Scarletta-Interview
by Tim Wenger
photo: roughstock.com
Denver has furnished a crop of accomplished, well-known musicians over the last several years, including some who have done the majority of their work outside of the Mile High City. Aubrey Collins of the Nashville, TN, country outfit Scarletta is one of those, who, in addition to her current base in Nashville, has spent time working in LA.
We had a chance to catch up with Collins after the band’s most recent tour, which brought them through Denver January 31. Collins grew up in Littleton, CO, and has been involved in music since a young age. “When I was a kid, my mom put me into vocal lessons,” she says. Her family was very into music, and exposed her to country as well as rock and roll as a young kid. “I feel like country music is like a diary,” says Collins. “I knew since I was twelve years old that country is what I wanted to do.”
“I was in the Colorado music scene from the time I was twelve years old until I was fifteen,” says Collins, “then I started touring around from the time I was fifteen till I was seventeen.”
Like so many rock star hopefuls, Collins made the move to LA. At only fifteen, the move seemed like the next logical step for an aspiring career musician, and although she began working with some major record labels including Interscope Records, she longed to return to her country roots. “I felt like I wasn’t really doing the right thing,” she says. “I did a couple showcases in Colorado for Sony Records and they were like, ‘You know, you have more of a rock voice, more of a rock background.’ I kind of was just listening to the big wigs, seeing as how I was so young and didn’t really know how to find my own path. Moving to LA was awesome, it opened my eyes, it made me who I am today and taught me a lot, but it wasn’t really where I wanted to be. I wanted to be in country music.”
A phone call from Keith Burns of Trick Pony in the summer of 2006, asking if she would be interested in coming to Nashville to audition for the group caught Collins’ favor right away. Collins ended up getting the job and moved to Nashville in January of 2007. She was a part of the group for nine months, and then took a year off of music. “It just wasn’t the right fit, I had a lot of stuff going on,” says Collins. “I got back into it, and got a publishing deal. I met (fiddle player) Nathan Stoops out one night while singing in Nashville. I was so broke that I had to do sessions here and there doing background vocals,” Collins says. “I was singing with a friend of mine, Nathan was out hanging out, and they came up to me after the gig and said, ‘I’d really love to talk to you about doing something on the side.’”
She wasn’t sure right off the bat, but was quickly convinced that this was the opportunity she had been waiting for. “It was so right, so perfect,” says Collins. “I went and met up with them one night, and we didn’t even rehearse any songs, I just started singing. Everything fell into place, the harmonies were perfect, and here we are 3 ½ years later!”
The group will be on tour the rest of the Winter and Spring, keeping busy playing gigs at least on the weekends. They will also be performing the National Anthem at the Daytona Motor Speedway, and hope to be back in Colorado in the next few months.
Online: scarlettamusic.com
Category: Buzzworthy
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