Monte Parker’s Journey from Lessons to Nashville Recordings
Writer & Photographer / Abbie Willans
When Carmel local Monte Parker went to vocal coach Blair Clark for voice lessons, she knew he had a special talent unlike anyone else. Four years later, they’ve recorded her debut EP with six songs in Nashville, and she’s just getting started.
She and Clark spent three days in Nashville over the summer recording her EP with co-producer Michael Whittaker and musicians Chris Condon, Dan Needham and James Gregory.
“I really enjoy writing songs and seeing them come to life with studio musicians,” she says. “It was crazy to see how they took songs that I’d written on piano and made it into a full sound. I gave them the direction I wanted — the tone and feel and tempo — but then got to see how it kind of morphed through the collaboration of several very talented musicians.”
The same musicians who recorded the EP with Parker have also worked with artists such as Nick Jonas, Garth Brooks, Nick Lachey, David Archuleta and Billy Ray Cyrus.
“They were so humble about it, just casually talking about it, because that’s their day-to-day,” Parker says. “That’s their life. It was so cool to see them get inspired to do their own thing with my music concepts. It was just unreal.”
Co-producer Clark has spent the last 30 years making connections in the music industry in Dallas, Los Angeles and Nashville, and he was thrilled to introduce Parker to those who could help further her career.
“Most of my performing was in groups throughout my life before now, so pivoting to being a solo act at the time was daunting,” Parker says.
In high school, Parker participated in musicals and choir, and in college, she was the musical director for her a cappella group. After taking a hiatus from music upon graduating, she found that she missed it and wanted to hone her skills further. An internet search led her to coach Blair Clark, who encouraged her to start performing in public and writing her own songs.
Her recent venues have included farmers markets, 3UP Rooftop Bar, Peacewater Winery, Meet Me on Main, a holiday show at the Indianapolis International Airport and the Lucas Oil Estate fundraiser.
Parker plans to record a music video at the Vogue in February and begin releasing her songs individually after that. They will be available on Spotify, Apple Music and other streaming platforms.
“My family is so proud of me,” she says. “It’s been funny to see the family members that I didn’t realize would be as excited as they are. I go to Thanksgiving and everyone asks about it.
“I’ve had to keep it a secret from them until I release it,” she adds. “I’ve told them some, but they’re going to hear it when everybody else does. You can’t trust them — they’re going to be too excited. They’re going to spread it everywhere.”
Parker plays a variety of genres, but her newest songs are mostly pop.
“I have a song called ‘Hurt Like Heaven.’ I wrote that after I got dumped for the first time, and I found that getting dumped felt better than me breaking up with somebody because of the overthinking that can go into it for me if I end it — like I’m worried that I got it wrong,” she says. “I’ll think to myself, I’ve given it six months, but maybe I should’ve held out that extra day, and have that kind of anxiety if it’s my decision. But oh, if I got dumped? Thank God. That surprised me, and I thought it could be an interesting song topic.
“I don’t know that everyone’s going to be like, ‘I just love being dumped,’ but I hope that it piques someone’s interest to think about it,” she adds. “I want some people to resonate with it. It’s exciting for me to share my thoughts on experiences and see how they’re taken.”
“One of the things I was really impressed by with Monte, besides her electrifying voice, was that when she started writing songs, I was really moved by the fact that these are stories that will resonate with a lot of other people,” Clark says. “Not just because of what she’s saying, but the way she’s putting it, the way she’s phrasing it, the melodies and everything else. You listen to it and go, ‘Yeah, me too. I can relate to that and I feel the same way.’ That’s what people are going to take to more than anything else. The voice and the melodies are always going to be there to draw people to it, but the story is what’s going to last. They’ll be humming the melody and thinking about the story for the rest of their lives, long after the song is over.”
For more information on new releases and upcoming performances, visit monteparker.com or follow @monteparkermusic on Instagram.
