Featured Artist

Cristina Lynn – singer-songwriter

Interview with Cristina Lynn
by Sarah Powell

Cristina Lynn draws her listeners through her charming north Alabama, country style music. As a singer-songwriter, her passion for God, her family, and the people around her comes through in her music.

Cristina shares how music became her passion and her career. “I think it was several years in the making to be honest with you. I have been passionate about music my whole life – loved all kinds. I sang in the FFA quartet [the only all-female quartet to compete in the Alabama State Competition], sang in the Sweet Adelines [an a cappella group of women], and was in a couple barbershop quartets. I grew up Church of Christ so I sang a cappella my whole life - at a lot of funerals, at a lot of weddings. My husband asked me when he first met me, ‘Why haven’t you ever pursued using your voice?’ I just never thought it was possible. I didn’t think a country girl could do it. Then I worked forever. I worked as an RN in an emergency room and did occupational health services, and then I was a pharmaceutical rep for several years. We were living in Birmingham and had Ethan. Long story short, Ethan had congenital heart disease so that opened my heart a lot to just how fragile life is and how every second of every moment is a blessing. We went through a really tough first year with him, and I worked – tried to work. I finally took a leave of absence so that I could stay with him full time and just really embrace being a mom and helping him get through his surgeries. At two and half weeks of age, he had a thoracotomy, and at nine months of age, he had open-heart surgery. I realized then that life was fragile. We were living in Birmingham and Ethan was doing great. The next thing I knew, Kevin got laid off from his job. Two weeks later, my daddy died. It was a year that I was just reminded that life is a blessing and you better just soak up every moment. I was still trying to work. We were blessed that Kevin was offered a job back home.  We got to come back and be with all of my family and Kevin’s family. I was still trying to work and do the corporate thing. My heart was not in it. I was traveling a lot, and Kevin was traveling a lot. He finally looked at me and said ‘Please just quit.’ I couldn’t. I was a businesswoman. That’s what I thought the world needed from me. I finally realized that Ethan was getting lost. He was the one that was lost in all this crazy discombobulated life that we were living. It was a good life – don’t get me wrong. I just started seeing that we were missing him, and he was missing us. Finally, Kevin looked at me and he said ‘Please quit and chase your dream… you know we’re going to be old and gray and rocking on our front porch one day and we’re going to say, ‘Why didn’t we ever try this?’’ He’s one of my biggest fans. Kevin has always believed that there’s something in my voice that grabs hold of your gut. I started writing, and it just kind of happened. I wrote ‘Don’t Blink’. That’s about Ethan. It’s about parents not blinking because they’ll miss their kids growing up. I wrote ‘My Strength and My Rock’ and that’s about Kevin. That’s true. He’s where I pull a lot of my strength. Then I wrote ‘The One’, and that’s about my mom and dad and their love for each other and how daddy died so early. If you ever find The One, if you’re lucky enough to find that one person, hold on. Again, it goes back to life being fragile and not ever being promised a tomorrow. So it was several years in the making. When I decided to do it, I started writing. It doesn’t come easy always but when it does, it just flows. It’s like it seeps out of my pores. It may be something about me or somebody that I love and am very, very close to or it could just be about something that I saw on the TV and I embraced it, became one with it. There it is.”

After creating her first CD “What’s Next”, she is now most excited about the debut of her newest CD titled “From All Sides”. Cristina shares her excitement by telling the story behind her newest CD. “I titled the CD ‘From All Sides’ because when I sat down with the producer [David Vest], I told him, ‘This is my second CD. I want it to show me as a writer, an artist, a passionate musician.’ That’s what it’s done. I was so excited when I heard the final mixes and when I sat down and looked at the photography work. I was like ‘This is totally what I wanted it to be’. So it’s kind of exciting… It’s been a long time coming. Hopefully, I will be selling my first ones Sunday night at the Bluebird Café in Nashville. I will be there for my fifth time at their Sunday Songwriters Night. I do not have a CD release party date yet. That is my next step. I have several venues that I play currently that would like for me to do it, but several of them are bars. I’ve had several requests for kids to come and of course kids can’t come into smoking bars, so I’m in the process of trying to figure all that out. I’ve been very blessed that there are several kids that enjoy listening to my stuff. So that’s a really cool thing. When I started this crazy dream, I wanted to cover the gamut from kids to older people and that’s kind of been what’s happening. So I’m anxious for this CD to come out to see what just might happen…I’ve gotten some emails from some folks that bought the CD, ‘What’s Next’, and their kids love it. They kind of confiscated it. It’s really a neat thing. I’ve got a nine year old and he has his favorite songs. He let’s me know really quick what they are. When he can come see me play, I have to play those. I’ve thought about trying to write a kids song because I love children, but I’ve not done that as of yet. The songs on this new CD cover the gamut. There’s one called ‘No Regrets’ which is just living your life to its fullest and not looking back and saying ‘Why didn’t I do this?’ It’s actually an unpublished song [written by Philip White, Kelly Shiver, and Kerry Harvick]. When I heard it, I was like, ‘That’s so me!’ That’s really what I’m doing. I’m living my dream from way back when. I never really believed that I could do what I’m doing today. There’s a lot of help; a lot of pushing from my husband and several close friends. I’m actively pursuing this and loving every minute of it. There are a couple songs on the CD that my husband and I wrote together. The first song we wrote together, we wrote it on our seventeenth anniversary. We were walking through the mountains. It’s called ‘House on Wheels’ [also co-written by Chuck Rutenberg]. It’s about a young girl that grew up in a trailer.  She was always ashamed of who she was and where she came from. Her brand new house on wheels has taken her from New York to L.A. In the end, she’s living on a bus, and she’s traveling. The whole idea is when she was growing up and she was so ashamed of who she was and where she came from, she wrote about it. So that actually put her where she is today. At the end of the song, she realizes it was a house on wheels but it was hers. There was always love. There was always peace. It’s a fun song. Then the second one that Kevin and I wrote was called ‘The Next Goodbye.’ I’m really excited about this one. It’s about a couple that fought and one goes away to work and unfortunately never comes home. It’s all about living in that moment and always remembering that you may not get another goodbye.” Cristina shares the inspiration for these two songs. “Neither one of us grew up in a trailer. We had friends that did but Kevin came up with the concept. He kept saying ‘There’s got to be something about a house on wheels’. Some people feel ashamed – they shouldn’t because that’s who they are. History makes you who you are. Then ‘The Next Goodbye’, I won’t say we’ve never fought, but we have a great relationship. He came to me with a poem. I just fell in love with the whole thought of it. It makes me sad. It talks about her being alone. ‘She’s all alone in black, but she’s surrounded by her friends.’ She talks about trying to say she’s sorry because in the song, when he’s leaving, he tells her I’m sorry, but she ignores him and lets him leave. The whole idea is make your next goodbye everything that it can be because you may not get another one. It’s one that I’m really excited about. People have really embraced that one. Another one that I co-wrote with my friend Chuck Rutenberg is called ‘I Miss You’. It is three simple words. I’ve been told several times it needs to change because it’s too simple. It’s all about military men and women and how they must feel and how their families must feel. I started that song several years ago; probably when I first started writing which was about four years ago. You just see on the TV these people coming and going and we just take it for granted because that’s their job. I sat down one day and they were showing some of the faces and I thought ‘Wow! What can be the common denominator between the one leaving and the one staying? It’s those three simple words ‘I Miss You.’ So I’m really excited about that song, too. It’s touched a lot of lives and I hope it will touch many more. I feel really positive about it… A friend of mine who is a book writer wants to feature me on her blog. She and I have been talking about doing some collaborating together in the future. We were talking about ‘I Miss You’. Several people were like ‘Somebody’s got to die because it’s a country song.’ I thought ‘No, no, no because that takes away from the whole concept.’ It’s not about life or death. It’s about the sacrifice. The chorus is ‘I really want to hold you. Hold you so much that my arms ache and my heart breaks. You’re half a mile away’… The second chorus is ‘You’re half a world away. It’s more than my heart can take. If I could just kiss you, but I know I have to risk you. Baby, I miss you.’ That’s what it’s about. I think we take it for granted. It’s their job, but still they’re leaving their life… There’s another unpublished song that I’m really excited about. I say unpublished but it’s unpublished in the States…  One More Girl released it in Canada. It’s called ‘When It Ain’t Raining.’ It was written by Victoria Banks and of all people Gretchen Wilson up in Nashville. I fell in love with the song. It’s so beautiful.”

When asked if there is a particular song that exemplifies her or speaks to her heart, Cristina explains, “It’s funny you say that. In the first CD ‘What’s Next’, I co-wrote all the original songs with David Sheppard. There’s a song on there about my husband. There’s a song on there about my little boy. There’s a song on there about my mom and dad. If I had to look at any one that I love singing and I think it has the chance to touch lot’s of people….  it would be ‘I Miss You’ because I think that we take for granted how blessed we are with the freedoms that we have. Freedom comes from people going and laying down their lives so that we have a chance – that I have a chance to do this. I get to write my passion. I get to go out and play my passion, and so much of that is because of freedom and of course from God above. That’s one of the quotes in my thanks ‘The first thank you goes to God’ because without Him, none of this is possible. A quote from the artwork, ‘Giving thanks to God for making all things possible through hard work and perseverance.’ Anything is possible in the USA. We are so blessed. It all started with Him.”

Cristina shares her inspirations for creating her music. “You better look out if you’re around me because you could say one word to me that might spark something. I’m really excited – again I go back to the CD because I have two songs on here that I wrote by myself. I’ve gotten great positive feedback on them. One is ‘I’d Rather Be Loved’. It was the first song that I ever wrote in DADGAD. I am a very new guitar picker; I’ve been picking about three years now. I sat down and finally retuned one of my guitars to DADGAD and fell in love with it. ‘I’d Rather Be Loved’ started and I just kept messing with it. When I sat down with the producer, David Vest, who produced the CD, he said ‘That song has got to go on here. It is amazing.’ So that was very humbling for me to hear. There is another one that I wrote by myself, it’s called ‘Making It.’ It’s a single-mom anthem. It’s about a mom and her daughter. They didn’t ask to live life alone, but they’re Making It. She’s making it happen for her daughter, and they make it happen for each other by taking care of each other. He heard that one and said ‘Wow. That one’s got to make it, too. That’s going on there.’ So it’s really exciting for me to hear because I’ve always co-written with people. I’m such a baby when it comes to playing guitar.  I mean I’m such a new picker. I’m totally a rhythm guitar picker. I’m not a lead in any shape, form, or fashion. When I decided to pick, I wanted to be able to accompany myself, and I want to be able to write by myself. So that way, I don’t have to rely on other people and I don’t have to find a guitar picker to write a song. With both of these songs going on there, it showed me well maybe I’m doing something right.”

On her newest CD “From All Sides”, Cristina is accompanied by a solid sound made up of several experienced musicians. She tells of her experience co-producing her CD. “On the CD, I was blessed to bring in some amazing players. David [producer] had some great connections with some Nashville guys. The keyboard player was Michael Whittaker. All of the picking, electric, and acoustic guitar was played by Tom Hemby, who has played with Vince Gill. These guys were all just so like me and you. It was really cool. The whole session was just amazing. The bass picker was Jeff Cox, who has played with Trisha Yearwood in the past. The drummer and percussionist was Brian Fullen, who has played with Jessica Andrews. She did ‘Rosemary’s Granddaughter’. She’s making a come back and so he has been playing for her a lot. These guys have been playing all their lives pretty much. They’ve either been on the road for years or when they weren’t on the road, they were in the studio. They were huge in helping me be comfortable with my music. David would play them a demo, and they’d go in and work their magic. It was amazing. When I heard ‘I Miss You’, I literally cried in the sound booth. I could so hear what I had been wanting all along. It was just a longing and that’s what ‘I Miss You’ is all about. They long for each other but they are both doing what they have to do. The producer brought in Tina Miller. She played the fiddle. She pulled long mournful chords through ‘I Miss You’, and it was just amazing. Of course, my friend, Russ Holder, did play steel guitar on ‘I Miss You’. As I tell Russ, every time he picks that steel guitar, it just makes me cry.”

As her live accompaniment is in process of changing, Cristina continues to hold onto her dream.   “At the end of the 2009 year, my co-worker, Chuck decided he needed to just kind of layout for a while. So I am in a huge change around period as you can only imagine. Russ and I are still playing out. I did not book anything for January purposefully. I’ve been trying to finish up the CD and get myself squared away for the new year. My hope for this year is I will be playing more solo. I will be playing with other musicians…Russ, his son, Brandon Holder, and a few other people are on my radar. My goal is to put together a band and play some festivals and see just how far I can take this crazy dream… Have you ever been doing anything or been in a place and you just know it’s right? That’s the best way I can describe it. I’ve worked as a nurse. I have worked in sales. I have worked as a dental assistant. When I started writing, I knew that something was right. When I started playing out, I just knew it. Every time I play out with somebody, it’s like confirmation again that this is the right journey. I’ve just got to make the right choices and walk the right road and walk through the right doors. I have been so blessed – and I know it sounds crazy – but when something happens that I think is bad or is the end of the world or I can’t do this anymore because somebody has decided to quit or somebody has decided to do something else, another door opens. I’ve been afraid to walk through doors, but it’s the right thing to do. It’s just like the decision to use David, the producer, for the CD. I didn’t know him, but it just worked out. He was a nice guy and his work sounded great.  I took in ‘The Next Goodbye’, told him what I wanted, and he and the guys worked their magic. The demo blew me away. So I went back in, talked contract and we signed it.  Here we are… It’s all a journey. It’s all about timing. I’m a believer that timing has a way of showing us what we need. God has His hand on that. There are some things we can change and there are many things that we cannot.”

As Cristina continues to pursue her dream in music, she also enjoys spending time with her family and volunteering at her son’s school. “I run to keep up with my family. We’re all runners so we do that together. That’s a really cool thing that we do. I love other people; spending time with them and hearing what other people’s dreams are. I love to get to know people because I think there is a spirit in everyone that needs to be met. I’m a volunteer at my little boy’s school and I eat that up. I love the kids. It’s so cool because when I walk in, they want hugs. I know that won’t last forever so I eat that up.”

Kevin, her husband, and Ethan, her son, are actively involved in her music career. Cristina tells how her family shares in her experience. “Kevin would laugh and tell you that he can’t carry a tune in a bucket. He knows good music when he hears it. He does not sing, but he is a great writer. You’ll see that when you hear ‘The Next Goodbye’ and you hear ‘House on Wheels’. We’re actually working on a few others. He’s got great ideas. My child, Ethan always brings me back to reality. We tivoed the Country Music Awards that were recently on.  He wanted to watch them with me. While we were eating dinner together, he was like ‘Mommy, I just can’t wait until you’re on there’.  One day after a long day at school, and we’re talking about his day.  He was so sweet. He told me ‘Mommy, I had to write a story today about somebody that I admired.’ And I was like ‘Really? Who’d you write about?’ He said ‘You.’ And do you know, my eight year old at the time - he just turned nine on Sunday - he said ‘Mommy, you do what you love and you take care of me. You write about people.’ I was like ‘Oh my gosh! He’s eight and he gets why I do what I do.’ I sat there and I cried. I called Kevin and was like ‘Ethan gets its.’ Now he doesn’t totally get everything that might come from this crazy dream, but he tells me ‘Someday, mommy, people are going to hear you and they’re going to hear your music.’ I thought ‘Wow. He’s eight and he understands why we’re doing all this crazy stuff.’ It just made my heart smile. All I can say is ‘He gets it.’ There are so many people that don’t. Sometimes I think we should all go back to the eyes of an eight year old and just remember what life is about. Being a mom is a great journey… When people embrace what I am passionate about and they understand why I am, it’s really neat.”

Cristina shares her ultimate dream. “You know, I have been to the Grand Ole Opry. I have sat up in those seats. I would love to play the Grand Ole Opry. I know that is a huge dream. I want to be an artist. I’m different from most female country artists out there. I am a wife. I am a mom. I have done a lot of other things in the past. I think that this crazy dream can go as far as it will go if people will just stop, look, and listen. And think, ‘Why is she doing this?’ A lot of it is just to prove to myself that I’m going to live my life with no regrets. I am going to be the best wife and mom I can be. I’m going to be the best daughter and sister and best Christian person and best friend and let the light shine. I think I do that through my voice. I had a friend years ago that asked me what I was going to say to God when He asked me why I didn’t use my talent. I was like ‘What are you talking about?’ She said ‘Your voice. You know, you sing like an angel and nobody hears it but the people that sit in front of you in church.’ I said ‘That’s not very nice of you to ask’. She said, ‘Well He’s going to ask you someday. So I want to know what you’re going to say to Him.’ I was like ‘That’s interesting’. She and I are still fantastic friends. She can’t be at everything that I do, but she knows everything that’s going on. It was very interesting to sit and ponder her question. At the same time, Kevin was wanting me to quit work and wanting me to chase my dream. He was like ‘I just dare you to try to write a song.’ Here I am. He was laughing the other night. He said ‘Who would have thought that you’d be playing stuff by yourself with your guitar and your voice? You have this great CD coming out. Who would ever thought?’ Where will I be in five years? I hope and pray that I make the right choices when they come along. If somebody’s willing to give a north Alabama girl a chance, we’ll just see what happens.”

A message from Cristina Lynn [www.cristinalynnblog.com] to all her fans…

“If you’ve got a dream, figure it out and chase it because tomorrow’s not promised. If we don’t chase what our dreams are, we’re probably not fulfilled. We’re not really who we want to be. I think that’s important for everybody that’s walking around in this world. Dream and dream big! Don’t let anybody step on what that dream is because you just never know how big it can be until you try!”