Kitchen Drawer Magazine: Lauren-Ashley

July 1st, 2011

Written by: Bobby Wheaton

When Lauren-Ashley’s father, Mark Redmond,
approached me last winter about designing
an album cover for his daughter’s Country
music debut, I didn’t quite know what to expect.

 During our meeting that afternoon, Mark
said, “Hey, my daughter Lauren is recording some tracks
downtown with Trey Roth, and we’d like to put out an
EP in a couple of months. Aren’t you a graphics person?
Can you design something for us?”

Being an avid music fan, I responded with interest, “Do
you have anything I can listen to?” Mark grabbed his cell
phone, opened a video, and said, “This is sort of rough, but
you can hear where it’s going.” The audio was distorted
coming through the phone speakers, so he suggested we
might pull up his email because he had an audio track
there. The next thing I knew Mark culled a video clip from
the studio, and hit “play.”

The clip was blurry but exciting. As the camera panned, I
could see recording equipment scattered about; Lauren sat
anxiously behind a microphone, surrounded by an army of
guitars and electronics. The first couple of seconds into the
song,I felt a calm come over me. “This is really good.This
is Nashville-good,” I thought to myself, Mark smiled back
at me as I reassured him, “She’s really got something!”

I am betting Lauren has been singing effortlessly since she
was a little girl. My first reaction when I heard her voice
was, “This girl is ready for radio-like right now!” She likes
to write songs too. Lauren wrote the second track on her
EP, “Cold November,” with her sister Haley and co-wrote
a couple of other tracks as well.  

Back in the days of JohnnyCash, Kris Kristofferson, and the like, singers wrote songs
about what life threw at them with each passing moment.
Unfortunately, that doesnt happen so much anymore.

Most importantly, Lauren has really good instincts. Each
time I spoke with her on the phone or exchanged emails
with her, she knew exactly what she wanted in terms of
packaging, marketing, and her overall image.

Lauren cut six tracks from those studio recordings for
her first EP, but when she walked on stage in Griffin, Ga.
for her CD release party in May, she rifled through several
other tunes before delving into her own music. Dynamic,
rocking covers such as Heidi Newfield’s ‘Johnny & June”
(an homage to Johnny and June Carter Cash) and Carrie
Underwood’s “Last Name” songs I wasn’t familiar with at the time, but eemed to fit perfectly with her pure,
Southern tone. The band suited her well and took liberties
to drive a rock-edge to the songs. There was a lot of
energy in the room that night, the majority of which was
generated by the 19-year-old at center stage. She found her
footing early, and brought the crowd into each song she
sang with passion.

As I drove home from my first Lauren-Ashley show, a
thought came to my mind. “Did I just witness a star being
born tonight?” Predicting success in the music industry
is difficult. There are so many factors besides a person’s
voice that go into a winning package. Record companies
often claim to have the Midas touch, but they fall flat much
of the time. It is especially difficult to spot talent at such
an early stage of a career, when there’s no momentum or
chatter yet.

Lauren and her new band put on a great show that night,
but will some of these new records eventually reach the
Country radio rotation? It’s anybody’s guess. Her family has
made every effort to offer Lauren the opportunity to make
it in the music business. As Mark told me when we first
spoke, “We believe in her, and we want to do everything
at the highest level possible.” Her family’s love and support,
coupled with her innate talent, have given Lauren the opportunity
to share her gift with the world. When all of their
dreams come to fruition, you will without a doubt find a
proud community cheering her on from the audience.

You can buy Lauren-Ashley’s self-titled EP 
from Serendipity in Griffin (Belk Shopping
Ctr,) or download it from iTunes. Make sure
to visit her website for the latest news and tour
dates, and follow Lauren’s Facebook fan page
(Lauren-Ashley Music)

www. laurenashleymusic. com