18 Aug 2014

Pasadena Weekly-Country in the Sand

Altadena singer Eileen Carey brings her award-winning sound to Venice Beach Sunday

By Carl Kozlowski 07/24/2014

In a place famous for rock bands ranging from The Beach Boys and The Doors to Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers and No Doubt, Eileen Carey is breaking the mold en route to success. An Altadena resident, Carey has parlayed her love of country music into a career that has so far resulted in four CDs, a number of awards and a slew of concert appearances nationwide, as well as a recent publicity tour of radio stations in the South and Midwest. 

But her favorite shows are the ones in which she can be close to home, mainly because she and her husband Joe save feral cats and have provided homes to many of the felines over the past few years. Carey will be performing at noon Sunday at the 6th Annual Summer Fest in Venice, bringing country to the coastline as the official spotlight artist amid a daylong event that offers plenty of other fun in the sun as well. 

“This is my third year doing Summer Fest, and you can’t get any better than being on a beach performing,” says Carey. “The best part is that a lot of the proceeds go to feed the homeless and to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.”

Carey grew up in Willowick, a suburb of Cleveland, and credits her Ohio upbringing with giving her a different perspective on country music than most of her artistic peers. She was surrounded by rock music there before moving to California to work in a Sheraton Hotel as an assistant beverage director, and it was her experience there that inspired her to go pro as a performer. 

“I saw lots of performers whom I thought I was just as good as or better, so I decided to go back to performing myself,” says Carey. “I studied theater, acting and vocal classes and recorded my first CD. It went to AC (adult contemporary) radio first until a country music sales rep said to try country.”

Carey calls her style “West Coast Country” because she considers her songs to be a mix of the sounds that were prevalent in every town or city she’s lived in. Her determination to develop her own sound has paid off with her being named by the local CBS television station KCBS as one of the top 10 rising female musicians in Los Angeles.

That’s not the only recognition Carey has received, however. She has won multiple Los Angeles Music Awards, a South Bay Music Award and a nomination for a Hollywood Music in Media Award (HMMA) for the CD “Movin’ On” as well as one for “Let It Go.”

While she is determined to find success as an independent artist outside the major-label system, Carey also has offered her wisdom to other female musicians as a co-founder of FemMuse.com and TheMusicMom.com, which are tied to organizations that provide support and information for women artists and musicians. 

“I’ve been building my career and reputation for awhile, and my music is about what’s around me and what people are going through,” says Carey. “I try to give them a little advice musically. Hopefully they take it and use it, but who knows? It’s about showing somebody a different angle in life. I’m a positive person and I always try to see the light in any situation.”

In addition to her work with music and cats, Carey has studied kickboxing at Classic Kickboxing of Pasadena for the past 10 years, raised two kids who went to Pasadena’s Mayfield junior and senior high schools and owned the KFC restaurant on North Lake Avenue before she and her husband Joe decided to sell it off about six years ago. While she and her family lived in Pasadena for seven years, she is happy she made the move to the smaller neighboring community and plans to stay rooted there for a long time to come. 

“It’s a great easy place to find room for cats, and that’s important to us because I’ve rescued animals since age 7, and my husband has volunteered with Fix Nation for a long time as well,” explains Carey. “Last year we had a colony of cats in our neighborhood, of babies and adults, and we got them all fixed and released and I found homes for the babies. My husband is going to be going to veterinary technician school and at the end of the year. I donate some of my musical proceeds to children’s and animal organizations. I love to give back.”

Eileen Carey will perform at noon Sunday at the 6th Annual Summer Fest at Venice Beach. Admission is free. Call (562) 277-7174 or visit fx3events.com for more information

 

03 Apr 2014

EILEEN CAREY/Let It Go:

When you gotta make a living, it’s a long way from being one of the Ray Charles Uh Huh girls to being the ambassador for Super Cuts, but since Carey’s act is built around been there/done that and owning it while passing on the wisdom, it’s all good is the watch word here. Her messages don’t hit you over the head, and since Charles liked country music so much, it shouldn’t be such a stretch finding the transplanted Ohioan to LA tracking her music in Nashville. All that and she still has time to cover ‘Walking on Sunshine’. A worthy successor to the divorcee pop pioneered by Dory Previn et al in the 70s, somebody has to chart the course for the rest. This certainly won’t take the guys away from March Madness but the girls have to be doing something in the meanwhile.

CHRIS SPECTOR, Editor and Publisher

 

18 Feb 2014

Eileen Carey Answers Digital Rodeo’s “Inquiring Minds Want To Know” Questions

One of the hardest thing for human beings to learn is how and when to let things go. So when an artist like Eileen Carey comes along with a powerful message about doing just that, it’s a welcomed sight. The award-winning California-based singer/songwriter’s fourth and latest album LET IT GO features songs which follow through on the theme on letting go of those ties that bind us to the past and perhaps no song is more evident than the title track, “Let It Go,” a thumping up-tempo country pop tune about forgetting the small things or events from our past that lead to insecurities and indecisions of life.

“I always try to give people different options as a way to look at things,” Eileen says. “Because, unfortunately, this world’s been up and down and if I can get them to think about things that maybe they haven’t before, then maybe they can “Let It Go” and get to a better place in their life.”

Below read Eileen Carey’s answers to Digital Rodeo’s “Inquiring Minds Want To Know” questions:

1. In the last year what is the one thing you accomplished you were surprised by?

“Everything surprises me. Every time I listen to my new CD Let It Go, I am surprised that my art and voice keeping growing! Grateful as well!!”

 

2. In the upcoming year what are your top three goals musically that you want to accomplish?

1) A hit single 2) Create alliances with the most creative people in country music. 3) Reach an international audience.

 

3. What is your guilty pleasure when you get off a tour?

LOL…they are not very guilty. Hanging out with my family, my animals and my friends. It is much more exciting than you would imagine though!

 

4. What is your current challenge personally you are pushing yourself to achieve?

“Always the same challenge. To write better songs. To sing them better. To put on a better show. I am living my dream and my passion. I am always pushing myself to give more of myself to my fans. To the world at large.”

 

5. Who would be your “dream artist” to do an opening act for and why?

“Keith Urban. My biggest single to date is a tune he and Vernon Rust wrote called “That Was Her This Is Now”. I have recorded the only version of that song.”

 

6. Who was your most influential artist in your early years?

“So many, but Martha Davis, Patsy Cline and Chrissie Hynde to name a few prominent influences.”

 

7. Do you have hobbies that keep you busy when you are not on the road/in studio?

“Do I? Been kickboxing with regular workouts three times a week for the past 10 years! Been rescuing feral cats for years; and of course I am TheMusicMom.com; which is becoming less of a hobby all the time, and more of an active way I can be of service to other women with children in the music business!”

 

8. “What is at the top of your bucket list besides music?

“I want to write and direct movies!”

 

9. Do you have a “lucky charm” you carry on stage or a routine for good luck you do before you go onstage?

I am not superstitious. I carry my faith with me wherever I go!

 

10. What is your favorite comfort food?

I’m Irish! Potatoes! Any kind of potatoes!

 

11. Current project you are promoting (SINGLE – TOUR – CD etc.) and what are you most excited about it??

“After two years in the making of Let It Go, you know I am excited about the CD release. I believe it to be my best recording to date.”

 

originally posted http://digitalrodeo.com/news/eileen-carey-answers-digital-rodeos-inquiring-minds-want-know-questions

01 Feb 2014

Eileen Carey Releases “Let It Go”: A Song That’s More Than A Song

Award-Winning Singer Will Showcase New Single and Album at Country Radio Seminar

(Nashville, TN January 31, 2014) Sometimes a song is more than a song. Think Garth Brooks’ “The Dance,” which animated an entire generation to see life for its possibilities, not its pitfalls. Or Joe Nichols’ dare-to-dream epic, “The Impossible.” Now comes Eileen Carey’s sassy new single, “Let It Go,” to remind us that we can soar if we only have the grit to cast off those petty circumstances that tend to tie us down. Eileen will debut “Let It Go” on CDX No. 588 and MPE on Monday, Feb. 3, and follow up the release with performance, interviews and meet-and-greets at Country Radio Seminar in Nashville Feb. 19-21. “Let Is Go” is the title track from Eileen’s current album set for release this February.

A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Eileen Carey currently lives in California, where she’s distinguished herself as a singer, actress and artist-ambassador for the Supercuts beauty salon chain. In 2009, she won the Los Angeles Music Award for Americana Album of the Year and in 2010 the Producer’s Choice Award for Dance Single of the Year. Her movie credits include Hoffa, Batman and Basic Instinct.
“I try to use my music to give people a different way of thinking, a different outlet,” says Eileen. In “Let It Go,” she achieves that goal magnificently.

 

from Country Music News International

13 Sep 2012

Pop Country Artist Eileen Carey In the Studio with Carolyn Fox

This week, award-winning singer songwriter Eileen Carey will join Carolyn Fox in the studio as our special guest on the syndicated broadcast radio show, “Carolyn Fox’s Hollywood Spotlight.”

Eileen will give listeners a preview of new songs from her soon-t0-be-released CD, “Let It Go.” She and her music director and co-writer John Groover McDuffie perform some of this new music live in the studio.

To hear a taste of Eileen Carey’s great new music, tune your radio in Los Angeles to 1580 AM on Friday, Sept. 14 at midnight, and at 810 AM in Annapolis/Baltimore at 6 PM EST on Saturday, Sept. 15. Don’t have a radio? Hear this installment of “Carolyn Fox’s Hollywood Spotlight” on the Internet starting Sunday, Sept. 16 at the show’s website at CFoxRocks.com and at our blog at CarolynFoxRocks.com