Deana Carter Appearing At The 2016 Foothills Festival
Deana Carter is among the talented lineup of artists appearing at the 2016 Foothills Festival in Jasper on September 9. Her 1996 single “Strawberry Wine” won the CMA Single of the Year.78 Magazine writer Terrell Manasco recently had a chat with Deana about her music career, the movie she’s currently filming, and what she’s bringing to this year’s festival.78: Tell us what you’ve been up to since your last album, Southern Way of Life?Deana: “Mainly touring, writing with other artists, touring to support that record. Being on the road again and playing shows. You know, I don’t have the major label promo that I used to have on Capital and the big labels, so doing it myself, it’s just been really fun to get back out there with fans and do shows and some of my colleagues that we used to perform together in the late nineties. Writing a new record, I’ve got a ton of new songs to get recorded, mentoring and producing other artists that are coming up, working with some new girls and a couple of guys that are doing things and getting some traction, so, busy bee!”78: Your 1996 debut album Did I Shave My Legs For This? was certified multi-platinum, and sold over five million copies. The single “Strawberry Wine” won an award for CMA Single of the Year. Why do you think that song resonates with people?Deana: “This is the twentieth anniversary of that record. That whole album, with that being the lead single at a time in music when things were just so different, it stood out. And so, there were a couple of factors in what made it resonate, connect with people. Number one, it was so honest. It’s just a story. I think at the time like a fan, production was kind of static for radio in Nashville at the time it was just like status quo, everything sounded the same and so when my record came out it sounded really different, especially being a new artist, and then having that song it was like triple hits when we were up at bat each time. It was like Wow, running the bases because it wasn’t something that was gimmicky or anything, it was just so honest. And the record sounded so earnest. So it was a combo of a whole bunch of things coming together once and hitting the airwaves for the sound and the content of the album. And then I had management at the time that took me on television, and that was huge. People don’t realize how impactful....that was back when Leno and Letterman, especially Letterman, they didn’t have country artists on their late night shows. They may have had Garth on, they may have had Shania but back in that day, they didn’t have at that time, so television really helped us spread the word, and with the radio we were doing and promoting, just working so hard on the east and west coast, and pounding the pavement. So that’s why it connected, because it was all those factors coming together at one time and the music was really different, and it supported all of that.”
78: Your father was well-known studio musician and producer Fred Carter, Jr. who worked with artists like Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan and Waylon Jennings. You’re a songwriter and you play a variety of instruments. Did you spend a lot of time at the studio watching your dad working with these guys, and has that influenced your writing songs and choice of instruments?Deana: “Oh yeah. It’s interesting because my mother has perfect pitch. My mother sings like a songbird. Her name is Anna, and she gets left out all the time but her voice is beautiful. She just sings so pretty and she never had a career or anything but it just makes me appreciate the people in the world who could be out there killing it, or have had a career, and she chose to be a mom and to support my dad and stay at home and take care of us while my dad worked. It was a very traditional kind of household I grew up in, even being musicians. She was always humming and singing, and my dad never put the guitar down. He always had it in his hands. Then when you take into consideration all of the iconic artists that loved him, and wanted him to be a part of their projects, like Simon and Garfunkel and Bob Dylan, Muddy Waters, Ray Charles, Burl Ives and Joan Baez....There was an exhibit of The A-Team, which Dad was a part of, at the Hall of Fame in Nashville. It was such an incredible thing because every genre of music wanted these guys to play on their records because they were so talented. The rock and pop and blues and soul world came to Nashville to work with these guys. It was huge and those records still stand the test of time. It was amazing, just being around the studio, growing up. I mean, I’d lay in guitar cases...still to this day I love the furry, fuzzy inside of a guitar case and the smell of it and all the compartments. It’s just so precious to me, every facet of this business. It was a huge influence.”
78: You have your own record label, Little Nugget Records. What did you learn from your dad about the business?Deana: “Well, it’s hard. [laughs] Everybody thinks that you don’t work at it but I can tell you that it’s not like you’re out killing it and raking in the dough. It’s hard work, and you have to be willing to roll up your sleeves and do every position, from making the phone calls to filing the papers to paying the bills, whatever it is, and you have to have people around you that can help promote those things. I’ve got a few people that work with me and I’m so grateful. It’s just by the grace of God that we’ve been able to put a record out in this day and age. Sales aren't as big, you know; it’s not on a mass scale like it used to be. My dad, bless his heart, he would have been so proud of me for doing it. My mom was like, ‘Don’t do it!’ [laughs] ‘Don’t stress yourself out!’ ‘Cause you load in all your savings and everything to keep things rolling. I think now she’d like to see me just do some shows and be a songwriter and let that be it, but it’s in my blood so I keep truckin’.”78: Kenny Chesney recorded a song you co-wrote with Matraca Berg, “You and Tequila." What do you think is the key to the perfect song?Deana: “Oh man. The key for me is, the melody and the message are inseparable. I’m a classic rock chick, so if you take like, Journey songs and Three Dog Night, and Queen...you know you wouldn’t have Bohemian Rhapsody, you couldn’t take the words out of that and it actually stand alone as a symphony or orchestrated piece, it wouldn’t be what it is without that journey and that story. The perfect song for me is a different, unique, unforgettable melody that is surprising, and the words have to dance with that in a way that’s just as surprising and creative and piercing. Whether it’s uptempo or a ballad, it has to knock your socks off. Simple songs like I Love by Tom T. Hall, or Roger Miller...[sings ba-da-da-da-da to the tune of Dang Me] Those kind of songs, what brilliance. Just brilliant. And being unique, and honest, and then you’re gonna stand out, and to me that’s a perfect song. I don’t want to be in the car and feel like I need to turn the radio to something else, you know? I don’t want to be bored when I hear music, I want to be moved by it.”
78: Your son Hayes is almost twelve now. Is he interested in music at this point?Deana: “Yeah, he’s in the fine arts program at school, and he was Jack from Jack in the Beanstalk for Into the Woods. They just wrapped up last night, as a matter of fact. It’s the first lead role he’s had and to see him stand out night after night....like, his timing is incredible. To see where he started and where he’s been, it’s so exciting. He’s got perfect pitch so he sings great. His music ability is impeccable but to see him get the stage timing down, that was exciting. His timing on stage, holding the line and waiting and delivering the line, and his expressions and pregnant pauses, like, working the audience a little and eye contact and stuff. Last night I just sat there, like dripping, weepy because...he’s really good at it. And we had a manager inquire after the show, one of those agent-managers was like, I’m gonna send you an email. They’re interested already for some things and so that’s real exciting. We talked about it already and I just said 'honey, first of all you have to keep God in your heart'. Getting involved in things, making you the star of something or featuring you up front, you just have to know that comes from, that’s a blessing that comes to you. That’s not something you create on your own and you just have to keep that in your heart above all things, and you’ll be okay. Of course, he’s thinking about Nickelodeon and Disney Channel, so I don’t know. We’ll see.”78: You’ll be playing at the Foothills Festival next month. What can the folks in Jasper expect in your show?Deana: “Well, actually I will be just coming off of shooting a movie on Friday and so I’ll be in Austin, Texas doing a film called Take Two For Faith, and I play the mom of this girl that, it’s kind of a prodigal daughter movie, and she comes home to us after being really famous, and I’m helping with the music for that film. That’s what I’ll be doing coming to Jasper so the band will meet me in Jasper. We have a rock show. Our show is electric guitars and...it’s fun, I mean, it’s not a traditional country show, it’s just a reconnection. We play a lot of the first album and people get a really big kick out of that. That’s fun. We cruise through a lot of that first record and then we pull in a lot of other songs people know and then a couple of new ones and talk about my dad and, not to confuse me with Johnny Cash and June Carter and all that. (laughs) Coming off that movie, to be honest, whenever I’m on set doing something I’m always so excited to have a show to look forward to. It’s kind of like, bookends of my life. I don’t ever want music to not be the central focus ‘cause I just wouldn’t be myself. I wouldn’t know what to do without that. So, we’ll have fun, it’ll be a lot of fun with some familiar songs and rockin’ the house.” 78Deana Carter will be appearing at the 2016 Foothills Festival in Jasper, Alabama on the Pepsi Stage, Friday Sept. 9.