Hello Delta

I remember the day so clearly. It had rained overnight and the morning brought a load of muddy obstacles to overcome before I got to the office. White pants were out of the question so I wore black jeans and biker boots,  just in case a dog paw found my leg or there were standing pools of water at the stupid cattle gate that ruins my life on a daily basis. I got to work on time, thank God, and started on my long-list-of-things-to-do-before-you-leave-for-Nashville. I had just told my bosses at Delta Magazine, Scott and Melissa, that I had a deep passion for singing and songwriting and that I needed to take some time off to move to Nashville and explore the opportunity of making my dreams a reality.

So there I was, on my second-to-last day of work, scrambling to get things in order for my replacement and tying up thousands of loose ends, when my office phone was buzzed.

On the other end of the phone was Bill Twyman, President of Ride Records, asking me about a photo he saw online that I had taken in Clarksdale. After a few minutes of chatting, I realized that Ride Records was Mississippi Delta native Steve Azar’s record label! Steve Azar has the greatest story. He was raised in the Delta, loved songwriting and grew up listening to Delta bluesman play music behind his family’s liquor store. He moved out to Nashville after college and landed a recording deal with Mercury Records. He hit it huge with a song he wrote called “I don’t have to be me until Monday” on the album “Waiting on Joe.” Please download the entire album. “Damn the Money” is also on that album and will be your new favorite song, hands down!

So there I was at work, talking to Bill Twyman…

I could not believe that he found the “Welcome to the Delta” photo above on Facebook and was trying to track it down so he could use it for Steve Azar’s new album (Delta Soul, Volume 1). I went on and on about how much I loved Steve and Bill said “Hang on one second.”  He clicked over, called Steve on his cell phone, and then clicked back over to me. I sat there and talked to Steve Azar, told him I was moving to Nashville to pursue a career in singing and songwriting and he said “Hey, good luck! When you get back to the Delta, give me a call and let’s start writing some songs together.”

My heart kinda stopped. No..it most definitely stopped. Write music with Steve Azar? He had written hits. Like, real hits. He had those shiny records hanging all over the walls in his office from BMI! He had written songs for Reba McEntire and for the love of pete, Morgan Freeman was in one of his music videos!! But calmly I said, “Sure. That sounds great! I’ll be in touch when I get back! Nice to meet you.”

I hung up the phone. I rannnnn down the hallway and told everyone in my office what happened. They told me to shut up and get back to work.

So I did.

Fast forward……………………………………

It was about three weeks after I moved to Nashville, and I found myself coming to a halt. I had met with all of my available contacts and while the feedback was all positive, no real doors had been opened for me. I was hearing a lot of :

“You are great, but you aren’t ready.”

“Keep writing. Develop your craft.”

“You need time to develop, but you’ve got “it”.

I was frustrated. I scanned my phone and emails looking for a possible contact I may have overlooked, when all of a sudden I remembered Bill Twyman and Steve Azar. I was in the driver’s seat of my car, just sitting in the parking lot outside of my apartment complex, when I picked up the phone and dialed Bill Twyman. I asked him if he would set me up with another interview to play my music for someone in Nashville and he happily called his friend at Sanctuary Management on Music Row.

Two days later, I was sitting in the driver’s seat of my car outside of Sanctuary Management, putting on lip-gloss and nervously flipping my hair back and forth ten minutes before I walked into my interview. Twenty minutes after that, I had already walked into the wrong building, taken the wrong elevator and dropped my cell phone in the waiting area. Splat. Battery pops out of my Blackberry and slides across the floor. Receptionist gives me the “you’re an idiot” look…

I walked into Tom Storms office and played him my demo. He listened to the first two songs and then stopped the CD player.

Long story short (haha..none of my stories are EVER short..) I got an email from Bill Twyman telling me that Tom Storms was “wowed with my talent.” That is what gave me “street credit” with the Steve Azar crew and the rest is pretty much history. I came back to the Delta after a wonderful journey to Nashville, and it’s crazy to think that what I was looking for the whole time was thirty miles up the road in Greenville!

What was I looking for?

Well, I was looking for someone that believed in me, believed in my music and was willing to give me a chance. That is exactly what Ride Records is doing for me. They are giving me a chance to make the music I want to make while I develop a fan-base, and they are using their decades of experience and connections to pave the way for me.

I’m siiiiiiiked.

We just got back from recording in Nashville (more to come on that!) and ummm, while I don’t usually like name-dropping, I am going to have to take a moment to name-drop. I’m sorry, but Emmy Lou Harris’ keyboard player and Taylor Swift’s drummer were playing on my record. Daddy say whaaat?? Okay no more name-dropping, I promise.

We have amazing things on the horizon for 2012 and I plan to keep ya posted along the way. Sorry I’ve been missing in action, but I’ve got a good excuse!