by Dan Harr
Fresh off the bus in Nashville, Tennessee but definitely not wet behind the ears, Cleveland, Ohio native, sing/songwriter Eileen Carey has been around the music scene for years. Influenced by all the Motown greats and artists like Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders, The Beatles and writer Diane Warren, Eileen shows tribute, but unlike so many others, doesn’t mimic what she heard as a child but integrates it and adds her own spin.Now, living in California and raising a family, Eileen is working to find a place in the Nashville Country Music scene. Recently, Dan had the opportunity to talk with the aspiring artist.
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Dan: Do you prefer performing or writing better, and if you had to choose just one to be able to do for the rest of your life, which would it be?
Eileen: It would probably be performing. I love to perform. I’m pretty mellow and quiet when I’m around people but when I get on stage, it’s a different story. It just feels like its home. I love to perform. I use to perform in front of a mirror with a little brush.
Dan: Do you remember the first time you performed in public?
Eileen: Yeah, my first time I did a recital. It was a classical recital. Actually no, I did a little solo in junior high. A Christmas show. Silver bells.
Dan: From that point on, did you know that you were meant for the stage?
Eileen: Kind of. I didn’t know what direction I was going to go, where I was going to sing, or act, or what I was going to do.Dan: After Midnight with Blair Garner. Tell me about that one.
Eileen: It was really a surprise. I didn’t now anything about it until my promoter told me I was going on. It was a great honor. To be picked as an artist in the midst of all the hot major artists, it’s a great feeling. It’s also a great feeling to know that you have some fans out there, even ones you don’t even know.
Dan: What kind of response did you have from having been in that situation? Did you find your website getting a lot more hits, did you find yourself getting phone calls from people you’ve never heard from saying how can I get a hold of your music?
Eileen: Yeah, they just started to do more and more. The more my name is out and the more you hear the song, it’s really starting to grow.
Dan: Now the album that is currently out, "Hearts Of Time," if someone wanted to find it would they be able to do so on your website?Eileen: Yes, on the website, on cd baby, at Best Buy and Tower Records.
Dan: You've come into town for chick singer night at the Bluebird Cafe?
Eileen: Yes. Actually the idea of Chick Singer Night originated in Chicago. It’s a really great thing to get all these women together to perform. Now it’s only indie artists, but she’s got some pretty famous people on the billboard.
Dan: Is this the first time you’ve played Chick Singer Night in Nashville?
Eileen: Nope… second time. I’ve done it at three different venues – here, L.A. and Las Vegas.
Dan: Are you going to try and hit all 10 Chick Singer Night venues?
Eileen: I was thinking about it. I want to go to Hawaii.Dan: If you could turn back the clock and relive any part of your life, any one day, what would it be?
Eileen: Wow. I don’t think I would turn back the clock because I wouldn’t be who I am.
Dan: You like right were you’re at?
Eileen: Yeah I do. I’m really enjoying where I’m at at this point. We all go through ups and downs, you know? I have a great career, a great family, and I have pretty good children. I grew up in Ohio with a great home life. I moved to L.A. which was a great opportunity for me, and came back to play for Nashville
Dan: Are your kids still at home?
Eileen: Yeah.
Dan: How do they feel about your career, and are they supportive?
Eileen: Yeah, they are very supportive. They want me to get out there and do more. They want me to make tons of money so they can get the Jaguars and Porsches.
Dan: Do you ever take them on tour with you?
Eileen: My husband went last year but I haven’t taken my kids yet.
Dan: How old are they?
Eileen: They are 16 and 18, but they’re pretty much on their own. They’re at those teenage years where they want to find their own identity. They’re not really into country music now. They‘re into punk and metal. But they use to be into country….
Dan: Has country always been the influence for you, or did you find your start in other genres first.
Eileen: Country came along about 5 years ago, but it’s always been mostly rock. I’m from Ohio, listened to pop growing up but not country. It didn’t come into my mind until it started to change it a little bit.
Dan: You’re sort of changing with the face of country music in some ways. You’re walking into a door that’s opened because of the change.
Eileen: Right, but also too, I’m looking back at old classics as well. There’s some great stuff back then. T here are some artists I didn’t even know about. And now, since I’ve been in the country for 5 years, I’m learning about them.
Dan: As a song writer and performer, who would you say has influenced you the most.
Eileen: As a song writer, Diane Warren. As a performer, Keith Urban.
Dan: If you could co-write a song with anybody out there, name someone you’d like to write with?
Eileen: I’d pick Keith urban.
Dan: How about a duet partner? Are we back to Keith Urban?
Eileen: No….It would be Ronnie DunnDan: Do you remember the feeling you had when you first heard any of your songs played by somebody else or performed publicly?
Eileen: I had a girl record one song. It was exciting that someone else appreciates what you do. There are no words to say how it feels, you know. You’re just so excited.
Dan: If they made a movie about you, who would play you?
Eileen: The girl from kindergarten cop. (Penelope Ann Miller)
Dan: Do you prefer to do co-writing more than you do single writing?
Eileen: I love to co-write because we feed off of each other. I can’t sit in a room by myself and write. I have to get out of my house.
Dan: When you write music, which comes first: lyrics or melody?
Eileen: Lyrics. Well, since I don’t write much melody, I go to my co-writer and she writes the melody. I know when I get the words down how I want it to be, how I want the melody, the beat. I can’t go over to the piano and do all that melody, but I can tell you how to do it. I can direct in exactly what form or style of music I want.
Dan: If you could pick any one point in history that you could live, future or past, when would it be?
Eileen: I’ve always like the western days. The country western days. Mid- to late-1800s. I think that was a cool era.
Dan: Why?
Eileen: They all survived. They all had the horses they rode off on and I think they appreciated life more. They didn’t have much, and they still survived. They still made it.
Dan: Do you find yourself wishing in today’s world where we have all the technology that we have that you had 28 or 30 or 40 hours in a day. Do you have enough time?
Eileen: I don’t have enough time and I think we have too much technology sometimes. We have to get back to basics. Everyone relies on their cell phones and their computers. And calculators. No one adds in their heads anymore. But that’s the way we live now. So are we more intelligent?
Dan: Do you think technology affects the ability of children to learn in schools?
Eileen: Yes, because they rely on all that stuff. They don’t rely on themselves anymore.
Dan: Do you participate in any specific charities or benefits that you’re involved with and if so, what are they?
Eileen: Animal rescue. I’ve also helped an organization of children from needy families. And also I’ve donated 100 CD’s to the soldiers. And the world fest, which is all about the environment.
Dan: What are your dreams and aspirations and are you on the path to achieving them? Have you reached any of them yet?
Eileen: Oh yeah, I’ve reached quite a bit for an independent artist. Songs on the radio, people recording my material, I get to travel.
I’ve reached quite a bit. I’ve achieved a lot. I get to share my ideas with up and comings.Dan: I also hear you’ve done some acting on television and in the movies. Tell me about that.
Eileen: Well, I was one of the original girls that sang in the Ray Charles Pepsi commercials, and I’ve done a few sitcoms. Just minor little roles. I went into acting because I was learning about directing film. I though it would be good to be an actor so I would see it from both sides, help me learn how to deal with the actors; it’s always good to be in their shoes. I had small parts in Basic Instinct and Batman. They weren’t major roles, but enough for a couple of lines and it taught me the other side of what they go through.
Dan: Are you still doing that? Or have you been sidelined by music at this point.
Eileen: It’s kind of on hold, but I think it all goes together. Music goes into film and each song to me is like a little movie.
Dan: If you used your acting as a form of research for film directing, are you considering some of your musical goals right now as research for the film aspect and is film really where your heart lies?
Eileen: The music that I write and sing is commercial, there’s no doubt about it. Simple melodies and lyrics. It’s just another avenue. Another direction.
Dan: Your new CD, "Hearts of Time" is out with the title track as the first single…
Eileen: Yes, and the new single coming out is Walking After Midnight.
Dan: Several of the songs are cover songs. Why covers instead of originals?
Eileen: There are some great songs out there, and I don’t mind doing covers. When you do a cover, you have to make it your own. You can’t do it the same way. You can’t compare yourself with the legends.
Dan: So, what’s on the horizon for you?
Eileen: I have a new video coming out for Walking After Midnight. Next spring, I’ll have a new album that I think will catch everyone’s ears. I’ve been working hard on writing, trying to write like some of the old classics. I’m also listening to songs now for the new album and have many Nashville writers working on it. I also plan to be in Nashville a lot more this summer
Dan: Thanks for your time, Eileen. I’ve enjoyed talking with you.
Eileen: Thank you, Dan.