Congrats on your third EP, 8-Track, released earlier this year! Can you tell us about your new music?
This record is such an honest extension who and where I am right now. Whether it’s wandering the country, hitting the honky tonks, or feeling the complete longing of missing someone. It’s about life … places and times to which everyone can relate. It’s not overproduced, so the songs have the ability to hit you just as much in a live show … sometimes more.
So, you not only sang on your record, but you wrote the songs too…
Yes, this record was an exciting endeavor for me. Not only the first time I recorded all original songs but also my first crack at producing. It really feels like an accomplishment. The singing was undoubtedly the easiest part.
You have some celebrity admirers from your appearance on The Voice. How does it feel to have Usher, Adam Levine, and Shakira as fans?
Performing in front of such acclaimed artists is an opportunity to which so few have the chance to be exposed. It’s a breath of fresh air to have artists of such stature treat you as a peer. That’s something every up and comer should get to feel at least once.
You’ve written or co-written all of your music. Any song in particular that you’re especially excited to have released?
They’re spinning “The B-Side” right now in West Texas and New Mexico. It’s a song that really feels like a friend because it set the tone for this record. It gets such a great response during the live shows, so in that respect, it feels completely fitting.
That kind of ties into my next question … was ever a moment in songwriting where you’ve just felt a complete release after finishing the song?
For me the feeling of complete release occurs later. I don’t really relax about a song until I’ve lived with it a little while. Once I’ve lived inside of it vocally and melodically… playing it live without thinking… that’s the moment.
Are you constantly listening to new music to seek inspiration and develop new sounds within yourself or once you’ve got your sound do you want to stick with it?
I’ll dive into anything that catches my ear but I find I don’t listen to music all that often. I play it so much that I try to live in silence and the sounds of the world the remainder of the time. It’s important for me to listen to what my life is saying. Otherwise, I’d never be able to write. When you worry too much about the music everyone else is making, it’s easy to second guess your own ideas. A major lack of musical diversity just seems tragic.
Are there any songs that didn’t make it to the EP that you wish they had?
Not at all. one of the most important things to me was the album’s cohesiveness. I’m content with the end result and more songs just means future albums!
Is there anyone in particular you’d dream of sharing a stage with?
Where would I even begin? So so many but if I had to narrow it down to one it would be Reba. There’s not enough time in the world to explain my adoration for that woman.
What can fans expect from you in 2017?Any big tour plans for this EP?
The album came out in February and I toured the greater part of 2016 promoting it. I’ll continue to do so in the upcoming year but I’ve already started a mental exploration of the next record. I can’t wait to see how the next year unfolds
Finally, Where can we keep up with you and your music?
I’ve recorded three records to date, all of which can be found with usual suspects such as iTunes, Amazon, Cdbaby and Spotify. Two singles from The Voice are readily available as well. You can keep up with show dates and press on my website, www.tawnyareynolds.com (http://www.tawnyareynolds.com/), as well as purchase the album. As always, I’m very present on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.*
Website: http://www.tawnyareynolds.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tawnyareynoldscountry
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tawnyareynolds1
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tawnyareynolds1/
About TAWNYA REYNOLDS:
Tawnya is a talented songwriter as well as singer. She has co-written with some of Nashville’s top writers on the new EP, *8 Track,* including Amber Carrington from Season 4 of The Voice and Cole Wright. Additional top-tier writers co-writing with Reynolds include: Randy Boudreaux, Rachel Bradshaw, Kevin Denney, and Tony Stampley to name a few. She also just recorded a duet with Radney Foster for a Roger Miller Tribute album. Tawnya was featured on Season 4 of The Voice where both Adam Levine and Shakira were rushing to push their buttons with her rendition of “Mama’s Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys.” Usher was also a fan and said he was “impressed by how she could control her voice.” Tawnya Reynolds, released her third EP, 8 Track, on February 1, 2016. The lead single, ‘B-Side,’ is already receiving country airplay.