Castlegar may not be the cowboy capital of Canada, we certainly take a back seat to our Albertan neighbours; however, one Castlegar lady hasn't let that stop her from putting out a country album and having a couple of songs picked up by country radio.
"We had the CD release party for It Got Ugly on Nov. 17," said Lisa Nicole, who is from Castlegar but lives in Vancouver now. "We started pushing the first song If You Say You Do to country radio in October. It's on over 31 country stations throughout Canada right now. That's pretty big for a first song."
Lisa recorded most of the album in Nashville, which she enjoyed tremendously. The CD has five songs on it and was produced by famed producer Bill Buckingham.
"Besides producing most of the album there, I also co-wrote all the songs," she said. "Being in Nashville was amazing. When I left I thought, I'm going to be living here one day. I can't wait to go back. The artists I worked with down there are all so talented. It was really cool."
Lisa was born in Grand Forks and grew up in Castlegar. After graduating from Stanley Humphries, she went to music school in Nelson at Selkirk College.
"Then I moved to Vancouver by myself and just started networking," she said. "That's where I met my vocal coach and my producer."
Lisa has been back in the Kootenays several times and performed at different venues. She really enjoys performing at the Concerts in the Park series at Kinnaird in Castlegar.
"I've been playing in Castlegar since I was in high school," she said. "I always love coming home and doing shows at home. Since then, I've gained so many more fans in Castlegar. It's great."
The second single from Lisa's CD, Real Men Stay, is going to be pushed to radio in January. She also recently released a Christmas video for Oh Holy Night.
Nicole has a new website at www.lisanicolemusic.com. Also, be sure to check her out on Facebook and Twitter.
"If anyone wants to message me or add me on Facebook, I love talking to all my fans," she said.