Chicks With Picks

These Valley Women Are Nashville-Bound

by Catherine Holland

The life of a musical performer isn’t easy, but ask anyone who lives it and they’ll tell you there isn’t anything in the universe like it—and there’s nothing they want more. This is especially true for three women musicians from right here in the Valley who are hoping to make it big in the sometimes brutal world of country music.

“It’s a tough, tough business, but the rewards are worth it,” says singer/songwriter Amy Magnussen, who recently returned from a three-week European tour. “To me, going out and singing, opening up for a national act—the response you get alone for me is worth it.” Magnussen should know; she’s been performing for about 15 years. The lead singer for the local group, Roundavouz, she puts heart into every word she sings.

Another Valley singer/songwriter, Destinee Quinn, is only 16—but she knows what she wants and is determined to get it. “My life revolves around my music,” Quinn says. “I want to play music for the rest of my life. I don’t see myself doing anything else.” She’s not all that different from Mary Hoffman, who at 27 has been performing for almost half her life. “The only time I feel something is when I’m on stage. I feel like I belong there.”

Magnussen, Quinn and Hoffman, along with dozens of other Arizona musicians, are part of Chicks with Picks, an organization that showcases up-and-coming local women singers and songwriters. The March 2009 Chicks with Picks festival was the group’s second annual festival and featured established talents Michelle Branch, Jessi Colter and Sarah Buxton alongside local artists who are looking to make their marks on the music world.

Magnussen performed with Colter, and Hoffman, who plans to try out for the Fox hit “American Idol” this year, won a contest that gave her the opportunity to open for Branch. “I’ve played places with two people and I’ve played places with 10,000,” Hoffman says. “Being on stage—that’s the fun part.” She previously performed as the warm-up act for the Kenny Chesney Poets and Pirates Tour featuring such music greats as Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, Sammy Hagar and Gary Allen at the University of Phoenix Stadium.

Quinn has also landed her share of big gigs including a performance at Alice Cooper’s Christmas Pudding event last year. In fact, all three performers play regularly in the Valley at different venues.

Big venue or small, large audience or intimate gathering, it’s all about the music. And that music is country. “I was raised on everything country, brought up on ranches,” Magnussen says. “I’ve always listened to country music. The Judds were a big influence. Country lyrics, there’s nothing better. They’re straight and to the point.”

Quinn, who grew up listening to Amy Grant, adds another aspect she loves about the music genre: The fact that country music songs can talk about faith and still be part of the secular world.

For Hoffman, country music wasn’t her first love. “I used to hate country … despise it,” she admits. “And then I heard ‘Independence Day’ by Martina McBride and saw the video, and I thought, ‘This is what I want to do.’ [The video] will make you cry.” Hoffman says she appreciates the way country songs tell stories people can relate to.

THE ROAD TO NASHVILLE

While they’re at different stages in their lives, all three artists have plenty of stories to tell, and their inspirations for writing aren’t all that different. Their songs come from their experiences and the experiences of those around them—straight from the heart. “I sometimes don’t realize I’m so observant until it starts coming out of me,” Quinn says. “I’m really a storyteller.”

But being a great storyteller—and even having a voice that sends chills down people’s spines isn’t always enough to make it in Nashville. “It’s a big circle,” Quinn says of the country music world, “but it’s really not that big. It’s about who you know—and once you get into the circle, you have it made.”

But just how does a performer break into that circle? Perform. Network. Perform. Network.

According to Magnussen, it’s important to be a songwriter as well as a performer. “There are a lot of powerhouse singers out there,” she says. “You have to have something else. And you have to network.” Quinn and Hoffman have recently returned from separate trips to Nashville, and for Quinn, it was her first trip there. She had been counting down on her MySpace profile for weeks.

The plans for both singers involved trying to meet industry people and performing as much as possible, which doesn’t always come with a paycheck. “You don’t get paid a lot for playing in Nashville,” says Magnussen, who made it to the top 10 of “Nashville Star” one season. “It’s just about experience playing and exposure.”

Experience and exposure are invaluable for up-and-coming artists, including all of the Chicks with Picks performers. Their advice for other hopefuls? Stick with it. “Even when it seems like it’s really hard and there’s no chance, that’s usually when something major happens and it’s a huge blessing,” Quinn says.

“Go to open mic nights,” Hoffman advises. “You always have a good audience. They’re really supportive and they’ll always clap for you.”

Magnussen says attitude plays a big role. “Stay positive and keep believing in what you’re doing,” she advises. “Good things are bound to happen if you keep believing in yourself and your music. Don’t let anybody put you down.”

The other important element? Balance. “It’s really hard to balance your life when you’re a musician,” Magnussen says, “because everything else can take a back burner. Find time to find the balance.”

Quinn admits she is giving up some things to make her dream come true. “I do sacrifice friend time,” she says. She plans to be home schooled for her junior and senior years of high school to accommodate her burgeoning career, and it’s a change she’s more than willing to make. Quinn says it helps that her family is very supportive.

IT’S ABOUT THE MUSIC

From finding the balance to taking the stage as often as possible to making those invaluable connections, all three performers are taking their own advice, determined to make it in Nashville. But each says it’s not as much about fame as it is about their love of music. “If I never make it, it’s not going to kill me,” Magnussen says. “I feel so blessed to be able to perform. That’s how much I love it.”

And while Quinn would like to make a name for herself in Nashville by the time she’s 21, she’s not in any rush. “I’m just going with whatever God has planned for me,” she says. “If I haven’t made it in five years, I’ll keep going, doing what I do—singing and playing the guitar.”

Hoffman says she doesn’t have a particular deadline in mind, either. “I’ll be 80 years old, rocking in my rocking chair with my guitar,” she says. “Performing is my dream. It’s not worth it if you don’t dream big.”

Magnussen points out that dreams don’t come true only in Nashville or Los Angeles. “I think that here in Arizona, Phoenix in particular, we have a really strong group of musicians and singers. I don’t think a lot of people know that,” she says. “People say, ‘Go to L.A, go to Nashville,’ but there’s so much happening and so many great musicians and singers here.” Following in the footsteps of Linda Ronstadt, Marty Robbins, Buck Owens and Jessi Colter, Phoenix is hopefully where these women’s journeys to country music stardom begin.

Catherine Holland is a freelance writer and Internet Producer for azfamily.com.

Chicks With Picks –
www.azchickswithpicks.com

Amy Magnussen –
www.rondavousband.com

Destinee Quinn –
www.myspace.com/destineequinnmusic

Mary Hoffman –
www.maryhoffman.net