Backstage Country’s Elaina Smith is ready to welcome Matt, Scott, Josh, and Barry, collectively known as Parmalee, as co-hosts from April 14-18. As co-hosts, Parmalee will give fans a behind-the-scenes look at life on the road, share funny anecdotes about touring and playing at festivals.
Festival Hacks from Parmalee
Now that it’s almost festival season, Smith asked Parmalee some of their hacks to keep their “cool” while performing on stage.
Barry shared that he’s got his own fan on stage saying, “I got a guitar tech who can come up there and move it just perfectly, so I can feel the breeze and it makes my hair blow back too, so it kind of looked like Beyoncé. Only good things come with that fan.”
Matt, on the other hand, said he likes it “sweaty.” He added, “I can manage the heat. I don't have to have a fan blow on me.” He also noted how “it's almost like a workout.”
Headlining Tour
Smith also asked the band about their experience touring.
Barry noted how fun and great it was “to be able to go out and play the new songs off the album.” However, he said that they were not able to play all seven new songs: “Most of them, we played like six. We did play all seven for like the first couple shows and then we saw that there was a couple that just weren't working as well live.”
Matt quipped, “The new ones are hard!”
Scott and Barry agreed. Still, they wanted to play them although Barry specifically noted how awesome "Cowgirl" is: “You could really see the crowd, even though they didn't know the song, you could tell they liked it.” Scott interjected, “We've played it enough on social media that they know it!”
Hamming it Up on Social Media
Smith asked who among the Parmalee band members is a natural in hamming it up on social media since the band has been posting these skit videos online. Matt revealed, “Josh is great at acting. He's great in front of the camera. He can just turn it on like that, you know, and for us, it's a little more difficult.”
Barry agreed, “And to be honest with you, having just seven songs on this album is great because we don't have to do TikToks for 30 songs.” He chuckled, “You're not overloaded so you can focus more on smaller amounts so the quality's better. You know what I mean? So, there's a plus to having that number of songs.”
The band's week as co-hosts on Backstage Country promises to be filled with all the things we love about country music—great tunes, behind-the-scenes stories, and the kind of banter that only a band as genuine as Parmalee can bring.
