#SundaySpotlight – The Real Deal – New Release from Jamie Richards @JRichardsBand

I am super excited about this segment of #SundaySpotlight! I’ve been a died-in-the-wool Jamie Richards fan since I first heard him play at Tommy Alverson’s Family Gathering Music Festival in 2010.

So it is with great pleasure that I share with you his newest CD, The Real Deal!

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Jamie to talk about the album and some of the specific songs on it.

Me: What inspired you to put out a new album in the midst of this pandemic?

Jamie: I try to put out an album every three years. I released a new album in 2001, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2016. And then it’s been five years since I did one. I had some money put back and knew I had enough to cover it and keep putting out singles and play the game. I know it sounds kinda crazy to talk about investing in a new record when I can’t get out and promote it like I normally do. But the pandemic didn’t stop people from buying music. And what better thing to do, if you can’t go out and hear live music, than to listen to it at home? So, maybe in some ways it was the perfect time to put out a new record. My whole career has always been really crazy. When everybody else is doing really great, I’m not. And when everybody else is suffering, I’m doing great. It’s been the weirdest thing. I’ve seen it my whole life. I watched it in Nashville and I see it in Texas. When everybody is getting bookings, my phone ain’t ringing, and when everybody else isn’t working, I get more gigs than I can do. My career has always been backwards.

Me: One of the things I think makes you and your band unusual, is the longevity you’ve had. What do you attribute that to?

Jamie: Well, several things. I think personalities play a big part. The people in my band like what I write and what I do, and if the artist writes something they really enjoy playing then they’re going to stick around. Another thing that I think is really important, is I do exactly what I say I’m going to do every time. If I tell them something, they can bank on it. I never short them and I do exactly what I say I’m going to do. The check’s always going to be good.

Me: As an observer, I see that the band has a genuine respect for you and your art.

Jamie: I think that’s true. In my twenty years of playing music in Texas, I’ve played with a lot of musicians and there are very few that I didn’t get along with or ever had any trouble with. That’s because I treat everyone the way I want to be treated.

Me: And that right there puts you in the category of “The Real Deal.” There are several of the songs on the album that really stood out to me and I’d like to know the stories behind them. Tell me about “Someone Else’s Trouble Now.”

Jamie: It is one of my favorite songs on the record. Generally, you don’t write a country song that says anything negative about the woman. It’s always the man’s fault. There’s not hardly any songs that are negative toward women. This song comes from experiences I’ve been through and dealt with. When we cut it I said I wanted it to sound like it would be in a Tarantino movie. I wrote it with a guy named Bryan Martin, who has just signed a record deal with a major label. I also wrote “Seeing Me Like This” with Bryan.

Me: That was another one that I really liked. The lyrics are so positive. “I never thought I’d be seeing me like this. In the arms of an angel, sent from up above. After years and years of heartache, to now finding true love…”

Jamie: Bryan and I wrote both of those the same weekend out on the lake. That was a good weekend.

Me: “Playing Hard To Forget” was another heart-tugging song.

Jamie: Yeah, it’s kind of a play on words. The woman can play hard to get, but even harder to forget. I wrote that one with Mark Powell.

Me: I think there’s a good story behind “Lakeview Grocery Store.”

Jamie: That is an exact true story. That store was less than a mile from my childhood home. It was the first little bit of freedom I remember feeling when I was a twelve-year-old boy. Me and the neighbor kids would meet up at the store and smoke cigarettes and drink beer if we could get someone to buy us some. The first girl I ever kissed was at the Lakeview Grocery Store. I still remember her name. But the song is definitely a true story.

Me: “Up In Twang” surprised me.

Jamie: I wrote that song when I was in Nashville and it’s sort of a tribute song to the road warriors, to the bands that set up and play night after night. There’s a lot of truth in it. I tend to do more ballad type songs, and it’s fun to add in an up tempo one like this or, “Loose, Loud & Crazy” now and then.

Me: Every song on this album fills the promise of the title of the album, “The Real Deal.” And within a few hours after its release, on Friday, January 22nd, it shot up the charts.

Jamie: What happened was weird. The day this record came out, one of the songs on it, “I Want To With You” went to number one.

That song had been out since about a month or two before Christmas and just happened to hit number one the exact day my album came out. It was a big day for me. I was so proud of the iTunes charting position. It got up to number 12 and that’s across the world. There I was, with no record label behind me, no backing, me doing all the work, and it shot up the world-wide chart. It didn’t go any higher than 12, but I was thrilled.

On that note, I’m going to share with you the liner notes from Jamie’s album that says it all.

I’d like to thank my record label, my producer, my road manager, my booking agent, my guitar tech, and all of my roadies… Just kidding. I do all of that myself!!

Cody Jinks national recording artist put this post up on Facebook regarding Jamie’s new album:

So, if you are a fan of traditional country music, you can’t help but love every song on this new album from Jamie Richards! For your convenience, here is the purchase link from Amazon! THE REAL DEAL

Or even better yet, buy it directly from Jamie so that he actually gets to keep the money! 🙂 https://jamierichardsshop.com/

And take a minute to follow Jamie on social media! You’ll never meet a nicer guy or more talented artist!

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