Cincinnati, Ohio. Left to right: Sadie Loveland, Tori Little, Avery Eliason.
(Photo by Chuck Madden)
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?
Loveland:
Getset is a harmonizing trio backed up by five wonderful musicians.
We have a country-pop sound that leaves people refreshed and full of
joy. We are young and we love to have fun, performing and dancing.
Our stage show consists of many different styles of music that
everyone can relate to and enjoy.
Little:
stage show. The songs on our album are easygoing with some
high-energy songs. Our stage show is very energetic, upbeat and fun.
Our stage show has a variety of different kinds of songs such as
country, rock, and pop. Our band is made of very talented teenagers.
We are so proud and lucky to have them be a part of our group and
show.
group with a little bit of classic rock and bluesy Motown mixed in.
We have a nice variety of three-part harmony, as well as some solos.
We love to dance on stage and put on exciting shows for our fans!
Sadie Loveland, Tori Little, Avery Eliason. Far right: Justen Jette.
(PhotographyByMarkMoseley.com)
Lamitschka: How was the last year for you? What were your
highlights?
Avery Eliason
2012. We performed at amazing venues, including the Kentucky Speedway
(a popular racecar track), Kentucky State Fair, the Great American
Ballpark (a professional baseball stadiun in Cincinnati, Ohio), and
the Hard Rock Cafe in Nashville, Tennessee. We also recorded our
first Nashville-produced CD, “Saturday Night,” on the label
Playback Records label. We met so many incredible people and gained
so much knowledge from that experience. It was really a
dream-come-true for all of us.
of venues. We sang the U.S. national anthem at a Cincinnati Reds
baseball game, we performed at the Kentucky Speedway, the Kentucky
State Fair, and the Hard Rock cafe in Nashville, Tennessee. We also
signed a contract with Playback Records and recorded our album
“Saturday Night.” One of the highlights was also getting to
perform on WSM-AM, the world’s most famous country-music radio
station, in Nashville.
places and for so many great people. We performed at the Kentucky
Speedway, the Kentucky State Fair, the Hard Rock Cafe in Nashville,
Great American Ballpark, and many other interesting places.
country-music radio station, in Nashville, Tennessee. Left to right: Bill Cody
(WSM), Avery Eliason, Tori Little, Sadie Loveland. (Photo by Fred
Anderson)
Lamitschka: What is your latest CD and how’s it doing?
Sadie Loveland
called “Saturday Night.” It is our
first Nashville-produced CD, which is very exciting. It has a total
of 10 new songs. Most of them are fast and fun, although one is a
slow, beautiful song that I think many people will find inspiring. I
think all of our music puts people in a good mood.
Lamitschka: How did you choose the title for the CD?
Is there a story behind the name?
Avery Eliason
When we were recording the songs for our CD, our producers Jack
Gale and Jim Pierce were considering using the songs “Mile
a Minute” or “Saturday Night” as the title track. Both songs
are upbeat and fun, but the producers decided on “Saturday Night”
because we all thought it would make a better music video. Since we
were planning to release a music video, we thought it made sense to
have the video be the same title as the album.
Lamitschka: Do you write the songs yourself? If not, how
do you go about finding the songs for your CD?
Tori Little
The producers liked Jennifer Eliason’s songs, and wanted to use
two of them on our album.The rest of the songs on our album were
written mostly by songwriters in Nashville, including Tom Paden, who
has written a lot of hit songs for some very famous artists, like
Reba McEntire and Kenny Rogers. Our producers sent us about 30 orr 40
songs to choose from. They were all great songs, but some of them
just jumped out at us, and we thought they would suit our harmonic
style.
Lamitschka: What is the difference between your last CD
and your current one?
Tori Little
Our voices have matured a lot since our first album. We were 12
and 13 years old when we recorded the first one. The first CD was
recorded in a local studio that didn’t have all oft he advantages
of a Nashville recording studio. Our latest album, “Saturday
Night,” has a more modern country sound than our first one.
Recording our latest album in Nashville with some of the best
musicians in the industry was such an honor. The musicians were so
humble and nice and they played amazingly. We got to work with Mark
Mosely, our sound engineer. He was such a nice guy and he really
pushed us to get the best sound. By the end of the recording session,
we were calling him Uncle Mark. It was an incredible experience that
I will never forget.
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?
Sadie Loveland
We are thrilled that “Saturday Night” is
being played on the radio. It really is a blessing. “Saturday
Night” was already a very catchy song, but we added some
cool little things in it that make it interesting and different. For
example, in part of the song, we sort of whisper some of the lines,
before the music picks up and becomes loud again. The song was not
written that way, but we were experimenting in the studio with
different interpretations. Our manager, Kelli Jette, came up with the
whispering idea, and it worked!
Lamitschka: What kind of songs do you like to record the
most?
Avery Eliason
I like recording songs that I can relate to. For example, one of
the songs on our album is titled “Gone For
Good.” It is about a woman singing about how she is glad that a
lazy, no-good guy is out of her life. When we recorded that
song, I was still trying to get over a certain guy. I just channeled
all of my emotional angst into my delivery of that song. It was very
cathartic, and made my delivery of the song that much better.
Tori Little
I like some songs that are just plain fun, but I also like songs
that mean something personally. One of the more beautiful songs on
our album is “Stronger.” It is an uplifting
song about overcoming negative feelings. It actually helped me to
cope with losing a family member to an illness. People tend to like
songs they can relate to.
Lamitschka: How much creative control do you have over
your music?
Avery Eliason
I feel like we have a lot of creative control when it comes to our
music and our stage show. We help choose what songs go in our set or
on our album. Everything is really a group effort with our parents,
our manager, and the band. Someone might have an idea to change a
harmony or a dance step, and then we all talk about it and decide
what’s best for the group.
Lamitschka: Do you have any interesting stories about how
fans have been affected by your music?
are moved by the song “Stronger,”
which was written by Avery’s mother. The song talks about
struggling with something, or just about life in general. It is about
how something might hurt right now, but in the end it is the hard
times that make you stronger. It can really help someone with a
difficult time in their life. For me, personally, I lost a baby
cousin to leukemia and it helped me get through that hard time.
“Stronger” also helped me get through being bullied in school and
not having a lot of friends. After I heard “Stronger” for the
first time, I knew that everything was going to be all right. I love
Jennifer Eliason for writing that song.
Lamitschka: Who inspires you musically and how deep do
your musical roots run?
Avery Eliason
I really admire the way Natalie Maines interprets the songs she
sings. I like what she does with her vowels and I really love the
tone of her voice. I also adore the way Taylor Swift writes songs
that are so relatable to people. I hope that someday I can write
songs that move people. My favorite songs are the ones that put my
own feelings and thoughts into words, and when the instrumentation is
exactly parallel to my emotions at the time. Those are the songs that
really just give me chills. Another artist who is one of my biggest
idols is Beyonce. I just love her fiercness on stage. Every move she
makes is so full of power and confidence when she’s performing.
With her, everything is about putting on a good show for her adoring
fans. I don’t see any selfish tendencies when I watch her perform.
And even though she is dancing and performing, that doesn’t effect
her singing. I hope that someday I will be able to perform like
Beyonce! My family is also very musical. My dad is always watching
opera and is a brilliant pianist. My mom contributes a ton of her
musical talent to figuring out our harmonies, and she has actually
written two songs on our album. My two older brothers are in a
fantastic band called There She Goes and my little brother and sister
are very talented classical singers. The diversity of my family’s
musical talents is really a blessing because I can always learn
something new from each of them. I’ve had voice lessons from opera
singers for a lot of my life, so I think that’s really influenced
my sound and my ability to do different things with my voice. My
family got me started singing, and I love them so much for that!
Tori Little
My family has influenced me a lot musically. Both of my parents
sing, and my sisters and aunts, uncles, and cousins as well. My mamaw
(grandmother) and papaw (grandfather) used to be in a country band
years ago, and my papaw said to me, “I feel like
you’re carrying on the family tradition.” My parents sing
in church, and music has been a part of my life since I was born and
it will be forever.
Sadie Loveland
Many artists of different genres inspire me, and they inspire me
for different reasons. Beyonce is an amazing performer and she
inspires me to be the best performer I can be. I grew up singing
Aretha Franklin’s songs, and I just love her style and attitude.
Taylor Swift is also a good example. I like how she writes her own
music and how she was able to make it into the industry at such a
young age, which really gives me hope. My mom is a piano player and
went to school for music. She has been putting music into my life
since I was born.
Lamitschka: As an artist, you so many tasks such as
recording, touring, interviews. What do you like best, what’s your
favorite activity?
Tori Little
I love doing all the things that I do as an aritist, but my
favorite thing to do is perform for our fans. Performing gives me a
chance to forget about everything else that is going on and just let
go and have fun.
up on stage and seeing all our work pay off. It doesn’t matter if
it’s a crowd of 5,000 or just 5. I just love the rush I get from
performing. All of the other activities are amazing as well, and I
love this whole journey, but before the recording and the touring and
the interviews, all we did was practice and perform. I was very happy
doing just that. Everything else we get to do now is such a blessing
and really a dream come true. I seriously wouldn’t trade it for the
world.
Lamitschka: Are you doing anything to take music beyond
its current borders or are you happy where it is?
Avery Eliason
A lot of country music performers have a singer/songwriter style
on stage. We would like to bring a little Destiny’s Child to the
country music scene. Last year during the CMA Awards, Luke Bryant had
some very fierce back-up dancers. We were mesmerized. I love when
women performers have that much power and strength on stage. We would
like to do that as headliners.
Lamitschka: Many European fans travel to the United
States to attend the several of the music festivals for the
opportunity to see so many of their favorite artists, bands and
celebrities. Will you be participating and how will the fans be able
to find you?
Avery Eliason
We have several performances scheduled in the Midwest, and we are
hoping to add more. One concert that some European fans might
especially be interested in is Strassenfest, a German festival in the
city of Jasper, Indiana. The festival will take place August 1-4. We
are scheduled to perform on Saturday, August 3. We understand that
some teenagers from Germany are also going to perform at
Strassenfest. We hope to meet them! You can learn more about
Strassenfest at by visiting www.jasperstrassenfest.org.
Lamitschka: What message would you like to send your
European fans?
Avery Eliason
-Je t’aime! Te amo! Jeg elsker dig! Ich liebe dich! Miluji te!
S’agapo! Mina rakastan sinua! Ya tebya liubliu! We love you!
Lamitschka: Fans are always hungry for good road stories.
Do you have one you can share with us (come on don’t be shy)?
Avery Eliason
Last summer we played at the Kentucky
Speedway, a professional race car track, in August. It was 120
degrees on the tarmac. Halfway through the show I was suddenly
light-headed. After a few songs I told my mom off stage that I didn’t
know if I could finish the whole hour. She told me to just keep
going, so I did. Well, during the song “Indiana
Baby” I started feeling more light-headed
and when it was over I told our manager, Kelli, that I was going to
pass out. She got up on stage and grabbed my hand, and said “Say
goodbye, Avery!” so I said “Bye Avery!” (I don’t remember
that part). So Kelli said I was tripping as she took me off stage
and she sat me down and started pouring water bottles over my head. I
was a bit loopy. I remember waking up and wondering why my feet were
in the ice cooler. Meanwhile, Tori and Sadie finished the concert in
the 120 degree heat. The show must go on!
Christian Lamitschka ( Ch.Lamitschka@t-online.de
)
www.CountryMusicNewsInternational.blogspot.com