Pheaturing Annie McQueen

Hello, welcome to another entry of the Phile. Did anybody see the "Tonight Show" with Leno last night? I didn't... I boycotted it. The Canadian men’s hockey team beat the United States in overtime to win the gold medal. They were up all night celebrating. President Obama kept banging a broom on the border, but they just wouldn’t stop. Let Canada have hockey. If they beat us in obesity, then I’ll start to worry. I like the Winter Olympics because you get to see sports you never see anywhere else, like bobsledding. Bobsledding is the only sport that shows us what it's like to drive a Toyota. Buzz Aldrin will be on “Dancing With the Stars.” He may be the only man to have walked on the moon and moonwalked in the same lifetime. Gatorade just announced they’re ending their relationship with Tiger Woods. Apparently, they made the decision after they checked his cell phone and found texts from Powerade and Vitamin Water.

At an auction in London on Friday, a 507-carat diamond — the size of a chicken egg — sold for $35 million. I hope it works, Tiger. Search crews in Montana are looking for two bags of mail in the wilderness that fell out of a plane last week. Meanwhile, a bunch of squirrels were excited to learn they’d been pre-approved for a Discover Card. So, did you see Apple's new invention? It's kinda different then their other products. Take a look at the ad.

Y'know I love inspirational posters, right? Well, I saw this one and I thought it was kinda true.

Hey, kids, it's time for a brand new pheature on the Phile. Let's play...

Did you spot him? Very good. And now for the return of...

Into a Belfast pub comes Paddy Murphy, looking like he'd just been run over by a train. His arm is in a sling, his nose is broken, his face is cut, and bruised, and he's walking with a limp. "What happened to you?" asks Sean, the bartender. "Jamie O'Conner and me had a fight," says Paddy. "That little O'Conner," says Sean, "He couldn't do that to you, he must have had something in his hand." "That he did," says Paddy, "a shovel is what he had, and a terrible lickin' he gave me with it." "Well," says Sean, "you should have defended yourself. Didn't you have something in your hand?" That I did," said Paddy, "Mrs. O'Conner's breast, and a thing of beauty it was, but useless in a fight."

From the home office in Port Jefferson, New York, here is this week's...

Top Ten Russian Excuses For Not Winning More Olympic Medals
10. Discovered that Canada also has vodka.
9. Forgot curling rocks at home, forced to use real rocks found outside of hotel.
8. Too busy looking for moose and squirrel.
7. Foolishly trained on snow and ice.
6. Last minute decision by the IOC to cancel borscht swilling event.
5. Probably shouldn't have replaced Ivan Drago with Yakov Smirnoff.

4. Jack Bauer took entire team into CTU for interrogation.

3. Didn't want to set off any metal detectors at airport.

2. Prefer to perform in front of Alaskans watching from their backyards.

And the number one Russian excuse for not winning more Olympic medals...

1. Putin promised each medalist a new Toyota.

1939
Howard Carter dies of King Tut's curse.
1944
A train of mixed military/civilian passengers stalls inside a tunnel outside Salerno, Italy, asphyxiating 426 from fumes.
1968
Syd Barrett leaves Pink Floyd, after melting his mind with various extremely dangerous drugs. He spends the following years mumbling about pork chops and refrigerators.
1982
Science fiction author Philip K Dick dies of a stroke in Santa Ana, California. Since 1974 the author had been possessed by a superalien who arrived in his head via a beam of pink light.
1997
1st Monkey successfully cloned






"The Science of Doctor Who" is the 6th book in the Peverett Phile Book Club and is due to come out in America in June. You can preorder it right now at Amazon.com. Or if you can't wait, order the UK version at Amazon.co.uk. Paul Parsons is set to be a guest on the Phile in a few weeks as well.

Today's guest is a country singer from Sheffield, England who is currently working on her new album. Please welcome to the Phile... Annie McQueen.

Me: Hello, Annie, how are you? Welcome to the Phile.

Annie: Thank You for having me!

Me: I haven't had a British musician on the Phile in awhile. Hey, that rhymes. Anyway, where in England are you from?

Annie: I'm from the Steel city, Sheffield, Yorkshire. Where Def Leppard are from. Also the Arctic Monkeys, Joe Cocker and Hendersons Relish!

Me: You live in Los Angeles now, right? How do you like living in America?

Annie: I live in Santa Monica which is really relaxed & chilled. Less 'Hollywood' as you might think... and its near the beach which suits me just fine. The way of life here is great, and of course the weather, but I miss my family and friends back home so much!

Me: When and where was your first trip to the States? What did you think when you got here?

Annie: About 6 years ago. I was expecting it to be full of 'plastic' people; fake and pretentious, but there were also loads of lovely, interesting artistic people, too. I loved it.

Me: Ever been to Florida yet?

Annie: No, but Id love to see the Everglades and Disney World eventually.

Me: You spent some time in Nashville, which is one of my favorite cities. Where do you like better? Nashville or L.A.?

Annie: For me, it's people that make a place, so I have to say Nashville. Everyone was so welcoming. Everyone there works in Music in some capacity, but they don't feel the need to tell you who they have worked with straight away, they're much more modest which I found refreshing. I really felt like I'd 'come home' musically being there. I can't wait to go back.

Me: Annie, your parents are musicians, and my dad was. Everybody thought I would become a musician as well, but I proved them all wrong. I can't sing, or play an instrument. Did you always want to be a musician?

Annie: I always loved singing from an early age, but what I enjoyed most was that other people enjoyed it. I always knew I wanted to sing, but not for a 'career'... I didn't know you could for a career back then. So I went to college and sang for my supper, so to speak, to help pay my way.

Me: How old were you when you started singing in public?

Annie: Probably about 12. I'd go along to the Folk sessions my parents were part of and learn the songs so I could sing along, doing harmonies first, then solo's when I got a bit more confidence!

Me: Your music is very country influenced, which is odd to me, as I do not think country music is big in England. Correct me if I am wrong.

Annie: Yea, Country is HUGE in the UK... You gotta remember that Folk and Country have a lot of the same instruments and structures. A lot of the big Country stars do very well in the UK.

Me: You could be the first big breakout country star from England, Annie! Don't forget the Phile if you do. LOL. Keith Urban probably went through the same thing like you, coming from Australia. Is there anybody that you listen to a lot in country music that influences you?

Annie: I really like The Dixie Chicks. The messages in their songs are great. I also like Sara Evans, Miranda Lambert and Martina McBride. And of course, my ultimate, Shania Twain.

Me: I think it's cool you write your own music, Annie. Does song writing come easy for you or hard?

Annie: Sometimes easy, sometimes hard. Im sure any songwriter eill say the same. It depends on what frame of mind your in. Everyone has 'blocks' when you just can't find the words... inspiration can be all around you, but you just cant find the words. When it does flow, with me, it doesn't stop for a while!!! I have one idea which just leads on to others, like a spiderweb; they all go off onto little tangents of their own.

Me: You are working on an album tho be released this year, right? Any idea when it'll be out, and does it have a name yet? Do you have a producer and a band?

Annie: I'm working with a great producer right now in Hollywood and I do have a band. We will be performing in Spring 2010. I'm not sure when the album will be out, and to be honest, I'm not going to put a date on it just yet. That way it will happen organically and I won't feel rushed into putting out a record I'm not 100% happy with just because I have a date set. Each song has to be right, and I won't add any fillers. I want my fans to get a really strong piece of work, and get their money's worth.

Me: You must be excited, is this the first time you recorded?

Annie: No, I've been recording for 10 years. I started off session singing for other producers on tracks to be submitted to other signed artists, and I was doing that in the UK for years, along with writing and recording my own material. I'm quite used to being in the studio for 16 hour stretches. Luckily I'm able to record a song; lead vocals, BV's and harmonies in a couple of takes so my parts don't take up too much time. Its the live instruments, mixing etc etc that takes the time, but I love that process, too... I've learned so much about production along the way, too.

Me: What about a tour? Are you excited about that?

Annie: Yes, definitely. I'll start with a California Tour and take it from there...

Me: You have to come down to Florida to play, Annie.

Annie: I'd love to!

Me: I have to ask you about your boyfriend, actor TJ Ramini who was on "The Bill", a really popular long running TV show. What does he think of your music endeavors?

Annie: He loves it. He's always supported me and loves to hear me sing. He's amazing! One of my biggest fans...

Me: He's in L.A. on the hit show "24". That must be very cool for you both. Have you been on the set with him?

Annie: No, I never go to set when he's on a show really... although I was up for meeting Jack Bauer!!

Me: It's great you both are talented, with singing and acting, Annie. You must really support each other. So, do you think TJ would wanna be interviewed for the Phile?

Annie: I'm sure he would, but beware, he talks more than me!!!

Me: Annie, thanks so much for doing this interview. I think you are going to be be big one day, and like I said, don't forget the Phile. When your album come out, please come back on, okay? Tell TJ I said hello, and go ahead and mention your website and anything else you want. Good luck, and continued success.

Annie: Thank you so much, really enjoyed it. My website is www.anniemcqueen.com and you can see my videos on www.youtube.com/anniemcqueen. Cheers!

That's it for another entry of the Phile. Thanks to Annie for a great interview and to Wikipedia. The Phile will be back next Tuesday with the one and only Roland Rat Superstar. Yep, Roland Rat, ratfans. Spread the word, not the turd. Bye love you bye.