About Tia McGraff
Why country music ?
~ I started writing and recording country music after winning the Canadian Open Country Singing Contest. Never, really traditional country, I always leaned more towards the rootsy/Americana side of the genre. After releasing, 2 CDs here in Canada, I moved to Nashville to pursue my song writing career. There I started writing more main stream country songs.
If everything would be possible (waking the dead included) , which two people should sing the ultimate country duet?
~ Patsy Cline and Roy Orbison
What song you ever recorded means the most to you and why?
~ Conductor For A Day: Tommy and I wrote this song as a gift for my father. He had told me the story about when he was a boy, hanging around the train yard, and dreaming he could drive the train. One day the opportunity came up, and how much it meant to him. We have touched so many hearts with this song, and I have seen grown men cry in the audience listening to the words and story. I feel this song was a gift for us to share!
Who would you like to write a song for you?
~ Dianne Warren
Whisky wine beer or water?
~ margaritas with our good friends in El Paso, Texas, sitting in our favorite steak house, overlooking the West Texas sunset.
What is the one thing that readers/fans would be surprised to know about you?
~ My father’s parents immigrated to Canada from Transylvania.
What is the question interviewers never seem to ask you and…you wish they would? (Please provide your answer as well.)
~ Who inspired you to start singing?
Answer: The first voice I remember hearing, that sounded like an angel, and inspired me to sing, was my Grandma Hofgraff. My paternal grandparents had immigrated to Canada from Transylvania, and my grandma shared stories and songs with us “from the old country.” She used to sing Silent Night in Saxon on Christmas Eve, with all of us gathered around the Christmas Tree, and I knew, I wanted to sing like that. She had sang in her home village, and had the opportunity to pursue a musical career there, but her family needed her on the farm, so she never did. When I moved to Nashville, and she would call me on the phone from home to inspire me, I felt like her unselfish bravery is what paved the way for her grand daughter to do what she had dreamed of doing herself.
Describe the ultimate recording studio (not the technique but the facilities)
~ I love home studios! My ultimate studio would be a combination of digital and analog (24 track reel to reel), a vocal booth overlooking Lake Erie
Johnny or June ?
~ Both! I had the opportunity to meet them on a tv show I was on, and Johnny invited me into June’s dressing room to meet her. They were both the two most loveliest people I’ve met. You can’t separate them. They are Johnny and June.
Tommy and I are so inspired by their light and professionalism, that we will often ask ourselves, “what would Johnny and June do in this situation?”
Are you still nervous before going on stage and if so, do you use any “rituals” to calm you nerves.
~ I still get butterflies before going on stage. Doesn’t matter if it’s an intimate house concert setting, or large festival stage. Butterflies are a good thing. The adrenaline is pumping and I am getting into my zone with the audience. Before going on stage, Tommy and I pray together and I do breathing exercises.
What was the most memorable day in your musical career and tell us why.
~ The day I met my amazing husband, and musical partner, Tommy Parham in Nashville. Tommy changed my life, and we are so blessed to be able to keep on keeping on pursuing our dream and passion together. The music industry is such a tough row to hoe these days, but we have each other to get us through.
