Do you believe in dreams? Diane Gayden (wife and partner of legendary Nashville musician and producer Mac Gayden) certainly does. In fact, Sweetwater Rose came about as a result of an intuitive dream she had.
Through introductions and connections with friends, Diane had become aware
of various women singers around Nashville who were performing on their
own. Listening to their voices she realized they all had something special
to offer. She then found herself dreaming in beautiful harmonies,
these voices merging together, with a style like Buffalo Springfield,
Poco, and the Flying Burrito Brothers.
Motivated by the inspiration of her dream, she mentioned to
Mac that they should organize an audition and select a group of four.
As soon as "these four women came up to the mic together there
was magic." The idea just wouldn't go away, and within a few weeks
they were in the studio.
It's rare when individually talented artists come together to create
such wonderful synergy that is greater than the sum of its parts. Sweetwater
Rose captures that magic.
Thank you for dreaming Diane!
At age 18, Dani put some of her other talents to use and built her own acoustic guitar. “I actually used this guitar to record the song ‘Unbreakable’ on our CD,” says Dani. She later found herself regularly performing with now pop star, Jason Mraz. “We played every Thursday night at a local coffee shop and sang on each other’s tunes,” she recalls.
Dani made the move to Nashville in 2002 and within months after arriving, met Mac Gayden, producer for Sweetwater Rose. Six months later, she signed a deal with Famous Music Publishing and continues to write songs with some of Music Row’s top talent. When Dani is not writing and singing, she spends her time training in the martial arts.
LaLa’s love for country music came later, when she moved from her hometown of Baltimore to Music City to attend Belmont University and earned a Music Business degree. After graduating, she took time to develop a career in journalism, but she couldn’t shake the desire to express herself through music. After a long hiatus from it, LaLa decided to put on a new writer’s hat and began putting her thoughts to music.
Although her repertoire now ranges from country to pop/rock, when she first started writing, country music is what came out. “For me, that’s the music I relate to the most lyrically. Country songwriters aren’t afraid to dig, to go to the gut level and feel deeply, to explore hurt and vulnerability and to learn from that reflection. ” ‘Heartache, ’ my song that we cut on our CD, was one of those revelation songs for me. It’s a sincere adieu to the aftermath of a torn relationship. ”
“Live, learn, reflect, write” is my motto. For me, music is the release.
Performing at a young age in musicals and later with her sisters at rodeos gave her the confidence to be in front of a crowd. Heavily influenced by the likes of Bobby Gentry, Billie Holliday, and Linda Ronstadt, Marna’s musical style became a blend of blues, soul and country.
After a few years of traveling the world as a Continental flight attendant, her love of music brought her to Nashville where she has performed with successful cover bands, Guilty Pleasures and the Wonders, worked with producers and artists such as Jay Joyce, Ben Folds, Will Kimbrough, Joe Pisapia, and Jason Lehning, (to name a few), and is inspired by a life with musician husband Brad Pemberton who has played drums with Iodine, Patty Griffin, Ryan Adams, Hank III, Brendan Benson and many others.
Being part of Sweetwater Rose is like coming full circle back to rich harmonies of days gone by singing with family.
She’s also a yoga instructor and has taught in New York, Chicago, Iowa and most recently, Nashville. She loves the practice of this ancient art and feels that it helps her stay grounded, healthy and calm in a busy life.
Ali grew up on Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, and James Taylor and these roots have a strong influence on her style. Her current inspirations include Patty Griffin and Jenny Lewis.
Ali’s parents are musicians and are a huge inspiration to her.
Producer/Singer/Songwriter Mac Gayden (macgayden.com)
wrote the song “Everlasting Love” that
has been a hit 16 times, (of late by U2 and Gloria
Estefan).
Billboard Magazine said “Everlasting Love” was one of two songs to have hit
status every decade for the last four. Mac was in the legendary band Area
Code 615 and Barefoot Jerry, which were the Predecessors to The Grateful Dead,
The Allman Brothers, and Bela Fleck in the southern rock field.
Mac played slide guitar on JJ Cale’s “Crazy Mama” (and many other JJ Cale songs),
John Hiatt, Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel, The Alarm. He also produced and
played on many of the R&B songs in early Nashville days with Arthur Gunther,
and John R.
Mac also wrote and produced three songs that were on the Grammy winning
CD “Night Train to Nashville”. This was also a longstanding show
at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, celebrating the musicians
that were and are still here doing non-country music, mostly African Americans.
Mac's songs on "Night Train to Nashville" included “Everlasting
Love”, which was co-written
and performed by Robert Knight (who Gayden discovered at a Nashville fraternity
house),
and a soulful beach hit “She
Shot a Hole in My Soul”, performed by Clifford Curry.
Mac has always been an innovator in the music industry, but never
really wanted stardom for himself. He was the innovator of the slide wah technique
on guitar (which he used on JJ Cale’s first hit “Crazy Mama” ). His trail
of unique sounds, songwriting, singing, and lifestyle has always fascinated
everyone around him. Mac has also written Country hits such as “If I Could
Make a Living out of Loving You”, “ I’ve
Got a Weakness Tonight”, “I Want to Walk You Home", and “It’s Alright” to
name a few.