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Friday, February 11, 1994 Page: 1 & 9E QUICK WORDS: PAM TILLIS
Tillis counts on country roots
There was a time when Pam Tillis thought about becoming a rock singer. She
even left Nashville and headed to California to become the next Linda
RondstadtBut fortunately for country music fans, the multi-talented singer
returned to her Nashville roots. Three years ago, Tillis became a trendsetter
for the new wave of country female performers.
Tillis, whose hit records include “Don’t Tell Me What To Do,” “Put Yourself
In My Place,” and “Maybe It Was Memphis” will appear in concert at the
Scranton Cultural Center on Feb. 19.
Tillis made a major impact on country music with her diverse singing style,
which ranges from country rock to hillbilly, and quickly won critical acclaim
as an explosive concert performer.
“I don’t try to be different, it just happens,” Tillis said in an interview
with The Times Leader. “Sometimes I think `Oh God, maybe I should be more like
everybody else,’ but then I think the best artists are kind of unique.”
Tillis indeed is unique. Arguably, her music is tougher to define than that
of many other current big-name country performers. It is a combination of
honky tonk, cutting-edge, sad and rowdy.
“There’s not another one like me,” Tillis said. “Sometimes it’s a mixed
blessing because when you’re doing something a little bit different, it takes
the audience awhile to figure out what it is.”
And just what is it?
“Sometimes it’s hard to put a stamp on music,” added 36-year-old Tillis.
“It’s best just perceived by the listener, and it’s just a subjective thing.
“To one person, my music sounds really country. To a kid who’s into
alternative rock ‘n’ roll, I might sound really hokey. To a kid that’s into
George Strait, I might sound really progressive.”
All country
Tillis said she prefers to let her fans decide for themselves. However, she
makes one thing clear –she’s country at heart.
“I love being a country singer,” said Pam, who is the daughter of famed
country singer Mel Tillis. “I’m unapologetically country. I grew up in
Nashville.
“I was exposed to it so I try to retain the hillbilly heart in my music,
even if it gets a little bit rocky or a little bit soulful. I like to think
country music is broad enough to let me express myself by taking it in
different directions.”
It’s not surprising that early in her career, Tillis was influenced by such
rock artists as Rondstadt, Leonard Skynyrd, the Allman Brothers and Little
Feat.
In the late 1970s, she moved to California to pursue a rock music career.
It didn’t work out, but Tillis views it as a learning experience.
“I was just experimenting,” Tillis said. “I was into jazz rock. It was all
original music. I just felt like I needed to dabble and just do music for
music’s sake and not worry about rushing my career.”
Going home
Tillis returned to Nashville in 1979, and devoted most of her energy to
songwriting. A few years later, she noticed that country music was changing —
and she liked the new sound.
“I think I mention Dwight Yoakam a lot,” Tillis said. “I could relate to
his sound. I knew where it was coming from. It was drawing on the music that I
had grown up with, but it had a rock ‘n’ roll edge and I thought it was the
sum total of all my experimentation and all the different things I like.”
Tillis’ debut album, “Put Yourself In My Place,” was released in 1991 and
went gold. Her next album, “Homeward Looking Angel,” also was a smash. Tillis
recently completed her new album, “Sweetheart’s Dance,” which will be released
in April.
“There are some really special moments on it,” Tillis said. “I have got a
really fun cover of an old Jackie Deshannon song called “When You Walk In The
Room” that Mary Chapin Carpenter came to sing on.
“Vince Gill came and sang on a real cool country shuffle with me,” she
added. “I did a song I co-wrote with my husband Bob (DePiero) called “Till All
The Lonely Is Gone.”
Another song on the new album, “Spilled Perfume,” has a chance to become
Tillis’ biggest hit.
“I don’t think I’ve heard another song like it,” she said. “It’s a
woman-to-woman song about a girl who had her heart broken. Her friend is
talking to her and telling her it’ll be all right — there’s no use crying
over spilled perfume.”
Breaking through
Tillis would like to see women play a larger role in country music. Even
though Reba McEntire is one of biggest superstars in the world, country music
is still dominated by men, according to Tillis.
“It only seems like women are coming to the front because we’ve been down
for so long,” Tillis said. “Percentage-wise, it’s been so much harder for
women to break through.
“The year I broke through, it was only me and Trisha Yearwood,” she added.
“The next year, Suzy Bogguss and Michelle Wright were the only women who got
into the Top 20. Last year, only Faith Hill and Martina McBride broke through.
“That’s not a lot, when you compare two a year with the flood of male
artists.”
Tillis realizes that to be successful, female singers must be able to
relate to women.
“Women are a big part of our listening audience. The way to relate to women
listeners is to speak honestly about your experiences. All we’re doing is
communicating through music.”
Tillis takes great pride in her reputation as a dynamite concert performer.
She said there are three different ways of knocking out an audience.
“You can have such a fantastic voice that nobody cares what you do on
stage. I think that’s pretty rare. You can have charisma and you don’t have to
do anything. You raise your little pinky and people will go crazy.
“And then you can be a good entertainer, which is somebody who really cares
about the audience.”
Tillis falls in the third category.
“I really care that my audience enjoys the time they spend with me and that
it’s fun,” she said. “I sometimes think of a show as a little bit like a
roller coaster ride.
“Not one that makes you dizzy and scream, but still it takes you up and
takes you down. It mellows you out or makes you feel deep emotion.
“And then it brings you up in a positive way.”
Pam Tillis will appear at the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic
Temple, 420 N. Washinton Ave., Scranton on Saturday, Feb. 19, at 8 p.m.
Tickets are $22.50 and $30.50. Proceeds benefit the Allied Services Skilled
Nursing Center’s Alzheimer’s Unit. For tickets and information, call 348-1407.