Advertisement
GOT A TIP?
SUBSCRIBE
GOT A TIP?

"I think that as long as you don’t harm others in the process of your self expression I think that it can be limitless." - Ally Venable

Posted: June 26, 2023
“Ally is the future of blues and the crossover music of American roots-rock.” - Mike Zito.

Photo by: Tino Sieland

There is a popular activity that is common among everyone that uses social media for self-expression. I don’t believe there is another term for it. I think I would describe it as “everything goes”. If its creative, enough to capture attention. I would admit, there are some very creative individuals out there. They have been able to draw endorsement deals, and large audiences. Before this type of self-expression, they were pretty much anonymous. They had no real foundation for what we define as entertainment. However, the current trend has enabled the normal joe, to capture the attention of individuals everywhere. I am not hating on them, as they could be out there doing other things that have a negative impact on society. Feel free to express yourself.

However, when do we use good judgement and turn down the level of self-expression? You might say, when it starts to offend someone. While that is a good thought, there isn’t anything that doesn’t offend someone. So might as well take that answer off the board. How about when self-expression has a negative effect on you personally? Now, it is time to sit up and take notice. So, ask yourself, is your method for self-expression hurting your career? Are you working in the entertainment industry and want to advance? If so, it may be time for you to take it down a notch.

I personally have witnessed videos of self-expression that totally soured my opinion of several talented artists. Their choice for obtaining followers or an audience, required that they reveal themselves in ways, they normally would not have entertained. Their fans would probably say it really doesn’t matter. After all, the more attention you get the better, right? Not at all. The attention you get for doing something “outside the box” can hurt your career. If you are in the music industry, you may have wondered what has halted your career. Could it be your form of self-expression? Are there things you are saying or doing, that has changed how you are viewed? Specifically, by those with decision making power.

It is important for me to cover this topic. Because there are way too many artists that have gone viral for their wrong choices. They revealed a part of themselves that are game changing and not for the betterment of their career.

So, I was planning to talk with Ally Venable about a music related topic. However, I thought that she would have insight into self-expression. Should there be limits to self-expression? We want to get an honest opinion. First, let’s review the background of our guest today.

ABOUT ALLY VENABLE

Texas blues-rock singer/songwriter and guitarist extraordinaire, Ally Venable, entertains wherever she goes. With her signature glitter dresses and black knee-high boots, Venable comes off the ropes swinging dazzling crowds on tour or throughout the festival circuit. "Venable pulls off a stunner of gritty and/or sultry blues rock tunes embellished with lots of tasty guitar solos." - Guitar Player Magazine. A Kilgore, Texas native, Ally began singing at church at four and picked up the guitar at age 12. By 13, she started her own band and through her early influence of Stevie Ray Vaughan captured the passion and yearning for more in the blues genre. Early releases No Glass Shoes (2016) and Puppet Show (2018) started her fanbase, charting radio play, and several East Texas Music Awards.

It was 2019’s #2 Billboard Blues charting Texas Honey and rocking sets on Ruf’s European Blues Caravan tour that propelled her internationally. “Ally is the future of blues and the crossover music of American roots-rock.” - Mike Zito. In what silenced many musicians during the pandemic, Venable now in her 20’s, released another Blues Billboard charting album, Heart of Fire (2021), which challenged her to write not only about love but the unguarded honesty of feeling pain.”On this album, I really wanted to create a tone of overcoming your struggles and persevering through them,” she explains.

Mentor and featured artist on this album, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, lends his guitar skills on XM Bluesville’s charted song, “Bring on the Pain.” In 2022, Guitar World Magazine named Ally #2 on the top 15 Young Guns Making the Gibson Les Paul Cool Again, and she received the Road Warrior award from the Independent Blues Music Awards. Along with Ally’s own tour domestically and in Europe, her band has supported Buddy Guy and Kenny Wayne Shepherd throughout the US, as well as Colin James in Canada. She has performed as a featured artist on the Experience Hendrix Show at the ACL Live at Moody Theater in Austin, Texas. Fans are anticipating Venable’s upcoming spring 2023 release produced by Grammy award winning producer, Tom Hambridge, which includes a duet with the iconic Buddy Guy and a song featuring powerhouse guitarists Joe Bonamassa.

INTERVIEW WITH ALLY VENABLE AND GUITAR THRILLS MAGAZINE

Guitar Thrills: Hello Ally. It is awesome to have you interview with us today. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule.

Ally: Hello, thank you for having me!

Guitar Thrills: It has been a very busy time in your career. How do you ever manage to hold an interview?

Ally: It has been a busy time. I’m very grateful for all of the opportunities coming my way. I guess you caught me on a quiet day, haha.

Guitar Thrills: Needless to say, we are happy that you had time for Guitar Thrills Magazine. I want to get directly into this topic of self-expression. Which is defined as “the expression of one's feelings, thoughts, or ideas, especially in writing, art, music, or dance”. Easy enough to understand. There is no wrong or right response. So, feel free to let me know what’s. Do you think that there should be a limit to self-expression? Is there any situation where it may impact your career as an artist?

Ally: I think that as long as you don’t harm others in the process of your self expression I think that it can be limitless. There are so many outlets that you can choose to express yourself. I’ve learned that you can never please absolutely everyone that is in front of you, and you will make others uncomfortable, it’s inevitable, but there’s a way you can present your ideas and get your point across in an appropriate way, whatever that may be . You shouldn’t let others dictate how you choose to express yourself. That is the most vulnerable and sacred process about being an artist.

Guitar Thrills: That is honest. I can appreciate that viewpoint. Is playing the guitar a means of self-expression for you? Is that how you feel about them today, or has it changed?

Ally: Yes, Playing the guitar for me, is an absolute form of self expression. Playing the guitar on stage is where I feel the most comfortable and that allows me to have freedom to express myself in a safe way.

Guitar Thrills: Some artist’s are not aware of the negative impact they can have in terms of how far they go when expressing themselves. Their decision-making process is not as difficult as it seems. Awareness and gathering knowledge become poignant to our mental faculties. Is there something that you do daily that enables you to make wise decisions?

Ally: nobody is perfect and I think that a lot of times we do fall short or we may have not made the best decision at one point in time but we are all human and that’s OK it’s not really about the mistakes we’ve made, it’s what you do with the mistakes and how you take that decision that you made and grow from it and become a better person from the experiences that you’ve had throughout your life. I think having that mentality is what helps my drive and to never stop going for what I want to do in my life.

Guitar Thrills: When you first started out in the music industry, do you think would you have done things differently? Especially now that you are wiser?

Ally: I started singing at a very young age and I started playing the guitar when I was around 12 years old. I started touring when I was about 15 years old. What I really love about this life is that it’s always a learning process. I’m constantly adapting to new changes and I’m always on my feet. I don’t think I would change anything from when I first started to the progression of where I’m at now and where I continue to go because when I look back at where I first started I see so much growth and I look forward to seeing where my music will take me in the future

Guitar Thrills: You know what it takes to ensure a successful outcome. This is apparent by your example, and with the results of your albums and fan support.

Ally: Well, thank you for that. I’m just grateful for the support I do have from all of my fans in the music community that I have. I am very passionate about what I do and I think that is the driving force for anyone that wants to be successful not just a Music but in general and everyone has their own version of what success means to them and as long as I can keep playing my music and touring and meeting new people and getting to continue what I’m doing now I think that would make me very happy.

Guitar Thrills: I try to cover some highlights about Ally Venable. I know there is more to you than that. Can you tell us who Ally Venable is?

Ally: I’m just a girl from East Texas that likes to play her guitar.

Guitar Thrills: Who were your examples that you looked up to in the music industry?

Ally: I’m just a huge fan of ripping guitar playing. I love Stevie Ray Vaughan and I love Buddy Guy. I look up to a lot of my peers and mentors within the industry that are around me as well.

Guitar Thrills: When did you identify that you were going down a path to succeed as an artist?

Ally: I think it just kind of found me. Play music it’s just something that I connect really well with and resonates with others and it’s something that I see myself doing for the rest of my life.

Guitar Thrills: What are you currently working on, and what do you have planned for performances?

Ally: I’m currently working on my new tracks from my new release called real gone it will be released in March of this year and I plan to go out with my band and tour on the new songs and I’m very excited.

Guitar Thrills: We hope we are not putting you on the spot, but would you like you to be on the cover of Guitar Thrills Magazine. How does that sound?

Ally: That would be awesome, what an honor!

Guitar Thrills: That is awesome. Thank you for taking the time today. We hope to have you back soon.

Ally: Thank you for having me, and hope to see you at a show soon!

NEWSLETTER SIGNUP

Sign up with your email address to receive entertainment news and updates.
Sign Up Form
Sign up with your email address to receive entertainment news and updates.
Subscription Form
We want to hear from you! Send us a tip using our anonymous form.
CHIEF EDITOR
Guitar Thrills Magazine. 2023 Copyright. All rights reserved.
magnifiercrosschevron-down
Privacy Overview

Privacy policy.

Privacy Policy

Last updated: September 29, 2021

This Privacy Policy describes Our policies and procedures on the collection, use and disclosure of Your information when You use the Service and tells You about Your privacy rights and how the law protects You.

We use Your Personal data to provide and improve the Service. By using the Service, You agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Interpretation and Definitions

Interpretation

The words of which the initial letter is capitalized have meanings defined under the following conditions. The following definitions shall have the same meaning regardless of whether they appear in singular or in plural.

Definitions

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy:

  • Account means a unique account created for You to access our Service or parts of our Service.

  • Company (referred to as either "the Company", "We", "Us" or "Our" in this Agreement) refers to Guitar Thrills Magazine., Tampa, FL U.S.A.

  • Cookies are small files that are placed on Your computer, mobile device or any other device by a website, containing the details of Your browsing history on that website among its many uses.

  • Country refers to: Florida, United States

  • Device means any device that can access the Service such as a computer, a cellphone or a digital tablet.

  • Personal Data is any information that relates to an identified or identifiable individual.

  • Service refers to the Website.

  • Service Provider means any natural or legal person who processes the data on behalf of the Company. It refers to third-party companies or individuals employed by the Company to facilitate the Service, to provide the Service on behalf of the Company, to perform services related to the Service or to assist the Company in analyzing how the Service is used.

  • Usage Data refers to data collected automatically, either generated by the use of the Service or from the Service infrastructure itself (for example, the duration of a page visit).

  • Website refers to Guitar Thrills Magazine, accessible from https://www.guitarthrills.com

  • You means the individual accessing or using the Service, or the company, or other legal entity on behalf of which such individual is accessing or using the Service, as applicable.

Collecting and Using Your Personal Data

Types of Data Collected

Personal Data

While using Our Service, We may ask You to provide Us with certain personally identifiable information that can be used to contact or identify You. Personally identifiable information may include, but is not limited to:

  • Email address

  • First name and last name

  • Usage Data

Usage Data

Usage Data is collected automatically when using the Service.

Usage Data may include information such as Your Device's Internet Protocol address (e.g. IP address), browser type, browser version, the pages of our Service that You visit, the time and date of Your visit, the time spent on those pages, unique device identifiers and other diagnostic data.

When You access the Service by or through a mobile device, We may collect certain information automatically, including, but not limited to, the type of mobile device You use, Your mobile device unique ID, the IP address of Your mobile device, Your mobile operating system, the type of mobile Internet browser You use, unique device identifiers and other diagnostic data.

We may also collect information that Your browser sends whenever You visit our Service or when You access the Service by or through a mobile device.

Tracking Technologies and Cookies

We use Cookies and similar tracking technologies to track the activity on Our Service and store certain information. Tracking technologies used are beacons, tags, and scripts to collect and track information and to improve and analyze Our Service. The technologies We use may include:

  • Cookies or Browser Cookies. A cookie is a small file placed on Your Device. You can instruct Your browser to refuse all Cookies or to indicate when a Cookie is being sent. However, if You do not accept Cookies, You may not be able to use some parts of our Service. Unless you have adjusted Your browser setting so that it will refuse Cookies, our Service may use Cookies.

  • Flash Cookies. Certain features of our Service may use local stored objects (or Flash Cookies) to collect and store information about Your preferences or Your activity on our Service. Flash Cookies are not managed by the same browser settings as those used for Browser Cookies. For more information on how You can delete Flash Cookies, please read "Where can I change the settings for disabling, or deleting local shared objects?" available at https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/disable-local-shared-objects-flash.html#main_Where_can_I_change_the_settings_for_disabling__or_deleting_local_shared_objects_

  • Web Beacons. Certain sections of our Service and our emails may contain small electronic files known as web beacons (also referred to as clear gifs, pixel tags, and single-pixel gifs) that permit the Company, for example, to count users who have visited those pages or opened an email and for other related website statistics (for example, recording the popularity of a certain section and verifying system and server integrity).

Cookies can be "Persistent" or "Session" Cookies. Persistent Cookies remain on Your personal computer or mobile device when You go offline, while Session Cookies are deleted as soon as You close Your web browser.

We use both Session and Persistent Cookies for the purposes set out below:

  • Necessary / Essential Cookies

    Type: Session Cookies

    Administered by: Us

    Purpose: These Cookies are essential to provide You with services available through the Website and to enable You to use some of its features. They help to authenticate users and prevent fraudulent use of user accounts. Without these Cookies, the services that You have asked for cannot be provided, and We only use these Cookies to provide You with those services.

  • Cookies Policy / Notice Acceptance Cookies

    Type: Persistent Cookies

    Administered by: Us

    Purpose: These Cookies identify if users have accepted the use of cookies on the Website.

  • Functionality Cookies

    Type: Persistent Cookies

    Administered by: Us

    Purpose: These Cookies allow us to remember choices You make when You use the Website, such as remembering your login details or language preference. The purpose of these Cookies is to provide You with a more personal experience and to avoid You having to re-enter your preferences every time You use the Website.

For more information about the cookies we use and your choices regarding cookies, please visit our Cookies Policy or the Cookies section of our Privacy Policy.

Use of Your Personal Data

The Company may use Personal Data for the following purposes:

  • To provide and maintain our Service, including to monitor the usage of our Service.

  • To manage Your Account: to manage Your registration as a user of the Service. The Personal Data You provide can give You access to different functionalities of the Service that are available to You as a registered user.

  • For the performance of a contract: the development, compliance and undertaking of the purchase contract for the products, items or services You have purchased or of any other contract with Us through the Service.

  • To contact You: To contact You by email, telephone calls, SMS, or other equivalent forms of electronic communication, such as a mobile application's push notifications regarding updates or informative communications related to the functionalities, products or contracted services, including the security updates, when necessary or reasonable for their implementation.

  • To provide You with news, special offers and general information about other goods, services and events which we offer that are similar to those that you have already purchased or enquired about unless You have opted not to receive such information.

  • To manage Your requests: To attend and manage Your requests to Us.

  • For business transfers: We may use Your information to evaluate or conduct a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of Our assets, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation, or similar proceeding, in which Personal Data held by Us about our Service users is among the assets transferred.

  • For other purposes: We may use Your information for other purposes, such as data analysis, identifying usage trends, determining the effectiveness of our promotional campaigns and to evaluate and improve our Service, products, services, marketing and your experience.

We may share Your personal information in the following situations:

  • With Service Providers: We may share Your personal information with Service Providers to monitor and analyze the use of our Service, to contact You.

  • For business transfers: We may share or transfer Your personal information in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of Company assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of Our business to another company.

  • With Affiliates: We may share Your information with Our affiliates, in which case we will require those affiliates to honor this Privacy Policy. Affiliates include Our parent company and any other subsidiaries, joint venture partners or other companies that We control or that are under common control with Us.

  • With business partners: We may share Your information with Our business partners to offer You certain products, services or promotions.

  • With other users: when You share personal information or otherwise interact in the public areas with other users, such information may be viewed by all users and may be publicly distributed outside.

  • With Your consent: We may disclose Your personal information for any other purpose with Your consent.

Retention of Your Personal Data

The Company will retain Your Personal Data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy. We will retain and use Your Personal Data to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations (for example, if we are required to retain your data to comply with applicable laws), resolve disputes, and enforce our legal agreements and policies.

The Company will also retain Usage Data for internal analysis purposes. Usage Data is generally retained for a shorter period of time, except when this data is used to strengthen the security or to improve the functionality of Our Service, or We are legally obligated to retain this data for longer time periods.

Transfer of Your Personal Data

Your information, including Personal Data, is processed at the Company's operating offices and in any other places where the parties involved in the processing are located. It means that this information may be transferred to — and maintained on — computers located outside of Your state, province, country or other governmental jurisdiction where the data protection laws may differ than those from Your jurisdiction.

Your consent to this Privacy Policy followed by Your submission of such information represents Your agreement to that transfer.

The Company will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that Your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy and no transfer of Your Personal Data will take place to an organization or a country unless there are adequate controls in place including the security of Your data and other personal information.

Disclosure of Your Personal Data

Business Transactions

If the Company is involved in a merger, acquisition or asset sale, Your Personal Data may be transferred. We will provide notice before Your Personal Data is transferred and becomes subject to a different Privacy Policy.

Law enforcement

Under certain circumstances, the Company may be required to disclose Your Personal Data if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g. a court or a government agency).

Other legal requirements

The Company may disclose Your Personal Data in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to:

  • Comply with a legal obligation

  • Protect and defend the rights or property of the Company

  • Prevent or investigate possible wrongdoing in connection with the Service

  • Protect the personal safety of Users of the Service or the public

  • Protect against legal liability

Security of Your Personal Data

The security of Your Personal Data is important to Us, but remember that no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While We strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect Your Personal Data, We cannot guarantee its absolute security.

Children's Privacy

Our Service does not address anyone under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from anyone under the age of 13. If You are a parent or guardian and You are aware that Your child has provided Us with Personal Data, please contact Us. If We become aware that We have collected Personal Data from anyone under the age of 13 without verification of parental consent, We take steps to remove that information from Our servers.

If We need to rely on consent as a legal basis for processing Your information and Your country requires consent from a parent, We may require Your parent's consent before We collect and use that information.

Links to Other Websites

Our Service may contain links to other websites that are not operated by Us. If You click on a third party link, You will be directed to that third party's site. We strongly advise You to review the Privacy Policy of every site You visit.

We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies or practices of any third party sites or services.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update Our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify You of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page.

We will let You know via email and/or a prominent notice on Our Service, prior to the change becoming effective and update the "Last updated" date at the top of this Privacy Policy.

You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, You can contact us:

  • By email: info@guitarthrills.com

  • By visiting this page on our website: https://guitarthrills.com