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