Category

Music

Feb 01
Love21

Tiera Kennedy

By Music, Personal Growth No Comments

This episode is sponsored by:

Tiera Kennedy tells us about her beginnings. The beginning of her career, life, and relationship with her husband. She tells us the story of writing 2 of her best songs and how she made connections early on in her country music journey. Most importantly, we hear about how love and support got her where she is and keeps her going daily.

In this episode:

  • How she found her producer
  • The Writing of Alabama Nights
  • About Tiera, her parents, and living in Alabama
  • Discussing stage presence
  • The humble beginnings of Tiera’s music career
  • Why Tiera chose country music (or rather, how it chose her)
  • The great artists who influenced her music
  • Meeting Scott Borschetta
  • Tiera’s husband and creative director and how they started

Watch the video version here:

Quotations:

“I wrote it (Alabama Nights) at a writer’s retreat, and writer’s retreats are my favorite way to write because you just kind of get to, you know, chill with your friends, drink some alcohol and just like, have fun and write songs.” – Tiera Kennedy

“So I used to play at our local Buffalo Wild Wings, and I did three-hour shows, and I would sit out on the patio and just play cover songs, and sometimes I would mix in my original songs, but I was just playing to whoever listened. And sometimes it was just my family sitting on that patio listening to me.” – Tiera Kennedy

“He [Garth Brooks] made the point that playing in the room of four people who had no interest in him or what he was doing prepared him to play stadiums. Because if you can win over four people, stadiums are easy.” – Gary Scott Thomas

“His level of passion after that first meeting was really impressive for me because I wanted to be somewhere where they were really as excited about the music as I was. And that’s exactly what I felt from that team, and I wanted it to feel like a family, and it does, and I don’t know that I could have gotten that anywhere else.” – Tiera Kennedy

“I don’t know that I would be where I am without him [husband Cameron]. And every accomplishment that comes my way, his way, like we get to celebrate that together cause we did it together.” – Tiera Kennedy

“I love, love, I, I do. I love seeing kids in love. I still love seeing people in love. I love seeing people who just build each other up and hold each other up.” – Gary Scott Thomas

“There are more disappointments than there are achievements in this industry. I mean, that’s just the way it is, and having people around me who love me and support me, whether I’m doing great or not doing so great, means the world.” – Tiera Kennedy

Guest’s Bio:

Rising artist Tiera Kennedy is emerging as one of the most exciting voices in the format – injecting Country music with a breath of vitality. The flagship artist on Nicolle Galyon’s groundbreaking Songs & Daughters Publishing finds herself as a voice for young women everywhere. Lighting a fire last year with her independently released self-titled EP, Nashville Scene cited the Alabama native as “the total package” and “a writer who has learned how to write for their own voice at a young age,” while American Songwriter concurs, hailing her as “one of Nashville’s most promising young singer/songwriters” and TEEN VOGUE raved about her “pure, catchy upbeat country story-telling.” Giving fans a taste of where her music was headed with an initial demo of “Found It In You” – inspired by her relationship with her husband and creative director Kamren Kennedy – Tiera Kennedy and her co-writer/producer Cameron Bedell had Dann Huff join them for the final take of the song, available now. With the initial 16 million+ on-demand streams laying the foundation for “Found It In You,” the updated take on this beautiful love story is set to deliver an even bigger connection on Country radio. For the latest information and more, visit TieraMusic.com and follow along on Instagram.

Website:

https://solo.to/tiera

Jan 25
Love23

Elle King

By Booze, Music, Personal Growth No Comments

This week’s guest is the music superstar Elle King! She has a new album coming out called Come Get Your Wife.  While it’s a shorter conversation, it’s packed with several topics I know her fans are going to love hearing, such as how the name of the album even came about and how much her tongue gets her in trouble. 

In this episode:

  • Her new album, Come Get Your Wife
  • The attitude in the album
  • Being yourself
  • Working with Charlie Worsham
  • Ironically incredible things that came from her concussion
  • What made her forget to play some of her songs
  • Slowing down and taking care of herself
  • Touring with Chris Stapleton

Quotations:

“I’m a maximalist, so I’m either like 110 or asleep.” ~ Elle King

“I love working with people that lift you up, and you can learn something from.” ~ Elle King

“I just try to find the beauty and everything.” ~ Elle King

“I can be very insulting when I drink.” ~ Elle King

“This tongue of mine has gotten me more trouble in the last four or five months. That’s my New Year’s resolution – quit sticking my tongue out.” ~ Elle King

About Elle:

Her site: https://www.elleking.com

(From Wikipedia)
Tanner Elle Schneider (born July 3, 1989), known professionally as Elle King, is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Her musical style is influenced by country, rock and blues.[1]

In 2012, King released her debut EP, The Elle King EP, on RCA; one track from that EP, “Playing for Keeps”, is the theme song for VH1’s Mob Wives Chicago series.[2]

She released her debut album, Love Stuff, in 2015. It produced the US top ten single “Ex’s & Oh’s“, which earned her two Grammy Award nominations. King has also toured with acts such as Of Monsters and Men, Train, James Bay, The Chicks, Heart, Joan Jett, Michael Kiwanuka, and Miranda Lambert. She is the daughter of actor and comedian Rob Schneider and former model London King. King uses her mother’s surname to distinguish her career and identity from her father’s. “People know who my dad is,” she told ABC News, “but I think that my voice and my music speaks for itself: that I am my own person.”[3]

King is a four-time Grammy Award nominee, two each in the rock and country categories, and received honors from the Country Music Association Awards and the Academy of Country Music Awards.

Jan 11
Love21

Kelly Lang

By Faith, Music, Personal Growth No Comments

This episode is sponsored by:

With a thriving career, an ever-increasing fan base, and a life full of hardships and faith, Kelly Lang invites listeners into her world to look into the growth of a successful career. The strength she provides for herself and those in the communities she influences daily goes beyond the surface level and delves into mindsets of gratitude, kindness, and embracing the diversity of the human experience.

In this episode:

  • Meeting One’s Heroes
  • The Legacy of Loretta Lynn and Other Icons
  • From Death Sentence to Life Sentence: Kelly’s Breast Cancer Journey
  • Developing an Attitude of Gratitude
  • TG Shephard: Singer, Songwriter, and Husband
  • What’s Kelly Working On Right Now?

Quotations:

“When you’re in the music industry, or any type of celebrity, the way people think they know you more than they do…Every single person…[when someone meets] any celebrity- they don’t say, ‘What did they have on?’ or ‘Did they sing you a song?’ They say, ‘Were they nice?’ Right? Were they nice? And you know what, no matter what somebody does for a living, if you can’t be kind and be nice, what’s the point?” – Kelly Lang

“I don’t let the music business dictate what I write. I just write what I’m experiencing at the time, and if it relates to somebody, that’s great! But it’s more like painting a picture, really. I like to paint scenes just like Loretta did or just like Dolly did; you don’t have to guess what I’m saying or guess what they were saying in their lyrics because sometimes they just get it…If you look back on their songs, they had very simple words. You didn’t have to get a dictionary out to figure out what they were trying to tell you.” – Kelly Lang

“I got on social media, and I just said,‘…Send in pictures of yourself if you’re a breast cancer survivor choosing how you will live positively today. Maybe that will help people.’ Boy, they came out in droves! They sent in these beautiful pictures, and we were able to place them within the video. And it’s very encouraging, although it’s a sad subject matter, it’s empowering.” – Kelly Lang

“I encourage people just to go take a deep breath in. Oh, you breathe! Oh my gosh! You can be thankful for that, you know? So, I would write down like 30 things a day in a gratitude journal, and the more I was finding myself grateful for things, the more I felt like I was given things to be grateful for.” – Kelly Lang

“Give your smiles away. It’s really fun, and it doesn’t cost you anything!” – Kelly Lang

Guest’s Bio:

Singer, songwriter, and producer Kelly Lang has had a stellar career in the music industry with cuts by artists such as Ricky Skaggs, Lorrie Morgan, The Oak Ridge Boys, Crystal Gayle, George Jones, B.J. Thomas, Jimmy Fortune, T.G. Sheppard, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Lee, just to name a few.

She has recorded duets with iconic artists Dame Olivia Newton-John, Paul Shaffer, and Lee Greenwood. As an artist, Lang has released several albums, including 11:11, Shades of K, Throwback, Obsession, and Iconic Duets with her husband, TG Sheppard. In the spring of 2020, Lang re-released her classic children’s album Lullaby Country, which was initially sold at Cracker Barrel.

As part of a regional campaign, her voice and writing skills can be heard on television throughout Tennessee and the surrounding areas as the official song for Ascension St. Thomas Hospital’s commercial titled “I’m Not Going Anywhere.”

In 2020 Kelly released a collection of classic songs called Old Soul. The album was so well received that a second volume, Old Soul II, is scheduled for release in late 2022.

  • Recipient of The Icon Award from The Southern Women in Film and Television
  • Author of the book I’m Not Going Anywhere
  • Three-time Star Search winner
  • Multiple appearances on the world-famous Grand Ole Opry
  • Shared the stage with Loretta Lynn, Sir Barry Gibb, George Strait, Lorrie Morgan, TG Sheppard, Ronnie Milsap, Mickey Gilley, Brenda Lee, George Jones, Ricky Skaggs, and many more
  • Songs “I’m Not Going Anywhere” and “How Does It Feel” featured in the movie The Deal with Burt Reynolds
  • Member of The Oklahoma Hall of Fame, The North American Country Music Hall of Fame, and soon to be a member of The Rockabilly Hall of Fame
  • Performed “Islands In The Stream” with Sir Barry Gibb for Kenny Rogers’ induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame
  • An accomplished artist with oil paintings in the homes of Oprah Winfrey, Sir Barry Gibb, Dame Olivia Newton-John, Larry the Cable Guy, and Justin Timberlake’s parents
  • Creator of the hilarious comedic character XOXO who performed on the national television show Huckabee
  • Former national spokesperson for Cindy Crawford’s skincare line Meaningful Beauty

Website:

https://www.kellylang.net/

Jan 04
Love21

Barry Dean

By Music, Personal Growth No Comments

This episode is sponsored by:

Barry Dean discusses the hard things about country music. He talks about great artists who have slipped through the cracks and his opinion on how we treat “Kings and Queens”  in the country music industry. He gives a glimpse into meeting singers and artists as a songwriter and shares a bit about Eddie Arnold, Garth Brooks, Roger Miller, and other huge names in country music.

In this episode:

  • A bit of Midwestern Geography
  • Betty’s Fireworks best bang in town
  • Meeting Roger Miller
  • How comparison can be toxic
  • The hardest thing about country music
  • Going on air with Charlie Pride
  • Breakfast with Eddie Arnold
  • You don’t have to sing to sing
  • The making of 1994
  • Garth Brooks 

Watch the video version here:

Quotations:

“I like to say I’m the person happiest to be a songwriter in Nashville, Tennessee.” – Barry Dean

“Country music has, it seems, sometimes done a bad job loving our kings and queens and the people who have given us so much. You know, I do sometimes worry that we haven’t shown ’em enough love” – Barry Dean

“I love that he [Charlie Pride] died an insanely rich and successful man… [he] was married to his high school sweetheart and was just fabulously successful and fabulously wealthy. And so many of those ass hats who wouldn’t play a show with him, died broken in the bottle.” – Gary Scott Thomas

“I got to meet him [Eddie Arnold], and he would have breakfast at this little place called Vandy Land. And so other new writers and I would go eat there just to see if he’d talk to us sometimes. And sometimes he’d sit down and tell us stories or encourage us or “What are you doing today? How’s it going there?” And he was very, very kind” – Barry Dean

“We didn’t think we were writing a song that Jason Aldean would record. We were just laughing and having fun. And that’s just our remembrance of the darn thing, you know. But we had so much fun remembering the songs and the three of us writing it.” – Barry Dean

“You know, Garth will always have a space in country music and country radio and country in general because of the way he’s treated people.” – Gary Scott Thomas

Guest’s Bio:

Barry Dean takes nothing for granted. Even after earning a GRAMMY nomination for Tim McGraw’s “Diamond Rings and Old Barstools” and topping the charts with four No. 1 singles, he remains awestruck each time he hears a song he wrote on the radio. Dean still can’t help but think of how he seemed destined to work a 9-to-5 in Kansas––a fate that now seems preposterous, given his track record: two No. 1 singles for Little Big Town, “Pontoon” and “Day Drinkin’;” “Think a Little Less,” which topped the charts for Michael Ray; “Heartache Medication” which most recently hit #1 for Jon Pardi; Ingrid Michaelson’s Top 40 smash “Girls Chase Boys;” and an ever-growing list of country and pop successes prove Dean is doing exactly what he was made to do.

https://www.creativenationmusic.com/barry-dean