Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jed Demlow. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jed, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I lived in Reynoldsburg, Ohio (East side of Columbus, OH) with my wife Debbie and two daughters Kayleigh and Kristin for 27 years. My wife is an elementary school teacher and I did everything from produce country demos for singer/songwriters, operate my own entertainment booking agency, teach piano lessons and play full time as Entertainment Director for Howl at the Moon Dueling Pianos. We had a beautiful home that we built and were quite comfortable. My daughters are both Country Artists/Songwriters (Steel Ivory) and had been talking about moving to Nashville since they were in High School. In Spring 2017 my wife said to me “Lets sell the house and move to Nashville” My knee jerk reaction was NO WAY! In July we sold our home, packed everything up and moved the entire family including fiance’s to Hendersonville, TN just outside of Nashville. We rented three apartments in the same complex so we could be close.
My wife landed a job teaching at an Elementary school, I started playing full time at The Big Bang Dueling Pianos on Broadway in Nashville and the girls dove right into the Nashville Singer/Songwriter scene. It was a huge leap of faith but it has paid off big. Steel Ivory has released two music videos that I produced the music for on CMT here in Nashville and are well on their way to getting the Pub deal they want. I have a great home studio here in Hendersonville and spend my time producing new country artists and creating tracks for songwriters and content creators.

Jed, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My first memory of making music is plunking around on an old upright piano that came with the farmhouse that I grew up in. I was only maybe five years old, but I was drawn to the sound of the piano. My parents got me started on formal classical piano lessons when I was eight. I fell in love with Country Music in High School listening to artists like Ronnie Milsap, Alabama, Travis Tritt and Vern Gosdin. In the early 90’s I was producing Country demos for singer/songwriters out of the trailer that my wife and I lived in..lol. I got into Dueling Pianos in 1995 and spent a lot of time learning to play and sing hundreds of popular cover songs but I still kept up with my Country repertoire. I started Jed Demlow Productions when we moved to Nashville in 2017. My focus is Country Music, new country and old school, I love it all. I’ve spent the last five years sharpening my production skills and also improving my drums, bass and guitar skills. I have friends here that are A list players to handle anything that’s out of my capability. At this point in my career I only take on a song/project if its an artist that I dig what they are doing and I feel like we are a good fit. I think I tend to give more and charge less but it has served me well as I stay busy doing projects I enjoy with people I love to be around! I really enjoy working with the new Sing/Songwriters and Artists that come to town as they need a good place to start. Of course I produce all of my daughters songs, they are called Steel Ivory and you can find them on Apple music, Spotify etc. I also maintain a YouTube channel at Jed Demlow Productions that’s aimed at helping new producers and Studio One users.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The biggest payoff for me is watching the Singer/Songwriter or Artists’ face when they hear the finished product for the first time or getting that text from them saying they are listening and having tears of joy. That is a great feeling!

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

In the mid 2000s’ I didn’t know about online mixing and producing courses that weren’t college classes. Subscription services like MixCoach with Kevin Ward and PureMix. I think MixCoach is the best place for any mixer to start and PureMix is the best for Audio Production in general after you have a good foundation. I spent a few years struggling on my own with mixing before I discovered MixCoach. I think any producer needs to thoroughly understand audio principles and mixing techniques in order to work fluidly with an engineer in the studio or to be able to handle all phases of the production themselves start to finish.

Contact Info:

• Website: jeddemlowproductions.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeddemlowproductions/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jeddemlowproductions

Image Credits
Steel Ivory shot – Eden Lauren photography