:: Wednesday, April 13, 2005 ::

Kendall Payne Interview
by Erika Brandt

Erika and Randy Brandt spent some time with Kendall Payne on Wednesday morning, their last day at GMA.

Note: Click for randy's review of Kendall's new Grown CD.

Move over a picture for info; click a picture to toggle the size, or click here to toggle them all.


The Interview

Erika: I really enjoyed your show last night--it was great. I have your first CD, from a few years back and I really enjoyed that. I was really excited to get the new one. I was just wanted find out a little more about what happened with the record deal and what you have been doing.

Kendall: Yeah, well good.

Erika: I just wanted to learn more about what happened after the first CD.

Kendall: Yeah, the label came under a new regime and the president felt like it was not quite the direction of chick singers and writers anymore, so we decided to part ways a few years ago; I can't remember when exactly it was: I suppose I should. Then I also decided to part ways with my management and start over and that's kind of the long and short of it. Then a buddy of mine said, "I would love to hear your next record."

I was like, "Okay."

He said, "No, I want to give you money to make the next record."

I was like, "Oh, okay! That's a different story," so we went into the studio and started to make this project.

Erika: How long did it take you to make the record?

Kendall: It took like six months to make the record, which is a long time.

Erika: Yeah.

Kendall: For me. Some bands make records in two days. Some people make records in two years. I tried to do it in a little less time, but it was too much for me, anyway.

Erika: Yeah, so, what did you do in between records, what were you personally up to?

Kendall: I have been doing all kinds of things. I met a guy. I got engaged.

Erika: That's exciting!

Kendall: Yeah!

Erika: That is a very pretty ring.

Kendall: Thank you, it goes all the way around. We're going to do just another one for the wedding band. So we have lots of diamonds.

Erika: When are you getting married?

Kendall: July 9th.

Erika: Oh, that's exciting.

Kendall: Yeah.

Erika: It is coming up.

Randy: I think that is my anniversary.

Kendall: Oh, really?

Randy: Yeah, it is.

Kendall: Wild!

Randy: Except we beat you by 22 years.

Kendall: Well, say a prayer for us on July 9th.

Randy: We lasted 22 years, so July 9th is a good kickoff.

Kendall: All right, good. Someone else this week was married on July 9th, and they were like, it was 30 years.

Erika: Wow!

Kendall: I just did that, just pretended to be normal, did some classes at a community college. You know, just hung out with friends.

Erika: Where are you living right now?

Kendall: I live in a place Calabasas. I just sold my place. My fiance and I bought a place, both signed our little names on the dotted line in North Hollywood/Studio City area.

Erika: Oh cool, good. So do you have any upcoming tours that you are doing? Are you on a tour right now?

Kendall: Right now I am not. In August, I'm probably going to head over into Europe, and do all the European festivals.

Erika: Oh, that is exciting!

Kendall: Yeah, it should be lots of fun.

Randy: Greenbelt still going?

Kendall: Yeah, Greenbelt's still going and Flevo and all those other crazy things. Then just hopefully going to keep on doing shows and all that stuff.

Erika: Good. I was just wondering who are some influential people in your career in music, or just who has influenced you in your song writing?

Kendall: Sarah McLaughlin is a huge inspiration for me. She is an amazing singer/song writer and performer. Just a classy grace-filled woman. Which is hard to beat nowadays. Sex sells. To lean into your integrity is not the quickest money-making avenue. I don't know if you saw it? Did you see that video she made, the World on Fire video?

Erika: I don't think so.

Kendall: She, basically, it justs starts off with her sitting in a room playing a guitar, and then the song starts and then it goes to, you can see it online if you try to find it, it goes into this cartoon kind of thing. It basically says to make a video costs roughly $200,000 or something like that. Which gets played on MTV, blah, blah, blah. Do you know what else $200,000 can do? And then it goes into, it can buy this many wells in Africa, or it can feed this many children and it just starts flashing all these different numbers and visuals. I know people at her management company, and she, instead of making a video, she wrote checks to all of these things. She took money out of her own pocket. Cause videos, just no one is playing them anymore. And she did something with the money. Which is pretty unreal.

Erika: Yeah, that's great.

Randy: I know there is a band that you like, Erika, that Kendall worked with. Ring a bell? Jason Wade.

Kendall: Lifehouse.

Erika: Oh yeah, Lifehouse.

Randy: Why don't we talk about that a little bit.

Erika: Are you friends with him?

Kendall: Mmmm hmmm. Erika: How did you know him?

Kendall: We met at youth group. When we were both about 15 years old, we were co-worship leaders and just stayed friends. He married my best friend. Actually the song Supermodels on my first record, it says "me and B." That is B.

Erika: Oh, okay.

Kendall: We have been, the three of us have been friends for now a decade. Just a little while. Yeah. Do you have any specific questions? What do you like about them?

Erika: I just like them.

Kendall: Just like them, yeah.

Erika: I really enjoyed the Aslan song. Because I have always liked the Chronicles of Narnia. I have read all of them probably at least five times each.

Kendall: Yeah, they are awesome books.

Erika: Did you read them when you were younger?

Kendall: Yeah, I read them when I was younger then I could not remember--I remember liking them. I wanted to know if they were still good, you know, as an adult, and sure enough they are.

Erika: Yeah, the movie is coming out soon so that will be cool.

Kendall: Yeah, I hope it turns out good, because everyone wants it to be.

Erika: We had a really old version of it. Really a cheesy Narnia movie.

Kendall: I think some friends of mine had that, too. Is it really ugly children that had black hair?

Erika: Um, yeah.

Randy: They have tacky costumes. Like a junior-high play.

Kendall: Yeah. Just nasty.

Erika: And the Aslan is just like... fake. And the special effects are not exactly impressive.

Randy: Did you realize that the new one, Weta Workshop is working on the effects, same ones that did The Lord of the Rings? So it is going to be good.

Kendall: So is it going to be a cartoon?

Randy: No, no. No, they've already did all the shooting, but Weta is doing the post-production while they add the digital effects.

Kendall: Who is in it, do you know?

Randy: You know, I don't know if there are any big name actors playing the characters or what but Disney is backing it. And the budget for it is like $150 million, so it is not going to be a junior high play.

Kendall: Yeah, it is going to be awesome.

Randy: And if you go to Narnia.com they have got some of the shots all ready.

Kendall: Really?

Randy: The scene artist stuff. It looks really cool.

Kendall: I hope they just keep doing it.

Randy: Well their plan is to do the whole series if it goes well.

Kendall: Wow! That would be amazing.

Erika: Yeah.

Randy: Yeah, they are doing The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and if that does well I think...

Kendall: It's just like the Harry Potter thing. That's just kind of endless.

Randy: Yeah, even if they just did a trilogy it would be great, just do three or four of them it would be awesome but the talk right now is they may even do seven movies.

Kendall: How could you do that, though? I mean if you start off with the first one, then you just choose which ones to come in as a progression.

Randy: Yeah. Who knows? We will see. Let's just hope the first one does well, so that they are motivated because they are doing it right.

Kendall: Yeah.

Randy: I mean the budget for it is huge.

Kendall: Yeah, good.

Randy: They are going first rate, so if it is a success you know there will be more.

Kendall: Yeah.

Erika: So have you enjoyed GMA so far this week?

Kendall: Yes and no, you know. It is always a funny little world to step into.

Erika: Yeah.

Kendall: It's just like, whoah.

Erika: Yeah, it is kind of crazy.

Kendall: Yeah, I always think it is weird when you are supposed to talk about Jesus, when you are supposed to talk about God. It is just so much more real and organic and raw for me, my spirituality is. Kind of having to turn it on just to prove to someone that you are spiritual, is just not my--I just don't agree with it. So that's kind of my beef with this whole thing.

Erika: Was last night the only show you played?

Kendall: No, on Sunday night I did something at San Antonio Taco Company. Which is good tacos! Good chicken tacos. That was just a stupid little thing. We didn't get a bunch of people. I mean it wasn't a stupid thing but I just did four songs and then the next night, on Monday night, I did something at BB King's with a guy named Steven...Opatopalopolous?

Randy: Yes. Burlap to Cashmere is easier to say.

Kendall: Yeah, that guy. Yeah. With the Burlap to Cashmere guy.

Randy: So did he play with you or did you just do two separate sets?

Kendall: Separate. I opened for him. And then last night, with Sarah Masen and Ginny Owens. So, yeah!

Erika: Thank you.

Kendall: Thank you!

Thanks to Matthew Brandt for transcribing, and to Anita Crawford of Springboard Entertainment for scheduling the interview.

:: Randy Brandt :: Comments :: ::