Lari White

In hip-hop, there's Missy Elliot. In pop, there's Linda Perry. Both are formidable female producers that artists flock to in hopes of scoring a hit. In the past year, Country Music has seen Alan Jackson and Toby Keith, two genre-defining current superstars - enlist women to marshal in new colors to their palette with Alison Krauss and Lari White respectively assuming the producer's mantle.

The question that faces artists who opt to work with a woman at the console is this: Aside from their individual talents, do female producers bring something different to the creative table by virtue of their gender? CMA Close Up sought the answer by bringing together three successful female Country producers - hit songwriter Victoria Shaw, who is currently working with up-and coming Nashville trio Lady Antebellum; critically acclaimed Southern California artist/writer Wendy Waldman, a veteran producer whose credits include albums by Matraca Berg, Suzy Bogguss, the Forester Sisters and New Grass Revival; and multi-dimensional songwriter/artist White - and inviting them to talk about what a woman knows. Ironically, the one thing that seemed to be universal was the notion that gender wasn't as much a factor as one might think.
 

What advantage does being a woman give you?

Shaw: "Honestly, my biggest advantage is not being a woman but being a songwriter whose hits were sung by men. As for the fact that the biggest demographic in Country Music happens to be women over 30, well, I have a little more experience in that then any male producer out there."
 

Waldman: "Girls are taught, more than boys, to respect their intuition, to pay attention to their feelings and the subtler messages that go on between people. This is a foundation in how we raise children. So we are encouraged to rely on our instincts, to read people's moods, to hear what isn't necessarily being said; it's the natural lesson for women."
 

White: "I approach the studio like my house: I make sure everybody's fed really well and they're comfortable. Our studio is right by our house and we built it like a home studio, so it feels like that - except it's big enough for a whole band. In that kind of environment, I think people feel more open about throwing out an idea or trying something that doesn't work."

Was that a reason why your clients hired you to produce for them?
 

Waldman: "Men are still not encouraged to go to those deeper levels in interactions with people. In most cases, they're taught to ignore feelings and push on through to get the job done, where a woman in the studio will read the artist, sense his or her turmoil probably a little faster than most guys. A majority of women will tend to be able to nurture an artist better, since that's what we're equipped to do. Many artists try to mask their fear and their fragility, so unless you're really intuitive, you can miss that entirely. This can severely impact the entire record, because a frightened, or distracted, or privately worried artist will not be able to give his or her best performance. That's a major difference."
 

White: "For Toby, I know absolutely it was for shock value, but in the end, he'd never have done a whole album if something wasn't working - and it was like cutting butter, it was so fun and easy! The thing I do best is work with singers, because I know what's important and I speak their language. So it's easier for me to coax someone into staying with it beyond the few vocal passes to get something magical. As far as making music in general, I believe mostly in the joy of it. Toby said he'd not had that much fun making a record in a long time. That's why I try to create a place where it's really 'playing' music . a high play factor and a lot of love."

What are you looking to bring out in the song and in the artist?

Shaw: "I think I approach it a lot differently than most people. Physically, I can explain how to hit every note, every line. I am a singer, and there's a big difference when you're producing vocals. I've been working with and developing an extremely talented singer/songwriter named Hillary Scott; though she's always had an amazing instrument, I take a lot of pride in helping her discover her 'chops.'"
 

Waldman: "For me, everything is built from the artist out, as opposed to from the track in. A tremendous amount of thought should go into the way the artist's vocal and performances are captured; the great risk here is actually over-producing and losing the focus on the singer."

How much does gender play in realizing songs or performances?
 

Shaw: "One of the reasons I've been so successful as a songwriter is that I bring a woman's perspective. I've always had a knack for writing songs for men to sing that women want to hear. I've always been able to get inside the head of whatever gender I'm working with."
 

White: "I respond to sexy a lot, especially with ballads. It's probably different with a guy producing a guy. I'm free to go, 'Oh, that is so hot!' I can recognize that, encourage it, so there's an element of romance on the Toby record that was part of my package."

What does being a woman free you from in the studio?
 

Shaw: "Free me from? I never really thought about that, but since there are so few role models for woman producers, I guess that gives me a clearer path to just be me."
 

Waldman: "Being female allows me to step around the contention that occasionally goes on between men and can be quite serious, though it might appear as a quiet undercurrent. It's a quiet power struggle in any number of areas. The only thing a producer should ever worry about is how well you feel a groove, the mood of the artist, or where the whole package is going."
 

White: "I don't have to tell dirty jokes to break the ice. Beyond that, it's all the same. I have the technical knowledge to write charts and talk about mechanics and sonics, but I mostly just love players and artists and songs. Producing is a great way to share the love."

What constitutes a successful production? What do you hope to realize?
 

Shaw: "When the song and singer stand out, not the production. I'm so tired of great productions on mediocre songs."
 

Waldman: "I want what every producer wants. I hope to make records that reflect the truth of the artist or band, that help them move people. Patience is the most important quality a producer needs, and the older I've gotten, the more patient I find myself. Also, I'm not as afraid to make mistakes, to go back and start something over if it's not working. I want things to be simpler, more elegant, more powerful and not as cluttered. If only I could get my closets to do that!"

 

© 2007 CMA Close Up News Service / Country Music Association, Inc.