Melody Guy at
The Ryman
Auditorium May 19th
Melody
Guy has found her own groove in the writing department. When Melody
sings, the audience is wooed into silence as they listen to her
every word. Melody brings a fresh approach to country music and
possesses a beautiful, plaintive voice that easily conveys her
well-crafted songs of love, loss and emotion. At a recent performance
at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville with her band members,
Carl Melberg, Matthew Burgess, Duane Hitchings and Ladd
Smith, Melody received a standing ovation to her song "Mistakes
Like Me" written about her son. and stood alongside chart –topper
Andy Griggs and the legendary Tanya Tucker. Melody Guy has a positive
and energetic presence and is a powerful, strong performer. Melody’s
incredible energy and fabulous vocal phrasing make her one of
the most potent talents on the country music scene today. To see
her live is to witness pure magic.
Check
out Amanda Williams website to hear a song the we
wrote together called
HOT
STUFF
Visit
her website
www.amandawilliamsmusic.net
Melody taking career to next level
Jessie Kirk - 07/07/05
ROCKIN’ FOR ROSES — Melody Guy, accompanied by her
band, plays at this year’s Rose Festival on the evening
of June 10. Guy plans to move to Nashville later on this month.
(Photo by Jessie Kirk)
SHERWOOD – Don’t be surprised if Melody Guy seems
a bit distracted when you talk to her.
Not only is this busy mother trying to sell her house, perform
gigs around town and take care of her kids, she is also probably
writing a song as she talks to you.
“I constantly
have lyrics in my head,” she explained.
The singer-songwriter
is so filled with inspiration, she is constantly scrambling to
find a pen or jotting down lyrics in her checkbook.
“If I have to
go pick up the guitar, then I know it’s pretty powerful,”
she said.
Powerful is exactly how people are describing songs from her recent
album, “Signs of Trouble.”
With rave reviews and
a new song getting noticed wherever it’s played, Guy and
her family are ready to take the next step toward making it big
by following their musical dreams to Nashville.
The five-day road trip
from Sherwood to the heart of country music will take place this
summer. Guy has been living in Sherwood since 1997.
Once in Nashville, she plans to make more records, continue touring
and sell her songs for other artists to perform.
The move stems from
the recent recognition that Guy has been getting for her music.
Her recent achievements include winning the Best Country Album
award from JP Folks, the largest networking organization for musicians
in the world, winning the Billy Block Talent Show in Nashville
and having her band open for well-known country acts like Martina
McBride, Keith Urban and Aaron Tippin.
With all the excitement
of a career on the rise, Guy realizes how lucky she is and is
thankful for the changes in her life.
Because her career didn't’t
really take off until later in her life, after she had been married,
had children and been divorced, she feels that her story can give
others hope that you can do whatever you want in life.
“You’re
never too old,” she said. “It’s never too late
to make things happen.”
Guy, who was born in Portland but moved to Simi Valley, Calif.,
when she was young, has been singing and performing since she
was a child.
“I started playing
when I was 9, performing in public with my daddy in McDonald’s
and in bars, on TV in little concerts and in beauty pageants,”
she said.
Guy continued to sing as she got older but eventually decided
it was time to start a family. She took several years off from
singing while she raised her children but eventually her love
of performing drew her back to the stage.
“When I’m
up there, I feel like this is what I should be doing all the time.
This is where I feel most comfortable,” she said.
So Guy played at bars and concerts
wherever she could and people started to recognize her powerful
voice and beautiful, honest lyrics.
The wheels that set
her recent success in motion began with a cross-country tour that
Guy took last fall. She visited Los Angeles and Nashville, making
connections and impressing people along the way.
At a songwriters’
convention in L.A., Guy stunned an audience of 2,000 people when
she performed her heartfelt song called “Mistakes like Me”
at an open mic event.
The song, which she wrote after her son came home upset from being
teased at school, has struck a chord with many who have heard
it.
“The whole room
was dead quiet, and after I was done the room exploded. It was
like there was an earthquake,” she said.
The overwhelming response
made its mark on Guy.
“I can still feel it. It was that good,” she said.
After her performance, she was immediately offered a publishing
deal. Soon after, while in Nashville, Guy was asked to compete
in the Billy Block Talent Show.
Her performance in the
contest not only won her a $2,500 Gibson Guitar, but she also
made a connection that led her to join creative efforts with country
recording artist Sherrié Austin.
Not bad for a trip that
initially, Guy couldn't even afford. A friend put her trip on
his credit card because she didn’t have the money to go.
“People have gone
out of their way to show their faith in me,” she said.
That is one of the many reasons that Guy is so thankful for her
success. She has had great support from those around her who believe
in her talent.
“Everybody around
me is saying, ‘You’re going to do it, you can make
it,’” she added.
Not only is Guy poised to make it on the music scene, her children
seem to have inherited the talent gene.
Her children are able
to write, sing, play guitar, bass and drums. During car rides,
the musical family likes to compose rock operas.
Guy looks forward to
her kids’ opportunities when they are surrounded by music
in Nashville.
“I’m excited
to see what the saturation of music around them will do. I think
it will just explode their talent,” she said.
For Guy, moving to Nashville
means being closer to the action, but it doesn’t mean that
all she wants to record is country music. She says that she doesn’t
write her songs to fit a specific genre, but instead writes what
she feels and leaves it up to others to categorize it. Depending
on the song, her style could be defined as country, rhythm and
blues, soul or rock ‘n’ roll.
One consistent theme
throughout her repertoire is lyrics that tell the story of a woman
who is sensitive, feels emotions very deeply and has lived with
a lot of heartbreak.
“I think I was born into melancholy,” she explained.
“I could always tap into that angst.”
These days, she may be feeling a little sad about leaving her
family and friends behind in Sherwood. She considers her performance
at the Robin Hood Festival to be a good chance to say goodbye.
Today she is thankful
for all the opportunities she’s been given in Oregon and
is excited to see what the future holds.
“I just feel very
thankful that I get to sing,” she said.
SIGNS
OF TROUBLE
Now
Available at CDBABY.com
http://www.cdbaby.com/melodyguy2
.jpg)
