Manny Blu and 10 Questions with TotalNtertainment. Following a huge reaction to the first single from upcoming EP New Ink, Manny has also shared another brand new track, ‘Old Money’. Having been raised as a man of many talents we got the chance to have a chat.
1. Thanks for your time, how has the past few months been treating you?
Obviously it hasn’t been fun not being able to be out on the road and playing shows. However, with New Ink being done, and waiting for the release, it has been a great time to start thinking about what I want to do for the next project and anything else after.
2. Going right back, you started out with your passion being sport, ending up training in MMA, if you’d had the opportunity to stay on the MMA path, where do you think it would have taken you?
It’s funny, I often think about that and wonder about it. To be quote honest, i was getting to a point where I was noticing how much potential I had and it was just the beginning. I was sparring with UFC guys and other pros as an amateur and having the better of them in a couple rounds, and feeling like I could compete with them was awesome. So I know that I’d definitely be fighting for the UFC, and who knows, maybe I could’ve been a Champ.
3. From MMA into music, what was the pivotal point where you headed down a musical path ?
Well, being hurt and sitting out for a while wasn’t fun. I wanted to learn guitar just to keep myself busy, and when people started liking it and requesting songs I thought this might be the path to go down. The grind of music certainly beats getting punched and kicked in the head haha.
4. Which was the artist or album who had the biggest impact on your early days ?
John Mayer and Continuum. It is quite simply a masterpiece. I fell in love with B.B. King and started diving into other blues guys and it led me to John Mayer. When I heard that record, I realized that blues isn’t dead. There’s a modern way to do it, but it isn’t dead, and that is what I wanted to do until I met country music.
5. As with most country albums, the songs are more like stories, what can you tell us about the stories on your album ?
I wanted to make an album about real life. And I think these five songs do that. You could drink a beer or whiskey to just about all these songs whether you are happy, sad, or partying. I think this record talks about Love and Heartbreak and everything in between. Just do me a favour when you’re listening…crank it up!
6. Your biography talks about you learning to roll with the punches, what has been the hardest lesson you’ve learned during your time in the music industry?
Trust. My 1st manager turned out to be an absolute asshole, if I could say, and it really showed me the importance of having a team behind you really helping, and the importance of listening to your gut and using your voice. I’ve seen both sides of trust and I can tell it’s a lot easier and a lot more fun being on the positive side of it – I couldn’t be happier with my team right now.
7. On that note, how did your training in MMA help you prepare mentally for the stresses of the music industry ?
What MMA showed me straight up was the positive effects of hard work. Determination is the biggest thing I’ve got in my back pocket, because I’ve seen it work right before me.
8. So, with New Ink album due out, will you be getting any new ink to celebrate ?
Haha… I definitely am getting more ink! Lately, I don’t know, it’s really to celebrate other than it just being something I like. We did make a patch to sell with merchandise that has tattoo machines in it and the name of the album, i have flirted with the idea of maybe getting that somewhere discreet just for fun, but I haven’t made up my mind just yet!
9. Just for fun: You’re drunk in a fast food shop at 2am, what is your go to meal of choice?
This almost never happens, HAHA… Drunk in Nashville, I’d go to CookOut and order a tray. Mine is a big double burger, nuggets and a corndog on the side with fries and a large Dr. Pepper. That would be my order.
10. Thanks for your time, just to finish, what can we expect from Manny Blu in 2021 ?
In 2021 you could expect LOTS of shows and new music, everything scaled up…BIGGER AND BETTER
