Natalie & The Damn Shandys

PLA Media has added country/Americana trio Natalie & the Damn Shandys to its talent roster. The band originated in New York and features Natalie Anne (vocals/guitar), Rob Wagner (guitar/mandolin/vocals) and Ben Gorham (piano/vocals).

The trio released their debut EP Overlook Trail on Esque Records & VuDu recordings in May 2019. Since that EP, the group has released singles including “48 Polaroid” and “Homebody,” and are gearing up for forthcoming track “Lay Eyes on You.”

“This trio easily weaves conversational, sultry harmonies, hummable melodies and relatable messages. We are excited to be part of their team as they emerge on the music scene,” says PLA Media Founder Pam Lewis.

PLA Media is also home to award-winning artist and Broadway actor Gary Morris, The Tina Turner Museum and the Americana Music Triangle. - Sarah Skates

It’s not uncommon that a bond between two coworkers can become so close that you take on the roles of wife or husband within the realm of the office – hence the monikers work wife and work husband – but in a strictly platonic way. It’s more about the friendship and even nagging that can be compared to how couples may interact at home. However, sometimes crushes do form on those whom you share office space with, and sometimes, that crush can turn into something more. This is the love story shared in Natalie & The Damn Shandy‘s new single “Lay Eyes on You” premiering exclusively today on The Country Note.

“Who hasn’t had even the slightest crush on someone in the workplace? “Lay Eyes on You” tells the story from both his and her point of view, revealing just how those subtle hints can unravel into an undeniable love,” says Natalie Anne.

This Country/Americana trio – Natalie Anne (vocals/guitar), Rob Wagner (guitar/mandolin/vocals) and Ben Gorham (piano/vocals) – tells the story from the points of view of both the woman and man as the listener anticipates “will they” or “won’t they” while their harmonies are showcased beautifully during the chorus.

Listen to the exclusive premiere of “Lay Eyes on You” below: - Sarah Skates

Last week at The Open Chord, I had the opportunity to see two female singers at very different corners of the country music spectrum.

The show opened with a group still getting their feet wet, Natalie and the Damn Shandys. Led by Natalie Grunnan on lead vocals and guitar with Rob Wagner and Ben Gotham backing her up, Grunnan offered up a blend of stories, original compositions and a cover or two. Her voice was lovely, and I walked away with a copy of her EP. It was a whopping five bucks, which shows you exactly how young and new to the business the group is.

But, while they might have been young, they certainly had heart. Grunnan played guitar with a cast — courtesy of her dog’s antics — and a soul that seemed much older than her 23 years.

Wright took the stage shortly after and invited Grunnan back up to sing with her. Wright couldn’t say enough nice things. In fact, she proclaimed Natalie and the Damn Shandys were destined for great things. Perhaps, what was most telling, though, was when Wright began talking about one of her idols and influences: Loretta Lynn. Grunnan wasn’t familiar with the queen of country music and couldn’t join in when Wright invited her to help her sing “You Ain’t Woman Enough to Take My Man.” Grunnan’s big influence? Shania Twain.

Granted, there’s 25 years between the two. Yet, I’m smack dab in the middle and can appreciate both, although I don’t think the two are exactly comparable. - Amanda Greeves

Hi Natalie, welcome to VENTS! How have you been?

Hi guys! Thank you! Doing great, just back from a little celebration wine tasting trip with our little “Shamily” (Shandy family). We had to celebrate the CMT & The Country Network premiere that our “Lay Eyes on You” video landed thanks to PLA Media. We just feel so blessed and excited to have this momentum after the 2020 crash we all faced.

Can you talk to us more about your latest single “Lay Eyes On You”?

Well, this song is definitely one that I can say all four of us had a equal hand in writing. Some songs come together in one or two writing sessions. This one took multiple 5-6 hour writing sessions to get it where we wanted it. Once we brainstormed the visual and story we wanted to portray, we knew the instrumentation had to be up to par with the lyrics and melodies we wrote. We sat fine tuning every little detail until we got goosebumps or tears afterwards. That’s when we knew it was right.

Did any event in particular inspire you to write this song?

Ben, who sings lead vocal on the song, came to us with the concept of “Anytime I I lay eyes on you”. Mike (my fiancé & our producer) immediately responded with the idea of ‘How I lay eyes on you’. Immediately we all loved that poetic approach. I then expressed the idea of telling a story of how two people fell in love in a work place, but both are afraid to show it. From there, the ideas snowballed back and forth between us all (me, Mike, Ben & Rob). I pulled emotion/feelings from personal experiences, because it’s similar to how Mike and I fell in love, except this song takes place in an office space, not a recording studio.

How was the filming process and experience behind the video?

The filming experience was amazing. The actors portraying the story along with the beauty of each scene had us in tears while filming. We have such a great production team (VuDu Studios) around us that we’ve been working with since 2017 when we first started creating Shandy material. It’s so nice having that established working relationship where each of us can easily communicate our creative visions. Mike owns this video company alongside an incredibly talented videographer Tom Flynn. The two of them direct and shoot all of our music videos. We have a few in the chamber that aren’t released yet too.

How was the recording and writing process?

The recording process for this song was unique in comparison to previous experiences. Mike was hired by Black Lion Audio to create a “How to” video for a piece of their recording gear called the Revolution 2×2. They asked him to record a song from scratch explaining how it’s done, so we used “Lay Eyes on You”, because we had just finished writing it. The owner of the company, Jon Haber, called us back within minutes of hearing the song. He was floored with excitement and asked if he could be involved with the release. We are grateful to be sponsored by such a reputable company!

What role does San Diego play in your music?

There’s definitely a few songs I’ve written here and there that reference back to my home town, San Diego. Being that I fell in love with an east coaster that had never been to California prior to us dating, I wrote a song before taking him home for Christmas in 2017 that’s unreleased called “Take You Home”. There’s nothing like sharing that feeling of being in your hometown with that person you feel “at home” with no matter where you are. A dream of mine is to record the video for that song in California. I just need a hit song first for that budget to be realistic.

Does the new single mean we can expect a new material – how’s that coming along?

Oh yes! We’re not stopping now! We have so much material that we have prepared to release prior to the pandemic. Some of the subject matters in our songs are quite serious, of which we felt inappropriate to release in such difficult times of 2020. We’re currently story boarding the video for our next single called “Cohibas”. This one is a very fun uptempo song we wrote in early summer of 2020 when we were day dreaming about having a large get together & creating more unforgettable yet foggy memories with our favorites. Cohibas and tequila!

Any tentative release date or title in mind?

We’re looking at end of September or early October for our next release!

What else is happening next in Natalie & The Damn Shandys’ world?

Writing, recording, releasing and repeat! We have a couple leads from our booking agent on some out of state shows this year (Nashville and upstate NY), but nothing set in stone at the moment aside for some local shows here on Long Island. Shows or not, we have so much more content to release to ya’ll! Stay tuned on instagram! @theshandys - RJ Frometa