At the age of 12 Andolyn Parrish despised guitar lessons. In fact, her parents had to force her to go. So she quit.
As she grew older, her curiosity for music began to grow. Not being held down by the rules of guitar lessons, Parrish taught herself how to play a few simple chords. This was the beginning of a love affair with music.
Today, Parrish is a sophomore at Auburn studying communications. She is a member of Alpha Gamma Delta and enjoys eating Mexican food with her friends at El Dorado.
But Parrish has one thing that makes her different than most Auburn students. She is signed to a record label and just released her first single on iTunes. That’s right, you heard me. iTunes.
Parrish has been writing songs since she got her first guitar at 16, and last year she decided she wanted to record a few. Parrish contacted David Hammons of Millhouse Music in hopes of simply having a professional copy of her music.
“We played around with my songs, and he added in other instruments,” Parrish said. “We ended up striking up a friendship, and he really helped me out with my music.”
Then Parrish played “Young Love” for Hammons. That was the game changer. Hammons loved the song so much that he decided to sign Parrish to his record.
“I was literally mid-queso bite at Moe’s Southwest when I got the text,” Parrish said. “I was screaming and crying in the middle of the restaurant, and the people around me must have thought I was crazy.”
On Jan. 11, 2016, Parrish’s original song, “Young Love” debut on iTunes.
Not only did Parrish land the record deal, but she also was able to turn “Young Love” into a music video.
“It was all shot in my hometown of Scottsboro,” Parrish said. “It was an amazing, unforgettable experience.”
Parrish said the two days of filming were exhausting, but worth every minute.
Parrish’s inspirations for her music are Taylor Swift, John Mayer and Stevie Nicks, but she doesn’t consider her music to be one certain genre.
“I don’t want to be a carbon copy of someone else.”
When asked about her future, Parrish said she hopes to end up in Nashville, but that school is a priority right now.
“When I started music I never thought I would ever make a career out of it. It was always something I would just do for fun alone in my room,” Parrish said.
She says she hopes to take her love of communicating with people and combine it with her love of music.
As for now, Parrish will continue to write music and take classes at Auburn, even though she admits that she will skip class to write songs if they come to her.