 Credit: Wendy Carrig Hayley McKay is back with a bang after capturing audiences with her previous singles, "Unspoken" and "Bottom Of My Heart", as well as her engaging live performances. Her new album, Chance to Change, due April 27th, features haunting ballads, gentle acoustic numbers and folk-inspired tracks, like Following The Sun that showcase different elements of McKay's voice, allowing it to truly shine. In advance of the release, McKay kindly took the time to answer her Essential 8 where she spoke about songwriting, the importance of keeping an open mind, Ed Sheeran, and more.
When/Where do you do your best writing? I need to have time - it's all about being in the zone. But on train journeys is good - but it's really when I have the time to focus. I love collaborating so I can also be inspired by the person I'm writing with. What's your best advice to a musician just starting out? Keep an open mind; go for every opportunity as you never know who you'll meet and where it will lead. And always be nice! Do you have any touring tips? Keep everything in balance and, when you visit new places, always take the time to look around - I think travel is one of the perks of being a musician so you need to see more than just the venue you're playing and the inside of your hotel room. Eat regularly and drink plenty of water - not just JD and Coke! What has been your biggest success? To be honest there's been a few; opening the Toad Hall stage at Glastonbury has to be one; supporting Tom Jones is definitely another; and winning a national talent competition was another too. It paid for me to go to BIMM and kick started my musical career.
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 Courtesy of the Artist French-born actress Linda Bella has appeared in numerous films including First Dog (2010), Dracula: Reborn (2012) and Fury of the Fist and the Golden Fleece (2018). Recently, the rising star debuted her new single, "Bye Bye Baby" a reggae-tinged pop tune about getting over heartache that recalls No Doubt. Here, Bella answers her Essential 8 and talks about writing, Madonna, cooking, and more!
When/where do you do your best writing? Probably at night. It could be anywhere and I just write it right away. Do you write about personal experience, the experience of others, observations, made-up stories, something else or a combination? All of it. Anything can inspire me. It could be things that I’ve gone through, that people around me have gone through, or it could be pure fiction. I have a lively imagination. What’s the best advice you have ever gotten from another musician? Once I was with a musician in a studio and he couldn’t stand to hear any opinions on his music. He made me listen to a new song of his and told me to tell him I loved it even if I didn’t. I realized I never wanted to become like that. So that was indirect advice that I’ve held on to – being that afraid of constructive criticism doesn’t help you grow. Who would you love to collaborate with? Max Martin. He is a brilliant producer and songwriter. When I was a kid, all of my favorite songs were done by him – and at the time I didn’t know that all of my favorite songs from a lot of different artists were done by the same person. He creates the catchiest melodies.  The Young Fables (TYF) - American Idol vet Laurel Wright and accomplished guitarist and vocalist Wesley Lunsford spent much of 2017 on the road, supporting the release of their debut, Two. sharing the stage with Lauren Alaina, Josh Turner, Sara Evans, and more. Securing a win at the Nashville finals of the NASH FM nationwide NASH NEXT competition, the radio giant embraced the duo as a Ty, Kelly and Chuck favorite, regularly highlighting The Young Fables in the Ten Minute Tune segment. This year, TYF have wrapped recording on their sophomore album Old Songs, a ten song collection due May 4th that establishes The Young Fables' sonic home in the Country/Americana community as a modern proclaimer and preservationist of classic country's storytelling roots. In advance of the release, Laurel and Wes took the time to answer their Essential 8+ where they talk about the story behind their album's title, their favorite food stops on the road, the Opry, and more!
Did you have a musical mentor? If so, who was it and how did they influence you? Laurel: My musical mentor would probably be Wes. We’ve only been playing together for 4 years and I’ve grown so much in that short amount of time. I feel I owe a lot of that to Wes because of his work ethic and musical knowledge Wes: I’ve had many great teachers and they all taught me the same thing, find what you love and make it your own. We all know what moves us personally in music and it’s up to you to find out what that is. Is there a story behind your album’s title? As you may know, “Old Songs” is also a track on the record, but we believe it perfectly matches our sonic direction and love for the vintage country sound. We like to call our music Modern Traditional Country --- classic country roots with a modern twist! Therefore “Old Songs” and the Young Fables, it just fits!  Credit: Y. Orhan
After many successful years in France, Chris Stills turned his attention back to LA where the pieces fell into place for him to release his first album in over a decade, Don’t Be Afraid. Released on March 23rd, Don’t Be Afraid threads together intimate, honest storytelling, rock ‘n’ roll energy, pop panache, and classic grit in an eleven-song collection that is undeniably his most personal to date. On release day, Stills kindly took the time to speak about the project, Light Up the Blues, and more.
Although you’ve been busy in other endeavors, it’s been over ten years since your last record. Was there anything that spurred the release or was it just a matter of everything falling into place? A lot of it is that. Over the past ten years I was living in France and acting in a musical, then I moved back to L.A. and was doing a bit of television and being a single Dad to my two lovely daughters. I was taking a break from the label world and the whole business side of music, but I was playing shows too. I played the Hotel Café many times with very little to show for it - and that was cool with me - but then I finally met people, like David Saw, who motivated me to get out there again. Things take time, but you know, good things come to those who wait. It’s onward and upward from here on out, with eyes on the future. Definitely a good perspective to have. Did you approach the making of Don’t Be Afraid any differently than your two previous records? It was totally different from the last record with the biggest difference being that the only guy in charge was me. When you’re with a label they kind of steer you in certain directions and this record was a lot of me calling my very talented friends like Dan Burns, Michael Chaves, Zach Ray, and others asking if they had the time to be a part of it. They kindly agreed, so we’d record a few songs, then a few months later we’d do a few more, making these songs like snapshots of points in my journey. Those are eleven snapshots, including three co-writes, two with David Saw and the other with Ryan Adams. Were the songs all written recently, pulled from awhile back, or a combination? A combination. For this album, I let the songs find me. There were some older ones from 2013, and there were more recent ones, like the two with David which I wrote last year. This album is really about the trials and tribulations of a guy who puts his life together after a breakup, so there’s a lot of ups and downs, but there’s also songs like “Daddy’s Little Girl,” which is a song for my daughters. I wrote that song after I saw this diamond commercial on tv and it made me realize that one day I was going to have to give my daughters away to another guy – and be happy about it (laughing). This song is for all the dads out there as a way to tell their daughters that no matter what happens in life, you’ll always be there for them. I was crying the whole time I was wrote that song and when I play it live, a lot of people end up crying too. We should be sponsored by Kleenex (laughing).  PC: Jason Code
Originally from California, Avalon Kali moved to Nashville to follow her dream of becoming a singer-songwriter. In the summer of 2017, Kali released her self-titled EP, which produced her first single, "Speechless." On March 23rd, Kali put forth an all new six-song collection, Heartbeat, and here she answers her Essential 8 where she talks about the EP, songwriting, her dream venue, The Grammys, and more.
Why did you choose to anchor you new album with the songs you did? I chose to anchor the album with the six songs I did because I feel like each of them have something different to show my audience. I wanted to make sure they didn’t sound the same melodically and also show a range of emotions. I love that there are stories about love, life, hope, and hurt. I think it is an album of songs someone can hopefully listen to no matter what mood they are in. Where do you draw inspiration from when writing? When writing, I usually draw inspiration from personal, real, and raw experiences. When I write a love song, a sad song, a hopeful song etc, I will pull from my own emotions that I feel in the moment or I have felt in the past. Do you have a musical mentor? If so who is it and how did they inspire you? I do have a musical mentor. Someone in my life that I have known since I was 14 years old. I opened up for Chris Roberts at an event in Sacramento called Golf and Guitars and he told me at that time to continue writing everyday and to not give up. Since then, I am now 21 years old, 7 years later, and have written a line, a verse, or a complete song everyday. I live in Nashville, Tennessee where I will continue to follow my dreams and not give up. Chris is an incredible songwriter and I feel grateful to have met him as he inspires me to be a successful songwriter and artist as he is. What's the best advice you have ever received from another musician? With that being said, I believe the best advice to give a musician starting out and the best advice I’ve ever gotten from another musician is to keep writing. When you feel discouraged, (because there will be discouraging days), to pick yourself up and to remember the reasons why you love music in the first place. For me, it is a universal language that connects everyone around the world and I’m not sure if there is anything more special than that. I want to be able to write a song that helps someone, makes someone feel loved, to help heal hurt, to give motivation… Music is a tool that we can all relate to. How incredible is that?  Courtesy of the Artist Anglo-Dutch singer-songwriter Gitta De Ridder made a welcome return on March 23rd with her new album For Everything A Season. While the songs on the all new collection reflect a personal journey of experiences, they are truly universal, connecting with the listener via glowing melodies and poetic lyrics. Recently, de Ridder graciously took the time to answer her Essential 8 where she shared the story behind the album's title and the song "All In Love", talked inspiration and struggle, her professional bucket list, and much more.
Is there a story behind your album’s title? When I had most of the songs for this album written I was thinking of ways to release something in parts over a year, to give myself a goal and structure, and to try approach it slightly differently than I’d done so far. Initially the album’s working title was ‘Seasons’ but as all the songs started to fall into place the current title suited the journey much better. When the concept started to come together I had recently gone through a divorce which wasn’t pretty and it really got me questioning myself and everything around me. This deeply formed and moulded what the album and the themes through it became. It’s a story of life and relationships and the seasons we move through in those. Of connection and disconnection with others and ourselves. Why did you chose to anchor the album with the songs you did? I went to stay at my friends farm in The Netherlands for a few weeks on my own in the winter of ’16 and at that point I had about 15 songs contending to be on the album and quite a few ‘spares’. I spend a few days sitting down working out the full flow and order to realise where the ‘gaps’ were that needed something else put in. I then spend a few days setting myself a ‘song a day’ target to write extra material. Differently to how I normally work I sat down with a metronome to try pull myself out of the usual rhythms I default to when writing songs. Some of the later additions to the album such as ‘The Wheel’ ‘Here’s the Plan’ and ‘Forever in Your Heart’ actually made everything make sense to me in term of pace, flow and colour of the whole and the seasonal parts. I demo’d the full album at the farm. There was a drumkut and a massive ‘reverby' barn, I still love how the demo versions of the album came out with some of the tracks reminding me vaguely of ‘The Police’ and some other unexpected references. It’s so funny to hear the massive difference between those early demos and the final record and I’m endlessly pleased with what Stephen and I managed to record in the days at the studio and how the final record ended up sounding. I couldn’t have imaged it in such detail beforehand. Where do you draw inspiration from when writing? Many of my songs are quite personally inspired such as ‘All is Love’ which I wrote as a wedding present for my sister and her husband. Or ‘Here’s the Plan’ which is rooted in the sense that it can actually be really hard to understand oneself and open up to those around you. However more and more I feel inspired by the world around me and the greater dynamics between people, cultures and all that makes us human. The next album I’m working on definitely moves the themes from mainly focussing on inspirations from my own life to more of a ‘part of something bigger’ feeling. I guess though the songs come as they come and I try not to direct the words too much and let them form themselves. So I suppose it’s whatever seems most relevant to some part of me at the time that will choose to come out. 
While 2017's Stargazer continues to gather momentum, Jesse Terry returns on March 30th with an all new recording, Natural. Produced by Josh Kaler in East Nashville, Natural is a sparse, acoustic collection which features appearances from some of the singer-songwriter's friends and favorites including Dar Williams, Kim Richey, Cary Ann Hearst (Shovels & Rope), Liz Longley, Annie Clements, Sarah Darling and Erin Rae. In advance of the release, Terry very graciously answered his Essential 8 and talked the emotional story behind Natural, trusting your voice, Waffle House, and more.
What’s the story behind your album’s title? I was going through such a profound loss when I wrote the title track “Natural.” We’ve all been there before – or we’ll all be there at some point in our lives. When you’re going through a loss that just feels so surreal and unnatural. That’s where the title came from. I just remember thinking that the feeling of loss would never feel natural or justified. And the hardest losses never do. We lost our beloved road dog Jackson in December so suddenly and we miss him every single day. We’ve since rescued this beautiful new lab mix named Harrison (after George of course) and we’re completely in love with this little guy. But it doesn’t erase the loss of Jackson or replace him. The positive thing is, we’ve realized how much Jackson taught us about life and love. We feel very fortunate that we cherished every day with him. We miss him dearly but we don’t have any regrets. And I think that’s all you can wish for. Life seems to be all about the roller coaster ride and cherishing every moment. Why did you chose to anchor the album with the songs you did? Well, they all had a certain contemplative and dreamy quality that I dug and connected to. The songs felt like they belonged on an album together. We recorded these last two records, Stargazer and Natural, back to back - And I worked with the same producer and team, so we were able to look at this big batch of songs and really think about where they fit. There are some songs that I loved, that we didn’t think fit on either album, so we saved those tunes for something in the future. Great songs are the key to everything, but I still love the idea of a cohesive album that evokes a certain emotion and vibe. Something you can put on a turntable and play start to finish. There is hopefully a real ebb and flow, but I also hope there is a thread that runs through the entire record. It was really exciting to explore a different side of myself on Natural, right before recording Stargazer, which I think is a completely different album. Of course the biggest thread that runs through the entire Natural album are these stunning female harmony vocals. I love the relationship and counterpoint between the male and female voices and the different emotions that can create. Where do you draw inspiration from when writing? Everywhere really. My antennae are always up and I’m always listening for a beautiful phrase or watching for a unique image… or looking for an interesting billboard… or waiting for a certain scent in the air that takes me back to childhood. I write all of that stuff down as soon as it hits me and I keep those pages close to me. Sometimes the words lead to another title or idea. Or sometimes they directly connect to something I’m going through on that particular day. I had that Stargazer title lying around for years and I couldn’t write it until I found the melody it fit with. And the emotion it fit with. I also record every melody or chord progression that I think has the potential to be magical, whether it comes to me at sound-check or in the middle of the night. It’s real important to get it recorded right away on the phone. So I’m almost always inspired when I’m writing, because I never feel like I’m staring at a blank canvas. There is always something to say. If I had any complaint, it would be that I don’t have enough time to write. But hey, I’m not digging ditches either.  Courtesy of the Artist
New England-based artist Brian McKenzie started his music career in the early 90's as the founding member, music writer, and guitarist of the heavy-rock band "Kilgore" (formerly Kilgore Smudge). Since then, the singer-songwriter has released three albums under his own name, including 2011's Resolution and Looking Over Yesterday. In January of 2018, McKenzie released a new project, "Bruising From the Falll," an emotional, powerfully melodic collection featuring a stellar line-up of musicians including Bill Southerland and Marty O'Brien (Kilgore), Brad O'Brien, and Chris Piccirillo. Recently, Brian took the time to answer his Essential 8 and talk musical mentors, share the story behind his album's title as well as advice from Don Schlitz, and more.
Did you have a musical mentor? If so, who was it and how did they influence you? I had a great guitar teacher in Rhode Island, Rudy D’Agostino, that got me started with the basics of playing, but I think high school really had the biggest influence. During my time there, one of the extracurricular activities available was a rock band, so I tried out freshman year and was fortunate enough to be accepted into the band by music teacher Jim LaFitte. He taught us how to listen to songs, break them down, and learn them just by using our ears, not with any written music. That’s a practice that translated into a better understanding of how good songs are written. I credit Jim for everything I accomplished after that. Not sure if I’d have become as intuitive a songwriter if it weren’t for him. With any particular song, was there an “a-ha” moment when you knew the song was completed and perfect? I think I knew that both “Higher Than This” and “The In-Between” were completed when I listened back and got the “feels”. Jon Gonsalves did a great job as an engineer in the studio with his dynamics, and when we were listening back in the control room, we looked at each other and both went “wow”… Is there a story behind your album’s title? “Bruising from the Fall” is based on a sometimes beautiful, mostly flawed relationship. Lots of ups and downs, highs, and lows, break ups and makeups. With the line “I’m so tired of it all, and I’m still bruising from the fall”… sometimes, when you physically fall, the impact is there, but you get up and walk it off for a bit. It’s not until the next few days that the bruises and soreness set in. I felt that it was the same on an emotional level with what we both put each other through. Things would happen over and over, and then the constant internal pain of it all would linger and get worse as time went on.  Atlanta-based artist Alannah McCready attended the University of Madison on a full athletic scholarship for women’s hockey winning two National Division 1 Championships as a goalie for the Badgers and played in two NCAA Division I Women’s Ice Hockey National Championships, as well as the WCHA (league) championship. But Alannah felt another calling, and traded in her skates to follow a musical path. Releasing on April 27, her sophomore effort Ricochet Heart features ten original tracks, including lead single,“Last Girl Standing,” that blend soul, country, and pop in a way that emits a self-assuredness and strength. Ahead of its release, McCready kindly took the time to answer a few questions via email and talk in depth about the album, the move from hockey to music, and more.
Being that you were a very successful college hockey player, how did the change to music come about? Was it [music] something that was always there or something you discovered later? Music was definitely something that was always there, I have been singing since I could talk, so my entire life was surrounded by music and hockey. I had to sort of put music on the back burner while in college because playing a Division I sport is basically like having a full time job while attending school. I am definitely not complaining about it though because college hockey was some of the best times I will ever have in my life and I am very grateful for everything the University of Wisconsin has done for me! Once I graduated I knew that chapter of my life was coming to a close and I wanted to focus on music as my next, and hopefully final, chapter! I knew if I didn’t pursue it full time then I probably never would and I would have always regretted it. So I did! Quit my job and moved to the south and started my band and the first album. Your music blends pop and country, among other genres. What shaped your sound? I grew up listening to country music so that is definitely my root as far as inspirational sound, however I have lived in many cities and encountered so many different genres that I loved throughout the years that I think subconsciously trickle into my writing. I like how soul sounds on my voice so I try to make sure and incorporate soulful aspects as well as a nice beat because you have to be able to dance to it! I am also a huge hip-hop fan, my friends say I have rap tourettes, so I’m sure there are some minor hip-hop accents they spark up in my music as well haha The upcoming album is called Ricochet Heart. Is there a particular significance to that title? The first album was titled Love Hangover and I kept that in mind when titling this next release because I wanted something that would be a cohesive follow-up. The first album is all about a Love Hangover, and in this next album, the themes are more ‘girl power’, so it's sort of an evolution that even though you may get your heart broken and have a Love Hangover, tomorrow does come and you can have a Ricochet Heart that bounces right back stronger and ready for love & self-love again.  Courtesy of the Artist
"I'm not saying there's anything profound or special about this record, that's for you to decide." -Ervin Stellar
Michigan native Ervin Stellar merges Americana, folk, and roots rock on his long-awaited second album, The Moment. Via an effortlessly serene sonic landscape, Stellar delivers thoughtful songs of love and life that are intimate and moving. Here, Stellar answers his Essential 8 and talks Bob Dylan, shares the story behind the album's title, his favorite concert, and more. Did you have a musical mentor? If so, who was it and how did they influence you? Bob Dylan is my strongest musical influence. Not a mentor per se, but someone whom I’ve informally studied and gained awareness from. I’ve always been drawn to his lyrical sensibility and, often unconventional, song structures. With any particular song, was there an “a-ha” moment when you knew the song was completed and perfect? “Thick Skin” - I wrote it in a fews hours, fine tuning it over a couple days. It’s a relatively true account, so the lyrics came very quickly and I never felt like something was missing. I recorded it in my home studio while sick, the whole process being spur of the moment*. What’s the story behind your album’s title? The Moment title is shared with a favorite track on the album. A lot of my songs involve concepts of time, and in this case, the thoughts and feelings in a particular instance, kept inside, and not shared or visible to others. |