Today we’d like to introduce you to Ted Horrell.
Hi Ted, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I’ve been writing and performing in the Memphis area with my band Ted Horrell & The Monday Night Card for the last ten years, and we have released six collections of original music during that time. Our latest work is a 12-song LP called Mid-South Fare that we were able to put out on vinyl in the fall thanks to a generous grant from Music Export Memphis. Prior to playing with The Monday Night Card, I was in a four-piece Memphis band called The Central Standards that recorded three albums and played around Memphis in the early to mid-2000s. The highlight of that time was opening up the 2006 Beale Street Music Festival and doing some small regional tours in Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois.
I fell in love with music from a young age. My parents had me in cello lessons when I was in elementary school, but I asked if I could switch to guitar at some point around the fifth grade. I was learning a lot of classic rock riffs, but what really got me hooked on the idea of playing in a band was when my teacher gave me a tape of R.E.M.’s Life’s Rich Pageant on one side and Reckoning on the other, and then I wanted to learn every R.E.M. song I could and play music with other people. I also became drawn to the idea of songwriting and got serious about it when I was playing in a couple of college bar bands at the University of Missouri. After college, I moved to Japan to teach English for a year and wrote more than 75 songs, most of them pretty lousy, but a few that held up. When I got back to the States, I formed a band in Kansas City called Resident Clark. We made an album, played a lot of shows, and tried really hard to promote ourselves and get a following. It was tough keeping the band together, and at some point I decided to throw in the towel on a career as a musician and moved back to Memphis to try my hand as a teacher at my alma mater, Germantown High School. I was hooked on teaching right away, but also knew I wanted to keep writing and performing, so I’ve made music a priority as a serious avocation even while I’ve pursued my full-time goals in education.
Singing and playing guitar with The Monday Night Card is my primary musical outlet, and the line-up now includes David Twombly, Casey Smith, Natalie Duncan, Amy Gunnell, Dallas Pope, and Eric Gentry. I also have the joy of being part of the praise band, Prism Riot, at the Prism service at Germantown United Methodist Church.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I am not a full-time musician, so for me it’s a matter of time management and making music a priority, but also being sure my responsibilities as a husband, father, educator, and worship leader are all met first. My wife is incredibly supportive of my music and understands how important it is to me to be creative musically. That means that even during times when serving as the superintendent for Lakeland School System keeps me very, very busy, as is often the case, I’m still looking to find time to write, rehearse, record, and perform. I’ve learned that when I make time to make music and be creative, I’m more effective in my other roles. It certainly makes me happier, more focused, and more relaxed.
I’m so grateful for the places in Memphis that support original music. Places like Crosstown Brewing, Hernando’s Hideaway, Growlers, South Main Sounds, the Central Station Hotel, and Nashoba, just to name a few, allow us to play mainly original songs and invite people out to hear them. It’s so critical, as the city where so much influential music was made, that local music artists have outlets like that. I also want to shout out the Memphis Songwriters Association and, again, Music Export Memphis, which both do so much to support original Memphis artists.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
When we’re at full strength, we’re a seven-piece band with two guitars, keyboard, bass, drums, percussion, and three vocalists. We can create a big, rich sound, which gives us a lot of flexibility when choosing interesting covers or developing our original music. We’re not a party band or a traditional cover band—at least two-thirds of every set we play is original material. But we like to complement those songs with unexpected or engaging covers we think audiences will enjoy. Our size also gives us options in that we can play smaller, more intimate acoustic shows with just a few members of the band, as the situation or space requires.
What sets our band apart is our frequent use of three-part harmony and the diversity of voices within the group. Amy, Natalie, and I all take turns as lead vocalists, and with two female vocalists and one male, each with a distinct character and energy, our sound is dynamic and varied. One of the most exciting moments in developing a new song is when the ladies add their vocal parts—there’s always a thrill when a three-part harmony kicks in at just the right time, or even when a well-placed two-part backing vocal supports the lead.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
If I were to offer any advice to songwriters and original musicians who are new to it, it would be to just keep doing it. Keep writing even when you don’t feel like it. Keep practicing even if you feel like you’re not making progress. Keep following up with venues and show bookers even if you don’t think you’re getting anywhere. Keep trying to collaborate and support others who are trying to do the same thing you are. I’ve been amazed at how one opportunity can lead to another, and to another, if you decide that your art is important enough to keep working on it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tedhorrellmusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tedhorrellmusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tedhorrellmusic/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@tedhorrellmusic
Image Credits
#1: Courtesy of Norm Moody
#2: Courtesy of Hunter Berry Photography
#3: Courtesy of Jim Duncan
#4: Courtesy of Norm Moody
#5: Mid-South Fare Cover Art by Casey Smith, Album Design by Rebecca Phillips
#6: Courtesy of Sarah Horrell
