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Troy Ramey

Troy Ramey

SInger, Songwriter, Musician
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Troy Ramey

Singer, songwriter and guitarist Troy Ramey was able to break into the music scene by showcasing his talents on season 12 of the Voice (US). After turning all 4 chairs, he made it into the top 12, under mentor Gwen Stefani. Troy’s music has racked up more than 5 million Spotify streams. Now working with producer Dante Lattanzi, he uses an Aston Origin, Spirit and Halo to hone his sound…

Soloist, The Voice (USA).
The basement in Boston

“I’ve always loved music; my dad was a musician. That’s how my parents met - my dad was in a band. He had guitars all around the house and was always playing, he’d sing songs with my sisters and me. I fell in love with it at a young age, but it was never something I thought I would go after. Until, after my dad passed away when I was about 19, I found myself working at this restaurant for a couple years and a bunch of the guys there played music; they overheard me singing to myself while I was cleaning up the back room and they invited me to come jam. That’s how it all started. I had always loved to sing but I just never had the balls to do it until then.

We started playing music together in the basement and I absolutely fell in love with it. I was thinking ‘holy shit… I think I’m… am I good at singing? Can I actually sing?’ and then we started practicing and writing our own songs. Having the realisation that I can write a song that other people want to listen too was an incredible landmark for me. Performing live for an audience was another huge thing.

The band became reasonably well known; we were travelling outside of Boston and playing a lot of shows, but I just wasn’t fully happy as an artist. I wanted to be self-sufficient and not have to depend on anybody for what I wanted to do. I left the band and I moved to New York; mainly because my fiancée was there, and I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to restart and try something new.”

Everything went nuts!

“I locked myself in a room and forced myself to get better at the guitar, leading to my first solo gig in April 2013. Later that year I released a single that I worked on with [Producer] Dante Lattanzi and during that whole time I was playing a bunch of shows and trying to get better and forming my band that backs me up now.

That period was when some of my songs got picked up by Spotify and everything went nuts, I garnered around 5 million streams! It was incredible, and it’s something I’d like to create with all of my songs if I could, but you never know why they’re going to get picked up on these playlists.

Shortly after that happened, I got invited to audition for the Voice. I’d been in New York just a couple of years and my solo career as a solo artist was already starting to heat up. The Voice was a nice benchmark, not because it means much in terms of the value of an artist or a singer, but because I proved to myself that I could handle that kind of pressure and perform at a high level, and also connect with people in a meaningful way.

When you’re on a pedestal like that you can get tricked into thinking that shit is about to go down, that my life is going to change in a huge way and it doesn’t. It doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of your career.”

‘You don’t need to be Jimi Hendrix’

“The biggest thing that’s changed is my confidence as a writer. I was new at playing guitar, which made me self-conscious I wasn’t supporting and respecting the song properly. Having friends, mentors and other musicians that wanted to play in my band because they believed in me somewhat settled that. I remember my drummer, Phil telling me, ‘Dude, it doesn’t matter how f****** good you are at the guitar, you’re writing songs that people want to be a part of. You don’t need to be Jimi Hendrix to be a great songwriter!’

Phil and Dante gave me confidence over the years; they taught me it doesn’t matter how technically talented you are at the guitar. I will say though, over the last 5-6 years I’ve played thousands of hours of events and gigs and just the fact that my guitar has been in my hands that much has proved my ability to be the best version of me as a musician. I’m never going to be the greatest guitar player in the room, and I don’t care, it doesn’t shake my confidence anymore.

I first encountered Aston through Dante Lattanzi, he had the Origin and we were using it at the studio. I was in complete disbelief. Number one it was beautiful, number two it sounded amazing. I use the Spirit and Origin. I love all the Aston mics, they’re amazing! I have full confidence in whatever Aston mics I’m using.

I’ve recently been getting more into trying to produce higher quality demos. I’ve recorded some vocal tracks and takes as well as guitar takes that we have used in some finished songs. I’m not really at the point where I would be producing an entire finished product, but I’ve gotten good enough where I can get a great vocal sound and a great guitar sound for sure. I have a great working relationship with Dante and really whatever I need I can do with him.”

Out-takes

Q. Who are your favourite artists?

A. James Taylor, Kings of Leon, Bon Iver, John Mayer

Q. What would your fantasy mic be?

A. It would have a built-in pre-amp and can adjust to the contour of your voice appropriately… With a compressor. Sort of like the Stealth, but MORE.

Q. What are the 4 words you’d chose to describe Aston, or your experience with the brand?

A. Dependable, Beautiful, Professional, Inclusive

Q. What is the first song that made you cry?

A. ‘Run for the Roses’ – Dan Fogelberg

 

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