“The music business is definitely slanted against me right now. If you check out country radio, it is filled with guys with hats and guitars. ” – @gomomusic_mo

Episode #277 : A.V.A Live Radio Behind The Music with Jacqueline Jax
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/avaliveradio/2015/11/25/episode-277-ava-live-radio-behind-the-music-with-jacqueline-jax

GETTING TO KNOW MO HOFFMEYER
by Jacqueline Jax host of A.V.A Live Radio

Music business…
I LOVE the music business!! But it music business is definitely slanted against me right now. If you check out country radio, it is filled with guys with hats and guitars. There are so many that it is almost hard to keep up with them all. I like that there are some more female artists that are starting to break in. LOVE Kacey Musgraves. The biggest problem that I see right now is that in order to make money in this business, you almost have to start out with money. Apparently you cant make it without a $200 an hour voice coach, or a management company, or a $15,000 demo CD. We have been approached by all of the above. We are a middle class family, and will be working to make it on our own for as long as we can, the old fashioned way. I have been walking down Broadway in Nashville, knocking on doors, asking for a chance to sing. It’s working. Ive landed gigs at the Benchmark, Silver Dollar Saloon, Dicks Last Resort, and I started last week at Tootsies. At some point talent has to overcome everything else. If I have the talent, I will overcome it all. If I don’t, I will do all I can in my power to get the talent, and THEN overcome. There is no “plan B”.

Social media…
I like that we are able to get out to friends and family, and new friends and new family, and keep them in touch with what we are doing instantly. It is a great way to build a fan base, and it keeps me pushing forward because people are always wanting more. A fanbase that wants more is a great thing. It pushes me to do more, and to do it better because my family and friends are always watching!! As for overcoming things on social media, I tend to speak before thinking sometimes, so not saying anything TOO stupid is certainly a challenge!

Singles vs an album…
I would like to send out a 4 song album, but releasing a single has allowed me to keep some of the fan base interested, and looking for more. (hopefully they want more!!) And it allows time for me to save up the money to get a 4 song CD put together. And I have more time to buy lotto tickets!!

I would love to have 5 minutes alone with….
Carrie Underwood. Id love to just pick her brain, learn from the best. She is the best out there right now. Everything she does is perfect. I want to know how she picks her songs? How does she know when she has a good one? how does she take someone elses song and make it her own? There is a reason that everything that Carrie does turns out good. Part of that is pure talent. Part of it is the perception of who she is as a person. She has a very clean image. She has been very good about protecting that image, and putting herself in a positive light in every situation. There is a lot of work involved in that, but that is something that you cant fake. It has to be who you are, or people will see through it. But I know that doesn’t make it easy.

It has been stressed to me by people that I know in the business…
or that I have met along the way, that I need to make sure that I keep singing songs that are true to who I want to be in the business. Its why I sing Carrie, and Gretchen, and Dixie Chicks. There is attitude, but there is incredible musical talent. There is a LOT of emphasis on clothing being trendy, and even in my style I don’t really like to fit the bill there. I haven’t gotten anywhere by being like everyone else, and I never will. Sometimes you have to play “Wagon Wheel” and “FreeBird” to keep people happy, but I stay true to myself and ignore the trendy by making sure that everything that I do has a little bit of ME in it.

Singing in the back seat of the family car with my sister…
We used to sing to everything on the radio, and CDs. We would sing to Terri Clark, Reba, Faith, Martina…and the Lion King and Wicked sountracks. From there I followed my older sisters footsteps to the Michigan State University Childrens music school Choir. (Big shout out to MSU Childrens Music School and Mary Alice Stollak, that was an awesome experience) We moved to Tennessee when I was in 6th grade. A few years later, my dad was pestering a high school friend of his that works in the music industry in Nashville. One day his friend, James Erdman, sent him a message about a singing contest and that I should enter. So, I did. I didnt win, but I did get a free voice lesson out of it. I kept taking the voice lessons, driving an hour or so to Nashville every weekend. (my PARENTS driving to Nashville!!) Eventually I caught the eye of the Nashville Spotlight TV show, and spent a year or so as an emcee and singing on their show. I moved on to some Tunes for Tots shows and sang at Opry Mills Mall, BB Kings, and the Tennessee State Fair with them. I basically just sang anywhere and everywhere that I could, mostly for free, or giving the money to needy causes.

I Love You Like Football…
Our family loves Football. Especially college football. My dad was in the marching bands at University of Florida, and Michigan State University. The song basically sets up a typical Saturday at a college game. Getting the truck loaded, setting up and tailgating, maybe having a little too much to drink, and cheering on the home team. But mostly about how much we love that because it is the greatest thing in the world……and at the same time saying “oh yeah honey, I stinking love you just that much also” 
Is there a back story about how it was written or recorded? It was written by my dad and he originally gave it to my mom for their wedding anniversary. He recorded it on his cell phone one morning while she was out to the barn doing chores. And posted it on Facebook for all the world, or all of his 600 friends, to see!! He likes having me sing it because he things the irony of a female singing it to a guy makes it a better song, and HE SAYS that I sing it better than he does. 
Did anything sad or funny happen during the process. (Be sure to include the MP3 of the song for the show along with your answers.) We recorded it the day of the UT -v- Florida football game. So, I like to look at it as being a lucky day for a football song! And then we released it the week of the michigan -v- Michigan State game….and, well….MORE good luck!! http://www.amazon.com/I-Love-You-Like-Football/dp/B017022I50/
I like songs with a bit of attitude…
Not necessarily anti relationship songs, or man hater songs that most people think of when they think “attitude”, but songs that leave you with no doubt of my opinion. Im also very fond of songs that tell stories, like Traveling Soldier, or any George Strait tune. I am doing most of my marketing through reverbnation and spamming Facebook and Twitter. I am not in a position to pay for a “marketing company” or anything like that. I have the song on Spotify, and Rhapsody, and by the beginning of November it should be available on iTunes as well.

I live in Cookeville, TN…
About an hour east of Nashville. The music scene here is really just a few restaurants with bands on the weekends. I have only heard a few of them, and they are good. But most people know that the real thing is just an hour away, so they tend to travel that way to get what they are looking for. Thats not a slam against the local bands, they are very, very good. Rodney Atkins used to play the local clubs, back before we moved to town. And the Cluster Pluckers, and Three Penny Nickel are a great local bands. I love hiking at the waterfalls, and screwing up my allergies. Middle Tennessee has some great waterfalls and hiking trails. Oh, and sleeping. I love sleeping!!

I am most afraid of… My alarm clock

My personal definition of success is..
Getting into Tootsies….. I didn’t have any help. I was persistent. I knocked on doors, I kicked them in. I did it myself. Its still just the beginning, a long ways to go, but its how I’m going to approach it. Kicking doors in.

My over all goal for my life & career is… Have you ever heard of Carrie Underwood? Yeah, that.

3 Ways that I challenge myself and how each one moves me forward towards my goal.

1) Need to play the guitar better. I have been playing for 5 months. Its hard to find guitar players. But I can play fairly well, just not as good as I need to. I want to be self sufficient.

2) I need to work out more. I’m not a body-aholic, but I need to make sure that my body is ready for the long haul. Rumor has it, this is a tough business : ) I’m going to be as prepared as I can for whatever lies ahead.

3) Learn learn learn learn and never stop learning. The secret to success in any field is to fight for as much knowledge as possible. The day you stop learning is the day you are done.

Social media:
www.facebook.com/GoMoHoffmeyer
www.reverbnation.com/MoHoffmeyer
www.twitter.com/gomomusic_mo
www.soundcloud.com/mo-hoffmeyer-gomomusic
www.instagram.com/gomomusic_mo
www.gomomusic.com