Usually, when a co-writing session doesn’t result in a song — or at least the skeleton of a song — it is considered a disappointment. That was not the case with MamaDear, though.
On one sunny afternoon Kelly, Dan and Parker all gathered on Kelly’s front porch with the goal of cranking out a tune. Each had moved to Nashville to pursue their own career — Kelly and Parker as solo artists, and Dan as a songwriter — when they decided to get together for the write. Despite their efforts, though, they struggled to find a groove and pick something engaging to write about. “It was so funny,” recalls Parker. “We sat there, and it was just one of those days we couldn’t come up with anything.”
In the absence of being able to put pen to paper, the three began jamming to the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Fishin’ in the Dark.” “We started harmonizing together,” explains Parker, “and we were like, ‘wow! This really sounds like something!’” With that, the seeds of a new musical endeavor were planted. Around a year later, the three officially announced that they were forming a band.
Parker smiles and says, “we always joke that we didn’t get a song that day, but we ended up with a band.”
“It was a better trade!” Kelly laughs.
That afternoon on Kelly’s front porch was pivotal both in founding the group and in establishing their identity. “Everything about our story and sound revolves around where we started,” she explains. Their music, their live show, and their welcoming attitudes, all reflect the “visual and really authentic setting” of kicking-back on your best friend’s front porch.
“We want people to feel that authenticity, that connection…that southern hospitality,” adds Parker. “We want people to feel like they know us.”
Even the name MamaDear captures the group’s genuine and inviting spirit. The name was inspired by a sweet old lady, who “embodies southern hospitality,” according to Parker. “She’s the kind of lady who wants to spend her whole life on her porch sipping sweet tea. If she sees you she’ll invite you in and cook you a big southern supper. She’s awesome, and her grandkids call her Mama Dear. It just hit us one day early on — that idea is exactly what we want our music to embody.”
So what does the actual MamaDear think of being the namesake of the band? “She loves it,” says Kelly enthusiastically. When she attends their concerts, and the band gives her a shout-out from the stage, “she eats [the attention] up. She’ll stand up and wave to the crowd,” Parker smiles.
The authentic southern soul that the original Mama Dear radiates most certainly translates into the group’s first EP, Life is Better On a River. Putting together the release, “was an organic process,” explains Kelly. Since they finished the EP early on in the life of the band, “it was a fun time to experiment and start really creating our sound.”
The group co-wrote two of the three tracks that landed on the final product – “Life is Better on a River” and “Back on My Mind.” The third, “Good Enough for Me,” is an outside song co-written by powerhouses Luke Laird, Hillary Lindsey and Carrie Underwood. “I guess it wasn’t the right fit for [Underwood], but it fit well for us” and “we put our MamaDear twist on it,” Kelly says.
With an exceptional EP under their belt, the trio hit the road and started sharing their music with people around the country. Although they’ve traveled everywhere from Washington, DC to Wisconsin, they’ve found a way carry their ‘front porch spirit’ with them on tour. In every city they visit, they snap a picture on a porch to pay homage to their roots. Their favorite porch stop was “at a cool house in a small town in Maine,” says Dan.
Although Maine had, what Kelly describes as a “plethora of picture perfect porches,” other towns are less porch-friendly. “Sometimes we have to go find that right porch,” she says.
“Yeah, like in Dallas” Dan chimed in. “We’ve done it where we just take [a picture] and run,” he laughs.
Parker jokingly added, “we get chased by cops, it’s kind of intense.”
MamaDear brings their fun front-porch spirit to the stage, as well. Dan describes their live show as “front porch with an edge. We’re going to turn it up. It’s going to be loud. It’s going to be a show.”
“It’s going to be the best front porch party!” adds Kelly.
Just as any dynamic party host would do, the group has openly welcomed their ‘porch party guests’ into the MamaDear family. “We really form true friendships with the people that host us, and that we meet at shows,” says Kelly. As an example, a kind woman found Parker on Twitter and invited the group to play at a minor league baseball game in her city. They developed such a genuine relationship with her that she later volunteered to design an awesome t-shirt for the band.
Parker earnestly says, “the reason we’ve come this far is because of the people we’ve found on the road that have supported us.
Meeting interesting people and participating in a wide variety of experiences as they travel across the country has strengthened the group’s bond and enriched their songwriting. Contrary to their first “unsuccessful” write, they have gotten into a groove of understanding what each MamaDear member brings to the table, and now feed off of each other quite well while writing. “All three of us have different strengths. I’m probably the more spacey/creative person. Parker is good at reeling me back in a little bit. But I do think crazy things a lot of the time,” laughs Dan.
Kelly adds, “I like coming up with ideas and titles and ideas. Dan is really strong in a write coming up with melodies and cool lines. Parker’s really great about thinking analytically about a song, and finding another song to get inspired by and lead us.”
Parker jokes, “Dan’s one of those holistic writers. Sometimes he’ll be in the corner doing a handstand…doing some yoga moves.”
“Whatever it takes!” Dan responds. To a chorus of laughter, he continues, “Kelly sometimes just needs to break some dishes. Parker has to take laps.”
Developing such a great camaraderie and understanding of each other’s strengths in the writing room has helped the band’s hone in on their sonic identity. “We’ve grown so much as songwriting goes. Our sound is more defined,” says Dan.
Parker elaborates, “Our goal, regardless of who’s singing the lead part, is to hear that MamaDear sound—to hear those strong harmonies, and to hear the authentic feel. We don’t want [our sound] to be one lead singer with buried background vocals. We want all three vocals to be prominent, big, and really harmony-driven.”
The good news for fans is that the group is gearing up to package together their strong harmonies into a 2015 release. Although they are still hashing out details, they expect their next project to largely be filled with songs they’ve written together over the past few years. In the meantime, check out Life is Better on a River on iTunes, and their website for more songs. And, by all means, if three people appear on your porch and ask to take a picture, smile, hop in and join this wonderful band on their journey.
You can follow MamaDear on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube