Rising Stars: Meet Tommy Karlas of Music Row

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tommy Karlas. 

Hi Tommy, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
Born and raised outside of St. Louis, MO in a town called East Alton, IL. I started practicing guitar after watching an older cousin play and sing music at family functions. I soon there after starting writing songs and entering and winning talent shows at age 13. At age 14, I took my first trip to Nashville to the Bluebird Cafe and saw Dean Dillon, Gary Burr, Skip Ewing, and Hugh Presswood, and fell in love with the profession of songwriting (and the Bluebird Cafe). At that point, I made a plan to move to Nashville after high school to become a professional songwriter, and in the meantime sent my songs and took trips to Nashville to get my songs critiqued and network. 

At the age of 19, I moved to Nashville with the plan of getting my first publishing deal on Music Row within the typical time of 5 to 7 years. During my first week in Nashville, I went to a BMI workshop where I could pitch songs to a publisher. Out of 50 songs pitched to the publisher they kept 2 and both of them were mine and my co-writers. The next day the president of that publishing company, Jeff Carlton of Hamstein Music, asked me to come in to talk. Within a few weeks, he offered me my first publishing deal, which became the genesis of everything else good that happened to me. 

Shortly after that I got my first cut, a song I co-wrote with Erin Enderlin that was recorded by Randy Travis. Soon thereafter I got a song recorded by Blake Shelton called What I Wouldn’t Give, and met and wrote with so many great artists and writers. Among them were Luke Bryan, Matt Ramsey, Darius Rucker, Bobby Braddock, Tom Douglas, Mac Davis, and so many more.

Later I was signed by a the top independent publishing company called Big Yellow Dog Music. In that deal, I had put so much pressure on myself to write a great song that I paralyzed myself creatively. The week I was let go of that deal, I also was evicted from my apartment and had a kidney stone an inch in diameter I had to have a painful surgery for. At that point, I had decided to get back to writing songs for myself like I did when I was a kid on my bed. After just a few short months of enjoying writing again, at 2 in the morning I came up with a melody and song that I knew before any one ever even heard it that it would be my first hit. Because I was so appreciative of the chance Big Yellow Dog had given me and because I had not delivered, I gave the song to them to pitch and they got it recorded by Montgomery Gentry. A year later the song spent two weeks at #1 and earned me an ASCAP Songwriter of the Year Nomination. After that, I bought a boat to live on, like all my hero’s Dean Dillon and Shel Silverstein, and wrote songs from my houseboat for years.

Over the next few years, I experienced tragedy not only losing my father to cancer but my brother to a tragic accident. I spent years not really writing anything I liked and in 2015 I re-invented myself into my music and started writing songs how I always wanted to. I started writing with my favorite writers and friends and started building my best catalog ever. But because the music business had started to change and getting outside cuts on albums was harder than ever, I decided to release my own album for the first time with the help of Jayme Calhoun of Calhoun Enterprises. And in the summer/fall of 2021, I released my first album as well as signed the best publishing deal I’ve ever had with Sony Music Publishing and Jim Catino’s publishing company called Droptine Music.

Since moving here to become a professional songwriter, I’ve had songs recorded by Randy Travis, Blake Shelton, Montgomery Gentry, Old Dominion, Trisha Yearwood, and many more… and had a multi-week #1 that went on to be the fast-rising and most downloaded song of Montgomery Gentry’s long career, penning me the ASCAP Songwriter of the Year Nomination. I’ve performed at the Ryman Auditorium and for over 100,000 people under the Arch in St. Louis (singing Roll With Me with Montgomery Gentry on the 4th of July in my hometown), and regularly perform at my dream venue, The Bluebird Cafe. 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
In some ways, I’ve been incredibly fortunate in a way so many haven’t but in another, it’s been a grind and has taken incredible persistence to stick with it. I’ve been through several tragedies in my immediate family and have lost several publishing deals. Not to mention trying to succeed in a profession that has been decimated by nearly 80 percent. When I moved to Music Row there were over 2000 signed writers in country music and now there’s roughly 300 – 400. But the position I’m in now is the best I’ve been in in my two-plus decades here. 

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a professional singer/songwriter for Sony Music Publishing/Droptine Music. Every day I co-write with someone on Music Row and every month I take the best songs that I write and record them with the best musicians in Nashville to record demos. Then my publisher takes those songs and pitches them to artists to try to get them recorded. It’s an amazing job to write songs for a living every day then get to bring them to life in the studio. 

The song I’m best known for is a multi-week #1 called Roll With Me by Montgomery Gentry. I’m most proud of that song too because it had an effect on so many people and was a part of so many incredible stories, from veterans to firefighters, to fathers and sons. That’s what you hope for as a songwriter…that your songs will make even a modest impact on someone’s life. 

I think the thing that sets me apart is that I’m still here doing this after 20 years. Because my profession has been dwindled down so much, there’s only a few dozen people still doing this professionally for this long. It’s been a grind, to be honest but it’s an amazing feeling to feel your persistence pay off. 

I’m also most proud of my debut album I just released after twenty years of just writing songs. The reaction we’ve received has been way beyond my expectations, even though I am extremely proud of the songs and have no doubt they are my best yet. It’s called Tommy Karlas Put It in Drive. 

The only other thing I would add is for a few years I’ve been working with an amazing charity organization called CreatiVets. We write songs with veterans with PTSD to empower them to heal through music and the creative process. We’ve released quite a few of those songs through CreatiVets and Big Machine Label. It’s an unbelievable organization and the work we’ve done through that has been probably the most rewarding of my career. These guys we work with are amazing human beings I’m honored to know and spend time with 

Are there any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
One of my biggest things has been my mind and creativity works better when I keep my physical health in shape. Over covid, I decided to get in shape and lost 75lbs intermittent fasting, jogging, playing PickleBall, and lifting weights. As a songwriter, you don’t get to move as much so it’s important to keep your temple in shape as much as possible. Plus, I feel like the research shows your physical health is vital to your mental health. As far as that and podcasts go, I listen a lot to Ted Talks and The Huberman Lab podcast with Andrew Huberman. 

Being a songwriter, you are always looking for ideas whether it be in movies, tv shows, books, conversations, or just life. 

I’m also a huge C.S. Lewis fan 

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: TommyKarlasMusic.com
• Instagram: @tommykarlas
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tommykarlasmusic
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/tommykarlas
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiq_HJVwVb6cwaRrWXoluQw
• Other: https://music.apple.com/us/album/put-it-in-drive/1502626141