Born just outside Fort Worth, TX, Bradley Banning grew up mowing lawns and writing songs. His dad owned a landscaping company growing up, but he wrote songs when he got home at night. His dad’s dedication to his family and songwriting taught him you never quit on something you love. Whether it’s your family, friends, music, etc…
It’s taken a lot of “work and grace” to get to the point where he can release his own music as an artist. For years he held jobs as a creative director, promotion coordinator, server, car salesman, landscaper, any job that paid the bills and allowed him to write songs. He wrote songs every chance he got, but he was afraid to take the leap, and pursue music full time as an artist. He didn’t want to break his bank.
However, in 2014, after ASCAP named him one of their GPS Top 12 unsigned songwriters, he lost his job as a creative director and the same night got a call from his girlfriend at the time, that they were done. “I thought I was going to marry that girl” he says, “it was bad timing I thought, but God had my attention. That’s when I took all the money I had saved for an engagement ring and bought studio equipment and started recording my own songs.”
Two years later, on February 13, 2017, Bradley released his first single, “Don’t Mess With Texas” that he co-produced with that engagement ring money and studio equipment. “Don’t Mess With Texas” was one of the few debut singles from any artist that broke top 20 on the Texas charts in 2017 and ended up receiving major airplay on the Country Music formats largest station, KPLX - 99.5 the Wolf, in Dallas, TX. His second single “More” was released to Texas radio in April of 2018 and became his second top 40 single.
Alan Mercer: Bradley, I watched a testimonial you put on YouTube around 5 years ago. I found it powerful and impacting. I was wondering what kind of reaction you got from that.
Bradley Banning: I think I’m just getting the reaction. My life has changed so much because of that. It got me a bunch of radio airplay in Texas. It got the right people involved with me, specifically Tami Millspaugh, who is a radio promoter and decided she wanted to help me. I had worked with her husband when I worked in Nashville. He played her my song and the testimonial, and they felt the need to help me. She took it to radio and got over 60 stations to play the song and share the story. Specifically, Dallas/Fort Worth. It changed my life. I started playing full time and I’ve been doing it for the last four years, even through covid. There were at least 2 months where nobody was playing anywhere, but when things opened up a little bit, there were opportunities to play backyard parties. I played outside with social distancing at Texas Live in Arlington 18 times during the summer. They were always so good to me. It was a chain reaction that allowed me to make a living and it led me to a completely different place in my life.
AM: How so?
BB: Well, I’m married now, and I met my wife through the process of moving back to Texas and releasing this song. People got to know me because of the song and introduced me to the right people who got involved in my life for the right reasons, just because they are good people. I ended up volunteering with the high school program at Good Shepherd Catholic Community and I met my wife through that. The song has changed my life in a million different ways.
AM: You seem to be going about things in the right way.
BB: I moved back to Texas because of the song. I felt like I could put the song out and try to build a career as a musician. I worked in the music business for ten years.
AM: Didn’t you work with another band for a while?
BB: Yes, I was a Tour Manager for Emerson Drive and Day-to-Day Manager for Joey+Rory. I was also Creative Director at a small management company in Nashville. It’s been a crazy ride. Also, over the last year, I became a Financial Adviser with Northwestern Mutual. The song has allowed me to have a more fulfilling and well-balanced life. That’s why I consider it a huge blessing that pointed me in a completely different path than I was going.
AM: I know you are in the Catholic religion. Have you always been Catholic?
BB: No, I grew up in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, right down the road in Colleyville and went to First United Methodist of Grapevine, growing up. Then I moved to Nashville and my roommate at the time and one of my best friends, Colm Kirwin, who’s from Ireland was Catholic. He started going back to church and I was trying to find a church, so I ended up going to Mass with him one night, and I just knew that’s where I wanted to be. I started attending Mass and became Catholic a couple years later in 2015. Then I moved back to Texas and started attending the Catholic church near me and that’s where I met a bunch of my friends, who introduced me to my wife. I volunteered with the high school program there and it changed my life. It was the prayer and discernment that led me back to Texas. I can say the song changed my life, but actually it was my faith that changed everything for me.
AM: I’m wondering what your impression of Nashville was while you lived there?
BB: I loved it. I love Texas too. The funny thing is a bunch of my friends that I went to college with and the people I met in the music business in Nashville the last 15 years of my life are some of the closest friends. I still go and see them, and I even do a little business with people up there, but Texas seems to be home for me. I’ve always loved the music business and I love songwriters.
AM: You seem to like all aspects of the music business.
BB: I do. I didn’t like working on the business side of it so much, but I think the whole business is fascinating. You can wake up every day and think that something amazing might happen today and a lot of the time it does. I can look back and see things that I don’t like as much now, like the late nights and being gone a lot. I did have a wonderful experience. The best part about living in Nashville was the creative community. You can literally go next door and write a song with your neighbor. There are so many creatives in one area.
AM: Do you have a degree?
BB: I do. I have a BBA from Belmont in Nashville. That’s what got me there in the first place. My dad is a songwriter as well, so I always made trips to Nashville while growing up. I knew around sixth grade that I wanted to go to Belmont.
AM: Do you have some songs in the can?
BB: I do have quite a few.
AM: What’s the plan? How long before we get to hear a new song from you?
BB: I’m going to start releasing more songs in February. I’d love to release music consistently. I’m fortunate enough to be well versed in the production side.
AM: Are you producing all your songs?
BB: Yes, everything that I have out right now, I produced.
AM: You have a distinct style that I recognize. I really love your song, ‘More.’
BB: Really? I love that song. Colm Kirwin and I wrote that song with my dad, David Banning.
AM: You’ve found your niche I believe.
BB: I think so. I want to keep experimenting and having fun. I will have a bunch of new songs this year and I’ll be producing and mixing them with the help of a few good friends.
AM: I think you will eventually produce other artists.
BB: I’d love to do that. I hope that’s down the line. I think it would be a lot of fun.
