Songwriting is the key for Old Dominion

The key to success in music is to have great songs. So, the history of songwriting in country music is filled with greats like Harlan Howard, Bill Anderson, Dallas Frazier and a host of others. What if you could have an entire band of great songwriters?

That’s exactly what the band Old Dominion is all about as they will perform Monday at The Brandin’ Iron Country Nightclub in San Bernardino. The band is the formation of long-time Nashville songwriters who are doing it the old fashioned way: A lot of hard work and a lot of patience.

“We’ve been friends longer than we’ve been a band,” said lead singer Matthew Ramsey during a recent telephone interview. “There was never a point where we said let’s be a band. We just enjoyed playing music and we were just having fun. Our sound comes from natural chemistry. We were never chasing any particular sound.”

Their first record, the EP “Old Dominion,” has been successful and now they are set to release their first Sony full-length record.

“We did the EP out of necessity,” said singer Matthew Ramsey. “Now, we had a couple days in Nashville where we did all the tracking and some days to sing vocals. We’ve been doing more recording now in the hotel rooms! If this record works it is going to be a heck of a story!”

The self-title EP was picked up by Sony after the band signed a record deal. Now it is time for the full record.

“We’ve built this grassroots Band-Aid that has followed us since the beginning,” he said. “They have been waiting and pushing for an album and that’s what we are doing. It should be out in early fall. In the meantime, we are doing 170 shows this year.”

It helps that they have a long track record of songwriting.

“We’ve been lucky enough to write a bunch of songs for other artists,” he said.

Indeed, for years the members’ songs had been recorded by the likes of Luke Bryan, Keith Urban and Kenny Chesney. Guitarists Brad Tursi, Trevor Rosen and Ramsey all had publishing company deals.

“At our live shows we don’t have to do a bunch of cover songs which other artists starting out have had to do,” he said. “We can do the songs on the EP, songs we’ve written that others have done that the people know and things off the upcoming album. It gives us a chance to test them out.”

And songwriting is a challenge in many ways.

“There are only so many things to write about,” Ramsey said. “The talent is writing them in a different way or writing them from a new perspective or a new hook. It comes from everywhere. So, as a songwriter you pay attention. If you listen, people will tell you what to write about, whether it’s movies, friends, or their lives. It’s out there and just waiting to be put in a song.”

There is definitely excitement when it comes to the stage.

“I think we are the first band to ever do a stadium tour without a full-length album out,” he said. “We are excited and appreciative of what we have been given, and we just love being on stage and playing music.”

And there is the thrill of fans going wild for their music.

“It’s incredible to play on stage when people know your music,” he said. “It helps that we had success as songwriters so people know the song, even if they know that it was sung by someone else.”

Regardless of what happens, the band has a simple outlook on musical life.

“We like what we do, and we are just going to keep doing it no matter what,” he said.