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10 Questions with ... Carly Pearce
March 27, 2017
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Website: www.CarlyPearce.com.
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/CarlyPearceMusic
Twitter: www.Twitter.com/CarlyPearceCAREER SYNOPSIS:
Born in the Bluegrass state of Kentucky, Carly Pearce was destined for Country music stardom. Pearce fronted a touring Bluegrass band at the tender age of 11, later leaving her high school and moving to Pigeon Forge to perform at Dollywood at the age of 16. Since moving to Nashville in 2009, Pearce has shared the stage with artists such as Hunter Hayes, Florida Georgia Line, and Kelsea Ballerini; been a regular artist at the legendary Bluebird Cafe in Nashville; and made her Grand Ole Opry all before signing her major-label deal with Big Machine Label Group late last year.
Her first single from BMLG, "Every Little Thing," has been a listener favorite on SiriusXM's "The Highway" and landed her the title of "The Highway Find" artist. Pearce has also been a part of the CMT "Next Women Of Country" initiative and found success in a surprising way in 2016 as a vocal collaborator on the Josh Abbott Band single, "Wasn't That Drunk." Now out on the road with her first major-label radio tour, Pearce is enjoying "Every Little Thing" about 2017. She took time to speak with All Access recently to share her influences, how she has been working on new music, and her long and winding road to landing her label deal.
1. Thank you for taking time to speak with us today, Carly! We know you were just signed to Big Machine Label Group, and you’re preparing to release your single, “Every Little Thing,” to radio. Can you tell us about the single? And is this part of a larger project – an EP, or an album?
This is going to be the debut single off of an album that I hope to put out some time this year with busbee, who is my producer. He is the hot commodity at the moment with the Maren [Morris] record [“Hero”], and with the Lady Antebellum stuff, and he’s just killing it; I’m really excited about that. But this single is really important to me. The song is one – the backstory about it is that I wrote it about a break up from a guy that just shattered my heart a few years back. And I really wanted to write something that took you on a journey, from a lyrical sense, about my personal story. It’s the snapshot of what went on in my head while I was trying to let him go in my brain. As people, we can’t really decide when our hearts are ready to let go of someone. So, just from the production to the lyric, I wanted it to be in that uncomfortable silence that we deal with while getting over somebody.
2. “Every Little Thing” has already seen great success on SiriusXM’s “The Highway.” How did the partnership with SiriusXM begin?
Being an independent artist, you have to find creative ways of getting your music to people. I built a relationship with SiriusXM over the years, and they have always been good to me about playing some of my songs on their show, SiriusXM’s “On The Horizon,” which features new music. And, then I had some success with the Josh Abbott Band [and their single “Wasn’t That Drunk”], and I got to meet JR Schumann, who runs SiriusXM now through that experience. He’s a Texas boy, and I played some new music for him, and he heard “Every Little Thing.” It was interesting for me, because as an artist in town, to share a ballad and a heartbreak song coming from a female as a lead song I thought seemed like a crazy idea. It wasn’t what I thought was going to happen. But, as soon as JR – I have to give all the credit to JR – as soon as he heard the song, he said, “This song is going to change your life. I want to make it a ‘Highway Find’ right now.” So, he did it in a couple of days. And, he really was right!
3. The single quickly shot up the charts on “The Highway,” hitting #1 recently. Do you recall where you were, though, the first time you heard them play your single on the air?
I was actually in the studio! I went in the day they announced that I was the newest “Highway Find,” and I heard it from in the office. I’ve had quite a few singles out, but as soon as they put that song out, I just keep telling people that it really felt different. This felt like it had wings of its own.
4. “Every Little Thing” is not the first time many listeners may have heard you on the radio. Your recent collaboration with the Josh Abbott Band on JAB’s “Wasn’t That Drunk” turned a lot of heads and ears. How did the collaboration come about, and where you surprised at all by the attention you gained?
Josh heard me play three and a half years ago at a Monday night event that happens in Nashville called “Whiskey Jam.” And, he became my Twitter friend, honestly, over the years. Then, about six months before “Wasn’t That Drunk” was released, he messaged me and just was like, “Hey, I have this song, and I think you’re the right voice for it. Will you listen to it?” I knew the song and had heard the song, because I knew the songwriters. It’s a song that all of us as writers kind of knew would do something. So, I went and put my vocals on it, and it was never meant to be a single. But, it started to react so much on Spotify and with their fans that they switched it to be the single. It’s one of those things where God takes control of things, and you have no control over them. So, I found myself really devoting 2016, a lot of it, to going to radio stations and opening for the Josh Abbott Band and really being devoted to “Wasn’t That Drunk.” And, I really was surprised! I never thought it was going to be a single, and I never thought I was going to get that kind of exposure. Josh has been a great tool for me to get my name out there and get a lot of experience under my belt before I go out as Carly Pearce. I’m really thankful for that song.
5. “Wasn’t That Drunk” landed you on many national television spots alongside the Josh Abbott Band to perform the single. What did that experience teach you about national travel and promotion of a song that you will now bring with you to BMLG?
I moved here when I was 19, and I’m 26 now. I’ve not had it easy in the past – there have been developmental record deals fall through, and I had a lot of really different scenarios and really had to understand what it means to be a business person and to find your identity as an artist. And, how much it’s not only about being a singer – there are a million singers in this town – but, I think now getting a deal with Big Machine having so much of a foundation under me, I think I’m coming in to it as a true artist. I have a true vision, and it’s more collaborative. I think [BMLG President/CEO] Scott Borchetta has been amazing to kind of let me steer the ship. He knows that it’s very clear what kind of artist I am. There’s a respect there of knowing that I’m not waiting on someone else to do it for me. So, I really feel like I’ve found a partnership in Big Machine.
6. Speaking of Big Machine, when were you first approached by the label group, and how quickly – or slowly – did the process move before you were signed?
I knew some of the A&R staff for quite a few years. They always kept tabs on me. And, the minute I put this song [“Every Little Thing”] out – I’m not kidding you, it was the night that it came out – there were emails swirling between the [BMLG} A&R staff, JR [Schumann], and Scott [Borchetta]. Before I knew it, within a day and a half, Scott was on a plane coming back from L.A. to see me play at the Opry. So, what I love and what I keep telling people is that, obviously, once the song started to translate and the numbers starting to come in, I had other people in the industry take notice a little bit, but Scott came in the minute the song came out. And he came in from a genuine place of, “Oh my God, this song kills me! You’ve found your song! We’ve always known you’re a great artist.” It felt genuine, and I felt the passion coming forth not just for “Every Little Thing,” but for Carly Pearce, too.
7. Your background is an interesting one with a few twists and turns to this point. When did you first know you wanted to pursue music as a career, and what steps did you take to lead you to Nashville?
I’ve never known a day, truly, that I didn’t want to do this. My family has videos of me at five years old telling them that I’m going to sing at the Grand Ole Opry one day. So, I really don’t know where that came from! I do come from a family of musical people – our family loves music – but no one in the family ever pursued music. I grew up singing in Bluegrass bands from the age of 11, and at the age of 16, I came home from my freshman year of high school after it was over – I had gone to a public high school – and I told my dad that I wanted to quit high school and pursue music. And, of course, he thought I was insane! But I convinced him to let me take the summer to find a homeschooling program that I could get in to, that would allow me to get in to a university if I chose, and he let me. I quit, and I saw an audition for Dollywood, and I ended up getting a job singing in a Country show at Dollywood! So, my mom and I moved to Pigeon Forge when I was 16. I spent two years doing six shows a day, five days a week. Then, I moved over to another theater called Country Tonight, where I only had one day off a month, for a year before moving to Nashville. I feel like my story is interesting, but I really never knew a day and didn’t want to waste any time – even from a young age – not going after what I wanted. And, I was lucky enough to have really amazing parents who allowed me and were able to let me chase my dreams. It was just a natural progression, then, when I was 19 to move on to Nashville after the time in Pigeon Forge.
8. As you prepare to head out on your first radio tour since signing with BMLG, what do you expect from the experience? Have you heard much about radio tour from other artists? Do you have any nerves going in to it?
I think any new artist, and now stepping out finally as myself, going out on a national level to terrestrial radio is nerve-wracking. But, I do feel that because of my past, and because I didn’t get things handed to me in the fashion that I thought I should have, and I had to work for it, and having experiences – like singing back-up for Lucy Hale, and singing back-up on a song that was at national terrestrial radio – I have an understanding of how those radio visit work and how radio shows work. I’ve been a sponge over the past eight years, collecting thoughts, and collecting experiences and knowing what I feel like I should do and what didn’t work. I feel like I know what to say and what not to say, because I really have been in these rooms under these different scenarios and situations. I feel like, if anything, I am prepared. And, I’m more excited than I am nervous right now.
9. In addition to the support from SiriusXM, you were also named one of CMT’s Next Women Of Country before signing with BMLG. How has that program helped to shape your career in the past year, and what have you learned from the other women in the program?
I love Leslie Fram so much, and everyone at CMT. They’ve been big supporters of mine. Really, Spotify, SiriusXM, CMT, and the Opry have all kind of jumped in with me from the start and really believed in me. I call all of those people friends and supporters. I am so blown away by what Leslie and the CMT team have done as far as uniting women and making us feel like there is a place for women. As you, see people like Kelsea [Ballerini] and Cam and Maddie & Tae and Maren [Morris] are busting down the doors for women. And, I just think it’s time for true artistry from females, and from the female perspective, is now really welcome and wanted. I’m so grateful with “Every Little Thing” having people like Cam and Kelsea and Maren all tweet about my song and really taking it under their wing. Kelsea, especially, has taken me out on the road on every tour she has had. She has really pushed me and paid it forward in a way that I feel like Taylor Swift did for her. I’m just grateful for these friendships and these girls – we really are all rooting for each other and wanting to help each other. I hope that one day, I’m able to pay it forward to another female artist in the way that Kelsea has for me.
10. Much has been made about the lack of women on Country radio in recent years. Do you feel at all handicapped by being female when you’re out presenting your music to new audiences?
I mean, of course, there have been seasons while living in Nashville that I’ve felt like I was penalized just for being a female, but I genuinely believe that the female swing started happening when real female artists started giving something that was true to their artistry; real artists started coming out with something to say. Once everybody stopped being fearful of being a female – once everyone started owning it and loving it and being happy about it and proud about it – I think it really started to swing back. So, I feel like going in to my music, I’m excited about being a female and excited about my songs. I feel like there’s such a void for that kind of woman that I grew up listening to – the Faith Hill and the Trisha Yearwood – strong women that have been through heartbreak and are singing from a strong female perspective. I’m just excited to hopefully give the listeners something they can relate to.
Bonus Question
Who would you cite as your musical influences, and what genres do you pull from to create your sound? Have you had a chance to meet any of your early influencers, or maybe even sing with any of them?
I would say Alison Krauss was a big influence. Patty Loveless, Trisha Yearwood, Faith Hill. I loved, growing up, female voices with a lot of texture and a lot of character to their voices. I loved all kinds of Bluegrass music. Sonya Isaacs was a big influence; she’s a Bluegrass Gospel singer, but she’s also done a lot in the Country world just from backup and songwriter and as an artist. Also, the Dixie Chicks were a big influence. Just all of those 90s and early 2000s Country voices. Those were really very influential to me and what I do now, and I think people naturally hear that in what I do. I’ve met Alison Krauss a few times. I met Trisha at the Opry and freaked out! Actually, Sonya Isaacs and I have become good friends and write together some, which is so crazy – the first time I ever got in a room together with her, I cried! I freaked out when I met Trisha, though, too – I definitely am still a fangirl at heart! I would love to have the chance to collaborate with any of those women! I’d love it.
The Country format is an incredibly wide landscape right now. Where do you think your music fits into that?
I think there is a large void for that female that is a little bit throwback to what the modern real Country sound would be for 2017. So, I jokingly say that I’m a little like wine – a little classy, a little bit of throwback, but also modern and current for today. I want to be that female voice that, when you listen to the radio in 2017, it reminds you of those classic, timeless Country artists of the 90s and early 2000s.
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