Kathryn Martin lost her 2-year-old son in
the F3 tornado that ripped through Newburgh and Evansville in 2005.
Instead of crawling into a hole and withering away, as I am sure she wanted to
do; Kathryn turned her personal tragedy into a light for hundreds of families
who experience the same terror and heartbreak she endured herself. After
receiving her degree in human services with a special focus on child advocacy,
Kathryn loaded up her car with crayons and coloring books and headed to Otwell, Indiana,
when an F3 tornado hit and had one goal in mind. She sought out distraught
children and distracted them for a few hours by sitting down with them and
simply coloring. She knew she was on the path of her life’s work. From that
day, CJ’s bus was conceived. “CJ’s bus is a 40-foot mobile recreation unit deployed to disaster
sites nationwide in order to keep children entertained and distracted in the
immediate aftermath of disasters. The Foundation expects to deploy CJ's Bus to
7-10 disaster sites per year and to coordinate the deployments with local fire
and rescue and law enforcement in order to maximize the benefit of CJ's Bus to
the local communities they assist.” –CJ’s Bus Foundation
For more info, visit
www.cjsbus.org
_______________________
Jason Michael Carroll is well on his way to becoming a
country music superstar…but is stopping in Evansville to perform a benefit show for CJ’s
bus on his way. Carroll grew up in a strict Christian home in Raleigh, NC,
but soon found a little country streak in his soul. Since the start of his
career, Carroll has been hailed as “the next big thing in country music.” His
deep, soulful voice hardly matches his blond, chiseled looks, but once you hear
the deep lyrics and soulful melodies, you can’t help but to be hooked.
JMC: Hello, Darlin’.
N4U: I’m guessing
this is JMC…
Yeah, how’d you guess? Do not many people call you,
“darlin’?”
No, but I like it!
Let’s get started!
When I first heard
you, I was surprised because I thought your voice was going to be mid-range and
twangy, but it’s very low and sultry. How did you develop your sound?
Well, when was much younger I started out singing soprano in
church. When my parents became Christian we stopped listening to country music
all together and only listened to Gospel. In fact, I would be riding with my
friends sometimes and their parents would turn around and say, “Now Jason,
don’t get me in trouble,” and turn the radio on to country. When I was 16, I
was at home one day in the back of the house doing some chores and my mom heard
me singing the base line.
How did you get your
start?
When I was 18, I joined a band called Chasin’ Country.
How did you parents
feel about that?
They didn’t like it much at first, but my dad is no longer a
preacher and they came around. They support me and come to some shows when I’m
home.
I see you’ve been
Billboard’s New Country Artist of 2007 and R&R’s #1 New Country Male of the
Year. What has been your most prestigious or meaningful award?
Last year, I was
invited to the BMI awards, which is for songwriting, and here I am sitting by
Willie Nelson, and I won an award for “Alyssa Lies.” It was an incredible
experience to be honored with people who have been such an influence to me.
I see you worked with
Jewel on your album, in fact she co-wrote and performed with you on one of your
songs. What was it like working with her?
When I got to Ty Murray’s 2000-acre ranch, she showed me
around and we were sitting outside around the campfire one night. I asked her
if she would help me write and without hesitation she said, “yes.” We actually
got to perform "No Good In Goodbye" live for the first time last
weekend at a private party.
So, who are you more
excited about touring with: Martina McBride or Carrie Underwood?
That’s a hard one. They both bring so much to the table. So
many people have told me that "Alyssa Lies" brings out the same
feeling as “Independence Day.” That means a lot to me. But Carrie is trusting
me to open for her first headline tour. They both are incredible.
Do you have a
girlfriend?
[laughs a little] Yes, I do.
Your female fans are
going to be sorry to hear that!
Cowboy boots or
tennis shoes? Be honest!
Cowboy boots, honestly! Cowboy boots or flip-flops.
Are you ever going to
cut your hair?
Well, I cut about eight inches off for the Today Show, but I am not going to do
that anymore! Just keep it trimmed up nice.
I see the trend of
country music is starting to head more to the flip-flop.
Yeah, I actually wore my Birkenstocks the other day to ride
my motorcycle. My band gave me such a hard time, but they are comfortable! I
wear flip-flops until it’s show time.
There have been a
couple of big name NASCAR drivers to come from this area; Darrell Waltrip and
Jeremy Mayfield. Who is your driver?
Dale Earnhardt senior was my favorite.
What’s your favorite
song off your album, Waitin’ in the
Country? Why?
That would have to be I’ll sleep when I’m dead. It’s about
my kids. Before all this happened, I had a full time job and was on the road
but had my kids on Sundays. I would stay up all the time just to be able to see
them and one the band guys asked me on the way home, “Aren’t you tired? You
never sleep!” I looked at him and said, “I can sleep when I’m dead.” We spent
that day writing the song.
What inspired you to
do the concert to benefit CJ’s bus?
There was a tornado that went through when I was a kid and
CJ’s bus is a great thing for kids. They really just get lost in disasters and
it’s nice that there is a place they can go when there is so much chaos.
Anything you want to
say to all your Evansville
fans?
I can’t wait to see you at the show!
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