Ags Connolly from Oxfordshire, England. Oxford isn’t exactly known as a hotbed of traditional country, especially for an artist delivering original material that stands easily alongside the work of many of his contemporaries from the U.S. His debut release HOW ABOUT NOW was released in 2014 and received a lot of praise from the right quarters. The online review site Saving Country Music declared that he “deserves to be considered right beside his Stateside counterparts as one of the carriers of the country music holy ghost”. He continued to garner positive reviews with NOTHIN’ UNEXPECTED in 2017. Throughout that time he toured in Europe, including the UK and Ireland. The next album WRONG AGAIN was issued late in 2019, with BBC2’s Bob Harris saying it was “modern day traditionalism of the very, very best kind.” And the long-term dedicated country music publication Country Music People labelled him “the best ever UK country artist.” They have also called his latest release SIEMPRE his "best album to date."
This all goes to show that, when it’s done right, original country music with a traditional basis will receive recognition for that in itself (if not, at this time, from particularly large audiences). Lonesome Highway has been a fan of Ags Connolly for some time too and we took the opportunity to pose some questions to him about this new album and more.
What were your musical leanings growing up in Oxfordshire?
I was brought up on 50s rock and roll, plus The Beatles and The Stones, essentially. My parents moved out here from London, and my Dad had been a regular at the old Marquee on Wardour Street. That was his era. My mum liked country but it was never played around the house. I got into Buddy Holly at a very young age though, and looking back I think part of the reason I liked him was the country sensibilities that he had. It appealed to me even then.
Tell me a little of your journey from a fan to a performing artist?
I spent a long time going to watch my heroes like Loudon Wainwright III and Ron Sexsmith while knowing I wanted to be a songwriter. Eventually I discovered country and realised that that was the kind of songwriting I loved. I started out playing covers gigs doing 50s rock n roll, mostly because I like that stuff, people know the songs and it's easy to play. But really I was just waiting til I had enough material to play full sets of my own stuff. I was never concerned about the getting on stage bit but I was always aware of trying to do too much too soon, so I'm glad I took the approach I did.
There are now, and have been in the past, a number of credible artists performing original country music. Acts like My Darling Clementine, back to a country-rock band like Cochise. Were any of these an inspiration to you in the way that Wes McGhee was?
If we're talking British acts, then mostly I would say no. Hank Wangford was someone I liked, but I wasn't trying to follow him. I shared a label with My Darling Clementine just after their first album came out, but I always thought we were doing something quite different from each other. I discovered Wes shamefully late so he wasn't on my radar when I was starting out, unfortunately.
Your heart lies, to a degree, in the varied aspects of country/roots music emanating from Texas and especially from the border regions. Was that what appealed to you the most?
Not always. Texas honky tonk was the first country music I really got hooked on, thanks to Dale Watson. The border stuff came later - I gradually discovered I liked it in the same way I'd earlier discovered I liked country in general. There's a huge amount of depth to the country music that comes from Texas.
Do you have any ambition to move your base to the States rather than in the UK and Europe?
No. That's something I might've considered if I'd started out earlier. Austin was a place I used to visit regularly, but it's changed and the music has been edged out to a degree. Plus moving there to work as a musician is much harder now than it was back when Wes McGhee did it. I've never wanted to move to Nashville.
Covid has been difficult for many artists, not performing live but using the time to write and record. How was that for you?
Tough. There was no inspiration for writing because there was very little travel and human interaction. Although I did actually begin recording something then which I'm aiming to pick up and finish soon.
Do you feel the landscape for original country music has changed a lot in recent times, or is there still that media resistance to the more edgy acts as opposed to the more mainstream, more pop oriented acts?
I'd say there's been some resurgence of more traditional-leaning acts. But almost always those acts end up going in a different direction, either because they want to expand their audience or because they were only doing country to capitalise on a trend at the time. On the opposite side, mainstream country is now further away than ever. The Taylor Swift explosion made it OK for pop country to not bear any resemblance to country music at all, and that's how it's stayed. I will say that streaming and the internet has allowed a lot more people to delve into the lesser-known artists - you could say I myself would never have found some of the stuff I did without it. But the mainstream manufactures and ringfences its acts mostly now, so there is very little path out of obscurity for most.
Tell me a little about the recording process and how easy or not it was to bring in your important non-resident guests for that process?
It was fairly easy but I'd done it before. I started with the core band in the studio for a couple of days to get the main tracks down. Then Stuart Jones (the engineer) and I sent the tracks over to Michael Guerra (accordion, in San Antonio) and Billy Contreras (fiddle, in Nashville) and they recorded their overdubs. You can do that easily enough with exceptional players - it's not something you could rely on everyone for. Michael and Billy sounded like they were in the room with the band. BJ Cole also recorded his dobro part from home, which again was very easy.
What is your writing process, do you continually jot down notes or do you need a dedicated time and place to access inspiration?
I occasionally jot notes down. Mostly I let ideas go through my head - if they're any good I find they stick around or come back a lot. Once I've got a handle on the idea I might sit down with a guitar briefly and see if it goes anywhere. If not I'll leave it to gestate for a bit longer. I've never spent whole days writing loads of different outlines of songs. I find most of them will be crap and it feels like a waste of time. There's no place that brings me inspiration exactly, but when I'm committed to writing something I go up into the attic with no phone, no clock or anything to allow me to focus on it.
Would you have changed anything about the process?
Not that I can think of. I don't like to drag things out any longer than is necessary. I've so far avoided becoming a tinkerer who goes back and changes things for the sake of it.
You have always shown your love and understanding of the real roots of the genre and that obviously makes it easier for other musicians you meet on your travels to see your genuine love for that music. But was it hard at first to gain that acceptance?
Only in the UK. People just didn't (and some still don't) understand what I was doing or why. I mostly put it down to the fact country music has never been a huge part of the culture here, especially in England. Still now, I think a lot of promoters and other industry people are wary of booking a UK country act. That's true on the continent too, although I've recently managed to get a foot in the door in a couple of places. In the US, I find most people just love the fact an English guy is obsessed with their music.
Part of the recording and I imagine in creating the right sound was learning to play the bajo sexto yourself. When you did that did you feel that that was a major step forward?
Yeah it was important, and I've got Wes McGhee to thank for that. He said if you're going to play Tex-Mex you need have to have that authentic sound from the bajo sexto or bajo quinto. I never wanted anyone to be able to say I wasn't doing this album properly. I could've asked Michael Guerra to play bajo sexto, because he's a very good player, but I felt I needed to make the effort. He did show me a few things though just to make sure I was on the right track ...
You have credited the Texas Tornados as, perhaps, your favourite band - one that had its music based on 60s rock, as well as country and regional influences such as Tejano - is that amalgamation of sounds something you would like to explore further?
I'm not sure I would directly try to emulate those guys. It was a very special sound emerging from the Sir Douglas Quintet, through classic country and into Tex Mex. It's great fun and I don't think anyone can do it like them. That said, I think I'll always have the Tex-Mex/country crossover thing in mind and people may even come to expect it from me.
It’s been something of a journey to get to the release of SIEMPRE and its release on CD and vinyl - plus the promotion of the album. How big a learning curve has that been?
Somewhat I guess. Crowdfunding campaigns are quite a big undertaking because you're assuming the responsibility for all the money people have backed you with. You need to deliver both musically and in terms of rewards. People are very understanding though: I've backed a few fairly shambolic campaigns by others in the past, but I was aware I needed to hit my proposed targets. What I will say is that making an album has got more expensive just like everything else, and it's harder than ever for independent artists to produce work that competes with everything else in the market.
The opportunity of playing some gigs with a band, how does that compare to your solo gigs?
It's fun. I really wish I had more opportunity to play with those guys, but the money is hardly ever there to make it viable. I do enjoy playing solo, mostly because I don't have the anxiety of messing things up for the other players ... there's no denying that people react really well to a band though.
You also do some gigs with friends like Pat Reedy that must be fun also?
Yeah it is. I'm fortunate that people like Pat, Todd Day Wait, Dylan Earl and others have accepted me as their peer in the UK. I don't take that for granted. Pat and I have spent a lot of time on the road so we're ensconced in each others' lives, whether we like it or not.
What about the time spent in the studio bringing these songs to life, is that a very different reward than playing live?
Very different. The reward comes much later. I'm not someone whose idea of a good time is fiddling with a kick drum tone for hours. I find recording a very intense and pressured experience, but that pressure mostly comes from within. Once the recording sees the light of day is when I can enjoy it (or attempt to).
You have played in Europe a lot. How does that compare to the UK?
It's different and as an artist you have to respect it as such. I think it's important to learn what works and what doesn't depending on where you are. I've been in Sweden recently and country music seems to have been a bigger part of their culture than it ever has been in the UK, but it's not just about country music. I like to try and understand generally what makes people tick in whichever country I'm playing.
Did you feel in any way that your faith in the music you love has been restored with the wider acceptance of your (and others’) take on country music?
I don't know. A good friend of mine, who has been following country in the UK and beyond for a lot longer, says the traditional stuff always comes back around. People always gravitate back to it because it's so primal. I think that's how I expect it to go, that if I keep on the path that I am, there will always be someone interested in it.
What does the future hold now for you and what do you want to achieve with your music?
Good question! This current album was a long term plan I had, but at the moment I don't know exactly what the next original album will look like. I have a few ideas and none of them involve abandoning country music. All I've ever really wanted in music is recognition; recognition that I'm doing it the right way, that my output is consistently good and that I've stayed the course. I've always believed if you do those things for long enough, people will notice. And I can't afford to stop doing them yet.
Interview by Stephen Rapid