Grant Ayers
Singer Gina Powers, lead of The Gina Powers Band, was originally born in San Francisco, CA. Despite doing a lot of traveling as a child, including attending 17 different schools throughout her childhood, all roads led her to Fargo, North Dakota.
Powers has been pursuing her passion for music for quite some time now. While it may have been a long journey to seeing fruitful success, it’s beginning to pay off for Powers and her band. She recently signed a record deal with Hughmont International, LLC, based out of Nashville, TN. I had the pleasure of sitting down with Powers to discuss her journey to a record deal, her recording process and much more.
Where do you do your recording?
When we record now, we go to Rogue Wave Studio, based out of Osage, MN. There, we’re able to work with the label to make sure that the music is up to the quality we want. I’ve also had the opportunity to work on tracks that were sent to me from Nashville!
What is your creative process like?
I write a song completely before I bring it to anybody. Then, I bring it to the band and they add fantastic skills and instrumentation to it. Generally, I’ll be playing around on the piano or driving when I encounter a melody or chord progression that piques my inner interest to flesh something out. The sounds almost always come to me before the words. The sounds are what create the story for me.
Congratulations on your recent signing, by the way. That’s a huge accomplishment.
Thank you, thank you.
Tell me about what led you to the record deal. How did it happen?
I’m bound to the notion that there are laws of the universe and we get what we focus on in both wanted and unwanted ways. I had the impulse to follow an invitation. A student of mine named Andrew Knutson became a guitar player for a bit in my band before moving down to Nashville to pursue his dream of producing with a good friend and colleague of his. Andrew told me that I had a place to crash if I ever wanted to come and see Nashville. Months later, I made the trip with a friend and got an open mic slot. After my open mic slot, a bunch of people graciously stayed, clapped and supported me. That got me invited back for a songwriting round.
On the second trip back, it just so happened that Jerry Foster was there. Jerry Foster, for those that don’t know, partnered with Bill Rice and has won hundreds of ASCAP songwriting awards over the years. Jerry Foster said that I had a great voice and he liked my song, which was incredible to hear. All I could think to myself was “Wow, this is my bucket list moment. This little country music girl’s dreams have come true.” That performance struck up a conversation the next day at the airport where he offered me the opportunity to record music. I wanted to just have fun, play my songs and see what happened, but it really happened that fast. You never know if that one key person is sitting in your audience, but there was in my case.
Did You Know?
The first songs that Powers sang and released under the new record label were actually created in Nashville, TN!
What song was your favorite to work on creating or the most fun to make in the process?
Every song that we do is its own thing. The song that was the most interesting and fun was “How’s This Go,” which I originally wrote on the piano. There were real challenges because we had a band version that’s on the EP, as well as a second version with different production that had some orchestral, more cinematic components added into it after recording.
After completing the song, I had these two different versions of the song and didn’t know which one to use. One of my good friends suggested that I make a music video for the alternate version and release it visually, which turned out to be a great idea. I held on to the video for about a year for a million different reasons, including being insecure about it, because I wasn’t sure how the fans would respond to a different version and if they’d like it better or worse. Finally, I just exhaled, jumped in and released it. Not only did it get a lot of views, but it was a really good lesson for me to not be afraid. If you have the impulse to create this thing, and you’ve been given opportunities to make it a thing, then just let it happen. As far as a song, the circumstances were pretty amazing.
We’ve played the Red River Valley fair a number of times and were fortunate enough to open for and entertain Tim McGraw’s huge 13,000-person crowd. it was phenomenal.”
– Gina Powers
Do you kind of consider this a bit therapeutic for you?
Yes, absolutely. This is how I process my experience of being in the world.
Do you have a preference between the two versions of the song?
I like them both for different reasons. I think my favorite version of any song is the live performance, simply because you can’t replicate the energy exchange and cool feeling of chemistry that happens in an ensemble when you’re making music together.
What are your future upcoming plans through the label?
Some of it is vague because one thing informs the next in this sort of deal. As of late, my band and I are hard at work on finishing the final songs for the upcoming album. We’ve released three great tunes as singles that we’re very proud of. So we’re gonna have our first full album, which is exciting. There’s going to be a mix of tunes written by the legendary Jerry Foster, as well as my own original music on the same album, which brings tears to my eyes.
This is an opportunity for us to put out a full debut album, and we want it to be the absolute best we can make and truly reflect the full scope of the artistry that I feel this band deserves. The goal is to release the album by the end of the year, but the truth is that we’re married more to the result. We want to make sure it’s the best product possible. So look for that coming out over the next few months. We’re working really hard to put together the best show we can so that our fans can really enjoy seeing us live as much as listening to the music.
Did You Know?
The Gina Powers Band’s first EP, ‘Departure’, was recorded in a bare-bones basement, in classic rising musician fashion. The lead guitar player, at the time, took it home and finished production in his own studio.
Do you have a timeline for when you’ll be touring? Where would you like to perform?
I’m in this strange place where I’m used to doing shows six days a week. It feels really new to me to slow down and take a pause. To be honest with you, I’ve really enjoyed this downtime from live performances only to do some self-care, as well as nurture personal relationships, friendships and things that I’ve neglected due to busy schedules.
After the album is released and in radio play, the plan is to book as many shows as we can. There are all kinds of opportunities to do festivals in our region and we’d love to take advantage of those opportunities. As the festival run dies down, we’ll aim to perform in Arizona, Texas, Tennessee, Indiana and more. I just want to go all over the world. I can’t say that I know what’s going to happen exactly, but I’m ready whenever. I don’t know exactly what the new year of 2023 brings, but I’m okay with that.
Web: ginapowersmusic.com
Email: amanda@mintbrandmarketing.com
Facebook: @TheGinaPowers
Instagram: @ginapowersmusic
TikTok: @gina.powers
