AS PUBLISHED IN THE RECORD, SEPTEMBER 1999
By Nick Krewen
When it comes to the stuff that matters, singer and songwriter TARA LYN HART has it all under control.
Only 21, the former Tara Lyn Mohr of Roblin, Manitoba has already lived the fullest of lives. She's married, the parent of two toddlers, and on October 5, she'll welcome her first musical child into the world: her debut Epic album Stuff That Matters.
The 14 song album features nightingale Hart collaborating on six songs with fellow Canadian songwriters DAVID QUILICO, HAL DRAPER, STEVEN MOCCIO and ex-HEMINGWAY CORNER writer DAVID MARTIN.
"I tried to include each piece of music as something that touched me and something about my life," Hart explained last week from her Nashville home. "I wanted to make this album almost autobiographical. There are so many new artists out right now that I didn't want people to have trouble remembering who I was. I thought a good way to do that was to have them really get to know me, which they can do through the music."
Produced by a phalanx of impressive icons --WALTER AFANASIEFF (MARIAH CAREY, CELINE DION, MICHAEL BOLTON),PETER ASHER (JAMES TAYLOR, LINDA RONSTADT, CHANTAL KREVIAZUK), BARRY BECKETT (PAM TILLIS), ex-GIANT guitarist DANN HUFF, the renown JOSH LEO (PAUL BRANDT, ALABAMA) and veteran songwriter TOM SHAPIRO -- Stuff That Matters also boasts an impressive range of material that straddles both country and pop fences.
"For a while, I think they (Sony) were hoping that I would lean towards pop, which is cool," says Hart, who grew up listening to the music of T.G. SHEPPARD, CRYSTAL GAYLE and REBA McENTIRE. "That was such a hard decision to make. I just love music in general. But country -- my whole life I just assumed that I was going to grow up and sing country music. When it came down to making the actual decision, I couldn't turn my back on it."
Having a highly-placed guardian angel named TOMMY MOTTOLA rooting for you certainly helps.
"I was elated when I heard Tommy Mottola liked my music," says Hart.
It was Mottola who suggested she hooked up with hitmaker Walter Afanasieff,
and is probably part of the reason Sony Music Canada feels confident in servicing radio with a two-pronged attack: "Stuff That Matters" for the country formats, and the Hart co-authored "That's When You Came Along" for the AC markets.
CMT has been playing the MORGAN LAWLEY-directed "Stuff That Matters" in heavy rotation for the past three weeks, and as a result Hart is close to obtaining a Top 20 record.MuchMoreMusic, Musimaxx and other AC video outlets will be serviced with the CHRIS ROGERS-directed "That's When You Came Along" with the album's October 5 release. They're the first of five or six singles Sony is hoping to release from Stuff That Matters.
"There's definitely an appeal to her that's beyond the straight ahead country," says Sony senior A&R chief MIKE ROTH. "With Walter Afanasieff involved, there's a lot of people who can latch onto this record."
"We feel we have The Next Great Voice," adds Sony promotion head VEL OMAZIC. "As much as we known Tara has great country roots, we feel that there's so much more."
While Hart may be a new face to the mainstream, she released several independent singles as Tara Lyn Mohr -- her first when she was 13.
"It was called `Lovers Come, Lovers Go," she laughs. "Like I knew about that at 13."
Hart credits local producer CRAIG FOTHERINGHAM with introducing her to the studio and songwriting.
"I worked with him about five years. He was so awesome," says Hart. 'I met him and started hanging out with him when I was 10 or 11. He totally took me under his wing and said, `You've got to start writing.' So I'd go out for the weekend and he and his wife put me up. They had a little baby that was so sweet. We'd write and we did some independent stuff."
"Honestly, without him I would not have been nearly ready for this whole label thing."
The "whole label thing" got started when Hart won a talent contest which included studio time with DANNY SCHUR, Chantal Kreviazuk's manager at the time.
"Mike Roth of Sony was coming out to meet with Danny in Winnipeg around the time Chantal got signed, and he played him stuff that he was working on, including my tape," says Hart. "They liked it. They called me two weeks before my wedding. It was a great wedding present."
Hart says that initially she refused to meet with Sony execs due to the close proximity of her wedding.
"I said, `I can't come now. My wedding is in two weeks!' My husband PERRY said, `Are you nuts? Of course we can go down." So we went to Toronto for a few days, met everybody at Sony, and I sang some songs. The next day they said, `This is your wedding present.'"
Although Hart was introduced by a handful of showcases that included performances in Toronto, Montreal and her home territory of Winnipeg, the U.S. promotion ball began to roll in July. Hart has been visiting countless radio stations across America in preparation for the album's estimated January release south of the border. Meanwhile, she returns to Canada in early November for two weeks of promotion.
Managed by WILLIAMS SMITHSON of Gary Boorman Entertainment and represented by RICK SHIPP of The William Morris Agency, touring won't commence until 2000 -- with Canada tentatively pencilled in for next summer.
As for Hart, a new house and a family have allowed her to deliver a deeper record than she might have written three years ago -- and offers inspiration for more in the future.
"A lot of the songs on the record are about my husband and my children," says Hart. "I haven't done a lot of writing ten months since my son was born. I really feel inspired to do stuff about that now. It's a whole new world."
THANKS: Steve Maclean, Amber Meredith
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©1999 Nick Krewen, Octopus Media Ink