In an article from CMT News, Karen speaks up about her recent pairing with John Mellencamp:

John Mellencamp Explains His Influence (or Not) on Country Music
He Prepares for Summer Ballpark Tour With Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson
By Craig Shelburne for CMT News


During a recent visit to the CMT offices, John Mellencamp was asked about the treatment for his latest video, "A Ride Back Home."

"Treatment? I don't know what that means," he replied. Luckily his duet partner -- Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town -- steps in.

"Well, he's the video treatment because he always comes up with the concepts, so he just runs with whatever he wants to do. It's not the traditional way of soliciting treatments," she explains, referring to the common practice of asking video production companies to submit ideas.

"Oh, I have never done that," Mellencamp says, softly. "I have made 50 videos. I think I did that one time, and I didn't like that experience. I made a video in 1984 called 'The Authority Song,' and I was on tour and I was very busy, and the record company hired some guy to direct the video. I didn't like that. I've always worked with people that I've known and had relationships with. I've always come up with a way to try to present the song."

Then it dawns on him that "a really smart kid" -- Chris Milk -- directed him in "Walk Tall" in 2004. Fairchild also recalls that Mellencamp directed Bob Dylan's "Political World" video and asks if there was a treatment for it.

"No, I called up Bob, and I said, 'Bob, here's what we're going to do,'" Mellencamp recalled. "And he said, 'OK, just don't make me look stupid.' That's all he said."

Mellencamp can be equally reticent. Asked how it feels to turn on country radio and hear his influence, he says, "You know, I really don't think too much about that. I can turn on my radio and I hear my influences all the time. I think that if somebody makes something and it's out there, it belongs to whoever wants to use it next. ... I think if it's out there and in the air, it belongs to everybody. And everybody can use it. So I don't think it's a matter of even being an influence. I think it's just a matter of -- 'I hear that. I like that. It connected with me. I'm going to try to do the same thing.'"

When Fairchild says Little Big Town is intimidated to cover a Mellencamp song, especially because they have played some shows together, he shrugs it off. "Well, I don't even know what you're talking about."

[Read the full article here]