Cyndi Thomson
(Q)- First your name, age and place of birth please.
Cyndi Thomson (CT)- I’m Cyndi Thomson, I’m twenty-four years old and I am from my hometown is Tifton, Georgia.
(Q)- What does it mean when you say, “I was born to share my heart”? And, isn’t taking that attitude in regards to sharing yourself with fans in the form of a recording which is sold as a commodity and the success of that commodity being based on those sales figures, a risky situation for yourself?
(CT)- It’s what I was born to do and I’ve been doing it. I’ve been doing it for a while now, playing shows and I think, that in a lot of ways, it’s what you talk about, what you sing about and how you present yourself. Just like for any artist. It’s how you come across. It’s just like anything else.
(Q)- There’s transparency in your lyrics, the material is autobiographical. How does that come across during your live performances?
(CT)-It’s taking the microphone off of the stand and singing the songs with the same emotion that you did whenever you were in the studio recording the album. It’s about moving the people in the audience through the music. My band plays great and I love the songs and live, I talk about the songs before we play them and that’s important. It’s me. I tell the audience about me and that’s how I bring my songs across.
(Q)- Transparency in a songwriter’s lyrics, can mean honesty. There’s degrees of transparency which can tell others who we are. Is there in your opinion a desire from country fans for more of that element on the radio airwaves and in between the tracks of the album mix?
(CT)- Yes. I have the right idea, I know that because when I get to talk to the fans, the people tell me stories. They literally have been instances when people have come up to me after shows and cried, telling me how much the stories (In her song lyrics) mean to them. That they can relate and they have walked in that place. So, I’m fortunate enough to be able to experience that because that is fulfilling to me to know that I’ve created music that can move people like that in that way. Because that’s fulfilling to me. To know that I’ve created music that can move people like that. Because that’s what I’ve wanted to do with my music is to move people. That’s what music is for.
(Q)- Not to everybody.
(CT) It is to me though. It sure is to me.
(Q)- Why?
(CT)- Because, if you’re not doing that, then you need to reevaluate what you as an artist are doing, or even in some instances, stop. You know? I hope to continue to keep on doing that and connecting to people on that level, because the day I stop doing that, I need to reevaluate what I’m in this for.
(Q)- What is your knack for discovering the right choice of words to express who you are as an individual, within the lyrics of a song?
(CT)- I’m strong lyrically. I’m always writing with different people. However, there is not a formula that I can share with you. Because that’s not how I write lyrics. It’s a very different experience every time. Because of who I am as an individual, enables me to share my heart and soul with other people. I mean, I will constantly evolving and changing who I am because we all continue to grow in our life time and now I know who I am for age of twenty-four. I was raised in a home where our values were not wrapped up in our accomplishments, but it was about who we are. My mom and dad (Pat and Russ Thomson) loved me for Cyndi, not Cyndi the singer, you know? So, I was really blessed to be raised in a home such as that. A home with parents who encouraged me to be strong and to be honest and open with my heart and to not be afraid to communicate.
(Q)- Is impact day, whenever you’re single went to radio and your product is placed out on store shelves, been a challenging time for you?
(CT)- It’s been hard because my life has just been flipped totally upside down. It’s been a learning experience for sure, some days it’s overwhelming, other days it’s stressful. Some days it’s a beautiful breeze. It’s a lot of things I’m still trying to find the balance for me.
(Q)- If you are comfortable with who you are and your projecting that through your music, then you’re asking the fans and radio to take you as you are. Correct?
(CT)- Yes.
(Q)- It’s a going to be really tough to have any rejection then isn’t it?
(CT)- Right.
(Q)- Are the song lyrics on the album really like listening to excerpts from your diary?
(CT)- Yes. That’s a great way to explain it! I’m a brand new artist and the audience needs to know me from head to toe. And I wanted to make that kind of an album. Because I can’t meet and talk to, every single person who buys my album, I have to depend on that music to let you to get to know me and who I am. It’s accurate. I put my heart into doing this and at this point it’s up to the fans to tell me if this is what they want to hear. And if by all indicators the fans find the music as refreshing as I’m hearing many of them say my music is, then it will be thrilling. This is about either moving people or not moving people. That’s what this is all about. I hope that this continues because I love what I do and I want to hear more stories about people who have really related to my songs.
(Q)-Are you comfortable with that scenario?
(CT)- I feel like I’m doing a great job and I love what I do. But, you’d almost have to ask someone other then myself about that because I’m me.
(Q)- Once again then, are the music and the lyrics on the album accurate as a representation of who you are as a woman?
(CT)- Yes, I feel like I’m doing a great job and I love what I do. The album is me, it’s accurate, it’s my heart, my soul and my word. I’ve had friends and people who have know me my whole life and listening to the album they’ll say, ‘That’s you. ‘I’ve had that happen to me four times. So, that was a sure fire affirmation that it was me on that album.