What can you tell me about singer Blaine Larsen? I love his song In My High School.
—Regina W., Kentucky
Larsen, a recent high school graduate who grew up at the base of Mount Ranier in Buckley, Wash. (pop. 4,145), started singing at age 10 and writing songs at 14. Two years later, the record company executive who signed the Dixie Chicks offered him a contract. His debut album, In My High School, was released in June, and critics were quick to praise his maturity. Larsen’s advice to budding songwriters? “Be original. Write a song you haven’t heard before and write about something you have experience with. It makes a better song if you have lived it.”