"I think a lot of people think people who are singers or actors or whatever are perfect in their lives and have it all together. It’s not really true, I’m very real, heck, I have wrinkles like the rest. I'm a mom and I'm singing.”
A Southern girl, through and through, DeAnne grew up in the heart of Texas, where she was raised, not unexpectedly, with the classics of country. It's these old days of storytelling and reminiscing through song that she wishes to resurrect through her lyrical talents.
"I grew up in Dallas and so, of course, love, LOVE Loretta Lynn. Actually, I love Dolittle Lynn; he's my idol, and Loretta Lynne. I love Coalminer's Daughter. I just love that old country feel and the vibe that they set out. It didn't seem it was quite so image driven, not money driven so much. It seemed like it was just for the love of the music. Somebody on a review on my website commented me saying, 'It's fun to hear someone that sings from the heart, and not from the wallet,' and I thought, 'Ok, that's the highest compliment you could give me'."
Though always possessed of a love for music, the stage in all its forms has held an attraction for DeAnne.
"I was an actress for many years, and I did the L.A. thing for awhile. Played around with that. I started having a family, so we came back to Dallas. I hosted a TV show on a Stock Market channel for a couple years. They thought it would be fun to have somebody who was crazy-fun, try to make stock trading more interesting, so they called it Trader-tainment, Wize Trade TV."
But soon her passion and love of music rose back up in her life. "I was singing one night just for fun, and then, next thing I know, I was meeting with some people who wanted me to meet some other people, you know how that goes, and the next thing I knew, I was in Tyler Recording with real producers. They wanted to help me do an album. So here I am." she says, recalling how quickly her switch to the music industry occurred.
"I always loved to sing and what's funny was not how easily song writing came, but how, if you just write what you know, that’s easier than when you try to sit here and write a good song. I don't know how to write a good song. I know how to write about what I know, and then they turn into pretty good songs. You just have to be real. It is what it is. It's who I am."
This real DeAnne is soon to be heard as she finishes with her new album, Never Too Late, which is obviously a saying the actress turned musician has taken to heart.
"I just live by that. I think we've all had hard times, and we can all tell you about our past. I think that a lot of women, maybe they've been separated, or their husband has left, so here you are with the kids, starting your career late in life, going to school. How do you do that? I have a master's in counseling, I have a heart for women, and I have a heart for people who're hurting. Never Too Late is an encouraging song for people and that's why I called the album that. Be happy, be healthy, slow down, kiss your babies and love on them. They grow up so fast. There are things that aren’t a big deal, don’t waste your energy on that. The Lord will take care of it."
"I want to encourage people that you can do what you need to do. You can make it happen, and it doesn't mean you have to be mean, or step on toes. You're not too old; you're not too late, just because you're not twenty and starting your career. You can do it, y'know? Just because you have a kid, or kids. That's my thing, I'm single and I have three children ages seven, ten and twelve. My daughter always sings, and my little boy wants to play the drums. Wish he'd play a quieter instrument, but I actually encouraged him to play the drums! So I'm thinking, pshhh, I'm an idiot. They're old enough that they love it that mommy gets to do this, and so they kind of get to be a part. They helped me with picking out some of the songs, and my daughter actually argued over Spring Chicken for a while, one of the songs that I helped write on the album about how I'm no spring chicken but I'm ripe for the picking. We may have crow's feet, but we're the grown up version of your wildest dreams. They know how excited I was to go to Nashville this week. They were like, 'you go, Mom! Call us! Let us know how it is!’ And, of course, then they're like, 'You're going to miss my soccer game!’ I'm like, 'I'm going to Nashville , video tape it!' DeAnne says with a laugh as she recalls the scene.
"I'm such a better mom doing this than I am doing something else because I am happy, and I love it, and I love them. I work all day long and it doesn't feel like work. I've had the job where you go and you sit there and you do the job, and it's boring. It's just like there's a skip in your step. We all need to feel like, 'Y'know, it's all good.' It's a gift. It's a blessing to even be here."
Whether mother of three or rising star, DeAnne is the real deal.
| written by Joshua Schrader
