From Reality TV to Your Spotify Playlist

You may be wondering who this AMMO is? Well, we have the inside scoop on the former Reality TV star. AMMO came from a Mormon family who expected him to carry on the family legacy in faith. Instead, he dropped out of school, moved to New York City, denounced his former faith on MTV’s ‘Real World’ and ‘The Challenge’, and committed himself to becoming a truly great singer-songwriter.

His music explores themes of sex, family, faith, loss, and recovery with influences like The Rolling Stones, Bill Withers, J.J. Cale, Sheryl Crow, and Tracy Chapman. His songwriting showcases his natural wit and storytelling ability, marrying dynamic, intuitive lyrics with elements of pop, rock, soul, country, and blues. AMMO’s most recent release, “Macy,” has been a huge hit for fans everywhere! Here is what you need to know about AMMO.

1. Your most recent release, 'MACY,' has been a huge hit so far! Tell us what inspired you to write this song.

I met Macy while I was attending Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. BYU is a private school for Mormons, and Macy and I were both still Mormon when we met. She was the most beautiful person I had ever seen. Around the time we started dating I was in a pretty serious car accident. I almost died. The doctors prescribed me an inordinate amount of opioid painkillers and I became addicted to them pretty quickly. After surviving my third overdose, a friend suggested that I move to Japan for the summer so I could get sober from the pills. He had served his Mormon mission in Tokyo and felt that the strict drug regulations there might help me distance myself from my addiction. I couldn’t go to rehab; I would have been expelled from BYU for violating the university’s Honor Code. So I moved to Japan and I sobered up. Getting sober from pills made me really look at myself and what I wanted. It was in Japan that I went home with a guy for the first time. Japan was where I realized I no longer wanted to be a Mormon. So after I returned to the States I dropped out of school and moved to New York City. Macy and I never resolved what happened between us. We just faded. So I wrote this song as an explanation, an apology, and a love letter. I still think about her every day.

2. Being on MTV must have been an amazing experience! How has it affected you? And how have those experiences affect you as a singer/songwriter?

God, I wouldn’t wish reality TV on anyone. It’s miserable, shallow, vapid and the furthest thing from actual reality there is. But it did give me a supreme confidence in myself: who I am, what I want, how I think, and how I feel. Now I don’t care what other people think of me. I do what makes me feel good, and I think you can hear that in my music.

3. Are there any obstacles you have or currently deal with as an artist?

My depression is certainly an obstacle. Somedays, I feel like I just leave my body and float around in the ether for days while my mind rids itself of the clouds. Other days, I feel like I’m the sun and I’m burning up everything around me: my sex, my music, my relationships. Is that depression? Or Is that bipolar? Is that just being a millennial?

4. What inspires you when you write music?

I write from life. Music is how I make sense of living.

5. What is something you would want your fans to know about you?

I’m almost out of weed and it’s only Tuesday.

6. If you could open for absolutely any artist, dead or alive, who would it be?

Alive? Sheryl Crow or the Rolling Stones. One discovered the other; it would be amazing to share a stage with either. Dead? Give me anyone in the 27 club. Winehouse, Cobain, Morrison, Joplin, Hendrix. That would be heaven.

7. Where would be your dream place to tour?

Europe or Asia. I love Italy and Japan. Have always wanted to go to the UK and Paris.

8. What can we expect from AMMO in the future?

Give me a time machine and I’ll let you know.

There you have it! Listen to AMMO's song, "MACY," and remember to never lose yourself in whatever you deal with in life. Be yourself, love yourself, and do what makes you happy!