In January of 2006,
Cindy picked up a Gospel/Bluegrass CD
at the local Wal Mart while waiting for
her kids to finish spending their Christmas
money. Little did she know that God had
placed the CD there for a reason and that
the entire course of her life was about
to take a dramatic change in direction.
After listening to the CD produced by
Steve Ivey of IMI Music in Nashville,
Cindy felt compelled to e-mail Ivey and
let him know that as a musician, she appreciated
the clean, energetic sound on the CD.
To Cindy's surprise, Ivey took the time
to respond, and after several more e-mails,Cindy
had agreed to go to Nashville to meet
Ivey with the hope of securing a recording
contract. |
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"Everything happened so
quickly, within the space of about a month.
Suddenly I was on my way to Nashville to fulfill
a lifelong dream. I went by myself that first
time, something that was very important for
me to do. I didn't know how things would turn
out, and I didn't want to pretend everything
was okay if things went badly. I had wanted
this all my life and I needed to find out if
I had what it took by myself. I was actually
very calm about the whole thing. There were
too many coincidences and things fell into sync
too smoothly for me not to believe that God
had a hand in all of it. My confidence level
was high when I left Nebraska, I knew that God
wouldn't have led me to this if he didn't intend
for me to do it."
So on March 8, 2006 with a
fistful of newly written songs, Cindy headed
for Nashville under the guise of taking a "spring
break" of her own, finally not having any
college kids to send on their own vacation.
And what a spring break it would turn out to
be
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"My meeting with Steve turned
out to be one of the best days of my life! We
talked for about an hour and then he just pulled
out the studio mic, picked up his guitar and we
started laying down rough traks for a few of the
songs I had written. I think we had finished three
when he asked me if I could stay over another
day so we could work later the next afternoon.
He told me he wanted me to write three more songs
and then we could fill in the other six slots
with songs I would pick out that night. I left
there, found a shopping center and bought a couple
of old Patsy Cline Gospel cd's and a few others
to listen to that night after the Opry." |
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"When I went back into the
studio that next afternoon, I had picked four
songs, one of them being an old Patsy Cline version
of Life's Railway To Heaven. As we were
listening to it, I made the comment to Steve that
the Jordanaires were just as good on that song
as Patsy was. He didn't even look up and asked
if I would like to have the Jords record some
songs with me on the cd. I thought he was joking,
so I smarted off, "Wouldn't we all like to
have them do our cd's with us!" Steve then
explained that they were all really good friends
and he was sure they'd be glad to do it for me.
For one of the few times in my life, I was speechless.
Now everyone knows how I got hooked up with the
Jordanaires. They just happened to be at the Opry
that night and I can't tell you how overwhelming
it was to sit there watching them perform knowing
I would be recording with them in the near future.
Funny thing, I had told Steve it was very important
for me to hold open a slot for my mother's favorite
Gospel song, but I didn't know what it was. I
found out on the way home the next day that it
was Life's Railway To Heaven . . . one
of many ‘too good to be true’ coincidences." |
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"There are some very personal
songs on this CD. Set It Free was written
about an hour after I had made the decision to
go ahead with my plans to go to Nashville. That's
What I Come From was written as a tribute
to my mother and her mother. The morning I left
Nashville, I got up and wrote In His Own Time
reflecting on how I had waited and worried for
years that I would never get to experience everything
I had just done."
Cindy
was born in Denver, Colorado and spent the first
3 1/2 years in Limon, Colorado. When the family
left to move to Axtell, Nebraska, they left all
of their extended family in the Limon, Last Chance
and Denver area. "You never really know all
the elements that shape your life, but I do know
that growing up in a small mid-western town had
a huge impact on who I am today. I still have
strong ties with all the small towns in my past.
I recently went to Limon and Last Chance to do
my photo shoot for the CD. I don't have much family
left in that area, but my heritage is there and
it will always have a place in my heart. I still
stop in Axtell on a weekly basis to see my parents
and if I'm lucky, I get to visit with friends
and other family."
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Cindy credits many people as influences
in her love of music. "From a very early age,
my parents always had music on in the house. The
radio or record player was usually playing. Mom
was a piano teacher and every once and in a while
my dad would get out his trumpet from the Army.
I remember my brothers getting a trap set for some
reason when I was about 8 or so. I don't know what
they were thinking on that one. We lived in a little
house, but it was out in the country, so I guess
we were the only ones who
suffered. That little house was 1/2 mile out in
the country and I can vividly remember walking home
from school singing songs of love to a boy who had
no idea I was in love with him. I'd sure like to
remember the words I was singing, but I can't!"
Two very strong influences on Cindy's
singing style were Karen Carpenter and Patsy Cline.
"I deeply regret never being able to see either
of them perform in person. They both shaped my voice
in ways you can hear easily. I've actually had someone
tell me I sound like Karen Carpenter singing bluegrass,
and that's such a great compliment. I can't sing
anywhere in my area without someone requesting a
Patsy Cline song. What great artists they were."
In the fall of 1976, Cindy made
her first public singing appearance at her sister’s
wedding. From there she continued on with the encouragement
of her high school music teacher, J. Rodney Wendell,
to compete at conference and district competitions.
"You would never know it now, but I used to
sing first chair high soprano. Now I sing out of
the basement!" |
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In the fall of 1977 a group of her mother's
friends asked if Cindy and her brother Stan would
play a few songs for a joint birthday party. "That's
where it all really began. Stan and I got a drummer
and learned about 10 or so songs and we played at
the VFW in Axtell. I don't even think we had a name
for quite awhile, but we continued to play for Halloween
and New Years Eve parties there at the VFW. We finally
named ourselves Moonshine Music Company
and started getting gigs in the area bars. For nearly
20 years we were together on and off. I took a couple
of breaks to raise my family and never got too far
away from it all." In 2005 Cindy decided to
start volunteering her vocal talents to organizations
in the area that assisted the elderly. "You
get real tired of being in bars and staying up half
the night when you are in that circuit. I just felt
that I could enrich some lives with my voice, so
I started singing regularly at our local Senior
Center and Assisted Living Center in Alma, Nebraska.
I was so well received and it became quickly apparent
that I really missed singing on a regular basis.
I was in the formative stages of putting together
a bluegrass group when the Nashville thing happened." |
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"I have strongly felt from
the beginning of this adventure that God had a hand
in this. There have been too many times when things
just fell into place that should have been much
harder. God didn't just place this in front of me,
he hit me over the head with it repeatedly until
I decided to step out in faith and take the chance.
If I had not gone ahead with this, I really feel
I would have been going against His direction for
my life at this point. He has given me a gift for
being patient and waiting the many years that I
did." "I
just want everyone out there to use me as an example
of what can come if you are patient and wait.
I wouldn't have been able to write the songs I
wrote at an earlier time in my life. I know I
may never be rich and famous, but if I die tomorrow,
I will have done something I have dreamed about
my whole life, and that is worth so much. Never
give up your dreams!"
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