Interview: Christie Huff - VENTS MAGAZINE
Talk more about the latest single “Road Trip”:
My latest single for “Road Trip” was inspired by memories of going on trips with my family growing up. I’m from Mesa, AZ and my family would go on campouts and weekend trips around Arizona and different parts in the southwest. We’d go on long road trips mostly and just explore the different towns near by. Driving around with my friends and family and listening to music is one of my favorite things to do. It allows you to escape reality and forget about all your responsibilities and just have a good time. “Road Trip” is really about escaping whatever troubles you may be going through in life and just go on an adventure with the person/people you love.
Plans to release a video:
I would love to release a video for this song! I plan to release videos eventually for my singles on this album. Right now I’m in the process of working on the music video for my summer song “Summer Love” to get everyone excited for summer
Naming “Roll The Dice”:
I named my album “Roll The Dice” because for one it is my favorite song on the album. This song is how I want people to think of my music, it has elements of pop, rock, and country. I love that it’s so different from the other songs. The other reason is because the saying “Roll The Dice” has different meanings. It can mean to take a chance, and at the time I was writing the album there were a lot of changes in my life and career that were occurring and I was/ am taking a lot of risks and chances. So, I found it appropriate to name my album “Roll The Dice”.
Recording and writing process:
The writing process for each of the songs on this album varied. When writing a song, I get inspired in different ways and for different reasons. That’s what makes being a songwriter so much fun, the creative process is different every time. But I typically have a chorus come into my head and then write from there. When writing “Road Trip” and “Rock Star”, the chorus came to my head first. Then I created the story around the chorus. When writing “Lost In Translation” I was just messing around with the guitar and trying out some new techniques I learned and I thought it sounded cool, so I wrote a song from it. But the recording process for this album was all very similar. I recorded this album at Sound Emporium Recording studio in Nashville, TN with producer Jeff Dayton. A couple days before recording, Jeff and I meet one on one for pre-production and arrange the songs. I go in with my acoustic guitar, play the songs and we decide how we are going to make them sound with the full band. I go in with a handful of songs and choose the top 10 or so we like the best. Then we go into the studio and play the songs acoustically for the musicians and tell them how we want it to sound and they do their magic and add what they feel would make it sound the best. The musicians record their part for each of the songs in one dayand then I went it and sang the vocals in two days. Nashville works very quickly and efficiently. I was done recording this album in about a week and a half.
How has LA influenced your music:
LA has influenced my music in many ways. LA is an artistic melting pot and has inspired my country sound to have a hybrid of pop and rock as well.
Does Nashville and AZ still play a role in my music:
Nashville and AZ definitely still play a role in my music. I am a country girl from Mesa, AZ, at heart and no matter who I work with and what life experiences I gain, that will always be a part of me. I think my love for country music and growing up in az has definitely been portrayed in my songs. Living in a big city now, it could be easy to get caught up in the superficial aspects in life, and that can definitely be portrayed in songwriting. But having the country girl side with a city girl twist I feel makes my music inspiration unique.
How music has helped me overcome my dyslexia and shyness:
Music has helped me over come my dyslexia and shyness because I gain confidence, even now, when I sing on a stage in front of people. It’s a thrilling feeling performing on stage, and that was always something that came easier to me than reading and school work. So naturally, I enjoyed it more cause I didn’t struggle with it. I feel every person has a talent or passion in life that makes them who they are, for me that passion was singing and over a lot of practice and dedication it became my talent. Along with songwriting. I first started writing songs as a way for me to escape from reality, which then became a passion of mine.
What aspects of your journey get to inspire the lyrics on this record:
The music industry is a gamble. There are no guarantees you will succeed no matter how hard you work. And you can either let that scare you and make you quit, or you can keep doing what you love. For me, writing this album, the songs had a lot of different fantasies and day dreams of mine portrayed in them. Like “Rock Star”. “Rock Star” is more about my dream of being a rock star and touring every night in front of a new crowd. “Roll The Dice” has many different meanings for me. But the reason I decided to name my album “Roll The Dice” was because of that gamble I am doing in pursuing music. There are a lot of things that inspired my lyrics for this record, I was going through a big stage of transition getting ready to move to LA. So that really inspired my lyrics.
Plans to hit the road:
I actually just got back 2 days ago from my first tour with my band! It was a blast! We traveled all around the southwest and plan to go back out on the road in September. Touring is very important, especially for an artist at the stage I’m at. I’ve done the work recording songs and putting out videos, now it’s time to take the music to the people!
What else is happening next in Christie Huff’s world:
What’s happening next in my world is a lot of songwriting, video making, tour preparation, and shows! I’m going to continue to build this momentum and keep doing what I love. I am always working on new music, so I’m excited to keep on showing people my passion!
