Valerie June
Valerie June
Valerie June Hockett, known as Valerie June, is an Americana singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Her sound encompasses a mixture of folk, blues, gospel, soul, country, Appalachian and bluegrass. She is signed to Sunday Best label in the UK/Europe and Concord Music Group in North America...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMusician
Date of Birth10 January 1982
CountryUnited States of America
art memphis enough
Memphis held onto me until I was far enough along in my art and then it let me go.
artist careers memphis
When I talk about music in Memphis, it's a place you can go if you are a beginning artist or anywhere in your career, and you can incubate.
art cities trying
I feel a lot of cities are like, you go and you are trying to do your art, and there are so many other artists there who are so brilliant. And it's kind of like they stomp on the scene, and they are like, "You're not already Picasso? Get the hell out of here!" And Memphis is like, "Well, you'll get there one day!"
chord money save sit whenever
I was working like a dog as a housekeeper, barista, nanny, cook, so I could save enough money to really sit with my instruments. Whenever I had 20 minutes, I would practice a new chord or write a new verse.
car hard paid people ready records selling served worked
I paid my dues. I have crawled to gigs. I have served people coffee. I worked hard selling all these records out the back of my car. Girl, I'm ready to sell one the real way now.
songs
I just let the songs tell me what to do - they are my guides, and they are the boss. So I am subservient to the songs, and I let them tell me what to do. I don't judge them; I just write whatever comes to me.
dropped folks freedom grew hours jaws reckon roll spend thick tons
I grew my dreadlocks 12 years ago because they give me the freedom to roll out of bed and not spend hours on my woolly, thick hair. I get tons of dropped jaws and compliments, so I reckon folks like them all right.
lyrics music writer writers writes
Every writer writes in different ways, and so some write the music first, while others write the lyrics first, and some write while they are doing other things, and it is just nice to see how other writers are writing.
gonna man shut soon top
As soon as I could talk, I was bellowing at the top of my lungs. My parents couldn't get over how weird I sounded - like an old man when I was just a toddler! But no one was gonna shut me up.
When I was writing 'Shotgun,' it's one of the first songs that's come to me as an image.
britney knew
When I was teenager, Britney Spears was it - that was the pop world that was happening, and I knew I wasn't in it.
whitney
When I was really little, I loved Whitney Houston. I thought she was the prettiest thing in the world.
few moved
When I first moved to New York, I was still returning to Tennessee every few months to perform.
number ugly
My number one style requirement is to have fun getting dressed. Nothing is too old, expensive, cheap, cute or ugly for me.