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Sunday, 10 April, 2011 2:40 PM
CMA New Artist Spotlight: 'The
Band Perry'
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Photo
by Joseph Anthony Baker
The
Band Perry |
| By
Bob Doerschuk |
| ©
2011 CMA Close Up News Service |
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The Band Perry released
its self-titled debut album in October, with Nathan Chapman and
Paul Worley each producing five cuts and Matt Serletic piloting
one. But they’re not a new act by any means. They’ve
been working together since Kimberly Perry, then 15, hired her brothers
Reid and Neil, 10 and 8 respectively, as her roadies. Eventually
the guys started opening for her at local venues around their hometown
of Mobile, Ala.
More important, the Perry
siblings sang, wrote and played music at home, working up a distinctive
style that combined elements of pop, punchy rock and plenty of raw
Country.
Inevitably, they pooled
their talents. And after spending the summer of 2008 writing in
Nashville for their first demo, the results compelled Big Machine
Label Group President/CEO Scott Borchetta and Republic Nashville
President Jimmy Harnen to sign them. Their investment paid off quickly,
as The Band Perry debuted at No. 2 on the Country chart and No.
4 on the Billboard all-genre Top 200 with 52,000 copies sold —
the highest album debut from any new Country music group since 2006.
From Kimberly’s
whimsical romance on “All Your Life,” written by Brian
Henningsen and Clara Henningsen, to the feathery but poignant unison
and harmony vocals on her solo write “If I Die Young,”
their first No. 1 and Platinum-selling single, and the exhilarating
call-and-answer riffs of the trio’s co-write “Quittin’
You,” the album spotlights their singing. But their instrumental
talents frame the vocals tastefully, with Neil’s mandolin
enhancing an atmosphere that’s immediate yet grounded in tradition.
Strong writing completes
the package. One or more Perry is credited on nine of the album’s
11 tracks; between them, they can sting with wicked humor on “Miss
You Being Gone,” which all three penned with Brian, Clara
and Aaron Henningsen, or playfully tease on their first single “Hip
to My Heart,” by the Perrys with Brett Beavers. The Band Perry
flashes past like a merry-go-round that’s ready to ride all
night.
IN THEIR OWN
WORDS Q&A
MUSICAL HEROES
“The Rolling Stones and Loretta Lynn.”
SONG YOU’D
LIKE TO COVER
“’Southern Girl’ by Amos Lee.”
SONG YOU WISH YOU’D
WRITTEN
“‘Let It Be,’ by The Beatles.”
CD IN YOUR STEREO
“Carolina by Eric Church.”
DREAM DUET PARTNER
“We would love to do a crossroads with Keith Richards and
Loretta Lynn.”
FAVORITE MODE OF
TRANSPORTATION
“We heart bus life!”
FIRST GIG
“In our living room. Our grandmother Betty Lou loved it.”
BOOKS ON YOUR NIGHTSTAND
Reid – “Les Miserables by Victor Hugo.”
Neil – “Lord Of The Flies by William Golding.”
Kimberly – “A Good Man Is Hard To Find by Flannery O'Connor.”
TITLE OF YOUR AUTOBIOGRAPHY
“We’re The Band Perry and We Play Country Music.”
(ANSWERS GIVEN COLLECTIVELY
BY THE BAND PERRY.)
On the Web:
www.TheBandPerry.com
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