Christy McWilson

Whatever way you look at it, it boils down to two things - the singer and the song. If either one of them isn't up to snuff, you might as well toss it in the bin right now. Which is exactly why Christy McWilson's solo debut, Lucky One (Hightone) is such a keeper. Superb songs, wonderful singing, a prime example.

To be fair, it doesn't hurt that the Picketts' front woman has some stellar support - production by Dave Alvin, and a cast that includes Peter Buck and Mike Mills (REM) among several luminaries. But the big names never take the spotlight from McWilson, who truly gets the chance to shine, both as vocalist and one of the best composers in the alt,country field - the title track deserves a place on the next Emmylou Harris album. You have to wonder, though, what dragged her away from the Picketts family to step out alone.

"I'd have liked to have done another Picketts album," McWilson admits, "but no one's schedules could align. I'm really a shy person, not someone who wants to do a solo album, but Dave [Alvin] was in my face. I was intensely flattered by his desire to do this - I felt like it was a gift horse. With everything else, I felt I had to do it. I've been out of my comfort zone since day one."

"At one point I was almost in tears, saying, ‘Dave, I wanna rock out.'"

At first, however, it looked like a project that didn't have fate on its side.

"We started in April ‘99. We did four songs and it was great. Peter Buck came down and it was fun. We sent the tape out thinking, ‘Somebody will want to finance this,' but there was nothing. Not a word. So then I thought it was going to be a vanity project, and I wasn't up for that. But Dave was saying, you've got to do it. The budget was that I would pay for it. The idea of flying to L.A., staying in a hotel, paying all these musicians, paying for studio time - I just couldn't do it. I really, really wanted to, but I couldn't quite pull the trigger. Then I was in Portland and bought a used book. There was a fortune cookie fortune inside and it said, ‘You have a decision to make. You know what you want to do. Do what you want to do.' So I said to Scott, my husband, ‘I know it's ridiculous, but I'm going to do it.' So it's been a walk on the wild side, a leap of faith. But it's been cool, a great experience."

And so she went for it, heart in her mouth, and made another trek to Los Angeles to record more tracks. One thing McWilson had to learn, however, was to fight down her natural instinct to rock like she does with the Picketts.

"Oh I fought with Dave!" she laughs. "I tend to go for the passionate. There's safety in that, it's what I know. The first night of the second recording, Dave was slowing all the songs down. He was seeing me as a singer-songwriter, and I just freaked. At one point I was almost in tears, saying, ‘Dave, I wanna rock out.' And he replied, ‘Darlin', sometimes I wanna rock out too,' meaning that sometimes you need to slow down. It's been a good lesson for me, that sometimes I do need to slow down, and not hide behind that frenetic energy. And it does rock. Passion comes out in different ways. When you slow things down, you're more exposed, and I've learned to deal with that. I must have had about ten songs we didn't use, but they're more uptempo. Dave and I ended up arm-wrestling on some songs; we can both be very strong-willed. I think he met his match in me - but I think I met my match in him, too. He wanted to do another guitar thing on Eloda, and I thought it was perfect. So I said, ‘I'll go with whatever you want if you leave that song alone.' So we had a deal going, and he'd always bring that up."

But it came together serendipitously, and the names just flocked around to help her out. Apart from Alvin and Buck, there was Greg Leisz, Chris Gaffney, Skip Edwards, Syd Straw and Mike Mills offering support.

"It's like I had a surprise party throw for me! People just came out of the woodwork. I really felt like people were paying me homage. Peter flew down to L.A. for no reason, Mike Mills, everyone was aligning...'I'd love to be on your album.' I was intimidated by being around studio musicians, too. But it ended up being really great. It was a collective effort. And it felt like destiny - everyone was available, the studio was available. It was the parting of the Red Sea. And it was a blast. The musicians were getting fired up, it all felt good. It's my magnum opus."

All but one of the songs came from her pen, the exception being a cover of Brian Wilson's "‘Til I Die" - an odd choice for a record that's so rootsy.

"Dave wanted me to do a cover, and he was trying to find these Arthur Alexander tunes. The studio was where the Beach Boys had recorded a lot of their material, and I suggested "‘Til I Die," figuring it would be easy. It fits in with the theme of the CD, and the song's always brought tears to me eyes. Of course it wasn't easy to do! These studio guys couldn't find the chords, but I think it turned out great."

When it was all complete, there was still one major question - what was she going to do with it? She'd mortgaged the farm (as it were) to realize her dream, and now reality was crowding around. Then the Hightone label stepped into the breach.

"They grabbed it really quickly," McWilson says. "I was shocked. I was thinking that if I got a piece of what I'd spent on it, I'd be happy. Dave played it for them and they wanted it, even before South by South West. It could mean they just had a space to fill, but I'd like to imagine they believed someone else would want it. But I was flattered. They paid all my recording costs, and it was like a miracle."

So miracles can happen, even in the music business. And now The Lucky One is a shiny bit of plastic she can hold in her hands and play, and even perform in front of audiences. Live, of course, there's no way all the musicians who played on the record are available, so McWilson has put together a band with Picketts rhythm section Blackie (drums) and Walter Singleman (bass), along with ex-Hollisters guitarist Eric Danheim, which will be going on tour with DamnationsTX in support of the record.

"I'm hoping for longevity, to make another record, to recreate that thing with Dave. I don't know if you can, but I'm going to try."

And she'll probably succeed, too.

Christy McWilson

"At one point I was almost in tears, saying, ‘Dave, I wanna rock out.'"

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