#N What were the influences on you ? There's hints of Nanci Griffith in her early Rounder days in there.

#S And I take that as a great compliment. I got to see her for the first time a couple of years ago. My husband, Mark Stewart, he's actually from Nashville, which is pretty hard to find there. He told me right away…actually I think he's the only one there…That I sounded like Nanci Griffith. Well I got to see her two years ago at a benefit. It was an incredible night.

My influences…I always tell people I wasn't really heavily influenced. I grew up hearing lots of different things. Some people study their peers, but I wasn't really like that. There was one time, because I heard her on the radio a lot, that I tried to sing like Linda Rondstat. Steve walked by me and told me to try singing like my damn self. I hadn't realised that I wasn't singing in my true voice.

It was a good lesson that came quick. Steve's a hard critic, he takes no prisoners. It's not that he studies my music, but I know that somewhere he's going to run into it. He'll tell me real quick if it stinks or not. I didn't really have people that I was influenced by because I could not afford records.

I never walked into a record store and bought a record. There's a joke in Nashville that I married my husband for his vinyl collection. He's got this great collection. I listened to Bobby Gentry and that inspired "Wedding Night".

#N Does it happen the other way round ? Do you catch Steve strumming away and say "Steve that's crap"?

#S Only for his behaviour. I'm the mother hen of the family. There's five boys and it's my job to be bossy and make sure everyone's healthy. He can scold me for my music. I can scold him for his behaviour and get him to tidy his room.[laughs]
We dragged each other around the world. He was sick on that "Hard Way" tour and I was new and we dragged each other through a tough tour.

#N Is it easier or harder having famous relatives?

#S The eyes are on you. They can open doors for you, but they can still swing either way. Unless you have something to back it up it makes no difference. It's why I was so scared when I visited people. Finally I managed to get something across to these people. I'm a girl, he's a boy, we can't feel the same or be the same. We don't relate to the same things the same way. He looks like dad and I look like mom. Once you get in you got to shine. Nashville in particular, I'm getting the critical acclaim as me.

Mom always said that she named us so we wouldn't change our name if we became writers. She was hoping we'd be writers.

#N Your lyrics conjure up images of swing doors and country towns.

#S It's where I live. When I write it's…I call it therapy. It's not depressing. On the record you can tell which songs I wrote when I was happy, when I was sad. I always tried to turn things round. When you've got two kids, you're on your own in a food stamp line, for my children, I couldn't show them that there were things wrong. I'd say things like "When we get to the grocery store, where going to hit the Popsicle stand. The government's going to buy us popsicles!!" You have to find the positives. You can tell when people are looking for poverty because it's taken them emotionally. It's been to my benefit. I think if I had been inspired by other singers, I would have had a whole different sound.

It was my entertainment. After I'd worked shifts as a waitress and the kids were in bed, I'd just play the guitar to relax. I write in the morning before other people get up. It's peaceful and tranquil to me. I can really get into the melody.

#N What is the balance?

#S I can hear the melody almost with the words. My husband says I'm hearing things, but I'm big on the melody.

#N Is it the writer thing as well.

#S Well Mom thought we were all going to be writers. Steve knew instantly. There was a family council because Steve was a bit wild. He kept on running away, not from home, neither one of us ran away from home. I left home when I was sixteen. Called my parents said I was gone, I loved them, but I had some place to go. The therapist told my Mom, when Steve was fifteen, "You can let him go and he'll come home and tell you about it or you can keep him back and when he's gone you'll read about it. Steve was going to do what he was going to do.

#N What next?

#S Well, we're releasing my husband's record on Gearle Records, that's in October. Then I'm back in the studio for an album in February.

#N Cheers

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