Laura Interviews Dayna Malow: Winner of the 2008 Chicago Music Award for Best Country Artist

In the spirit of including all types of authors and artists who have changed the world of words, I'm excited to launch the inaugural edition of Interviews with Awesome Musicians, featuring award winning singer and songwriter Dayna Malow.

With a long career as a musician, Dayna has produced three fantastic albums: "Anywhere But Here, "Tangled Up in You," and recently released "What's the Worst That Could Happen." She regularly performs throughout the Midwest and also has opened for numerous artists, including Billy Ray Cyrus and The Doobie Brothers.

A little known fact is that Dayna is my former singing coach. Which means she's unbelievably patient. No one I know could deal with 45 renditions of me singing Karen Carpenter's "Close To You" in the fabulous way that she does.

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Laura Cococcia: You've had unbelievable success as a singer/songwriter - winning the 2008 Chicago Music Award for 'Best Country Artist' is just one of your many achievements. Did you ever imagine your career would take off like this?

Dayna Malow: Taking off might not be the best analogy -- it's actually been more of a bumpy ride. The Chicago Music Award was a regional success that came after 8 years of pounding the pavement. To achieve steady bookings a national identity is required. This is ultimately the long-term hope.

Being a self-represented, self-managed, and self-distributed artist presents multiple challenges, and is a full-time job. I am fortunate to have come as far as I have, but know that there is a long road ahead of me and a slowly closing window of opportunity.

Laura Cococcia: What are some of the most rewarding aspects of songwriting for you? The most challenging?

Dayna Malow: One of the most rewarding aspect of songwriting is the documentation of a relationship or time period in my life. I love being able to listen to songs I wrote years ago, and acutely able to remember where I was, who I was with and what was going on in my life. The most challenging aspect is choosing which to record, as they all become like children-- picking a favorite one is very hard.

Laura Cococcia: Where do you get most of your inspiration for your lyrics?

Dayna Malow: That greatly varies. It can be from a personal experience, from the news, from a simple conversation, or overhearing people talk on the street. I try to be open to these occurrences, keeping a notebook and/or digital recorder on hand at all times.

Laura Cococcia: Finally, what advice can you offer other aspiring songwriters/singers - or even other writers - as they start off down their career journey?

Dayna Malow: My best advice would be to write as often as you can. I believe everything you will write in your lifetime is already stored in your brain-- sometimes it's all about purging to get to the good stuff. In addition, don't close out other voices.

Sometimes suggestions made by people, even those not in your line of work, a casual listener perhaps, can offer you valuable insight into your writing-- sometimes taking you down a new road of thought or fixing something you did not realize needed fixing.

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Huge thanks to Dayna - she has a number of upcoming performances in the Chicagoland area, which you can see at www.daynamalow.com.

Laura's note: The idea to include songwriters and musicians was inspired by Great Guest Reviewer, Kate Walser. These writers offer a unique perspective on writing inspiration, experience and advice. By the way, if you ever need a creative collaborator, Kate's your woman.