I N T E R V I
E W
F A R E N R A C H E L S
Full Name:
Faren Rachels
Jolley
Age:
26
Hometown/currently live:
Sparta,
Georgia/ Nashville, Tennessee
What made you want to start writing/singing songs?
I’ve been
obsessed with country music for as long as I can remember… seriously, obsessed.
My grandparents used to record the CMAs & ACMs for me on VHS tapes when I
was a little girl, and I would memorize the performances, acceptance speeches,
etc. For my 10th birthday, I convinced my parents to buy me a karaoke machine,
and I drove my whole family crazy with it for years, haha. Singing has always
been my passion, and I really don’t know where it came from, considering no one
in my family is a musician or loves it as much as I do. I didn’t start writing
songs until I moved to Nashville. I quickly realized I wasn’t going to make a
name for myself in this town singing cover songs, and to be honest there wasn’t
a whole lot of female original material that I could relate to. Over the past
couple of years I’ve really fallen in love with songwriting though, and I can’t
imagine ever not doing it.
Do you play any instruments? Did you teach yourself?
I play around
some on the acoustic guitar, but I’m not that great at it… so I guess you could
say I’m currently teaching myself, ha.
Who are your biggest musical inspirations?
Mostly the
badass women of country music in the 90’s… I grew up idolizing Trisha Yearwood,
Patty Loveless, Sara Evans, Faith Hill, etc.
Where do you get inspiration to write your songs?
Anything &
everything around me. It totally depends on the day. It’s hard to turn my
songwriter brain off, so sometimes I’ll be having a conversation with a friend
and I’ll have to say “Hold on, let me write down what you just said… that
should be a song”.
Favorite songs you have written/recorded?
I think the one
I’ve written that means the most to me is “We Got It Made”. I wrote it with my
buddy, Matt Alderman, not long after we moved to Nashville. The first line of the
chorus is “We got it made, even though we’re just trying to make it” & it’s
basically the story of me & my husband making the move to Music City.
Neither one of us had real jobs at the time so it was kind of scary. We lived
in a crappy attic that had been converted into a walk-up apartment, and money
was pretty tight. I guess I love the song so much, because every line of it is
still real & true in my life. We might not have a lot of money or the
nicest material things, but I’ve been blessed with the best, most supportive
husband in the world, and I’d rather live in an attic with him than a mansion
with anyone else. Cheesy, but true!
What moment in your music career is your favorite
so far?
I think
releasing my debut EP on iTunes a couple of weeks ago & getting so much
awesome feedback/support has been the coolest thing for me so far. I’ve always
dreamed of the day I’d have people singing along to my own lyrics. Every time I
see a tweet or a Facebook status where someone is quoting my lyrics & jamming
to my music, I still freak out a little.
Finish this sentence…if I could sing a song with anyone
I would choose ______.
Trisha freaking
Yearwood.
If I could play any venue I would choose _____.
The Grand Ole
Opry. Now that we live in Nashville I try to go as often as I can. Last time we
were there, we got to go backstage & stand on the stage when the curtain
came up to start the show. You can just feel the history in air there, and it’s
always been a goal of mine to stand on that stage & sing.
If I wasn’t a singer/songwriter I would be _____.
Marriage &
family therapist. I studied child & family development in college &
somehow always end up giving friends relationship advice, ha.
I’m afraid of ____.
Pretty much
everything, haha. I carry pepper spray & sometimes my gun. I watch way too
many 48 hours episodes, and it’s made me a big scaredy cat.
I never get tired of _____.
Margaritas.
Okay, I always ask people to tell me one thing about
themselves that is random or strange that most people don’t know!
I raced in a junior drag racing league when I was a little girl,
haha. I got my own car when I was 12 years old & was actually pretty good
at it!
