Die kalifornische Nachwuchskünstlerin hat noch keinen Plattendeal und veröffentlichte dennoch in Eigenregie ein Album, was nicht nur Ansprüchen einer Majorcompany standhält, sondern bei dem auch noch QUEEN-Legende Brian May sein Talent zum Besten gab. Auf den ersten Blick besteht zwischen dieser musikalischen Unabhängigkeit, ohne ein Label zu agieren, und der Prominenzgastspiele ein Widerspruch; weshalb dieser allerdings nur scheinbarer Natur ist und warum Lynn Carey unbedingt nach Deutschland möchte, verriet sie im Gespräch mit Dennis Rowehl:
D.R.: I think it's really courageous to release a debut album with amajor production without a record company but featuring Brian May. Can you tell me something about the connection between you and Brian and what did you have to do to persuade him to play on your album?
Lynn Carey Saylor: I have never really thought of myself as courageous for releasing the album that I did but thank you for saying that. I just tried to make the best record I could and hoped it would be well received. As for Brian, he is someone I have known personally for a number of years and he actually volunteered to play guitar and sing background vocals on both of the songs from my album that he is performing on. "If We Believe" was first released as a 2002 limited edition single and Brian just happened to be in town (Los Angeles) when I was in the process of recording it. I played him the rough mix of the track for his opinion and he responded very positively to the song and offered to come down to the studio to put some parts on it. I was enormously grateful he did, of course, and decided to donate some of the proceeds of the single release to Queen's AIDS charity, The Mercury Phoenix Trust, to show him my appreciation for that. The song is also on my current full length album "You Like It Clean", as you know, but it's a different mix and lead vocal altogether than is featured on the 2002 single. All of Brian's parts are from that original recording date, however. The other song Brian plays guitar and sings on is "We Belong", the only song on my album that I didn't write. I have known the songwriters of the song for a long time, as well, and one of them (Eric Lowen) has sadly been stricken with the devastating and incurable disease, ALS. I have always loved the song and when I heard about Eric's illness, I just felt compelled to put the song on my album. I had mentioned to Brian in an email that I was going to cover it for my record and assumed he had heard the original version that was a hit in 1984. To my surprise, he wasn't familiar with it, so I sent it to him. He thought it was a lovely song and was moved by Eric's situation and so he offered to participate on that track as well. The timing happened to be good since Queen was on tour with Paul Rodgers at the time and Brian was able to come to the studio on an off day between two California tour dates. He also brought his tour keyboardist and bass player, Spike Edney and Danny Miranda, down to the studio to play on the song. It was extremely generous of all of them to spend their day off in the middle of a major tour working on the song.
D.R.: Wasn't he able to help you finding the right record company for you?
L.C.S.: You know, I never asked him to! Somehow it didn't seem appropriate to me to have him play and sing on the record and then ask him to also pitch it to labels for me. He has a manager that deals with a good amount of business type things on his behalf and Brian much prefers to involve himself in creative things over business affairs. I also would not want him to think I was ever abusing his friendship by trying to get him to use his clout to further my career. I'm grateful he appears on my album in such a significant way and I feel the rest is up to me.
D.R.: In my opinion your album is definitely great, sound and songs, and musically you could easily play in the same league than Shania Twain or Faith Hill.
L.C.S.: It's interesting that both of the artists you mention are Country/Pop crossover artists, since my album only has one song on it that I'd put squarely in that genre. I have been compared to both artists before, however, so you certainly aren't the first. Perhaps it's the vocal tonality I have that is reminiscent of them. Whatever the reason, thank you, and I'm very flattered by the comparison, as both of those artists are beautiful, charismatic and talented. I identify with Shania a little more, I think, but only because she is a singer/songwriter like I am and Faith is a vocalist only.
D.R.: You covered a Pat Benatar Song. Is she one of your idols or don't you have any idols?
L.C.S.: Well, I did love Pat's voice when I was growing up, so she's certainly an early influence. But as I mentioned, it was because of Eric Lowen that I covered the Pat Benatar song and not anything to do with her being an idol of mine. I admire her greatly, though, and think it's fantastic that she still tours and makes albums with husband, Neil Giraldo. I also admire the fact that they are still married to each other after 3 decades together. That's no small feat in the music business!
D.R.: What are your plans for 2008?
L.C.S.: Towards the end of 2007, I became involved with RADD (RADD.org), which is a non-profit organization here in the U.S. which seeks to educate people about road safety issues, including drunk driving awareness. They have embraced my song "I Wasn't A Friend" and me personally as a spokesperson, so I expect to be doing a good number of public appearances and events for them in 2008. My involvement with them may also include a full scale tour, but that's still in the talking stage at the moment. Beyond that, I will continue to promote my album and the products of the guitar related companies who have signed me to endorsement deals, continue to write songs for myself and other artists and just see where the road leads me.
D.R.: You told me that Germany is a special challenge for you and you'd love to play here. Are there any certain reasons?
L.C.S.: I'm not sure if "challenge" is the right word, except in the sense that it's a challenge to tour in ANY foreign country because of the logistics and expense of doing it. I'd call it more of a passionate desire to tour there, as I am half German myself and when I visited the country several years ago on a vacation, I felt absolutely at home there, even though I can't speak the language. I just fell in love with everything about it - the people, the scenery, the food, the culture. It's in my blood and I could instantly feel the natural connection I had to the country and have been wanting to go back ever since. I also have a good number of fans in Germany who discovered me through my connection to Brian May and they are always writing to me asking when I'm going to tour over there. I'd love to do that and have the opportunity to meet some of them!
D.R.: What's your favourite song on your album and why?
L.C.S.: That's a tough question to answer since every song that made my album has a special place in my heart for one reason or another. I suppose if I have to pick one, though, I'd probably say "I Wasn't A Friend" because I'm proud of the message of the song and what it has meant to people who have been forever changed by the tragedy of losing someone close to them to a drunk driver. I can't even begin to tell you about all the emails I have received from people about the song and how much it means to them. I wrote it from an anecdotal first person stand point so that it wouldn't come off as "preachy" and I think that's what gives it its emotional power. Nobody who hears me sing the song would ever want to be in the sad situation the song talks about of having lost a friend because they didn't stop them from getting into their car when they were too drunk to drive. The guilt and anguish of knowing you could have simply taken their keys, driven them safely home and saved their life, but didn't, would be a lifelong burden to carry around and that is the very clear statement of the song. Far too many people get killed by drunk drivers and these are senseless tragedies that never need to happen. I feel that my song helps in some small way to make people think about this issue and if listening to it saves just ONE life, then my career as a songwriter will have meaning and purpose. I don't think every song needs to have a message to be great song, but it's gratifying to be able to write something that is both entertaining and thought provoking at the same time.
More info on www.myspace.com/lynncareysaylor