I don’t always know when my music is truly making a difference in someone’s life. We write and record songs with the intent of moving people, but after we throw these creations out into the world, we rarely know whose ears they’re hitting or if they’re moving anyone at all.
I got to experience a life-changing musical moment recently. I want to tell you about it. Keep reading…
The summer before my senior year at Belmont University, I worked as a host at P.F. Chang’s on West End Avenue. One day, a man and his wife walked in to be seated. He struck up conversation and mentioned he’s a songwriter. I told him about how I was working towards an artist career. (How “Nashville” can we get?) One thing led to another, and within a few weeks, I found myself at Curb Publishing on Music Row writing with Jim Reilley.
Now, if you’re not familiar with Jim’s work, let me tell you a little bit about him. In addition to writing songs for acclaimed artists such as Jack Ingram, Hal Ketchum, Joy Lynn White and Sam Bush (just to name a few), Jim is co-founder of the folk-rock duo, The New Dylans. He’s shared stages with Shawn Colvin, The Band, 10,000 Maniacs and Townes Van Zandt. The project of Jim’s that is my personal favorite is his 2003 solo record, The Return of Buddy Cruel. I highly recommend you check it out on your favorite digital site.
Over the next few years, I found myself in that writing room many more times, as Jim Reilley became a friend and consistent co-writer of mine. Of the songs Jim and I wrote together, I felt most connected to one song in particular and chose to record it for my Warner Bros. album back in 2004. It’s a song called, “Addicted to the Rain”.
Around the same time I met Jim, one of my professors introduced me to veteran guitar player/producer, Biff Watson. Biff and I became fast friends and collaborators. Biff ultimately helped me land my deal with Warner Bros. and produced the record.
We all thought, “Addicted to the Rain” was a special song. The recording was made even more special when Biff made a phone call to a guest artist to sing background vocals on the tune. None other than Mr. Vince Gill came over to the studio and put vocals on the song (and guitar on a different tune). I absolutely loved the way it turned out!
Fast forward almost fifteen years. Jim reached out to me to have coffee. Through conversation and reminiscing about how much we loved writing “Addicted to the Rain”, we agreed it was such a shame that Warner Bros. never released the finished product for the public to hear. How could we get to your ears?
Let me pause here and share a little music business 101 for anyone wondering how this works: Warner Bros. does not own the publishing on any of the songs I recorded for them; however, they DO own the master recordings. After all, they paid for those specific recordings. So, in order for me to release any of those songs for public consumption, I have to re-record the songs and own the masters myself. That’s exactly what I did when I re-recorded “The Carolina Kind” for my EP, If I Was Your Girl. And that’s exactly what I did again last year when Jim and I re-recorded “Addicted to the Rain”, which you’re about to hear when it’s released this Friday!
Now, for those of you who’ve been following along since my Warner Bros. days and are familiar with the original version: hold onto your hats. This new version is a LOT different. Jim and I started asking ourselves questions like, “What if we completely re-imagined this song?” “What if we changed the tempo; even changed some of the chords?” "What if we made it super dramatic, almost like a film score?”
The answer to those questions will all be revealed this Friday when the single is available on all major digital distribution outlets. I’m super proud of this single and can’t wait for you hear! Jim Reilley is at the helm producing. Eric Fritsch at Eastwood Studios engineered and mixed, as well as built the track with Jim. Additional mixing by Park Chisolm. Mastering by Alex McCullough for True East Mastering.
Mary Sue Englund designed the single artwork. I happened to run across an old picture of me as a child from around Christmas, 1989. I used to love playing in empty boxes. Apparently, I fell asleep mid-playtime and for some reason I had an open umbrella in the box with me. What can I say? Using your imagination can be exhausting! Anyway, I thought it was cool to draw inspiration from the photo and Mary Sue made the vision come alive in a beautiful way. So many of you commented on how much you love the artwork. Kudos to Mary Sue for that.
I have to brag on my talented niece, Natalie Combs, for candidly capturing photos of the studio process with such artistry. Check them out on my Instagram throughout the week.
This Friday, January 31st, the new version of “Addicted to the Rain” will be available as a single at your favorite digital retailer. Please go stream, download, playlist, save, like, and share the new version of “Addicted to the Rain” with your family and friends! Then, hit me up on my socials and (kindly) lemme know what you think.
Thank you for following along. Your support means the world to me. I am having so much fun making music that satisfies my soul. I hope you’re enjoying it, too. More to come!
xo,
Lauren
I have a confession to make: I am the type of person who starts listening to Christmas music the day after Halloween. I keep my radio dial in the car set to the station that plays all Christmas all the time starting on Thanksgiving day. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is a December tradition, and I DVR The Holiday Baking Championship so that I can watch it when my husband relinquishes the remote. My only redeeming quality around holiday time is that I do wait until Thanksgiving before putting up the tree.
So why, might you ask, has it taken this holiday nut so long to release my own Christmas music? I don’t have a really good answer, but I’m thrilled to say it’s happening!
Joy and Cheer, my new holiday EP, is available starting this week on Friday, November 8th. Here’s a little bit about it:
I teamed up with my friend, Park Chisolm (Kevin Costner & The Modern West/Aubrie Sellers), on production. Park played most of the instruments on this three song project, with the exception of the second track: a song I co-wrote with my friend, Matt Ridenour (Jonny Lang/Julie Roberts) called, “I’d Be Fine with Christmas Time”. Michael Rinne from Miranda Lambert’s band laid down a sweet upright bass part on the track, and Adam Wright (Lee Ann Womack/Bruce Robison), played the Rhodes piano. That’s me you’ll hear on electric guitar and Wurlitzer on a few tracks.
I’ve heard it said that a sculptor doesn’t chisel an image out of the rock. Rather, they chisel the rock away little by little and allow the image to appear. That’s how making this EP felt. We didn’t record in a big fancy studio. Most of the recording was done in my upstairs guest room over several weeks. We lit some candles that smelled like pine trees and hung a wreath on the door for some extra vibe. It was such a fun, relaxed and joyful way to create. We didn’t have a lot of answers going in. We allowed each song to come alive the way it wanted to.
Probably one of my favorite nights of recording was when a small group of friends came over for pizza and wine, and we all gathered around a microphone to sing layers and layers of choir-like vocals on the Ray Charles classic, “That Spirit of Christmas”. A huge “thank you” to Shannon Wright, Sara Beck, Kimberly Quinn, Matt Ridenour and Park Chisolm for lending your insanely talented voices to this project.
The final song on the EP is the Irish folk song to which no one ever knows the words, but is sung every year at New Years: “Auld Lang Syne". The haunting melody is so beautiful to me. We kept this track super sparse and let the melody and emotion be the stars of the show.
Beginning November 8th, you can download and stream the EP from your favorite digital retailer (Apple Music, Spotify, etc.). I’m also offering a holiday bundle on my website, www.laurenlucas.com, which includes a signed physical copy of the EP along with a hand-made custom ornament.
My hope for this project is that you will savor it over a cup of morning coffee curled up on the couch on the weekend; that it will be the soundtrack to your family opening gifts, or the music you play during your holiday dinner. Most of all, I hope this music brings you joy and cheer year after year.
