INTERVIEW WITH EVAN CARR, JOURNALISM STUDENT AT USM, MARCH 27th, 2006

EVAN:  Thanks for meeting with me.  You have a CD coming out in June.   How would you describe your music on the CD for potential buyers?
TERRI:  I've heard it described as delta blues rock.  I do a little of everything.  I've always heard that to make a CD, keep the music in the same genre.  But I do some blues, folk and some rock.  I think there's a market for everything.  
EVAN:  How long have you been playing?
TERRI:  About 22 years.
EVAN:  Wow!  That's a long time!
TERRI:  (Laughs)  I'm not that old!  I started playing very early.
EVAN:  How did you learn to play?
TERRI:  I had a guitar teacher named Bill Hoyt.  He taught me rock and blues.  It wasn't music reading or anything like that.  There was theory involved but only involved as far as I would need to play in a band or do session work.  Session musicians generally use the Nashville Number System, which is what I go by today.  It's basically theory without reading music.  My guitar teacher was great and made playing fun.
EVAN:  Who are your major influences?
TERRI:  Chuck Berry!  I love blues AND rock.  That's rockabilly.  Blues and rock.  That's the style of Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, those guys like that.  I think "Johnny B. Goode" was the first song I ever learned.  
EVAN:  Any others?
TERRI:  Oh, yeah.  Jeff Beck, Jeff Healey, Ritchie Blackmore, B.B. King.....  Those guys play with so much feeling.  When I hear Jeff Beck play, it literally brings tears to my eyes.  Someone told me once that playing fast may be impressive but it's all technique.  Playing with feeling has a melody and it's what people remember.  I think you can play awesome lead guitar using just two or three notes.  Jeff Healey is HIGHLY underrated as a guitar player.  If you listen to Rod Stewart's song "People Get Ready", that's Jeff Beck on the lead.  It's incredible.  The song "Angel Eyes" has an incredible lead at the end by Jeff Healey.  I heard B.B. King said one time that when he is choosing a guitar player, he looks more for the person, than the guitarist.  I've found that to be true.  When people tell me they play great, I meet them and their playing is not that good.  If they tell me that they don't play that well, I hear them and they're awesome!  Humility sort of goes along with feeling in a song.
EVAN:  Now you're actually a USM alumni, is that right?
TERRI:  Yes.
EVAN:  Did you major in music?
TERRI:  No, I got my degree in Psychology and a minor in English.  I took some music classes under Dr. Panella though.  
EVAN:  He's a great saxophonist.
TERRI:  Yes and a great person.  I took a music business class that he taught and a recording class that he taught.  Sometimes I would pick classes he was teaching just because he was teaching them.  He was an awesome teacher and what you took away from the class was a world of knowledge you never knew before.
EVAN:  What is life like as a musician?
TERRI:  A lot of hard work.  Period.  People don't always understand that.  It's a job.  People have this glamorous view of a musician and sometimes that can be true but the fact is, there is a lot of hard, hard work behind it.  
EVAN:  What is a typical day like for you?
TERRI:  I teach guitar lessons so I do that several hours a day.  I work on my CD and try to meet the deadline and get it as good as possible.  I'm a member of the the American Federation of Musicians and play gigs.  When I'm not doing those other things, there's a lot of practice for gigs, sound checks, making sure my equipment is working properly.....
EVAN:  Is there a certain method you use for writing songs?
TERRI:  Usually, I hear it in my head.  I hear the drums, the backing vocals, the lead, everything.  Then I bring it to life when I record it.  Sometimes it comes in a dream and I get up and write it down.  Sometimes it's a silly little song that's catchy that everybody will remember and request, something I just make up.  Sometimes I write several musical compositions, then several lyrics.  Then later I go back and see which fits with what.  It just depends on the mood.  And also what I'm going through.  I write my best songs when I'm actually going through what I'm writing about.  
EVAN:  Do you ever collaborate?
TERRI:  Sometimes.  For the CD, it's mostly been my own stuff to cut costs on royalties.  But I do like collaborating and wouldn't be opposed to starting a band when the CD is done.
EVAN:  How do you like teaching lessons in the middle of doing all the other things?
TERRI:  I love it and I love my students.  I wouldn't change it for anything in the world.  I feel that the way to live on into eternity is to pass on your knowledge.  My students are great and I look forward to seeing them learn songs, get better and see them feeling good about themselves.  It's rewarding for me.  In fact, on my CD, I will put them in the thank you notes.  I think the teacher can also be the student. 
EVAN:  How did you get into the business end of music?
TERRI:  I was on an independent label at one time that went bankrupt.  I learned about the business that way and sort of stayed in it and have made some contacts.  I learned how to make money through music, how to negotiate.....It's something you learn through trial and error, like anything else.  You learn to be shrewd.  I was lucky enough to meet Richard Hannemann, an excellent musician who has started his own record label and has agreed to help me market and sell my music.  I've learned a lot from him.  He's an extremely talented musician and trustworthy person.  
EVAN:  Now you have four songs on your website.  Are these going to be songs on your CD?
TERRI:  Yes.  Actually, the first two songs were recorded on the first label.  The other two are songs that are going to be on the CD coming out in June.  I have those four on the site because those are on the only four I have copyrights on. It works like this:  It costs to copyright each individual piece of music OR you can copyright an entire CD.  So the other songs won't be on the site until the CD is finished so there will be copyrights on them.  It's just more practical to do it that way.
EVAN:  What do you think of shows like American Idol?
TERRI:  (Laughs)  It's entertainment.  I mean, I've judged a few talent shows and I can tell you that each judge brings with them their own perspectives, opinions and experiences when they sit down.  Like, I'm a musician.  So if someone brings their own instrument and plays a song they've written, I'm probably more likely to give them a higher score.  If the judge is a singer, they're more likely to give the singer a higher score.  If the judge is in the business end of it, they're more likely to give the most marketable artist the higher score.  So with things like that, I tell people, don't get discouraged if you don't win.  It's the judges' views, not the worlds.
EVAN:  (Laughs)  I was in a talent show once and didn't win.  So that helps!  
TERRI:  I judged a show once where the judges told me ahead of time who they wanted to win.  I mean, they made it clear who they wanted to win and the show hadn't even started yet.  Someone else won, probably because I gave him higher scores than anyone else but I felt he deserved it.  The other person came in second place.  The other judges were pretty peeved but you know, I don't regret it because he deserved a fair chance like anyone else and he honestly, in my opinion, was better.  He didn't play an instrument.  It wasn't that.  He just had a great stage presence, great voice, had a whole dance routine he had made up for it and you could tell he had been working hard for it.  They didn't ask me to help judge again.  But hey.  They asked me to judge fairly and I did it.
EVAN:  So you have no regrets.  
TERRI:  No.
EVAN:  So you don't kiss " you know what", I take it!  (Laughs)
TERRI:  I never have, which is probably why I don't get along too well in the corporate world!  (Smiles)
EVAN:  A rebel?
TERRI:  Maybe.  I've been called that, but if I am it's with a cause.
EVAN:  May I ask, what the cause is?
TERRI:  Don't be afraid to question authority, think for yourself.  
EVAN:  I like that.  Have you always felt that way?
TERRI:  Yeah, pretty much. 
EVAN:  What do you do in your free time, if you have any?
TERRI:  Right now, I basically have Fridays.  My husband and I play tennis, bike ride, we collect DVDs and CDs.  We LOVE Montego Bay and go once a year.  Because of our schedules, I don't know when we'll get there again.  We're looking at time shares in Jamaica.  That way, we don't have to take a cruise to go spend 4 or 5 hours there once a year.
EVAN:  Music must be doing well.
TERRI:  Well, like I said, it's hard, hard work.  It could all be gone tomorrow so I don't jinx it.  We're by no means even close to wealthy but it works.  Like any other job.
EVAN:  Any advice for budding musicians out there?
TERRI:  Do NOT get a big head.  You'll hear a lot of cruel things about yourself and you'll hear a lot of bologna flattery.  Remember...It's a JOB.  Never forget that.  For every person who hates your music, there will be someone who loves it.  Meet the people who come to hear you play,call them by name, be courteous, send a thank you note to the establishment you played at....Present yourself as a professional. I learned that from the Musicians Union.  Play what is YOU.  That's what I respect about B.B. King.  At a time when blues was changing and artists were doing things to become more "marketable", B.B. stayed blues because blues was in his heart.  He didn't care about marketable.  He cared about being himself and pleasing his fans.  Today he is respected for that.  I think there is a country song that goes something like, "I was country when country wasn't cool."  Well, B.B. was blues when blues wasn't cool.  And that's what I think budding musicians need to remember.  Play what is in your heart.....even if it isn't cool.  Keep it up.  Do what is YOU.  Play what is YOU.  You'll have an audience, trust me.  And most importantly, when you lose, don't lose the lesson.
EVAN:  Thank you, Terri.  I've enjoyed talking with you and I'm looking forward to the CD.  When is the next Coffee Fusion gig?
TERRI:  April 29th.  I'm keeping gigs to a minimum right now to meet my CD deadline.  But I will be at Coffee Fusion on April 29th.  Hope to see you there?
EVAN:  Thank you.  I'll try to make it!
TERRI:  Thank you, Evan.


(This interview was taped on cassette for a Journalism assignment and could not be uploaded on cassette tape to the web.  Evan was professional and courteous throughout the interview and I will sit for an interview with him again anytime!)