April 28, 2019
By: Christy Oldham
Country/pop singer Eileen Carey, who is now New Music Weekly’s Breakthrough Adult Contemporary Artist of 2019, has been entertaining audiences for decades. In 2018, she earned a Producers Choice Honors Award for Female Solo Country Artist of the Year at the Hard Rock Live in Las Vegas.
Recently, she opened for singer-songwriter Don McLean (who is best known for his folk rock song American Pie) at The Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills. She followed that with a performance at The Rose in Pasadena as the opening band for British guitarist Albert Lee.
Coming up, she will be at the San Diego County Fair in Del Mar on June 6th and will then open for Wilson Phillips June 8th at the Rose in Pasadena. Carey’s stage performances are magnetic and she enthralls her audiences by melding country music into rock and then dousing it in pop. “I have always loved music and sung in choir, school and community productions- then started playing the drums- music comes natural to me”, said Carey.
She is one of the hardest working female musicians in the business. Formerly from Cleveland, Ohio, Carey has called Los Angeles home for more than 20 years and is also a mom and wife.
DemiGoddess Chronicle had the opportunity to sit down with Eileen in Los Angeles and this is what she had to say about:
Staying healthy while balancing real life and career:
DGC: We love your song lyrics and video for “Bottle your crazy up”. How did you get the idea for it?
EC: “I love this song. I didn’t write “Bottle Your Crazy Up,” two great Nashville songwriters, Bart Almond and Amy Dalley, did. The song suited me perfectly. What a great time we all had shooting this video at both locations, the world famous Cowboy Palace Saloon in Chatsworth, California, and at the Burbank Equestrian Center, Hollywood’s most exclusive horse stables. The video was directed by Denise Duff, shot by cinematographer Frankie Guererro, produced by Sevier Crespo and Jamie Fisher, and co-stars, with myself, actors Jason Tobias (All Is Not Quiet) and Ava Capra and features Julie Michaels, from the Patrick Swayze film Road House.”
DGC: How long have you been a musician and who/what are your biggest influences?
EC: “I worked for the Holiday Inn in the Beverage Department in Ohio, and then took a job with the Sheraton organization in Los Angeles and worked my way up to Assistant Beverage Director, which included marketing, running the bar and restaurant and hiring the entertainment. It allowed me the opportunity to see and hear all kinds of music acts, and realized I could sing professionally myself. I am influenced by so many different music artists because they all have something to offer. I grew up listening to the Beatles, Sheryl Crow, The Motels, Chrissie Hynde, pop music basically. Vocally I am inspired by singers like Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Barbara Streisand, and songwriters like Dianne Warren and Keith Urban. I am influenced by the world and events around me.”
DGC: What advice do you have for up and coming female musicians who want to get into the music business?
“This is a great time for women. So many new avenues for exposure and revenue have opened up. True that women still receive unequal pay with men in many areas of the music business, but that too is changing. Be brave! Enjoy your journey, go for your dreams! I repeat that often to people who ask me for advice on a career in music.”
DGC: What was it like opening for Don McLean?
EC: “I am so fortunate to have shared the stage with a music and cultural icon like Don Mclean. His songs like “American Pie” and “Vincent” have helped shape our view of music and our lives. His performance at the Saban was compelling. I have shared the stage with some really cool people the last couple years, Rita Coolidge, Martha Davis, Raelyn Nelson, Jefferson Starship, Albert Lee, and more.”
DGC: What is your favorite thing to do to relax and renew after touring?
EC: “I have a number of favorite down time activities. My husband and I are very active in the animal rights and rescue community. We are both huge sports fans. Like to hang out with friends and family and my kickboxing workouts. My greatest passion over the past few years is my TheMusicMom.com blog. Having raised two girls, I feel it is imperative that I share what wisdom I have at balancing two careers. I have found the blog to be very centering, and its growth to be very satisfying. Service to others is what it is all about, even as a singer and songwriter.”
DGC: Are you working on anything new that you can share with our audience?
EC:“I am always working on new music. In the middle of sweetening and mixing four new songs in Nashville in May. I am getting ready to release another single in May as well, called “Meet Me Halfway,” my first co-write with my producer Travis Allen; and since he has moved from Los Angeles to Nashville, I am expecting to spend more time in Nashville. We are currently in the process of shooting the music video for the new single here in Los Angeles. I have a number of performance dates coming up. I will be performing a set at the Nashville music industry watering hole 3rd& Lindsley, on the Backstage, the 15th of May, a Wednesday, from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm. It is also the day that I am releasing my new single “Meet Me Halfway.” Then I will be at the San Diego County Fair in Del Mar on June 6thfrom 4:30 pm to 6 pm. And I am opening for Wilson Phillips June 8th at the Rose in Pasadena.”
DGC: Are you working on anything new that you can share with our audience?EC:“I am always working on new music. In the middle of sweetening and mixing four new songs in Nashville in May. I am getting ready to release another single in May as well, called “Meet Me Halfway,” my first co-write with my producer Travis Allen; and since he has moved from Los Angeles to Nashville, I am expecting to spend more time in Nashville. We are currently in the process of shooting the music video for the new single here in Los Angeles. I have a number of performance dates coming up. I will be performing a set at the Nashville music industry watering hole 3rd& Lindsley, on the Backstage, the 15th of May, a Wednesday, from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm. It is also the day that I am releasing my new single “Meet Me Halfway.” Then I will be at the San Diego County Fair in Del Mar on June 6thfrom 4:30 pm to 6 pm. And I am opening for Wilson Phillips June 8th at the Rose in Pasadena.”
DGC: What do you do to prepare for a concert?.
EC: “Vocal exercises. Vowel sound stretches, stretch my vocal chords, do lip exercises. I hum my melodies before a show. I practice, stay away from dairy, drink lots of water. When I go into the studio I take t-spoon of olive oil, or greasy potato chips. I picked up the potato chip trick from Martina (McBride). My producer Travis Allen makes me eat a tiny bag before recording vocals (lol).”
DGC: How do you take care of your voice?
EC: “I eat carefully, work out regularly and get sleep. I have my daily vocal exercises, as well as my regular kick-boxing workouts, which I believe does huge things for my vocal control and power.”
Want to see Eileen Carey live? Check Tour dates and watch her music videos? Click HERE
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