Deana Carter
Deana Carter, of the golden hair, bare feet and mega-watt smile, writes people's souls. With a CMA Award, two Grammy nominations, sold-out tours and the ability to bring a certain down-home sultriness to whatever environment she lands in, the whispery voiced singer/songwriter returns with I'm Just A Girl - a cohesive project that takes the Tennessee girl's wide-eyed worldview and tempers it with the wisdom of turning a few of life's major corners.
"People are individually similar," she explains in her no-nonsense sweetness, eyes leveled for emphasis. "Uniqueness is a beautiful thing - and everyone is, in their own way. But the bigger thing is that we all have basic human traits that are our common thread, the thing that unifies. Maybe that mole on my face makes me different... or how I respond to something, but we all feel the same thing when we feel hurt, or are in love, or happy.
"To me, it's writing the personal...but then capturing that feeling in a way that everyone sees themselves. I'd like to say it's something I really try to do, but when you're being honest about what you're feeling, you're just holding up a mirror to everybody else's emotions, too."
Deana Carter has created an album that's not afraid of the real life extremes. It's an album that has its beginnings - both artistically and productionwise - in the lithe acoustic guitarist. Whether it's the pining "You and Tequila," about a boy who won't quite stay and a love that won't quite go, or the raucously empowering "Girls Night," with a quick sketch of what individuality and grown women can be. Perhaps it's the direct declaration of definition in "I'm Just A Girl," that juxtaposes worldly experience with the simplicity of the core or the sparkling pledge of whatever it takes to make it work. "There's No Limit," exposes the faith and the passion that sustains the flash of explosive love.
"I've nurtured this album for two-and-a-half years as the sole producer," Carter explains evenly. "I started this record by myself in my home studio at the end of '99, beginning of 2000. So, this one starts at my core - and just keeps rumbling. By the time Dan Huff came in to produce five new songs for the album, I knew where we needed to go... and we just kept moving, which was great, because having been raised in the studio, you get that sense of what things should be, what they need to be.
"I always try to let the songs command what happens... because they have their own cadence and melody. They really do! What's being said is so contributory to the melodic ideas, it becomes like a cake you're making and it WILL tell you. The instrumentation evolves - and you know... too much sugar, not enough eggs, whatever it is, you'll know. Which is why I love production so much."
Carter, grew up the daughter of legendary guitarist Fred Carter, known for his work on Dylan's Nashville Skyline and who provided the signature guitar work on Simon & Garfunkel's classics "The Boxer" and "Sounds of Silence." He was beyond defining most of the classic country of the 70s and 80s, so for Deana, knowing what her music should be is genetic. Understanding herself is a little trickier.Having survived a divorce and a separation from Capitol Nashville, the always-effervescent young woman found herself considering the other side of happy. She realized that there are choices and there are reasons - and she decided to search her soul in an attempt to bring her writing to the next level. This introspection is every bit as vital to who Deana Carter is as the winsome catch in her voice."There were definitely songs before the divorce and after," she says with a laugh, "though separating from my label was just as important. There's something about that divorce demon that's a monkey on your back. It forces you to question everything, to wonder if you've let someone else down. It sure gets your emotions screwing everything up!""But it's amazing how in touch I've become with my strength - and the things I've realized because of all this. When the blindness is gone, the decisions all weigh heavier because you understand the cost and the pain... but you also realize you have choices. I mean, I used to think happiness was like the lottery: either you had the numbers or you didn't. But that's not so.... Everybody can be happy, if you're willing to work at it every day."And then in classic Deana Carter fashion, she flashes a dazzling smile and concludes, "Every single spirit deserves to be happy Ð and I'm gonna remind them. It's what keeps me in this and it's why I want to be able to do the splits when I'm 40...because to not pursue happiness would be to compromise your ethics, your vigor for life, and life is what you deserve."
