TRACYLYN

 


 
ILLINOIS BASED COUNTRY POP/ROCKER
DECIDES TO “THINK BIG” AND
TAKE HER DREAMS DOWN TO NASHVILLE
AND ‘CLOSE THE DOOR’ WITH SOME
OF MUSIC ROW’S TOP SONGWRITERS

 * * *
The Highly Anticipated Follow-Up To Her
Acclaimed Debut ‘Good Rain’—Which Received Airplay
Across the U.S. And Europe—Was Co-Produced By
Tom Paden (Reba McEntire, Restless Heart) And
Her Father Robert Lendi, And Includes Songs Penned By
Kim Tribble (Martina McBride, Montgomery Gentry),
Rhean Boyer (Carolina Rain, Lee Greenwood) and
Rand Bishop (Tim McGraw, Toby Keith) 

Perfectly in synch with the upbeat and inspirational title and vibe of “Think Big,” a key track from her new independent album Close The Door, Illinois based singer/songwriter Tracylyn (www.tracylyn.net) headed straight to Nashville for both songs and studio sessions when the ideas started flowing for the highly anticipated follow-up to her popular, critically acclaimed debut Good Rain.
           
Co-Produced by Tom Paden, a top songwriter whose tunes have been recorded by Kenny Rogers, Reba McEntire, Restless Heart and Faith Hill, and her father Robert Lendi, Close The Door includes Tracylyn’s vibrant and colorful interpretations of new songs penned by some of Music City’s best known composers. “Maybe I Made You Up” is a collaboration between Rhean Boyer (Carolina Rain, Lee Greenwood) and Rand Bishop (Tim McGraw, Toby Keith), while “Little Big Stuff” was co-written by Kim Tribble (Martina McBride, Montgomery Gentry). 
           
For Tracylyn, it might have been a safer choice to just think locally again, as she did a few years back with Good Rain, which had more of a blues and soul flavored sound as compared to the edgier, dynamic country rock vibe that defines her exciting musical evolution on Close The Door. 
           
Recorded as a simple “tester project” for the singer to see if she could stack up as a songwriter with those who were penning her favorite country hits, the collection was a surprise indie smash across the U.S., Canada, Australia and Europe. Cuts from the album scored radio airplay everywhere stateside from Alaska and Arizona to Tennessee, New York and her home state, and were spun across The Pond in Belgium, Austria, Denmark, England, France, Germany, The Netherlands and Sweden.  
           
Performing regularly with her kickin’ band, 55 South, Tracylyn has built upon this success to develop a strong regional grassroots following that can’t get enough of her at clubs and festivals throughout South Side of Chicago and Northwest Indiana. In recent months, she’s done gigs at Joe’s On Weed Street in Chicago, the Farenheit Bar & Grill in Homer Glen, The Barrington, 4th of July Celebration, the Pingree Grove Concerts in the Park series, and the Festival of the Lakes in Hammond, Indiana, last year. Her August dates include two nights at the Middle Branch Saloon in Kenosha, Wisconsin. 
           
Tracylyn had a hand in penning the title track on Close The Door, which is the song that got the whole project started and set its unique, life affirming concept in motion. The song is based on a real life story her best friend related to her about the deep trials and tribulations of a troubled marriage. The minute Tracylyn heard the tone in her friend’s voice, she knew she had to write a song that would inspire her friend to stand on her own two feet, take her three kids and leave the unfixable situation.
           
The emotional strength of and positive feedback she got from “Close The Door”—a co-write with Kathleen Dooley—convinced her that after years of honing her writing and performing chops, she was ready to play with the cats down in Music City. When she contacted Paden, who was a longtime fan of Good Rain, she explained her concept: opening the album with the title track and then “closing the door” on the tough times and tackling more upbeat, fun, toe tappin’ songs.
 
“In everyone’s life,” Tracylyn says, “there are plenty of things that drag us down and we can always identify a multitude of them to complain about. I’m one of those who will sometimes get caught up in negative thinking, and I wanted to create an album that would inspire both myself and those who hear it to take the time to celebrate what is good and right with our lives. Through the process of choosing the songs out of the many Tom sent me that would convey this feeling, I also realized how important it was to accept myself for who I am. Songs like ‘Little Big Stuff’ and ‘Think Big’ make strong statements about who I am now as both an artist and a person. 
           
The majority of the tunes after ‘Close The Door’ are happy but a few reflect honest self doubt that is always part of the experience of being an artist and performer,” she says. “Singing the songs from Close The Door in a live setting lets me experience deep emotions that I may actually be shying away from in real life these days. They keep me positive and I believe the listeners will definitely be uplifted by them as well.”
           
Some of the other focal tracks she’s referring to are the smooth, mid-tempo “Takin’ My Time,” an important reminder about how to center oneself and relax in the midst of a chaotic day or season in life; “Exactly What I Am” is her defiant self affirmation that she’s beyond being a people pleaser and has no interest in changing who she is as a person or artist to accommodate the opinions of others. 
           
Considering Tracylyn’s vast ambition and the ongoing theme of “Think Big” in her life, it’s no surprise that she’s a high achiever in her extra-musical endeavors as well. Working these past years for Standard Parking, she is currently one of the country’s youngest directors of training and development; Tracylyn was recently chosen by Training Magazine as one of the top ten trainers in the U.S. for her successful role in training employees in everything from cashiering to executive leadership, communication and customer service. She has a master’s degree from Roosevelt University in training and development with a focus on instructional design, and is currently working towards her PhD from Capella University in Minneapolis in instructional design for online learning. 
           
“As I child,” she says, “I had several passions but since Lynda Carter got the Wonder Woman job and all the Charlie’s Angel positions were filled, I was in quite a dither to select another passion! I was lucky, I had many dreams as a child and at one point or another I am pretty sure I wanted to pursue every career possible. Regardless of what the dream was, there was one consistent, overarching theme and that was to be the best at whatever it was I chose to do. I am lucky to have found two passions in life, education and music. 
        
“I may never get a chance to ‘officially’ wear the Wonder Woman uniform or talk to Charlie over the intercom,” Tracylyn adds with a laugh, “but I get to do something better. I get to make music and every day I have the opportunity to truly help people. I love it when I’m performing and even one person comes up to me after the show and says he or she totally felt what I meant in the song. That’s what I’m all about, reaching out to those people who connect with where I’m coming from. In a split second, those fans become friends and I feel an intimacy with them and the kind of connection that makes the world not seem so big and intimidating after all.”