Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery! Country singer Lindsay Ell sat down with Us Weekly to talk about recording John Mayer’s Continuum album and other musical artists that inspire her.
The 28-year-old country star’s style is part country, a little blues, and a little rock and roll, so it makes sense that her favorite record is Continuum. She says, “I learned so much in the experiment of recording that and we’re actually going to be releasing my version of it later this year, which I’m really excited about.”
While Mayer hasn’t heard a sneak preview yet, Ell is eager for him to listen to it someday. “I met John Mayer last year at a meet and greet in Minneapolis and I was so nervous. I didn’t want to be the creepy fan who comes up and goes into this whole long story about how I re-recorded Continuum, so we just talked guitar for a little bit and I said, ‘Thank you’ and then I got out of there,” she admits. “I hope that he comes across it on his own and thinks it’s cool,” she adds.
Ell tells Us her favorite song from the album is “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room,” saying, “I think the way John forms his song writing into the world of pop music, blues and guitar is so artistic and so commercial in the same light and that’s a hard thing to do as a musician.”
As for her other top artists, Ell listens an eclectic mix and says she loves Robin Ford, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton: “I listen to a lot of old blues and alternative bands because they help me get inspired in new ways and help me develop different perspectives.”
Once she enters the creative process, she says she enjoys being in the studio and recording. “You just reach a level of creativity that I don’t really allow myself to get to when I’m playing a live show,” she explains. “In the studio it’s just like all rules are off, all boundaries are crossed and I’m unedited and you can just kind of create.” She continues, “There’s something about writing songs and then bringing them to the studio and bringing them to life.”
Ell will be opening Sugarland’s Still The Same Tour beginning on May 4 in Durant, Oklahoma.
