India Ramey: FACES of Birmingham

Meet singer-songwriter India Ramey, today’s FACE of Birmingham. She gave up a decade-long career as a lawyer to pursue her music dreams in 2009 and already has two albums under her belt, Junkyard Angel and Blood Crescent Moon. She even garnered a 2012 Independent Music Award nomination for Best Country Song for “Don’t Tell Me (It Was Just the Whiskey).” Some are asking if she may be Birmingham’s next Emmylou Harris.

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Where did you grow up? And what brought you to Birmingham?  

I grew up in Rome, GA, until I was 12 years old, and I came to Birmingham as a dorm student at The Alabama School of Fine Arts. My major was ballet.

Tell us about your job and how you make it work.

I am a full-time musician and part-time Mary Kay independent consultant! I love both of my jobs so much. I was an attorney for 10 years but could not shake my absolute love and compulsion for writing and performing. So I quit my lawyer job a little over three years ago, have put out two albums and never looked back. To keep my sanity and to support my music business, I am an independent Mary Kay consultant. I absolutely love getting to meet with women and teach them about quality, affordable skin care — helping them look their best. I am in my late 30s, and anti-aging products are so important to me. I love sharing my knowledge and these wonderful products with other women.

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If you could have lunch with any woman in the world, who would it be and what would you order?    

Pat Benatar, because she dominated the music scene when it was even more a man’s world than it is now. I’d love to know how she got through the challenges of making it in the music business. I’d order a cheeseburger because I love cheeseburgers.

When you were a teenager, what did your bedroom look like?    

We finally moved into a house when I was in third grade. I got my own room, and my parents went all out and wallpapered it in “dusty rose” and “country blue” flowered wallpaper, and I had a dusty rose canopy bed from Sears. I promptly plastered the room with Duran Duran and Eurythmics posters.  

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What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Be quiet and do your work.

What advice would you give to others?  

Follow your dream no matter what.

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What is your favorite thing to do to relax?  

Beer on a Saturday afternoon with my husband and my buddies.

Favorite thing to do on a Saturday night?  

Go see a band.

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Favorite local restaurant?  

Highlands Bar & Grill

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What are you listening to these days?  

Neko Case’s new album: The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You. It’s a binge at this point.

What books are you reading?  

Game of Thrones: A Feast For Crows by George R.R. Martin

What celebrity’s closet would you most like to have?  

Late ’60s vintage. Preferably backless, to show my tattoo.

Do you have any personality quirks or irrational fears?  

I am terrified of bridges and failure.

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If your house was on fire, what’s the one nonliving thing you’d grab?

My blankie. Yep. You heard me. I still have my baby blanket, and I don’t care who knows. It’s cloth Xanax.

Great shoes, great music and cats

Thanks for sharing, India! To find out more about India and her music visit her website at www.indiaramey.com.

And thanks to Catherine Mayo for today’s fabulous photos. Find out more about Catherine at www.catherinemayo.com.

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