A Nashville Collection (42 page)

The adjacent wall is covered with pictures of Aubrey's beautiful, beaming face, her arms around every great name alive on Music Row. Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Dolly Parton, Richard Leigh, Dan Huff, Keith Urban, Toby Keith, Brooks and Dunn, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, Martina McBride and her family, her good friend Emma Rice, her longtime producer David Whitestone, and former SongTunes president Greg Leininger.

On the adjacent wall are awards and gold records from the Gospel Music Association, a tribute to her famous parents, Ray and Myra James.

“Your parents were pioneers in Christian music.”

“Is the interview starting?”

“I grew up listening to their records.” I motion to the row of eight guitars. “Is there a story behind these?”

“My dad owned seven of them. The one on the far right was given to me by songwriter Danny Hayes years ago.”

Acknowledging with a nod, I walk over to her and into the fragrance of her perfume. “Please believe me when I say I'm sorry. I can't change the past, Aubrey. I would if I could. Can you forgive me and do this interview? For both our sakes?”

She steps around me. “Let's get it over with.”

With the script rolled up in my hand, I sit in the club chair, ready to get
started. Poised and perfect, Aubrey sits across from me in the leather wingback.

One camera focuses on Aubrey, the other on me. Rafe will also film with the portable DV, moving in and around us, capturing different angles, light, and depth.

Olivia is talking to Zach. Sam, thank goodness, left for a meeting.

Rafe indicates he's ready for me to cut my first teaser. I sit straight, adjust my tie, and clear my throat. Aubrey makes me nervous.

“Three, two, one . . . Hi, everyone. Scott Vaughn for
Inside NashVegas
, in the home of Aubrey James. Join
Inside the Music
Monday mornings this fall for our exclusive interview with Aubrey James, the queen of country soul.”

“Got it,” Rafe says.

I face Aubrey. “Ready?”

“Whenever you are.” She looks confident though her hands are clasped and white-knuckled in her lap. After my apology, she softened, but it's unsettling that our personal business is not finished.

Standing, I address the room, pointing my rolled-up script at Aubrey. “Can we have a private moment, please?”

“S-sure.” Olivia shoots a quick glance at Zach, then Aubrey. “If it's okay with you.”

For a split second the diva looks as if she's going to refuse, but she answers with a smile. “Fine by me.”

In a few moments, we're alone. Taking my seat, I lean toward her, crumpling the script in my hand, not quite sure how to speak my heart.

“What do you want, Scott?”

“Well, I knew a moment ago, but, um—”

“You're a journalist. Say it.”

I look her in the eyes so she knows I'm serious. “This is your first big interview, and despite what happened last year between the two of us—

“Which I'm still curious about. What exactly did happen, Scott?”

“Trust me, the details would bore you. But I want this interview to go well for you and
Inside NashVegas
. Let's have fun. Are we cool?”

Aubrey thinks for a second. “Only if you're willing to tell me what happened.”

“Are you two ready?” Olivia bounds around the corner, using her cheery voice and tapping her watch. “We're burning up time here.”

I slide back in my chair. “Olivia's right. We should get going on the interview.”

“Don't think you're going to get off this easy.”

I grin. “Believe me, I don't.”

8

“Aubrey James is an amazing singer, entertainer, and songwriter. I wish she'd record her own stuff. Be bold, Aubrey. Don't let the Big Dogs run you down.”

—Country recording artist Emma Rice

Scott: The final night of the CMA Fest, you fainted. What happened?

AJ: Exhaustion. Took the big diva dive. The FRESH! tour drained me. In between shows, I filmed a commercial for FRESH!, had photo shoots. Plus, we did a hundred cities in six months.

Scott: Based on Melanie Daniels'
Star
interview, you guys had a lot of drama
going on. What happened between you and Melanie?

AJ: Wow, starting off with the loaded questions. [shifting in her seat] Melanie came to work for me as my musical director four years ago. She took care of my band on and off the road and worked with me on my last three albums. She helped pull together the all-girl band.

Melanie is a great musician and brought a lot of new ideas to my team. I felt lucky to have her, and we became good friends. At least I thought we were friends. I certainly shared enough of my life and heart with her.

About a year and a half ago, a new man came into her life, and suddenly she started demanding more. More money, more influence. She wanted to be included in all my major musical decisions, right down to designing the tour show.

Scott: What about her claim you hindered her career?

AJ: Not true. I didn't even know she was talking a record deal with SongTunes.

Scott: You fired her in the middle of the tour. Why?

AJ: We'd been at odds before the tour started. While I valued her immensely, and honestly felt she deserved some of what she was asking for, her attitude was one of “You owe me.” No matter what we offered, she felt it wasn't good enough. We argued a lot last year. It got very tense and heated between us. In fact, right before we started rehearsal for the tour, I wasn't sure if she would be on board as my musical director. She didn't return our calls, and we heard rumors she was bad-mouthing me on Music Row. Then one day she showed up, guitars in hand, as if nothing had ever happened. She was warm, fun, pleasant, eager to get to work.

Scott: Didn't you think that was odd?

AJ: For a musician, no. [grinning]
Scott: I see. What were her reasons for disappearing?

AJ: She said she needed to get her head together. She had taken time to hike the Appalachian Trail with her brother and then visited family in Florida.

Scott: She seemed like the old Melanie to you
?

AJ: Yes. Sometimes she seemed subdued and distracted. Her temper was short, but it never crossed my mind she was making mental notes for a future blog or planning to diss me in the international press.

Scott: She blogged, “Aubrey James is only about herself. Our drummer was having
personal issues, but Aubrey would not even listen to her story. She sucks the
life right out of a person. No matter how long the road, how hard we worked,
she demanded that much more and never gave in return.”

AJ: I guess I did drive the band hard. First of all, we were an all-new, all-female band and had our share of Music Row skeptics. Second, we'd forged a huge deal with FRESH!, a young company trying to build an image. I believed we should be beyond excellent. For ourselves, our sponsor, the music industry, and really for women in our industry.

Scott: [smiling] Pretty big burden for one female band to carry.

AJ: [laughing] Are you kidding me? Between my bassist, Vickie, and Melanie I had two of the best musicians in town. Besides, I didn't ask anything of them I didn't ask of myself. I worked hard knowing what we could achieve. And we did it.

Scott: You wore yourself out.

AJ: True, but looking back, it was worth it.

Scott: Besides keeping a blog of the FRESH! tour, Melanie sold her story about you
to
Star
and to a British tabloid. Tell me about your response to this and why
you think she took such a drastic step?

AJ: My response? Hum . . . Hurt. Blindsided. Very surprised. Since the beginning of my career, I made it a point to stay out of the public eye as much as possible, which made me a huge curiosity for the media, especially the tabloids. She knew how much my privacy meant to me.

Scott: Why'd you work so hard to stay out of the public eye?

AJ: [shrugging] Mainly to keep some perspective on my life. Not mix up the private Aubrey James with the public one. She
can
be a demanding diva. Aubrey James the private person can't.

But in my innocence-of-youth, I became involved with characters like Jack Mills and Derek Crammer, and found myself the target of tabloids. Embarrassed, I hid. But the more I hid, the more they printed. Most of it lies and speculation with just enough truth to make it annoying. But to answer your questions as to why Melanie took such a drastic step? Fifty thousand dollars.

Scott: You think she did it for the money? Fifty thousand isn't a lot, really.

AJ: To me it is. The price of my privacy. But money matters a lot to Mel, and to her boyfriend, Bo. She grew up really poor and worked hard to get through college. Looking back, a lot of our arguments were over money and how she felt it all came so easily for me. In reality, she's a way better musician and singer. She's trained and educated. But I was the one with my name in lights.
Scott: Have you talked to her since the
Star
interview?

AJ: No, but I'd like to eventually. She
was
a friend and I'm angry about what she did, but I'd like to hear her side. I know all stories have two sides. All relationships have two points of view.

Scott: This was what? Your tenth tour?

AJ: Eleventh.

Scott: With your first album you toured with Garth Brooks. What was that like?

AJ: [smiling] Amazing. I mean, Garth Brooks. [laughing] Holy cow.

He's an incredible entertainer, a generous heart, and he taught me so much about performing. He's a natural. I, on the other hand, preferred to just get up onstage, stand like a statue in the spotlight, and belt out a song. I had to learn how to engage the crowd, move around, perform, entertain. No matter how talented an artist is vocally or musically, being a performer is what separates the men from the boys, women from the girls.

Scott: How'd you get hooked up with Garth Brooks?

AJ: Luck. God. The brilliant mind of Connie Godwin, my adopted mom, who managed me when I first started with Mountain Music in '95. She decided I should tour with Garth and sent him my first CD, asking him to consider me for a touring partner. He did.

Scott: You opened for him?

AJ: No, actually, he opened for me. [laughing] Of
course
I opened for him. But, toward the end of the show, he always invited me back out to sing a few cover numbers with him.

Scott: Glad to see your sense of humor surface.

AJ: Contrary to popular belief.

Scott: All righty, then, moving on. Your parents were cutting-edge gospel singers for
their day. What did you learn from them about music and performing?

AJ: [drawing a deep breath] More hard questions. I haven't talked about them in a long time. [eyes glistening] Yes, my parents were cutting edge for their day. My father was a prolific songwriter. Growing up, we had all kinds of music in the house— old-time gospel, Motown, '60s rock and roll, '70s pop, country, classical. I loved Daddy's
Bread
album because they had a song called “Aubrey.”

Scott: I know the song. Did it inspire your name?

AJ: My heart says yes. I always meant to ask them about it, but . . . [her voice trailing off] Anyway, Daddy hung out with guys like Keith Green and Michael W. Smith. They were very passionate about their message, but doing it with musical excellence. He wanted to incorporate different sounds and rhythms into his songs.

Scott: Was he a performer?

AJ: A little, but Christian audiences are very different from, say, a rock audience or a country audience, especially in the '80s. They attend concerts to be lifted up or touched by God in some way.

To worship. Entertainment was secondary.

From my parents . . . [hesitating, pressing her hand over her eyes for a second] From my parents, I learned how to give my all for every concert. No matter how big or small, the audience deserves my whole heart.

I remember one summer when my brother, Peter, and I traveled with them, we got to this one dinky, tiny church in the middle of Texas. Our booking agent told us it was a big Baptist church, but it turned out to be an
old
Baptist congregation and, like, five people showed up. But we gave them our best show.

[pausing, smiling softly, then shifting her glassy gaze] Daddy used to say we're all only playing for an audience of One anyway.

Scott: Jesus?

AJ: You've heard the saying?

Scott: Yes, from a friend of mine, Shawn Bolz, pastor at Faith Community Church.
AJ: I know Shawn. He was my pastor, too, years ago.

Scott: Tell us about the FRESH! sponsorship. How'd you pair with a bottled water
company?

AJ: [pointing to Zach] My genius manager. It was his idea. He called my lawyer, Skyler Banks, and my business manager, Eli Davenport, and pitched the idea of finding a sponsor.

More and more artists are partnering with corporate sponsors. We wanted something different. Not typical country products like trucks or beer, boots or hats. Zach suggested FRESH!. We kept a cooler of FRESH! on stage for every concert. Gave away bottles before and after the show. It was a great partnership. Still is.

Scott: Then it was your idea to pull together an all-girl band.

AJ: Yes, my genius contribution to the project. [laughing] After a bunch of years on the road with guys, I wanted to eliminate the hassle of groupies. I mean, how do you look a guy's wife in the face when you know he's shagged a girl or two along the way?”

Scott: Can't be easy.

AJ: It's horrible. Touring has a way of lulling a person to sleep. Week after week, traveling from city to city, it's easy to find yourself in this surreal world of sleeping by day and performing by night. Makes a person feel disconnected from real life. Sociologists should study the social ramifications of a touring band. They'd get all kinds of goodies. It comes with its own set of rules and moral code, and if you're not careful, it can be as if home and hearth never existed. All your values and standards get suspended in this I'm-on-the-road mentality.