Erica Nicole Interview: SXSW 2010

Born and bred in Georgia, Erica Nicole moved to Los Angeles after graduating college with the conviction of pursuing country music. After much persistence she tracked down respected vocal coach Nathan Lam (Lionel Richie, Rod Stewart, Belinda Carlisle, Dolly Parton) to ask his advice. Lam saw something special and began working with Erica Nicole, eventually introducing her to Michael Lloyd, well known for his work as music supervisor for 'Dirty Dancing.' With an all-star team, Erica Nicole is gearing up for SXSW and her debut album release. She chatted with Spinner about being the first artist to rerecord 'Dirty Dancing' hit 'Hungry Eyes' and her plans for SXSW.

When did you decide you wanted to be a singer?

Growing up in Georgia, my grandmother had an accordion and I would always try to play it and sing and dance along. I always knew I wanted to be a singer. I got involved in school choirs and musicals and my parents said, "If this is something you want to do as a career, all we want you to do is get an education first and the sky is the limit. We'll support you two-hundred and ten percent." Knowing that, I always made sure that whatever I did in school was enough to get by. I wrote songs on my own in middle school and high school and put a demo album together. It was a great experience, self taught basically. I had great family support behind it. I don't know where I got this musical talent because there's no bloodline in my family. I guess somehow I was born with it and the passion was there from birth.

Describe your sound in own words.

I have a very emotional voice that when I sing you can feel my heart. I'm definitely one of my own. I am the sound of Erica Nicole. There isn't an artist that I compare myself to. I have elements of a very strong voice -- that I can really belt out. I have elements of being very soft, raspy and whispery -- which comes across very intimate in a song. With country music, that soft whispery yet very strong voice is a unique quality. I don't yell and scream in my songs. A lot of country singers think the more you belt out, the better singer you are. I actually take the opposite approach. I think the gentler you are the more intimate it comes across and that's something unique with my voice.

What are your musical influences?

Reba McEntire. I know every song and have every CD. Merle Haggard 'Mama Tried,' that's one of my favorite songs of all time. Willie Nelson I absolutely adore. Obviously, being the songwriter of Patsy Cline's 'Crazy' would of course make me a fan of Patsy Cline. I am very much a fan and inspired and influenced by old time, classic country music. In order for an artist to really know who they are, you have to know where your roots came from.

What's in your festival survival kit?

There is going to be a bottle of apple juice because if I feel my voice is a little scratchy from flying, apple juice is my automatic cure for that. I have a whole bag of smiles ready to go because I think smiling is definitely a way that automatically eases you and the people around you. I'm definitely going to have pen and paper ready to go because I want to take full advantage of the trade show and be part of it as much as possible. I'm thinking of packing a baseball bat for the softball tournament. I might have to throw that into the survival kit, it's a little tempting.

Who was your first celeb crush?

Gary Allan hands down. I am the biggest Gary Allan fan. He's just so sexy. I think he's amazing.

What's your musical guilty pleasure?

Being a country singer, working out and staying in shape are part of the industry. I would say my musical guilty pleasure would be that I love the classic 80s rap and early 90s Vanilla Ice type of mode. When I work out, that just gets the adrenalin really going. 'Ice Ice Baby' seems to burn more calories than anything else.

You rerecorded 'Hungry Eyes' and are the first artist to ever do so.

It's a very humbling experience. When Michael [Lloyd] and I had the conversation about it, he casually said, "Hey, I've got this CD of five or six demos. I want you to take a listen, tell me what you think." So I pick it up and I'm listening in the car and I hear a song I recognize. The moment it hit the second eight count I'm like, "This is 'Hungry Eyes'!"

I was very fortunate Michael had the song available for someone to record a country version. The timing was just right. Being the original musical director and having 'Hungry Eyes' in his mind for so many years, he was the only one that could hear the country sound to it. I would be an absolute crazy person if I were not to take this opportunity. Who doesn't dance to it every time you hear it? Who doesn't love it? Just seeing the history of Dirty Dancing, that song and I are right at the same age. Having that connection made it even more special to me. I'm hoping that it gravitates to people the way it did 26 years ago when it first came out.

What is it about country music that you love most?

Country music is addictive. There's something about it that people just connect with. You feel the pain, you feel the happiness. You feel the tragedy, you feel the excitement. It's one of a kind. Growing up in Georgia, country music is your heart and soul. I grew up singing George Strait, Reba, Patsy Cline, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson. That was just who I was from birth. It was instilled in me from a very early age. When I sing these songs I feel it because that's where I belong, I connect with the songs. Country has always been me and there ain't nothing wrong with a pair of old boots and a cowboy hat!


Annie Reuter is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.