Fanny Grace is made up of Carmen Mejia (vocals) and Paul Reeves (background vocals, acoustic and electric guitar).
On their new album, Don’t Want It All, But I Don’t Want Nothin’, Mejia said, “It came about after coming home to Nashville from, luckily and gratefully being on the road with Merle. Unknown to us a friend had got our music to John Carter Cash, which led to a very surprising phone call.”
Mejia continued, “John Carter, actually called inviting us to ‘The Cabin’ to play some music. Can you imagine seeing that on Caller ID? We went to meet John for the first time, and it was like seeing an old friend. We laughed, played songs, John kicked back in his dad’s rocking chair, and said ‘let’s make a record’.”
“He’s just the most open-hearted, genuine guy in the world,” she said. “His love for music is true and honest. He makes you feel like your coming over for a BBQ, but you cut a record. And yes, sometimes he does grill his latest kill [deer hunter].”
The song “My Cowboy’s Last Ride” was written by Johnny Cash. “The gift of having that song on our album is not lost on us. And it only came about because of how gracious and in tune John is as a producer,” she said.
“At the end of a long day doing preproduction, we all had decided what songs to record when John asked if there was anything else sound-wise we wanted to do. ‘I’d like to have something with a Spanish flair about it’ I answered. Just as quickly, Paul asked John if he thought there was a song of his dad’s we could do. Nothing too well-known, like “I Walk the Line”. And only if he thought it would suit us. The very next day, we go back to ‘The Cabin’ and the first thing John says is, ‘I found a song for you.’ It was ‘My Cowboy’s Last Ride,’ the perfect combination of what we both asked for” she elaborated.
On being an artist in this digital age, she said, “It’s amazing. It’s giving unsigned artists the vehicle we need to get our songs out there. Years back, if you had no major record deal, no one but your family and friends heard of you.”
Regarding the impact of technology and streaming on the music business, she said, “Back in the day the only way to get a read on a song, was to play it live and ‘hear’ the audience response. Now being able to reach your audience through streaming, we can ‘see’ what songs have the most response. So in other words technology can give us a read on what fans like, want to hear, and possibly want to buy.”
Mejia listed Wille Nelson and Brandi Carlile as her dream collaboration choices in the music business. “Not only is Willie an all-time favorite, but he also has the best sense of Spanish style guitar and melody, and we love that. Also, Brandi Carlile. She’s so talented and real. She is the coolest female singer on the planet. We could record something really fun and empowering together,” she said.
For her fans, Mejia concluded about the new album, “It’s a collection of songs with heart, meaning and even a little fun that we enjoy and use to help us get by. We hope it relates to real people and real life.
To learn more about Fanny Grace and their music, check out her official website.
