SE: Former Wildcat Nick Walsh Chasing Dream as Singer/Songwriter in Nashville
Dec 16, 2019 | Football, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
From playing football in front of 50,000-plus people each week to sleeping on floors, delivering pizzas and occasionally playing music in front of a few, Nick Walsh's grind looks a lot different now a days.
One constant has remained, however. Walsh is chasing his dreams. Only instead of as a punter for K-State, he's doing it as a singer/songwriter in Nashville, Tennessee, where the former Wildcat moved in August of 2017.
"There were a lot of people that did believe in me that I could come to K-State and start and play but there's probably more that thought it was just too farfetched," the former walk-on and All-Big 12 punter said. "I compare the two because I'm not an established songwriter or anything like that but coming to K-State and being able to be a starter, I thought that was chasing dreams at that point in my life, and I saw that dream come true.
"So, I could have (used) my (finance) degree and went and did something else. I just felt like there was something bigger out there for me and I felt like I was just born to chase dreams. Sure enough, I fell in love with songwriting. So, I'm chasing that thing now."
His first six months in Nashville, Walsh's desire to pursue his dream was tested.
To make ends meet, he worked random jobs when back in Kansas. He also delivered pizza in Nashville.
"I never thought I'd be doing that after getting a finance degree, but whatever it takes to try and see this dream out and chase that," he said, with a laugh. "You kind of have to leave your pride at the door and do whatever it takes, grind it out and good things will happen, hopefully."
Walsh knew almost nobody in town when he arrived. So, he hit up bars and music venues often to meet people in the industry and people, in general. Early on, he bounced from apartment to apartment, sleeping on floors and couches.
"It was a real awkward stage of living there, but that's what you have to do to get those connections," he said. "I started meeting some really good songwriters and they would introduce me to more friends and, all of a sudden, you kind of just start running with the circle, start writing good songs together and it starts to feel like home a little bit."
Walsh did start his Nashville adventure with some valuable guidance, however. Erik Dylan has remained an influential mentor for the former Wildcat since the two connected before Walsh's senior season at K-State, when this dream started to form.
Together, the pair wrote Walsh's first single, "Heartbreak Town."
"I can't thank Erik enough. I never thought it would be to this extent, where he's in the studio with me, producing, to where he's writing and inviting me on these songwriting trips out to Montana. He's been super good to me," Walsh said of Dylan, who has written for artists such as Riley Green, Eli Young Band, Luke Combs, Justin Moore and Kip Moore. "He's one of my heroes as a songwriter, and I know he got to write songs with his heroes, Guy Clark and Steve Earl, so it's cool. We have a really good friendship going. I think he knows that he's had a big impact on my life and my songwriting, and I look at him as one of my favorite songwriters, so getting to work with him is a true honor."
Dylan also helped Walsh write his second single, "Beer Somewhere," as did Gable Bradley and acclaimed songwriter Dave Turnbull, who's written for artists like Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, Trace Adkins and Blake Shelton.
Being in rooms with so much talent and experience, Walsh said, has humbled him as a songwriter. He no longer thinks he's a "great songwriter" like he did when he first moved to Nashville, but he's starting to understand how to get to that point.
"I've learned a lot about myself just being down there," Walsh said. "Just being surrounded by that (talent), I just feel like I'm more down to Earth. That side of things is helping me with relationships and writing better songs, too. Becoming a better person as I'm becoming a better songwriter is just as important."
Walsh said his songwriting has also improved from playing more live shows. In Nashville, he's bounced around to all sorts of venues to get experience in front of crowds. It's undoubtedly helped him develop as a performer — "I used to be terrified of public speaking and anything like that. You just have to keep doing it," Walsh said — but there's a separate benefit for his songwriting skills.
"You can look at the crowd and you can tell if they're really into it. You kind of pick up these vibes from the crowd a lot where you know if the song's good. If the whole room goes quiet, you know they're probably listening. If they're chomping away and talking, then you just kind of pick up on things like that," Walsh said, with upcoming shows in Lyndon on Friday and Lancaster on Saturday. "I have a few songs where people don't care to listen and then a couple where you could hear a pin drop in a room. That's cool to go out there and put feelers out on songs and you kind of get feedback on demeanor and how the crowd's reacting."
Sometimes, Walsh said, a single person's feedback can reinforce a song's strength. This happened for him when he was playing a song he wrote about his father at a friend's house in Kansas.
"We were just sitting around a bonfire. I played this song and (my friend's father) comes up after and just hugs me and he's crying," Walsh recalled. "I was, like, 'That's cool, man,' that my song could impact someone like that. That's a moment, for me, that's stuck in my head."
Moments like that keep a dream's flame lit. Another took place more recently, as "Beer Somewhere" was put on hold by multi-platinum artist Jake Owen. This essentially means Owen is considering re-recording the song and, while he has the hold on it, no other artist can do so.
"So, we're waiting back to hear if he wants to (record) that," Walsh, who will soon be releasing a four-song EP, said. "It's nothing crazy. A lot of people get a lot of holds that don't pan out. I'm not getting my hopes up or anything, but I just think it's pretty cool to celebrate a small victory every once in a while, and that's one of those things that keeps me going."
As does his past. Walsh's journey at K-State, he said, furthers his belief that dreams can be reached, regardless of what others might think.
"There's a challenge about it, and you have to be passionate about it," he said. "I was passionate about punting. I was passionate about the NFL for a while, and I just saw that door close. It wasn't like I was necessarily giving up on my dream or anything, but my dream shifted and I found something else I fell in love with that was really going to challenge me and it was going to take even more years to probably establish myself, but I felt like that was my calling in life.
"Ultimately, why I ended up at K-State and why I did all this was probably to get me through this side of things and this part of life and the songwriting. It's kind of fell together, I think, how it's supposed to."
From playing football in front of 50,000-plus people each week to sleeping on floors, delivering pizzas and occasionally playing music in front of a few, Nick Walsh's grind looks a lot different now a days.
One constant has remained, however. Walsh is chasing his dreams. Only instead of as a punter for K-State, he's doing it as a singer/songwriter in Nashville, Tennessee, where the former Wildcat moved in August of 2017.
"There were a lot of people that did believe in me that I could come to K-State and start and play but there's probably more that thought it was just too farfetched," the former walk-on and All-Big 12 punter said. "I compare the two because I'm not an established songwriter or anything like that but coming to K-State and being able to be a starter, I thought that was chasing dreams at that point in my life, and I saw that dream come true.
"So, I could have (used) my (finance) degree and went and did something else. I just felt like there was something bigger out there for me and I felt like I was just born to chase dreams. Sure enough, I fell in love with songwriting. So, I'm chasing that thing now."
His first six months in Nashville, Walsh's desire to pursue his dream was tested.
To make ends meet, he worked random jobs when back in Kansas. He also delivered pizza in Nashville.
"I never thought I'd be doing that after getting a finance degree, but whatever it takes to try and see this dream out and chase that," he said, with a laugh. "You kind of have to leave your pride at the door and do whatever it takes, grind it out and good things will happen, hopefully."
Walsh knew almost nobody in town when he arrived. So, he hit up bars and music venues often to meet people in the industry and people, in general. Early on, he bounced from apartment to apartment, sleeping on floors and couches.
"It was a real awkward stage of living there, but that's what you have to do to get those connections," he said. "I started meeting some really good songwriters and they would introduce me to more friends and, all of a sudden, you kind of just start running with the circle, start writing good songs together and it starts to feel like home a little bit."
Walsh did start his Nashville adventure with some valuable guidance, however. Erik Dylan has remained an influential mentor for the former Wildcat since the two connected before Walsh's senior season at K-State, when this dream started to form.
Together, the pair wrote Walsh's first single, "Heartbreak Town."
"I can't thank Erik enough. I never thought it would be to this extent, where he's in the studio with me, producing, to where he's writing and inviting me on these songwriting trips out to Montana. He's been super good to me," Walsh said of Dylan, who has written for artists such as Riley Green, Eli Young Band, Luke Combs, Justin Moore and Kip Moore. "He's one of my heroes as a songwriter, and I know he got to write songs with his heroes, Guy Clark and Steve Earl, so it's cool. We have a really good friendship going. I think he knows that he's had a big impact on my life and my songwriting, and I look at him as one of my favorite songwriters, so getting to work with him is a true honor."
Dylan also helped Walsh write his second single, "Beer Somewhere," as did Gable Bradley and acclaimed songwriter Dave Turnbull, who's written for artists like Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, Trace Adkins and Blake Shelton.
Being in rooms with so much talent and experience, Walsh said, has humbled him as a songwriter. He no longer thinks he's a "great songwriter" like he did when he first moved to Nashville, but he's starting to understand how to get to that point.
"I've learned a lot about myself just being down there," Walsh said. "Just being surrounded by that (talent), I just feel like I'm more down to Earth. That side of things is helping me with relationships and writing better songs, too. Becoming a better person as I'm becoming a better songwriter is just as important."
Walsh said his songwriting has also improved from playing more live shows. In Nashville, he's bounced around to all sorts of venues to get experience in front of crowds. It's undoubtedly helped him develop as a performer — "I used to be terrified of public speaking and anything like that. You just have to keep doing it," Walsh said — but there's a separate benefit for his songwriting skills.
"You can look at the crowd and you can tell if they're really into it. You kind of pick up these vibes from the crowd a lot where you know if the song's good. If the whole room goes quiet, you know they're probably listening. If they're chomping away and talking, then you just kind of pick up on things like that," Walsh said, with upcoming shows in Lyndon on Friday and Lancaster on Saturday. "I have a few songs where people don't care to listen and then a couple where you could hear a pin drop in a room. That's cool to go out there and put feelers out on songs and you kind of get feedback on demeanor and how the crowd's reacting."
Sometimes, Walsh said, a single person's feedback can reinforce a song's strength. This happened for him when he was playing a song he wrote about his father at a friend's house in Kansas.
"We were just sitting around a bonfire. I played this song and (my friend's father) comes up after and just hugs me and he's crying," Walsh recalled. "I was, like, 'That's cool, man,' that my song could impact someone like that. That's a moment, for me, that's stuck in my head."
Moments like that keep a dream's flame lit. Another took place more recently, as "Beer Somewhere" was put on hold by multi-platinum artist Jake Owen. This essentially means Owen is considering re-recording the song and, while he has the hold on it, no other artist can do so.
"So, we're waiting back to hear if he wants to (record) that," Walsh, who will soon be releasing a four-song EP, said. "It's nothing crazy. A lot of people get a lot of holds that don't pan out. I'm not getting my hopes up or anything, but I just think it's pretty cool to celebrate a small victory every once in a while, and that's one of those things that keeps me going."
As does his past. Walsh's journey at K-State, he said, furthers his belief that dreams can be reached, regardless of what others might think.
"There's a challenge about it, and you have to be passionate about it," he said. "I was passionate about punting. I was passionate about the NFL for a while, and I just saw that door close. It wasn't like I was necessarily giving up on my dream or anything, but my dream shifted and I found something else I fell in love with that was really going to challenge me and it was going to take even more years to probably establish myself, but I felt like that was my calling in life.
"Ultimately, why I ended up at K-State and why I did all this was probably to get me through this side of things and this part of life and the songwriting. It's kind of fell together, I think, how it's supposed to."
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