LRM Interview at CRS 2013 – Jaida Dreyer: “I’m more at home on the road than in my house.”

11 years ago Liv Carter Comments Off on LRM Interview at CRS 2013 – Jaida Dreyer: “I’m more at home on the road than in my house.”
jaida dreyer half broke horses
jaidadreyer.com

One of the most promising newcomers in country music this year is Jaida Dreyer, and she definitely has the most remarkable story. She grew up traveling all over the country, showing horses, and was crowned world champion at age five. Turning professional aged thirteen, injuries later forced her to change her career path a few years later. She focused instead on her songwriting and lucky for all of us that she did. Her debut single, ‘Half Broke Horses,’ is a beautiful and very personal song. She worked with award-winning producer Byron Gallimore and just before CRS 2013, released her debut album, I Am Jaida Dreyer, on Streamsound. We had some time to chat at CRS, and on the agenda first and foremost, was finding out more about her debut single, and the difficulty of writing very personal stories.

LRM: How did the co-write with Lance Miller and Brett and Brad Warren come about?
Jaida Dreyer: That was probably the third or fourth time that we had all written together. We always get something cool. Those guys are chameleons. I think about all the different songs we’ve written together and they’re just at opposite ends of the spectrum. Obviously, they’re in our camp with the relationship with Byron so that’s how we ended up getting hooked up to write. But I’ve known Lance for a very long time. I met him before I moved to Nashville. There’s a place in Roswell, GA called Swallow at the Hollow. It’s kind of the equivalent of the Bluebird Café here. Every weekend they had songwriter nights with hit writers from Nashville. I would drive two and a half hours from where I lived in southern Georgia every weekend to go see who was playing, and I had a guitar that I would have people autograph. It was about a month before I moved and one night it was The Warren Brothers and Lance. After the show I asked Lance the same question I asked everybody: “Do you have any words of wisdom for an aspiring singer/songwriter moving to Nashville?” He really took a lot of time with me and we talked. He gave me his e-mail address and said to keep in touch, so I did. When I moved here, we became friends.

LRM: That’s cool, because a lot of people will say they’ll help you but it never really happens.
JD: Yeah, totally, it was cool. We ended up writing with the Warrens and ended up writing several songs for this record. And it’s cool that we have a single together now, because Lance is one of the first friends I had here in town.

LRM: You say it was the third or fourth write with them. Given the subject matter, which could not have been easy to access, it is something that couldn’t have been the first song you wrote? Did you need to be a little more comfortable in the writers’ room?
JD: You know, it’s kind of a different thing for me. Sometimes if I am comfortable enough with the person I won’t have a problem spilling my guts. But sometimes, even if we write great songs together, I don’t feel comfortable telling them certain things. With these guys, I knew I needed to write this song. I sat down with them and said ‘OK, I’ve got this idea and I don’t know if it’s a good one, but I want you to hear it and just see what you think.’ I told them about the hook, half broke horses, and you could just immediately see all of their eyes just light up. [smiles] I started telling them the story and it all happened very quickly after that. It was a hard song to write, but I felt that if I didn’t write that song – or a song that was touching on the same subject – that the record just wouldn’t be complete, because it’s such an important part of my story. I’m glad it was with them. Now that it’s done, I can’t imagine having written that song with anybody else.

LRM: For some people, their bio just writes itself, and you’re definitely one of those artists.
JD: Yeah! [laughs]

LRM: You can just say what happened to you and it’s an interesting bio! [smiles] From the way you grew up and doing so much traveling, are there any qualities you took from that which you still find yourself drawing on today.
JD: Oh gosh, yeah! A lot! More than anything, it taught me how to work hard and how to be determined and focused, and how not to give up easily. With the horses, there is a lot of physical hard labor. I remember thinking when I moved to Nashville: “Wow, I get to sit in an air-conditioned room writing songs, and I don’t have to shovel shit and throw hay bales? This is amazing!” [smiles]

LRM: “And I get paid for this? Really?” [smiles] JD: Yeah, totally! [laughs]

LRM: You said at the CD party that you weren’t even sure people got paid for writing songs.
JD: Yeah, I didn’t know how that worked, I had no idea! As was as naïve as anybody. I just thought you wrote a song and you sell it, I had no idea how any of that worked. As soon as I moved to town, I educated myself on all aspects of the industry. But yeah, the horse thing taught me how to work hard and that’s something I definitely still use today. And it made me a road warrior! [smiles] I mean, they kept me out on the radio tour for three months straight, we literally had one day home.

LRM: Yes, and you’re already used to that.
JD: Yeah, that’s how I was raised. For me, I didn’t complain, it didn’t bother me. I mean, you can keep me out 365 days a year. I’m more at home on the road than I am sitting in my house.

LRM: That must be so nice for your team to work with an artist who doesn’t complain! [smiles] JD: Yes! [laughs] Unless I’m sick, I’m good on the road.

LRM: I love that the record is called ‘I Am Jaida Dreyer’ because I really feel we get to know you on this album, and I love especially that the very first line is ‘what’s wrong with me?’ Whoever did the sequencing for the record, that’s brilliant!
JD: I love that you noticed that! I did that on purpose.

LRM: Nice!
JD: It’s why I put that song as the first song. And the last song, ‘South of the Sun,’ it’s kind of like my prayer. It’s look at the life I’ve lived and all the stuff I’ve done, not necessarily great things, and how messed up I am. [smiles] But at the end of the day, that last track is my ‘Lord, I hope this day is good’ kind of thing. So I thought that was the perfect way to end the record. But I really love that you noticed that first line.

LRM: Well, it’s an examination of who you are, and that question is how any self-improvement starts – what do I need to change?
JD: Totally.

LRM: It also opens it up immediately, you know it’s not just a fluffy record, it’s going to be a record that has something to say. And I love Byron’s production on this, he did a great job.
JD: Yes, he really did!

LRM: He’s just kind of hanging out in the back. That’s maybe the only thing I was wondering about, there’s one or two songs that have a strong message but the mix is really quiet, and I’d like to hear the music be a little stronger on those to match that.
JD: Sure.

LRM: But then I think, maybe Byron did that on purpose to juxtapose it.
JD: Yeah, I think a lot of that, especially with Byron… – I mean, I’m not a pop singer and I’m not like Carrie Underwood. My songs are very organic and start out very rootsy, so I feel like if they had a big, polished production it might not work.

LRM: Oh yeah, I’m not talking about those double kick-drum, big Jason Aldean arrangements either.
JD: Yes, if it was more than showcasing my vocal and the actual song, then it might take away from the actual song, do you know what I mean?

LRM: Absolutely, and that’s why I’m wondering if that’s all on purpose.
JD: It definitely is.

LRM: It now creates that juxtaposition where you have a quieter production but a strong character in the song. I guess many other producers would…
JD: …would just produce the shit out of it? [smiles]

LRM: Yeah. [smiles] They’d go, OK, a strong character needs a strong production, but Byron holds back. That’s interesting to me.
JD: Because it is! [smiles]

LRM: I can be such a music geek. Endless discussions about this stuff, I tell ya…
JD: [laughs] Yes!

LRM: Who did you write ‘South of the Sun’ with?
JD: Mark Irwin and Sara Beck.

LRM: Because that is fantastic…
JD: Thank you! That was the very last song I wrote, not this last year but the year before. It was about a week before Christmas. I had a couple of other writes scheduled before the end of the year. I remember when we left that write, I canceled my writes for the rest of the year because I was like ‘this is how I want to end my year, I want to end it on this song.’

LRM: I like that. [smiles] JD: Yeah, I thought it’s a good vibe, it’s a good everything, and I’m out! [laughs]

LRM: Thank you so much! We’ll definitely need to sit down for longer and chat about the whole record.
JD: Yes, totally, I look forward to it!

For more on Jaida, please visit jaidadreyer.com.

 

Liv Carter

Liv Carter

Liv is a career coach for creatives, and the people who work with them.
She holds several certificates from Berklee College of Music, and a certificate in Positive Psychology from UC Berkeley.
Her main influences are coffee, cats, and Alexander Hamilton.
Liv Carter

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