Soundwaves
Ascending country music star Taylor Swift first made waves growing up on her family's Sea Rays
By Randy Hess
Photos By Steven J. Conway

Many people think of waves as moving objects, ridges of water traveling across a sea or lake. But waves are not a flow of water; they are a flow of energy through water. The impact isn't felt by the medium, but rather by whatever that energy crashes against. Sound waves adhere to a similar model, and while the air may reverberate with the energy of music, it is in our ears, our feet and our hearts where a song really packs its wallop. So maybe it's simple physics that explains how Nashville's Swift clan has taken so much energy from boating and music.

"We've grown up on Sea Rays," says 16-year-old Taylor Swift of her and her 13-year-old brother, Austin. "At the age of four, I lived in a lifejacket. We've always been able to establish and maintain a family atmosphere even when we're far from home, and I think all those years going to the shore helped that."

The Swifts loved trips from their Pennsylvania home to Stone Harbor, New Jersey, where they'd max out time on the family's 210 Sundeck. It was all about amping up the family vibe and softening the impact of dad Scott's hectic career as a financial advisor for Merrill Lynch. Years later they've relocated to Tennessee's Old Hickory Lake, and the Swifts still lean on boating to recharge the family batteries. Only now, Taylor has two-stepped onto the country music escalator, and their 420 Sundancer and 220 Sundeck, bought from Chris Cooke at Erwin Marine Sales of Nashville, allow a respite from her go-go schedule, as well.

"It's a lot of work helping Tay pursue a music career, but it's a lot of fun, too," says mom Andrea in the cockpit of their Sundancer Bling, as Taylor works out a chord progression on her Taylor brand guitar lounging on the rear bench. Austin flips through screens on the chartplotter, and Scott steers the boat toward Johnny Cash's house up the lake a couple miles. "If she were pursuing soccer with this much commitment, we'd be behind her the same way," Scott says. Of course, she would have to be a pretty good soccer player for the family to pack up and move for her career.

"Music has always been my game," Taylor explains. "It's my after-school activity. Everyone at school knows it's what I do and they're all really supportive."

The Swifts moved to Hendersonville, a Nashville suburb, when Taylor was 14, about the time she signed an artist development deal with RCA. "Andrea and Taylor had been road-tripping to Nashville a lot for songwriting and recording sessions, and we realized it might make sense to move," Scott says. "When Andrea found a place on Old Hickory Lake, we stopped at the dock on the way up to check out the house. I looked down the cove toward the lake, imagined my Sea Ray tied up there and said, 'I'll take it.' She said, 'Don't you want to see the house first?'"

The Sundancer cruises past a scrubby, mostly submerged island with a rusty steel-drum barbecue standing knee-deep in the water. Austin says it's called "Two Foot," a great place to hang out on the weekends with the barbecue cranking, a volleyball net in the water and teenagers doing the nautical version of that slow drive up and down Main Street. Austin and Taylor clearly have the closeness so common to siblings who grew up on boats together. Austin gladly made the move to support Taylor's dream and has really taken to their new home, playing football at school and building a great clique of friends with whom he can now easily hang on the water. In fact, all four of the Swifts are really happy with the move, well above and beyond what it has meant for Taylor's blossoming career.

And to think it all started with "Grease." Playing love-struck Sandy in a children's theatre production, a 10-year-old Taylor emoted her way through "Hopelessly Devoted To You," causing another parent to lean in and compliment, "you have a great little country singer there." Scott and Andrea weren't too surprised because Taylor had always taken after Andrea's bon vivant mother. "Nanny was always such an influence on me," Taylor says wistfully of her late grandmother. "She sang opera, she had a TV show, lived and performed overseas and was always dressed to impress. She contributed so much to who I am."

Taylor began singing with backing tracks at fairs and festivals and it just started to snowball: opening for acts like the Charlie Daniels Band, singing the national anthem before NBA games and the U.S. Tennis Open, and giving mini concerts at halftimes and special events. Along the way, she learned to play the guitar. When she won a national poetry contest, Taylor realized that she wanted to write songs. One of her first was called "Kid in the Crowd" and was inspired by seeing one of her idols, LeAnn Rimes, another country singer who had an early start. The idea of the song was that for every performer on the stage, there's a kid in the crowd who wants to make it big someday.

"Songwriting has been my favorite part of this whole thing, and I think it's what I'm best at," Taylor says. Apparently a lot of Music Row pros agree. There is a clear undercurrent of strength in many of her songs, with confident narrators who refuse to be victims or with empowering messages to buck up friends in need. Maybe it's the default mindset of a generation of girls for whom Title IX has always been the norm. In any case, listening to her songs is very affirming. "All of my songs have a unique little story behind them. It's fun to document your life that way. Each one reminds me of something specific. It's like having a big quirky photo album."

Scott comes off plane to idle past the late Roy Orbison's spectacular home. Next door is the Cash family's 18-room rambling house, put on sale for $2.9 million in the months after Johnny and June Carter Cash died in 2003. Taylor can't believe nobody has snatched it up and whips out her cell phone to take down the Realtor's number off the sign. She has no illusions of buying it, but wants to try to get a showing just to check out where Johnny wrote and recorded so many classics. Seeing his daughter's wide-eyed interest, Scott winces at the price. "It's worth twice that just for the icon value," Taylor argues. "He was 'The Man in Black!'" They didn't know it then, but the dispute would ultimately be settled by a Bee Gee. Several months later, Barry Gibb would purchase the house after the price was reduced to $2.5 million, saying he hoped for musical inspiration.

After returning Bling to the dock, the Swifts pile into a car to head downtown to the Country Music Hall of Fame. Even after reality had slipped his grasp, Elvis never could have dreamed of the number of famous guitars, Cadillacs and Gold Records that are stuffed into this museum. This, of course, suggests it as the perfect spot for Taylor to sign her actual record deal with Big Machine Records. At the entrance, the Swifts catch up with Scott Borchetta, the label's president. Scott is soft-spoken and stylish, but he's also a demon of a pro circle track racer on the side, having taken the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series championship in the Super Truck division three seasons in a row now. As a music executive, he's equally relentless, and has guided the careers of some of country's biggest stars, including Toby Keith, George Strait, Reba McEntire, Vince Gill, Wynonna, Trisha Yearwood, Shania Twain, Sugarland, Conway Twitty and Lee Ann Womack. "There are so many people in this town excited about Taylor and eager for her new album to come out," he says.

Scott Borchetta and Taylor clearly have a warm relationship and, as the contracts are being sorted out for signing, she bubbles to him about the latest song she's written. He asks to hear it, she grabs her guitar and plays "Tied Together with a Smile" for him as he closes his eyes and listens deep, imagining its hook fleshed out by a band and thinking about where it might fit on Taylor's debut. The first single, perhaps? Looking at the stack of contracts, Taylor says, "It's kind of like a wedding contract." Scott smiles and answers, "No, it's more binding." They sign, pictures are taken, handshakes, kisses, and it's off to the Palm Restaurant for a celebratory dinner before the hard work begins in earnest.

With the energy set in motion, it's a waiting game to see how this wave impacts ears, feet and hearts. As with their Sea Rays before, Taylor's music career has already added so much to the Swift family's lives. Now they're eager to see how far the wave will roll. Later this summer we'll all be able to dip our own feet in the surf.