(May 19, 2008) PCM's Kristyn caught up with Mindi Abair while she was out on the road in support of her new album "Stars". Read on to learn about some of Mindi's influences and a choice moment that occured with Billy Idol!

Kristyn: Can you tell our site readers a little bit about your new release? What has the feedback been like so far?

Mindi: This is a record that kind of breaks genres. It breaks barriers between different musical genres. I have been known mostly as a contemporary jazz saxophonist, who would sing every once and awhile and that kind of thing. This particular record I really just had it in my heart to write a lot of these songs, and a lot of them were vocals. It is like a half and half CD, vocals to instrumentals. It is funny, we have never done this before, but I've got a single on AC radio and I've got a single on smooth jazz radio, so it is a little bit of a Gemini.

K: Yeah, you could definitely say that!

M: For me it was what was in my heart, so that is what we did.

K: What is your writing process like? What generally comes first for you, the hook, melody, lyrics…?

M: I worked on this record coming in and out from being on the road last year. I was coming into town, sitting down at my piano and coming up with ideas, then I decided to call some friends and see if they want to have lunch, see if they want to write a song, you know, make it fun, make it a little escape. A lot of this record either started at my piano with me or it started in a really fun social environment, with "hey, let's write a song and have lunch". It was a great escape I think for the outside world into our little music world. We just played until something hit us and kind of formed the song around it. Looking back at the pile of songs we wrote, they all have this thread to them that it was hopeful; it was a light feeling to them. It was a great experience, so that was a cool thing in a world that isn't so light and so bright right now. I mean everyone is fighting whether it is about the war or the election or the recession, I think this is my escape and I think that is where the writing really stems.

K: Yes, sometimes the best material can come out of those get-togethers with friends and the places you least expect it.

M: Yeah, for me, I just wanted to get-together with some friends and hang out because I had been on the road. I think that spirit really comes through with the music, that bond and that lightness of being.

K: What is your favorite track off the new CD?

M: Wow, that is such a hard thing to choose a favorite song, I hate that! (laughs) I think Dolly Parton said it best when she said "Your songs are like your kids, each one of them means something different to you"

K: That is very well put! Great quote!

M: I think on this CD I would probably choose the title track which is, "Stars" and I choose it because it is very meaningful to me. I wrote it about being on the road and being away from the one you love and how that affects you. It is a give and take of a couple going through that, and that couple would be us, me and my husband. It is a cool give and take, it is saying "don't leave tonight, the stars are out tonight, spend another evening with me, come on it is a perfect night, stay with me". It is a really cool sentiment and I think it became a beautiful song.

K: So, you are actually on the road now, am I correct?

M: Yeah, we've been going for it! We have basically done a city a night for the first week or so that the record came out and we are not really stopping anytime soon. (laughs) I will be in Sacramento on Wednesday, San Diego on Saturday, and then I leave for Russia the next day and will be there for a week.

K: Wow!

M: Then it goes on from there, but I love being busy and getting the new music out there. It is really fun to play the new songs for everybody.

K: Being on the road so much, do you have any crazy road stories?

M: (laughs) I do have crazy road stories, but how crazy do you want to get with road stories?

K: (laughs)

M: Let's see I can give you a road story with Al Jarreau or a little more R-rated road story with Billy Idol.

K: Hmm, my vote is going with Billy Idol (laughs)

M: (laughs) Let's go with Billy Idol!

K: (laughs) Just because I am curious!

M: (laughs) You're like AL Jarreau, I don't really care…Billy Idol…yes!

K: You got me!

M: I was out on the road and I was singing with Adam Sandler. I did his music tour years ago, we did an HBO special, and I did one of his records, "What's Your Name" is the title of it. He did a movie called "The Wedding Singer", so we had a big wrap party and he invited Billy Idol because he's in "The Wedding Singer" movie. So, we are all up the jamming and we've got the whole band out there on a big stage and I am singing some song, I don't even remember what, a bunch of people on stage, including Billy Idol. Then, I feel something in the back of me, and I think "Wow, what is that"? I step away from the microphone and I look behind me and there's Billy Idol with his teeth sunk into my butt…

K: Oh my! (laughs)

M: Not even letting go! And playing guitar!

K: All at the same time!

M: I am thinking this is completely inappropriate. Wow! Do I slap him? Do I get him off or do I get one of the guys to get him off? Then I just looked at him and thought "Well, it's Billy Idol!"

K: Yeah, very true

M: That is what he does, right? I'm out here and I am on the road, we're playing a gig, it's Billy Idol, I guess this is just what's supposed to happen, so I kept singing.

K: (laughs)

M: Adam Sandler came up to me after the show and he just said "Billy Idol, bit you!" "He had his teeth in your butt, what were you thinking"? I said "Well, I was thinking we should meet, can you introduce me?" Then we could not find him, so we never got introduced. It was just a fleeting weird moment.

K: Well, he certainly left his mark didn't he?

M: (laughs) Yeah, so there it is

K: That is awesome!

K: So, you have played with Adam Sandler, Mandy Moore, and Josh Groban. Who has been your favorite to perform with?

M: I have played with so many people just coming up the ranks, making the way for me becoming my own artist. They have all had an effect on my performing. I have learned something from everyone. The Backstreet Boys Millennium Tour was crazy.

K: That had to have been huge

M: I learned so much about fame and about how hard they work and how much they were on. Even musically I delved into their music so much because I was playing keyboards and percussion and saxophone, I learned a lot. Adam Sandler, playing with him, I was just out a very prestigious jazz school where you took everything seriously, you were thinking so much about what you were playing, like which harmonic minor substitution you were using for that particular chord change, and with Adam Sandler we just went out and had a great time, we did not take ourselves too seriously, we went out and rocked. It was a nice thing to learn.

K: I can imagine. How did you first become interested in saxophone?

M: I grew up on the road with my dad's band, and my dad was a sax player. Pretty much the first five years of my life I was sitting there watching him play and the rest of the guys in the band do their thing. Music was just kind of my normal; I grew up thinking that is what everyone did, so that is what I should do.

K: You made the jump from jazz, where you have certainly made a name for yourself, to more of an almost pop/rock kind of sound. What led up to making that change?

M: I have always been someone who writes songs with lyrics and writes songs without lyrics. I would always say, I am going to play sax on a song I don't sing on. It is funny that in the beginning of my career the songs that the radio would play, the songs that were embraced, were embraced by a jazz audience. That is what I became known for, my saxophone playing, I think little by little my songs got to be in movies and television, my songs that I sing, I have a Christmas song that became pretty popular, it was on some samplers and did really well at radio the past couple years.

K: The Bath and Body works holiday sampler, correct?

M: Yes! Little doors have been opening for me to go further than just the jazz community. Opening for Josh Groban, that was a dream, not only am I a huge fan, I think he is a great guy. He is someone who has done that very successfully, he is not just an Opera singer, and he has become a pop icon now. I think we all have a path that we go, but the CD and the stuff leading up to it kind of set me up for playing to a different audience, I think more towards a bigger audience that just jazz.

K: How would you describe your sound to a first time listener?

M: My sound and recordings are a pop meets jazz sound. If you like pop, acoustic guitar, and that kind of sensibility that is mostly what my sound is, with a little bit of soul thrown in, and a bit of jazz too. I use my voice as an instrument along with saxophone. Kind of an interesting mix of stuff.

K: Is there any final message or comment you would like to share with our site readers?

M: Check out the music and be sure to visit Mindi Abair.com ! I am really proud of the CD we made, it is a very cool mix of my influences, and I had a really good time making it, so I hope people enjoy it!

K: Very cool! I will definitely encourage our site readers to check out your music and website!

M: You rock!

K: Thank you so much for speaking with us today, and have fun with the rest of your tour!

M: Thanks for your time

K: No problem!

M: Bye!

K: Bye!