Occasionally, I check in on my Spotify account to see what songs of mine people are listening to the most and every time, YOU GOT AWAY is numero uno. As far as genres are concerned, that tune doesn’t really represent most of my music, but hey, if people love it, that’s a win for me. The riff at the top of the song was written in my dorm room in college - it always stuck with me and I knew it had a place somewhere, eventually.
That day came a few years later while I was writing songs for my first album QUEEN OF THE VALLEY, this song had many attempts. One version is much slower and a bit darker, maybe I will share that one day. I always knew I wanted to make it a duet though. I loved the duet between Ozzy Osbourne and Lita Ford, so when I met Scooter Ward, from the band Cold, and was asked to contribute vocals to their album 13 WAYS TO BLEED ON STAGE, I knew I met the man who would be perfect to sing a duet with. Let’s talk about Scooter Ward for a minute.
Scooter and I in the 90’s, it was a time
Scoot and I a year ago, all grown up
First and foremost he is an incredible human being. He is one of the kindest people I have ever known. He saw my band Dollshead play at the Los Angeles night club the Dragonfly. If you were over 18 in the 90’s and lived in L.A. you most definitely went to the Dragonfly, either to see a band or to dance the night away. I spent a lot of incredible nights at that place - so many stories. Anyway, after the show I went outside and a car pulled up and Scooter rolled down the window and said, “you are singing on my record.” I said, “Okay!” I should also mention that none of this would have happened if my dear friend Jenn Littleton hadn’t brought him to my show. She was working at Geffen at the time and told him that he needed to hear me sing, she knew something we did not, so kudos to her for seeing it. A few days later I was at Chris Vrenna’s home studio recording the background vocals for NO ONE and WITCH. I believe Terry Balsamo was there with Scooter while I came up with the parts. I will never forget the smiles on their faces when I was done. It was a magical moment.
Cold 1999
Cold released 13 Ways To Bleed On Stage in 2000, and NO ONE was their first single. I was in the video for just a second, you can see my hand. Fred Durst directed the video and didn’t think I should be featured that much. I did get to wear Anjelica Huston’s black dress she wore in the remake of The Adam’s Family, so that was cool.
Scooter has always been such an advocate for me. He has always been there applauding my accomplishments. These are the kind of people that matter to me most. In an industry where being a woman who can wear most of the hats is frowned upon or not supported, you need people in your corner. The industry needs you to need them. That is why right now is an exciting time for artists like myself. We have the control, it’s more work, but I don’t mind it at all.
Okay, back to YOU GOT AWAY. Around 2000, I met two people that would help me get my first solo deal. Those people were Scott Cutler and Anne Preven. I met them through my publisher at the time, the one and only Gary Helsinger, still a dear friend of mine. He sent them my demo and they wanted to work with me based on what they had heard. Anne and Scott were in a brilliant L.A.-based band called, EdnaSwap. If you have never heard of them, go check them out. They also wrote TORN, which was made famous by Natalie Imbruglia, but I prefer their version. ⏩️ Torn
EDNASWAP
I heard of them because my sister Planet loved their album and adored Anne’s voice. Her vocal has such a beautiful raspy tone to it and she is a brilliant lyricist. Anyway, I met with them and fell in love. They really understood me on a level most people did not. We began writing immediately. I felt so safe and cared for when I was around them - a gift for someone like me. One day I played them the riff I spoke of earlier and they loved it. Anne and I began writing lyrics and YOU GOT AWAY just bloomed. Anne is one of those talents that just effortlessly comes up with brilliant lines. She has a real gift with words. Whenever I was stuck on an idea, I would run to Anne to fix it and she always did. On a more somber note, Anne and Scott were around when my mother was dying from colon cancer. When my mother passed - and I won’t sugar coat it - I was deep into drugs and I mean deep. I drove to Anne’s house one morning, not having slept, and confided to her how much trouble I knew I was in. She was right there with me. I needed her and she was there. I say all this because I want to express how much love and support was really poured into those songs I wrote with them. The energy was truly authentic.
Once YOU GOT AWAY was written, I knew it was the song that would work as a duet. I shared my thoughts with Anne and Scott, luckily they thought it was a great idea as well. I called Scooter and told him I had a song that he needed to sing on with me. I also told him to bring Terry Balsamo with him, the guitarist for Cold at the time. I thought, why not have him play guitar on this tune? Terry went on to play for Evanescence a few year later, a very sweet and talented man.
A few days later Scooter and Terry came over and we mapped out the song. Now this is where it gets a little confusing. Once Atlantic came into the picture they wanted me to work with some other producers, which I was fine with. I wanted the album to have some diversity, production-wise, so that is when producers like Linda Perry and Chad Hugo came into the project. I still would ask Anne to co write with me once in awhile because when you meet someone with her kind of talent you hold on for dear life. When Chad Hugo and I were working on SEX IS KEEPING US TOGETHER, I was not happy with the lyrics so I asked Atlantic to fly her to Virginia to help me solve the lyrical problem. Once again she saved the day, as usual.
Another producer who came in was Howard Benson, who is mainly a rock producer. I met Howard because he produced Cold’s album YEAR OF THE SPIDER. When it was time to officially record YOU GOT AWAY, I thought Howard should produce it. He was so familiar with Scooter vocally and he basically invented the rock sound at that particular time - it had to be him. Luckily, Howard agreed and the studio time was booked. Josh Freese played drums on it. Who else!?
Scooter Ward, Howard Benson and Terry Balsamo
Unfortunately, after all the work that had been put into my album, QUEEN OF THE VALLEY, I was dropped from Atlantic. This was due to a new President coming into the fold. I was heartbroken. I will never forget the car ride to the JFK Airport after I had put together a showcase for the new President of Atlantic to try and salvage my deal. I met with my A&R person, Mary Gormley at a little restaurant in New York the day after the showcase. The look on her face told me everything I needed to know. I was dropped. I cried the entire way to the airport, my driver was so sweet. He kept on saying, “something better is coming!” “They don’t deserve you my love.” I was deeply touched by his kindness.
My last phone call with Atlantic was simple. I said, “I don’t want the money, GIVE ME MY MASTERS,”and they agreed. I was not going to let all that work get locked up somewhere to only collect dust and be forgotten. A few years later after I completed LADYLAND I released QUEEN OF THE VALLEY myself. It is available on Spotify if you haven’t heard it. Go check it out, I literally put my blood, sweat and tears in it.
LISTEN TO QUEEN OF THE VALLEY ON SPOTIFY❤️🔥
This Sunday at 7pm CST I will be doing a live chat with my good friend Scooter Ward, please join us as we talk about all the things and feel free to chime in with a question or two!
Peace and many blessings,
Sierra Swan💋
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