For episode 74 of the podcast, we spoke to husband-wife duo Haley & Michaels about coming together as a duo, the hilarious story behind ‘High Note’ and more…
Credit: Jon Paul
Before you guys met as a duo, you both started off as solo artists. So before you met who were your personal inspirations and influences?
Shannon: So, as solo artists we were each pursuing our own career as country artists. We both grew up in California, we grew up three miles apart from each other in Orange County, but we never met until we were in Nashville. So when we met, we bonded over our common influence and love of country music, because at the time not many people where we were from liked it, so we bonded over it. However I also grew up listening to singer-songwriter type music, like James Taylor and Bob Dylan and Sheryl Crow and kind of the pop-singer-songwriter along with country.
Ryan: I came from a more rock and roll background, but I also grew up listening to great country songs, so as Shannon said that was really what we bonded over was our mutual love of country music, but we each brought a number of different influences to the table which we incorporated into what is now ‘Haley & Michaels.’
Of course. So did you both always know it was going to be country music and you were always going to move to Nashville?
Shannon: You know for me it was only because I started writing songs when I was very young and my songwriting was heavily influenced by country, so my songs just came out naturally sounding like country music, even though I didn’t have the Southern accent. They still sounded like country music and that’s where my heart always was.
Well I always say the heart of country music is that songwriting element. You don’t have to say ‘y’all’ every other word….
(both laugh) Shannon: True.
So am I right in thinking you guys met at a coffee shop? How did ‘Haley & Michaels’ become ‘Haley & Michaels’?
Ryan: So we had a mutual friend who was also a guitar player, and he was playing in Shannon’s solo project and he was also the lead guitar player in my rock band at the time. Shannon had been going back and forth between Los Angeles and Nashville and I was in Nashville. So when she made the trip to Nashville, he suggested that she connect with me and so that’s how we ended up meeting up the time at the ‘Frothy Monkey‘ in Nashville…
That’s the best name for a coffee shop…
Shannon: Isn’t that funny?
Ryan: Yep, it’s got to be the ‘Frothy Monkey’ right?
Was it really natural when you guys met then, the evolution of your music and the chemistry of your songwriting?
Shannon: Absolutely, it was natural when we sat down just as two people meeting each other, we felt like we had known each other all our lives. Then when we sat down to write our first song together, I think that’s the moment that we decided we want to become ‘Haley & Michaels’ because the songwriting chemistry was just so there, we were just finishing each other’s sentences and really creating our sound with how we trade off parts vocally in the song and that really happened in the songwriting room in a very organic way.
You know that’s the perfect match when neither of you have to leave anything behind and you don’t have to decide where to go, you just naturally know where to go in the song.
Shannon: Yes, that’s such a good way to say it.
Credit: Jon Paul
What is your songwriting process like now? Obviously you guys still write together but I know you have more recently and had other people come in for co-writes, has that just happened very naturally?
Ryan: It’s been very natural to us, we write a lot with our friends. Our friends and the people that we write with regularly have really helped us find and develop our sound too. Usually when we’re writing with people, they’re people who really understand what we’re going for and just help us get there even more on the songwriting front.
Absolutely. One of the turning points in your personal life was obviously your wedding day, and that resulted in that viral video, so obviously that moment was just such a huge moment in both your personal and professional lives…
Shannon: Surreal, it’s surreal to look back and think the wedding ended up being a music video, our song ended up getting performed on The Today Show. It’s one of those things that we wrote it really just for ourselves, as the most personal song we had ever written, we didn’t have any co-writers on that one it was just the two of us and we wrote it to be our wedding vows. The fact that it’s become other people’s wedding songs and taken on a life of it’s own is pretty crazy. It’s interesting when the most personal thing ends up turning into the most universal song.
Well it’s that honesty element that people just relate to so much more than they used to… The other really meaningful song you released last year was ‘Me Too’ with Tarana Burke. How important was that song to you and what did you want people to take away from that song because obviously it’s got such an important message?
Ryan: I think for us the thing that got us into music and keeps us going is the opportunity to uplift people and have a voice the same way music is for us. When we saw people stepping forward and saying ‘Me Too’ and telling their stories, we really felt like it was important as artists to show support and lend a voice in whatever way we could. Tarana is an incredible woman and her narrative, her views and thoughts about all of this is not necessary what the press gets a hold of and makes out of it. We were really proud to be supporting the ‘Me Too’ movement and bringing awareness to the cause.
Shannon: I think especially sending the message to survivors of specifically sexual violence, but really the violence of anything – you know, bullying – there’s many things people go through and feel like they’re alone and no one else can understand. I think the ‘Me Too’ movement has been huge for survivors and that’s where that song came from, but we feel like the message is so broad to say ‘we are not alone’ we all live this experience together, we go through so much of the same life experiences and stuff. We want survivors specifically but also anyone who is struggling to know they’re not alone.
It is so important to have those kind of empowering songs out there… Then most recently, your most recent single is ‘Hail Mary’ can you talk a bit about that song and the inspiration and the creative process behind it?
Shannon: Yes, we are so excited to have this song out, it’s one of the most meaningful songs to us. The start of it, the way it’s been released, is definitely one of the coolest things that has happened to us. So we wrote this song about our struggles, we had just been having a hard time in the industry and our musical journey. This business can be really wonderful and exciting but it can also be really challenging. We wrote this song about that and about overcoming and not giving up. ‘Hail Mary’ is a football term, at the end of the game when there’s no options yet, you throw up a ‘Hail Mary’ and that’s kind of where the inspiration came from.
Ryan: As Shannon said it’s a really special song to us. We really wanted to find the right way and time to release it. We got a call that the folks at Netflix had heard it and wanted to make it a feature track in the movie ‘Walk, Ride, Rodeo’ which is an incredible true story about national rodeo champion Amberley Snyder who was paralysed in a car accident. She literally and figuratively got back on the horse and she is riding again, she is an incredible inspiration and the story is amazing. We were just over the moon and we knew that this is exactly the right way for us to put this song out there.
It must have been one of those crazy things, because you write a song and have your own personal interpretation and story behind the song and then a film company comes along and have their own story that you didn’t even think about…
Shannon: Yeah I think that’s one of the coolest things about music. It was great for us to get to experience it, you know one song can mean something to one person and mean something totally different to another and take on totally different meanings depending on what you’re going through in life.
My favourite song of yours is ‘High Note’ – the harmonies are just so gorgeous – so again, what is the inspiration behind that song?
Ryan: For me personally it’s a very special and one of my favourite songs. That song actually came from, I had an opportunity with my uncle – so unfortunately Shannon wasn’t there – we had a last minute ticket come up to this concert called ‘Desert Trip’ which was in Palm Springs, the same place they did Coachella. It was unbelievable, as we walked in Bob Dylan was singing ‘Make You Feel My Love.’
Shannon: Yeah, Paul McCartney sang ‘Let It Be’ right?
Ryan: Yeah and the Rolling Stones. Roger Waters from Pink Floyd ended the whole concert with ‘The Wall’ and I had never seen – you know I grew up listening to classic rock – but I had not seen all these guys together in one place. At the very end of the concert, Pink Floyd always has a 250ft blimp and the pink pig comes out from behind the stage and it starts going over the crowd, and I see a 100,000 cell phone lighters in the air and the whole 3 day experience was so emotional, and the pig actually starts to malfunction, it starts coming down and my uncle who was at Woodstock and always wanted to die at a rock and roll concert starts running toward the pig as security is clearing everyone else out the way, and he’s yelling ‘come and get me pig’ and I’m really worried but laughing, thinking you know this is what he wanted. Long story short, they got the pig out of the way, my uncle didn’t die and as I was leaving the concert I called Shannon and I was trying to describe this and she says ‘how was the concert?’ and I said ‘all I can say is I’m leaving on a high note.’
Shannon: And I heard him say ‘High Note’ and immediately I told him ‘ok, we can talk about the concert later’ but right now we need to write that song called ‘High Note’ so we actually started the song that night on the phone and then ended up finishing it up with a couple of friends. I’m so glad you asked because it’s such a funny story.
I did not expect that. It’s probably the best answer to any song inspiration question I’ve ever asked.
Ryan: That’s awesome. It’s a really special song to us, we took it and wrote it about a relationship but underneath that I will always feel the feel and sway of an arena rock and roll concert, I will always see the pig trying to kill my uncle. We put that song out on Spotify but we’re excited for that to be a big part of our career. It’s a big song for us live and hopefully we’ll get it out to radio at the right time.
So exciting! So for the rest of the year what are your plans, are you going to carry on doing single releases?
Ryan: So right now ‘Hail Mary’ is officially going to radio in July, but we already have a few stations that have stuck their neck out and started to play it. We’ll be out there promoting ‘Hail Mary,’ we can’t say too much but recently we had a meeting with a significant NFL team too which we will keep you posted on.
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Final Few
Wine or Whiskey?
Shannon: Wine for me, everyday.
Ryan: I’d say wine for me too, we’re country but we’re also from California.
Do you have a pre-show ritual?
Shannon: Ryan definitely does…
Ryan: I can’t perform without brushing my teeth (laughs), I don’t mean in the morning, I mean within 30 minutes from being on stage.
Shannon: It doesn’t matter where he is, we could be in the VIP tent before going on, he’ll bust out his toothpaste from his pocket. We could be in the car, it’s very inconvenient. But one of the things we do together, it doesn’t matter where we’re playing, we’ll put our hands in the middle and count down 3, 2, 1 say ‘Madison Square Garden,’ we like to play every show like it’s Madison Square Garden.
What’s one word you’d use to describe each other?
Shannon: Ryan is kind.
Ry`an: One word is so hard, Shannon is warm, that’s the thing that I think first attracted me to her was her big, warm smile but I also see it when she’s on stage and at shows.
Shannon: That was like the longest one word…
Ryan: Yeah I’m very wordy.
You’re a songwriter after all! Complete the sentence.
Music is… Life
Country music is… Real.
Haley & Michaels are… Just getting started.
Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me!
