Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Rodriguez.
Hi Matthew, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
This Journey of country music started in 2014 but you could say it was even further back. Growing up I would hang out at my grandpa’s bar the “Golden Cue” listening to Merle Haggard and other greats just taking in the lyrics and melodies that soaked his bar. Fast forward to college I gave up playing golf to take up a guitar and it was the decision that changed my life ever since. I spent that whole summer of 2014 learning songs and playing anywhere they would let me at open mics, parties and bbqs. I failed more than I succeed at expressing my ideas until someone had explained to me that I should write my own tunes. Once I started meeting friends who had the same passion for music I could learn from others and watch them perform getting a first hands on of tips and musicians tricks. It was a rough couple of months in between learning from others and learning how to play acoustic shows until I took a leap of faith. One of my best friends said “lets go try American Idol” so I skipped a final exam in college to drive to New Orleans to give my dreams a shot. That dream was shot down 3 rounds in and it really did give me this sense of “am I meant for this” but life gave me a opportunity.
One random day of talking to my friends about wanting to start a band an acquaintance of my fathers called me with the opportunity to start a band with some friends he had. Had you told me from that moment of saying yes and walking into his house I would make some of the closest friends/family I ever had I would have called you a loony. We started Southern Ashes at that moment with a Fiddle and Guitar. After we put together some of my songs and tons of honkytonk covers we played countless of shows anywhere they would give us the opportunity. I can honestly say the years of Southern Ashes from 2015-17 I don’t remember much from how fast and how many shows we played. In between, I found the time to turn my personal life into songs and put together a record with them called “Back of My Mind”. After taking my leap of faith in turning my personal stories in to a sound we used social media to spread the word by the amount of friends we had made at shows. As 2017 went by we obtained some of the biggest opportunities to share our music with some of my heroes like (Mark Chesnutt, Los Lonely Boys, Randy Rogers, Kyle Park and Kevin Fowler) and hit the road on the east coast of Texas. The dream carried on to playing 4 shows a week and grinding day in and day out at ever venue that we would get our feet on and morning tv shows.
Now in 2021-22 we’ve expanded our fan base reach and have been working on a second album writing songs for the past couple of years. Southern Ashes and I 9 years later continue to pack the honky tonks and play some of the biggest festivals and concerts in Texas with some of our idols that have become our closest friends. So looking back as we pick songs for our new album how we got here was all on a leap of faith and never saying no to an open door opportunity when one closes.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road has been a long one and definitely not a smooth one. Covid has definitely delayed the start of our new album. However, one of the biggest losses our band has had was losing our dearest members (Fiddle Player) of our band Ruby Martinez who was the longest member of the band from the very start of 2014 and passed away of cancer in 2021. Some might say we had bigger bumps in the road but nothing hits our camp more than losing her.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Away from music, I am a special education teacher at a high school. I am most proud of the fact that I get to tell people that nobody said you can’t do two things you love. It’s not easy to balance it all but for now the dream is doing both. Continue this career in country music is a different kind of proud when I can express myself for others who can’t. I will carry those ideas in our new record as I noticed during covid we lacked communication with how we really feel. Setting ourself apart as a band I think is really simple we create this country music with an edge of influences of my uncles, grandparents and parents of wanting to be like Bob Seger and Garth Brooks all while riding with Merle Haggard. Not only providing a show but telling a story about the hard-working people that are always forgotten.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The biggest life lesson I’ve learned in this journey is to listen to your gut and never take time for granted live for the highest of highest and survive the worst times for both can be taken away from you in seconds.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/southern_ashes/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SouthernAshesMusic
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Southern_Ashes
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcm1P5rEglwRVZDOG0v2lEg
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0rPHknmtp41fGIaT7G8RF5?si=yFFI6zfpTbqZ2c_LzY3i8Q
Image Credits
Manny Vasquez (@mannygv3)
