As tropical storm Debbie (2012) would have it, work brought me to a location where a power line fell in this guy’s yard, Del Couch, who had a five-star studio and started a music foundation nearby.
Pop Culture
Andy Pursell on Lineman Roots, Unlikely Breaks, and Building a Country Music Career
The Florida-based country recording artist shares his journey from working as a power lineman to founding a band and chasing his musical dreams.
As a part of our series about Nashville’s rising stars, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Andy Pursell.
Florida-based country recording artist Andy Pursell is a country boy who found a passion for music and live performance in his late teens. Born and raised in Arcadia, Florida, the former lineman and self-taught guitarist (who embraces the sounds of Waylon Jennings, Garth Brooks, Hank Jr., Mark Chesnutt and Tracy Lawrence) formed the Andy Pursell Band (a group of veteran musicians with more than 40 years live performance experience combined) in 2015. Dedicated to giving 110% to make his dreams a reality and create memorable musical moments and experiences for country music listeners and his fans, Andy Pursell has quickly become a must-see entertainer worth the price of admission.
He was recognized as “Favorite New Country Artist” by the Tampa Bay Music Network (2016). As support act, Andy has shared stages with Neal McCoy, Clay Walker, Montgomery Gentry and John Michael Montgomery, among others. He’s performed at the Bradenton Area River Regatta, the Smokin’ In The Pines Festival, Manatee Civic Center, Hard Rock Cafe’ (Tampa) and The Ultimate Bullfighters World Finals “The Bulls And Bands Bash.” Andy is a team member and ambassador of Salt Life; he released the single titled “Livin’ In The Salt Life” in 2019. He will roll-out a waterfall series of original tunes throughout 2023.
Thank you so much for joining us in this series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit about your “origin story”. Can you tell us the story of where you grew up and what it was like to grow up in your hometown?
Arcadia, FL was an awesome place to grow up, and I want to make the town proud. No matter how little, a person can still create a good life with hard work. Arcadia is a “snowbird” destination and you can find some of the best fresh orange juice from the groves at our local shops. One of the coolest things about our town is we have the oldest rodeo in the State of Florida; the “Granddaddy” of ’em all. The rodeo event spans over four days in March. Folks from all over the world come into town to enjoy the experience.
As a child, I rode my bike in the neighborhoods, played sports with my friends, and I’d go to work with my dad. I worked at our family-owned businesses.
As for music, my mom was a rocker, through and through; my dad listened to the oldies’ greatest hits. My love for country music came from my friends and the culture of the town in general. Everywhere you went, there was country music on the radio or on CMT. I’ve always been around country music; I guess country music found me. From a lineman to a country music artist, who would have thought? It’s been a pretty wild ride.
Please share a story with us about what brought you to your music career path?
I could write a book about this musical journey. I became a power lineman when I was 18. At that time, I had an interest in learning music and I took guitar lessons on and off for about three years. But the lineman work was my primary concentration which put me in the position to put music on the back burner.
A few years later, I picked up the guitar again and remembered how much I loved music. My work was important, but I was missing something. Performing and making music filled a gap and made me realize how much I was itching to create it.
I started playing the guitar a little bit every day, learned more chords, and progressed from there. I took some writing advice from my sister, and one Sunday I came up with a line for a song: “Watching football on Sunday, maybe thinking one day, I might catch a real live game.” The lyric sparked an idea for a song that I titled, “The Fans,” about what a fan experiences when they watch sports games in the crowd (like NASCAR, NFL, MLB, etc.). I shared it with one of my coworkers who told me it was really good and sounded like a song on the radio. The song spread like wildfire throughout the workplace and nearly everyone encouraged me to make music.
As tropical storm Debbie (2012) would have it, work brought me to a location where a power line fell in this guy’s yard, Del Couch, who had a five-star studio and started a music foundation nearby. Through the foundation, which focused on highlighting artists or musicians who had an inspiration in music, recording and showcasing them in concerts all over town, I learned the “behind the scenes” of the music business: how to hook up speakers, run soundboards, and mix bands. I started out playing a couple of songs live and got the itch for more. Sam Woolf was involved in the music foundation as well, who ended up going on “American Idol” in 2014 and placed fifth.
My music career then blossomed. I spent time recording with some of the top session players in Nashville. The experience motivated me to pursue my music with more concentration. Freeing up my work schedule, I transferred jobs in September 2015. In October, I started a band all from a Craigslist post.
We’ve since opened for more than twelve national acts, including John Michael Montgomery, and Clay Walker. We’ve also served as the headliner local act for the Suwannee River Jam in Live Oak, FL. My sister and I co-wrote the song, “Livin’ In Salt Life,” and I became an ambassador for the Salt Life Brand. The relationship has been a blessing; Salt Life has helped me to chase my dreams and I’m so appreciative.
I feel like I was destined to do this.
What is the most interesting story or event that happened to you since you began your music career?
In 2015, when I was a solo artist just playing at farmers’ markets, I was asked to transport the national acts from the airport to the stage area for a rock, country, and blues festival. The festival had bands like Alabama, Restless Heart, Molly Hatchet, The Guess Who, and Neil McCoy. I enjoyed the opportunity to meet and spend a little time with Neil’s band leader who was very encouraging and shared words of wisdom. Fast forward two years later, I played the Suwannee River Jam on the same day as the Neil McCoy Band!
It has been said that sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made since launching your career and what lesson you learned from that?
I was playing my first solo gig opening for a popular local band. It was a learning experience from the get-go. I wasn’t familiar with the equipment, particularly the mic stand, and immediately experienced “technical difficulties.” I began my first song, seated on my stool, and midway through the song, the mic stand started to sink. Knowing “the show must go on,” I followed the mic down lower and lower, verse by verse, eventually moving off the stool and crouching lower and lower, singing until the song ended. I definitely learned from that mistake and give the mic stand an extra twist before every performance now.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story how they have supported you and the meaning/inspiration behind his/her support?
One of the most important people in my life is my wife, Mandy. My wife has been in my corner since day one of chasing this dream. She always keeps me grounded, bringing me back down when I would get too “over the top” with ideas.
Everybody loves the creative part of the music industry, but most don’t understand the business end of it. Without the business side figured out, you won’t be able to share your creativity. Mandy has been the most influential and business-minded person throughout this whole musical journey. It’s a blessing to have her along with me.
What is your favorite “Life Lesson Quote” and how is the quote relevant to you in your life?
“Life is like Plinko, you never know where you’re going to land.” I thought I was going to be a lineman, but now I’m a musician and recording artist. I couldn’t be happier with how things turned out.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects/songs you are working on now?
I’m gearing up to celebrate the release of my next single, “Right Amount of Wrong.” It’s a contemporary Bellamy Brothers’ “Redneck Girl” throwback. We filmed the corresponding music video in my home town — it was a big deal, like a film production — and the community really supported me.
We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in music and how being diverse can potentially affect our culture?
Having diversity in the entertainment industry really helps us find unexplored avenues to be creative. Different perspectives bring out new stories and productions that can be shared over the musical platforms. Culture alone can bring creative variations to life; some examples would be lyrical and melodic styles, different beats in songs of varying genres or different types of instruments. Without diversity, we wouldn’t have rap, Caribbean, folk, rock, pop — the list goes on. Diversity is vital to the music industry, and I’m grateful for it.
What are “Five things I wish someone had told me before I started my career” and why? Please share a story or example for each.
A few things that I wish someone had told me before I started would be:
- How much enjoyment I would experience from the hard work that enables me to perform on stage.
- How hard it is to keep going. It’s so easy to quit, but there’s something inside that keeps me driving harder and harder. And it’s a feeling that I can’t explain. But I put in the work and it’s all worth it when I get back on stage. The exhilaration is a reminder every single time that the hard work was, and is, worth it.
- The money and time that’s needed to build this business to stay afloat.
- There are so many great creators, movers and shakers that I’d meet along the way. I’ve met people that have been a mentor to me, inspired me to keep going, and sparked new ideas. Those relationships gave me the strength I needed to survive as an artist.
- Music is therapy. As an entertainer, you get to share a connection with the audience through the language of music. It’s an emotional expression in a language that everybody understands. The experience of providing that for other people is something I didn’t understand until I started writing and performing music.
What tips/advice would you recommend to peers in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
- Be humble.
- Burn the words “don’t give up” and “don’t quit” into your mind. It’s so easy to quit. There have been many times that I’ve thought about quitting when things were tough.
- Practice, practice, practice. Practice until it’s in your subconscious. This is my motto: “Who’s going to win between two sports teams; the one that practices three times a week, or the one that practices once a month?”
- Always give 110% to any show, large or small. You never know who you’re playing for, or what they’re going through at the time. And large or small, those folks in the audience came to see you. I always say this, “We’re going to make the grass dance and asphalt hotter! Give 110 or don’t bother.”
- If you’re going to be a star, act like a star, perform like a star, dress like a star. It will give you more confidence at your shows. If you do, that confidence will show and everyone will see you as the star you are fighting to be.
- Try to take your audience out of the real world. When you’re performing — you don’t want people thinking about bills, their problems at home, or stress at work. They are there to be entertained and forget their struggles. Your job on stage is to give them a get-away for a couple of hours. Music is not just therapy for us artists, it’s therapy for our audiences too.
Being a recording artist, you are an “influence.” If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
My movement would encompass positivity and a hard work ethic. I’d like to inspire people to be nice, have fun, and enjoy what they do. Those ingredients are a great recipe for a happier world. I believe more people would be happy in this life if they focused on working hard for their goals, and remembered to stay positive during troubling times.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? What would be the primary topic of conversation?
One person in the world that I’d like to have a private breakfast or lunch with would be my grandpa. He passed away a few years ago. I’d want to ask for advice — and learn more life lessons from him. He was so wise. I was young and didn’t realize how valuable our talks were, or how much I’d miss his crazy stories. I’d reminisce on the good times, and learn how our family was growing up. As I get older, I often wonder what it was like. I’d like to sit down with him, and just talk about our lives.
Where can readers find you online?
This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
Published inAuthority MagazineTop Lessons, Top Authorities · 42K Followers
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