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TODAYSCOUNTRYMAG.COM - Laura Bell Bundy Interview

Kentucky native Laura Bell Bundy may be a newcomer in one sense to the country music fans but she will be the first to tell you that country music came first for her before anything else. Her staring role on Broadway in Legally Blonde brought her to national prominence and it was on from there. Her buzz combined with ambition led her to Nashville with big ideas and big dreams where she caught the attention of multiple major labels and eventually landed with Mercury Nashville and has just released her debut single and accompanying music video for her song "Giddy On Up" off of her forthcoming album Achin' & Shakin', due out later this year. We caught up with Bundy to chat about signing with a major deal, her time spent on Broadway, the single, the video and its concept, her forthcoming album, and much much more.

1. You are working on your sophomore album Achin' & Shakin' that is due out later this year on Mercury Nashville. How did your deal with Mercury come about?

I was doing Legally Blonde at the time and I had this independent record that I had basically started my own record label to put it out. I was selling it at the show and on iTunes and stuff. In my head, at the time Legally Blonde started, I was gigging around New York, so the next thing I wanted to do was pursue the music. I had been living in New York since I was 18 except for a short time in California. I thought the next thing; I'm just going to go to Nashville because there is no way I am actually going to be able to pursue this dream and the love of country music unless I go. I wasn't looking for a deal, per se, I was thinking of creating more of a modernized Yee Haw or a variety show that had music and had me doing characters. I do a lot of silly characters and stuff like that, to create a show like that for CMT and bring that back. That was the original idea and from that I can do music and wouldn't need a major label because I would have a television outlet that would be promoting my music. So I started going down to Nashville and taking meetings and got a great manager, Stewart Dill, who is just one of the nicest men I have ever meet in my life and was fortunate enough to work with him. I actually caught the attention of Autumn House at Capitol. It really took UMG to come and see Legally Blonde and they came back and said, I just saw this girl, she has an independent album and we have to sign her. So I got a development deal from UMG. Then Capitol offered me a deal and then Universal offered a deal. Then I realized that if I wanted to do it on the scale that I wanted, I would need a major label.

2. Were other labels sparking an interest in you? If so, what was it about Mercury that made you ultimately choose them?

Well, there was Capitol and UMG. It was so hard because I had found such great personal relationships with Capitol and Autumn House. I think it ultimately came down to I felt first and foremost, UMG was a lover of music and they saw what I wanted to do on a conceptual level. They weren't concerned if I didn't have a television component to go with it, that it would be ok with them. With Capitol there was more like we need to play it safer, and UMG didn't care about playing it safe and I was attracted to that. I had this feeling in my gut and I had a really good relationship with their marketing team already. I know that they understood how to market me. You can make the best music in the world and if someone does not understand what your market would be or how to market you, nobody will care. They understood me on a level that was really unique.

3. You just released your brand new single "Giddy On Up." What can you tell people about this song?

Well, it's a cheatin' song. It's about a woman who is going about her daily routine and sees this really cute couple kissing on the corner in the pouring rain. She turns her head to get a better view and realizes that's her boyfriend. So she goes on to tell him that I just saw you and you never loved me and you are making this easy for me so "Giddy On Up and Giddy On Out." Then she goes through this progression of wait, you have been acting pretty strange. You have pep in your walk, you smile when you look at your phone, I went through your pockets and smelled your shirt and I don't wear Bath and Bodyworks. It's the evolution of her discovery that her guy hasn't treated her right. So, she's telling him to get out in a very Kentucky way. The song has traditional elements to it, the sound of the verses. It has an old school feel meets old school soul feel. It's really good to drive to. I was listening to a mix of the song and got pulled over. At that time I knew that song was good.

4. Why did you feel that this was a great song to introduce your new music to listeners with?

The first song I wrote on the Shakin' side of the album was "Giddy On Up" and it incorporated most of that side of the album. Also, it's pretty witty, it has all the elements. It has the old country feel, the old soul feel, I can dance to it. I had an idea for the video right when I wrote this song. And we were going to release me by releasing a video first. So, "Giddy On Up" having had the treatment in my head already just seemed like the obvious choice. What went back and forth, but ultimately it comes down to, what song can you sing that nobody else would be willing to and I think "Giddy On Up" was that song. Like if people heard it would my fans identify with it and "Giddy On Up" was the one that stuck out for everybody. I also had this really great idea for the dance section where I'm like rapping; I am very influenced by Jerry Reed so that little rap section I call my Jerry Reed section. The fiddles are going crazy and picking going on and then the talking above it, some people say well that's rap and I say no, no, no that's Jerry Reed. I kept thing what I wanted to do was clogging meets hip hop.

5. The video has gotten good exposure through CMT. How did you get hooked up with them and earn front page billing on their website?

6. The video contains a great, eye catching dance sequence. Who coordinated that and why did you feel it was a must have for the video?

I feel that country music used to be more about entertaining and less about singing. Granted there wasn't always a lot of dance, but there are still the Grand Ole Opry dancers, and there's comedy and there's a commitment to entertainment, like with Minnie Pearl. I love that old school feel and I feel it is necessary to bring it back, but how do you do it in a modern way that is appealing to people in these times. For me, I dance, I'm not the greatest dancer in the world and I also dabble in a little comedy so why not add all those elements and make the most eye catching and entertaining video you can possibly do. I that Jerry Reed section I couldn't help but to dance when I heard it. It automatically labeled itself as a dance break. RJ Durell choreographed it; he totally understood what I wanted to do. He understood that I wanted a country meets a more modern jazz or hip-hop type dancing.

7. "Giddy On Up" is just one part of your forthcoming album. What can people expect to hear from the album that the single doesn't show about your music?

Well, its two parts so what ever mood you are in you'd be listening to. If you in a sad mood, or at a coffee shop or a dinner party, I would suggest listening to the Achin' side. It's more soulful, sultry and a little sexy country. Not a lot of power ballads, it has more of a Nora Jones country feel and has a real live feel. For the Shakin' side is more for if you want to dance, drive fast, workout or go jogging every single song is up-tempo. It's like funk-try, it is funk meets country. It is old country and old soul, but produced modern. Hopefully people will be moved in some way. They will be moved to dance or they will be moved emotionally.

8. You played a part in writing a majority of the songs on the album. How important was it to you that you wrote the songs you were performing and why?

I think that coming up with this concept; I didn't really have a choice but to write it. It is very specific as to what the elements of the album are. There is only one song on the album that I didn't write and it actually inspired the whole Achin' side. It was the song that I had been trying to write but couldn't. It was really simple and really sexy and it's not particularly sad. The song inspired me. I want to feel like this is an emotion I felt before, this is an experience I have had or can imagine myself in. I will never be the kind of person who will sing a song that I don't feel, that I don't understand or that I can't relate to. I'm just being honest to my listeners. They should expect me to be honest and authentic otherwise I'm not being truthful and why do that to just sell records. For me life is about being true to yourself and your music should be a representation of that.

9. People will recognize you from your stage work on as the lead role on Broadway in Legally Blonde, but may be surprised to find out that you are doing country music. What brought you to country music after finding the success on Broadway?

I wasn't bought to country after I did Broadway. Nobody cared about my music until I did Broadway?LOL. I have been listening and loving country music for most of my life if not all of my life. I was pursuing country music when I was 18 at the same time I had a band with another girl in New York, her name is Amber Rhodes, and she is one of my best friends. We would play in clubs all over New York City and we were 2 blonde girls singing country music. While we were doing that I started getting acting work and I started doing shows. You can't really turn down show when all you're really making is a hundred dollars at The Bitter End, if you're even making that at all. I also loved acting and performing, so for me it was like I don't have to choose. It was hard though, Amber and I were really close, but she understood. I think that in the long run the right decision was made. I went to California for a couple of years and missed music so much that I recorded the independent album and thought I am going to rediscover what my sound is, figure out who I am musically and just go for it. Even though I had no money and maybe no one would buy the album I'd have the chance to be creative and rediscover my sound. So I did that, got Legally Blonde and got noticed by Nashville. I was singing and write country music with Amber before I ever got my first Broadway show.

10. With all of your experiences what piece of advice can you offer to someone that is looking to break into the entertainment business?

Luck is opportunity meets preparation. First off, I think the wrong reason to do something is for fame and success. It's empty and it will never make you happy. You have to have passion for it in a creative level and want to do it regardless of whether or not you'd be famous or make any money doing it. That is my personal belief because you can always be creative and can always have it mean something to you without anyone caring about it. Also being fearless, 50% of performing or writing is getting over your fears. People connect with songs that have lyrics that they are afraid to say themselves, but have been thinking. It is that same way with comedians; they will say the things that everyone else is afraid to say. And when you perform, people connect with performers that are inspired and people who are inspired are those who have released themselves of their fears. Learn as much as you can about the industry that you are in. Practice, practice, practice. Put yourself in situations in which you can learn and notice your opportunities. They will present themselves in the most odd ways.

Source: TodaysCountryMag.com

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