Q :       You lived as an Off Broadway performer, what does that  mean?

A :        Yes I did, it’s basically Broadway, there is Broadway and there is an Off Broadway, but it is basically all put together into Broadway. Off Broadway tends to be more obscure plays. The productions are not as elaborate, they don’t have as much money. But lately, all these big actors have been doing Off Broadway, because usually it’s more about the acting, as opposed to the big productions. Usually it is in smaller Theaters of about 200 to 500 seats.

Q:        Off Broadway has to do with acting in that case?

A:         It could be a Musical or it could be a straight play, but I was in a Musical.

Q :       How long did you do this ?

A :        Six months, every day, Sundays we had two shows. It was pretty busy.

Q :       You enjoyed it even though it was that busy?

A:         Oh I love it, i have been doing theaters since I was a baby. I love all kinds of performing, whether it is on stage or in a musical. I don’t usually do straight plays though, I always do something with music because I’m a singer first.

Q:        What is this popularity contest you won?

A:         The popularity contest was a reality show that was on CMT. It actually didn’t have anything to do with music. I was the only musician in the group. We competed, and everybdy had different things, there was a baseball scout, a chef and I just happened to be a singer. It was about what they normally do in life. It was a lot of fun.

Q:        What are the film and TV credits for?

A:         I’ve done some independent movies, I’ve been on the Home and Garden channel, I guess I’ve probably been on most cable stations. I really enjoy TV more than film, because TV is constantly changing, in Film, you have the script, it stays the same. I enjoy the spontaneity.

Q :       Your singing includes country as well as opera?

A :        Yes, I used to sing opera, I actually have a degree in opera, but I have not sang opera in a long time, probably about 8 years or so. I’ve sang with bigger opera competes, but I always liked the more crazy, modern opera, but I did not want this as my career. I’m happy with the training I got, but I knew it was not what I wanted for the rest of my life. With country music it’s different, I’m from Virginia, I’ve always listened to country music and bluegrass too. But I got more involved after the CMT popularity show. I feel like this is my home, I feel really comfortable. But I don’t want to give up the other stuff, I like to do everything. But music always comes first. Singing is definitely me.

Q:        You are a stylist as well, do you still do that?

A:         Acutally I don’t,  I don’t have time. But it helps me, because I style myself. I don’t have to have anyone else for that and I enjoy doing it.

Q :       Do you still live in New York?

A:         No, I have a place in New York, but actually, I’m more here in Nashville and in Texas. My sister stays in the apartement in New York. I do love New York and I’ll miss it, but it’s not really a country music town. Texas is great for country music.

Q :       Has your new CD been released yet?

A :        I just released a single, it’s called  ‘’So many Honky Tonks’’, it’s gone out on CD tracks. But the CD has not been put out in stores yet, but it will be very soon. The name of it will be  ‘’I got Faith’’, so listen for it. I know ‘‘So many Honky Tonks‘‘ has some airplay in Europe, because I constantly get e mails from people asking for the CD. I’m very excited about this CD, because it is my style, it has a lot of blues and a lot of southern rock. When I play shows, the music is southern rock with blues mixed in, kind of bluisiana style.

Q:        Then southern rock is your music style?

A:         Yes I would definately say it is like that. I had someone ask me the other day, ‘’who do you sound like?’’ I hate when people ask that, you know, you want to sound like yourself. I really don’t sound like somebody else, for the sheer fact that I have this classical background. As a singer, it really helps me with the vocal control. So it sounds different, it’s definately not classical, but it has a different tone. It’s southern rock mixed with blues and some traditional also, I love traditional country.

Q :       One of your musical heros was Patsy Cline?

A:         Yes, well, being from Virginia, how could you not love Patsy Cline. You know, it’s funny how people think that country music originated in Tennessee or Texas. For people that don’t know it, it actually originated in the 20’s in the Virginia mountains.

Q:        Your song ‘‘Picture Perfect Girl‘‘ has won a station make it or brake it contest, what does that mean?

A :        Well, ‘’Picture Perfect Girl’’ has gotten a lot of radio play in Europe as well as in the States. It’s pretty funny, I was doing this show in Arizona, and for some reason, they didn’t want to play this song. It was actually kind of a festival so they should have promoted the song anyway. So they said we’re going to put it in this make it or brake it contest and see what happens. Then everyone liked the song and requested it, it was kind of like a slap in the face for them.

Q:        You also wrote a song which is like an autobiographical story?

A:         Yes, that is ‘‘City Country City‘‘. It is kind of the story of me going to New York, doing the music thing during the broadway shows. It talks about how difficult it was, having to audition in front of 800 people. You would have to sit there for hours and it was pure agony, but at the same time, you love it, so you do it. That is pretty much what the song is about. Moving from a southern town to a big city and trying to get used to all that. On my new CD I wrote a song called ’’I Got Faith’’, which is also the title of the CD. It talks about having faith in your mom and dad, then it says I have faith in the goodness of all mankind, but I have faith that they’re going to be bad. Then at the end, instead of saying I sure have faith, it says I sure as ‘hell’  have faith. So, it’s kind of a twist around, even though it has this christian thing, it’s not christian at all. One of my best friends and I wrote that song and I’m really proud of that. It has a lot of Gospel sounds in it.

Q:        Do you write most of your own songs?

A:         It’s mixed, if I get the idea and I write it, I just do it. But sometimes a song comes along and I really like it, but I do have to feel a strong connection. Like the song on my new CD, ‘’Angels in the Snow’’, I didn’t write that one. Its a really sad song about a child dying and going to heaven. When I heard it, I couldn’t stop crying for a week. But it’s such a beautiful song, I just knew I had to sing it. So I do mix other people’s songs with mine. I think it’s good to have that kind of diversity. If you’re always writing your own songs, it’s always sounding like your own songs.

Q :       What other songs do you have on the CD?

A:         Well, there is ‘‘So many Honky Tonks‘‘, it was written by Ted Russel Kamp, he’s a friend of mine and I think he’s a great writer. I heard the song and I felt I had to sing it. I think as a female artist, it is just so much more interesting, I mean, men are always in honky tonks bars. The song has a real 70’s country sound, a lot of steel, the fiddle is real strong. That will be the next single and I’ve really gotten a great response so far.

Q:        Are you planning on doing some music videos or DVD’s ?

A :        Yes, I have a video for Picture Perfect Girl, actually it is on AOL music and it’s all over the internet. It was shot in Texas and I’m really proud of it. I think, ‘‘So many Honky Tonks‘‘ will have a video also.

Q:        What are your plans?

A :        I ll be doing shows starting in July. I love to travel around, I’ll be going to Florida, I have some things in Virginia. I hadn’t gotten a lot of gigs on the south east coast and now we’re working on that. I’ve been going to the mid west, now I would also like to go to the south east. It would be nearer and maybe I might have some family member coming to see me.

Q:        Please describe yourself:

A:         Well, as we where discussing, I do a lot of different things, so I would say I’m definately versatile. I’m really outgoing, I talk to anyone. I’m italien american, I actually studied in Italy. I haved studied three different languages, german, french and italien, but please don’t ask me to speak german because I can t remember anything. I love what I do, I think it shows when I play live. I think it’s importand that you love what you do whatever that is.

Q:        Did your parents also play music?

A :        There is really a long history of musc in my family. My great grandmother was a vaudville star, my grandmother was an opera singer and my grandfather was Elvis’s engeneer. He built billboards and would bring them to the studio. He invented stuff, like musical engeneering stuff. My dad sang for a long time, but my parents didn’t push me into music business, it was something I wanted to do from a young age.

Q:        Have you been doing any shows in Nashville?

A:         Oh yes, I played at Tootsie’s and I played at B B Kings.

Q:     You where influenced by the music coming off the Blue Ridge Mountains during the time you were growing up, what kind of music was that

A:      That was mostly bluegrass music. My great grandfather played banjo and my granfather on my mothers side loved music, but he didn't play an instrument, he loved to dance. He used to do what we call the irish jig and clogging. They loved country music. But mostly bluegrass music was my influence, which was closest to the appalachian mountains where I grew up.

Q :    Do you play an instrument yourself ?

A :     Yes I do, I play acoustic guitar in my band. I don't play much keyboard / piano, I tryed to do that when I was younger, but I'm ok, I can peck around a little bit. But my instrument is the guitar.

Q :    Do you play bluegrass music ?

A :     We do play some bluegrass, but most of our stuff today is more contemporary country with a little feel of rock 'n roll in it. Because in my teenage years, when I was about 12 - 13 years old, I started listening to more rock guitars, hard Rock 'n Roll. So, during those years, I experimented with that. I fell in love with that music, but I always had the country, the bluegrass in my blood. As I started to develop my own career in music, my own style became kind of a blending of country, blue grass, some pedal steel and guitar. I also love the banjo and fiddle. We kind of have a rocky edge to our music. Real high energy type sound.

Q:     Is it true, that you where in a hard rock band at one time?

A:      Yes, in my teenage years I was in some hard rock bands too. That was fun, it was an interesting experience. But I guess it was just a kind of genre of music I fell in love with when I was a teenager.

Q:     How long did you play in rock 'n roll bands?

A:      Well, I still like to play rock 'n roll, but I was in a band most of my teenage years. Probably seven or eight years in different bands. We had little garage bands we'd put together and we would go over to people's houses and have  jam sessions. Stay up all hours on the weekends. We played battle of the bands here and there, but it never really turned into anything on a professional basis.

Q:     Is it true, that you decided on a  music career after a football injury?

A :     Yes, I played a year in college and hurt my knee. I was always a little smaller than the rest of the guys and not quite as fast either. So I figured, I love music and I love football, but I may have a better chance in music. That is something I can do for the rest of my life while you can play Football only a short span of time. So I decided to focus on music and do that. I went to study music and business. I studied Guitar, vocals and also studied regular business so I could hopefully incorporate those business ideas and become a successful performer and songwriter.

Q:     Where did you study this?

A :     I studied at University of Chicago. I moved from North Carolina to Chicago and spent a number of years up there studying music. I formed a band while I was up there and I still have some band members that are up in Chicago. I just recently moved to Nashville. I found some talented musicians and writers here so we can do some local stuff here in Nashville. It's hard to be so seperated from your bandmates, between here and Chicago, it's about a seven hour drive on the freeway. But there's some great writers and great friends of my band and we're having a great time.

Q:     Do you live here and in Chicago now?

A:      No, I live full time here in Nashville, but I do go to Chicago quite often. I almost look at it as my second home. Before, when I lived in Chicago, Nashville was kind of my second home, because I was down here so often with writers and just doing things to meet people within the music business. But now, that I'm located here, Chicago is my second home for me.

Q :    Is this your first time at CMA Fest ?

A ;     It is my first time participating at CMA and it's fabulous, I'm having such a wonderful time. It's great to see the fans coming down here from all over the world. It is such an amazing thing, it seems that this genre of country music is so unique. I don't see  rock 'n roll or jazz or blues where fans from all across the world come to one big event like they do in country music. It's fun, we built a lot of fans on our shows and on our my space and website. It's great to see people from different citys, different states and different countrys for that matter, come together at one place once a year. Maybe you meet people that you have talked to before online but had never had a chance to meet in person. It is a wonderful experience.

Q:     You have one CD so far?

A :     I have one CD, it's our debut CD and the title track is called ''A Man's Gotta Do… What a Man's Gotta Do''. It's a song about the relationship between a guy that loves his woman. He also loves his career and his passion and he wants to pursue that. He wants her to know that even though he does that, he still loves her. It takes a lot of sacrifice and travel, and he may be gone a lot, but a relationship has a better chance to last if you do what you love. It is a high energy song, it was recorded just outside of Nashville. We did it at the studio of Jamie O'Neal and her husband Rodney. They have an annex at home, what they call a grotto . I had the good fortune to meet Jamie's mother Julie Murphy several years ago when I was starting to look for some property in Nashville. We started talking and I mentioned that  we were looking to do some recording in Nashville. She said ''you should talk to my daughter Jamie and her husband Rodney, they have a wonderful studio.''  So we did and it worked out wonderfully. Julie and I have become good friends during this process.

Q:     Do you write songs yourself?

A :     I did not on this record, I did a little contribution, but I didn't even put my name on it as a co-writer, because I felt that the contributions where not that significant. But I'm writing more on the new material I'm working on now, collaborating with some of the writers, Rob Martucci, Troy Powers and several other writers. But I'm moving more in the direction of becoming an prolific song writer, trying to get involved in the process of collaboration process. I like to collaborate, it seems that I work better than to try and write a song by myself, it's always nice to have input from others. We have a good team of writers and musicians that are part of  our band and I'm pretty thankful for that. I'm trying to write more as time goes on. Up to this point I've been more of a performing artist. I love to sing and I love to get up on the stage and entertain crowds, sing great songs and hopefully, I will be able to write some of those great songs.

Q:     Do you have a lot of concerts?

A :     We have quite a few, most of them are around the Wisconsin, Chicago, and Illinois area. We're also going to play in Las Vegas this year. We are going to play the opening of the first three nights of the National Finals Rodeo on december 4th, 5th and 6th at Southpoint Casino. We are going to be hosting the award ceremony's there. It's going to be a ten day event and is about the second largest that Las Vegas hosts every year. So we are happy and honored to be able to particiapate there.

Q :    Have you done any other tours ?

A :     We did a show here in Nashville at a place called The Tin Roof, it is on music row, in fact, a lot of major artist have done shows there. It is my plan here in Nashville, to create more of touring possibilities in the southeast for us, hopefully get to Texas and California as well.

Q:     How would you describe yourself?

A:      You know, I consider myself an optimist. I always try to look on the bright side of things, be hopeful even though life can be frustrating in the music business. I am still an unsigned artist and am hopeful to get my music out there, to be heard more and on a larger scale. That we can share our music with more people, sell more CD's, try to perform live more often. So we can make a decent living in the music business. I'm an optimist and I'm hopeful about the future and I think that comes accross in our performance and our songs. We have a very high energy show. We keep people rocking, we try not to slow them down. The slow and romantic songs are good for the radio, but on the live shows, we try to keep 'em on their feet and keep their boots moving.

Q :    Are you planning any tours overseas ?

A :     I would love to, I went thru Switzerland a few years ago on a family vacation and it was beautiful. I'd love to come over to europe on a tour. So if anyone is reading this article and has some influence to bring some american acts over there, we'd love to get the opportunity to come overseas.  

Q:        You don't only sing, you also love to dance, is it correct that you used to perform for your parents at a very early age?

A :        Yes I did. I do love to dance, I did tap, jazz, modern and things like that. I danced pretty much my whole live and I also was in competition in school. When my sister and I were little, we used to put on dance shows. Have you ever heard of cirque du soleil? It Is an incredible show that they put on. We had all the soundtracks and my sister and I performed to them. We actually performed to whatever CD's we could find.

Q:        You also did some acting?

A:         Yes, I did, that really put me on the path that I'm on right now. In high school,  I did musical theater, thru musical theater, I ended up auditioning here in Georgia and got 22 out of 25 call backs for musical theater schools across the United States. I picked one and got a full scholarship there. I was there for about 1 ½ semesters, then I realized it was not what I wanted to keep doing. Two days after my birthday on January 12th, I called my mom and told her, ''I don't want to do this, I want to do my music, I want to perform my songs and I want to be a country artist.''  They said more or less, we've been waiting. They actually expected this. But with musical theater I've been thankful and blessed, that I've had the experience I did and that it put me on this path.

Q:        With musical theater, does that mean just acting or also dancing and singing?

A:         I did also sing, the schools that I went to, trained me in musical theory. We also had to take piano lessons and we had to learn how to read music. It was a wonderful, experience. It really broadened my horizons as an artist.  Musical theater is just about everything, dancing, singing and acting.

Q :       So you really were in your element there?

A:         That's right, I was. I love to dance. When I'm on stage, I put on a show too, I move a lot, that is one of my things, as a performer I love to move on stage. I'm all over the place, I always say I move like one of the boys, cause I'm not afraid to get sweaty, I'm not afraid to have my hair in my face and I'm not afraid to look like a mess. I'm having a good time and make that obvious.

Q :       You auditioned for Nashville Star?

A:         Yes I did, it's actually an interesting Story. I auditioned in Atlanta initially, but i didn't make it thru any of the rounds, I didn't get any callbacks at all. I auditioned with Miranda Lambert's ''Kerosene''. I think my looks was a little bit too similar to hers and I think it might have been a bad song choice. It's just the circumstances, the way I look and the way I am on stage, I'm just a little bit spunky and fiery, just like she is. I looked at my Mom and said ‚'' I don't want to give up'', so we went to New York. I think there where about two thousand people that ended up auditioning over the course of the day. I think I was in the third auditioning group and got a callback. I sang the song ''When I think about cheating'' acapella. Then when I went back to audition after my initial call back,  I sang Bonnie Raitt's ''Thing Called Love''. Auditioning for that show is one of the most fun experiences that I've had. I met some incredible people and musicians, some of them I'm still in touch with. I don't think you can go thru any of these incredible opportunities like ''Nashville Star'' or ''American Idol'' without someone having some impact on you. You will always meet someone, that you will stay in touch with. I loved it, it was wonderful auditioning for Nashville Star.

Q:        You also won the Shift 2 Nissan Battle of the bands?

A:         Oh yes, that was so cool. I remember my Manager at the time telling me ‚''you need to enter this contest. There where about 80 bands from the US. What ended up happening was, we played a gig and the next thing we knew, we got a call and they said ''you won the whole thing''!  We were the only country band and I was the only female out of 80 bands.  I couldn't believe it! The prize was about 100,000.00 dollars worth of gear, you literally got everything you played on that day. It was really cool.

Q:        You love to compete don't you?

A :        Yes, I really do, I guess it's installed in me, I like to be on the edge of  my seat which is probably why I'm doing this.

Q:        Is it true, that your Dad is playing in your band?

A:         Yes, my Dad does play with me, so does my Cousin, music is definitely in the family. I look up to my Father and admire him so much, he has influenced everything that I do. I'm really appreciative of him because he is so supportive, and he is an incredible musician.

Q:        Is it true that you used to wake up to him playing classic music as a child?

A:         Yes I did, when my Dad was 15 years old, he played with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. I think he was one of the youngest musicians ever to play a classical guitar with them. But yes, I remember waking up when he was playing and I'd shout ''Daddy, stop it''. Then during my teenage years, I started to appreciate it, it's really something I will always remember. He seldom plays like that now, because he is always working and we're always playing gigs. But when he does, it's really special, he's such an incredible musician. It's a great memory.

Q :       Do you ever get conflicts by having family in your band?

A:         No, not at all, it's everything I ever dreamed of, it's phenomenal. I write a song and we go down into the practice room and the song comes alive when the band starts it. I'll say ''Tim try this,''  Tim is my other guitarist. Then my dad will try something, we try different instruments like Lap Steel, Banjo, Mandolin, whatever. My drummer Case will throw in a beat and it just comes to live. Just because my Daddy and my Cousin are there, it doesn't affect anything. I'll mouth off to Dad occasionally and he puts me back in line. But it's wonderful, I wouldn't trade it for the world. There is so much love and respect, it's a really beautiful thing.

Q:        Do you write your own songs?

A:         I do write my own songs, I write by myself or my Dad and I write together. I have also written with my other guitarist Tim Bowen. My Cousin, my drummer and me just wrote our first song together recently. The song is called ''Punch Drunk Love'' and it   will be on my up-coming CD. It's a great song, I'm really proud of it. Writing songs is kind of a second nature to me, it's like breathing. It just happens, I'll be in my car and an idea pops in my head and I'll just have to pull over and finish writing it.

Q :       You wrote your first song at age 11?

A :        I did, the first song I wrote was called Romeo and Juliet. It was about me liking a bad boy when I was in sixth grade,  my mom did not like it at all. Yes, that was the first song that I ever wrote.

Q:        Did you put a melody to it?

A :        Oh yes, immediately, when I wrote it, I had the whole thing finish, I wrote it on piano. And we actually recorded it, it's kind of a bluesy tune. We used to play it occasionally, but we won't do it anymore. I guess it's just an ok song.

Q :       How many instruments do you actually play?

A :        I play guitar and piano, and I got an autoharp for Christmas. I cried when I got that, I was so excited. I love that instrument, it's such an interesting thing. This summer I also started to take fiddle and mandolin lessons. To me, this is a nonstop learning process, the more I learn to play, the better off I am.

Q:        Do you have a favorite instrument you like to play?

A :        No, I like all instruments equally, I don't have a favorite. I love everything about country music and I love blue grass, I love the instruments used in blue grass. I also love pedal steel, it can rip your heart out.

Q :       Do you sing traditional, new country or nashville sound?

A :        The music I do and write has very traditional tendencys. Some songs are straight up traditional country, the Hank Williams kind of sound. Other songs are very bluesy, we sum it up and call it ''y'all turn it of country rock''. Meaning ‚''y'all'' to be very southern. I pride myself that our music is the kind, everybody can listen too. I think, my music taste hopefully caters to a wide range of people, that's what I try to do.

Q :       You are working on a CD now?

A :        Yes, it is titled ''Just k  cayne'' but we are in the process of a name change right now. It should be out at the end of the summer. I think it is going to have 11 tracks on it. All songs that I've written. One song I wrote with an incredible songwriter named Rose Falcon who's  based in Nashville. I'm really proud of that. Then we have ‚''Punch Struck Love'' which is going to be on there. We got lucky enough to record at southern tracks with Sugarland and just finished recording. We have a production deal with them and they have been very helpful to me. All the people at the studio have been just great. It is everything I've ever dreamed of and I'm happy it's happening. I'm so happy to have a CD coming out.

Q:        Is this the first time you are at the CMA Fest?

A :        It's actually the third year I'm here, the first time I came with a big purse and my pictures and my CD's and I would hand it out to anybody that would take it. The second year I was lucky enough to have the Mulch Brothers, some really good friends of mine and Rose Falcon, the girl that I wrote with, call me and ask me to be in the Gibson booth. This year, Star Country Media and Estella contacted us and said they would like to work with me and it has been a blessing to have them. I really appreciate it, it's awsome. This year is by far, the best year I've had.

Q:        You have positive experiences with Nashville then?

A:         Oh yes, I love this city, it is one of the most open citys, you can be anything and everything you want to be. I am thinking about making a move here at some point. If you try to pursue a career in country music I guess it's called for. I love this city, I love Fan Fair, I love country music fans. This is all about the fans.

Q :       Have you done any tours so far?

A :        Yes, we tour the south east, like Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina. We just kind of stay in this area. One of the reasons why we have not moved up here is, we wanted to build up a fan base before I come to this city , kind of grassroots. I really look up to Zac Browns business plan, he is an artist that I really admire and respect. There are others, like Dave Matthews or another local Atlanta artist named Cory Smith, they're successful because they have taken the time to get to know their fans and really reach out to people. That's what I want to do before I come up here, so I can say ''look what I've done, look who believes in me'' and really have a big group of people that believe in me.

Q ;       How would you describe yourself?

A :        Definitely high energy, and I'm always on time. I love everybody and I want everybody to love me. I'm very southern.

Q:        You started your music career by singin a capella?

A :          Actually, we did have an a capella group down here in the 90s. A group of four guys got          together thru  Karaoke. One of the guys was singing a capella and I said well, I got a baseline for that, you want to do that next week ? He said sure. So, we did. Then we had another guy come up to us and said I got a high tenor to that part, lets do that next week. So, we did  that and everybody loved it. One of the guys had a brother out in Lincoln, Nebraska and we got  him away from there. He quit his job and came out here and we formed an a capella  group. About two and a half weeks after we got together, we  started our CD. It was called  ''The  Living daylites''.

Q :          Was this an a capella CD ?

A :          Yes it was.

Q :          Was that when you where 14 years old?

A:           No, this was later, that was in my 20s. When I was 14,  I was with the Barber Shop chorus, which was still a capella, but they had a different sound to them. I was the joungest member at the time at age 14 to be accepted into the  mens choir.

Q:           How long did you stay with them?

A:           I stayed with them for four years.

Q:           You also joined a high school choir?

A:           Yes, we had a concert choir that i was constantly with and we had a show choir that was called the ''Chamber Singers''. That was an autition part on junior high school. Once you where accepted, you could go on into your senior year also. So I did two years of that and three years of the concert choir. During that time, we were also with the Colorado Academy of the Arts in the ''Encore''. You had to audition for that every year. We did that for about  five years. I was a busy, busy singer.

Q :          Is that when you decided to become a country artist ?

A :          yes, I was pretty much hooked once we got into the Barber shop choir and started doing things with the high school. I always sang before that, but then it was just for fun,  doing the radio, going  on the road with Mom and Dad and just singing country music.

Q :          Did your parents encourage you to do all this ?

A :          Yes, they where a hundred percent behind me all the time. They still are, my Dad just is in a higher place now.

Q :          Did your parents sing also ?

A:           Yes, my Mom did in high school, but she never really did anything after that.

Q:           You had an a capella group during the time you lived in Colorado ?

A:           Yes, I moved to Colorado when I was 14 and I lived there until I was about 23.  When I was somewhere  between 22, 23, we broke up and I came out here to Nashville for a solo act. They did not want to move from Colorado, they did not want to take the chance. I thought we had something realy good there, but its ok, it worked out for the best.

Q:           Is singing a capella more difficult than in a band?

A:           Yes, because you have just vocals, if you mess up, they'll know about it. Me and the high tenor  Adam Hutch,  we got all the citation for the guys to listen too, all the arrangements and that, it worked out real good. We talked about what needed to be done and we went from there. It was a real fun time for me, I really miss it a lot

Q:           What style do you play most? Rock, Country Rock, Nashville Sound or others ?

A             I really got my own sound. But my favorite is George Strait, traditional country, I really like traditional music. The old western type of songs and things like that I enjoy a lot. Our sound is traditional, it has a little bit of saloon rock to it, and some rock'n roll all mixed into one. So we really got our own sound, I really have not heard anyone do what we are doing right now, so that's good.   Thats goint to be on the next CD that we're coming out with. We got six songs done for that  and we'll be doing the rest of them throughout the year. Hopefully, the last part of this year, or the first part of next year we will have the CD out. Rhight now we have ‚'' The Rest of the Dream'' out, I got nine songs on that. It's pretty much an introductory CD. We really found our sound now and we're gearing up for that now.

Q:           Do you write your own songs?

A :          I have a few that I wrote and I write with other people. There are a lot of people that I associate with that write music. I try to do three of my own songs on this next CD, then I look thru some songs thruout my friends so they can go out there and get noticed too, they really have good songs that we can produce. Right now,  I'm doing my own producing and my own arrangements with the songs that we're getting and it's doing really well. We have a studio at the House too, it's called ''Shelby Horner Music Studios''. We try to get some guys out there and do some demo work for them. We try to keep it at a cheap price. I hope, it will lift up the name also.

Q:           Is this the first time that you are at CMA Fest here in Nashville ?

A:           It is the first time as an artist. I was here a couple of years before,  just meeting people and doing the networking thing. Showing my face around town. I try to keep a positive aditude on everything, even though there is a lot of heardache in country music, or any kind of music really, if you're trying to make it out there. It's tough, but it also can be very rewarding.

Q :          Is it tough here in Nashville as a musician ?

A :          Yes, it is very, very hard. You start at nothing and hopefully you get a door opened  for you , like doing the networking. If that door opens, you pretty  much kick the door open that way it stays open for you. You just do your thing, you don't burn any bridges around here,  if you do that, you might as well just go home. It's a good system out here, I really think if you get involved with the other people that are higher up in country music, they help you out. I've really got good response out of people like that, so that's a good thing. Of course, not always everybody does help you, but if you keep  a level  head about yourself and not get so  strung up, you know, like me, me, me, you'll be ok. You try to help each other out, who cares who gets signed first, because later on, they'll mention my name and maybe they'll look at me and at least they've done their job as a friend helping me out, and that's all I ask. Someday, i 'd like to help people out, I think God has put that in my heart, I'll help out anybody, as long as they're true to themselves and will be willing to do the same thing for others.

Q :          Do you live in Nashville now ?

A :          I live just north of Nashville, in Springfield.

Q :          Do you have a lot of apparences here in Nashville?

A :          We try to, we've done  a lot of accoustic things. The band got  formed not too long ago. We'll have our first live show at the Fuel and then we're doing a big show at the Cadillac Ranch.

Q :          Do  you go on tours ?

A :          We don't go on tour yet, but we're working on that.Things have been really falling in place for us lately. I've been trying to put out myself for the past 1 ½ years. I've got Marcus Bostic here, he is my manager and my wife, Carry is my local manager. So I got somebody I can rely on right here with me. Since we have been teaming up, things have been really falling in place for us. We're having a good time. We just got a call from  ''Undiscovered Country'' they have a thing called ''undiscovered'', which does the rock side of things and it's a syndicated radio show. We got the call that we are accepted into one of their shows. Then I have my first single called ''Baby I  bet'', which we just got shipped off to two hundred stations in the nation here.

Q :          Do you get a lot of responses on your my space profile ?

A :          Yes, I'm also on Sonic Bid, Digital Rodeo, Soundclick, Song Hall, they have a port two system there, I think I got four songs on there somewhere, one of them already hit their top tier. I'm number 30 on that right now on their top 40 and it's climbing day by day. The second tier you go on, I've got two songs that are nr. 1 and nr. 2 on their top 40, so we're doing real good. ''Hell bent on having fun'' is nr. 2 and ''Can we Dance'' is nr. 1. I think that we accomplished to get songs on the CD that can hit the charts. I like people to listen to the whole CD and like it all. A lot of people buy a CD for a set of three songs on there, but there is quite a bit more on it they could listen too. I want them to buy the CD for the whole thing.

Interview with Zane Lewis at the CMA Festival , Nashville 2008

Q:     Music is actually your third carreer, is that right?

A :     Yes, I guess College was my first, it took so long to get out of school. Then I was in the advertising – publishing business.

Q:     Are you still doing work with advertising and publishing?

A:      Actually I do, until this music thing takes off. It is starting to, this is the first national release, so I'm pretty excited about how things are lined up.

Q:     But you are still working with it?

A:      I don't do anything with the magazine publishing anymore, but I still do some advertising work.

Q:     You just released your CD?

A :     Yes we did, the album is available nationally for the first time, also on amazone.com as well as on I tunes. I don't belive we have distribution overseas, but I have had people buy it thru amazone.com.

Q :    On this CD, there is at least one song, ''Fly'' that you co-wrote, are there more ?

A :     Yes, there are two songs, I co-wrote the song ''Fly'' together with Jamie Richards, who's a very talented song writer out of Oklahoma. Then another one called ''Bad Ass Country Band''. Both these songs are really me, ''Fly'' is kind of a free spirited song, not being able to stay at one place very long.  ''Bad Ass Country Band'' kind of conveys what it's like to be out on the road traveling, being on stage, in front of crowds, all your friends, bright lights, neon signs, that kind of thing.

Q:     What about the song ''Welcome to the Southland''?

A:      Well, the song ''Welcome to the Southland'' is the second single of the album. It's one of my favorite songs. It kind of appedamises what it's like to be in the south. You know, we're a little bit cocky, welcome to the southland. But this is a state of mind, you don't have to live in the south to appreciate the song, or actually feel like you're from the south. It's all up in your head and in your heart.

Q:     Is it true, that singing ballads, makes you somewhat uncomortable?

A :     Well, I feel like I'm really putting myself on the spot. I don't have any problem climbing up on a speaker, or actually getting out into the crowd and touching people and having fun. But when I do a slow song, it's kind of unwraped, it's there for everyone. Very emotional I guess. I just don't feel as comfortable with them as I do with the rocked up songs. But I do love doing them, it's just kind of weird. I could be in front of three thousand people, singing a rocking song, but with a ballad, I feel like ''why are all these people looking at me''.

Q:     What about the other songs on your album?

A:      Well, there is the first single called ''Come with Me''. We charted it nationally and it did well, we got a good critic too. It's a great song written by a friend of mine from Oklahoma. There are some really great songs on there that we were able to get a hold of. Brad James, who is an incredible song writer in Nashville, produced three of the cuts on the album which are ''Southland, Bad Ass Country Band and Come with Me.'' It was great having him on the project, I really appreciate the time he took to work with us on it. So there's  a lot of flow, ups and downs, the Ballads, then there are the up tempo, feel good songs and your power driven, outlaw rocked up country. So there is a little bit for everybody on this album.

Q:     Is your band a bad Ass country Band and are you a bad Ass Artist?

A :     Yes they are and yes I am. We just got thru playing at the hard Rock Cafe outdoor stage. At the end of the set we played ''Bad Ass Country Band'' and at the end of the song, we smashed two acoustic Guitars, threw them out into the crowd and then signed them afterwards. It was fun.

Q:     Do you feel that Nashville is moving too slow to develop new artists?

A:      Well, they are moving too slow for me. For them, probably not, it takes a lot of money and a lot of effort to introduce a new artist to listeners. I wish, radio would be a little more open to play more music. I think the problem right now is, as soon as a major label artist's song finishes up on the chart, they hit radio with another one from the same artist. I wish, that could slow down a little bit, I do understand why they do it, but I wish they would leave a little more room for more music on radio. I live in the Dallas area, and I hear the same twenty songs every hour on the hour. I think they could open it a little more and expose people to new music. But you know, the internet is forcing that, you can listen to a number of Internet stations and you hear so much music you never hear on the radio. There are opportunities out there for small labels and independents like myself to get out there.

Q:     Is it easyer in Texas?

A:      Yes, we got our own bubble in Texas, we have our own chart, lots of radio stations. Some of them play, what they call Texas Oklahoma red dirt music before they play the mainstream guys. So we're fortunate to be in that environement.

Q :    Are you an impatient person ?

A:      Yes I am very impatient, I want everything now. I want to get the wheels to start turning. I can't sit still for very long, I'm just ready to go, go, go. I don't cut line, but I will certainly make as much noise as possible to get noticed. I'm a very persistent person.

Q:        You  had your musical debut at age 14, is that when you decided to become a country performer

A:         Yes, absolutely. I did my first talent show at age 14. When the curtain opened up and  everybody started clapping, i knew this was what i wanted to do. It was very exciting. I think, this was the stepping stone to what I' m doing now.

Q:        And did you play any instrument before that?.

A:         I did, i started playing the guitar and singing when i was 7. I drove my parents crazy. I kind of knew what i wanted to do as long as i can remember. I always loved music, I never really watched TV , it was always music. Family and music is my life.

Q:        Where your parents involved with music?.

A:         Actually, they where, my Dad played Guitar and my mom sang. My whole family  was involved in music, my Uncles, Cousins, Aunts, they where all musically inclined, so i guess i got it from them.

Q:        You grew up on a farm, was it hard to find time for everything?

A:         Yes, i grew up on a dairy farm, we farmed and my dad was also a contractor, so we worked the concrete and the farm as well.  When i was about 17, I dicided to go out and raise a family of my own. I kind of put the singing on hold for a while, to get my kids raised.

Q:        You also had to take over your Dad's contracting business very early did'nt you?

A:         Yes i did. When i was 17 my dad had a stroke, so i had to work to help the family. I kind of put the singing on hold for a while, to get my kids raised. For about 15 years it was a pretty rough time. I did play now and then, but the family had priority.  About a year and a half ago i met Joe Stampley,he got me back into the music business. The kids are grown now, so i decided to have a good time and see what i can do.

Q:        So after your children where grown, you seriously started performing again?.

A:         Yes, actually i started about two months before my daugther graduated from hight school. I started working on my first cd and things started to roll along pretty well. This is my first trip to CMA and i' m excited like a kid in a candy store.

Q :       You auditioned for Joe Stampley  before your first CD came out ?

A :        Yes, that was a tough deal right there, sitting in his living room with just an acoustic and him sitting there looking at me accross the table. Luckily he liked it. My manager Charlie Patterson was best friends with Joe's Brother, Bobby Stampley. They went to school together. So one day Charlie picked up the phone and called Joe. He told him, i got this guy here, i think his good, but i' m a land developer, what do I know about music, I like him, but can I send him to you to see what you think, to get a professional opinion. So, thats when i flew to Nashville and auditioned for Joe. The rest is kind of history. He has been producing my records and co - managing me you could say. And I have Martha Moore to do all my PR now. So for the last year and half things have really taken off, it's almost shocking.

Q:        You play only traditional country music?

A :        Yes i do. I don't branch out too much. I'm a firm bliever in tradition, whether it is music or the way we did things in the old days, instead of modern technology. I just want to make a difference in what I do as far as keeping traditional country music around. I want to keep the spirit of country music, like George Jones, Merle Haggard, Lefty Frizzell and people like that alive.

Q:        Is there a lot of traditional country music out there these days?

A :        No, there really is not. I' m just one of a handful thats actually charting on the charts, and that shows me that there are still people out there starving for good country music, the traditional sound. Hopefully I can make a difference so that other artists will step in my footsteps and follow in playing traditional country music. That s really what i m out for, to give the fans what they are starving for.

Q:        Are your children involved in music?

A:         Actually, my oldest son is a singer and musician, but he's not sure yet, what he wants to do. He's still young enough to figure that out. They're huge supporters of mine though, they're with me all the time. I have a business back home, so my two boys run the business while i'm gone. My daughter travels with me a lot and takes care of the merchandizing, the CD s and T shirts and things like that.

Q :       Who influenced you most?

A :        George Strait, Merle Haggard, Alan Jackson, Randy Travis all the way back to George Jones, Hank Williams, Lefty Frizzell, I just love it all when it is true, good hard core country music.

Q :       You mentioned, that you make dancing music, is that right?

A :        Yes, definately. I hear a lot of people comment, ''finally, we hear a steel guitar and a fiddle in a band. To me, it s not the applaus that makes me feel good, it is more the people out there enjoying my music and dancing. That' s what we are all about, we like that good old hard core country and honky tonk music. You just don't hear enough of it anymore. So  far, people are loving it and i hope, i can just keep on living my dream.

Q         Tell me about your CD.

A :        My CD is called  ''If it Ain't One Ting It's Another'', this is the title track of it. I named that because, how many times a day do we say that, a lot. It's just a catchy line and it's actually the last cut on the album. I did some songs on there, that i love, like ‚''If it Ain't One Thing It's Another'', its a Tony and Joe Stampley song. I also did a Moe Bandy song called ''It was always so Easy''.  And then of course a Gary Stuart song. I knew Gary Steward, he was a big influence. After he passed away about 5 or 6 years ago, i thought, if i ever have a chance to do a CD,  i'm going to do a Gary Stuart song, because no one ever done that before. It's the song ''Drinkin' Thing. I kind of did it as a tribute to Gary Stuart and actually it went top 40 for me.  So I hope Gary's proud of me. I really did a lot of the songs to honor my heros.  But now I' m also excided, because I start the work for a new album next month. I will have four of my own original songs on there,  so i look foreward to that.

Q :       You do write songs too ?

A :        I do now, i 've been working on it and i hope to do good. I hope that people will like them. I've always been one for singing the songs, but now i'm getting into writing and it is really exciting to get to hear my own songs. It is different, because you're your own worst critic. We've done some showcases and people seem to love it and they dance to it.  Hopefully the new album will be out by September.

Q :       When you are looking for a song, how do you decide, '' this is a song i want to cover?''

A :        First of all, it has to have a true to life meaning. Cause I believe in real live stuff that I do. It's got to have a certain sound to it. You know, I can't sing like Matt Steele, so you got to stay withing your limits, it's got to be your style. I like a good story, that's what I look for first, you can always play with the music later. I like to play something that I can feel.

Q :       What are your plans now ? What are you looking for ?

A:         I'm excided about going overseas and do some work and branching out on my music. Actually all I really want, is to make some kind of a difference. It's not really about the money or being a star,  but it's like I earlyer said, about going out there and keeping traditional counry music around. Ist like Randy Travis did in the 80s, he kind of turned country back, if I can make a difference like that, thats all I'm really looking for.

Q:        Since I'm always curious about people, how would you describe yourself?

A :        I'm just a down home country boy. I have a construction business at home, so when I'm not playing, I'm on the construction site, with my work boots on. I'm just a regular guy. Someone with  a passion for music. Anywhere I go, I never meet a stranger, my dad would say i got that from him. I love to talk and I'm always there to listen to people. I try never to be down, I'm a positive person, there's enough negativity in the world. We always have a lot of people coming by the house, we get the barbecue going, have guitars and banjos on the front porch and just have a good time and play music. I have music around me all the time.

Q:        I'm sure you are being asked a lot of questions in interviews, what would you like to be asked, what would you like to talk about most?

A:         I think, about the roots of country music, mountain music, how it got started, about Bill Monroe and the Carter Family. Peopel tend to forget about that. I'd like to educate the jounger genaration, they need to know this. I have a lot of joung people, about 17 – 18 year old, that come to my show, and i sing the Gary Stuart song ‚'' Dringkin' Thing,'' . Then they come up to me and ask, hey Jeff, did you write that song? They never heard it before, and they love it.  So i always try to take time for the joung and educate them about where this song came from .  If i could open up a school for our roots of country music, I would. You'd be surprised, how much the jounger generation loves the good old country music.

Q :       What do you think about shows like ''American Idol'' ?

A :        I think it's a good thing, it gives joung artists that can't get a break in Nashville, California or New York, or wherever they might be, it gives them a chance to be  heard, so I think its good.

Old Henri P has travelled the circle of the good life.
He has sailed the seven seas, has explored the birds and the bees, has divided right from wrong, when weak his spirits kept staying strong. He hasn't been on this land too long. He is a man of nature and good faith. 
He possesses the same strength and aura as did late Johnny Cash, who still speaks to us. So does Old Henri P.
Old Henri P is not just a man. Old Henri P and his life is more of a mythological tale.
His life and his values are made up of kindness, humanity' strengths and weaknesses and that forever burning candle of curiosity and desire to explore and battle the divine forces up above and deep within us all. 
Old Henri P. remains on that course, as he has throughout his lifetime. 
Not necessarily the easy path.
Not necessarily the easy life. But a rich and worthy life.
Old Henri P is The Men They Couldn't Shave's Buddha figure.
He is that guiding light when the path seems too rocky and steep, when those rivers seem too rough to cross,
when the rain is too heavy to keep travelling, when those desert winds threatens to throw you to the ground when life itself seems hard to battle. When the mere existence is no 
more than trying to exist, when it is tempting
to step back from the frontline and choose the easy way out of a challenge.
Old Henri P never walked away from a challenge, no matter how big.
Old Henri P stood tall. A man can be defeated but not destroyed.
A man can be destroyed but not defeated. Old Henri P is such a man. Old Henri P is our main man.
Old Henri P is nothing less of a guiding light for the The Men They Couldn't Shave and their musical commune,
always searching for. The Oldest Song ?? the perfect song, the perfect harmony. The harmony of life itself.
Old Henri P makes sure we're keepin' on keepin' on, as Bob Dylan puts it.
Old Henri P, we won't let you down. We are warriors in your name.

http://www.myspace.com/thementheycouldntshave