Born: January 28, 1979

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Birthplace: Fort Hood, TX

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Current City: Nashville, TN

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Education: 

Academy of Art College, San Francisco, CA

Otis College of Art & Design, Los Angeles, CA

Occupations:

Musician, Songwriter, Fashion Designer, Home Renovator, Marketing, Merchandising 

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Genres; Rock, Metal, Glam, Goth, Synth, Alternative

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Previous Bands:

Orgasm (2000-2002)

Children of the Beast (2004-2006)

Stolen Hearts (2006-2008)

Black Veil Brides (2009-2019)

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Labels: 

Standby

Lava

Universal Republic

Morningwood 

 

Beginnings 

 

Growing up in Berger, Missouri, a rural town with a population of 200 people; Purdy has always been fascinated by the world surrounding artistry and music. He was already showing promise of his talents, winning 1st place in various Art shows and even junior college exhibitions while in grade school. He also participated in drama, acting, modelling, athletics and music throughout his early education. He knew from the start that his dream would be to go to California and make a career there. Everything he liked from music, art, design, fashion to even skateboarding was all in California; additionally, Purdy was influenced by 80s hair / glam metal and the LA punk music and skateboard culture. However, when he moved to California a week after graduating high school at 18 years old, he flew to San Francisco with just a suitcase and a dream. Being unaware the differences between the two major cities in the state, those being San Francisco and Los Angeles. He ended up enrolling in the Academy of Art College while picking up retail jobs and securing an acting/modelling agent where he began acting for the next year and a half. That’s when Purdy realized it was Los Angeles, which was where he actually needed to be, transferring his acting agent and schooling to Los Angeles, according to him in an interview with AP Magazine back in 2014:       {“... As a kid, I wanted to go to California. That was it, that was my dream. Like, that’s all I knew. Never been to California ‘til I moved there when I was 18. [...] I didn’t know the difference between San Francisco or LA, just ‘cause I’ve never been there before. Where I’m from, [Missouri] you could just drive everywhere. So I went to San Francisco, slept in some student dorms for a bit by myself and then I eventually enrolled in the Academy of Art College; which kinda got my grounding, figuring out stuff, got retail jobs, started acting, doing stuff. Then through that time, I spent a year and a half there ‘til I figured out where Los Angeles was and Hollywood, where I needed to be.”} So with the help of an acting/modelling agent, Purdy was successful in getting transferred from the Academy of Art College in SF to Otis College of Art & Design in LA, along with his acting/modelling agent at the time. Since then, Purdy continued acting with various roles on soap operas before forming his bands in Los Angeles.

 

Art & Design 

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 Shortly after the release of Black Veil Brides’ Wretched & Divine, Purdy launched his own clothing line, Ashley Purdy Fashion Inc. [APFI] where he was able to create his own pieces of custom clothing and accessories. The debut launch of APFI took place on March 30th, 2013, at Forgotten Saints on Melrose in Los Angeles where APFI sold through retail. The significance of the launch day also happened to be Purdy’s grandmother’s birthday, as he mentioned in an interview with Heir Waves Online: {“ … March 30th also happens to be my Grandmother’s birthday—the woman who raised me—so maybe giving birth to my Fashion Co. on her [birthday] will be a good omen for its success.” }  Purdy vocalized his interest in the fashion industry as well in the same interview: {“Fashion advertising and lifestyle branding has always been intriguing and provocative to me. It’s not just clothing or style that I had interest in, it was more the marketing side of things that I had intrigue in. It’s about selling a lifestyle or a brand, or you could say a dream. Another form of escapism such as rock n’ roll that existed and that I was eager to be a part of. I think that sense of wonderment and fantasy through fashion is what drew me in most.”}  The reocurring themes at the time of APFI’s initial release were “Outlaw”, which stood as a theme for rebellion and being a renegade, while the second main theme was “Purdy Girl”, acting as “Outlaw” ‘s style counterpart. With a lot of pre-planning, collaborating with business partners, his team, the LLC, and getting his company incorporated all in between the Black Veil Brides’ tours, APFI was sure to be a success with not just the fans of the band, but with other people outside the fanbase and with those who enjoy alternative fashion. Later in February of 2016, APFI moved to Depop to continue selling Purdy’s custom merch, adding music memorabilia to the mix. Now with the new Official Ashley Purdy Store that launched earlier in 2020, people can purchase old and new items from both Purdy’s depop and the official store, as well as custom art pieces and paintings.

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Tattoos

 

As an artist, he also started tattooing for a while. Thinking this might be a career profession as well. His first tattoos were done on himself and then various band members. Ashley has always associated tattoos with individualism. Knowing he would end up having a lot of them [tattoos], his reasoning for it was simple: He never wanted to be like everyone else. Purdy recalled his elementary school years, where he’d cover his arms with various images, drawing on his arms with colored pens; only to then later be forced to wash the art off, mandated by his teachers. So even from a young age, it was clear that Purdy knew how permanent tattoos were and how certain inks do not turn out well if done poorly. As he grew up, Purdy was meticulous about conceptualizing the designs he’d eventually wear. For years leading up to it all, Purdy would sketch out designs and full sleeves before finally deciding to get it done. He describes his designs on his arms in Tattoo Magazine August 2012 Issue 276:       {“I grew up in the Midwest with bikers, so I decided to have my left arm sleeve done in a very traditional sailor style: pinups, ships, anchors, some identifying family emblems like the Harley symbol, the Mobil Oil Pegasus, and Indian Motorcycles all encapsulated with waves and water tying it all together.”}  Purdy continued to describe his right arm sleeve next, as a “very western & biker” style with its cowgirl pinups, playing cards, horseshoes, roses, rodeo silhouettes, and skulls. On that arm, he has a fire background to tie it all together. All of his tattoos were done at Sunset Strip Tattoo in Hollywood. Purdy chose this shop because of the known style and heritage the shop has, plus for the nostalgia, since his favorite bands [Mötley Crüe, Guns N’ Roses, & LA Guns to name a few] went to get their tattoos done there as well. When it comes to his most famous tattoo, however, Purdy explains the story of the ‘Outlaw’ piece on his stomach:       {“It’s become a symbol and trademark so to speak. I have a line of ‘Outlaw’ signature basses with Dean Guitars and an ‘Outlaw’ line of clothing (APFI) as well.”}  He goes on to state his favorite part of tattoos, saying he likes his designs equally and that they are symmetrical; becoming one whole piece rather than individual pieces. Additionally, according to Purdy, his tattoos are like an extension to himself, like a permanent piece of jewelry.

 

Solo Artist 
 

  Following the release of Vale, Black Veil Brides’ 5th record, Purdy’s career and personal life began to take an unexpected shift. After going through unfortunate events in his personal life, deaths and various accumulated tragedies, it was noted that he moved from California to Tennessee in 2017 so he could be closer to his family. He describes the initial reason why he moved to Nashville, TN:       {“Part of why I moved to Nashville was because I was raised by my grandparents. My grandmother died while we were in the middle of a Black Veil Brides tour. When I got home from the tour, I needed some change. Other family members had passed. Every single male in my family have committed suicide. My father, my uncle, my grandfather, it’s like I fall in that lineage, as well as alcoholism. Then after my grandmother passed, my grandfather was still alive in Missouri, which is close to Nashville. So I thought, ‘OK, I want to move closer to Missouri, but Nashville is still Music City, so I can still make music.’ But when I moved here, it was in December [of 2017], like a week before Christmas and I thought, ‘This is the first Christmas we’re going to spend without my grandmother, who is the woman who raised me.’ I traveled to Missouri to spend it with my grandfather.      While I was driving up there on Christmas Eve, I was 30 minutes out of my grandfather’s house. He shot himself. I arrived at the house, and he was dead. And that was the reason I moved to Nashville: to be with him and because we just missed her [his grandmother]. That was our first Christmas without her, and they were married for 60 years. [...] After that all happened, I was like, ‘All my family members are gone. They’re all dead. I’m in Nashville by myself. Why did I do it? Why am I here?’ So I went down that hole of just drinking, then trying to figure it out and then I just thought I needed some therapy. I tried to go to therapy [but] it wasn’t working. I tried to kill myself a couple of times. Instead of killing myself, I decided to get intensive therapy.      I spent a week doing that. You spend time doing intensive therapy or going to group classes. You hear other people. It’s like you wake up at 6 in the morning, you’re on your meds, they have a schedule for you throughout the day and different classes that you have to go through. And it really helped with grief counseling as well. After I came out of that experience, my mindset was different. I had a different perspective on life. It helped me cope with the things on all the grief and the tragedies that I had to deal with.”} However, throughout his time in Nashville, he noticed a difference between how the music community is presented, compared to his old one back in Los Angeles. By figuring out said differences, it was clear that Purdy would soon gain another opportunity to let his talents go in any direction he wanted. After Black Veil Brides had announced their departure from Purdy in November 2019, it granted Purdy the chance to venture into new territory, to become an independent musician and later forming his own record label, Morningwood Records. In an interview with Alternative Press regarding him going solo, Purdy would go on to summarize how the last few years went for him and revealing how he felt about being an independent artist:       {... “It’s very liberating, coming from a project where you have to write in a certain way. Even when you’re writing for the other project, sometimes you’re writing a pop song or writing an alternative song where it ‘just doesn’t work for us’ (Referring to his previous band). And then it gets thrown away—we just don’t use it. [Now] I can write whatever song I want because it just suits my mood. Because it’s intentional, and it’s honest..”} And so on December 13, 2019, Purdy released his first ever single, titled Nowhere.  Nowhere’s initial release caught the attention of both old and new fans alike. Most of the responses for Nowhere were overwhelmingly positive and encouraged Purdy to keep going with his new music. In another interview, this time from Music Press Junkie, Purdy explained what inspired the creation/writing process for Nowhere:     {“It was written and inspired when I felt all hope was lost in my life. After many tragedies of losing close family members and contemplating if I still wanted to be here or not, I turned to my art [and] began to write poems, lyrics and songs that led to the main feeling and concept of “Nowhere”. The song basically came when I literally felt all alone. After all of your family members die and home is gone, you’ve got to figure out how to exist by yourself and for yourself. I’ve said this before…you never realize how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice.”} Thanks to his determination to keep going and to focus more on his own craft, he gained a large following of his own, which he likes to refer to as the Purdy Posse—fans that come together globally to celebrate, share their thoughts, and create a community within itself that strives to support each other. When Happy Birthday, King For A Day and Purdy’s Ep NashVillain were released 2020, his hard work and his talents received even more attention than before. With 2 major radio stations [Fast Forward Charts & CHBN Radio] placing King For A Day in their top 5, more people beginning to take notice and recognize Purdy as the artist that he is, on top of the streaming numbers are climbing steadily as each day passes, it is more than certain now that Purdy’s career will continue to flourish as time goes on.  In 2021 Purdy went on to release 3 more singles Sever the Ties, Not Ok a single released for Metal Health Awareness Month, and After Midnight. After a year off from music Purdy returned with a new single.  On February 4, 2023 he released No Easy Way Out a song with an accompanying video paying tribute to San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy.  His debut album has yet to see a release date. When it is announced, it will be added to this entry as soon as there is confirmation.