The Interviews

Carolyn Dawn Johnson

Interview by Darren O'Neill

One of the few perks of this job is that I get to meet and talk to some of the people who make the music that I love. It's always a little nerve-racking, since I'm a fan before I'm an interviewer 99.9% of the time, and the last thing I want to do is say something stupid. There must be some magical soothing quality to the sound of Carolyn Dawn Johnson's voice, because the minute I picked up the phone I felt like I was talking to someone that I've known for a long time.

Being the webmaster for Martina McBride's official site, I became familiar with Carolyn when she toured with Martina, playing guitar and singing backup. Someone told me “hey, she's the one who wrote 'Single White Female for Chely Wright'” I loved that song, so I figured right off the bat that Carolyn had to be one hell of a songwriter. I did a little more research, and I found out that Carolyn had songs cut by some pretty big artists like Linda Davis, Jo Dee Messina, Pam Tillis, SHeDAISY, Suzy Bogguss, Patty Loveless and others. So, now I KNEW that this girl could write songs.

Being a songwriter myself, I know that writing good songs does not necessarily mean that you can sing too! When “Georgia,” Carolyn's first single was released, I waited to hear it on the radio. Unfortunately, the powers that be at US99 here in Chicago didn't add it, which is a shame since it's an awesome song. Anyway, I finally caught it on CMT, and was struck by a few things immediately. The first was that Carolyn could in fact sing! As a matter of fact, she's got a great voice. Then I realized that “Georgia” was not another cookie cutter song, it wasn't a mindless riff and melody, this song had heart. It wasn't three minutes long like so many of the "radio friendly" hits on the radio. No, this artist could be the real deal I thought. And, I'll admit it, I also noticed that she was pretty darn easy on the eyes as well!

Anyway, to make a long story short, I have explained in past editorials why I almost never listen to country radio, and as such I hear 99% of my music on CD. Not only do I get out of listening to commercials, but I also get to hear an artist's work together in an album, the way they meant for it to be heard. Well, due to the powers that be over at Carolyn's label, the CD Room With A View has not yet been released here in the United States. It is, however available in Canada, and thanks to that I was finally able to hear CDJ's work. Let me tell you, I know I'm going to sound like the president of Carolyn's fan club, but this is the BEST country CD to come out in a very long time. As a matter of fact, it sits tied for first with Kelly Willis' phenomenal release What I Deserve as my favorite country disc of all time.

I know what you're asking, if it's so great, why can't I buy it in the USA... The answer is, I don't know, but I will tell you to click over to one of the Canadian CD shops after you read this interview and buy this CD. You will not be disappointed!

You'll notice the format of this interview is a little different, almost taking on a more conversational tone rather than the normal questions and answers. It didn't really feel like an interview to me, and I think that's why it came out so well, and why it's my favorite interview that I have done. Carolyn is as down to earth and sweet as they come, and she loves to talk about music, that was very clear! In the interview, Carolyn talks about meeting one of her idols Marty Stuart. When Marty came in to play on a track for the cd, he gave Carolyn a very special gift. He gave her a copy of his book "Pilgrims" and he signed it this way:

To Carolyn Dawn Johnson

Here’s how it was-
Now you show ‘em
How it is-

With Love and Respect
Go Get it!
Marty Stuart

For those of you who might be new to country music, let me just say that an inscription like that is the equivalent to being blessed by the pope! I know there are good things in store for Carolyn Dawn Johnson, she has the talent and the desire, and a whole lot of heart to boot! Enjoy the interview!

What was the best and worst thing about touring with Martina McBride as a member of her band?

There never really was a worst thing, probably the worst would be when Emma was teething she slept underneath me. (laughs) She was crying, and it was hard to sleep on the bus. That would be the worst thing, but that wasn't the whole time. I understood, it was just that I couldn't sleep, but neither could anybody else!

If that's the worst, that's a pretty good worst!

Yeah, exactly! (laughs) I mean I had a great time out there. In fact when I left I was almost heartbroken. That's part of the reason it took so long for me to leave was because I loved traveling with them, and I loved being with them. They were good to me, and I feel like I did what I was supposed to do as far as my job was concerned, even though I never even looked at it as a job, it was such a great opportunity, and it was with one of my heroes. I just felt like I became a part of them, and even though I was anxious to get out on my own and do my own record thing, I didn't want to leave Martina! They were so sweet about it. When it would be my last weekend John or Martina would say stuff like “are you sure you're not busy next weekend?” or “can we get you this date?” And, sometimes it would be me going “you know, I could probably stay with you for the next three weeks.” So, it was just back and forth until I remember I was gone from her, and she gave me the opportunity of going to Australia with her. I really was looking forward to having those two weeks at home, and writing songs and all that kind of stuff. She said I think it's going to be a pretty first class trip, and I don't want you to feel pressured to come, but if you want to come we'd love to have you. I went, and it was one of the best things I've ever did! Because I went to Australia for free!

You can't pass that up.

No, and now I want to go back! (laughs) We worked so much when we were there, and Marty and I were the only ones that went over with her as far as the band goes because we did everything acoustically, or else we had some tracks behind and we'd play with them. Whatever we could do over there because it was too much to bring the whole band. We worked a ton, but Martina worked harder than us because there were tons of interviews and phoners that we didn't necessarily have to be a part of.

Who were your biggest influences, musically, growing up?

Gosh, I have to say that ABBA was one of them. I'm trying to think of who I listened to constantly. Amy Grant was one. When the Judds came out, they were a huge influence on me. Randy Travis was around that time too. I loved Highway 101. That was when I was about in grade 10, that's when I really got hardcore country. When I was growing up, my parents listened to Charlie Pride and Johnny Cash. You might know from my website that Charlie Pride was my very first concert that I ever went to in my whole life. Which, I think I was six or seven years old and I love Charlie Pride, and we listened to his music a lot. But, as you grow older, you go through different phases of what you listen to. I listen to all kinds of music. Once I got hooked on country, I kind of just listened to everybody. I bought tons of albums, I was really heavily into the female artists. I had all the Pam stuff, all the Martina stuff. I'm trying to think, I feel like I need to look at my collection. Anybody you can probably name, I probably have them!

I know the feeling!

Exactly! I was like a music freak, and still am for that matter! But, I don't get out and buy as much music as I used to because I'm always so busy with mine. In fact I just went out the other day because I was like man, I need to re-energize myself and listen to something different besides the core things that I'm always listening to as well as my new demos and stuff. I get caught in those ruts, so I went out and bought the Dave Matthews Band and an old Hank Williams Sr. record and, what else did I buy. I can't remember, Bruce Springsteen. I've got to find some time now to put these albums on and expand my horizons again!

I checked out your website, and I read all of your journals last night...

Oh my GOSH that must have taken you a while!

Actually, while I was reading them, I was on-line and instant messaging one of your fans Keith Shuemaker, and I messaged over to him “I can tell you one thing, whether it's musically or not, Carolyn LOVES to write!”

(Laughing)

I thought it was so cool, because you don't see a lot of artists that, even if they have a website, do those kinds of things. With the title of your website being “An Artist's Journey” it is really a neat deal to be able to look in on the daily things that are going on.

Thank you, it's really hard to keep up with. The problem is with me, I do write a lot when I write, and I feel bad if I don't put in all of the details. There are journal entries that I have that are just so boring and basic that I don't send them to my webmaster because I'm like that's not good enough for my fans! But, I probably should just send those anyway so they can keep up with what I'm doing. Like, we were going to put up a thing on my website of just what a week is like for me sometimes, just so people can get an idea. Just show my calendar, I was writing with so-and-so today, then I went to this, then I did this phoner or whatever, just so they could understand. We probably will still do some of that stuff, there are so many ideas for it because I want the fans to feel really involved in the process. Hopefully there will be a day when I don't have as much time to do it, but I can still keep in contact with them through my website. I probably won't be able to be as detailed, but I really honestly do plan on dropping in as much as possible.

People do not realize how much there is to a career like yours. We get messages all the time on Martina's bulletin board where people think that she gets up each night and sings for two hours and sits around the rest of the time doing nothing.

Exactly! Exactly! And, it is so hard for her because she does have that family and it's trying to balance it. And, as busy as Martina is she tries very hard to be a mom. I feel like I was blessed in a way, in a different kind of way, because I got to see their operation, and it's something I'd like to model my operation by. Because, it can be done, you can have a family, you can go out on the road, you can have this career. It's tough, it's tough on her and everybody, but they make it work.

And you don't have to burn out doing it.

Right.

How different is it for you to meet people like Martina, and the other people that you've been a fan of, now that you're in the business?

Well, that is interesting. I always still feel a little nervous for some reason. Because, I'm still a fan. It's amazing how much it's turned around, I always believed that they would become my peers. I still hold them up higher than me because they came before me, they're people who paved the way and all that stuff. But, I do feel there is some camaraderie there and when they tell me how much they appreciate my music, and how much they love what I do it's such a great feeling! That and the fans are what make your dream come true. You want your mentors and your heroes to believe in you, and you want genuine fans that love you because of what you do. The same thing I guess, but, that's what it's all about. I love what I do, and part of the reason why I got into this whole music business was number one, because I love music, I was raised with music around me all the time. And, number two, because I wanted other people to love music as much as I did. I wanted to be somebody that shared the beauty of music and what it can do for you.

That comes through too... There was a story, I don't remember where I read it, it was something about you running up to Chely Wright in a parking lot as she was playing “Single White Female”...

Right... (laughs)

So, it actually happened?

That's a true story! When Chely first started telling the story actually, they thought it was like a fabricated story, and it didn't really happen the day and all that stuff. When I went on my radio tour they'd be like “so you're the girl that... is this a true story about you and Chely?” I was like yeah it is, and they were all like “oh my gosh, that's true?” It was one of those fateful things where that day is the day I ran into her, first day I ever met her. I head the song blasting through speakers in a vehicle in the parking lot of Granite Falls in Nashville.

It must be fate...

It is! Yeah, it was... I just felt like I had to seize that opportunity, you know?

Definitely! One of the other things I read in your journals was that you were a big Marty Stuart fan, which I thought was really cool because he has been one of my favorite guitar guys for a long time. He is actually, I believe, the first country artist that I met, and it was on the same night that I met Martina for the first time...

Really?!

So I thought that was kind of cool, I can only imagine how you felt having Marty come in and play on your record because I can't think of anybody that really is the epitome of what country music is more than Marty Stuart.

Absolutely, that's exactly how I feel. Marty and my music are different than each others, but I could get into that vein if I was writing with him, because I love what he does. It's just that when I do it by myself, I don't think that my straight vein of what I do is what he does. But, that's ok because we can't all be the same. He is to me, one of those artists, he plays, he writes, he sings, he does all that stuff. He was one of those people who really inspired me when I was hoping to come to Nashville one day. That's what I wanted to be like. I wanted to be able to do everything. I can't do everything, and he's a much far beyond guitar player than I am, and I'll probably never be like that. But, I'm always trying to get better. When Marty was in the studio with me that was like one of those dreams in my journal entry I think I do talk about how I wrote him a letter when I was a part of his fan club years ago. I even sent a really dorky like high school picture or something like that at the time. (laughs) And I hope he does not have it, which I'm sure he doesn't because I don't think the fan clubs keep all those things. But, it's just funny, because I said maybe one day we'll write a song together, and if that doesn't happen maybe I'll record one of your songs, and if that doesn't happen maybe you'll play on my record! And, when I asked Paul (Worley) if he thought we could make this happen, and I told him the story, he was like “we've got to make your dreams come true!” And, I remember, I was out with Martina on the weekend and I came home, and I called Paul's assistant, who organizes our studio life, Paige, and I said “Paige, what's going on this week, what do we have planned?” And she's like “well.. on Tuesday we have Jonathon coming in to play fiddle, and Wednesday we have Marty Stuart coming in to play mandolin...” I was like, (screaming) “he's coming in here??” and I freaked out! I was just like NO WAY! It was one of those days that I will never forget, it will be stamped in my memory forever. Because all I cared about was him coming in there and being a part of my record. He didn't even have to talk to me! He went way above and beyond that, he talked to me. He talked about writing with me when I slowed down. He said maybe he'd use me on some of his film scores. He brought me in a copy of his book “Pilgrims, Sinners and Saints” and he signed it.

I read that... and that was a great inscription too!

Was that not awesome?! It's on my coffee table. That book will probably stay on my coffee table for the rest of my life!

You can't really get a better blessing than that!

I know, right before Christmas last year he invited me, he wanted to hear my album when it was done. We played phone tag for a long time. He had said “I want to sit down and listen to your album, we'll have lunch sometime.” We'd try and get together and it would never happen, I phoned his office and I said “I really don't mind, I don't want to put him out, I'll just mail him the album” and she said “no, he's pretty adamant about listening to it with you.” I was like, are you sure? And she said yeah, so I said ok, and I gave her some dates and she ended up calling me back and we set up a date. I went in there and I spent about three and a half hours with him. He talked to me about the business, we listened to the entire record. About halfway through the record I was like "you don't have to listen to all of this right now with me" and he said “do you have the time?” and I said yeah, he said “I've got the time, I made the time.” And I was like (screaming) I am SO lucky! (laughs)

That is too cool!

Yeah, so we had a great time. He gave me lots of advice, and just said when I'm feeling low if I ever need to call him and get picked up, because he believes in me. He said “you're important to this industry, so you'd better stay in it!”

I would hope so... You are up for an ACM Award for the Best New Female Artist, and according to what I read on your website the thing you are most concerned about is what you're wearing?

(Laughs) It's easy to say that, but the thing I'm the most worried about is probably the whole performance. That is just a big deal for me. We do get a performance slot, and I'm so excited to be able to do that! And I just want... It's my shot, you know? It doesn't matter if I win on this particular show, I just have to do a great job.

From everything I've heard, you should do great! It's a great show for all of the fans who may not be familiar with your stuff yet.

That's right. All of those shows, I was a diligent watcher of those shows. I've cried many a time for artists that I wanted to win. When Martina won that one year, I was in the audience and I pretty much cried like a baby I was so happy for her.

When Martina finally won!

I know! It was like, if she doesn't win I'm going to have to shoot people in the CMA! (laughs) It was so wonderful that she did, and I just remember the angst that we all had. Martina was pretty cool about it, but of course she would want to win. I'm speaking for her, and I probably shouldn't, but you do want to, I think at that point to win. She is such a great singer. But, she was totally prepared to not win, you know? So, it was a beautiful thing to see that she was genuinely surprised, and happy. It was a very moving thing. I think everybody was thankful that they voted for her.

It really was one of those things. We'd gone through it so many times before, where weeks before these shows Martina's bulletin board would be filled with messages like “she'd better win this year.” Like you said, she was prepared to win, her fans were prepared to say “what a ripoff,” we had a chat session going on that night and it was just like FINALLY!

Right! (laughs)

What is your view on things like Napster? There are a lot of your unreleased songs circulating out there, and I know most artists are either totally in support of Napster or totally against, how do you view the situation?

Well, I don't have such a polar stand on it. I'm not totally for it, absolutely not. But, I'm not totally against it either. The hard thing for me, as a songwriter, who does demo my stuff and do a lot of things, there is a lot of stuff that should never be on there. I don't know how it's getting on there. It's one thing if my album comes out and is goes on there. I still want people to buy the album. I'm sad that some of those things have been snuck on there somehow, even though it gives you a little more insight to me probably as a writer and an artist. There are only going to be a few people who really care about that. I don't know, there was one fan, and I heard from someone else not too long ago, so I only know of two incidents, where someone made a cd off the songs from Napster and sold it for like, this one guy told me in his situation was $38.00 for 16 songs, and that made me so mad, I don't think that's right!

No, it's not. There's a big difference to me between sharing for free and making a profit on it.

Absolutely, and the sad thing for me as an artist is that it costs SO much money to break me as an artist. My record company spends a ton of money sending me out to radio. And we spend money on the album, all the pictures, the videos, everything. I have to pay all of that back before I ever see a cent. So, unless I sell records I won't be able to make another record. So, it's like, how do we keep this vicious cycle from negating the amount of artistry that's available.

Right, you want people to be able to hear enough to be interested enough to go buy the album, you don't want them to be able to download the whole thing without paying for it.

Right, I could give some bonus side tracks on Napster if I knew the people were going to buy the other stuff, but you don't know that. It's a tough thing, how do you control that? You just can't. They're doing something about it, but it's the Internet and it's next to impossible to stop whatever is on there.

The one thing I noticed about your songwriting, and on the cd, is that the songs that are about hard times, there is always hope involved. Like, "One Day Closer To You" I thought was a perfect example, you take a song, a topic that somebody might look at in a negative way, and put a really positive spin on it. Is this something that you intentionally try to do, or does it just happen that way?

It just kind of happens that way. When we went through the shifting of label heads and stuff. And, there was concern on whether I'd stay on the label and such. Joe Galante kept me on the label, and when we had our very first meeting, he started talking about the music and he said the same thing to me. He said despite your sad songs, your bittersweet songs, your breakup songs or whatever, there is always some tinge of hope at the end of them. He said I don't think there's anybody else as an artist out there like that that has that vibe throughout an entire album or whatever. It's just in your writing. I was like, that is SO cool that you'd think that! I've never thought that. And, it's not that I sit down and try to do that, I think it's just the way I live my life. So, that's what happens when I write a song. It's the only way that I can explain it. I really think that the majority of the lyrics that are written are really from my heart. Whether they are exactly happening then, or they've happened to somebody else, or I've heard about them, or any of those kinds of things, I try to stick as much to the truth as possible. Because I think that's what moves me the most, and I'm finding as I play around Nashville, before I ever got my record deal, it seems that those songs also were the songs that people came up to me and said something about. So I felt that they were important, and I needed to stay true to them. I don't always do that, I contrive songs absolutely, that's just part of it. You do some that are 100% real, you do some that are 50% real, and then you make up a whole story on some other songs that has nothing to do with you. That's the only way, I think writing is like dancing, or playing the piano, the more you do it, the more you keep up with it, the better you get. Also, writing is one of those things where if you stay practiced you'll be ready when those great ideas come along.

One of the other questions I was asked to ask you about was how you write your songs. Do you have a set theory where the music or lyrics always come first, or visa versa?

The favorite ways that I like to write, there are two ways that I like. If I have an idea, I'll have an idea and I'll start with music. I might sit, “Complicated” for example, that started with the title. And, I just sat there and thought about it, I thought about what does this sound like to me? For some reason, this is the way I think, it sounds really corny, but.. and a melody might come to my head that sings on the word, and then I'll start playing guitar, and I'll start dealing things around and I'll come up with almost an entire musical structure as far as verse-chorus stuff goes anyways. It might not be right off the bat, but I'll be generally getting some sort of idea what the subject matter is about while the music is going on. I may not have exact lyrics. I'll usually start, I do mostly co-writing, but I think generally I'll start out with some music that dictates where it goes, and if I feel like, and my co-writer feels like it's going in the right direction, then we move on from there. And, the other way is literally for me to sit around and play some melodies. Sometimes, I'll just pull out my title or idea book, where I jot down little things all the time, and see if there is anything that feels right, that goes on that music. Sometimes, I'll just start with music and an idea will come to my head, like “I Don't Want You To Go,” that particular song I was playing with my friend Tommy, who was playing piano and I was playing electric guitar, we had a drum loop on we were jamming. I was just singing this melody, and we were doing this chord structure and this verse and chorus, and for some reason I just started singing “I don't want you to go, I don't want you to go,” that's all I had. That probably started after about twenty minutes of us, twenty minutes or thirty minutes of us playing around on this music. We were like “let's just see where this takes us.” I don't want you to go, this was a rocking song, this is something, maybe this is about... I was kind of going through it atthetime, I was dating some guy where it was that feeling where it is so hard to say goodnight. It was very easy to write. Both Tommy and I had been through that many times, and it was all the music that started that song.

Awesome! The new single is "Complicated" right?

That's right.

The release date is Monday, April 9th.. The guitar work is just excellent on this track!

Thank you!

You wrote the song with the same co-writer as you wrote "Single White Female" with...

That's right, Shay Smith!

Is it going to be another #1?

I hope so.

Is this the song who's video you're working on next week?

Yes.

Are there any ideas for the video that we can hear before it's released?

Yeah, sure, I don't know if this is what we're going to do or not, but my idea for it is to have these dual Carolyn's, so throughout the video I would be doing things like picking up the phone, dialing six numbers and hanging it up. Picking it up, dialing six numbers, never getting to the seventh... I've done this, this is how I know! (laughs) And then, I've got confidence, I dial all seven numbers and somebody comes and hangs up the phone, and the camera turns to this person and it's another Carolyn. So, it's my other personality saying “nope, you're not going to do that!” I'm hoping the director is going to do some of this stuff, because it's what I want to do, and I think she is. She seems to be pretty keen on what I want, but with her own touch on it. Another thing would be like me writing a letter, you know, all heartfelt writing this letter, I lick the envelope shut and somebody grabs it from me and rips it up and the pieces fall, and it's another Carolyn who does this. There will also be some performance spots in between. The third thing would be me going “I'd just better go tell him by myself” just go try and do it face to face, so I go try to leave my apartment or where ever I am and I'm trying to open the door but the other Carolyn is on the other side pushing it so I can't get out. But, I push past her! So I get past her, and I'm going to go and find him... and I can't tell you what happens after that, but it's cool! (laughs)

Everyone will have to tune in for that one!

Yeah, so I think it's going to be cool! It's not going to be a big storyline, those will just be glimpses of things that will happen. But, I wanted some elements of the story in there. At first the director was like “I don't think you need any storyline at all in this video because it's so vivid in the lyric” and I'm like “no, I've dreamt about this video for years, it has to have a few of those elements because those are all true thing that I have did, that is why the song was written.” I think anybody who has ever had a great friend that they felt like they wanted to tell them how they felt about them has gone through some of these situations.

Right, definitely. The one thing about your songwriting that I think I like the most is that it is very real. You know, Martina has always said that she likes story songs, and that's always been my favorite kind of song. Bruce Springsteen is probably my all time favorite artist, and to me he's the king of being able to take something simple and turn it into a great song.

Right.

I think you pretty much do that just as well...

Not as good as Bruce Springsteen, but thank you. (laughs)

I recently picked up a copy of his book, he released a book with all of his song lyrics, talking about each of his albums...

Oh, how cool!

I haven't had a chance to look at a lot of it, but he included a bunch of the actual sheets that he wrote the songs on, which of course include a lot of lyrics and such that never made it to the album. It is really interesting to take a look, and see how the song was built. The one thing that really stuck out, was when he was talking about his first album “Greetings From Asbury Park” he said that he wrote differently on that album than any other because when he was writing that album he didn't know if he had an audience, he said they were all very unselfconscious because he was writing more for himself. Do you think your writing has changed at all since getting your record deal, knowing the songs will have an audience?

I don't think it has, because some of those songs were written before I got the record deal. I never really, when I write, I never really aim for anybody specifically anyway. I just kind of write whatever I feel like I need, or want to write that particular day. I think that some of my subject matter will change probably, because things will change in my life. But, I can always still get back into some of those feelings if I want to. But, I think your writing just constantly progressively changes because, at least I've found with mine, I'll get caught in ruts of writing the same, or similar grooves and I'll get caught in different ideas and lyrics and melodies and then I'll be inspired by something else, or I'll listen to a bunch of different music and I'll start taking a turn, and I'll go somewhere else. Then I'll get in that vein for a while. Then, I'll get bored with that and I'll move onto something else. I think it's just like the music industry period, things are always changing. I mean, some people right now are complaining that country is too pop, and I understand some of that, but I also know that it's going to come back around. I wrote with Harlan Howard last summer, and he said “little girlie, I've seen this happen over and over.” He's been writing for five decades, and he sees it go from people thinking it's too pop at the time, then it goes back to real country, and then it goes back. Things are always changing. What's too pop at the time? I mean, back when Kenny Rogers was...

Yeah, “Islands In The Stream” was pop!

I know!

Now you look back and go “that ain't pop now!”

That's like hokey, even though it's a great song! (laughs)

That's exactly it, and you can't blame artists for wanting a bigger audience. I've never understood why someone would be mad at Shania for selling the number of albums that she did, or Faith Hill...

I know!

I mean, didn't you get into the business to get the most people that you possible could to hear your music?

Right.

Again, I like to base everything off of Bruce Springsteen, and he had some major success, then he went and knew that he could make a “Nebraska” or a “Ghost of Tom Joad” because he had found an audience for them.

Right. See, that is so true what you're talking about. Because, hopefully, I'll have an audience someday and I'll be able to stick like three songs on my record that I might have been totally frightened to put on ever before, you know? Because, maybe they just were not normal in any sort of way. I mean, I would like to think that I didn't edit myself on this record anyway, because there were definitely certain songs where it was like “no matter what, those have to be on there, I don't care what anybody else thinks.” So, I guess there is always a little bit of an element of that. But, you hope you can grasp everybody at the beginning. At the same point, Martina built her career slowly, and I wouldn't mind that either.

I have talked about that with other people as well, I think it's better to build slowly and stay at a comfortable level and not be a one hit wonder where you hit it big and then you're gone.

Right, absolutely.

If you keep up writing songs like you have, I can't see anything but good things coming for you.

Thank you.

I don't want to sound like a huge gushing fan (and, listening to the tape of this, yes I did sound like one!) but even with all the cd's I have your cd has not left the cd player since I got it.

(yells) OHH! YEAH!! (laughs) Thank you!

It's totally fresh, it hasn't been done before, every song does NOT sound the same, which I love.

I love hearing that.

Every song has it's own vibe, and it really works as a complete package. It seems to tell a story from beginning to end.

You know, I sequenced it in that particular fashion actually. Besides the last two tracks, because you probably have the Canadian album right?

Yes.

The last two tracks are put on there basically, and they aren't in any specific order, but I did the whole rest of the album as if it was like a journey, a love journey. Basically, it starts in a place where the woman is leaving “Georgia,” you know when she leaves she finds out he is getting married to someone else with “Just Another Girl.” So, she's dealing with that, and then she goes to “I'll Think Of You That Way” because she's trying to think positive about everything that's happened, and not look at the bad so she can move on. So, when she gets to “Love Is Always Worth The Ache” she's like you know what, it takes a little bit of hardship to get to the good stuff, I'm gonna get hurt, it's just a fact of life. So, she goes out to not play is safe anymore, and somehow along this way she falls in love with one of her friends, which is very “Complicated.” In the positive light, when I wrote the song “Complicated” the person I wrote it about did not turn out to be what I wanted it to be, they didn't feel the same way, but on my record they do and then it's "I Don't Want You To Go" because they have this new love. So then they fall in love, and it's “You Are” and it's this beautiful love song about how much she loves this person. And then “Masterpiece” is following that because it's another love story. It's just a tribute to love, and also to my aunt and uncle obviously, and their son Daniel. And then, “A Little Bit Of This, A Little Bit Of That” after the death of my relative is just a song about, you know, life doesn't always do what you want it to do, but it takes a little bit of this, and a little bit of that to make life work. Then I put “One Day Closer” after that, because it is such a positive song, and a hopeful song. I put that after because I wanted it to go before “Room With A View” and I didn't want to have anything that was even remotely negative in any sort of a way to come before “Room With A View,” because that is a sad song, even though it's a hopeful and peaceful song. That's a dedication to my brother, who I lost, and I never talk about that, but at some point everyone will know it's about my brother. I look at it as one day closer to finding that person that I spend the rest of my life with, and it's also one day closer to hopefully seeing him again. That's a different perspective for me that nobody else will ever see, because that's just something for me. And then “Tumble And Roll” which didn't make the American record, and neither did “Not Enough To Stay.” The reason “Not Enough To Stay” didn't was Georgia was on there, and they are both kind of the same subject matter. And “Tumble And Roll” was just a real fun, crank up the music song.

Thanks Carolyn, for talking the time to talk with us!

Thank you!