Last week, my voice made it to the Billboard Top 40 Charts! But this time not as a writer or artist…as a background vocalist (Or BGVs as we say in Nashville) on Kalamity Kills’ new single, “Starry Skies (988).”
While it doesn’t usually show up in my original music and live shows, I’m a classically trained vocalist and pride myself on the steady vibrato in my falsetto. I grew up a total choir nerd (I mean, traveling to international competitions level choir nerd), focusing on perfecting my vocal crescendo or correctly breathing through a staccato rhythm. When I say nerd, I mean NERD.
Saying my BGV work is a departure from my artist work would be a wild understatement. As a country rock artist, I’m known for my smoky rocker vocals, almost like you can imagine me taking a drag of a cigar between sips of my bourbon neat RIGHT before belting into the mic.
Singing background vocals for other artists has become my favorite outlet for feeding my inner choir nerd. I get to play on my experience with complex harmonies and dynamics that often don’t get used when I’m singing lead vocals on my own tunes.
To give Starry Skies (988) the perfect drama, Jamey Perrenot, the visionary producer, had my choir nerd run WILD. Over the course of a few short hours in the studio, I sang around 100 different parts (Yes, really), with Jamey stacking all of them on top of each other to create varying types of chords.
I would be standing in the isolation booth, and hear through my headphones “Can you sing this line an octave above the melody, but make it really dramatic and operatic?” I was singing with my whole body; it was definitely a workout.
I find singing bgvs to be a very theatrical art form. While at its core, it is simply me singing, I treat the bgvs as an instrument in a different way: A tool for bringing drama, a tool for adding “meat” or “juice” or whatever desired effect is needed for a specific part of the song. BGVs aren’t about the lyrics, they’re about supporting the artist.
I’m incredibly grateful to be part of this incredible song for Kalamity Kills. He is an amazing artist (and added bonus: he focuses his artist brand on mental health and awareness).
It’s been such a privilege to watch this song continue to climb the charts! Thank you for the hire, Jamey Perrenot!
Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
