By By JOHN EBY / Cassopolis Vigilant
Country singer Carla McClure, performing Saturday, Nov. 29 at the Dowagiac Veterans of Foreign Wars hall, has another date in mind.
Dec. 4 in Grand Rapids the 23-year-old Edwardsburg mom hopes her singing leads her to "Nashville Star" on USA Network.
Her gig Saturday night at the VFW on E. Division Street includes her band, Coldwater Canyon ("where the music is hot").
The quartet consists of: Rob Sanders, guitar, vocals; Dan Schrock, lead guitar, keyboards, vocals; Rich Miller, bass, vocals; and Billy Adams, drums.
One place they made a second appearance in Indiana bought more chairs because there were so many people seated on the floor at the first show. "They were so packed it was standing-room only," she said. "The dance floor stayed packed the entire time, which makes it more fun."
Until recently, McClure, a 1998 Edwardsburg High School graduate who came to Cass County at nine from Texas, during two years at Southwestern Michigan College studied early childhood education.
McClure said Donoho was living in Florida when they were set up on a date to attend a wedding. They've been together four years and married in August.
McClure said singers selected in Grand Rapids advance to January regional competition in Dallas, Philadelphia, Nashville and San Francisco. Semi-final auditions follow.
At least that's what it says on the T-shirts Earl and Bev Bowe of Elkhart, Ind., had printed from one of her glossies after hearing her sing just four songs last January after coming to the Elco Performing Arts Center to hear someone else.
Earl had her autograph a guitar with her "star signature because I know you're going to be famous. When you go to Nashville, I want to have this."
For her next show at the Elco, McClure blew up a picture of her signing the guitar and framed it, calling the couple up on stage for their anniversary. She also gave them her scarf.
Her first band "just started," she said. "I think the first time we played was in July." They played three times at the Elco. And "I sing at weddings and funerals and such, but we just started playing out at clubs. They want me to get some exposure and get my foot in the door. Ultimately, I don't want to be playing for bars forever. I don't want to be just a local act. Hopefully, if I get nominated to be on Nashville Star, I'll be down there for eight weeks. They have the utmost confidence in me, which is nice. I don't know how many will be in Grand Rapids. Last year I caught the tail end of the show and fell in love with it."
With people traveling from all over, she expects "tons" of fellow competitors. Unfazed by that prospect, McClure says, "I want my competition to be at their peak. I'm going to be at mine."
From a list of cover songs she thinks she'll sing "Blame It On Your Heart" by Patty Loveless and "Born To Fly" by Sara Evans. A third selection must be an original composition.
Songwriting is her "true love," McClure said. "My husband always tells me, 'If you don't make it in this business, you can always be a writer.' I've written several songs. Some humorous ones about being married, but that one, I think, is my favorite -- and it seems to be everybody else's favorite. This feeling that I've never had, I can't explain what it feels like to look out there and have people singing along with me. Hopefully, I get to have that feeling one day, too," of hearing a song she wrote coming out of a radio.
McClure doesn't play any musical instruments. Her singing ability was a fortuitous byproduct of puberty. "Before that my parents used to say, 'Turn the radio off' if I started to sing along."
Today, "It's definitely natural for me. I'm definitely a performer. I love the audience. When the audience is into it, I'm a lot more into it. I love to entertain. When I was at SMC I was in all of the choirs. In school, I did 'student teaching' with my teacher when I was a senior. I helped with the sixth, seventh and eighth grade singers and gave them some voice lessons. I also took voice lessons from Bethel College as a sophomore."
She considers Patsy Cline "one of my greatest influences. Everybody, everywhere I go, has to hear 'Crazy.' " Reba McEntire is another influence. She also likes Trick Pony, a "high-energy band," like Coldwater Canyon. "I like to see people on the dance floor."
The high notes pose no problem for a young woman "who likes to sing a lot of opera. I do it at weddings. I have a wide range of talent."
She was "disappointed" she didn't catch Loveless at the Cass County Fair, but she did hear Trisha Yearwood in Cassopolis.
McClure said the band will be going into the studio "shortly" to record a demo.