Rick's Point Of View written by Rick Amburgey
If Kassie Miller looks and sounds a little familiar, there’s a good reason for that. She’s been featured in two nationally televised competitions – The Ultimate Coyote Ugly Search and Can You Duet. Those shows have opened doors for her in Music City and also helped her build her fan base. Even if you’ve seen her sing on TV, you’re in for a real treat. The first time I saw her live was a few weeks ago. She was doing a writer’s round at the Listening Room in Nashville and I was blown away by her songs. There’s a certain sincerity and honesty found in her music that kept me hanging on every single word.
I’m just one of thousands that’s excited about her long-awaited album, which is due out in December. She will be performing the songs live at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville at her CD release party, which begins at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 14. I’ve only heard a handful of songs, but so far my favorite it as tune called “Love Away The Night.” It’s a special song, and I’m not the only one that thinks that. Miller said the song is also her favorite tune on the album. “It's my baby,” she said. “It's so soulful and sexy. It never gets old to me. I love singing it every time.” The CD is sure to tell a lot of Miller’s life stories, as she wrote or co-wrote all twelve songs on the CD. She said she writes a lot. In fact, she’s already been writing tunes for her next project. A listen to any of those songs will tell fans old and new that there’s much more to Miller than was revealed on TV. Miller’s story started in Alabama, where she lived until she made the move to Nashville in 2001. Unlike many country singers, she didn’t start singing at a very young age. She said she really started singing in choir when she was in junior high school. “I never really knew I had talent,” she said. “I always knew I just loved to sing.”
She explained that her high school years involved working hard in school and being very involved in sports. She was involved in many extra-curricular activities, such as cheerleading, gymnastics, track and dance, but admits that cheerleading was her favorite. “I’m a very social person, and I was friends with most everyone. I was even voted homecoming queen.”
Miller didn’t really look at singing as being her career choice until her choir director in college kept telling her that she had a gift for singing. Although the dream of being an artist came much later, Miller’s dad instilled his love of music in her from a very young age. They listened to artists such as Michael Jackson, ZZ Top, Eric Clapton and Toby Keith. She credits her father’s diverse taste in music as why she’s so diverse in her style today.
Although she was exposed to a wide variety of genres, Miller said she wanted to sing country because the stories are real and genuine. “I wanted to share my thoughts with others and I can do that by writing country music,” she said. Miller’s father passed away just as Miller was starting to receive some recognition for her talents. She went back home to stay with her mother. Her mother, however, later encouraged Miller to move to Nashville. She said it was very difficult to leave her mom, especially after losing her day. “I felt I needed to continue doing music because I loved it and because that’s what me and my dad loved together – music. That was our connection.”
She said she couldn’t stand to be so far away from her mom and she moved her mom to Nashville six months later. It was her mother that found a Craigslist ad that led to her biggest break – an audition for the Ultimate Coyote Ugly Search. “She thought it would be a good thing for me to sing and to be on CMT. I could not believe it when I won. It was so surreal. It was amazing. I worked so hard and it paid off,” Miller said.
After getting first place in that contest, she said she began to meet with managers, labels and all sorts of music business people. She was offered a record deal with an independent label, but she turned it down because they wouldn’t allow her to perform her own songs.
Miller’s next big break was appearing on Can you Duet. She said it helped her because more people got to know who she was and she gained a lot more fans. “Everyone knows I’m not meant to be in a duo, but it was still a great experience.” Another man that’s made a major impact in Miller’s life is her husband, Ben. She said she met him at church in 2007, recalling that he was in the band and she liked what she saw and heard. His voice can be heard on Miller’s CD, as they have a duet called “Got To Be Something.” However, she said the song was not meant to be a duet when she wrote it with Thompson Square, who also appeared on Can You Duet. “I made Ben (my husband) learn it to sing it as a duet on my live show. It sounded great, so we decided to put it on the album that way too. That's the only time Ben sings on the album,” she said.
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