kacey-musgraves

Congratulations to KACEY MUSGRAVES for winning the NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR AWARD from the COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS!

Kacey won acclaim for her album Same Trailer Different Park.  It’s an impressive achievement, especially for a newcomer.

ROLLING STONE said Kacey’s award was a “victory for country music” and it sets new marks in progressive values in the genre.

Same Trailer Different Park has been cited as of the Top Albums of the Year by Rolling Stone, Spin and Entertainment Weekly.

But we’ve known about Kacey for a long time.  In 2008, Kacey lived in Austin for awhile, which is where we discovered her.  I immediately knew she had the talent; she was a diamond in the rough.

I remember hearing her voice and being mesmerized.  It was wonderful.  She had great talent but needed better songs to sing, I remember thinking.

I pitched her my idea to record a couple cover songs together to see how we worked together.  If it all worked out, I told her it was my intention to develop and produce her original songs afterwards.  That was my plan, at least.

Recording with new talent is always risky – there are personality and timing issues and it takes money to rent good recording studios.  You never know what’s going to happen.  As a producer, I was Kacey’s first “super fan” willing to invest not knowing where she would end up next.

I pitched her several song ideas.  She chose “See You Again” (Miley Cyrus) and “Apologize” (One Republic).  We recorded on March 27, 2008, at Brain Machine Recording Studios with engineer Randy Avenell.

During the recording session, Kacey was professional and focused.  She wanted the songs to be ‘just right’ and we spent a full evening working on the recordings.

I remember Kacey instructing the engineer, Randy, exactly how to mix her voice and adjust the levels, with acute precision. Kacey gave both songs an unique personality and she made them her own.

A few days later, she invited me out to see her perform at Momos above Katz’s Deli.  I remember it was just her grandma and me in the audience, she was a great live performer, but nobody knew this girl.  Heck, she had just gotten out of high school a couple years earlier.

Kacey invited me out to lunch a few weeks later – she likes Ethiopan food!  For only being 21, Kacey struck me as being very wise beyond her years.  We talked about recording original songs together in the future.  As I recall, I suggested she move to Nashville and work with other songwriters to develop her craft.

I remember her telling me she was going to hit the road for awhile, play with some different musicians, and take it from there.

We promised to keep in touch.  Kacey was restless.  She wasn’t going to be stopped.  We lost touch over the years.

Kacey ended up in Nashville, wrote some hit songs, got a record deal with a major label and there you have it.

The rest is history – it’s one in a million.

You can download both songs “See You Again” and “Apologize” from Kacey Musgraves on iTunes exclusively from my record label, Triple Pop.