Breaking the mold from the classic dazzle and glam, Lacey Caroline embraces her "down to earth" style, trading the sundresses for roughed up flannels and the big bows for a dirty ball cap. She embodies the "American Dream" of a hometown girl with the grit and the guts to fight to the top of country music. And while Lacey may have grown her roots in the Garden State of New Jersey, but she comes with a voice and heart as big as Texas.
Since 14 when she first started penning songs, Lacey's goal in music has always been to give the gift of stories and music to other people. "If I can give the sense of relief and expression to someone else through a song, I've done my job. I write songs about things I feel and have lived, but we all live through so many similar experiences. I want to give someone a way to say what they were feeling, but maybe they didn't have the words," Lacey says in a recent interview. Here, Lacey answers her Essential 8 and talks songwriting, Wendy's, her professional bucket list, and more. Why did you choose to anchor the album with the songs you did? I grew up listening to a lot of rock music; really driving and highly energetic songs. I always find myself writing songs that are fun, upbeat, and energetic, and that’s what I wanted the album to reflect. I also pride myself in having a very fun and high energy live show, so I wanted songs that would be fun for the band and the crowd to rock out on together! Where do you draw inspiration from when writing? I’m a word/story person. I can be inspired by someone randomly saying something, seeing something happen in the world, or just having a word stick out in my mind in an odd or different way. A song can be born by almost anything! When/where do you do your best writing? Always at night. It’s like clockwork. My best/favorite songs I’ve ever written have been started between 10 pm- 2am. Probably because I’m so tired from the day, that my creative inhibitors shut down and I’m able to let my creativity flow more freely.
Do you write about personal experience, the experience of others, observations, made-up stories, something else or a combination?
Most of my songs are personal experiences or observations of others’ or listening to others’ stories. I don’t try to write like that; it’s just kind of how I’ve noticed most of my songs have been written. I’m not good at making up stories, and frankly, if you listen to people and their stories/lives, you’d be surprised how little you have to make up! What’s the best advice to give to a musician just starting out? Nothing happens overnight. In a day and age, where everything is viral and instant, songwriting and an artist career require dedication and commitment. Nothing happens overnight, in 6 months, or even sometimes, in a year. Keep pushing, working hard, and listening to advice from those who have already walked those footsteps. It’s invaluable and will make you better at whatever it is you want to do. What’s your favorite/”go-to” food on the road? I’m a health food nut, and I love eating clean and wholesome, but I am a sucker for Wendy’s cheeseburgers when I’ve been on the road for 10-12 hours driving somewhere. That’d probably be my favorite, but with that being said, I don’t let myself eat it all the time! My body would probably hate me if I did! Which song of yours gets the best crowd response? Two of them get the best crowd response, and it depends on the mood. My single, “Ain’t That Girl”, is such a fun, upbeat song that the crowd really jams along with and gets into! Another song off the record, “Worlds Away”, is a very moving, highly emotional song that really connects to the crowd, but on a totally different kind of level. It’s moving to see the response from the crowd so powerful, but so different. Is there a professional “bucket list” item you would love to check off? Probably winning a Grammy or a CMA. Being recognized by the community of my peers in such a way would be such an amazing honor and acknowledgement to the hard work put in over the many years. Website/Facebook/Twitter/Bandcamp
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