As I've probably said before, I sing with a fabulous group of ladies called the Metro Nashville Chorus. I've become rather involved: Not only am I in the chorus, but I'm also in a quartet, I'm on the music team, and I'm on the management team as the Membership Coordinator. As Membership Coordinator, I decided a fun way to get to know each other and get closer as a group was to do short, 5-minute long interviews at the end of rehearsals. I call these interviews "The Hot Seat". I usually start out with a couple of questions, then other chorus members chime in with their own burning questions. I record these interviews on my iPhone, and then type up the transcript for the member-only portion of the chorus website. Recently, I decided that it was time that I put myself in "The Hot Seat". There probably aren't any shocking revelations here, but I thought I'd share the interview with my Melmac readers. It also happens to be a quick and easy solution for a blog post. ;)
Q: Alrighty! Tonight, I am interviewing myself! So, first question: How long have you been in Nashville?
A: (Jumping over to sit on the stump) I've been in Nashville since '96, so that makes it 15 years.
Q: (JENNIFER PALUS) Where were you born?
A: Where was I born? I was born...I would do a Steve Martin bit, but I don't think everyone would get it. ("I was born a poor black child...") I was born in south Georgia, in Valdosta. And I only lived there for a couple of years and then moved to South Carolina. (BRIDGET WIETLISBACH: Military family?) No, no. So, raised in South Carolina.
Q: (DEBORAH MILLER) How did you find out about MNC?
A: That is a really, interesting, roundabout question. My husband actually worked with Michelle for a time, and in passing, Michelle had talked about chorus. I don't remember this, but Tim swears that he came home and said, "Hey, Michelle sings in this chorus, and I know you love to sing. Maybe you might want to do that sometime.". I really don't remember it. So, fast forward a couple of years later. Rachel is working at my kids' school. (RACHEL: Was) Well, at that time, was. And her assistant, or a substitute that was helping her at the time was Valerie McKnight, who went to church with me. Rachel got Valerie interested, and Valerie talked to me and said, "Oh, wouldn't this be cool if we both did this together?!". So, she dragged me here, and I'm still here, and Valerie is not. That was 2 years ago, so I've been here 2 years.
Q: (JENNIFER PALUS) What's your favorite non-barbershop song? Or kind of music?
A: Oh my. I am a rocker chick. (Like head-banging?) Not quite the head-banger; well, I like the hair bands from the 80's. That's probably as head-banging as I get. I'm a HUGE John Mayer fan. But, I have a vast array of music on my iPod, from Beethoven to Winger.
Q: (LAURA HAMMONS) You have music in your family, right?
A: Yes! My dad was a rebellious rocker back in the day, and was a drummer for a little rock band, garage band. (JENNIFER: And they were called The Who) Ha! Unfortunately, no. And my grandmother gave piano lessons, so it was kind of in the family.
Q: (CYNDI SPINDEN) Do you have a hobby other than singing?
A: I do! I love to scrapbook, though I haven't done it in a while. And I love to garden, and I haven't done that in a while, because 100 degree temperatures did not really tempt me to go outside and work. So, if you come to my house right now, my yard is a complete mess. (BRIDGET: But the inside of her house is beautiful!) Haha! Getting there, it's getting there.
Q: (KAT GREENE) Do you have any pets?
A: I have a very psychotic dog, that you've probably all heard about at some point; Satan, I mean, Midnight. And we have 2 cats. One that I rescued from the back yard last year just as an itty-bitty 5 day old kitten, abandoned by it's mother. (DENICE FRENCH: She fed it until the milk came out of it's eyes!)
Q: (GENA SALDANA) Best karaoke song?
A: Believe it or not, I have NEVER done karaoke (EVERYONE GASPS!!!) I've done Rock Band in someone's living room, but I've never gone out to a public karaoke bar.
Q: (GENA SALDANA) Sports? Are you into any kind of sports?
A: I am not a sports fan AT ALL. I don't get football. I will watch it with my husband if I have to; hockey, totally don't get. No. No. No sports.
Q: (JENNIFER PALUS) Are you a reader?A: Sometimes. (JENNIFER: What kind of books do you like to read?) Christian fiction. Harry Potter; love all of the Harry Potter books.
Q: (JENNIFER PALUS) Are you a writer?
A: I blog! Its www.musings-from-melmac.blogspot.com (JENNIFER: So you were born in a "blog cabin"?) Ah, yes. A blog cabin.
Alrighty! I think that's all I have for myself!
I hope to do a post in the near future about my experiences in chorus. (I'm playing with a title: "My Life In Sequins".) If you are of the female persuasion and love to sing, I encourage you to come check us out. You don't know what you're missing!
