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OLD DOMINION: Stories From The Moms

Old Dominion is one of the hottest bands in country music that everyone loves…including their moms! You can’t find any bigger fans of the band than Peggy Ramsey, Karen Tursi, Cindy Rosen, Susie Sprung and Beth Sellers. And of course like every parent, they have stories of seeing the early hints of musical talent, the heartbreaking stories of seeing their kids leave home to pursue their musical dreams, and then seeing their adult children fall off a skateboard at the bottom of a empty pool while filming a music video. OK, that last one might just be specific to Geoff Sprung‘s mom Susie, who remembers getting a warning call from her son that she was going to see the accident in their video for “Snapback.” Susan says “I see him rolling across the bottom of that pool, and I just look away. But I tell you (laugh) I gotta give him props for playing the cool guy game when he jumped up (laugh) and said ‘I’m good, I’m good’ and I’m like ‘you are not good, I am your mother. I know you’re not good’ (laugh)” (just in case you haven’t seen the video for “Snapback” — you can check it out right HERE) Old Dominion’s lead singer Matthew Ramsey‘s mom Peggy shares that it wasn’t actually singing that first got Matthew into music, “he wanted to be a drummer.” It wasn’t until Matthew started singing in high school and started his first band that Peggy knew singing might be the route her son took in music. Speaking of drumming, Beth Sellers knew right from the start that her son Whit Sellers would be a drummer, has he picked up the skill from his dad. Beth shares “we had drums in the house, from the time he was born. When he was in high school, he could only play the drums until his sisters went to bed, and then he would switch the practice pads.  Drums have been a noisy part of our life.”  Cindy Rosen faced that situation that almost all parents face, when your child tells you that they are leaving home and moving to a new city. While she knew she’d miss her son Trevor Rosen, in her heart, Cindy knew it was the best thing for her son…but like every good mom, she guilt’s him by reminding that “when Trevor first told me he was moving to Nashville, I knew it was the right decision for him, but it was tough…and I think I cried for days, maybe weeks (laugh).” Karen Tursi knows that no matter where life, or music, takes her son, Brad Tursi, he always thinks of her. Karen relates a story from when Brad was younger, and misplaced his clarinet, but it was for a good reason, ” I did get a call that the clarinet was found, right on our street by a lilac bush, and then Brad remembered that he was walking back from the bus stop, and that he put the clarinet down to cut me the lilacs, and he left the clarinet there. So, that kind of touched my heart.”  All the moms of the guys in Old Dominion have their own sweet and special stories of their sons, but one thing that all have in common now, is that they love the band’s new single “No Such Thing As A Broken Heart.” Yes, it’s mom approved.

audio  Karen Tursi, mother of Old Dominion’s Brad Tursi, remembers when Brad was younger and misplaced his clarinet, but it was for a good cause. (:54)
“Brad played the clarinet all through middle school, and high school…played in the orchestra, and his Aunt, my sister, she was a big clarinet player in school too. When Brad needed a clarinet, when he started playing, of course I asked my sister if we could possible borrow hers, but  she wouldn’t give it to me cause she was afraid Brad would lose it. So, I did have to rent him one, but he did lose his clarinet. I put an ad in the newspaper, but I did get a call that the clarinet was found, right on our street by a lilac bush, and then Brad remembered that he was walking back from the bus stop, and that he put the clarinet down to cut me the lilacs, and he left the clarinet there. So, that kind of touched my heart.”

audio  Peggy Ramsey, mother of Old Dominion’s lead singer Matthew Ramsey, shares the story that she thought her son’s musical talent might have taken him in a different direction than singing. (:27)
“The singing probably didn’t come into play until high school. He always enjoyed music, and he was actually a…he wanted to be a drummer.  So, the singing was kind of a little surprise to me, that he was that interested in it. Although he did perform in elementary school. He performed Pinocchio…sang and danced as ‘Pinocchio,’ he performed as ‘Alvin’ of the Chipmunks (laugh). I never took him seriously though, until high school when he formed a band.”

audio  Susie Sprung, mother of Old Dominion’s Geoff Sprung, relates a call she got from Geoff after they filmed the “Snapback” video, and her reaction to his fall when she still sees the video. (:46)
“Holy moly! I was so grateful…he called me and he said ‘this video is coming out, and I just want you to know I’m fine.’ and I was so grateful. I cringe every time I see that, and it’s like I know it’s coming…and I see him rolling across the bottom of that pool, and I just look away. But I tell you (laugh) I gotta give him props for playing the cool guy game when he jumped up (laugh) and said ‘I’m good, I’m good’ and I’m like ‘you are not good, I am your mother. I know you’re not good’ (laugh) So, yeah that was awful to see, but now it’s a story.”

audio  Beth Sellers, mother of Old Dominion’s drummer Whit Sellers, explains that Whit’s love of drummer was handed down to him. (:15)
“His dad is a drummer, so we had drums in the house, from the time he was born. When he was in high school, he could only play the drums until his sisters went to bed, and then he would switch the practice pads.  Drums have been a noisy part of our life.”

audio  Cindy Rosen, mother of Old Dominion’s Trevor Rosen, admits that even though it was tough to let her son move to Nashville to pursue music, she knew it was the right choice for him. (:17)
“Well, when Trevor first told me he was moving to Nashville, I knew it was the right decision for him, but it was tough…and I think I cried for days, maybe weeks (laugh). So, it was hard, but I knew he had made the right decision.”

audio  Karen Tursi, mother of Old Dominion’s Brad Tursi, introduces herself.
“Hi there, I’m Karen Tursi, my son Brad is in the new and upcoming band Old Dominion, lead guitar player and songwriter.”

audio  Peggy Ramsey, mother of Old Dominion’s lead singer Matthew Ramsey, introduces herself. (:27)
“Hi, I’m Peggy and my son is Matthew Ramsey of Old Dominion.”

audio  Susie Sprung, mother of Old Dominion’s Geoff Sprung, introduces herself. (:46)
“Hi, this is Susie Sprung. My son Geoffy is the bass player in Old Dominion.”

audio  Beth Sellers, mother of Old Dominion’s drummer Whit Sellers, introduces herself.
“Hi, I’m Beth Sellers and my son Whit is in the band Old Dominion.”

audio  Cindy Rosen, mother of Old Dominion’s Trevor Rosen, introduces herself. (:17)
“I’m Cindy Rosen, and I’m the mom of Trevor Rosen, who is in Old Dominion.”