Q and A with Elise afer Release of ‘That Jeep’!

Nashville based country artist Elise is most definitely back with a bang with new single ‘That Jeep’, so we caught up with the Nashville-based artist and had a chat with her about the new single and life as a musician.

 Hi Elise, so you live in Nashville now but grew up in Memphis. Can you tell us a bit about the music you grew up listening to and if you knew were always heading in the country/pop direction as an artist? 

I grew up listening to Celine Dion, Michael Jackson, Shania Twain and Amy Grant. I didn’t really know I wanted to do country until I was about 16 years old and found more artists in the genre that I loved.

You’ve taken part in both American Idol and The Voice. What were those experiences like and do you feel it helped you improve as an artist in any way?

They were some of the most amazing experiences of my life. I feel it did help me improve as an artist because it made me more prepared for an audition than I had ever been.  It puts you in high pressure and very stressful situations which helps you learn to perform under pressure. Being on the show really helped shape my performing skills.

How has quarantine been for you?

It has been difficult dealing with social distancing, being a performer I love going out and meeting and mingling with new people. I am trying to come out of this quarantine as positive as possible.

I want to be productive and thoughtful of this time we’ve been given.

What do you like to get up to away from music in your spare time?

I really enjoying working out and staying fit. I’m really into shooting archery and keeping my aim sharp. I love spending time with my friends and family, it’s a great way to decompress.

Can you tell us what the new single ‘That Jeep’ is about and how it came to life? 

I really wanted to write an upbeat happy song. I love driving with the windows rolled down, blaring and dancing to music; I really wanted a song that made people feel that way. I also wanted to write a song about my first crush at age 16 and riding around in his car. Writing a song about your first love is so special and is definitely something I feel everyone can relate to.

Most enjoyable part of being a musician?

Being centre stage, hitting the high note just right and bringing a crowd to their feet in applause.

What can we expect from you as an artist over the next year or so?

I am really hoping this year to become a billboard charting artist with my new single “That Jeep” that is the main goal. This year I really wanted to be able to quit my day job and do music full time, however with the Covid-19 pandemic, I am not sure that will happen this year. I am still working really hard to start setting things in place for it to happen next year.

 

For some of our UK readers this may well be their first experience of Elise and this upbeat toe tapping tune is one heck of an introduction. I first came across Elise performing in a writers round at Dawghouse in Nashville and then saw her performing with a full band on Broadway a few days later. It was clear between both of these shows how much passion she has for what she does and how great she is at owning any stage she’s on with her energy and stage presence. I’m really excited to hopefully catch this one live in the near future, it’s an extremely catchy number from start to finish and is sure to be huge at gigs too. Elise’s powerful voice ensures the earlier mentioned energy doesn’t drop at all during this track and it’s definitely the kind of track you’re going to have on repeat. My favourite thing about this infectiously catchy number is that you can picture yourself having a blast listening to it in so many different scenario’s, in a car on a long road trip with the windows down, at home getting ready to go out, partying in a Broadway bar in Nashville. Really impressed with this one from Elise and I’m really excited for the direction she’s heading in as an artist.

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Interview conducted by Craig Brooks (twitter.com/swindonforever)