Kyler England (indie/pop/rock)

North Carolina State University valedictorian Kyler England graduated with two degrees: a self-designed course in world music, philosophy, religion and chemistry, according to her Web site, www.kylerengland.com. Now, as a self-described troubadour, she spends about half of her year traveling and performing her music for people all over the United States.

Born and raised outside Raleigh, N.C., England grew up listening to Joni Mitchell, the Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Jethro Tull and Crosby, Stills and Nash. She recalls the kids in her family begging their dad to play ‘Yellow Submarine’ on his acoustic guitar – the same guitar she learned to play on.

The singer-songwriter now has four albums out. Her first was A Flower Grows in Stone (2003), followed by Live Wire (2005), The Green Room Sessions (2006), and Live Wire Volume 2: The Official Bootlegs (2006). Recently, England teamed up with Gabiel Mann and Adrianne to form The Rescues, a new band based out of Los Angeles.

Catch her at the Maintenance Shop at 9 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets will be $4 for students and $7 for the public, and will increase by $1 on the day of the show.

How did you get your start in the music industry?

I’ve been singing my whole life and started playing guitar and writing songs in high school and performing my songs shortly thereafter. I started pursuing a professional music career by releasing my own records while in college at Berklee College of Music in Boston.

How would you describe your music?

Organic indie/pop/rock with an alt-country twist. Think Patty Griffin meets Sarah McLachlan meets David Gray.

What do you draw inspiration from, or what things have influenced your music?

My songs usually stem from personal experience or from stories that friends tell me about their lives that move me or that I relate to. I start with a little “seed” that I nurture, an idea that I can build a song around, be it a song title, a lyric, a melody, a set of chords that inspire me.

It happens differently every time, there’s no exact science to writing a song for me, I just follow where the music and story leads me. That’s part of the joy of it, discovering the song and rediscovering songwriting every single time.

What has been the highlight of your career?

There have been so many wonderful high points along the way, so it’s hard to name one. Simply getting up every day and being a musician is a total high point. But it can be a low point too, in the hard times; it’s a double-edged sword. If I had to name one, I’d say opening for Sting and Annie Lennox in my hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina, was pretty darn cool.

What’s the coolest thing you’ve been able to do, as a musician?

I’m always thrilled to hear when I’ve inspired other young songwriters, musicians, or artists in their creative endeavors. Music has changed my life at so many turns; to know that my songs have done that for other people is the ultimate reward.

Tell us about The Rescues.

The Rescues is my new band, you can check them out at www.myspace.com/therescues. It’s basically thee singer-songwriters trading lead vocals and singing tons of harmonies.

We write the songs together as well and we have some pretty incredible chemistry. I love working with the other two, Gabriel Mann and Adrianne.

How does the music of The Rescues differ from your solo music?

The Rescues is a little more straight pop-rock than my solo project. As I’ve grown musically in recent years, my North Carolina roots show themselves more and more and I welcome it. So my solo project is becoming a little more alt-country and earthy these days and I get my pop-rock fix with The Rescues.

What’s your favorite song?

I could never pick a single favorite song, but here are a few long-lasting favorites of mine:

“Mary” Patty Griffin

“Marching Bands of Manhattan” Death Cab for Cutie

“Time is a Runaway” The Alternate Routes

“Case of You” Joni Mitchell

“Please Forgive Me” David Gray

“High and Dry” Radiohead

What’s on your iPod right now?

Well, I just preordered the new Death Cab for Cutie CD! It’s not out until April but I got the single in advance. I’ve been listening to a lot of indie friends of mine; Joey Ryan, The Paper Raincoats, The Kin, Gabriel Mann, Adrianne, Trent Dabbs, Kate York. I could go on forever about so many incredible indie artists the world should know about.

What musician or band would you love to play with?

Patty Griffin and David Gray. I want to open for them and then they’d do a show of duets. I’d love to hear them sing together, they both have such incredible and emotive voices.

Do you have any advice for aspiring musicians?

If you know in your heart that it’s the only thing you could ever do and you’re ready to commit everything you have to it, then go for it with wild abandon. There’s no set path so you have to be willing to blaze your own path and get creative on the business side as well as with the music.

It can be overwhelming to look at your heroes and wonder how to get there, so look to other artists who are just a few steps further in their career than you and see how they got there. Dream big, take baby steps.

What’s the next step in your career?

The next step is always to continue writing and making the best music I can. Everything else will follow. The thing most worth chasing in this business is the best song you can write; that elusive perfect pop song! I’m working on my next full length album right now, due out in summer 2008.