Minnie Driver reveals which albums influenced her music career on Feedback

You probably know Minnie Driver is an actress. She earned an Oscar nomination as Skylar in Good Will Hunting and is currently starring in ABC’s new show Speechless. But, you may not know that she’s also enjoyed success as a singer-songwriter. She began writing music while in boarding school and then in 2001, she signed with a record company. She wrote most of the songs on her first album, one of which became a hit in the UK. The multitalented Brit joined VOLUME’s morning show Feedback to discuss her music.

Hosts Lori Majewski and Nik Carter asked what album or artist first influenced her to pursue a career as a singer.

“Well, the first record I bought with my own money was Parallel Lines by Blondie and I played it till it was done,” she said.

Driver also listed Neil Young’s Harvest as one of her major influences because she happened to hear it during her first experience with alcohol. She had gone to her first party when she was “around 15” at a house in English countryside. The next morning, she had an experience that transcended music.

“I didn’t know what a hangover was but all I wanted to do was lay on the sofa and not move, which is what I did and someone put Harvest by Neil Young on. I remember, I felt like it was a religious experience,” she said.

Once Driver gave the album a closer listen, she realized that she could recreate the sounds she was hearing.

“I started listening to the chords and I realized I could play them because I had played music,” Driver said. “I sat down and I worked out some of the songs and I suddenly realized that, while it was hard to do well, it wasn’t hard to begin.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Driver talked about a magical musical moment she had at a party where Bono, The Edge and Paul McCartney played an impromptu performance.

She also spoke about the title of her third studio album, Ask Me To Dance (2014).

Feedback airs Weekdays from 7-10 a.m. ET on VOLUME (Ch. 106).

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