Daily Inspiration: Meet imy2

Today we’d like to introduce you to imy2. Them and their team share their story with us below:

It all started when Cal Tucker (Pittsburgh, PA) met Annalise Mahanes (Richmond, VA) on Broadway in downtown Nashville. At the time, we were playing in separate bands and we were randomly paired to play together on the Rippy’s patio stage. After a few shows, we started writing together and we toyed with the idea of creating a partnership in music together. Cal called his hometown, guitar-playing, friend Mike Monahan (Pittsburgh, PA) and asked him to move down to Nashville, too. Mike would be the perfect addition to Annalise and Cal’s synergy, and thus, imy2 was created. Formerly known as “Glow Co.”, we began touring the southeast and Midwest college circuit playing cover songs. Soon after that, we took an opportunity to spend a summer in Europe doing the same thing, touring and developing our stage presence as a band. While in Europe, we decided on a name change. With the importance of social media and gaining a signature digital footprint becoming more apparent, we wanted something unique and different to set us apart on the internet’s search algorithms. We decided on “imy2”, an acronym for “I Miss You Too”. In 2019, imy2 started a YouTube channel and a TikTok to share our talents through the web. This oddly coincided with the very beginning of the pandemic, a rare opportunity to take the time learning how to film and edit our videos from our living room. We focused on bringing our audience high-quality videos every week of our cover songs and other miscellaneous content to allow our followers to get to know us personally. We later started a video series called “The Basement Sessions” which highlights original songs that have yet to be properly released through digital streaming platforms. We created this series to allow fans to contribute to imy2’s creations by offering songwriting advice and constructive criticism. This has become a beautiful, unexpected resource to not only get to know our audience better but also to shape our new original sound. With our fan’s support and a new catalogue of original music, imy2 was given the chance to record our first album in Los Angeles, CA at the top of 2022. We just wrapped recording about two weeks ago and are in the process of creating content for our next single release this summer! We are so excited to share what we’ve made and what we believe is the new and improved version of imy2. 

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It’s definitely had its rocky moments. We’ve been through two managers, multiple producers, and even two band names… but we’ve learned so much along the way. When we first started releasing original music, we weren’t quite sure who or what we wanted to be. The producer we were working with at the time made a majority of the musical decisions, ultimately creating a sound that was inauthentic to us. When you’re an independent band working with successful people, you’re bound to follow their lead and you’re eagerly willing to take the advice they offer because they’ve done this before, right? It seems naive, and it is, but it comes from a place of dreaming big, working hard, and believing that this could be your big break. I think the most important thing we’ve learned so far, is to always stay true to who you are at the core. Be proud of your roots, and as a band, find a way to represent every member’s uniqueness through your creations. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
We are full-time musicians. We tour around the country playing live shows while also maintaining our YouTube channel and writing as much music as we possibly can. We are most proud of our upcoming new album which will be released later this year. We feel that we are embarking on a new chapter that represents us in a way that finally feels honest and authentic to who we are now and who we have always been. We are known for playing our instruments, keeping it real on social media, and our lead singer’s blue hair. I’d say what sets us apart from others is the way we run our band, brand, and business. We’ve been doing everything independently since day one. From recording to filling merch orders, we have kept everything in-house. It’s amazing the things you can do with a very small team that believes in the same dream! 

Are there any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
We love to listen to podcasts on our lengthy travels to and from gigs. One, in particular, that is always a crowd-pleaser amongst the band is “Song Exploder.” We love learning about the many different versions a song has taken before becoming the hit we know today. It’s also always inspiring to hear artists speak to their own journey/methods of creation/perspectives on writing, playing, and recording. I think the main resource that has been valuable for us as a band is social media apps. Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook provide portals to speak directly to our fans. Being able to connect with our audience directly by exchanging dm’s, experimenting with content, and reading comments has been amazing. We can not only create a bond with our fans this way, but we can also hear them out on any suggestions or concerns they might have which, we think, allows us to create the best material possible. 

Contact Info:

• Email: business@imy2music.com
• Website: imy2music.com
• Instagram: @imy2music
• Facebook: facebook.com/imy2official
• Twitter: @imy2music
• Youtube: YouTube.com/imy2music 

Image Credits
Sara Kiesling
Anthony Terrebonne