Halfstack Fall Issue Sneak Peeks: Meet Elizabeth Lyons

Halfstack Fall Issue Sneak Peeks: Meet Elizabeth Lyons

Written by: Jennifer Lezan as featured in Halfstack's Fall Issue

She’s the All American girl. A gorgeous, sweet and funny young lady with an infectious laugh that is sure to win the hearts of many. On top of that, the girl can sing. It’s no surprise that The Country Music Association dubbed Elizabeth Lyons an artist to watch this year. Her ITunes chart topping single “Party Rules” has been on the new and noteworthy page and has been bumping in many a country girl’s jeep all summer long. As a Chicago native, she’s a country singer with a city girl heart. Halfstack had the opportunity to meet Elizabeth at The Windy City BBQ and she graciously took some time to complete an interview with us.  Read on to learn more about the country music scene’s sweetheart: Elizabeth Lyons.

Q&A

Can you tell us a bit more about yourself, how you started and what inspired you to chase your country star dreams?

I love to laugh, make people smile and give big hugs! I have been in 18 musical theatre productions. I have always loved singing & dancing & piano & music! My parents said your college education comes before the country star music dream & said I could go to Nashville and pursue my country star dreams but only if I attended college while pursuing the dream. I am thankful for their strong belief in education. I'm proud to say I did it: pursued music dream & graduated from Vanderbilt University a year ago...sometimes I forget I have a degree in film. Until someone asks me about movies then I won't stop talking about classic Hollywood films or Rom Coms....or I decide to make a funny video at Wal-Mart in between a radio interview or boating with my family just because its what I love to do. My sisters and I used to make music videos, a very different experience than when I made my first music video. I went from dancing in my sisters room to dancing in a field with one of the best directors (Mason Dixon) in country music. Traveling to do a tour in the Midwest the day the music video charted #8 on iTunes Country Music Video Charts & #18 on All-Genre was the best way to celebrate as I'm from the Midwest!

People question the Midwest for being country: "those fly over states" Jason Aldean sings about are some of the top corn producing agricultural states in the world- some of the best soil/ or in the words of FGL: Dirt ! Recently announced Garth Brooks will open his tour in Chicago: 5 sold out shows- so I know country is alive and well in the heartland of America. Country became a part of my heart and soul spending every childhood summer in Northern Iowa: picking strawberries in my bikini, fishing for cat fish with my Grandpa, and making strawberry jam with my Grandma.

While I love the country, I'm also a city girl who loves to meticulously read menus at restaurants and window shop... Always on the search for good shoes and anything sparkly, diamonds, cheetah, or leather. I always try and look my best but my sorority sister and I used to laugh I usually look horrible when I see my crush! I always had a position in my sorority house but never wore their shirts because I'd rather wear a cute dress. Greek life definitely helped me get my first album (co-wrote all 6 songs EP) to chart #42 on iTunes Country Album Charts and All Time Bestsellers Albums Under $8 for months & #10 on Billboard Heatseekers East North Central. To celebrate I went and got some corn bread and made my Rice Krispie treats (which are the best! I swear a full stick of butter is the key).

I made 50 batches for all the radio stations I visited driving over 9500 miles this summer I was reminded how much I love to sing to the Spice Girls Notorious BIG Dixie Chicks and Rolling Stones. All the driving was worth it because I got to meet all kinds of people and the song has charted #87 on media base and #96 on music Row.

Check Elizabeth Lyons out online:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/elizabeth-lyons-ep/id572518758
Web: www.elizabethlyonsmusic.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ElizabethLyonsMusic


For the full article, check back Wednesday Sept. 17, 2014 to read the complete story in Halfstack’s Fall 2014 Issue. You can download the latest copy of the magazine at: www.issuu.com/halfstackmag

Frankie Ballard Heats Up Joe's with "Sunshine and Whiskey"

Frankie Ballard Heats Up Joe's with "Sunshine and Whiskey"

Frankie Ballard’s “Sunshine and Whiskey” tour was what Chicago needed on a chilly Friday night. The Michigan native baseball player who would ask his coach if he could take the guitar on the bus (the answer was no) delivered an energy packed show at Joe’s on Weed Street that made them forget about the wet cold and any worries from the week that may have plagued them.

Joe’s is an intimate venue tucked away off North Ave, perfect for acts to bond with fans. Audience members get to make eye contact with performers who sell out larger venues and get a feel for how their music and presence felt when they were performing bars and coffeehouses. Nick Sturms, a Nashville resident and very talented songwriter, opened the show. Frankie took the stage with an assertive presence that jolted the crowd awake. He played three songs in a row to get blood pumping and feet moving. “He’s got a grittiness to him,” someone near me said. Yes. This country music rocked with a power that was not going home quiet.

When I interviewed him, Frankie said performing live was all about the energy and the relationship he developed with the crowd. He over delivered on both. After the high octane warm up, his song “Don’t Take Much” had a haunting, almost menacing air. You could feel the fictional small town, blue collar chins rise and chests broaden behind the words. The eager crowd waited for “Sunshine and Whiskey” and pounced on it as soon as he started, singing it as loud and as clear as he did. Frankie had control of the crowd’s energy at all times. He performed two covers, Johnny Cash’s “A Boy Named Sue” and the Wallflowers’ “One Headlight”. The crowd mellowed and played along with “Sue” and bellowed down memory lane with the Wallflowers, shooting the energy back up. Country Weekly got it right when they called him a “true guitar hero” with “an elegant, supple style of playing rarely seen in these days hard rock country.” From an eloquent solo to decorative riffs that added to the song instead of distracting, Frankie is a very good guitarist. He showed his blues influences opening “Sober Me Up” with languid licks, the type that make you feel drunk and want to lean against someone.

Frankie’s a Bob Seger fan. He almost brought down the house when he dove into “Old Time Rock and Roll”, jumped offstage, got up on one of the bars, walked across it, and jumped down into the crowd. He meandered around the crowd continuing the song. The crowd centered with “Helluva Life.” It’s a song everyone can relate to and make their own. Many of us know “the bad times make the good times better” as the song say, but it’s nice to know someone else does too. Frankie put into words what so many of us feel, showing he gets it. Whether he’s onstage or on a bar about to hop into the crowd, he’s one of us.

Old Crow Smokehouse: Country Oasis on North Clark

Old Crow Smokehouse: Country Oasis on North Clark

After a long, hard day, you sometimes want to escape the city. Stroll down North Clark, Wrigley and all the buildings behind you, and step into a reconstructed barn, where your work and worries are miles away. Old Crow Smokehouse is something you’d find down a dirt road, complete with the welcoming “this is who I am” spirit that is country. It opened last fall for people craving authentic country culture. Its menu features the award-winning barbeque of Chef Tony Scruggs and moonshine cocktails by Ole Smoky Tennessee Moonshine.

The walls behind the bar glow red from lights, warm like a heat lamp on a chilly night (or a Luke Bryan video). Bright and sunny waitresses in sundresses and cowboy boots rushed smiling to tables, checking in on them as if they’d known them forever. We walked to our table to the bass of Scott McCreery. That night we also heard the music of Florida Georgia Line, Brad Paisley, Chase Rice, and Taylor Swift. Party anthems and slower serenades melt your day away so you’re ready for your evening. We sat on mile high welded stools that were very comfy. Among the guests were friends catching up, a birthday party and a first date delighted they had chemistry.

Each table had 3 barbeque sauces: Beer, Vinegar, and Spicy. I live for spicy. I like my taste buds to melt and simmer. This sauce was a nice tongue tickler. My friend, who is not into spicy, enjoyed it, saying it was tangy with a nice burn. I was surprised my favorite was the Beer Barbeque sauce. There was something warm and familiar but also new and different in its tanginess. My Memphis Tacos (pulled pork with crunchy coleslaw in tortillas, laced with the Beer Barbeque sauce) were very good. I also had the Front Porch Punch, one of the moonshine cocktails, served in a mason jar with berries. It was as refreshing and fun as pink lemonade, but smoother. The hand-cut fries were amazing, the perfect warmth and crunch.

The large welcoming dance floor sprawls in front of the stage. Not only is there regular live music, every Thursday there’s Live Band Country Karaoke. The house band plays, you sing. If dancing is more your thing, there are free Line Dancing Wednesdays. Old Crow Smokehouse is a great escape if you can’t get away. It’s fun with the strong undercurrent the excitement. Anything can happen, especially with that tall, dark stranger giving you the eye.
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Cora Vasseur | Culture & Entertainment Blogger

Guitar Hero Frankie Ballard Brings "Sunshine and Whiskey" to Chicago

Guitar Hero Frankie Ballard Brings "Sunshine and Whiskey" to Chicago

I grew up listening to rock and blues music. I’m a recent country music convert and still adjusting to my new identity. Musicians like Frankie Ballard make that transition easier. I knew I could trust him when we talked about his blues influences and he dropped a catalogue of performers he studied. The Michigan native’s voice and tone filled with worldly respect and humble admiration when talking about blues legends and guitar playing. I already respected him preparing for the interview. Fresh out of college he played over 200 nights a year in a 300 mile radius while taking monthly trips to Nashville. That type of dedication is something we all can get behind. If the idea of country music puts up your hackles, you might enjoy Frankie’s music.

If you already like country or just elegant and confident guitar riffs, you’ll like Frankie. He took a break from restringing his guitars to speak with us. Halfstack: When people think of country and country music, many think of the South. What's been your experience coming from Michigan and singing country? Frankie Ballard: Well, I’m from Southern Michigan, see. A lot of people ask me, “What do you know about country?” But as long as there are blue collar, hardworking people there will be country music fans. I grew up listening to it with my dad. It was always there. Wasn’t until I started traveling around that people started saying you had to be from the South.



H: How has it been an advantage?  
FB: I think it definitely gives me a different perspective. Grew up on a lot of Bob Seger. It heavily influence me and not sure a lot of people experienced that the way I did. Enjoyed the rock and roll scene. I think that’s really made a difference. H: "Helluva Life" garnered your first Gold record. How did that feel? What did it mean to you? FB: It’s amazing always imagined what that’d be like, you know. The two words “gold record” makes me think of Elvis. So surreal to have one. I gave it to my parents so it’s hanging on their wall back home. H: You had a little different approach writing this album. On the website, it says, "[w]hat had been missing ...was a blue-collar sense of crafting his own product from the bottom up, of putting his stamp on every step of the process." What was that experience like? FB: I got to make this record the way I wanted to make it. Real important to me. The mixing of the music I think makes a big difference. I wanted to take my time and play a lot of guitar on it. A different way of looking at things. I got with a producer, Marshall Altman, who allowed me to do that. Big difference maker. Really took our time, fiddled around and experimented with different sounds. Really think we made something that sounds different and fresh.



H: Is there an example from the album where we can really hear your stamp?
FB:I think Sunshine and Whiskey, my current single, you can tell production wise. I’m simply playing guitar and we really fiddled around with it. The vibe of that tune. So much of what I think makes that song work is the vibe so that’s a perfect example. Production all across the board is different. The freshness. I had a little different perspective. H: Country Weekly described you as a "true guitar hero" with an elegant, supple style of playing rarely seen in these days hard rock country. Who are your influences and how'd you develop your style? FB: Heavy blues influence like Stevie Ray Vaughn. Then I started looking back to see where Stevie Ray Vaughn figured out his stuff and I found Freddy King and a lot of old school blues guys. You know I went down the whole Lynyrd Skynrd. As a guitar player you really discover all those guitar heroes. Hendrix, Clapton, Led Zeppelin. Went through a whole rock and roll thing, really discovered classic guitar playing. As for the way I play it’s really based in Southern rock and blues primarily.

Ballard in Omaha, Nebraska

H: You're preparing for your first headlining run. How will that be different than other tours? Are you preparing for it any differently? 
FB: On a lot of tours you might get forty-five minutes, maybe thirty minutes to strut your stuff and win some fans. I’m excited to do a whole set, the whole story. Get to play all the songs on the album. Get to have some fun. Play some guitar. Really looking forward to it. It’s exciting but also nerve wracking. You’re the one responsible for getting people in seats. It’s going to be fun though, really looking forward to it. Lot of great rooms. H: What do you love about touring/performing live? FB: For me it’s all about the energy. I love strapping on the guitar, singing the songs, playing with a live band. That energy you get from the stage, that energy you get from the crowd. That relationship that happens. It’s really a lot of fun. There’s no place on Earth you can get that. I really just love being able to rock with the fans.






H: What's your favorite song to perform live? 
FB: I got this one on my album called “Drinky Drink”. It’s really a lot of fun to play. Really upbeat, the tempo is raucous, lot of guitar playing. That’s just a fun one to get people partying. It’s a party song. I’d have to say "Helluva Life", too, because it was my first number one. Everybody knows it. A lot of people come to hear that song.

H: What's the number one thing you'd like people to know about your work and you? 
FB: I take it very seriously. It’s everything to me. For example I’m in Montgomery, Indiana right now talking to you. I’ll be working on my gear all day, sound checks. I’m in the trailer, got my stuff, working, changing strings. I just can’t get enough of it. I just pour everything into it. It’s my whole life and I want people to know that when they come see me. They’re just getting a look into who I am. It’s a lot of fun to be able to share it. So support our Northern brother in a Southern man's game. Frankie Ballard performs this Friday, September 12th, at Joe's Sports Bar. For more information on Frankie, visit his website.