Though the duo Lockhart may not be one you have heard of since its inception a mere six months ago, its members are much more familiar names. Johnny Bulford has written songs for Lee Brice and Chris Young, while Janell Wheeler was a contestant on season 9 of American Idol. In an exclusive interview with the two, Lockhart chatted with The Shotgun Seat about the journey to becoming a country music duo and about their new EP Reckless.
Wheeler started singing at a very young age, writing songs and performing them in church. “I loved performing so much,” Wheeler says. “I studied musical theater at the University of Florida and that’s when I picked up a guitar and started doing the country singer songwriter thing.” Bulford began performing in a band in Florida until he was 23, when he won the Colgate Country Showdown, a country music talent search.
Flashing back to when they met, Bulford and Wheeler giggle as they recount the story. “I was actually away at college and I came home to visit my parents,” Wheeler tells us. “I was at a house party and a bunch of people said ‘Janell, there is this singing competition with the local radio station and you should go try out tomorrow.'” Thanks to the prompt from her friends, she then met Bulford, who went on to win the entire competition. “Janell wanted me to tell you that she asked me to be in a duo together the day we met in Orlando,” Bulford explains. “She came up to me and said, ‘You were great, I want to be in a duo with you’ and she thought I was cocky and too full of myself because I didn’t respond but it was because I was nervous.” He then tells Wheeler, “You are very pretty! I’m just glad it came out as confident and not shaking in my boots.”
Eventually she decided to move to Nashville, following some prompting from Bulford. “What she didn’t know is that I was in love with her and I had to trick her into liking me somehow,” Bulford laughs. He went on to write “A Woman Like You,” sharing that it was inspired by Wheeler. “That’s her,” he says. “She is the one with all of the throw pillows and does the yoga.” The chemistry between the two, even after all of this time and even via phone was evident.
“When I first got to Nashville we were each doing our solo thing and after a few dissolved projects working with other people around town we just looked at each other and just said let’s just do it already and work together,” Wheeler adds. “At that time our relationship was solid and so we decided to get into business together.” Their voices meld beautifully, stringing together effortless harmonies with catchy lyrics. Their first EP Reckless is out today on iTunes.
The first single off of the project is “Saturday Night,” which perfectly captures a night out meeting someone that could turn into something more. “A little bit of counting stars and swearing it’s forever, for sure / Oh the night’s still young / could be wrong but don’t it feel right / give the world a spin because every now and than everybody needs a Saturday night.” While discussing the song choice for the first single, they say, “The first single needs to be something that everyone will grasp on to and Saturday night was the just one that we felt like, anybody first time listening might get hooked on it because it gets stuck in your head.”
Although they are a real life couple, they do not want to only focus on love; in fact, only one love song can be found on the EP. Bulford wrote the song soon after he started dating Wheeler. “On My Way to You,” a co-write with Chris Gelbuda and Chris Roberts, Bulford calls the prequel to “A Woman Like You.” “I wanted it to be one of those sort of “Bless the Broken Road” type stories but without the negativity side of it,” he shares. One of the brightest spots on the EP, “On My Way to You” is the quintessential wedding song for couples who have finally found one anyone after a tough road. “Every time love took a turn / every time it crashed and burned / it’s the thought of you that helped me up again / Long before I saw your face, even in my wilder days / I was praying you were just around the bend,” they sing. With a simple arrangement and their soft voices, the story is believable and will give hope to all of those looking for love.
Playing shows in Florida and California to roll out their EP, Lockhart are busy promoting their project and themselves. “We only decided to do this about six months ago, so even though we have done a lot of stuff separately Lockhart as a duo is brand new,” they say. ” It’s a baby and we want to raise this baby up together to be a functioning member of the country community.”
Purchase their EP Reckless out today on iTunes and follow them on their socials, instagram, twitter and their website.