if someone fires a nail gun while she records , it ’ ll be in the next four minutes of the song on a loop .
Later in the show , she cracks wise with the construction workers , asking them to hammer in time with the music , which they cheerfully agree to attempt .
That ’ s the best representation of Hinkle . She ’ s easy-going , an old friend from the moment you meet her and the type to give hugs at the end of a conversation . She takes things step by step , apparently impervious to anything life might throw her way , even construction workers .
Hinkle , 28 , is a veteran musician of more than 10 years , who has toured the Southeast and opened for major acts like Sugarland , Sarah Bettens of K ’ s Choice , Shawn Mullins and Lady Antebellum , among others . Even though her fingers are only degrees from snapping off against the cold , metal strings of an acoustic guitar , she plays and sings like it ’ s a sunny day on the back porch . She ’ s a pro like that .
She sings :
I ’ ve got pots in the bedroom I may not catch the sun or the moon But at least I know how to catch the rain
“ You pretty much control whether or not you ’ re happy ,” she says , reflecting on the positivity of her newest material . Hinkle seems to take life in stride .
An example : normally she uses a her loop pedal to build a backing band around herself while she plays . It works by recording short passages with her guitar and looping them over and over . She ’ ll start tapping on her acoustic guitar like a bongo drum , and as that recorded percussion repeats , she adds a bass line , which also loops back . She stacks more and more elements until she has a virtual backing band , filling in the spots of three or four other musicians , and when she starts playing and singing , it ’ s like a full lineup .
“ I love producing songs live in front of people ,” she says , because it ’ s usually a spectacle in itself for the audience .
But today , she ’ s had to leave her backup band in its case : not 20 feet away from where she ’ s playing there ’ s hammering , sawing and shouting at a store being remodeled . As she explains the missing trademark tool , she jokes that
Her manager , Lindsay Freeman , has total faith in her artist , to the point where she ’ s turned down requests for representation from other area musicians to focus solely on Hinkle ’ s career .
“ I want to solely focus on doing what I have to do for everyone to see what I see in her ,” says Freeman . “ She is one of the most talented people I ’ ve ever known , and everyone needs to experience what she has to offer .”
She ’ s right , too ; Hinkle doesn ’ t need the loop pedal to get the point across . The songs aren ’ t carried by gadgets , but by her incredible voice , sometimes low and devious , other times roared like a lion , as in her cover of Tracy Chapman ’ s Give Me One Reason . There ’ s a sense of demand and intensity that can ’ t be ignored , not because it ’ s overpowering , but because it ’ s awe-inspiring . The lady can , and does not hesitate , to let her voice express more than just the words .
“ She came in during an open mic night and literally blew us away ,” says longtime fan , Paige Baker-Burton , of the first time she saw Hinkle play , back when Baker-Burton worked as a waitress at Struts in college . “ Hearing her on a recording is good . Hearing her live is absolutely mesmerizing .”
Hinkle started singing around the same time she started talking , following along with jingles on television . Her parents introduced her to the piano , violin and even the saxophone , but she didn ’ t find love until she came across a Fender Stratocaster sitting in a Gadsden music shop .
“ I ’ ll never forget my mom saying , ‘ You ’ ll never play rock and roll music on that guitar , just gospel , Christian and country ,’ and that just did not last at all ,” Hinkle says , laughing . She took the money she ’ d saved for a car , the dream of any junior high kid , and bought the guitar and the free month of lessons that came with it , the only formal training she ’ s ever had .
INSIGHT
April 2013 7