What do you get when you take a dash of blues, rock-edged pop, and pop-influenced contemporary folk? You get an effervescent concoction of “Stuff You Like!” Carey Colvin plays her own special mix of award-winning tunes with an intensity and intimacy that draws in audiences everywhere. A favorite on the Washington, DC music scene, she has received both nominations and awards for her singing and her music over the past four years. Described as a songwriter with an intelligent approach to her lyrics, Colvin has been a featured performer in many songwriter showcases including The Philadelphia Music Conference and the Takoma Park Folk Festival. (note: the preceding text was reproduced from Colvin’s website - http://careycolvin.com/carey/)

MZ - You’ve opened for David Crosby, Styx, Pat Benatar and numerous others. Tell me about those exciting experiences.

CC - I met Croz in person in 1998 when he played the Birchmere for the first time with CPR (Crosby, Jeff Pevar, James Raymond, Andrew Ford, and Steve DiStanislao). We’d corresponded for about a year before that. Croz is a very genuine human being, and I think he really has his priorities in the right places. Their flair for music is exquisite – you should hear some of the things they come up with; it just makes my little musician’s heart well up with joy. The Pat Benatar/Styx show was a blast, too. I didn’t get formally introduced to any of them, but I ran into members of Styx backstage doing what all major rock stars do on the road – their laundry! (Yes, it’s true, folks – the most coveted items backstage aren’t the exotic food and drink, they’re the washer, dryer, and showers!) We did get to hear Pat Benatar’s sound check and as always, she blew me away. What a set of pipes.

MZ - You’re getting tons of national and international radio airplay. What is your advice on how to obtain radio play for our readers?

CC - The key words are research and perseverance. The first thing to do is to find all the stations you can that play your particular format of music. Now, there’s the key – “that play your format of music”. I’ve seen some musicians arbitrarily send out their CDs to all stations, but if you play alternative country the rock station generally isn’t going to play your songs. It’s also extremely difficult (if not impossible) for an independent artist to get airplay on any of the major stations because the powers that be have very strictly formatted play lists. In other words, if you don’t have a name label behind you and you’re not as famous as Britney Spears or Creed, it’s probably not going to happen. Some of the major stations do have shows dedicated to the local music scene, and you should definitely look for those. I’ve found that the best bet for airplay is through college radio, local radio, the Internet, and public radio. You can find a ton of stations on the Internet, but again, pay attention to the format of each. It’s also very important to support these radio stations. So many have disappeared or are on the verge of disappearing due to lack of support and recent changes in law.

MZ - In May of 2000, you released your debut CD “The Distance Wall”. You have some great guest artists such as John Jennings (of Mary Chapin Carpenter) and one of my favorites, Tom Prasada-Rao. After listening to your CD, I feel every song has hit potential. Have you been pitching your songs to publishing houses on Music Row, Austin, L.A., or NY? Or are you going more in the vein of a recording/performing artist?

CC - Thank you! That’s a very cool compliment. That was such a fun project, and I’m very pleased with how well everything came together on the CD. It’s very gratifying when songs develop exactly how you wanted them to. There’s also a deep feeling of satisfaction when songs take on a life of their own during the recording process and you end up with something unique. I feel very fortunate to have had so many talented friends who wanted to be a part of that recording. Regarding pitching songs, I really haven’t pitched anything at this point. So, I’d guess for now you could put me under the hat of recording/performing artist. MZ - You have many of the same musical influences as me. How big of a role do they have in your rock, pop, folk and country styles?

CC - I’ve been influenced by so many different kinds of music that snippets of that diversity can’t help but pop up in my own. I’d have to say that my biggest influence of all was Joni Mitchell. She cuts to the chase emotionally and the way she always finds new musical paths to express herself continues to inspire me. At home, I was brought up on big band, bluegrass, and country music. When I was growing up, my Dad would bring out his guitar and we (my parents and my two sisters and I) would spend hours singing old tunes. My mother is an incredible piano player. I remember one of the first songs I learned on piano was the bass part to Cow Cow Boogie by The Andrews Sisters – I must have been about five or so. I drove my parents nuts by constantly banging around on the piano and Dad’s guitar.

MZ - Do you start with lyrics and melody first and then structure, chord changes and groove? Or is the creative process different each time?

CC - I’ve found that I actually don’t write like most people. Some friends and I put together a songwriting group, and it was there that I discovered this. A couple of them were saying, “Well, I wrote this verse, and then rewrote that one, and then went back a week later and revised this one, and after a month or so I wrote another one to go with the first one.” My initial reaction was, “Oh, no, I’m not a REAL writer!” So, I learned that the way I write is apparently rather unorthodox. For instance, I don’t pick themes to write about, they just form as I’m writing. When I write a song, it all comes out at once – I hear all the music in my head as I’m writing the lyrics, which generally come to me in anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour or so. I can hear the backing vocals, the guitar progression; I can hear the backup vocalists and Tower of Power doing horn parts…it’s all there. My toughest task as a songwriter is to translate everything I’m hearing in my head to the real world to come up with the final product. Sometimes I’ll get stuck in the translation, and I’ll call in Granger Helvey (my husband and bass player) to help me finish the process. He’s got an amazing ear, and he has a lot of great musical ideas. It may be something as simple as reversing the chord structure in one passage to give a song a new spin, or it may be changing the entire rhythm pattern of the song – you never know what delicious little touch he’s going to come up with. His arrangements add so much to the finished product. We’re also both total harmony piggies, but he’s the harmony master in the family. He has the true knack for it - he’ll look off into space and come up with the coolest harmonies for the vocals.

MZ - What exciting projects and tours are coming up in 2003 that you’d like to share?

CC - I’ve got another CD in the works, and I’m really looking forward to that. I’ll be doing some covers this time around, by people like Jennifer Stills and CPR. I’ve been asked by many people to record my version of “Angel From Montgomery” by John Prine, so that’s also on the agenda. The rest of the CD will probably be my own songs, although I’m also entertaining the idea of one more cover. I’m in the process of setting up a summer tour to promote the new CD.

MZ - A question most readers are probably wondering…any relation to Shawn Colvin?

CC - You wouldn’t believe how many times I get asked that question! I’ve never met her, but I’ve corresponded with her father regarding the Colvin family tree, and we believe there may be a connection somewhere. He calls me his Honorary Daughter. Shawn and I have mutual friends who think we resemble each other physically in many ways; however, I can honestly say that I never saw her at the family reunions! Interesting factoid: Our mothers have the same name.

MZ - I think you’ve had many wonderful successes in your career and you’ve inspired me to continue to write and produce on a daily basis. Thank you for sharing your insights and ideas with us. We look very forward to hearing more about your advancing career.

CC - Thank you for allowing me to share some of my life with you. I think we all continue in so many ways to inspire each other - there are so many talented people out there, and sharing with each other can only encourage growth in our own writing and in our lives. And that is a very cool place to be.