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Hmm what can I
say about me? I guess I will start with the
highlights (I will skip over the low lights...)
I grew up in Kingsport Tennessee. As far back as I can
remember, I sang. When I was really young, I would put
on shows for the family. My Mom would make herself
comfortable on my waterbed (oh come on, it was the
80s...everybody had one!) and I would sing every song I
knew. She would give me pointers and pretend that she
was the judge...long before American Idol. I imagined
that I was on a big stage with spotlights and fog and
millions of screaming fans. When the song was over, I
would open my eyes and there would be just my Mom,
sitting on the waterbed, sipping coffee, smiling.
I sang in talent shows, weddings, contest...whatever I
could do to satisfy the dream whenever it fit into my
packed schedule of cheerleading, soccer, swim team,
friends...you name it, I did it.
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I went to East Tennessee State
University. At the time I felt like a total failure
because I hated it. I loved being on my own. I just was
not interested in school. So, when I heard about an open
audition at Dollywood, I went. There were days of
callbacks and dance auditions, group auditions, solo
auditions. Eventually I landed a part. I quit school,
semi reluctantly...ok,I’ll be honest... I over-joyously
crammed my Volkswagen bug with everything I owned and
moved the day I found out I had a part! I remember
rehearsing for Dollywood's opening ceremony that year,
standing with my new musical friends and thinking, "I
can’t believe they are gonna pay me to do this." That
was a life changing moment for me. I will never forget
that feeling. I knew then why I was so uninterested in
school. I wasn’t called to be a teacher (or whatever) I
was meant to be a performer. I loved it. and that
feeling has grown and fed on itself ever since.
In 1994 I moved to Nashville. I knew no one except my
brother who played basketball for Belmont University. I
lived with him and four of his basketball playing
roommates for the first year. They were all very
protective of me. When I would go sing at open mic
nights or talent shows, one or more of them would go
with me...to cheer me on, to watch out for me...and
probably to pick up girls....Either way, I was glad they
were in the audience.
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I grew frustrated with
only singing a few nights a week though. After all, I
had moved to Nashville to be a star, but basically I was
a waitress. A singing waitress, but a waitress. SO, I
put a band together and hit the road. That sounds so
easy when I write that....but believe me, it was not.
There were auditions for the band which looking back is
hysterical. We were in a warehouse doing cover tunes.
But I didn't even have a gig booked yet. I took the
auditions SO seriously too. I even video taped them, so
I could review the guys I liked the best...OK, and laugh
at the dorky ones. Eventually I found a band and lots of
gigs. We did hit the road. we played everywhere as the
Hillbilly Gypsies. It was a strange struggle of an
experience. I loved it and at the same time it was SO
frustrating for me. I mean, I wanted to be in Nashville,
but I was on the road most of the time. The band was
changing nearly every week. The gigs were varied...some
were amazing and some are too scary to think about now.
Standing outside of the gig one afternoon in the middle
of South Dakota I decided that the Hillbilly Gypsies
should be done. And we were.
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Shortly after that I had my daughter,
Madeleine. At that time I thought I was probably gonna
have to put my dream of being a star, singing for a
living, to rest. Then, like a miracle, one day I got a
phone call form Jeff Carlton who at the time was the
head of a publishing company called Hamstein Publishing.
He offered me a writing deal. He said he thought I had
something to say. That phone call changed my life. From
that moment on, I felt like the songs I had always
written were worth something. Hamstein was a very
nurturing place for me. I loved everything about it. It
was encouraging and supportive. I grew in my songwriting
in leaps and bounds. I am thankful for that kind of
springboard.
Still the elusive dream was the record deal. I had begun
writing with a guy named Lee Miller who
was also a writer at Hamstein. We
clicked. I learned so much about song writing from him.
I mean I had always written songs, since I was a little
girl. But I didn't know a lot about the commercialism of
songwriting. It is an art all its own. Lee and I wrote
every Wednesday for about 7 years! We also worked on my
Curb project together. If you ever heard a song of mine
on the radio, before 2008, then Lee is the one who
produced it. I love the music that we made. From some of
the craziest demos to some amazing sounding records, I
loved all of them.
My record deal came and went. I was on Curb records form
2002-2007. During that time I was able to do some
amazing things. I was on a big tour (Toby Keith/ Rascal
Flatts 2003). I was able to see a lot of the country
through the multiple radio tours I was on. I was able to
have many dreams come true, like 3 videos, 6 singles on
the radio. Four of those making it into the top 30
countdown. That is pretty cool to think about. I am
proud of the work that I did there. On some days I am a
little disappointed that I was never able to have my
album in stores, but bygones will drive you crazy.
In 2008 I had a beautiful little boy, Jackson. I began
writing songs for a fantastic publishing company, Bro n'
Sis Music/ Carlin America. I created my own record
label, Madjack Records. My husband and I produced and
created and slaved over my debut CD called
It’s
Time.
It’s Time is a collection of the songs I have
always believed in (re-thought, re-recorded and
re-vamped) and new songs that I absolutely love! It was
hard choosing which songs would go on the album. I write
A LOT of songs...and everyone has their favorites, so it
was tough. But when I hear it altogether, I think we
chose really well. and at the end of the day, all you
want is an album that you are proud to give to people. I
am very proud of
It’s
Time.
I must admit that it is very strange to write the story
of my life or at least the story of my musical life so
far... But I do think it is better this way, hearing it
straight from me. Much better than some guy I don’t know
writing a story about what he thinks of me, dontcha
think? |
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