Tammy Trent Talks Drums, Dancing, and Her New Album…
“Sunny Days”
Tammy Trent’s new album Sunny Days truly lives up to its title. Her first studio release in five years is infectious, upbeat, uplifting and perfect for getting your spirits in an uproar. It also shares Trent’s most intimate thoughts about her personal journey from love to loss while developing a deeper understanding of God’s faithful commitment to us through life. It is also very impressive that Tammy Trent co-wrote eight of the 10 songs. So not only does she offer a very spiritually uplifting album, she is also responsible for most of the lyrics in the songs, which is a very impressive feat.
Established as a familiar voice on Christian radio as early as 1995, Tammy is responsible for a string of hits that includes “Your Love Is 4 Always,” “It’s All About You,” “Run To The Cross,” “My Irreplaceable,” and “Welcome Home.”
Her career took a very emotional side-swipe in 2001 after the tragic death of her husband in a diving accident; and she decided to step away from the spotlight. She returned in 2003 as a speaker and performer at the Women of Faith conference. She was also a featured speaker and performer for “The Revolve Tour” for teen girls for two years. Ever since, Tammy Trent has maintained a very busy touring schedule as well as speaking and singing at women’s events all over the world. She has been recognized in 2009-2010 by the Christian Music Hall of Fame when she was given the award for Inspirational Female Vocalist of the Year. She is also a very accomplished author, including a book she wrote with her late husband Trent Lenderink titled The Log Family: See You at the Beach.
With all of this going on and two hot singles flooding the airwaves — “Sunny Days” and “Fall At Your Feet” — Tammy took the time to chat with Rocking God’s House about her brand new album release:
Sunny Days is a great album with a perfect title; what made you decide to go back into the studio at this point of your career?
It has been five years for me since I put out my last album. My life has been on such a different path the last twelve years and with everything I do there is a major reason for it and a major purpose for it. At this season of my life it was just the right timing for my music and my ministry to go into the studio and make the new album.
You re-recorded your signature smash hit “Welcome Home” on this album. What gave you the inspiration to do that?
I did! It has been so long that I have sung this particular song on a platform everywhere I go. I just wanted to make it available again. It was released on an older record, and now I have decided to put it on this new album. I haven’t changed it very much — just added a little more speed to it. It is the song where, if people don’t even know who I am, they always recognize the song “Welcome Home.”
You wrote eight of the songs on this album. Do you like the writing process as opposed to recording another person’s songs?
If it is a great song, I have no problem recording someone else’s songs. Sometimes someone else can write a song that can fill a hole in your record or sound better than a song that you could have written at that time in your career. I enjoy writing my own songs, but I am not the type of girl that will turn down a song just because I did not write it. I would love to be able to sit down and write a ton of songs and record them, but it does not always work that way. If the song, whether I wrote it or not, is 100% me and how I feel, then I will go for it.
You taught yourself how to play drums when you were very young. Did you play on your new album?
I have been playing drums ever since I was a kid. I was recently speaking to a guy about getting my own artist drum kit. I haven’t owned a kit since I have lived in Nashville, which has been almost 14 years, and I want one so bad. It is definitely on the top of my list to get a set and start playing again. I did not get to play on the new album — this album goes back to my roots with more programmable music — but hopefully soon I will get back on the skins and start performing again. Once drumming is in your system it is very hard to get it out.
Ok, I have heard you are a fantastic dancer; would you ever compete on Dancing with the Stars?
Oh, Josh! [Laughs] Now you are really getting to the serious questions. A friend of mine right now is on the show — Candice Bure — I am cheering her on huge. Honestly, I love to dance. But I am horrible at choreographed dance. It takes me forever to learn it because I am such a freestyler. I hit the dance track and I just do my own thing. But when you start putting choreographed tracks in front of me I start just going “Oh my gosh,” because I just always want to bust out into my own groove. I would probably say yes to Dancing with the Stars, but I don’t know how long I would last. I would just have to focus really hard and try to memorize as much stuff as I possibly could.
