Thursday, January 13, 2011

Manatee County Fair headliner The Band Perry talks about smash single 'If I Die Young,' Lady Gaga and upcoming Grammy Awards appearance

PUBLICITY PHOTO From left, Reid, Kimberly and Neil Perry

The Band Perry, which performs at the Manatee County Fair on Jan. 20, had one of the biggest country hits of last year with "If I Die Young." The sibling act's oldest member and lead singer Kimberly Perry, who performs with younger brothers Reid and Neil, wrote the song and it has landed the group an invitation to the Grammys on Feb. 13. I talked with all three Perrys during a recent phone interview for this story running in the Weekend section of today's Herald:

“If I Die Young” has been nominated for Best Country Song and the trophy goes to the writer. Competition includes songs written for George Strait, Miranda Lambert, Gretchen Wilson and Zac Brown’s self-penned “Free.” Win or lose, the Perrys are just excited about being invited to the music industry’s biggest night -- and maybe crossing paths with their favorite pop star.
“Neil is looking forward to meeting Lady Gaga,” 22-year-old Reid said of his younger brother, who’s 20.
Kimberly quickly added: “I love her. Especially when she strips down to just her and the piano. Everything about her. She’s just really interesting.”
Continue reading.

The Band Perry: 'If I Die Young"


2 comments:

kellie said...

I'm kind of on the fence regarding their music but I am impressed that they write their own material. Same goes for Taylor Swift. I don't think either of them sound remotely "country" but I guess that's the trend right now. meh. Good article though!

About this blog: said...

Thanks! Yeah, I always say today's country takes its cue more from 70s country-rock bands like The Eagles rather than, say, Hank Williams. To the Perrys credit, they told me growing up their biggest influences were dad's fave Rolling Stones mom's fave Loretta Lynn, who they got to meet at CMAs. The Perrys would probably be first to admit their music is as much rock as it is pop and country but it's easier to sell when neatly labeled.

BTW, about half the Herald newsroom is sick including me, hence lack of blog posts this week!