ARTrepreneur of the Month–August 2014
Singer/Songwriter Peggy Mann from Grand County,
Colorado. Photo by Johnny Quattlebaum.
Singer/songwriter Peggy Mann has sung over 250 radio commercials, including one for American Furniture Warehouse that ran for over 13 years, and recorded seven CDs, including her summer 2014 release “Don’t Waste Time.” Peggy is Grand County’s 2010 Entertainer of the Year and the August 2014 ARTrepreneur of the Month.
1) Tell me how you got into music.
I have been a working singer/songwriter for over 30 years. My career began in school choir, musical theatre, and singing at church in the Chicago suburb of Downers Grove, IL. In my early 20s I moved to Colorado and started songwriting. After moving, I was hired to sing radio commercials in Colorado Springs and Denver. I also sang the campaign song for Gary Hart’s successful senatorial race. Singing commercials in the studio was where I really honed my singing skills. This is where I perfected my pitch and diction and where I cut my teeth on many different styles of singing.
2) Tell us about your involvement with the Grand County community.
Let me first say that I LOVE Grand County! My husband and I had good friends in Grand County and began visiting them in 1994. One weekend I got up and sang with Steve Cormey who played in Grand Lake for many years. From that moment on I was invited to play in the area, and for the next 6 years my husband and I drove up every weekend. We fought the traffic every Sunday going home and couldn’t wait to get back the following Friday! In 2000, we bought land in Grand Lake, and for the next 6 years camped there during the summer weekends as I played in the area. I wrote so many songs on that little piece of heaven and will never forget those simple times. In 2007, we built our dream house, made Grand County our permanent home, and never looked back.
3) Do you have any recent successes?
I have had so many successes in my life. Your question reminds me of the young people I mentor who want to get into this business and I ask them, “What does success look like to you?” This is a question that I’ve asked myself over and over throughout my career. Is success making a hit record? Making a million dollars? Being famous? Success, to me, is doing what you love and doing it well. Success is affecting people in a positive way with your words and your music. Success is having family and friends that love and support you. Success is raising two beautiful daughters and a 20 year marriage to my wonderful husband. These successes make me who I am and allow me to write my songs. I have been successful in writing well over 100 songs. I have 7 CDs and recently recorded “Don’t Waste Time” in Nashville with world class producer and songwriter, Monty Powell. I met Monty at a songwriting workshop in 2008 and we stayed in touch. He took one of my songs back to Nashville and that song is one of the cuts on this new record. Monty has produced and written with artists such as Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Diamond Rio, and Rascal Flatts. He has won Golden Globes, has many Grammy nominations, and even wrote 3 number one songs in one year! He believes in me as an artist which is why he produced my recent CD. We are not only business associates, but also friends, and I call that a success. One definition of success is, “The achievement of something desired, planned, or attempted.” My desire now is to be successful in selling my songs. According to Monty, this new CD is the “best calling card in the world.”
4) What are some challenges in the music business or local music scene?
There are many challenges in the music business and the biggest one is keeping a positive attitude. It’s easy to get down on yourself when you work so hard for so long. Awards and accolades come and go. I have won several songwriting awards and singing contests with the hope that I get “discovered.” It’s challenging to find venues that pay enough to make a decent living. It’s challenging not being a 16-year-old and have the “business” still see your value. It’s challenging to keep faith when you know you have what it takes but the music business awards those with questionable talent and skills. This industry, like many, is a “who you know” business. Sometimes it’s not always the most talented that make it. So again, I have to keep reminding myself what success is. It’s challenging to stay true to yourself, but I’m still here and I’m making a living doing what I love.
5) What advice would you give upcoming musicians or performing artists?
My best advice is to know who you are, be solid in your character, and keep perfecting your craft. Know what success means to you and what you want from your life. If you want to be is a star then move to where that is most likely to happen and understand that doing so might mean giving up other things in your life. Try and be happy with where you are now because you can’t get back the time you waste wishing for something else. Always do your best and be the reason that someone else is changed in a positive way. And, stay grounded in your faith, because in the end that’s what is left. I DO expect to be critically acclaimed in heaven which means the most to me.
Photo by Kathy Koreny.
6) Do you have any upcoming events?
I am booked through the end of September so I am really busy, which I am grateful for. I just finished 2 SOLD OUT cd release concerts for “Don’t Waste Time” which took an enormous amount of time and effort, but worth every minute of it. I will travel back to Nashville this year to do some co-writing, and, according to my producer Monty Powell, I will be playing the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville at 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct 11, 2014. This is the premier singer songwriter venue in Nashville. Joining me on stage with be the producer of my record, Monty Powell, jazz singer Anna Wilson, and American Idol Season 8 contestant and 5th place winner Matt Giraud!
In the fall and winter I do private house concerts. This is something that I have done for years and really love. It’s a way to perform in a quieter atmosphere and share the back stories of my songs. I regularly receive comments from concert goers that they weren’t sure what to expect, but were pleasantly surprised what an awesome way it is to hear an artist up close and personal. I believe my live performances are where my followers really receive the full impact of what I can do and they like it.
7) Anything else you’d like to share?
Yes, I would like to thank the 1000s of people in my life that have supported and loved me throughout the years. I would be nothing without them coming time and time again to my shows. Thanks to them we sell out our shows every week!
For more information and schedule dates, visit Peggy at peggymann.com.
Category: ARTrepreneurship
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