We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ashley Chapman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Ashley, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
I’ve always been a believer in working hard, but if there was one person in my life who preached hard work, it was my grandpa. He was a WW2 Marine, grew up during the depression, and lost his father in a car accident at 3 years old, so he was raised by a single mom with three children. Though he certainly had opinions of his time, he never saw the women in his family as ‘less than’, and required all of us to work hard and never rely on anyone. This helped me later in my career as a musician in Nashville, especially because I play drums and front my own band. I’ve never seen a difference between me and other drummers here, even though there are obvious physical differences. Even when it’s been difficult and I’ve felt unwelcome in the industry, I knew I couldn’t stop working hard.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Ashley Chapman & The Strays is a rock band based in Nashville. We release our own music and play shows every Friday and Saturday on Broadway Nashville.
We love playing live shows and feeling the energy of the audience. The most exciting thing about what we do is seeing people walk in and see something they’ve never seen before: A female drummer fronting a band. We aim to empower everyone, no matter their demographic and no matter where they’re from. We love that we’re all friends when you walk into our shows. We don’t need to preach about what we believe. We just go out and do it, and we feel this is a much more effective method in changing minds and encouraging others, especially young girls and women of all ages, to go out and do what they’ve always wanted to do but maybe weren’t encouraged to do by their peers.
We have original music anywhere you stream music. You can find our YouTube channel at Ashley Chapman & The Strays, and we play Fridays at Jason Aldean’s rooftop, 11am-2pm, and Miranda Lambert’s rooftop, 10am-2pm every week.
https://www.ashleychapmanandthestrays.com/schedule
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
One of the most important skills I honed early on was to work first, play second. This way, you can truly relax and not worry about getting more work done. I always try to think of others affected by my decisions too, especially those in my band. I make sure they feel appreciated, which leads to very loyal players and colleagues. Additionally, I try not to think too much about myself by giving back to charities, particularly animal charities. I have rescue dogs and two cats that keep things in perspective when things get rough.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
We want to collaborate with those who challenge us but appreciate what we do and see why we’re special. Whether that’s working at music festivals that promote community or working with an agent who sees what we have to offer.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ashleychapmanandthestrays.com/
- Instagram: @ashleychapman.andthe.strays
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTDcgMDU2ebO9WktR1kXJBg
Image Credits
Erin Roark
