We had the pleasure of meeting Geoff Meads & Victoria Mills who are Tennessee Twin when they came to record an acoustic session with us at Country on the Coast. We asked them if they would like to do an interview with us, and this is what they had to say.....
Q - How long have you been writing and performing country music?
A - We’ve both been writing music for more than 20 years. Everything from a Eurovision entry to a musical that was put on at the Edinburgh Fringe. We’ve both loved country music for a long, long time. We started writing country music together a few years ago but started to do it more seriously after winning the Nashville Music City / BA songwriting competition in early 2018.
Q - If you could invite the people who have influenced you in your music career to a dinner party, who would you invite?
A - Victoria: I’m going to pick Pat Alger who has written two of my very favourite songs, ‘Once In A Very Blue Moon’ and ‘Unanswered Prayers’, plus we got to see him play at the Bluebird Cafe last year and he was amazing. Next would be Ashley McBryde. Her albums are a constant in our house and in my car! Finally I’m going to go for Andrew Lloyd-Webber. Maybe not the coolest answer but his music has inspired me on so many occasions it wouldn’t be right to not include him here.
A - Geoff: I’d have to have Paul McCartney as he was the reason I started writing songs as a young musician. Nanci Griffiths would be wonderful as I love the way her lyrics tell stories, which is the way I like to write. Finally Chris Stapleton for the palpable atmosphere he instills in his songs and for the purity he brings to every performance.
Q - If you were to take one well known song and put your own country twist on it, which song would you choose?
A - Victoria: It's close to country already but I’d go for ’Never Saw Blue Like That’ by Shawn Colvin.
A - Geoff: I’m going to pick Dreams by Fleetwood Mac. I'm a huge fan of the Rumours album. It shows perfectly how great music can come from the collision of love and conflict.
Q - If you had the chance of performing anywhere in the world, Where would your dream venue be?
A - Both: No question, the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville.
Q - What excites you about the British country scene?
A - It's so friendly and supportive! In a relatively short time we’ve had the pleasure of meeting a long list of wonderful musicians, supporters and fans that are in it simply for the music. We’re now really looking forward to releasing our EP in June and sharing more of our music with everyone.
Q - The British country music scene is growing fast. Each artist having their own take on what country music is to them. How do feel that our music stands up against the music coming out of America at the moment?
A - We honestly think the UK has a massive amount of talent to bring to the country scene. Just looking at the British acts that have ‘made it’ so far (and the up and coming ones too) there's a massive variety of superb music being created here. The UK has a long, world class history of making great records. We’re now seeing the start of a British country music revolution and we can’t wait to be a part of the next chapter.
Q - Where do you see British country music in 5 years time?
A - We think British Country could be an established world-wide genre all of its own. That said, it would be even better if, ultimately, British country was not segmented from other types of country music. After-all, we don't think of Keith Urban as ‘Australian Country’...
Q - Do you think you will be more accepted in 5 years, when you say you are a British country music artist?
A - When most Brits think of country music they think country & western. There’s great music in that genre, but take a look at the C2C lineup, the Chris Country playlist or, as we were lucky enough to witness last year, the acts playing CMA Fest and you’ll see country is indeed a broad church. We’ve been pleasantly surprised at the number of our family and friends who, hearing what we’re doing, have admitted to being closet country fans! There’s no doubt that the image is changing and the fan base is perhaps bigger than it appears.
Q - Where can we find you on social media?
A - You can find us here!
https://www.facebook.com/tennesseetwin/
https://twitter.com/tennessee_twin
https://www.instagram.com/tennesseetwinuk/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeJCSNQtyDdtKXyIuaNRaug
