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Hi guys, welcome to VENTS! How have you been?
Hi Vents, this is Jerry Nettles answering here. I’m great. It sure has been a different year plus now, but in the grand scheme of things nothing worth complaining about. Most recently, we are very thankful to have made it safely through this Texas winter storm. The three of us, our families, and friends all have our power and water restored. As you know, we just released our second single, “Row”, which is extremely exciting, and we decided earlier this week to hop back in the studio to start writing for our next release.
Can you talk to us more about your latest single “Row”?
Musically, “Row” was inspired by Micah’s oldest son Ronin (9). He wanted to be a part of what Micah and I were doing when we first started getting together to write for this project, so he used an app on his iPad and recorded his idea for us to reference. Micah text it to me and said “Ro wants us to turn this into our next song. LOL.” So, I decided to sit down and crank out a tune and “Row” just naturally came out. A few hours later I sent the bones of the song back to Micah and said “Ask Ro if he meant something like this? “.
At that time, Micah and I were still trying to figure out who the vocalist was going to be on the project, so I sent the track to my brother, Brent Nettles, and while were catching up, talking about life and what not, I asked him if he would mind tracking a vocal on the song if he heard anything. He ended up writing the pre-chorus lyric and melody, which describes how someone can be too close to a situation to have the right perspective to be a solution, while understanding one’s own shortcomings and the frustrations that come along with that. That hit home for us. By the time we started working with Chris, it was simple explaining where the song was at that point and Chris was able to finish the rest of the song’s lyric and melody.
Did any event in particular inspire you to write this song?
Overall, the song is a good representative of where all three of us were individually at the time. For me, I had recently quit a great job in NYC working for a record label to move back to Houston because I was going through a divorce…EEK! In the shitter? YES. It was time for me to quit feeling sorry for myself and get back to a better place. While dealing with my personal issues, Micah was stuck feeling like a warm body in an office 9-5 on Groundhog Day, and Chris found himself meandering in search of the next catapult to launch something special. Have you ever been somewhere and while projecting everything is just fine, yet you are on the verge of having a mentally and physically crippling anxiety attack and you think “Oh snap…I gotta get outta here”. If so, then imagine that exact scenario and that is what this song was about for me while writing it.
How was the filming process and experience behind the video?
Let me start with stating that our videographer, Wade Concienne, he is the jam! He and Micah met just before COVID during a finance networking event in Houston and hit it off discussing their music careers of years past. We shot the music video for our first single, “Tidal Wave”, with Wade, and that was a whirlwind (we can save that story for another time) but we absolutely knew we wanted him to shoot the video for “Row”. We had a specific visual in our head for this one and after we explained the story line to Wade, he hopped on it real quick, sent back a storyboard/shot list, and immediately we were confident we were ready to shoot this thing. Shooting the music video was interesting because we were all on the same page about the story we wanted to tell and all the shots were very specific, but our collective acting experience is effectively nonexistent. At the end of the shoot, it felt a little different leaving us with the feeling of “did we just shoot a music video?” because we did not have to shoot many scenes more than once or twice. Wade shot the story and edited together in less than a week, a credit to his skillset and work ethic. It was a great experience, and we can’t wait to work with Wade again.
The single comes off your new album We Are Getters – why naming the record after the band?
Let us start with the name “Getters”. First, we were calling the project “Mettles”, a combination of Micah’s last name (Miller) and mine (Nettles). Once we added Chris to the mix we had to squeeze “Goodwin” in there so there somehow, so we landed on “Getters”. Coming up with the EP title was a bit of the same process. We tossed around some ideas that did not stick. Meanwhile, we were writing our Bio and figured we should look up the definition of the word “Getters” before we want to call ourselves something publicly, and we got lucky there too. Getters is defined as “Two or more persons or things that get a specified or desirable thing”. That pretty much sums up the work ethic, and dedication that the three of us have. So, when naming the EP we felt it was only natural to introduce ourselves in the same manner that we named the band… “We are Getters”.
How was the recording and writing process?
Many, many hours sitting at my computer with a few instruments, writing, and recording numerous songs with Micah. In the beginning, I did not want to write or record music at all. Micah and I have been best friends for roughly two decades, so needless to say he knows the right buttons to push until I usually end up giving in. We started off rocky, but Micah and his family would come spend weekends at my house, providing the environment Micah felt he needed to “force” me into being creative with him. My son, Henry (6), and Micah’s two boys, Ronin (9) and Thurman (5), get along super well, and Micah’s wife, Sybianna, would graciously let Micah and I spend time writing/finding a sound that would eventually become Getters. After we had quite a few songs under our belt musically, it was time to start adding lyric and melody to them. At that time, we reached out to our long-time friend, Gabriel Cavazos, and my brother, Brent Nettles, to offer a different prospective to the songs and write lyric and melody. They are both really freaking talented individuals, so we were lucky to have them help us out in crafting the songs. Micah and I communicated to them the lyrical perspective that we had in mind and things just came together naturally. Gabriel and I have a long history of working in the studio together and pushing each other until we just land on something that we both get excited about. Add in my brother, someone I am most close with, and we can usually get on the same page without even saying a word. We actually have our own language we made up as kids…that is a funny story for later. After we had several songs finished, we called Chris and talked him into joining the group. So, once Chris and I started tag teaming the vocal recordings at his studio, the songs really started to take shape. After that I collected all the tracks and mixed them in my apartment here in Houston. I thoroughly enjoyed making this EP like we did it. No outside pressure, simply good friends in a good environment making art that we are extremely proud of. Cannot wait to share and talk about these songs with whoever will listen!!
What role does Houston play in your music?
I grew up in Brenham, TX, a small, country town that’s about halfway between Houston and Austin. I was introduced to the Houston rock scene when I was about 13-14 years old, playing venues like Java Jazz, Fitzgerald’s, and Numbers. It blew my mind and I felt so out of place at first, partly because I wasn’t old enough to be in the venue without parental supervisor, and keep in mind – my parents were very strict when it came to what kind of music I listened to growing up. Also, I looked like an awkward, overdressed, sheltered kid at my first rock show, for sure! It did not take long for me to start going to every rock show I could, “Sure mom and dad, I was just over at Steven’s last night” (Steven was the 17-year-old pastor’s kid who was down to sneak me all the way to Houston and back to play or go to a show without my parents finding out). LOL! From those days until now, Houston has really taught me a lot. From learning the community and support that most Houston artists give/offer each other, to all the different genres and talents from all over the world that are piled up in this great city. I super look forward to performing with Getters here in Houston (and beyond) ASAP.
With such a big background on the music industry – what have you guys learned from these experiences?
That is a fun question. Hopefully, we can have a more in-depth conversation about it a different time. Overall, I would say that I have just been incredibly fortunate to have really good people to look up to in the business. Genuine, real, honest, hardworking people in the business that do right by the people they do business with. If I had to pick one thing to lean on that I have learned about the music business, as an artist, is that I believe it is imperative that we learn, and never stop learning, about the business side of things. An artist’s work does not stop when a song, album, or video is finished. The real work is only just beginning at that point. If you genuinely want to succeed, it is imperative that the artist have the knowledge and knowhow to succeed on their own, so that if/when others join the team, it only compounds the opportunity for success.
Where did you find the inspiration for the songs and lyrics?
Chris, Micah, and I have all known each other for a long time. There is a reason that we are all connected and always seem to cross paths. Like I mentioned about the inspiration for “Row”, both musically and lyrically, it is the culmination of combining likeminded ideas amongst a small group of people who were all going through their own personal things. These songs are very personal, and we hope that translates while listening. Getters has been an outlet for me to communicate in both comfortable and uncomfortable settings. Our hopes are that others will be able to connect and the Getters community will grow. It will surely be interesting and exciting to keep writing these musical stories.
What else is happening next in Getters’ world?
In the past few days, Chris, Micah, and I all got together to start working on our next EP. It will come out at the end of this year if all goes as planned. We are also taking the time to craft what the live “Getters Experience” is going to be. I am really excited about working on both. Keep an eye out for some live streams we will be doing in the near future. Just a warmup until we can find the right opportunities to perform in person. If you ever wanna reach out, to know more, say what’s up, etc., feel free to DM us on our socials and we would love to chat.
