Courtlyn Carr A little chat with singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist Courtlyn Carr. She dropped by to tell us about her latest release, the country-pop flavoured Turn Blue. Leicester Bangs: Tell us a little about yourself. Courtlyn: I grew up in Southern Maryland in a town called Owings, south of Washington D.C. I started playing piano and singing when I was very young. My parents loved music and supported my interest. After recording my first record at 19, I bypassed a contract with Triple Platinum, Felds Entertainment to attend Berklee College of Music. As a World Scholarship Tour recipient there, I studied piano, vocals, and songwriting. I am a currently playing and writing with a Nashville sound. I love country music and naturally gear a lot of my original material in that direction. LB: How did you start out making music? Courtlyn: My dad was a DJ and loved to sing. He used to set up his giant speakers in our basement and sing into the night. I started singing with him when I was in pre-school. He was my first vocal instructor. When I was 5, I started taking classical piano lessons. By the time I was in fifth grade, I won first place at the county fair for singing "Beauty and the Beast" and accompanying myself on piano! Couldn't stop there, right? LB: Who did you grow up listening to and how do they influence what you’re doing now? Courtlyn: I grew up listening to Bonnie Raitt, Patsy Cline and Willie Nelson. I can remember constantly singing "I Can't Make Love Me," to the point of annoyance, when I was six years old!  My dad also had me into Nat King Cole, Stevie Wonder and Sade. And, of course, I listened to greats like Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie and Led Zeppelin. So, I was into a pretty big mix of things. I really pull a lot from the Country-Soul-Rock arenas.   LB: Tell us about your latest release. Courtlyn: Turn Blue is my latest release. It came back from duplication in mid-October, so it’s still warm!  The recording is a four song EP of my original music produced by myself, and the drummer on the recording, Dominic Fragman, who is also managing the project. For Turn Blue, we worked with Grammy award-winning engineer, Jim Robeson, who was behind the board for Mary Chapin Carpenter's Grammy nominated album Time*Sex*Love*.  We also worked with Emmylou Harris' and Tony Rice's current mandolin and fiddle player Rickie Simpkins. Jim and Rickie were both very excited to be a part of the project!   The tunes on Turn Blue are often likened to the music of current country artists like Martina McBride and Carrie Underwood, but also often call up names like Bonnie Raitt and Van Morrison. The title track is a strong and passionate ballad that Robeson called "an amazing, great tune!" Jim was very impressed with my vocals and songwriting! Rickie was very excited about "What Turns You On."  It is kind of a sexy tune that he called "Swampy." After laying down his tracks for the song, he said, "Man, I love this! It's just . . . man, it's just so damn good!" "How Great a Gift" and "Tennessee Nights" are also tunes that easily fit on the contemporary country scene. I am very excited about the EP and look forward to getting it out there! LB: Do you get out and play your music live, and if so, what can an audience expect at one of your shows? Courtlyn: Right now, Dominic and I are coming away from the recording process and have really been focused on getting in contact with people and setting up everything on the web. However, we do get to perform sometimes. We will be on the Tim Qualls show on February 3rd and hope to audition at Nashville's Bluebird Cafe in March.    We have had some other performance opportunities where wide ranges of people attend. However, right now most of our time is going in to planning, preparing and more writing - soon though! LB: What aspects of playing and recording music do you most enjoy? Courtlyn: I really enjoy taking my songs to the next level and collaborating with other musicians and seeing that other people enjoy my music. It feels amazing to play with and for people. It really does give you a natural high.   LB: Where can people find (and buy) your music? Courtlyn: The music can be found and purchased in several locations: My official website: www.courtlyncarr.com Here you can listen to the tracks from the EP, sign up for the fan club, check out photos and stay connected for news and new events. Myspace: www.myspace.com/courtlyncarr listen to the tracks and be my friend! Digstation: www.digstation.com You can buy the music here as mp3s or order a hard copy of the album. CDBaby: www.cdbaby.com/cd/CourtlynCarr Another point of purchase Radio: WMZQ  www.wmzq.com/new2/artists/i/262923.html Play the music and request it to be played on the radio!!