MUEN: HELLO TRACIE! THIS IS VERY EXCITING FOR US TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO INTERVIEW YOU, YOUR DAD WAS A HUGE INFLUENCE FOR ME WITH MY MUSIC BACK IN THE DAY.. HE WAS SUCH AN INCREDIBLE SONGWRITER AND SO UNIQUE IN HIS SONGWRITING STYLE ... I SEE HIS DAUGHTER HAS ALOT OF THOSE SAME TALENTS! IT'S PRETTY EVIDENT IN SONGS SUCH AS "YELLOW BELLY," FOR INSTANCE ..SOMETIMES PEOPLE LIKE A SONG BECAUSE OF WHAT IT MEANS TO THEM, REGARDLESS AS TO WHAT THE SONGWRITER MIGHT HAVE INTENDED... ON THE SONG "YELLOW BELLY," CAN YOU GIVE US A HINT AS TO WHO NEEDS TO LET THEIR HAIR DOWN? AND WHY? AND WAS THE SONG WROTE FROM A REAL LIFE EXPERIENCE, OR ABOUT ANYONE IN PARTICULAR?

TRACIE HUNTER: Yellow Belly (meaning coward) was written from a personal perspective, all of my songs are in one way or another. I wont divulge who the poor sod is I wrote it about, he knows and that's enough but it's basically a bittersweet song about someone never challenging themselves, never moving out of their comfort zone, someone who's afraid of even who they are - so they pretend to be someone else & as such, their life is a lie and they achieve none of the things they desire.

MUEN: AT WHAT TIME IN YOUR LIFE DID YOU DECIDE THAT MUSIC WAS WHAT YOU WANTED TO DO? AND WAS IT YOUR FATHER WHO INSPIRED YOU THE MOST?

TRACIE HUNTER: I always knew I wanted to be involved in music, it began as a desire for poetry, by my teens I was singing everyday, kind of developed from there. Who knows how big an influence on that my father was, considerably I would imagine, but that's another debate. I always find writing a song cathartic, being a writer has helped me manage my life in many ways.

MUEN: WHEN DID YOU FIRST START PERFORMING WITH YOUR DAD, AND HAVE YOU ANY SONGS THAT YOU COLLABORATED ON IN THE WRITING PROCESS? WHAT ALL HAVE YOU RECORDED TOGETHER, ANYTHING? DID YOUR FATHER DO ANYTHING ON THE LAST ALBUM?

TRACIE HUNTER: I have performed Backing Vocals for my father on occasion & usually get up if I am at his shows but other than that we do not collaborate with our music, having said that we did write something together last Christmas, but as yet, he has not helped in my writing or recording process at all..we are from different eras, I guess I do things different from him, having said that..he is without doubt one of the best songwriters the world has today and I'm very proud to be of such great stock!!

MUEN: YOU DID BACKING VOCALS FOR SOME VERY COOL ARTISTS INCLUDING STEVEN TYLER (AEROSMITH).. AND WE ALSO KNOW YOU DID A BENEFIT BACK IN FEBRUARY (FOR THE MIDDLESEX SERVICE AGENCY) HOW DID YOU AND STEVEN FIRST MEET, AND DO YOU STILL DO WORK WITH HIM?

TRACIE HUNTER: I met Steven Tyler a few years back in Boston, he has known my dad for years, they were on the road together alot way back when, I guess because of that, Steven kind of treated me & Jesse (my wee brother) like we were family, he asked me to get up and sing with him and I did, it was amazing and of course..when he asks again, I'll be only too happy!

MUEN: ARE THERE OTHER WELL-KNOWN ARISTS THAT YOU DID BACKING VOCALS FOR, OR THAT YOU MAY HAVE COLLABORATED WITH IN OTHER WAYS?

TRACIE HUNTER: I recently recorded backing for Ginger's (Wildhearts) album, that was a gas and I adore him, I also did Jools Holland a year or two ago, unsure if Stateside that will mean Jack to any of you? I am much more focused on my own material frankly, I'm happy to do some backing..infact I'm coming to New York to do some at Xmas but my focus is on singing my own songs.

MUEN: WHAT ARTISTS WERE YOUR FAVORITE, GROWING UP.. WHAT ARTISTS DID YOU MOST LISTEN TO AND ADMIRE AS A CHILD?

TRACIE HUNTER: The artist I listened to most as a kid was some bloke called Ian Hunter..not a bad soundtrack to a childhood.

MUEN: WHEN AND WHERE WAS YOUR LAST ALBUM RECORDED, AND WHO HELPED YOU CREATE THAT? ALSO, IS IT AVAILABLE IN STORES NOW?

TRACIE HUNTER: My last album was recorded two years ago, it's called Race and is available on I-tunes, my latest release is in the format of two singles, "Yellow Belly" & " Now Im Gone"...plus two bonus tracks, these can be heard on Myspace...damn good if I say so myself.

MUEN: WHAT INSPIRES YOU TO WRITE? AND DO YOU HAVE A LOT OF UNFINISHED MATERIAL?

TRACIE HUNTER: Life inspires me to write, people inspire me to write (not always in a positive way!!) and yes, I have a huge back catalogue of unrecorded songs.

MUEN: ANY TOURS PLANNED? WE HEAR YOU ARE GOING TO BE IN THE STATES SOON?

TRACIE HUNTER: I'm hoping we can come over and tour US soon, we've been over and played New York and Boston several times, and loved it so much, hopefully some wise promoter will read this and know his destiny lies in the Tracie Hunter band!!

MUEN: WHERE DID SOME OF YOUR MOST MEMORABLE LIVE PERFORMANCES TAKE PLACE? AND WHY?

TRACIE HUNTER: Playing Ronnie Scotts in London was great, we used acoustic guitars and the drummer was on brushes, the place was silent the whole night but for the music, no-one spoke, utter respect....so the songs got heard and the story got told and I was happy.

MUEN: WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON CORPORATE RADIO THERE IN THE UK? AND HOW DOES IT DIFFER FROM U.S., AS FAR AS YOU CAN TELL?

TRACIE HUNTER: Corporate radio over here is as it is there and as anything corporate is, sterile, soul-less & greedy, full of pimps & thieves!! I am just glad that the internet & Satellite radio is enabling underground bands to break through, Syrius Radio seems to be doing a great job over there? Those guys have been playing my music for a few years now. I must admit I can't even listen to the big stations here, it's indie saturation at the moment, the bands all sound the same and the business men are cashing in as fast as they can before the kids get bored of it. I sometimes get pretty pissed off about the situation, I have no clue where it's going, but I have to believe that good music will break through...I ain't going anywhere anyway, it's just not a choice.

MUEN: WELL IT'S BEEN A PLEASURE TALKING TO YOU TRACIE, THANKS FOR SHARING YOUR THOUGHTS AND WE WISH YOU THE VERY BEST ON EVERYTHING! AND HOPE TO SEE YOU IN THE STATES SOON!

TRACIE HUNTER: Thanks MUEN for your support & appreciation of real music!!

Interview by G. Cataline