With The Release Of Her New CD, Tearing Down The Walls, 'Rugrat' E.G. Daily sings life without limits

Here is one of the most versatile voices in entertainment; a veritable golden voice of film, TV and music. Among her many credits, E.G. Daily delights kids as the voice of "Rugrats" character 'Tommy Pickles' in the wildly popular animated series and movie, and has charmed millions as the voice of the title role in Babe: Pig in the City. She's co-starred in Pee Wee's Big Adventure and Valley Girl, and intrigued viewers in guest-starring turn in one of the most popular episodes of "Friends" as Phoebe's ex-songwriting partner. She also appeals to a decidedly more sophisticated audience as a pop singer-songwriter, and has won fans from the outset with an album catalogue that includes Wild Child (and its No. 1 Billboard dance hit, "Say It, Say It") and Lace Around The Wound. Soundtrack contributions include Scarface, The Breakfast Club and several others.

If honey were a sound, it would be Daily's voice, rich and rare on her new release, Tearing Down The Walls in which she does just that. Obviously not one to wait for things to happen (as her 33-title filmography attests), the vocalist/actress/voice over artist opted to put out her third album independently, free from the constraints of and obligations to a record company.

"I didn't want to wait," Daily explains of her decision to back her own release. "I had the record I wanted to make and I knew how I wanted to make it. I knew the kind of person I wanted to co-produce it with me so I put together all the people I needed. One thing led to the next and I made this record."

As her own boss and the head of her own label, Tommy T. Records (a nod to "Tommy Pickles" and her second daughter, Tyson), she's marketing, promoting and distributing the album through alternative means, including her own website, www.egdaily.com as well as www.amazon.com and www.CDnow.com though it's available in record stores, too. As a performer, she's alwa ys toured extensively behind her recordings and will do the same for Tearing Down The Walls, with dates already lining up, including Lilith Fair July 18 in Phoenix where she'll finesse her set with her own acoustic guitar and harmonica accompaniments.

Rather than wait for a record company to snap her up with an album in place and put the finishing touches on the project for her (as is often the case), Daily, against the recommendation of close advisors, completed the creative cycle herself.

"I wanted to finish my painting," she says metaphorically. "From the beginning to the end I wanted to know it was completed the way I wanted it to be; 100 percent my artistic concept." Daily even became well-versed in bar codes and packaging methods, locating the right sources for the right answers and becoming technically adept at all aspects of her entrepreneurial endeavor.

"It's like you're playing your own game," she says. "And you know what? It's fun. It's worth an investment in my own record. I believe in the record so who better to invest my money in? It's like buying good stock. If I decide to go public, people already want to buy my stock. I definitely have a solid commitment to my work and people feel that."

Produced with Grammy-winner Brad Gilderman and Harvey Mason Jr., Daily wrote or co-wrote 9 of the 10 tracks on Tearing Down The Walls, lacing compelling ballads and up-tempo dance tunes with her own piano, guitar and harmonica accompaniments.

Armed with a wealth of material which had already received resounding fan approval during two years of concert dates, the songstress says the recording process, completed in less than three weeks, was "joyful, miraculous, easy and completely flowing."

"Some of these songs I wrote a long time ago," Daily explains. "I kept pulling them back into my live set because I knew they were strong and I believe strong songs survive. I kept reworking them because I just love them. For this album, I put together the songs I love the most."

And she's not the only one who's smitten. Word travels fast and already she's received international e-commerce orders for Tearing Down The Walls from across the glove. Early listener raves are naming it their 'desert island disc' - the ultimate acclaim for any artist, considering the significance and big-picture ramifications of the hypothetical query.

"And that's exactly the kind of record I wanted to make, rather than one with two or three good tracks and rest filler. My game plan was to include all songs that I wanted to listen to because I know I like what other people like; pretty, emotional songs that you can listen to over and over and they aren't annoying."

Forging an emotional bond with her audience is what has sustained Daily's multi-faceted career, and while it's easy to think she's a real-life Barbie doll with a charmed existence, she's the first to admit that "Keep It Together," the first single from Tearing Down The Walls, tells a different story.

"I was frustrated at the time. I was asking, 'Why aren't I here by now? Why aren't I married by now? Why don't I have children yet? When is my career going to be what I really want it to be? I was living by the glass, on a strict time line, until I realized that it wasn't going to be until I was really O.K. with right where I was that miraculous things happened for me in my life. The song is about taking the time out to and realizing I'm right where I'm supposed to be and in that moment is when all the great things happen."

For Daily, whether it's in her starring role in the upcoming indie flick, Bob's Video from Oscar-winning Lorenzo's Oil director Dino Andrade, her ninth season on "Rugrats", or as the brains, beauty and muscle behind Tearing Down The Walls, that moment is now.