Lamitschka: Music has many new fans throughout Europe who
may be hearing about you for the first time. How would you describe
yourself and the music you play to someone who has never seen or
heard you?
Jeff Sallee: I would describe myself as a down home country boy
from Texas and the type of music that I play is known as Classic
Country or Traditional Country.
Lamitschka: How was the last year for you? What were your
highlights?
Jeff Sallee: Last year was pretty good I did about 125 dates and
started working on a new Gospel Album.
Lamitschka: What is your latest CD and how’s it doing?
Jeff Sallee: The lastest CD is called Now That’s Country and its
doing very well people really seem to enjoy the combination of Texas
and California Honky-Tonk sounds.
Lamitschka: How did you choose the title for the CD?
Is there a story behind the name?
Jeff Sallee: (Laughing) no not really a story, I just feel that I
record SOLID country music so hence the title.
Lamitschka: Do you write the songs yourself? If not, how do
you go about finding the songs for your CD?
Jeff Sallee: 3 of the songs on the CD I wrote and then co-wrote
one with a guy named Clinton Erb in Pennslivania, some of the songs
were written by different friends and they where kind enough to let
me record them.
Lamitschka: Please tell us about the songs on your album
(influences, etc).
Jeff Sallee: A lot of the songs were influenced by artists like
Buck Owens and Merle Haggard and then others where influenced by
people like Faron Young and Mel Tillis
Lamitschka: What is the difference between your last CD and
your current one?
Jeff Sallee: more solid country and also the original songs.
Lamitschka: Your current single is being played by radio.
What do you feel is special about this song that makes people want to
hear it?
Jeff Sallee: hopefully there will be some radio airplay very soon,
the thing that makes the album special is that I can relate to how
people feel about things in there life.
Lamitschka: What will your next single be?
Jeff Sallee: the next single will be a song called The way I feel.
Lamitschka: What kind of songs do you like to record the
most?
Jeff Sallee: Ballads and good ole Texas Two-steps LOL
Lamitschka: You did a duet with Leona Williams. How did that
happen to come about?
Jeff Sallee: The duet is on my Gospel Album due out by the first
of the year, and it was the old Merle Haggard song When My Last Song
is Sung, and I just asked her if she would sing with me and she said
that she would love too. It will more that likely be the first
single off the album.
Lamitschka: What is your favorite song among all the songs
you have recorded and what’s the story behind it?
Jeff Sallee: I think the song that I wrote for my wife called The
way I feel is my favorite, it started out as a poem that I sent her
and she accually by accident deleted the poem but I had a backup copy
and finally put it to music, Everyone says it is the best song on the
CD
Lamitschka: How much creative control do you have over your
music?
Jeff Sallee: about 80%
Lamitschka: Do you have any interesting stories about how
fans have been affected by your music?
Jeff Sallee: Oh Yes, I was performing one day at a local nursing
home and there was a young lady there that had been in a major wreck
and she had not spoke since the accident, well that evening, every
song that I sang I could see her lips moving and singing the words
with me, later that night her dad told me that those were the first
words that she had said since the wreck, so I feel my music really
touched that young lady.
Lamitschka: Who inspires you musically and how deep do your
musical roots run?
Jeff Sallee: I would have to say my parents have a MAJOR influence
and I was singing and playing drums and guitar at a very young age.
Lamitschka: What do you think about today’s music industry?
Jeff Sallee: Don’t get me wrong there are alot of things that I
like about the industry and some that I dont things I dont like. I
think if you can sing a song well and have a good deliverance of that
song then everything should work out fine.
Lamitschka: If you had the chance to change something about
the music industry, what would it be?
Jeff Sallee: I would do what a lot of artists are doing now and go
on radio tours to promote themseleves, I think Im doing one the
beginning of the year.
Lamitschka: What was your big break that got you into the
music business?
Jeff Sallee: My big break was when I won a talent contest in my
hometown in Texas and got to perform in several different locations
in Las Vegas and also singing in nashville to 3 tour buses at the
Ryman Auditoruim which was setup by a friend of mine there in town.