Old Dominion on How They Started Playing and the Power of Songwriting

There was a period of time when the five members of Nashville's Old Dominion largely operated behind the scenes, despite the fact that they were penning hits for some of country's greatest acts.

For nearly a decade, the Matthew Ramsey (lead vocals/guitar), Trevor Rosen (guitar/keyboards), Whit Sellers (drums), Geoff Sprung (bass), and Brad Tursi (guitar) toiled away in Music City, gaining writing credits for the likes of Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, the Band Perry, Keith Urban and Dierks Bentley before finally releasing a self-titled debut EP in 2014.

That record included the smash single "Break Up with Him," which rocketed to No. 1 on Billboard's Country Airplay charts and strapped jet boosters to their backs that don't seem to be running out of fuel anytime soon.

"Break Up with Him" was also included in Old Dominion's debut full-length, Meat and Candy, a Gold-certified album that boasted even more high-charting singles, such as "Snapback" and "Song for Another Time," both of which hit the top 5.

While plotting what would be next for a band that had toiled for so long in the competitive Nashville landscape only to find tremendous success with their first releases might be daunting, Old Dominion didn't back down.

In 2017, they followed up Meat and Candy with Happy Endings, which quickly reached No. 1 on Billboard's Country chart and helped earn them a prestigious ACM Award for Vocal Group of the Year.

"There was a little pressure at first, but to be honest with you, in comparison to other people, this success kind of happened late in our lives," Ramsey said. "We're older, and we've gotten to a point in our careers where we're like, 'This is all gravy, man.' We're just making music we love. If it works it works, and if doesn't it doesn't.

"The second album was a little pressure, but as song writers we're pretty confident in our songwriting, and we know we sound like this because we're just us. We felt pretty good about it, but it is very validating when it does so well. It just tells you to trust your instincts and to trust your gut, and that's what we keep doing."

2018 has seen Old Dominion taking their sounds to the masses with a massive tour running through North America and Europe. In the midst of the madness, Fender.com caught up with Ramsey and Sprung to talk about their musical beginnings and their approach to ace songwriting.

Sprung: "I started playing bass just out of this pragmatic moment."

"Starting in elementary and middle school, I was playing saxophone in school bands, and then a couple friends started a band and said, 'We have two guitar players and a drummer. We need a bass player." I wanted to be part of this band and happened to fall in love with the bass. Because I had had a background in music in general, it wasn't a hard transition into playing bass guitar. Like a lot of things in my life, I dug in and never stopped."

Ramsey: "I had a developing ear and would sit in my room or in my basement just trying to pick out what I could on guitar."

"I had a couple of uncles, one who played guitar and one who was in bands and wanted to do more on a hobby level. One of them gave me an acoustic guitar. I was into music and played the drums, and I used to noodle around on our family piano, and one day my dad said, 'You're so good at making things up on this piano, you should pick the guitar up.' My uncle who played a lot would show me chords, and then he would go, 'OK, now just move one of your fingers somewhere else and see what happens.'"

Sprung: "I remember trying to learn the Eagles' 'Hotel California' off my dad's turntable, and it took me a while to connect the musical dots on my own."

"But what I didn't know was the belt drive on the turntable was slipping. It would change pitch on me, but my ears weren't trained enough to say, 'Oh, he's going from the one to the five to the four kind of thing.' Since it was changing by little pitches, I thought the bassist must have been some sort of mastermind, because he was playing notes that did not exist on my bass. Finally, years later, I found out that my dad's turntable was just out of key."

Ramsey: "Bruce Springsteen was a big influence on me, which might be why I was drawn to the Telecaster."

"The first guitar that I saved my own money for was a Mexican Tele, saved a couple hundred bucks. I owned it for a while, and I wish I still had it, honestly. The Tele just seemed to be the guitar that fit me the best. I'm definitely am drawn to that sound. It just feels right in my hands. One day I was trying out all these guitars, and this guy I used to be in a band with was like, 'Man, you're just a Tele guy man. I don't know what you're looking at this other stuff for. You're just a Tele guy." And I said, 'You're right. What am I doing?'"

Sprung: "Playing with other people is fundamental to the role of a bass player."

"You can only practice bass so much without being next to a drummer or a guitar player. It's the only way to really understand the nature of the instrument. You've got to get your ass kicked by other players. You've got to go in a room and go, 'Oh, my God, this guy knows all the stuff that I don't know,' and raise my bar to reach his or her level. It's the audition that I didn't get in Nashville when I moved there that kicked my ass more than the gigs I got, for sure."

Ramsey: "Songwriting is really what this band is built on."

"We write on the road, we write when we're home. If we tried to chase a sound or something that we thought people wanted to hear, I don't think we would be here. The only reason we're here is because we finally said stop chasing what we think the radio wants to hear, what people want to hear, and let's just make what we think sounds cool."

Sprung: "Anybody can go and play music, you just have to push yourself to do it."

"The weird thing, I think, is that sometimes the goal to people becomes a level of expertise. But really, if the goal is to enjoy yourself and to have fun and to have fun with other people, then it doesn't matter. You can do what I did, which is play the same Christmas song for two hours straight with the same four guys, and it can be the time of your life, just because you're part of something that's happening in the moment with friends."

Ramsey: "Patience is really hard to have."

"You watch people play and it seems so easy, but it just takes time. It's just a matter of learning that patience and the repetition and the practice. You just have to do it, you know what I mean? You'll get there, but it's just learning that patience. It's hard for anyone who really wants to play."

For more information and tour dates from Old Dominion, visit their official website, and if you want to learn how to play thier hit, "Snapback," watch this video from Fender Play. Sign up for a free trial here.