Interview with Meredith Brooks
RAW ring announcer Lilian Garcia's first single, a song called "Shout," will be released on Oct. 8. It's the first track on Lilian's forthcoming album, which is being produced by Meredith Brooks. Garcia arranged for Brooks - who had a No. 1 hit in 1997 with the song "Bitch" - to sit front row Monday at RAW in Anaheim Calif. WWE.com caught up with Brooks to get her thoughts on Lilian's potential as a pop/rock artist, Brook's first WWE experience and much more.
WWE.com: What brings you here tonight?
Brooks: Lilian! Truthfully, Lilian brought me here tonight because I just produced her sing, her first single, on Universal (Records), which is the start of her record. She said, "Oh, come down and see me and meet everybody." (WWE is) going to show a lot of support for her, and so I wanted to show support back.
WWE.com: How is Lilian as a singer?
Brooks: She caught me by surprise because I worked with her on a song that's pretty anthemic. It's a song called, "Shout." And it's very much an anthem - really positive, a song you could play at a sports event. And then she sent me these other songs that she sang, and I was just amazed at how great her voice was. And it gave me a whole bunch of new ideas of how I wanted to spin the album. She's also just got an amazing attitude. It's perfect for a rock chick. She's every girls best friend and every guy's dream. So I think she's going to do very well.
WWE.com: She's mentioned that the first time you two chatted, you hit it off. What do you remember about that first conversation?
Brooks: I called her on the phone in New York, and I was in L.A. She was just so positive. For me, it's all about energy. I know if somebody's talented, I can work with them. But if their energy isn't right - it isn't open and up - I can't do it. What we do for a living can be very draining and exhausting. For me, it's all a big drama anyway. Why add more drama to it?
WWE.com: "Shout" is a song you wrote quite a while ago, isn't it?
Brooks: Yeah. Then I rewrote it specifically for Lilian and her attitude for what she was doing for the WWE - more sports oriented, in a more positive way.
WWE.com: What's the song about?
Brooks: It's about giving yourself something to shout about. We kind of bitch and complain a lot in life when really there's so much more to be upset about. And I think the new spin is not only that but, "Look, if you can't see it, I'm going to help you see it. I'm going to help you see the light and see how great you are. Get back up again and dust yourself off." Which we all do, whether it's sports or music or anything we do in life. We hit our threshold, our bottom, and we go, "Uh, can I do this anymore?" And the song's basically saying, from a friend to a friend, "Yes you can, because I see it in you, so get up and do it."
WWE.com: What can you tell us about the rest of Lilian's album?
Brooks: The rest of the album is a big secret now. (Laughs) We're going through songs. I have a great lineup of musicians for her. We're just putting everything into motion and nurturing her career through this single, Universal and WWE all together. Hopefully, all of her fans are going to say, "This is so awesome!" and they'll support her. And then it's just a big green light.
WWE.com: So are you in the writing process? Are you in the recording process?
Brooks: We're in the writing process. We're in the song-collecting process. For me, it takes at least 25 songs to decipher what a record's going to be like. Mine was probably 50 or 60 songs. For Jennifer Love Hewitt's, "BareNaked," we definitely recorded at least 25 songs. The process boils down to recording 16 and then we end up with 11 or 12.
WWE.com: Any idea when Lilian's album is going to come out?
Brooks: No. It really depends on so many things.
WWE.com: So as far as pop stars go, you're going to stick with Lilian.
Brooks: I think Lilian is the ultimate, ultimate rock chick pop star. If Lilian could make her on her attitude alone - alone - she would be an absolute star, because she is really, truly one of the coolest people I've ever met. She's genuine. She's loyal. She does what she says she's going to do. And the other thing - and this is what I try to tell people who are coming into the business - she's not waiting for people to do it for her. Because the truth is, nobody's going to do it for you -- not the government, not your parents, not anybody. You've got to get off your ass and make it happen yourself. And boy, that girl just goes. And she doesn't do it in a way that's offensive. When she pushes and she wants something, you just want to jump on the wagon with her, which is kind of how I am. I quit waiting for people a long time ago.
Reference: WWE.com
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