Jam: Spotlight on Music StarsThe Band Perry talks CMTs, sibling rivalry, and recording their new album with Rick Rubin
Most of the nominees at the Country Music Awards on Wednesday night will be keeping their fingers crossed hoping for a win — but not The Band Perry. They'll just be happy to be there. The country trio comprised of sister Kimberly and her two brothers Neil and Reid tell omg! that although they're excited to be up for Group Video for their song "All Your Life," they're just "going to go and have a good time," says Kimberly, who sings and plays guitar and piano. "More than the wins or losses of award shows, just the fact that the country family is under one roof [is exciting to us]. We're the biggest fans in the room, so to see all the other performers is something we're really looking forward to."
Another highlight the band has on the horizon is their second album, the follow-up to their mega-hit self-titled debut, which sold 1.3 million copies to date and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard charts. The Perrys are already half-way done with the collection, which is being produced by the legendary Rick Rubin, who worked on Johnny Cash's last five albums in addition to the Beastie Boys, Metallica, Adele, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. "Rick has just been a great part of American music, like Tom Perry, and so much of the stuff that we really cut our teeth on growing up," says Kimberly, 28. "He's really started to serve as past-therapist and producer. Because you know the legend of the sophomore slump and that's something that we've been very conscious of and feel the responsibility to outdo what we did on the first album, and Rick has just been such a great partner."
With six songs already in the can, drummer Neil, 21, describes them as having "their own life. There are elements of the first album that you'll feel in this, but I feel like our melodies and everything about this is fresh, and I hope that people will just dig them."
Until the new album comes out in the fall, The Band Perry will be on the road opening up for Brad Paisley at huge venues all over the country from June 9 until October 20. And all that time spent together in very close quarters on their 35-foot tour bus is enough to get on anyone's nerves, let alone a band made up of an older sister and her younger brothers (Reid, who plays bass, is 23). Although Kimberly says they try to be "sensitive" to each other's boundaries, Neil reveals that when they do have a "discussion" (he says that's the grown-up way version of arguing), "it usually revolves around what we're going to have for dinner or what we're going to watch on TV. When diplomacy fails, we have a secret weapon and it's our mother. Our mother is still on the bus with us and she comes with us pretty much everywhere we go. She wears referee stripes and she'll blow that whistle if need be."
In addition to all the many things they have going on, The Band Perry has yet another project they're passionate about: Outnumber Hunger, an initiative that is helping to secure 15 million meals for Feeding America food banks across the country. The group has partnered up with the charity to bring awareness to the problem and to let their fans know how they can help. There are specially-marked packages of General Mills food (including Cheerios, Totino's, Betty Crocker, and Green Giant) that when bought will help provide five meals for someone in need in that zip code.
"One thing that we love about playing country music and being a part of the country music family is the opportunity that we have, with the platform that we've been given, to shine a little light in dark places," explains Kimberly. "The three of us had no idea that hunger is as prevalent of an issue as it is. One in six Americans, our own next door neighbors, struggle with hunger. And that number actually spikes in the summer because kids are out of school and they don't have a lunch meal provided for them, so it's really a great time to shine a little light on this issue."
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