It was in rural northeast Oklahoma with clear creeks and pastures of livestock that Charlotte Autry first fell in love… not with a person, but with ‘something’ that moved her to the core of her soul… and she would never be the same again. That ‘something’ was the sound of country music, and she would be so smitten with the connection that it made in her heart that it would become her lifelong pursuit to write and sing the songs that would touch other people like she had been touched.

Meet, Singer/Songwriter livin’ the dream in Nashville, TN: Charlotte Autry, a Female country traditionalist during a time when they are quite rare, is a great way to describe Charlotte Autry, and relative to Gene Autry.
Born and raised in rural Oklahoma, if you can catch her in your area, you will be treated to a taste of that good ole Autry Tradition.I was honored when Charlotte, one of my favorite Social Media friends, agreed to let me eView her.

Hope you enjoy her answers! I sure did!!!

Where are you answering these questions from right now?
My $50 chair that I bought off of Craigslist in my apartment in Nashville.. {=o) (love that chair)

What are 3 items you CAN NOT live without?
iPhone… laptop…. GUITAR!!!

How did you get started in the music business?
Being raised in rural Oklahoma, we were steeped in country & gospel music so I basically grew up with that dream… especially bein’ an Autry and related
to Gene.. I sang in church, then a traveling gospel quartet then had requests for country music… I also sang in the prison ministry.. eventually I had people asking me to sing country music at festivals and fairs and my dreams of what I really wanted to do in life started becoming true… I went into the studio and recorded a ‘cover tunes’ cd of what were my favs… http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/CharlotteAutry and eventually I found myself touring the OK/KS/AR/MO/TX area…

What are your fondest musical memories?
SO MANY!!!! but the one that stands out as the most emotional was when I was singing our National Anthem for the Catoosa OK parade at a festival while our step-son was in the Army fighting in Iraq… I had just dedicated it to him, his squad and all of our troops fighting for our country… and my husband who was standing out in the crowd, his cell phone rang… and he yelled out.. ‘IT’S HIM!!!’… It still brings tears to my eyes.. as parents, having a child on the front lines in active duty, you never know when or if you’re going to hear from them… It was simply such a blessing that day… and a dry eye was not to be found in that crowd… God surely smiled on Catoosa, OK that day!!

We hear about some of the odd things artists put in their contract riders, so what’s the one thing you really need in your backstage area?
LOL… Diet Coke… I guess if I wasn’t self-sufficient I would have higher demands..I’m just used to takin’ care of myself..

What current projects are you working on?
I’m writing & co-writing with folks in Nashville, gathering up songs to go into the studio as quickly as I can… A new project is due, it’s just been too long.. ;)

What are your favorite things to do outside of music?
Def go home to Okla and hang out with the fam.. we live out in the sticks back home so we just throw lawn chairs out underneath the trees and talk for hours… it’s great catch-up time… my folks live about 1/4 mile away… we also have 3 Schnauzers (Skeeter, Rikki & Penny) they are loads of fun… the kids come over, we cook out & we all get in the pool, dogs n’ all… it’s just a great time for R & R… it keeps me goin’ strong, focused & grounded…

What current event has your eyes and ears?
There’s certainly plenty of current events right now, aren’t there?!? but I’m in Nashville.. so what I can touch is what is on my mind… the hurting people of our beautiful city… The Floods Of Nashville…. Immediately when the waters receded everybody went into action taking care of each other… however, we are just a finite number of people… I went into action with two very good friends of mine… Jan Dyer and Joe Hrasna… both lost everything they owned and had close to 5 feet of water in their homes…. the waters of the Harpeth River came up so quickly that they barely had time to escape & only with pets in hand… We scooped mud.. cut out muddy carpets… ripped out sheetrock… pulled out insulation… hauled out furniture, clothing, and personal belongings for days on end, searched for jewelry, sorted threw muddy documents, hand-written lyrics… and cried every time we found a family heirloom as we were rinsing off the mud…
You can volunteer by contacting Hands On Nashville
and you can donate by contacting Nashville Red Cross

How do you use Social Media in your industry for productivity?
The Internet has changed everything about the music industry… from networking with fans to the way we purchase our music… the days of walking into an actual ‘bricks and mortar’ are practically over.. especially if you’re talking about making contact with labels… I’ve made alot of my initial contacts by networking on sites like Myspace… Facebook… and now Twitter…. and those folks have turned into some of my greatest friends and fans, and I’ve known a lot of them now for a long time…A group of Networking folks from my hometown Broken Arrow, OK had a Twitter ‘meet up’ and my methods of how I use the internet in my business practices was the topic of their discussion.. so my personal internet interactions with people have been affective and noteworthy…

What is your favorite website?
I have to say Facebook.. It’s just more personal interaction with my friends and fans… I post funny pics from my trips, and I enjoy their comments…

If you had a Super Power what would it be?
Blinking to Transport myself like Jeannie on ‘I Dream of Jeannie’… that would be awesome!! {=o)

Which famous musicians do you admire?
Again there are so many… but… Two off the top of my head… Chet Atkins…. He was THE guitar god… Jimmy Webb… an amazing writer & a great Okie…

What is your favorite movie?
Steel Magnolias… it reminds me of my ‘girls’ that I grew up with… with you thru thick n’ thin over a whole lifetime…

Favorite snack?
Ice Cream…. It’s the cure for everything I’m sure!!!

How do you balance your music with other obligations?
That is always the tricky part.. especially when you have a family… I am married 15 years with 4 kids between the two of us… and it takes a lot of sacrifices… ex. I live in Nashville… and the hubs lives in Oklahoma… but we make it work for the career… It’s not just my dream now…it’s my families dream…

Do you get nervous before a performance or a competition?
Yes, but it’s only in the sense that I am true to what I do..

Do you or your band have a ritual before each performance?
It’s just a prayer to give the best to the fans… to best represent who I am to them…and that they will understand my love for country when they walk away…

If you could meet anyone in the world dead or alive who would it be, and what would say to them?
Even though I’m related.. I never got to meet Gene Autry… I was crushed the day he died…and I would just tell him I love him and am so proud of him, and how very much he has meant to me as an artist and as a cousin, that it’s an honor to be known as part of his family, very humbling… there is nothing
we touch in the entertainment industry that he did not forge a path for…. he was an amazing man… both in business and in life!!

What is your hobby or do you collect anything?
Besides dust?? I collect Gene Autry memorabilia and have some really cool items… one of the original guitars that Sears marketed under his name… some old sheet music…I also collect some antique vases known as ‘head vases’… my grandmother had one and I was obsessed with it… Old hymnals…just small antiquey things that remind me of my grandparents and my childhood..

What chore to you hate?
All of the above… I’m an artist with a free spirit, the ultimate gift would be a maid for life.. ;)

Do you have an animal/s?
3 Schnauzers… Skeeter… Rikki my rescue… and Penny 6 mos old…

Apples or Oranges?
Apples… Apple a day keeps the Dr. away of course….

Mac or PC?
PC… but would LOVE to have a Mac

Ginger or Mary Ann? Which one are you more like?
Mary Ann… I’m just a small town country girl

Craziest thing you have ever done?
I don’t know if this is the craziest thing.. but when my friends come to Nashville, we always drive around the Buddy Killen circle aka Naked Statue.. HONKING CONSTANTLY…. It’s a MUST DO!!! You just can’t stop laughing… and ofcourse you get the funniest looks… but don’t tell anybody it’s me… k?? lol

Dreams come a size too big so we can grow into them!! (Quote from Charlotte Autry’s Facebook Page)

<insert GRATUITOUS SOCIAL MEDIA PLUGs here>

http://www.charlotteautry.com
http://www.myspace.com/charlotteautry
http://www.myspace.com/bootstoobigtofill
http://www.digitalrodeo.com/charlotteautry
http://www.twitter.com/charlotteautry
http://www.ilike.com/artist/Charlotte+Autry
http://www.reverbnation.com/charlotteautry
http://www.linkedin.com/in/charlotteau