LOS ANGELES (Shady Hill Records) - For most country artists, picking the right title for their debut albums is a breeze—just find the snappiest, most clever song on the disc, preferably a potential hit single. For her swinging, upbeat first collection, due to be released August 28,
Sandra Piller had a lot of great potential choices, from the heartfelt first single "My Last Romance" to "She Knows Better," the two tracks she co-wrote with 25 year Nashville songwriting veteran Jane Bach (Reba McEntire, Collin Raye, JoDee Messina).
The singer, a newcomer to Nashville with the deep vocal talent and hearty, rough and tumble life experiences of a veteran, also adds her own snappy twists to three songs from the classic rock era, "Love Me Two Times" by The Doors (given a fresh acoustic bluegrass reworking), Leon Russell's "Tightrope" and the heartbreaking, Del Shannon composed mid-60s hit "I Go To Pieces" by Peter & Gordon. There's also "Don't Write, Don't Call" about the tough love Piller has had to show old friends whose burdens had become too much.
Emotionally compelling as those tunes are, they don't capture the overall vibe of A Long Time Coming, a title that perfectly reflects the powerful joys and pains that inspired the album's 11 songs and the intensity of Piller's performances. Although her name is new on the scene and her debut is launching an exciting new indie label (Shady Hill Records), she hands the production reins on A Long Time Coming to a true rock and country legend Marty Rifkin. Long acknowledged as a master of the pedal steel guitar, dobro and mandolin, his credits include sessions and/or tours with Tom Petty, Dwight Yoakum, Jewel, Bruce Springsteen and Buddy Jewell.
"The cover of the CD shows me in the midst of a labyrinth, a maze that represents the long, twisting journey of life, the happiness and heartache that I want to share with people," says Piller, who in recent years lost her eldest daughter and second husband, Michael Piller, a well known television producer. "You never really get over certain losses, but surviving them somehow deepens your appreciation for life and the rest of your loved ones. It also fuels your compassion for others who have experienced similar tragedies.
"The good news is, despite or maybe because of all that, this album is happy and up-tempo for the most part," she adds. "It swings in spots, and it shows me committed to life and love and fresh starts, which we all need. With songs everyone can relate to, I'm singing to show people out there that we're all on the same path together, and that many of our experiences, light or dark, are shared ones. I'm excited about getting my music out there at last, and about the opportunity to connect with listeners on a musical and personal level. I think they'll see a lot of themselves in me."
Thanks to Piller Squared Productions, her late husband's TV production company that is currently run by her son Shawn, Sandra's songs have been heard over the years on shows like "The Dead Zone" on the USA Network.
With Piller's music quickly expanding beyond that realm, fans from the country music world and beyond will be able to experience her in many exciting ways. In addition to making her debut available on all the major online download sites, CD Baby and her own website, she is taking up residency, so to speak, in Nashville in October. She will do a live performance at 12th & Porter (one of the city's hotspots) that will be broadcast on Billy Block's radio show The Western Beat on WSIX Nashville and many other stations. Numerous other live performance bookings are in the works.
It seemed that no matter how the responsibilities of motherhood tugged Piller away from her lifelong dream of being a professional singer, showbiz always pulled her back. Perhaps it's genetic, as she grew up the daughter of Sandra Giles, a popular stage, screen and stage actress who currently gives weekly swing dance nights in Los Angeles.
Piller was a successful songwriter long before she decided to sing; she scored her first Nashville publishing deal with legendary Sun Records icon and country music producer Cowboy Jack Clement. She was always a fan of pop country stars like Crystal Gayle, Patsy Kline and Kenny Rogers, but it was the music of The Judds that really inspired her to eventually pursue a singing career in Nashville.
"I think the success of any song in this genre is the ability of people to relate to it," she says. "I very much identified with The Judds' music and their song 'Grandpa' particularly moved me at a time when my own kids weren't seeing my first husband. I love the way certain songs can apply to so many situations. People who have heard my song 'She Knows Better' about a teenage girl think it's about my daughter Brent and me, but I really wrote it for my eldest daughter who passed away."
Matthew Dickey, VP of Production for Shady Hill Records, is excited about launching the new label with Piller as its flagship artist. "I've known Sandra a long time and it is wonderful to be a part of this labor of love project," he says. "We're sort of taking what we call a 'Willie Nelson' approach to marketing her, focusing on the energy and liveliness of her live performance, and the uniqueness of her voice as well as her songwriting. Her music is real and from the heart, about a life lived and one she's still living whose story needs to be told. What she does best is open up and has fun with the music. Audiences share an instant energy and connection with her."
Dickey adds that Shady Hill Records will develop into a label for country music artists and performers from other genres who, he says, "share our vision and ideals. Sandra is the perfect artist to get us started on that mission."
