DIXIANNA TRIES TO CATCH A RISING STAR; COUNTRY GROUP TO PERFORM AT RIVERFEST

Cindy Murphy has been singing with a band for as long as she can remember. But it wasn't until she teamed up with the country group Dixiana in 1986 that she found her calling.

"I'm really happy," said the band's lead singer and only female. "I just told the guys the other day it feels like we're on vacation."

Dixiana will perform during Riverfest in Cape Girardeau June 12 at 9 p.m. on the main stage. It's the band's first performance in Missouri, Murphy said.

In a telephone interview from her home in Greenville, S.C., Murphy said she's been singing since she was 13, getting her start in her father's bluegrass group, "The Wooden Nickel Band."

But she doesn't regret her decision to join Dixiana, whose first, self-titled album was released April 21 by Epic/Nashville Records.

The band includes Murphy, Mark Lister on bass and vocals, Phil Lister on guitar, mandolin, fiddle, banjo and vocals, Randall Griffith on keyboards and Colonel Shuford on drums.

Murphy said that while she was singing with her father, "I had never really considered joining another band. I thought if I made the break from Dad's band I'd just go solo and try to make it."

But in 1986 she was asked to fill in for the lead singer of Dixiana for a performance on television's "Nashville Now."

When the former lead singer decided not to come back, Murphy was offered the spot.

"Mark and Phil and I had been singing for years at the same concerts and were always coming in contact with each other.

"When they asked me to stay with them permanently, I had a lot to consider. They knew I was close to my dad and all, but my daddy also knew I wanted to build my own career.

"I really just wanted to see how far I could go. All the guys were really focused, and the band was a combination of everything positive. It was the right thing to do."

The group's first goal was to obtain a recording contract, which they did in 1990. The result of that was their first album.

The first single, "Waitin' For The Deal To Go Down" has received national air play on country stations, and the video has been featured on Country Music Television, where it reached the top ten.

The second single, released this week, is "That's What I'm Working on Tonight."

Murphy said the recent heightened interest in country music, thanks to cross-over singers like Garth Brooks, has helped Dixiana increase its audience. Making videos didn't hurt either, she said.

"It's such a popular time right now for country music and that definitely works to our advantage," she said.

For a group that's just starting to make its mark, videos help people become familiar with the band and feel closer to its members, she said.

"It helps when they go to buy your record," she said. "Maybe they like the song but don't remember your name. But they can remember the face. It helps us have a relationship with our fans and audience."

Before the group got their record deal, two of the members, brothers Phil and Mark Lister, went to Nashville to try their luck at songwriting for other artists.

They still live in Nashville, although the band is based in South Carolina. The Lister brothers also handle a lot of the songwriting for Dixiana.

"I think we have some great material, great songs," Murphy said.

She said she'd like to see the first single from the album hit number one on the charts. But she's happy with the success the band has had so far.

"It's really better than I imagined," she said. "We're having a lot of fun, and when we're up on stage it definitely doesn't feel like work.

"When we started out, all we wanted was a recording contract. Since we've gotten that, the rest is just gravy."