This weekend sees the 26th
annual Downtown Hoedown, the country’s largest free country music festival,
take place at
When I was 12 years old, I heard it on the
radio. My favorite station was 99.5, which played pop and dance music, but as I
got slightly older I switched to country music. I listened to a lot of eighties
music as I was growing up, but when I started listening to country music, Garth
Brooks was an amazing influence. Then it was people like Travis Tritt, and other
artists that came before him.
At first, I really didn’t think so. But it
spread really quickly and I was surprised at the response that the music
started getting. They do the annual Hoedown now, and there are always masses of
people that come out to it. It’s great to see the impact that country music is
having on
It was a very touchy situation. After going
on there for a couple of weeks and hearing what the judges were saying, then I
felt uncomfortable because I had to sing all kinds of music. But I really
wanted to keep singing country so I decided to go all out.
It was very positive. I got to reach a lot
of people, and I gained a lot of tools. There was a lot of pressure with all
the rehearsals. After each show you go straight into thinking about the next
song and the next week, so it was very high-paced and that helped me prepare
for my career.
That was definitely good to see. She
reaches a lot of people and can turn kids onto country music, which can only be
a good thing.
It was definitely an experience. The first
album was a milestone for me, and I was just excited to get in the studio and
record. I guess the thing that surprised me was how much action goes into it.
You don’t just go in there, record and leave. I was singing the same verse, the
same chorus or the same part of a song over and over and over, until the
producer got what he wanted. It was definitely a lot of work.
The second record is a lot more me. It has
more of a sensual feel. I have more personal experiences to write about, and so
the record is a lot more intense.
Definitely. We’ve got a lot of exciting
things planned. I’ve wanted to get on that stage ever since the first one.
It’ll be great. And we’re playing after Jewel. That’ll be great because her
music is so different to mine, but still so good.
The most important thing is to be yourself.
I know everybody says that, but you have to figure out who you are at the
beginning, because it’s very difficult to do that later with everything else
going on.
Oh, definitely. I read the Free Press,
Detroit News and all the sports sites every day to see what’s going on. That’s
a routine for me. I think the Pistons are gonna do it this year. As long as Rasheed
[Wallace] decides he’s gonna play, we’ll win.
