Carolina Rain

In the age of the iPod shuffle, the ability to individualize music is the hip story of the minute. Yet despite the growth of other technologies, the radio dial is still where most people discover new music most often. Since so many people hear the same broadcast simultaneously, the medium has a communal effect. That makes it all the more appropriate that “American Radio,” a song that celebrates the airwaves’ ability to impact its listeners on a personal level, is the first single from the sophomore album by Carolina Rain, a country trio for whom community is a basic tenet of existence.

“If one of us is down, the others pull him up,” tenor vocalist and mandolin player Jeremy Baxter observes. “We found out early on that we all had the same goal. There’s never been anyone pulling the cart in a different direction. We’ve always moved forward together. This is a united front.”

“American Radio” demonstrates their unity very well. The harmonies are synched with one-minded precision, the kind of vocal mesh that has marked such significant acts as The Eagles, Restless Heart and Crosby, Stills & Nash. And those names are appropriate given the storyline of “American Radio,” in which the song’s protagonist recounts the artists and songs that have been there for the milestones in his life: Randy Travis, the Rolling Stones, “Purple Rain,” “Gimme Three Steps” and even Barry White.

Buoyed by an ingratiating melody and catchy hook, the single not only demonstrates the connection between radio and the individual listener, but also how well-connected Carolina Rain is to its mass audience. Like the radio itself, the songs and the acts represented by “American Radio” are a universal part of the cultural fabric, much the way that the group’s distinct sound is at once classic and familiar. It’s the sound of a band that reflects the viewpoint of its audience and knows how to communicate the emotions that surround their shared experiences.

Carolina Rain—including Baxter, lead vocalist/guitarist Rhean (pronounced “wren”) Boyer and low harmony singer/banjo player Marvin Evatt—is the culmination of three very different stories. Tennessean Baxter grew up part of a family gospel group, South Carolina’s Evatt was originally trained to be a Broadway performer, and Virginia-bred Boyer was a runaway teen who lived with a biker gang for a while.

The trio became acquainted in Nashville, discovered that its contrasting paths were all connected by the same music and began a journey in 1999 that led it down a challenging road. Carolina Rain netted a management contract within its first few days, and soon caught the attention of songwriter-producer Robert Ellis Orrall (noted for hits with Reba McEntire, Shenandoah and Clay Walker). But that quick reaction disguised the years it would take for their story to unfold. They flirted with success several times—a label showcase bombed when the sound system failed to work, they walked away from a potential record deal when they felt the terms were too stifling—before they finally found a home at the Equity Music Group.

Their debut album, Weather The Storm, introduced their tight vocal sound through three Top 25 singles from the CD. In the wake of their efforts, the band received its first nomination from the Academy of Country Music this year, a nod for Top New Duo or Vocal Group. The “new” part is ironic. Carolina Rain might be new to the general public, but their nine-year history and united perseverance are a big reason for the band’s seamless harmonies. Their friendship is a microcosm of the larger community, one that’s represented well in the Justin Niebank-produced “American Radio.” Their spirit is the same one that radio, in its best moments, embodies—one that brings people together through shared experience.

“When things weren’t going so well,” Evatt recalls, “everybody circled the wagons and stayed friends. One of us would always say, ‘Don’t worry about it. We’ll get it. Hang in there.’ And it all worked out great.”