Lila McCann

By Alex Teitz and Karen Weiss

Lila McCann does not fit the profile for a country music star, or a typical teenager. After moving from Seattle to Los Angeles McCann has continued to break records. Her newest work, Complete, was produced by David Malloy. Malloy has worked with Reba McIntyre and many others. McCann and Malloy searched for great songs to fill the album including the single, “Come a Little Closer.” McCann is beyond small songs and is growing into a Country Music Star. For more information visit Wikipedia

FEMMUSIC: How did you select the songs for Complete?

LM: This time around, we started looking for songs almost like a year and a half, two years ago. I think it’s a constant battle to look for songs because as soon as you finish one album, you start looking for material for the next. And in this case, you know, the music that I wanted to do, I wanted to be a little bit different. I was working with a new producer, it had been 2 years in between albums and I had changed a little bit. So for this time, I was just trying to find stuff that was a little bit older but yet—I’m still only 19, so not stuff that was way far beyond what I’ve experienced or what I can relate to.

FEMMUSIC: I think that actually answers the second part of my question, which was, what do you look for in songs?

LM: Yeah, I mean definitely portraying a song is almost…they come from life experience, of course. You sing songs about love, most people can relate to that personally. But I think also that a part of it is almost like being an actress and being able to put yourself in somebody’s shoes and try to see what it would feel like if you were there, and that’s how you would portray the song. And I think there are certain songs on the record that I was more in that situation. Kind of like, “She Remembers Less”, because I haven’t had anybody in my family sick with, you know, certain diseases or certain states of mind. And so those kind of things, you kind of have to just put yourself in this position. But I think if anything, it’s just a song that you feel strongly for, whether it be just for the vibe of the song, or for the lyrics, or whatever it is that draws you to it.

FEMMUSIC: What was the biggest challenge for you in doing Complete?

LM: One of the hardest things was that I was on the road during the whole making of this record. So I would, you know, go into the studio for a couple days, do some music tracks, do some vocal tracks, go back out on the road for a week, come back in the studio for two days, and it was like back and forth, back and forth. And then I’d go to L.A. to do vocals, cause I was having allergy problems in Nashville. You know, between being on the road and trying to do a record and still trying to maintain, you know, a busy effect in the studio, cause I wanted to stay there, I wanted to really be a part of what was going on. That was difficult. And it was also difficult because we were trying to find songs at the same time too. And that’s hard to do when you’re on the road.

FEMMUSIC: Completely. It sounds like you were living the complete schizophrenic lifestyle.

LM: Yeah. But I handled it all right. (laughs)

FEMMUSIC: What was the best experience making Complete?

LM: I think for me the most amazing experience—and it is every time I go into the studio—is just to be in there when the music tracks are being laid down, and watch a song go from what it is on the demo to what it is on the record. Because usually it’s one of the most magical things, to see 6 or 7 people get together. And within 5 minutes they just have this amazing piece of music that they’ve kind of done themselves. And it’s just a really neat thing to be a part of.

FEMMUSIC: What can you tell me about Dave Berg and the song “Where It Used To Break”?

LM: Dave Berg at the time was actually a writer for Starstruck, so he knew David Malloy pretty well. They all work in the same building. We recorded the whole record at Starstruck. And I had a different song of Dave Berg’s picked out for the record, and I went into the studio and tried to cut it, and it just was not flowing at all. All of us were like, “No, this is NOT working.” (laughs) And David Malloy said, “Well I’ll be right back. I’m going to get some coffee.” Or whatever, you know? And he came back and he was laughing. And he said, “Lila, Dave Berg’s in the hallway, and I told him if he can find a song right now that we like, we’ll cut it. Cause we have an hour and a half left. And we won’t use this time up. But only if it’s a great song.” And I said, “OK, whatever.” So I walked down to Dave Berg and talked to him, and he probably pitched me every song in his catalog in, like, 10 minutes. And “Where It Used To Break” came up, and I was like, “This was never on the tape you sent me. I LOVE this song.” And brought David Malloy back in, and he loved it, and my manager loved it, and we ended up cutting it. Right there.

FEMMUSIC: How was it working it with David Malloy on this album?

LM: It was great. I mean it was definitely a change of pace. Because I’ve worked with Mark Sparo for…since I was 12 years old. So that was definitely a change, but I think it was a healthy decision. After being in the studio, we had the same kind of ideas. And we get along really well, so everything seemed to work out nicely.

FEMMUSIC: My last question actually deals with the last press release I got on you. And that was your trip down to the Porch Creek Indian Reservation.

LM: Oh yeah! That was so neat. We had the opportunity to go down there, and didn’t know if we were going to be able to make it because it was like an hour out of town. But my road manager and I drove up there in this horrific thunder and lightning and rain storm, and went up there and watched them do tribal dances, and they explained to us a little bit about their tribe. And their way of praying to their Upper Person is to do all these different tribal dances. So they taught me one, and I did a tribal dance, and they  presented me with all these home-made, hand-made crafts, and a dream catcher and a little box thing that was weaved with grass or some kind of raw material from outside. I don’t know exactly what it was. But it was just a really neat experience.