Angela Wood
With equal parts sass, sauce and self-confidence, country singer-songwriter Angela Wood is poised to become the musical Carrie Bradshaw of the flyover
states.
While her underlying theme of female empowerment is heartfelt and serious, her songs are lighthearted, funny and irresistible, much like a laughter-filled girls¹ night out. While "Sex and the City" depicts the life of women living in New York, Angela¹s music accurately reflects the experiences of American women living everywhere else.
"I want to empower women and encourage them to be who they are and embrace their differences", she says. "I want to challenge them to not accept the status quo in relationships and what people tell them about themselves."
Her powerful and deep voice has repeatedly been compared to Trisha Yearwood¹s, while her attitude, spunk and ability to capture the pop culture
zeitgeist are reminiscent of Shania Twain.
If the stunning brunette looks familiar, it¹s because she¹s been featured in some of America¹s most prominent commercials, including Super Bowl ads for Bud Light and Alka-Seltzer. She¹s also starred in ads for TGI Friday¹s,
Payless Shoes, Hardee¹s, Carl¹s Jr. and Gillette, and appeared alongside Ryan Seacrest in a Scope commercial. But for Angela, an acting career has essentially been an interesting day job that has paid well enough to allow her to spend most days focusing on music.
She has written songs with Big & Rich, Vince Gill and Sherrie Austin and performed in a band with Shooter Jennings. After appearing in Blake Shelton¹s "She Wouldn¹t Be Gone", video, he told CMT, "I wouldn¹t be
surprised if I say one day that I was in a video with her!"
One of her best friends is pop star Katy Perry, whom she met when Katy came to one of her shows in Los Angeles about six years ago. "The reason we get
along so well is that we both have eccentric personalities," Angela says. "I¹m just a little tamer than she is. I like to be unpredictable, but I also want the girls to relate to me."
Angela and her twin brother, Ryan, who are the middle of four children, were born in Oklahoma City. The family moved to Houston when they were two, and after a few years moved to Dallas. I¹ve been singing as long as I can remember because my dad was a music minister, she says. When I was five, my dad would take me to concerts and we would always get to go backstage
because people who were in his youth group were working with people like Amy Grant. I was like, "This is what I want to do. She performed in choirs, including the special All-City choirs, and was awarded numerous church solos. "I would get in trouble because I pulled up
the pastor and made him dance with me and we were at a Southern Baptist church, so that was really scandalous, even though I didn¹t think it was scandalous!"
She began writing songs at age 12 and playing guitar three years later. "My
dad gave me my first and only guitar when I was 15," she says. "He taught me three chords and said, 'Go for it!' He had this reel-to-reel machine that was really old-school that he taught me how to use. I had a little
microphone, so I would record either to tracks or try to play my songs. He also made me my own little P.A. system so I could stand in front of the mirror and watch myself perform."
While attending Baylor University, she joined a gospel soul all-girls band that performed during the school¹s chapel services and toured the area. After transferring to Nashville¹s Belmont University, she began writing with
Big Kenny and John Rich and performing in local songwriters¹ nights. Shooter Jennings invited her to join his glam rock band Stargun. "I didn¹t look like I fit in at all, but it was fun." When the band moved to California, she remained in Nashville to focus on writing and performing. But later, she decided to make the West Coast
journey herself and eventually landed in the Virgin Astroworks¹ band West Indian Girl. "I took a break from country to learn how to write in a different way, to expand my musical horizons," she says. "I wanted to
incorporate country instruments with a different sound by having them played differently than they are usually played on country albums."
Her unusual path has resulted in a batch of fresh, original songs such as "Sex in the Country" and "Don¹t Need Me Now" that have a universal appeal.
"I was thinking about Sex in the City, and realized that nobody has ever written 'Sex in the Country,' and things can be just as fun, if not more fun, in the country because you have to use your imagination as opposed to having lots of options laid out for you."
"Don¹t Touch My Man" was inspired by the scolding Faith Hill gave an audience member after she grabbed Hill¹s husband, Tim McGraw. "It¹s really sassy and talks about the girls that don¹t have boundaries," she says.
The compelling "Runaway Girl" portrays a gypsy who keep starting fires and running away, so she¹ll eventually have to face a roaring inferno of consequences.
While her lyrics are inspiring, insightful and thought-provoking,
Angela Wood ultimately just wants her girls and everyone else in the audience --to have fun. "I want them to laugh and relate to the music," she says. "I
want them to leave feeling like they had the best time ever. I used to call it a "concert hangover'", she says. "When I would go to good concerts when I was younger, I would be all bummed the next day because I had a concert hangover. I want people to have concert hangovers when they come see me play."
