Addis Luv: Woo. Started just before your coffee. Just before your coffee. Yeah. Pour coffee.

Michael Walker: Alright. Well, I'm really excited to be here with four of us today. This is the first time we've ever had this many people on a podcast at once, so I'm excited to connect with everyone here at the same time. It's gonna be fun. Let me do a quick introduction. So I'm here with Ray Hamilton, Addis Luv and Kris Heaton. And I'll start by introducing Merf Music Group. So, Ray, you're the CEO and founder of Merf Music Group / Song Placement Pros. You have secured major achievements like Miranda Lambert's The Weight of These Wings, a number one Billboard country album and platinum-certified Album of the Year winner. That's pretty sweet. How many people can say that?

Ray Hamilton: Yeah.

Michael: And we're here with a few of the artists that are part of the group, I'm assuming, here with Addis and Kris.

Ray: It's actually a part of Angel Eyes Music, which is a company that I formed with Kris. We're producing his record, and we were introduced to Addis and it just was magic. We said, let's do something with this and start, not full baby steps.

Michael: Cool. What was the name of that again?

Ray: Angel Eyes Music.

Michael: Angel Eyes Music. Beautiful name. That was going to be one of my first questions: how do you all know each other? How did this get started? Could you share a quick introduction?

Ray: It actually started with me meeting Kris through Song Placement Pros. He was a writer and turned in some great tunes, and we started developing a relationship. Then I started working with him one-on-one with his music to pitch to sync and some other opportunities. Then one of the conversations we had was, we need to find an artist that can be a voice for you as a songwriter. Because Kris had been an artist when he was younger, but still wanted to continue to write songs and carry that on. He happened to be out and came across Addis singing, and he said, “Man, I think I found the right guy.” And they started working on their relationship. You want to jump in, Kris?

Kris Heaton: I was out to brunch, and this gentleman was in the corner playing. I’m like, “This guy is good.” He has an amazing voice. I walked up to him and said, “Look, I’m a songwriter.” I’ve been through the wars. I have 12 albums of my own music, but I turned more into a producer-songwriter now. With Ray’s help, we’re partners. I found him and then it’s like, wow. I said, “What do you think about singing some of my original music?” I’ve done this before with people and they’re like, “Oh yeah, I’d really love to,” and they never come. This guy's at my doorstep the next morning at 6:00 AM, “When do we start?”

Michael: Literally.

Kris: He lives in Orlando. I live in North Palm Beach. I live on a boat, so we recorded our initial demos at my boat studio. He started taking the train northbound for about a year. We wrote songs and then we took them to Nashville where Ray has a lot of connections. He was with studio musicians, and we’ve got Grammy-winning editors on our—well, they're not demos now; they're out. We’re really blessed. I’ll let Addis talk now.

Addis: My story is kind of similar. When he walked up to me, he was like, “Are you really singing?” I was like, “Yeah, it’s me. I’m really singing,” because I guess I was so close to the original. I do a lot of cover music and I was doing record music that day. Kris walked up to me and asked me to do some of his original songs, and to me it was like a blessing in disguise because I was telling myself, when am I going to get out of singing all these covers and try original stuff? I wanted to be an artist, not just a cover person. I was excited about it. I immediately said, “When could we meet?” We made a day, and I fulfilled that time. When I got to his boat, I was very much interested in bringing those songs to life. From there, we spent the whole year recording, stacking, and building our relationship—songwriter and artist—and we got to the point where we’re ready for the world.

Ray: Right. And that’s such a key part too: relationship building. We’re building our relationship here—finding that writer, finding the opportunity to have a vehicle for your song as a songwriter, or as a musician, or an artist running a backer or somebody to help get that vehicle to the next level, to take them down the road. We did that mesh with Ashley McBryde when we were doing her record. On the front side it was a mesh like this: she was a songwriter-artist, and then we saw the artistry side of her and then it developed into doing a share with another company, and that helped her get her management deal. It kept building until she got her deal with Warner. Now she’s doing great. I’ve watched things unfold. Sometimes we force it so hard instead of finding the fit—finding the right shoe, the glass slipper. A lot of people are aiming for the stars all the time. They’re trying to get a Tim McGraw cut, or Florida Georgia Line cut— they’re not even together anymore—but whether current stars or stars from the past. Not that you can’t reach for those stars, but as a songwriter or an artist trying to get their way to film and TV, you definitely want to build your relationships. Those steps are so key along the way.

Michael: Beautifully said. That type of relationship can be rare to find.

Addis: Yes, it is. A lot of artists sometimes put their ego in front of their spiritual self: “Who are you? What songs have you written before? Do you have any hits?” They kind of shun you and don’t give you that chance to understand their creativity and check it out for each other. I’m not that type of person. I take things from the start. I want to know for myself what you have to offer me that’s good enough for me or could fit me, the artist. We never had that ego thing between us as a songwriter and an artist. It’s always a warm welcome. I put everything aside and say, I’m going there to learn and see what he has.

Kris: I had some success on my own, and I’ve been on the charts before, but it’s more rock music. I’ve written all my life, but I’ve written a lot of really crappy songs. It takes a long time before you hone your songwriting skills. He was in Trinidad; he’s a pretty big deal and sings soca music. He was up at Lincoln Center singing the other week. He’s done a lot of stuff, but he never did country music and I was never really a country writer until several years ago. I started writing country pop crossover—he calls some of it “country soul.” It’s very soulful. I needed somebody to sing them other than me, because this man is incredible. He can sing like you’ve never heard. We put those two things together and we had magic. With Ray—Ray is such a good guy—nowadays in music, if you’re going to go out on a journey with somebody, you better make sure they’re in the same foxhole with you. You’ve got to all commit. You’ve got to do what you say. Put your ego aside and get to work. We’re a family and it has worked.

Michael: It takes a village.

Ray: It was that way. I’m basically redoing what we did with Ashley with Addis. We were all doing the songwriter’s night at the Rusty Nail in Nashville—actually in Hermitage, Tennessee. Several of my writers were there. One of my main writers was the host, and Ashley came into the fold of songwriters writing out there. There was magic. Another couple of writers I signed from there—Randall Clay and Scott Alexander—have had success with their music. Randall’s no longer with us, unfortunately, but his music is getting cut. Building that camp is what we’re talking about. You build those relationships. At the time we had five writers and I was like, you’re magic, but we can’t sign another writer right now. “Why don’t you come write in our fold? You can use the studio, write in our rooms, write with our writers.” Not only did we write with her and learn to write with her, she learned from us, and it became quite a family. Her guitar player now was part of another publishing company and writer in that building at that time. I’ve watched people come through that building—from Brandy Clark to Shane McAnally to Cole Swindell and different people who have done very well, William Michael Morgan—artists that got to be part of that village, and we got to share that with them. Building that team and that family is really the core part of success. It seems like forever till you get there. People say it seems overnight, but most of the time it’s three to five years, and then it starts to roll. I’ve seen it happen faster—Leah Turner, William Michael Morgan—record deals within a year. There’s no blueprint. It’s not like a house with directions and 90 days later you’ve got a house. It’s blood, sweat, and tears. You get a lot of “no’s.” Ashley’s song that we got cut with Trisha Yearwood, Eric Church, and several others was turned down by everybody. They loved the song but didn’t know where to put it. Keith Urban’s story is a lot like that. He was in town, banging it out, and the A&R person—I think at MCA—encouraged him to continue doing his thing. He started getting into those camps—playing on the Dixie Chicks record—session musician work—building relationships. People need to trust you and feel good in the room with you. Go with your gut. Sometimes you’ll find yourself chasing something because it looks like it can happen fast, and that’s not necessarily the way it needs to happen.

Michael: It’s a great lesson.

Kris: He’s basically saying by the time you’re 90 you’re going to be famous. I’ve only got like 40–50 more years. Thank you very much.

Addis: That’s a lesson.

Michael: The lesson I’m hearing is like a seed that’s planted—building roots and relationships—having patience and willingness to plant the seed and foster those relationships. Not trying to force it. Sometimes if you’re trying to connect with a top-of-the-charts artist when you’re just starting out, it’s like there’s this giant tree with root structures—it’s hard to form those relationships—where early on you have the gift of creating this thing together.

Ray: You can meld friendships and relationships that grow into things—not just artists, but interesting stories. Chris Lacy, head of Warner Brothers, told me stories about almost burning data at a publishing company with a candle burning as an intern. Everybody starts somewhere and goes from there. No matter where you’re at, you’re starting and moving forward. People you may not think are that great—John Henderson told me when I first signed him, Dallas Davidson was next door. He remembered when Dallas came to town and people said he couldn’t write very well. But he kept at it, surrounding himself with people, working with new artists trying to get deals—Rodney Atkins, Luke Bryan was a writer at Murrah Music—the building we were in beforehand. He wrote “Good Directions” for Billy Currington before Luke broke as an artist. These things start happening in little circles of people, and then five, six years later, he’s got 22 number ones. The songs are good, strong songs. Wherever we start—if you’re frustrated where you’re at—you have to exercise that muscle whether you’re an artist, songwriter, studio musician, publisher, or wanting to be A&R. You don’t walk into a gym and be strong. Work out every day. Be willing to get your hands dirty. That’s what with Addis and Kris, I’m willing to dive in and get my hands dirty. Sometimes we sit around waiting for things to happen. There are doors that will open—call it God or the universe—but you have to walk through them.

Addis: Mm.

Ray: Those doors will open, but they’re not going to walk through for you. You have to hustle. Stay up late. Drive a few extra hours.

Kris: I can’t believe I made it either. I’ll give a shoutout: I love all kinds of music. I really love country music. I go to the shows. I’ve also always been a heavy metaler. Last night I went to see Falling in Reverse. What a show. Those guys blew my mind. I did stay up a little late. I’m pretty much okay now. Thank God this wasn’t at nine. Coffee is spelled differently. I love these guys. They’re my family. We’re going to have to let Addis talk a little bit about his journey because he’s got a very interesting journey. Go ahead.

Addis: I was born and grew up in Trinidad and Tobago in the West Indies, close to Venezuela in South America. I started singing calypso. You ever heard calypso like The Mighty Sparrow? Very artistic music. I grew up on that. Then we started doing soca music. In my country, it’s about Caribbean music—the food, the atmosphere, the steel drum, the calypso, the costumes, the mas, the carnival. It’s a thing; you’ve got to be there to understand. I started singing calypso, going into competitions, and I ended up in one of the major junior calypso monarchs—I won. Then another competition for teenagers—I won that too. Then they had a steel drum song competition—I won that as well. I started to get into the eyes and ears of the people in Trinidad and Tobago and was known as one of the best vocalists on the whole island. I wanted to do different stuff, building my career. One day I packed my suitcase and told my mom, “I’m going to L.A.” I didn’t know where I was going or staying. I went to L.A., called some people, made contacts, and in a couple of days I had a band, work, and a place to stay. I always had this drive to do better and keep climbing the ladder. From there I moved to Florida, met my wife, had a family. I always wanted to do country music. I do R&B, top 40, reggae. I’m presently working for Disney and Universal Studios, and I work with several different genre bands, but I’d never done country music. When I met Kris, it was a challenge, and we chilled. Now I’m so excited to promote this part of me because there’s so much to transfer into country music. It’s magic. The songs take me away. That calypso line—when you get a chance, check out The Mighty Sparrow. It’s very articulated. From that to real country music—and souling us a little bit of what you did—you get hit by something. I’ll sing:

“My boxer shorts were hanging from my ceiling fan.
 I got five different nightclubs stamps on my right hand.
 Betty there, even like, I’m looking—pool tables all how long.
 I had a thumping like a kick. Oh, my money’s all gone.
 Somebody pass me—
 I got hit by a good time, right between the eyes.
 Oh, I never saw it coming, but it must have been something in that salted lime.
 One tequila, two tequila, three, four, five, twelve—
 Gold flowed just like wine.
 It’s a little hazy, but I think it got crazy when the shooting spread last night.
 I got hit by a good time.
 Yeah, I got hit by a good time.”

So I came a long way from singing calypso music. End of your background and then that style. And my accent too—it’s a mix of American and Caribbean—bringing that into country music.

Ray: Authenticity is really important here.

Addis: It’s a flavor. It’s a different flavor.

Kris: He’s good at one thing though, ma’am. Give that a try, ma’am.

Addis: I watch a lot of country shows. That’s cowboys.

Addis: My journey: I’m excited. There’s so much in me that wants to come out and show the world what Addis is about and bring this new era of country music coming from the Caribbean. It’s like Caribbean country music—country pop excellence.

Ray: It’s going to have a little bit of that too. From 10,000 feet, there’s a side of him outside of music where he reaches out with passion toward people—love toward humanity. He has a general kindness that’s contagious. When he walks into a room, joy surrounds the room and things start to happen. It’s a lot of fun to watch.

Kris: In Nashville, we were doing some music videos. One’s out now. He’s the kind of guy—there’s a homeless dude singing—he just comes up and starts jamming with him. He did it in New York City in the park with another homeless guy. There’s no act. He’s there to bring some joy.

Addis: We go to the same frequency—with people, with animals. They always connect to my energy. A lizard would just walk up my hand like normal. People ask how that’s possible. They’re afraid of people, but they just come to me. I’m really connected.

Kris: How about an alligator?

Addis: That’s different.

Kris: We can test this.

Michael: Alright. Short break. We’ll be right back.

Kris: Alligator—make sure what happens. We’re going to put meat all over his head. It happens. I’m the comedian of the group.

Michael: There’s an analogy I love—music and different genres coming together—like parents and children. You might have two parents that have a child, and the child has strands of DNA from the parents, but it’s also unique and original. We can see the pieces of where it came from.

Addis: Yeah.

Michael: Hearing your background, you’re blending together different worlds of who you are and bringing that into a new era.

Addis: I want to share: I was put here for a reason. There were many times I wasn’t supposed to be here. My grandmother lived in Grenada. When she was moving to Trinidad before she had my mom, she packed her suitcases and had to take the boat in those days. She had a certain time to get to the docks and she missed it. She cried; the next boat was the next month. The next day the news said the boat that left didn’t reach Trinidad. If she’d gone on that boat, I wouldn’t be here. So I’m here for a purpose. When I was born, my mom told me I was the only one out of eight children they had to give a C-section to. The doctor said I turned at the last minute. When I came out, he slapped me and I wasn’t saying anything. He slapped me again—nothing. Then a little harder, and I screamed out. He said it was unusual. Maybe I stretched my vocals at that time. I just came out singing.

Michael: There was a moment when you were telling us where I was imagining you came out singing the thing you just said.

Kris: That’s incredible. You never told me that story.

Addis: I feel comfortable here. If you’re wondering how I got the name Addis: my mom learned she was pregnant with me. She passed through a market to get her herbs; there was a blind guy there named Addis. He told her, “Catherine, congratulations, you’re pregnant.” She said, “Addis, how could you know? You’re blind.” He said, “I’m blind, but it doesn’t mean I can’t see. By the way, you’re having a boy. Take care of that boy. That boy’s going to be special.” She was in between names and went home and said, maybe I’ll call him Addis. Addis became my middle name. Roger is my government name. I wanted to use my middle name because it has so much meaning—spiritual meaning. I’m a lovable person; I love people. I wanted to use Love—LUV—so we came up with Addis. That’s how it came to light.

Michael: It’s the most powerful force in the world.

Kris: Yeah.

Michael: Great story.

Addis: There’s much to do.

Michael: One thing I wanted to ask about is purpose—your why and what drives you. I’m guessing all three of you have great answers—what you see as your main purpose as a team, as a songwriter, with your music. As it relates to this project, what drives you? What’s the most motivating part of what you get to do?

Addis: My purpose is really—many people come here with nothing, we chase everything, and then we leave with nothing again if you think about it. My purpose is to come here, to learn, to share, and to leave a legacy behind me—not money—but so my kids and their grandkids can look and say their ancestor Addis left this legacy of knowledge with music and great things. I want to leave a great legacy.

Kris: That was nice. What I heard is you don’t have to pay him. If I have a moral story—well—my short version: I’ve been into music ever since high school when I picked up the guitar and started wailing away. I practiced for hours on end. I went on the road playing for 10 years and was lucky to play major concerts and open for big acts. I actually opened for Stevie Ray Vaughan years ago and Huey Lewis—I was on the Sports tour. I played with a lot of artists. I was always a rocker and I just love music. Some people in bands get into it because they can get girls. That’s a perk, but that’s not what drives us. I never gave up. I’m not a quitter. I kept doing albums. I’ve been on the charts five times with big artists—Pink and Ed Sheeran—that was eight, nine years ago. Music has completely changed from when I was on the charts. Now it’s digital streaming—online. It’s a totally different world. It’s difficult for musicians to make a living now. They just don’t get paid. You can get 30,000 streams and a $205 check. It’s hard to live on it. That being said, I’ve had success, but I realized my voice is unique and good, not great. I needed to do something different. If you’re not willing to change and adapt, you never know what doors open. Getting involved with Addis—literally a world-class singer—you’ll find out by listening to his music. With my writing, it’s a magical combination. I don’t need to be a star anymore. I need to be part of his show and support him. Let him be a star. I’m happy to be along and part of it. I used to be, “It has to be me.” Egos can screw things up. Do what’s best at the time and keep going. For musicians out there who quit—so many friends haven’t touched a guitar in five years—you can get discouraged. If you really want to succeed, you cannot stop. You cannot take a break. The reason I’m here now is because of Ray and what we’ve done. I’d never be sitting here if I gave up. Giving up is not an option.

Addis: In other words—

Kris: I did it. It’s true. He’s not a quitter. He plows ahead. Ray, your turn.

Ray: My purpose took me a while to figure out. I started as an artist, then writer-producer, then got into the sync world. I tried all these different things—even had an independent record label and did artist development prior to Ashley with another artist. When my business partner Frank “Murph” Murphy Jr.—Murph—was backing the front end, as we moved toward publishing I saw a whole new side of songwriters. I fell in love with the songwriting and publishing side and giving creative direction. One of Murph’s visions for the business from the beginning was to create a vehicle—a pipeline—for people who couldn’t be in Nashville. This was before Zoom. He wanted a way to get your music heard—maybe a record deal, a management deal, a film placement—through a pipeline. After he died in 2013, about the time we won Miranda’s ACM Album of the Year for The Weight of These Wings—we were on that record—my wife and I were watching on TV. She said, “Aren’t you excited?” I was, but I had a broken heart over the songwriter side. You have the platinum record, but as John Oates says on a podcast, “Looks good on the wall, but not on my wallet.” I had put so much time and energy into songwriters—seeing them work hours, weeks, years—doing demos, getting turned down, doing the next one—and when you finally get there, there’s not really a payoff. I started looking at the system and thought, it’s kind of broken. I put my head to the wheel—this was prior to Zoom, before COVID—before online courses exploded. I thought, if I could offer songwriters and artists a channel to get their music heard, to find a voice for songs, and connect the two—like we did with Ashley—because there’s so much talent out there. When I moved to Nashville, I realized the majority of people aren’t from Nashville. They’re coming from somewhere. How about we reach out to the people who couldn’t do it because of a child with a disability, a mom to care for, health, or needing the day job? My purpose became to create that channel. Through Song Placement Pros, when I started following that, things started happening. We worked with Kris. I now have several writers I pitch. I’m getting film placements and TV placements. For this project, Kris called me to help produce. I loved the songs. When we brought Addis to the table and were in the studio, I’ve never seen a guy like this—nine hours in the studio, no break in his voice, only lunch, “What can I do next?” The passion was there. That’s why I fell in love with this. My purpose has become focused not just on the pipeline but to make this a success. I see the drive and energy that reminded me why I fell in love with it. My purpose is to help this be a vehicle—not just for him, but to pave a road with Angel Eyes Music to do it for other people as well. I don’t necessarily have to stop. I can do it till I’m 90 if I’m able. You look at Quincy Jones and Clive Davis—older and still banging. I understand their passion. I want to be that for them and for the world to get a shot to hear this guy sing and get to know him. From a publisher side, a lot of people can’t sing—they get tuned or don’t know how to perform. They don’t come ready and have to develop. It’s like pulling teeth to watch a showcase. With Ashley, what she does now is what she did on the songwriter stage. Bill and Joe Walker told me, look for the “it” factor. They either have it or they don’t. Addis has that it factor. Kris has that it factor for great tunes and hooks—earworms. There’s something there. Shelby Kennedy, a good friend, said, “Be the purple cow on the hill.” That’s why he signed Rascal Flatts. There was no boy band/pop-rock-country thing out there. The right songs fell into place and the talent was there. When that all comes together and we get the right team, that’s when the magic happens. Again, my purpose is to help these guys and this company find their way to success, and offer it to others—develop writers and get songs out there.

Kris: We wouldn’t be here without him. Did you get the alligator yet?

Addis: Couldn’t find that.

Kris: I thought you were going to. Oh, okay.

Michael: That’s beautiful. I appreciate each of you sharing that. Metaphors keep coming to mind—building a family and team and roots. When you play a chord on piano, you need different notes or harmonies that resonate together and make the overall thing flow. If you have a distant note, something needs to resolve to keep it flowing. It’s beautiful that you’ve created that team with different harmonies gelling together into a unique chord. I’m excited to hear more of the music. To wrap up for today, could you share—if you had to choose one song or one place to send people who want to dive deeper?

Addis: If you want to see videos and stuff, I’ll send them to YouTube—Addis Music on YouTube— and all platforms—Instagram, Facebook.

Michael: Is there a good intro song to start with?

Addis: I think “Hit By a Good Time” is going to be that song. It’s a good-feeling song that gets you in the mood. “It’s Friday; I’m ready to get hit by a good time.”

Kris: We’re not releasing an entire album at first. We’re going song by song, and eventually we’ll release the album. As of right now, there are two songs officially out. The other one’s called “Who I Am,” which is a really cool song that also has a video.

Addis: “Who I Am”—I think it resonates with people who find themselves trying to be somebody else. It happens all over. It’s called network, and “Who I Am” is just—be yourself. Everybody was created unique. We are all created in His likeness. We are all created for a purpose. I don’t have to try my best to be you, and you try to be Kris, and Kris try to be Ray. “Who I Am” is finding yourself. Thank you. I wrote that.

Kris: Spotify—it is out there on the music.

Addis: And we’re releasing—our next one’s called “Born to Roam,” probably four to six weeks or maybe a little more. It’s about the love of travel. This man travels. We could talk all day—he’s been all over the world performing, and he’s perfect for “Born to Roam.” “Baby, I was born to roam.”

Michael: We’ll be able to continue the conversation at some point—maybe bring several out. We’ll have multiple alligators at that point.

Kris: And a crocodile. That would really scare. One step at a time. We want to thank you.

Ray: Thank you for being here. I appreciate it. His website will be up next week: addislove.com.

Michael: Cool. Addis. We’ve got so much to connect on. We have a platform I think you would love and would love to have your music on there as well—it’s about building communities. Looking forward to connecting more. Thank you for sharing your story and being who you are—sharing that unique chord you have between the three of you. As always, we’ll put all the links in the show notes for easy access right below the episode, and usually we end these the same way we started, so we do a 3, 2, 1…

Addis: Woo.

Michael: Okay.