forays into music included learning to sing, play guitar, drums and piano beginning at age 8, co-writing his first published song – recorded by Webb Pierce – at age 12, and as a rhythm guitarist in the Nashville Davidson County Sheriff’s Department band during his teenage years. 
In high school Trey moved from Nashville to Laredo, Texas where he paid his dues touring with regional acts as a guitarist, drummer and backup singer. 

After returning to Nashville and continuing his work as a drummer and sound engineer, Trey enthusiastically stepped into the role of husband and father, complete with a shift to more “legitimate” work in the IT industry. Even as he and his wife, Karen raised their children, Trey never lost his love for making music.  After losing both his parents, and upon a chance meeting with Hall of Fame guitarist Wayne Moss, Trey decided that the best way to simultaneously honor his musical legacy and talent was to re-enter the music business, this time with a singular purpose: to record an album along with his father’s musical peers.

Trey’s debut record is unique to his particular style of writing and performing, while also paying homage to his childhood memories and the music of the late 60’s and early 70’s. Here he answers his Essential 8 and talks musical mentors, his new album, Lonely On The Road, songwriting, and more!
​
Did you have a musical mentor? If so, who was it and how did they influence you?
I’ve had so many influences over the years and they’re really quite varied in genre (Country, Folk, Americana, Jazz, Blues, Rock, Pop, Latin).  As for straight up mentoring, Nashville session guitarist Wayne Moss has been my most recent influence. He gives me a lot of rope creatively but will help reign me in as well. I listen to everything he has to say.

With any particular song, was there an “a-ha” moment when you knew the song was completed and perfect? 
95% of the time that “a-ha” moment is very elusive. However, the title track of my first EP, Lonely On the Road, was a rare exception. That song came very quickly and I knew the moment it was finished with the exception of one line. When I took it into the studio, I had 3 or 4 alternate lines written down and actually mixed up my words and sang something completely new. It was totally spontaneous and, as luck (or the Universe) would have it, the mistake was the best line of all of them so we ended up keeping it.  The rest of the time, a song is done when I’ve either started performing it at writer’s nights around Nashville or I’ve taken it into the studio & recorded a demo version, which kind of locks it in. I still have songs from 30+ years ago I consider to be unfinished.

---

Is there a story behind your album’s title?
​Yes!  I traveled extensively over the years and the title track was written as an apology to my wife for being gone so much. One stretch, I actually did 17 cities in 14 days - starting in Sacramento and ending up in Boston. So, I wanted to acknowledge the sacrifice she made with my absence, and for her to know it was a lonely grind for me and that I was missing her, too. Plus, I think this song resonates with all the road warriors out there, regardless of occupation.

Why did you choose to anchor the album with the songs you did?
This particular project was really an ode to my parents and my grandmother from Texas.  They were the big musical influences in my life – where dad taught me to play the drums, took me into the studios up and down Music Row, backstage at the Grand Ole Opry, Hee Haw, and live shows, etc. My grandmother taught me how to play the guitar & sing, my mother taught me the piano and how to harmonize. I wanted to record songs they enjoyed and, in a style that was true to their era, the 60’s & 70’s Nashville sound – all acoustic instruments, 1 or 2 takes, no vocal tuning. I also had the dream to record something with the great Nashville Session players that dad worked with - including Wayne Moss as co-producer, Buddy Spicher handling string arrangements, Charlie McCoy on harmonica & vibraphone, Lloyd Green on dobro, Hargus “Pig” Robins on piano, Dee Moeller & Ray Walker helping with backing vocals, Buddy Spicher’s son David Spicher on the upright bass. We recorded the EP at Nashville’s oldest independently owned studio, Cinderella Sound Studio, on their vintage gear.  I did choose to record to ProTools instead of 2-inch tape so, there was one modern touch.

Where do you draw inspiration from when writing?
My writing method usually starts with noodling around on the guitar.  I’ll find a chord progression or riff that grabs me & sets a mood. After playing around with it for a bit words or phrases will start to pop out in certain places. Then it’s just a matter of developing a story to fill in the blank spots – the title usually comes last.  The trick is not getting stuck after the first verse & chorus.  As for style, it could come out as Country or Americana, occasionally Folk or Bluegrass, as in the song “Run Granny Run”.

When/where do you do your best writing? 
I write in two places these days – at home in the living room where we have 20ft ceilings & lots of natural reverberation and at Cinderella Sound Studio, where I’m co-writing with Dee Moeller. I take great inspiration from Dee – she has a wonderful way of saying profound things with very few words.  My wife, Karen Ackerman, also co-writes with me at home. She has a phenomenal sense of humor and helps with story development.

Do you write about personal experience, the experience of others, observations, made-up stories, something else or a combination?
I tend to write about made up stuff.  Occasionally, I’ll take inspiration from some aspect of my life or an observation and fill in the rest with fiction. The goal is to paint a picture in someone’s mind and make them feel what I’m feeling.  When someone tells me they got the chills or felt the tears in their eyes, I know I’ve hit the mark.

Which song of yours gets the best crowd response?
I don’t know why but I like it best when a song gets complete silence from the audience, almost to the point you could hear a pin drop.  I do have a bluegrass song called “Run Granny Run,” that I co-wrote with my wife that always gets a lively response.  The first time I played it at the Bluebird Café, the audience audibly responded to individual lines in the song, which threw me off a little.  At the end, I received a huge applause and it startled the crap out of me. I practically ran off the stage.
 
 Website/Facebook