Gary James' Interview With
Lisa Stewart



She's always smiling. And if you were Lisa Stewart, you'd be smiling too. If the past is any indication of what's to come, Lisa Stewart's future indeed looks bright. The was a feature performer on TNN's Music City Tonight, singing regularly before the show's 2 1/2 million viewers. She was part of Number One Country, the syndicated Country news magazine show that was carried on nearly 150 stations nationwide; and co-hosted Yesteryear, one of Nashville's most popular, weekly programs. Then there's Lisa's recording contract with RNA / RCA Records. It's easy to see why Lisa Stewart is such a busy lady. And then, there's that smile...

Q - You're an interviewer on E! Network. You've appeared on Number One Country and Yesteryear. You like talking about other people, do you?

A - Well, I'm pretty interested in other people, yeah. Definitely. I guess I've talked about myself enough. (laughs) I like to hear about other people.

Q - The transition of interviewer / reporter on television came naturally to you?

A - Definitely.

Q - I have to admit, I've never seen you on the E! Network.

A - Oh, well, I only did some correspondence for them during the CMA Awards. They're talking about me doing some more things for them. I have not been a regular on E!, but we're talking about something like that. We don't know yet.

Q - What is there about Country music that appeals to you?

A - I just like the realness of it, lyrically and melodically. The people in Country music are for the most part really, really great people, the artists. I've made a lot of friends who are artists and there's a real camaraderie among the artists that you don't really find in other genres as much. That's really, really a wonderful thing. I'm a big fan of the classics. Patsy Cline, Bob Wills, I'm a big fan of the older Country music as well.

Q - You say, "I can't ever remember not wanting to be in music."

A - That's true.

Q - I'm just curious, how many people in your hometown of Louisville, Mississippi encouraged you? I would guess more people would have discouraged you?

A - A guy named Carl Johnson is from my hometown. He had moved to Nashville by the time I was a teenager when I met him. He played with a lot of Bluegrass artists, including Flatt And Scruggs. He was out on the road with them when he was a 13-year-old. He was a real encouragement to me, and also the people in my church. The people there really encouraged me to keep singing. My parents, most of all, have been my main encouragement. They're wonderful. My mother studied piano. She wanted to be a concert pianist. My father is an artist. He's a potter. So, they have a great understanding of the arts. They really encouraged me my whole life to follow my heart. Music was what I loved and so that's what I've always followed and chased after. (laughs)

Q - That probably explains why you're always smiling. Is life that good to you?

A - I'm very happy. I feel real blessed to be one of the three percent of the people in the country that get to do what they love to do and make a living at it. I Thank God every day that I can do what I love to do and keep the lights on. (laughs) So, it's great.

Q - You went to Belmont University in Nashville, as did Trisha Yearwood.

A - Right.

Q - Is Belmont a training ground of sorts for Country singers?

A - At the time, I was looking at a few different universities. That was a college then. It's now a university. I wanted to be in a school that had a music business program and they were one of the four at the time, and they were closer to my hometown than New York, L.A. or Chicago. I ended up doing a lot of session work outside of school and singing in clubs. Everybody here is a singer, songwriter or musician. It's not very hard to put together a great band and get out and play. So, that's what I did.

Q - Would it be fair to say that your big break came when Mark Thomson asked you to sing on a demo session?

A - Definitely. Because Byron Gallimore, who was the engineer on that session, now produces Tim McGraw. Byron was a huge help to me. He pitched my product around. He called me in and said, "Do you want to do a piano, vocal, guitar, vocal and we'll see what the reaction is?" We did one song. We did "My Funny Valentine", not even a Country song, and pitched it around to some labels. Next day I had three labels call and want to meet with me. It was unbelievable. I wasn't even looking for a deal.

Q - Why would Byron Gallimore help you out? What was in it for him? Usually people in the music business are not that helpful.

A - Well, this is why I love Nashville. As I said, in Country music there is a camaraderie among the artists, producers and engineers. It's a real helpful environment. Byron just saw something in me that he liked. He didn't want anything for himself. He just wanted to help me, because he saw some potential there, and probably hoped that he could co-produce a project or something like that. He didn't get to co-produce my projects. We're still friends. He genuinely saw something in me that he thought was promising, and helped me out.

Q - Your first album didn't do well, did it?

A - No, it didn't.

Q - Is that because it didn't get enough promotion?

A - It may be that. It may also be the fact that I was on BNA, which was at the time a brand new division of RCA. They weren't a machine. The staff kept turning over. People kept getting fired and leaving and more people moving in and leaving. It wasn't a team at the time and I think that probably had a lot to do with it. My second project, which was never released, there were three different A&R people! One, and then he left. Then another, and he left, and then another. Then Joe Galante moved to Nashville and merged BNA with RCA and dropped all of the new artists, and that's how I lost my deal.

Q - So, what does that mean for Lisa Stewart in the future?

A - I'm moving away from Country music as a recording artist. I'm writing a lot, still Country music, some Country music and some Alternative Pop stuff too. I've been offered an independent label deal in Chicago. Independent in Alternative Pop is really cool. In Country, you'd never get on the radio. So, I'm just gonna check that out and see where it lands. Nothing definite yet. (laughs)

© Gary James. All rights reserved.

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