By Ryan Gueningsman
A crazy ride that’s only going to keep getting crazier has been the story of Miranda Lambert’s life lately.
On the heels of her debut album, “Kerosene,” the singer known for her hit by the same name, along with “Me and Charlie Talking,” “Bring Me Down,” and “New Strings,” recently put the finishing touches on her second album.
Her sophomore effort, “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” was released about a month before her appearance at the Winstock Country Music Festival.
The Texas native said she didn’t have as much time to prepare “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” as she did “Kerosene,” because of her hectic schedule after her first album was released.
“I had already written a couple of songs that I just kinda saved from ‘Kerosene’ that didn’t make the album, and I’ve been writing over the course of the past couple of years, so I had some things put away, but I did have to do some last minute crunch-time writing,” Lambert said recently.
She actually finished the album toward the end of 2006, and it was released to the public May 1. The first single, “Famous In a Small Town,” had been on the airwaves about two weeks at the time of this interview, and Lambert said, so far, it was doing well for her.
“It’s really hard these days to get a song on the charts,” Lambert said. “I haven’t had tons of radio play in the past, so I’m hoping this will be the song that sort of breaks that trend.”
She said that, hopefully, the song will make it to the top 10.
“I’ll be really happy with that,” she added. She shot her first video in over a year to accompany the song, as well. It hit Country Music Television April 12, and Great American Country April 16, she said.
“We shot in Lebanon, Tenn., and did the performance part in Nashville in a warehouse with a band,” she said. “I really like that song, so I think this is a great choice for the first single.”
Along with the release of her album and single, Lambert received some exciting news from the Academy of Country Music not long ago.
While she admits she would have been happy just being nominated for the top new female vocalist slot (which she is, along with Taylor Swift and Kellie Pickler), she also received a nod for top female vocalist (along with Sara Evans, Faith Hill, and Martina McBride). The awards show will be Tuesday, May 15 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
“I just couldn’t believe it, and like you said, I am fans of Sara and Martina and Faith,” Lambert said. “I’ve been listening to their records since I can remember, so now it’s kinda crazy to be in the same category with them.”
Along with her three colleagues, she said she listens to a wide variety of music, herself. She said she recently got the new Jack Ingram CD “This Is It,” and has been listening to that. She also enjoys listening to her favorite rock band, Jet.
“It’s kind of across-the-board,” Lambert said about her listening pleasure. “I love singer-songwriters. That’s usually what I’m drawn to, though.”
It’s a natural fit for Lambert to find herself drawn to the singer-songwriter breed. She’s been in the same boat since the age of 17.
Having co-written eight of the 11 songs on “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” Lambert said that as she grows and matures as a person, her songs and writing also grow.
“Every song’s a little different, but I write a lot about personal experiences,” Lambert said. “When I started writing, I was 17, so obviously, I hadn’t been through too many heartaches. I did take from other situations and other people, but now that I’ve kind of lived a little more, I’m starting to write a lot more from just personal experiences.”
While out on the road, she does a lot of writing, but said it’s rare that she’ll actually finish a song.
“I used to be at home, and I’d sit around for hours with my guitar and write almost a song a day, but now I hardly ever finish a song because it’s so busy out here,” she said. On “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” Lambert has several songs on it that are more personal than in her first release.
In particular, “More Like Her,” is one of those songs.
“I really just sorta opened up personally, and it’s a little scary to have a song like that on our album, but it’s good because I think my fans deserve that,” Lambert said. “They’ve been really supportive. Especially that song, and another song, “Desperation.” They’re just really introspective, and I just think people will like that because it’s real.
“I’m one of those people that listen to singer-songwriters, and I like to hear songs about real life situations – love and heartache, because that’s what country music’s about.”
Another person who knows without question what country music is about, is Lambert’s hero, country legend Merle Haggard. Lambert was able to do a show with Haggard some time back, and to this day, gets excited discussing the first time she met the country icon.
“He came over to my bus, and knocked on the door, which I was shocked by that first of all,” she said with a laugh. “I just was talking so fast, and trying to get everything I’ve ever wanted to say to him out in 30 seconds, but he was so sweet, and he signed my guitar. He sat there and talked to me and my parents for a couple minutes, and it was just really amazing.
“It was one of the biggest highlights of my career and personal life so far.
“I don’t think a lot of people get to meet their heroes, and I’m just lucky that I did.”
Lambert has been to a few more Haggard shows since that time, and has been able to stop back and greet her favorite singer a few more times.
“He signed the guitar for me when I first met him, but then we got into a trailer accident – the trailer came off our bus, and the only thing that got hurt was the Merle Haggard guitar,” she said “It was completely crushed. I was devastated about that, but actually, my mom went to a show and took him another one of my guitars and he signed it again. She had told him what happened and everything, so I thought that was really thoughtful.”
Haggard, himself, performed at Winstock back in 2000 – around the same time Lambert started writing songs and chasing her dream. Looking back, Lambert has been through a lot since her initial breakthrough on the television series “Nashville Star” in 2003.
“I feel like I’m in a good spot. I mean, I feel like . . . I didn’t have overnight success, I didn’t have seven songs blow up the first song that came out, and I think that it’s just better that way I’ve been able to do it, just sort of building something, building a strong foundation for my career, and it was a slow rise,” Lambert said. “I’m really proud of where I’ve gotten. I can’t complain a bit with a platinum album, and the new album coming out.”
She’s also received other ACM nominations, CMA nominations, a Grammy nomination this year, as well as several CMT award nominations.
“From Nashville Star ‘til now, I feel like I’ve accomplished way more than a lot of people do in their whole careers,” she said. As for future plans, Lambert said she’ll be plenty busy.
“When it gets this close to an album release, it starts to get really crazy. I pretty much knew my life was over for the next month,” she said with a laugh. For the summer, she has a lot of dates opening for Toby Keith again, and said she is excited to play in some markets she hasn’t played in a while.
While she admits it’s hard to set goals in the country music industry, Lambert is focused on making “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” a success, and getting herself more airtime on country radio.
“It’s hard to set goals in this business, because you never know what’s gonna happen,” she said. “I would really love to see what would happen to my career if I actually did have a song that went top 10 or top five, so one of my goals is to just try to get my song up there.”
Miranda Lambert called for a pre-Winstock interview the morning of March 30, while on the road in Erie, Penn., where she was preparing for a show with fellow Winstock performer Eric Church and past Winstock performer Dierks Bentley, as part of Bentley’s “Live and Loud” tour.
Lambert will perform at the Winstock Country Music Festival in Winsted Saturday, June 9. She is scheduled for a performance at 9:05 p.m.
For more information on Winstock, visit www.winstockfestival.com, or call 888-946-7865.
For more information on Miranda Lambert, visit www.mirandalambert.com.
Ryan Gueningsman is at ryan@hjpub.com.
