As we were leaving the years with a 19 in them somewhere in the dust and going forward into a new century, there was a transition in country music. While there were a number of artists and bands that were part of this seismic shift in Nashville, SHeDAISY was a leading crest of that first musical wave. The CD, The Whole SHeBANG can be credited with a major assist in pulling bored country fans out of the “Achy Breaky”, big hat days of the industry. Without them, fans may have turned their back on Nashville and turned, en masse, to bands like Skinny Puppy. Nobody needs that. The problem with being part of the lead wave is that you sometimes hit the rocks along the shore along with the occasional seagull. Kristyn Osborn, the member responsible for most of SHeDAISY’s poignant and sometimes quirky writing, took time out of her busy schedule to discuss some of those rocks along with the overall success of the band.
Big Hollywood: 2010 was a rough year for SHeDAISY. You split from your record label and your home was affected by the Nashville flood.
Kristyn Osborn: Yes, the house was a problem, but I had it so much better than so many people in my fine community. So it was a rough year for that, but I would say the worst part was our divorce from our record label, which I can go on record as saying that was worse than my “divorce” divorce. So it was a rough year, not without its good moments, but it was a rough year for sure.
Big Hollywood: So you had a CD on the launch pad, ready to go, and suddenly Lyric Street pulls to plug. Can you tell us about that?
Kristyn Osborn: Well they didn’t completely pull the plug. This is a common process, I think, for a lot of artists. In fact we thought we were immune to this, because it has never happened in all five of our albums. You turn a record in and they say “Oh we love it”, and then they go “oh gosh, we just think we may need something more”. So you go and record two or three more songs. And then the initial reaction is “oh my gosh, we love it” and then there is something that happens, some internal meeting that happens, something that happens with the promotion staff. Obviously we were not privy to that. Then they come back and say, “Oh we don’t have it”. This happened three times to us. It was emotionally taxing. We went through this process a number of times and that was when we kinda opened our eyes and said this is never going to happen.
Big Hollywood: Regardless of where it ended, you put Lyric Street on the map with the success of your first CD.
Kristyn Osborn: The first record was so mammoth for a new label. It was successful enough that Lyric Street was able to compete with the larger more powerful labels, and continue to grow and sign other acts. It really did blow-up right out of the box, pretty much on the merits of the music, and a well executed plan. Oh, and the curiosity of people about the girl group that followed up the Dixie Chicks.
Big Hollywood: So what will you take away from the experience with Lyric Street?
Kristyn Osborn: There are so many really good people who helped us. They developed our career. We wouldn’t have known what to do on our own. We wouldn’t have gone on the road and gotten to see all the fans and perform the music we love if it weren’t for this group of people. Even today there are a few of these key people who are working with us and supporting what we are trying to do. I don’t think it’s all about them, and blame, they’re very talented people. There are people who were there even at the very beginning of our career; some were gone within six months, but they were part of our development. We wouldn’t have a career to speak of if it weren’t for them. That being said, we still on some level we continue to carry around a burden of doubt, about “the unraveling” if you will. It is what it is, I am sure both sides have a completely different perception of that. I could give you names, but hey, then I’d have to shoot you.
Big Hollywood: SHeDAISY has gold records, platinum records, lots of fans, recognition from the industry as a whole. With all this, do you see yourself as successful?
Kristyn Osborn: From the way I was raised, I am successful because I own my home, I own my car, I have a great family, I have really wonderful friends, I travel, I mean, that’s successful. So there’s all those things, but for me professionally it’s so different. When I reflect on what we’ve done, there have been really amazing moments. And so I have to kind of humble myself because for all intents and purposes, it’s been a really successful run. But for me, personally, because of my ambition, I feel like maybe I might not be successful enough. I don’t think it’s a dollar thing. I think some people will gauge it by how much money they make. I don’t. I know that’s not it for me. I just don’t know exactly what it is. I’m not sure.
Big Hollywood: So when are we going to see some new music?
Kristyn Osborn: We’re trying to get this thing out. We’re so delicate with it because we fought so hard for the music. We kept this record after the divorce. That was part of our release agreement; that we had control over the music and we could assign it to another label or decide if we were going to do it independently. So we fought really hard. That’s why it’s still not out. It’s finished, but we’re not going to risk it landing in the wrong hands.
Kristyn is far kinder and gracious regarding Lyric Street and the Mickey Mouse parent company that owns them than many of the SHeDAISY fans are probably willing to be. Without them on the forefront of the “New Country” movement, the closest Taylor Swift may be to being on the radio is her voice coming out of a drive-thru clown’s mouth asking somebody if they want fries with their burger. The good news that the fans of SHeDAISY can take away from this is that there will probably be a new CD out in the relatively near future. With Billy Ray Cyrus trying to ease Miley into the country music industry, this couldn’t be coming at a better time.