The Making Of No Static...

  Asheville, North Carolina, United States
Wednesday, March 5, 2008

studio south

Recording at Echo Mountain was an amazing expieriance! The first day in the studio, a show that was being shot for HD-TV called, Studio South came into the studio while we worked up new material and prepared to start recording that week. Kim Clark interviewed me, and put together a beautiful glance at my time in the studio.

Host, Kim Clark

It was so well done, and I felt so lucky to have been a part of one of the pilot episodes. You can view what the finished product was by clicking here.  It was a great time in the studio, I was blessed to work with such muscians and people as:
Aaron Price, Producer and Keys, Bill Reynolds, Producer and Bass, Danny Kadar, Engineer and Co-producer, Craig Aspin of The Believers on Electric Guitar, Matt Smith on Pedal Steel, Will Straughn on lap steel, Tyler Ramsey on lap steel, Gordie Sampson on backing vocals, Sarah Dugas on backing vocals, Juan Benevidas on Nylon Acoustic Guitar, River Guerguerian on drums and percussion, Oz Orengo on drums and percussion, Scott Senior on percussion, and yes, one more drummer, none other than Mike Rhodes on Drums and percussion (mike played on the majority of the album).

Studio South

I mean, there were so many amazing talents that worked on this album, that I very well may have forgotten to list someone here, but you get the idea.
As if all of that wasn't enough, my album was mastered by World renowned Chris Athens at Sterling Sound in New York City. Gordie Sampson (Grammy song of the year for Jesus Take The Wheel, among many others) wrote Your Place In This World and not only allowed us to record it but laid some beautiful harmony parts down as well. All in all, it was very expensive, but a well spent investment for sure.
After finishing the making of my album, in April, I was selected along with Asheville rock legend, Woody Wood as one of the top two finalist to appear on CMT's Big Break, and open for Sara Evans in Asheville [NC.PHOTO_ID_R=kellin-and-sara-on-stage.jpg] I marked my national television debut on August 4th, 2007, and have received plenty of postive feedback from viewers and supporters. It was pretty wild having cameras follow me around constantly, I must admitt, but it was a chance for exposure that I couldn't pass up!

After the show

They tried to buy us all sorts of stuff, but I didn't catch on to the fact that they were trying to spend money on us, so I turned down all of their attempts by accident! But Woody Wood got a spankin' new pair of fancy cowboots, and it made me wish I would have pushed for some dang boots ya'll. But they did follow me to the salon as I got my hair done. Some of my friends showed up to support me through the awkward filming.

Me and my friends after my "makeover"

 
They had all different kinds of wine out, and before I knew it, my boyfriend Jon and best friend Kathryn had gone through 4 bottles of wine! oh my goodness, they were so hilarious. We had fun goofing off in between takes, as you can tell from the photo.

Bele Chere, 2007

While I had completed my album and it was ready for release, I still didn't have the funds to order the final duplication for the CD's. I was asked to be a part of Bele Chere Music festival 2007 which took place in downtown Asheville on July 28th, 2007.

The Band!

I had a great time slot, a killer new band line up, and an amazing turnout of passers by in addition to my wonderful fans, friends and supporters. The only thing missing from the equation was my new release, No Static! I couldn't believe I had none to sell!
All summer long I had been working hard so that I could pay off my debts, and order the CD's. I started playing at The Biltmore Estate on the weekends for one of their restaurants at the Winery to start paying some of the bills off. The pay was mediocre, but I received tips, and was allowed to sell my CD's, which helped me bring in more of an income each weekend as a whole. The crowds of course tended to be a bit hit or miss, but for the most part, it gave me time to really work my songs out and practice new material as well. Performing at the Biltmore opend unexpected doors for me as well.

Billy Stevie Ray Vaughn Corgin

While performing on July 4th at The Biltmore, Billy Corgin of The Smashing Pumpkins just so happen to catch one of my sets. He was impressed enough to come over and talk to me afterwards and tryed buying my CD.

Smashing Pumpkins, July 2007

He was extremely gentle and complamentary and gave myself and friends tickets to his final Asheville show(during the bands 9 day residency).

The Smashing Pumpkins Possie

 You never know who might be strolling the grounds of the Biltmore I suppose!
While I continued working at The Biltmore regularly to pay all my debt off that summer, a close friend of mine and my family's approached me with a business proposal to help me pay off my debt and get my album out asap. The rate that I was going, I would have been lucky to get my album out by January of 2008! So his generous offer truly helped me out of the woods for the moment so that I could get my much anticipated 3rd album out finally!!! This person is not only a great friend of mine, but he's a great person in our community in general. He has not only helped me, but he continues to support and help performers of all genres here in Asheville and locally. He himself is not an extremely wealthy man by any means, which makes his generous offerings and show of support all that much more meaningful. He is truly one of our angels on earth, who wants to help others out of the goodness of his heart. He devotes much of his spare time to working music festivals and working merch booths for Artists on tour, or at a local venue. He is also the creater of a great musicians resource site called, ashevillemusicscene.com, which you must check out! I also received loans and donations from some of my friends and family members as well, which made such a huge difference in releasing my album at it's best! I appreciate and have great love for all of the people who helped me finally get my album out!
With the kind loan that my friend had granted me, and the donations that my family members had sent me, I was able to do a release party in my hometown of Black Mountain NC in October of  2007, and had another final release party for Asheville NC in December 2007.

No Static Release, Asheville

It was a lot of fun.

Zach Blew opened for me at my CD release

A great songwriter named, Zach Blew opened for me at my Asheville release party, and he was a huge hit! Think Patty Griffin meets Amos Lee, meets someone you've never heard before but you LOVE, and you get Zach Blew. He did a great job, and you should definitly check out his myspace page to sample some of his tunes!

The final cover, NO STATIC

At my Asheville release, world class photographer, John Warner came out to take some great shots of the crowd for me, he got one shot of some of my friends getting the crowd warned up for during Chains of Love. Making this record was not only fun, but it was one of the best learning expieriances I've ever had. Better than sitting in a classroom reading about making an album. To check my album out, and take a listen, head over to itunes now!