The artist we’re featuring today, you may have already heard of as she has written for some of the biggest names in pop – Kelly Clarkson, Tori Kelly, Lights, and Jason Mraz, just to name a few.
Ames is now stepping out as an artist herself and has an amazing story to share as well. She grew up home schooled in a conservative Christian family, then uprooted and moved to Honduras as a missionary at age 13. It was there that she grappled with being gay and spent her time writing and listening to the one secular album she could find, Fiona Apples’ Tidal.
After dropping out of a religious college in the US due to her views on LGBTQ issues, she moved to LA and promised to spend her life making art and helping others.
Her uplifting track, ‘Hold On’ is out today, and we had the chance to ask Ames about her story and the inspiration for the track. Keep reading to see what she had to say.
This song reads as a letter to my younger self; as a teenager, gay, homeschooled, lonely, on the mission field in Honduras, being raised by Southern Baptist parents. I didn’t even know homosexuality was a “thing” outside of the Bible. I wasn’t even allowed to listen to secular music or wear jeans. If only I had known then what I know now! I’m basically telling my (younger) self to “Hold on, it’s gonna be ok. In fact, your life is gonna be fucking amazing, you just gotta get through this part first!”
Another lyric that really ties the song together is actually from the Bible. “They say the meek will inherit the earth.” Even though I’m not religious, I like using Biblical references in songs sometimes. It feels satirical and brings everything full circle for me.
I learned how to play guitar on my dad’s old nylon Gibson. I didn’t realize I’ve been craving the sound of it until I heard Milton Nascimento’s “Dos Cruces.” Since moving to Los Angeles and writing primarily pop music, it’s rare for me to hear an actual guitar in a session. I wanted to lay a folkish riff down as a foundation and build the song up from there. I’d also had Toto, Peter Gabriel, and Alison Krauss playing in my head for months. I went to David Burris and asked if he could make something inspired by each of these things, and he did. Some producers will shut down ideas without even trying them, but I love working with David because he’s always down. David made up the riff, started laying it down, building on it, and within an hour we already had something.
For the melody I did something I’ve never done before (for my own music); I free-styled (it was all gibberish but “free style” none-the-less.) Usually when I’m writing for myself, I write the WHOLE lyric out. It’s very structured with verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, so this was new for me and a little uncomfortable. I mumbled through the track, put vowel sounds where I heard them, consonants where I felt them, and David pieced the best moments together. I kept hearing “Hold On” throughout my mumbling and I penned it as the title. The rest of the lyrics came later. I wanted to open the song with a visual of what “Hold On” means literally. I saw a bull riding documentary on Netflix a few years ago and one thing I remember the most was the ritual the riders have of putting resin on the rope (a lot like a gymnast uses chalk), so they can get a tighter grip. The resin gets hot on the rope and acts like a glue. I’ve never done this myself so I can’t speak for experience, lol, but it stood out to me and I love the word “resin.”
