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Singer walks her own country mile |
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Written by Glenn BurnSilver
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Thursday, 22 March 2007 |
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 It’s rare when a popular country artist finds success outside the grips of the Nashville hype machine.
Yet, Kathy Mattea is just such an artist. Her music has just enough twang to satiate country music fans, but retains the down-home edge of her West Virginia roots that focuses more on the art of telling a good story.
Drifting to Nashville in the early 1980s, she quickly became immersed in the songwriting community. Her first job was singing demos for other artists. This, she explained, helped her identify what she wanted out of her own songs.
“I found my niche singing demos when I first got here,” she explained over the phone from her Nashville home. “Songwriters became my community. I go to help steward their songs, and we shared the struggles of being songwriters. It helped me find my way as an artist.”
Once she figured that out, it was only a matter of time before success found her — in the form of two Grammy awards and a Country Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year award. But in reaching those career moments, she was luckier than most. Unlike many artists, she wasn’t pushed to be something other than herself. Instead, she had the freedom to focus on her songwriting and make the kind of records that “felt right inside.”
“I had a record label that encouraged me to be me and never rejected a record I turned in,” she recalled. “They always allowed me to be an artist and really supported me.”
Still, as her popularity grew, she found her time absorbed by touring, autograph sessions and promotional appearances. This kept her from writing songs that connected on a visceral level.
“I didn’t write for a long time because I couldn’t figure out how to fit that in with all the autograph sessions and stuff you have to do,” she said. “That is one of my big regrets, so I have been making it up to myself by writing again. Plus, now it is project driven, and I get to decide what inspires me.”
That includes delving into her Celtic and folk roots with 2002’s “Roses,” while her most recent album, “Right Out Of Nowhere,” has a more rocking, though acoustic, edge and even covers the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter.”
“It put us onto a new sound,” she said of the song she kept rejecting, even though her guitar player continually suggested she try it. “It became the basis for our new album. It was totally acoustic, but it rocked. My voice totally fit in a completely different way. It was kind of a revelation.”
Mattea now finds herself enjoying the best of all worlds, complete with a loyal following and successful records made exactly to her liking.
“When I started out I remember saying to my manger that I still want to be enjoying myself after I have been doing this for a couple of decades — that I’d still be making music that means something to me and not just be going through the motions,” she said. “And that’s still true for me today. I feel really lucky to keep doing it.”
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TO GO TO THE SHOW
to go
Doors 6 p.m., show 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 24
Lincoln Center
417 W. Magnolia St.
$30, 221.6730 or www.lctix.com
———
SINGING GREEN
Mattea is doing more than touring these days. She’s working for former Vice President Al Gore — sort of. Mattea was trained to present a slide show to accompany showings of “An Inconvenient Truth.” She will do at least 10 per year.
“I trained with Mr. Gore for three days to do this. The global warming slide presentation is part of me trying to follow my heart and be part of the solution.”
Glenn BurnSilver
COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER
Mattea comes from a family of coal workers and she witnessed the toll such labor can take — her uncle had Black Lung disease. To raise awareness of the plight of miners, she is releasing an album of coal mining songs.
“Both my parents grew up in coal camps, so there are lots of lore and stories surrounding this,” she said. “Over the years I noticed these songs associated with this life and made a shortlist of the ones I liked. When Sego (Mine disaster that killer 12 workers) happened last year, it really took me back. I started doing this coal mining record because it felt like the right thing to do. I think more will come out of this.”
Glenn BurnSilver
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