Thursday, July 29, 2004 | 8:05 a.m.
It isn't every day that an unsigned 17-year-old vocalist secures a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member as an opening act. Then again, McKenna Medley isn't your average teenager.
The last time Medley headlined the Suncoast, her show opened with a short performance by Righteous Brother Bill Medley, who also happens to be her dad. "It's pretty fun when he does that," Medley said. "The audience is definitely really into it at that point, so it's a nice feeling going on after him." Medley returns to the Suncoast Showroom this weekend, for 7:30 p.m. performances Saturday and Sunday.
In a phone interview from her family's home in Newport Beach, Calif., on Monday, Medley said she wasn't sure if her famous father would participate this time. "If he's doing it, I'll probably know that night, maybe five minutes before the show," Medley said. "That's normally how it works with us, last minute."
Medley has already proven she doesn't need her father's involvement to pack houses. Both nights have already sold out the 500-seat venue.
"That's a very good feeling, to know that (my success) is not just because of him," she said.
The budding vocalist concedes that her last name can open certain doors for her, but also points out that it can have a downside.
"There are definitely perks. It can help you," Medley said. "But there are also a lot of things that are hard to overcome. They're expecting me to be perfect, which was a hard thing for me to get over at first.
"Obviously, I'm not my dad. So I just hope that they like what I'm doing and can appreciate that."
Though she's young, Medley has spent most of her lifetime on or near a stage. Her first appearance in front of an audience predates her own memories.
"When I was 1 or 2 my dad was on the 'Dirty Dancing' tour and they say he'd bring me onstage to say hi," Medley said. "I could barely walk, and they put me in a little tuxedo and threw me out there."
Medley first duetted with her father in concert at age 6, and it wasn't long before she resolved to have her own career in music.
"I've always known this is what I was going to do," she said. "This is what I love to do."
Medley began opening for her father at age 11, then spent part of her high school years in a doo-wop group, performing in and around Orange County.
For the past several years, she has made headlining appearances in Southern Nevada, where her family owns a second home.
"(Las Vegas) has pretty much been my home away from home," Medley said. "I go out there all the time to hang out. So it's a totally relaxed environment for me."
Medley's show includes oldies, contemporary R&B and pop numbers, and originals.
Crowds won't hear the singer cover any Righteous Brothers tunes, however.
"I figure they'd rather hear my dad sing it than me," she said with a laugh. "My dad has too low of a voice for me. It wouldn't sound quite the same."
But Medley admits she did swipe one song from her father's set list.
"I stole one of the songs from his show, the Ray Charles' song 'You Don't Know Me', " Medley said. "I love that one."
Much as she enjoys performing covers, though, Medley is focused primarily on writing her own music these days.
Medley is in the process of preparing a new demo consisting entirely of self-penned material.
"That's really important to me, because I love to write and I write constantly," she said. "You have to find your own sound."
And Medley relishes the emotions that come with singing her own compositions.
"When you sing songs that you wrote, there's a whole other feeling about it," she said. "You remember why you wrote that and what happened to make you write that. It's a really cool experience when you get to do that."
Medley said she isn't in a rush to sign with a record label, especially if it means getting thrown into a category with some of her young female contemporaries.
"It scares me a bit because I don't want to be put into a package," Medley said. "I love Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. They're so much fun to watch. But that's not really my thing. I don't really dance at all, so that's not going to work out for me (laughs)."
Medley sees herself more along the lines of a Liz Phair or an Alanis Morissette.
"I really want to be a singer-songwriter, that vibe," Medley said. "I'm more of an R&B, rock-type singer."
After spending two years at a performing arts school, Medley finished as a home-schooled student, graduating last September. She is currently enrolled in classes at a Southern California junior college.
Last November her family's life took an unexpected turn when her father's longtime Righteous Brothers partner, Bobby Hatfield, died at age 63.
McKenna said it was akin to losing a member of her family.
"You know in your family you always have the cool relative?" she said. "He was my cool uncle, the guy you could just go and talk and laugh with.
"I miss him so much. When he passed away it was so devastating for me and obviously for my dad and for the rest of our family and for the Hatfield family, which I'm really close with."
Bill Medley continues to perform Righteous Brothers classics such as "Unchained Melody" and "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" in a show that pays tribute to Hatfield.
Although she has performed with her father many times over the years, Medley said the two have not discussed considered pairing for a Righteous Brothers-style show since Hatfield's death.
"He definitely wants to do it by himself, because there's no one that can really replace Bobby," she said. "I know that, and I wouldn't want to be the one to try."
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