Popular regional rockers play free
tonight!
by JEFF NALL
"Shake, Rattle & Know" for Florida Today -
TGIF Magazine 12-23-2005
Tonight, Orlando's popular throwback/modern
rock band Nunez will perform at the Metro Cinema in West Melbourne. The concert is free and open to all.
Fronted by vocal-powerhouse and
songwriter Linda Nunez, the band has performed at several Pride Celebrations throughout the Southeast, as well
as numerous music festivals like Brevard's Earth Awareness Fest and Orlando's major concert event, the Florida Music Festival.
Nunez also has received airplay from radio stations across Florida.
One month after its release, Nunez
has sold several hundred copies of its new album, "Cry Mercy." With songs like "Love In Pieces," In which Linda Nunez
projects a vocal prowess reminiscent of Linda Perry, formerly of the 4 Non Blondes, it's no wonder the group has made
such a splash.
Shake Rattle
& Know: talked with Linda Nunez about the new album, her songwriting process and the importance
of owning a decent speaker phone.
SRK: Describe
your music.
Nunez: We call
it genuine rock, good rock. I would say that I'm a mixture between an old Bryan Adams with a little bit of (Red Hot) Chili
Peppers mixed in, maybe a little Lenny Kravitz. And vocally, obviously compares to the Ann Wilson's of the '70s.
We're not yelling and screaming,
we're definitely more melodic. I guess you could say we're taking it back to what rock used to be, but adding the modern elements
of today's rock.
SRK:
Talk about one of your favorite songs from your latest CD, "Cry Mercy."
Nunez: Wow.
That's tough. That's like asking which is your favorite child. But I definitely do have a couple that stick out. From a songwriting,
crafting point-of-view, I was very pleased with the way "Cry Mercy" came out. My guitar player, Chuck Dorris, and I co-wrote
that song. We did it basically over the telephone, which was really interesting.
I learned that technique in Nashville.
Sometimes you just don't have time to get together, so you pull out the speakerphone and do it there.
I like that song. We made a DVD
out of that song. And I really enjoy the message from that: The situation may not be the way that you want it to be, whether
it be in a relationship or life, but you can change it. So it's a very empowering song to me. And I really enjoy that message
and it makes that song fun to sing.
From a songwriting standpoint,
"Either Way" has got to be one of my favorites. It's a very personal song to me. It was one of the last songs I wrote when
I was living in Nashville. I was at a crossroads when I wrote the song.
The way it came together musically,
it was just my little baby. I spent probably more time on that song than the others. I wanted to make sure I got it right,
and I really feel like I did. Every time I listen to it, it moves me, so hopefully it will hit the same resounding chord with
the fans.
SRK:
Is there a line or two in "Either Way" that can give us a glimpse at the emotive power of the song?
Nunez: Yeah.
It would be the line at the end of the chorus: "And if I never do, will you love me either way?" And to me that was: Listen
I'm doing my best, but if I don't achieve all the goals in life that I said I would, would that be OK? Would you just love
me for me?
SRK:
What's the songwriting experience like over a speaker phone?
Nunez: Well
it's difficult if you don't have the right phone, I'll tell you that.
You have to try harder, you have
to work harder to convey the message to the other person. You can't just say, "OK, well, let me show you."
But basically what we did with
("Cry Mercy"), he came to me with this music idea. He had lyrics, but he didn't put them on there because he just wanted me
to feel the music and see if I was digging it.
Well, at the time I was actually
teaching an SAT course for this school called Princeton Review. At the end of the class, you always have to have them take
practice tests and the exams are 3 1/2 hours long. So I just took a copy of the music with me and listened to it on a headset
over and over and over again and just started hearing a melody. I wrote the lyrics in that 3 1/2-hour SAT test.
Then I went back to Chuck, and
he dug that so much more than what he was doing melodically, and lyrically he said, "Run with it, it's your baby."
