Celebrity Access: Meet the McClymonts

They are sassy sisters with a love for country music and with four Golden Guitars under their belts are doing more than alright. Bellaboo chats to Molly from country band, The McClymonts

I was going to call you guys a country and western group but I didn't know whether that was correct or not. How would you describe The McClymonts?

A country group, I think the western has gone a long time ago now. I don't think anyone is a western group.

The McClymonts is made up of three young women who are, not only singers and musicians, but songwriters as well. Tell us a bit about the journey so far for the group?

We have been singing for like 14 years, maybe longer … I can't even remember now. Because we are sisters we started young, coming up through the talent quests. Three- and-a-half years ago, Universal saw us singing as a trio and they signed us. It has pretty much snow-balled from there. We brought out the EP, then we went on the road with Lea Kernigan, then we recorded our album, and now we're touring our album. We won three Golden Guitars last year and another this year so everything has happened really fast.

What was touring with Lee Kernaghan like?

That was amazing. We actually toured with Lee Kernaghan for about a year-and-a-half and then that gave us the opportunity to play to a packed crowd every night. We wouldn't have got the Golden Guitars if we hadn't toured with Lea Kernigan because no-one would have known who we were so it just gave us that extra, extra stepping stone to get out there a lot faster. It was a great help.

You've done some incredible things as well. Your debut EP and touring with Lea must have led to The McClymonts touring IRAQ and playing to the troops. What was that experience like?

It was amazing. We knew we were going for about a year, so we had a lot of time to think about it. Once we got over there, we just went from base to base and the troops absolutely loved it because they didn't have any entertainment for about three months. I figure that it just broke their routine. It was really interesting to go there and see what life was like.

It would have been an incredible experience plus I'm sure that the boys would have been happy to see not only three talented women but three gorgeous women as well?

It was great for us.

What was life like growing up as The McClymonts?

It was pretty much normal, like we went to school during the week but on weekends instead of staying home and hanging with friends we were traveling to country music festivals. That was probably the most different thing that we did. We'd go on the Friday afternoon and get back Sunday afternoon. Our whole life was pretty much consumed by country music on weekends. But during the week it was normal, we went to school and pretty much just hang out together at home.

Universal Records signed you up, was there a specific gig where they discovered you?

They actually saw us at the Gympie muster in 1997 and Brooke got signed then because she was 17 and Samantha and I were 11 and 12. They signed Brooke but they always knew that the trio was there. And then when Samantha was doing her solo thing, she was nominated for a Golden Guitar, Brooke and I performed harmonies for her performance and that's when (Universal) thought we were all ready and signed us up in February last year.

How old are all of you?

I'm 20, Samantha's 23 and Brooke is 26.

What does each girl do in the band?

I play mandolin, Brooke plays guitar and Samantha plays bass. We all swap vocals and harmonies and everything.

Not only do you play instruments and sing, you all write the songs as well.

Yeah, we like to write all of our songs or co-write with other people. I think because we can write, why not.

It's definitely working for you. You got a pretty credible guy to write some songs with you and produce the album in Nashville, the home of country.

Adam Anders (producer for Shania Twain & Shannon Noll) was our producer in Nashville and he is actually from a family band himself so he understands the harmonies and how important it was to us. The first week we got to Nashville we were just writing with different people. We co-wrote with Monty Powell (Keith Urban's main song writing partner), Eric Silver (Dixie Chicks) and Trey Bruce (Leann Rimes) so we were very, very lucky.

I noticed a lot of the songs are about guys and love. I read a funny quote from Brooke that said, "The more we share our lives, the more likely you're not going to date us". Now, why is that?

I don't know, we're never home, we're always out on the road. I'm sure if anyone got to know us they would just think that we're crazy so they'd probably stay away.

Where were you the first time you heard your song on the radio and what was the reaction from all of the girls?

The first time I was seeing it on TV on CMT. We were all sitting around the TV watching and singing along. It's always Mum that's the proudest, which is great.

As well as going to Iraq, you've also had some other amazing opportunities. You all appeared on Getaway, how did that come about?

We just got a call and they wanted to do a story on some country singers and about their home town. They happened to pick us and it was such an amazing thing because we watch the show every week. It was also great to get our faces out there and show people know who we were and where we grew up and what we were like. We did a concert for them and played our songs. They even ran a repeat of the show a year later so that was an added bonus.

So where did you grow up?

Grafton.

What are the highlights of Grafton?

The Jacaranda festival every year. Grafton is famous for its Jacaranda trees and every year the festival is massive. We've got the speed boat racing and skiing on the Clarence River; quite a few things.

It's been a very successful few years for The McClymonts, where do you think you'll be 10 years from now?

Hopefully we'll have a big fan base by then and we'll be able to tour wherever we want. Hopefully, a lot more albums and just getting our music out there.

Who would be on your wish list of people to perform with on stage?

Probably Dolly Parton. I grew up listening to her songs.

What song would it be?

Any song that she would perform with me.

You're sisters, you work together and you're around each other all the time, how do you handle the group dynamic? Do you ever fight?

I think all sisters fight but when it comes down to work, we just switch into work mode. As soon as we have to song-write or have to go to a festival and perform, it's just business as usual. It's good being sisters and working together because we can fight and then get over it and move on to the next thing.

What's been the career highlight for you?

Probably recording our album in Nashville, going to Iraq and performing at the ARIA's in 1996. Helen Reedy was inducted into the hall of fame and we performed one of her songs in front of her. That was a highlight for us.

What's next?

Many festivals in the upcoming months and we're going to be touring so look out for us.