Lady Antebellum: LP Field Press Conference CMA Music Festival 2010

Lady Antebellum LP Field Press Conference CMA Music Festival 2010

Q: With the CMA Fest, talk about how much change has occurred over the last year. Talk about that transition period to the next level of super stardom with your fans.

Hillary: We owe them an arm and a leg. 2010, so far, has been the most amazing year of our lives with the album coming out in January and the Grammys. We have been floating on a cloud. It has been a really great year and what a way to celebrate. The fans are the reason we are standing here right now. Having all these people come into town after the flooding and continue to raise money, bring money into this city when it needs so much repair has been especially great. I think this year especially holds a very special place in our hearts for a lot of reasons. Not only what has happened in our careers but because of what happened in our city.

Q: You had your fan club party today. Tell us about it.
Charles: It was fun. We raised some money for the flooding. Those parties are always so much fun because we see familiar faces, the die-hard fans that come to a lot of shows throughout the year and have been with us from day one, maybe even before we had a record deal. It is our way of showing appreciation and at the same time giving some money to the flood relief. The energy is definitely heightened this year, the fans are responding so much more to the music and it is a great feeling. We are starting to see people that know the words off the first record and I know it is because of “Need You Now”. They are going back and discovering that.

Q: With your music crossing so many genres, do you still feel country?

Dave: Oh yes. Our home is always in country. When we set out to do this, we just wanted to play country music, but it has been exciting for different outlets to play “Need You Now”. The way we look at it is it will bring more fans to country music. I think country music is the best music in the world. It has such a diverse range of authentic and real artists so if we can bring people from all over the world into this genre and they learn about all these other great acts and artists, then that is a win for us.

Q: Do you have any plans to tour internationally?

Charles: We are looking into it. Right now our schedule is so crazy. We have been talking about it. Our latest single has been released all over and the album also. As far as we have been hearing, it has received a good response.

Hillary: It is definitely up on our priority list. We are finishing this summer with Tim McGraw and then we go out in the fall here in the States doing our first headlining tour. Those are first on the priority list, but International touring is right underneath it. We can’t wait to go and meet the fans that we have already made and meet the ones that we hope to continue to make all over the world.

Dave: Hillary wants to go to Australia.

Hillary: I do, really bad.

Q: Can you give some advice for aspiring music professionals?

Charles: Be in the right place at the right time. We recognize, especially being in Nashville, you can go down Broadway and hear singers that are better than us. It is just a matter of right place, right time and hopefully the right sound and the right songs. There are so many things

Hillary: There is a tenacious quality that you have to have. You have to do something everyday towards your craft whether it is write down song ideas, practice your guitar, play a show. I think the best advice we could give is to do something every day towards your goal, whatever that is.

Q: There seems to be a group in Nashville, the young people like you and Miranda and Luke and others that are friends. Can you talk about that camaraderie?

Charles: It just kind of happened. I don’t think it is anything anyone set out to do. We are all like-minded with similar interests. The top of the priority list is music. We love it. I think it is only natural and I don’t think you would ever see it in any other genre of music. You see Reba McIntire, Brooks and Dunn and George Strait and how they’re so close. We would all love to have that kind of thing, rooting each other on, playing on each other records, writing with each other and experience this ride together.

Dave: I think a lot of this stems from songwriting too. Luke and Miranda write a lot of their stuff and we do as well. It is fun to get together with other artists and write and collaborate.

Hillary: This is obvious but we love camaraderie, being in a group and having each other is so much fun. I think it is only natural for us to gravitate towards other people who love what we love and becoming great friends with them is just icing on the cake.

Charles: Get ready for the super group, we will have ten people.

Q: You have picked up so many awards in the past year, do you have any special place you keep them?

Hillary: I have my Grammy award right on my bedside table. I don’t care, I say good morning and good night to it every day.

Dave: I have been giving them to my Mom because I don’t like to put too many of them up. I have my Grammy up like Hillary but for me I just like to have a few. My Mom has people over to the house and they like to see them and take pictures with them.

Q: Do you have any memories from being on the road with Tim McGraw that really stand out to you?

Charles: He teased me about not ever wanting to go out and play basketball with him. He busted me pretty hard about that. He has a tradition of giving a shirt to his opening act and I thought he was kidding at first but his wardrobe person said that is something he does. One day he came out and brought Dave and I each a shirt of his, I thought that was really cool. I wonder how that started? I wonder if it was a new artist, he said “you have a bad style, here is one of my shirts, get started on the right path”.

Hillary: I want one, I didn’t get one.

Q: Did he have them drycleaned?

Charles: I think so, it will be on Ebay tomorrow.

Q: You are going on your headlining tour in the fall. What are some of the lessons you have learned over the years from others that you toured with?

Charles: We have been given a lot of leeway. Most everyone we have opened for have allowed us a lot of use of the stage and creative freedom with our set.

Hillary: Just leave it all out there is what we have seen in all the artists we have had an opportunity to open for. They give it their all every night, night after night and they take care of their people. We have been lucky to be out on some great tours where they take care of everyone from the opener to the guitar tech. That is so important to show them that you care as they work way longer hours than we ever could. Just take care of your people.
For additional photos of CMA Music Festival LP Field Backstage visit http://MomentsByMoser.zenfolio.com/lpbackstage

Transcribed by Pam Stadel for Digital Rodeo