Midwest native Candi Carpenter‘s love for music started as a young girl while growing up on the road with her family’s gospel band. Her drive to make it as a country singer burned like a fire in her soul, and that fire is still raging inside her. With vocals compared to Janis Joplin and icon Lorretta Lynn, Carpenter’s career has already had some amazing highlights, including performing with several incredible country music legends, with many more to come.
We caught up with the talented “Burn the Bed” singer to find out a bit more of her story, her songwriting process, and more. Check out our Q&A below:
CN: For our readers who may not be familiar with you, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
CC: Hi! I’m Candi. I love pizza, my cats, other people’s dogs (I want one of my own), and country music. I’ve been working on my career in Nashville since I was a tiny little girl, and it took me 20 years of blood, sweat, tears, and closing doors to land a record deal with Sony. I write songs about my life and the lives of the people that I love, and I hope that telling my story will encourage others to keep fighting for their own dreams.
CN: While you were growing up, you went on tour with your family’s gospel band. What kind of an experience was that from a child’s point of view?
CC: As an eight year old, I loved performing, but hated rehearsing. I wanted to play with my cousins while the grown-ups were practicing. No dice. I had the same responsibilities as the rest of the band, and it taught me a lot about commitment. We lived in Michigan, but the rest of the family band lived in rural Ohio, so every month we’d load up the car and head down. We played churches and county fairs all over the midwest, and sometimes my Dad would preach in the middle of the show. My Grandpa, Ray Burt, was an accomplished steel guitar player, and he was also the first person to introduce me to traditional country music. Gospel heavily influenced my sound, because it was such a huge part of my early childhood.
CN: Not many people can say they crashed a Vince Gill concert – but you did so at age 11! Please tell us about that day.
CC: My mom took me to The Jackson County Fair to see Terri Clark and Vince Gill. I’d been watching a lot of TV shows and movies about singers “getting discovered,” and I had no idea how to make that happen in Lansing, Michigan. I wrote a note to Vince on the back of my ticket stub that said: “Can I yodel for you? -Your Fan, Candace.” I went up to the edge of the stage over and over again, waving the note in the air and hoping that he would notice me. I was so surprised when he walked over to me and took it! He was just about to set it off to the side, so I yelled, “READ IT, IT’S IMPORTANT!” He opened it, started laughing, and said, “Get up here!” The security guard hoisted me up onto the stage, and I was like a deer in the headlights, looking ridiculous in high-water bell bottom jeans and an orange fleece pullover. He handed me his mic, and all I could think to do was yodel the chorus of Patsy Montana’s “Cowboy’s Sweetheart.” Vince gave me a hug and said “Thank you Candace, I needed that.” What a kind man, to actually take that note from me, and not get annoyed with the little girl who was interrupting his show. He changed my life that night.
CN: Which artists, country or not, have you looked up to? Are there any current country artists that you are inspired by?
CC: At the age of sixteen I started touring with Grand Ole Opry star Jack Greene and his contemporaries. I spent a few of my teen years growing up backstage at the Opry, and learned so much from watching Jack, Little Jimmy Dickens, Loretta Lynn, Porter Wagoner, Riders in the Sky, and the many other talented artists and legends that I had the opportunity to work with. The first time I heard a Janis Joplin record, I knew I wanted to learn to sing with that kind of grit and passion. Aretha Franklin, Dolly Parton, Ray Charles, Amy Winehouse, Patsy Cline, Lightnin’ Hopkins, and Glen Campbell are just a few of my major influences. I was also fortunate to write several songs with the late Phil Everly of The Everly Brothers. He’s another one of my heroes, and was like an adopted uncle to me.
As far as current artists go, I’m really inspired by my fellow, rising female country artists. Girls like my friend Kalie Shorr, who has an EP coming out this year, have me excited to be a part of the next generation of country.
CN: Your desire to perform was so strong that you left high school to pursue your career. What lessons did you take away from those years performing at Tootsies and The Broken Spoke Saloon that helped you to be who you are today?
CC: I left school and officially moved to Nashville when I was 15. I was already missing a ton of class, traveling back and forth between Michigan and Tennessee, so the stages of bars and honky tonks became my classroom. I played the bars until 2 or 3 AM every day, until I could barely keep my eyes open and I was falling asleep in my seat, waiting to go on stage. I was working with a person who was supposed to be managing my career and protecting me, but who wound up being the greatest danger of them all. Since it was against the law for a 15-year-old girl to be hanging around in bars at night, this person hid me in a bathroom stall whenever the police came in to check ID’s. I learned how to take care of myself, and how to survive in any situation. I learned that I was stronger than I ever could have imagined, and several years later, I escaped that abusive situation.
CN: You tend to write songs when “men piss you off” – which can provide a lot of material. Perfect example – your single “Burn the Bed.” Can you tell us a little bit about your songwriting process?
CC: My phone crashed last year because I had too many voice memos saved. I try my best to keep everything organized in Evernote, but my creative process is messy. I began writing “Burn The Bed” several years ago, but it didn’t come together as a completed song until I was out of the relationship that inspired it. I’m always writing, even in my sleep. I didn’t get a lot of rest in 2017 thanks to 2 AM song ideas.
CN: Before signing with CTK Management 3 years ago, you held several odd jobs to help pay for demos and food and your current song “Nights and Weekends” is about working in a restaurant to get by. How important is it to you to take not only personal experiences but experiences that every day people face and put it into the words of a song?
CC: I am an everyday person, I just happen to sing about it. I’ve been a housekeeper, a barista at Starbucks, a restaurant hostess, a waitress, a children’s Disney Princess birthday party entertainer, an office assistant, a personal assistant, and a Marilyn Monroe singing telegram performer, among other odd jobs. There’s nothing creepier than singing “Happy Birthday Mister President” to a stranger in their living room while their wife films it on the family camcorder. Being honest about life, and the challenges we all face is very important to me.
CN: If you could describe yourself in one word, what would it be and why?
CC: Stubborn. It’s my strength, and my weakness. It keeps me fighting, but also makes it hard to admit when I’m wrong. I’m working on that.
CN: Do you have any songwriting and/or performing dream collaborations in mind?
CC: I dream of writing and recording with Dolly Parton, Chris Stapleton, and Eric Church. Also, if Little Big Town asked me to be the new fifth member, I’d totally be down.
CN: What’s on the horizon for you in 2018?
CC: A lot of new music is coming this year. Follow me on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter for updates!
For more information on Candi Carpenter, visit her website: www.candicarpenter.com