You need you some home.
Oh, you need you some home."
The song was used in the opening credits of the home improvement show pretty much since the beginning.
Flashforward to 2021, and theMagnolia Networkis set to launch.
We sat down with them for an exclusive interview to get all the details.
What has their life been like since finding Chip and Jo?
How has COVID-19 impacted their careers as musicians?
What are their new shows like?
We have all the answers.
This is what made Abner and Amanda share their story on television
First thing’s first.
What initially made you want to share your story with viewers in this kind of television setting?
Abner: I love that question by the way.
The only way I can really think of it is the way we got into music.
In L.A. and New York L.A., it’s about being famous.
New York, it’s about being successful.
In Nashville, it’s about making something you’re proud of.
It’s about doing something you love.
Even if nobody listened to it, we would make music as often as we possibly could.
And we love that.
We want to share our experience in that with you.
And when it came to TV, we always knew we wanted …
I was like all 9 billion other people on the planet, obsessed withAnthony Bourdain.
RIP, Anthony Bourdain.
That’s why we wanted to share our story on TV.
What Amanda Sudano wants people to see about her life
Amanda, anything to add to that?
I don’t even understand how that works."
And the answer is it does work and you make it work.
I feel like it’s important too.
Abner Ramirez explains what reaching success has felt like
You’re working with a working family.
And especially getting into the TV world.
It could really create something big."
Abner: Have you ever seen a trickle of water and turn away from it?
For instance, I was filling up the pool the other day.
It was just one hose; it takes hours to fill the pool.
It’s a little few inches, and I fell asleep on the couch.
I woke up and my yard was flooded.
And it’s never felt like we’d been on the highway, man.
I hope that answers the question.
How do Abner and Amanda balance their lives as musicians and parents?
What has been balancing all these different aspects of your lives like?
Amanda: We like to say it’s like making gumbo.
There’s a lot of stuff all at once.
Abner: It needs a little more hot sauce, let’s get out of here.
Amanda: It needs a little bit of this, it needs a little bit of that.
Hey, maybe we need to spend some time alone together.
Abner: We do.
Amanda: But there’s not hard, fast rules.
We don’t have any hard, fast rules.
How did Abner and Amanda journey to the Magnolia internet?
I’d love to know what that experience leading to where you are now was like.
We’ve wanted to do a travel show.
Something that showed our unique perspective on the world.
Everybody got pitched this sizzle reel: Abner and Amanda traveling with the family.
And nobody bit at all.
Not even the slightest nibble from anyone.
And I remember we were in Waco.
I’ve always wanted to go to Silobration.
That’s on my dream list of things to do.
Amanda: It’s super fun.
Abner: They’re always insane.
They seem to get more amazing every time, truly.
And I know this year’s going to be wild.
They added a huge church area, a Wiffle ball field, whatever.
We were … What was I was saying?
So we went down to do Silobration and they had gotten some offers
Abner: They’ve seen it.
They saw the sizzle reel.
No, they saw the sizzle reel and Chip pulled us aside in his office.
He says, “Listen, I saw your sizzle reel.
I heard nobody’s picking it up.
And I just want to tell you, I think all those people are stupid.
I think every single one of them that didn’t bite on this is stupid.
Amanda: He’s fun to be around.
Abner: [Chip is] very fun to be around.
Abner: And he’s like, “They’re stupid, this is unbelievable.”
And then years went by, literal years, and I got a phone call from Chip one day.
We’re prepping for tours.
“Amanda, you got 10 minutes, I need 10 minutes of your time.”
I said, “I have 10 minutes for you.”
We talked for two and a half hours and that’s not an exaggeration.
We want to be your Oprah to whatever
Amanda: Dr. Phil.
Abner: “You’d be our Dr. Phil, we’ll be your Oprah and whatever.
We want to launch you guys.”
They were true to their word.
We were the first show in production.
They’ve done an amazing job always championing us.
There’s a friend of ours in a band called Penny and Sparrow who uses this term.
And I have to double-check to give him credit because I didn’t make it up, called sending …
They sent the elevator down for us.
They weren’t happy to be alone in their penthouse.
They had friends a few floors down and they want to celebrate and champion other folks as well.
They don’t just sit and bask in their own glory.
You know what I mean?
And they’ve been amazing.
That’s how it all started.
What are the biggest differences between Abner and Amanda’s two new shows?
There’s a lot that goes into it.
And of course, they wanted to have like multiple days in each city.
So everything was a little bit more, I want to use the word compromised.
But it was a super fun experience and we loved doing it.
And so they were like, “Well, what if you guys just filmed yourself?”
Abner: Amplify that.
Amanda: “Let’s amplify that.”
So “Johnnyswim Show” is that.
Because normally, there is a balance of on the road, off the road.
And even just personally, there’s a difference.
And everybody goes to him for everything.
When we’re at home, everybody goes to me.
Like, “I can’t find my sock.”
Yeah, I don’t think about groceries.
So figuring that out between us, all right, chores and the kids should probably have chores.
And these are all things that we haven’t experienced before.
And so the show that comes out July 15th, that’s really what you’re seeing.
And so we’re excited because we’re about to go on tour again in the fall.
Abner: And it doesn’t get more genuine.
Abner: It hits the target of true, honest work.
What would you say was that big shift, experiencing that for you?
So for us, a big …
Traveling’s an adventure, traveling with three kids is much more of an adventure.
How do we maintain?
Because we’re at work when on the road as well.
And there’s applause from the audience.
Tour life to us is like real life.
There’s this sense of risk, reward, and adventure that I miss when I’m at home.
We’d seek them out and seek out some adventures.
So for us, that means Amanda wanted chickens.
I’m not a handyman, I’m the opposite in many, many ways of one Chip Gaines.
That’s not going to happen.
And so she wanted chickens, I did not want chickens, so we compromised.
I know, I can buy you one somewhere very cheap, somewhere in swampland in Florida.
Amanda: Yeah, exactly.
Abner: But even then, I’d be more likely to buy you one than build you one.
And I can’t buy you a house.
So we got chickens and I was forced to build a chicken coop.
And it was a real sense of adventure for me.
Abner: Judging and correcting.
Amanda: … hilarious for me.
Was that very much a standout moment for you?
Abner: For me?
When I think about “The Johnnyswim Show,” I think about the adventures we took on.
We did some live stream concerts.
We had the cops called on us.
We had a bunch of fun, dramatic moments that happened.
Amanda: I told him I wanted three or four and then he became obsessed.
And now we have 14, but we have plenty of eggs if you ever need them.
Abner: Hey, come by Burbank, we got eggs for you.
Did Abner and Amanda ever expect to work with the likes of Chip and Joanna Gaines?
Abner: I know you want to answer it, but I’ve been talking too much.
Why don’t we give you this answer?
So the noes in our music career have been absolutely vital.
The people saying, “No, I don’t want to work with you.
No, you’re not good enough.
No, that song’s not good enough.
No, that whatever,” has been the greatest catapult for us into actual success.
The noes we received and the patience we felt.
You just want a good at-bat.
You don’t want everything handed to you.
You just want a chance to prove yourself, a chance to succeed on your own.
But just give me that chance.
They haven’t just given us a chance.
They haven’t just given us an at-bat.
They’ve really like carried us and they’re placing us in this amazing web connection.
Two television shows, not just one.
And I’m so grateful when I think about that question.
Have I ever thought that it would be this way?
But I’m so grateful.
Not in a weird chip on your shoulder way.
You know what I mean?
It was kind of an aha moment of like, “Oh, okay.”
Because it was more than just like, “Oh, we want to be on TV someday.”
This was back when they were just shooting, I think Season 1 or just started shooting Season 2.
And she was like, “Do whatever they say.”
And she literally grabbed my arm and forced me to sit down.
Amanda: “You’re going to love this couple.
They’re so great.
You’re going to love them.”
Abner: And she put on “Fixer Upper” Season 1.
And she was like, “Do whatever they want, do whatever they want.”
The advice from his mother.
We kind of like saw your Instagram, whatever.
And we just felt like you guys were kindred spirits to us and we want your song.
Come for Chip’s birthday party.”
All that kind of stuff.
You don’t have to risk one for the other.
We knew that this TV show was like a thing that we were supposed to do.
It was like, “Well, duh.”
That’s why everybody else said no.
It was an absolute no-brainer.
And the whole process really has been a joy.
Both “At Home” and “On the Road?”
Abner: I hope people feel not just encouraged.
I hope people feel seen.
This kind of thing doesn’t happen for you.
I hope they feel like they made friends with us, not just observed us.
Amanda: … or enjoying your time in your life and who you’re with.
Stuff goes wrong all the time.
But things going right is easy.
Stuff can go right, stuff can go wrong.
The true thing is your family and your community.
And I hope that that gives people the flexibility to enjoy themselves, even when things go wrong.
What’s up next for Abner Ramirez and Amanda Sudano?
I know you mentioned that you’re going back on the road in the fall.
So what’s next?
What can viewers expect to see from you guys?
What can you share about your future plans?
Amanda: We go on the road.
I think our first show is September 29.
Abner: September 30 in Cincinnati.
September 30 in Cincinnati.
We’re on the road all of October.
Abner: All over America.
Abner: Waco, Texas.
Our last show of the year.
Amanda: Yeah, I think the same day as the day before the show starts.
That’s so exciting.
That’s really cool.
And we just had a book come out.
I should mention that as well.
You have been busy then.
The pandemic was the busiest year of our life.
Amanda:Yeah, somehow.
Magnolia data pipe’s slate of original programming launches July 15 on discovery+ and inside the Magnolia app.
