Wendy V's Nashville Blend

Busy music weekend in Kingston Springs 8/6-7/10

2010-08-08T13:07:00.005-05:00

The Kingston Springs music scene continues to be hopping big time. In one Friday night, we saw three great gigs happening steps away from each other. You had the debut solo gig by promising singer/songwriter Cat Carter at Studio Mills, Calico Trail packing them in as usual in two sets at Red Tree Coffee during their standing first Friday of the month gig there, and the always smoking hot Good Gravy at the Fillin' Station. Had I gotten the timing right, I would have taken in all three (and some people were able to pull that off). But like MeatLoaf says, two out of three ain't bad. I'm still looking for a way to be several places at once...

The next evening, Saturday, was one happening gig at the Fillin Station. The buzz was out on a newly formed musical combination (temporarily named "Duo of Duos") consisting of singer/songwriter duo Mark Elliott and Gary Culley, and the McCarter Sisters, Teresa and Lisa, backed by Chip Chipoletti on percussion and Good Gravy's Tom Good on bass. Fortunately, it was not quite as blazing hot as the last time the group played there, making it a bit more comfortable for the capacity crowd that showed up (and, hopefully, the artists).

The McCarter twins worked very hard to learn a sizable repetoire in a short time, consisting of popular favorites and Mark and Gary's original tunes. The harmonies were tight and strong,as polished as if they all had been together for months. The four are excited about working with each other, and have more gigs planned in the coming weeks.

By the way, this isn't all that's going on musically in the downtown Kingston Springs area. Bobby Pizazz hosts a new songwriter night on Tuesday evenings at the Village Corner Pub and I'll be reporting on one of those in a couple of weeks.

Michael Jay Cresswell and Friends, Fillin' Station, Kingston Springs, 6/27/10

2010-06-28T19:34:00.004-05:00

Our fellow Radio Free Nashville DJ and friend Steve Haggard asked T.J. Kirby and me if we could have on our show for a brief guest segment an artist who just released a CD on his label Wild Oats Records. Michael Jay Cresswell was in the U.S. from his home in France visiting Nashville for a month. The interview went well and Michael was one charming guy with an excellent CD and a great British accent.

Two CD release shows were set up in town at the tail end of Michael’s visit, and we were happy to have a chance to attend one of those at the Fillin’ Station. The band put together for the shows was an “all star” lineup from the Wild Oats circle and did a fine opening set before Michael came on. It’s always good to hear these folks play together: Steve Haggard on guitar, harmonica and vocals, Kimberly King on vocals, Joel Alan Lehman on guitar and vocals, Walter Egan on bass and vocals and Kathy Burkly on drums. Michael’s set consisted of most of the songs from his "It’s Time" CD and it was an impressive one, with Michael showing a strong, powerful voice, great stage presence and personality (he was having quite a bit of fun with many of the audience members).

Michael’s got a great product with this CD and I think he’ll do well. I must say I’ll miss him and his precious sweetie Tracey, as we all bonded in such a short time. Knock ‘em dead, mate, but c’mon back Stateside again soon.

Hirum Hickum Project, Red Tree Coffee, 6/25/10

2010-06-25T21:05:00.008-05:00

On a hot night like this, it’s tempting to stay home chillin’ in your air-conditioned home instead of going out. But my instincts were urging me to go out as I planned. I’ve had enough near misses to start paying better attention to my instincts, so I did venture out. This time, I am mighty glad I did.

When I walked into Red Tree Coffee, I found a new group made up of several familiar faces: Louise Mosrie (vocals/guitar), Greg Foresman(guitar/mandolin/dobro/vocals), Julie Grower (percussion/guitar/vocals), Bruce-Jon Brigham (guitar/vocals), and Steve Peffer (keyboards/accordion/strings/vocals). This was the “dress rehearsal” debut for the Hirum Hickum Project. This group of friends have been playing together informally for some time (and in fact, this night was not the first time I’ve seen four of the five play together...Louise, Greg, Julie and Bruce-Jon played a memorable Bluebird Café round in March of 2009). They decided to form a group, and already have a four song EP available. A few songs into their set, I knew I was indeed hearing a “supergroup”. Hirum Hickum shined on the three newer songs from the EP, and the Greg Foresman favorite “Strike Up the Band”. Louise also did a popular song from her “Home” CD, “God Lives In Arkansas”, and the group closed their set with a fine cover of “Bellbottom Blues”.

I’ve said this before...it’s a great feeling to discover new acts and really get excited about them, and to anticipate what’s to come. The Hirum Hickum Project is off to a great start. They’ve got a memorable name and a memorable sound. Can’t wait to hear more.

Back On The Beat...

2010-06-18T17:57:00.005-05:00

If anyone had been wondering, no, I haven't quit writing this blog or haven't stopped caring about the local songwriter scene. I just haven't had as much time as in the past to devote to it. Other things have been taking up my time. Since March I've had an extended stretch of temp work which puts me back on the day shift...which also means I can't stay out too late at shows (well, maybe once in a while) because I have to get up early. My sidekick gig on T.J. and Company also demands a chunk of time, because I am also the show blogger and the tech person. A lot of work goes into planning our fun two-hour show. If you haven't yet listened, I hope you will. Finally, I had this three week virus bug which took up residence in my throat (instead of my nose, where these things usually hit),causing violent coughing spasms which fired up big time as soon at nighttime hit. Not an ideal scenario for listening to live music. The remnants are still with me at this point, but thankfully it's much more under control.

OK, enough excuses. Not that I've exactly been a hermit. Admittedly I spend most of my weekends in my "adopted home area" of Pegram/Kingston Springs supporting acts playing at Red Tree Coffee and The Fillin' Station, like Good Gravy, Mohawk Slim Band, Culley and Elliott and a host of others. But I've not abandoned my other regular haunts like the Commodore, where I've been at least a couple of times these past weeks, or Doak Turner's 3rd Sunday gathering. Also, my radio partner T.J. Kirby and I hosted a stage at the Nashville Songwriters Festival, where we were gifted with several songwriters' CDs you'll be hearing a track or two from over the coming weeks. And I do plan to check out many other writers nights and places, but there's always the happy Nashville problem to contend with: too many hot things happening in the same night. What to do, what to do? Can someone please split me in two?

Many events I've been to over the past two weeks have been flood relief benefits. Red Tree and the Fillin' Station each had one which raised a good chunk of money, with music by many first-class special musical guests. Debi Champion also hosted a great one full of hit writers at the Commodore Grill...it raised over $1,000 by the early hours of the evening. Then there was "Rebuilding Our Community" at the Mud Puddle Pottery/Harpeth Art Center, benefiting South Cheatham County flood victims and featuring good eats and fine music by hit songwriters Wood Newton and Ron Hellard, guitarist Verlon Thompson and Culley and Elliott backed by Braided Chord. The local communities continue to pull together and support one another, and the music more than lifts the spirits.

There's one thing I've been very grateful for. Despite my absences and my slacking off from this blog, I am still thankful to be able to walk into places I've mentioned above and still get a round of hugs from writers and artists. Thanks for hanging in with me and not forgetting me. I have not forgotten you and intend to stick with you. Because you know, I do love this town.

After the Flood...

2010-05-08T12:59:00.003-05:00

Friday, one week before. We were all jammed into Red Tree Coffee in Kingston Springs at a benefit for musician Jack Kapanka, seriously injured in an auto accident. Kids were stopping by on their way to the prom and we all cheered as they walked in displaying their finery. Several musicians took their turns sharing songs and, as often happens there at Red Tree, the spirit was a special bonding between artists and audience.

Who knew...

Saturday morning. The rain came pouring down. Not being a big fan of driving in rain so hard I can't see well, I nonetheless steeled myself to make my way to my radio show on Radio Free Nashville that afternoon via Old Harding Road to Highway 100. It was getting pretty wet then, I observed. By the time I was on my way to join T.J. and Rene for an after-show bite at Borders, a stretch of Old Harding Road was completely flooded and I had to reroute back to Temple Road and Highway 100.

Who knew...that 24 hours later the road I traveled and the cities of Kingston Springs and Pegram that I'd become so fond of would become the sites of many rescues by boat of people from their flooded homes and unbelieveable devastation. I soon knew how lucky I was...to be able to have gotten back and forth to my destinations on Saturday and that my Bellevue subdivision would be spared the damage of the flood waters.

I tell this story here because it is in these times that music speaks and brings us together. Telethons and benefit concerts and tip jars abound to raise money for flood relief. And indeed, one of the very sites of the calm before the storm, Red Tree Coffee, is a command post for volunteers and was a place of healing last night with the music of the beloved Calico Trail...as always, closing the distance between artist and audience, bringing us all together.

We are Nashville...and Kingston Springs, and Pegram and all the other hard hit places. We'll make it through this together.

Judy Whiting: A Personal Reflection

2010-03-15T17:10:00.010-05:00

This is one piece I didn't want to have to write. Not because I didn't want to share some thoughts about a friend. The problem is that sadly, we lost this friend today...those of us who shared her determined optimism that she would make it through this setback were very shocked and saddened.

I first met Judy Whiting virtually, on the Nashville Music Pros networking site, where I learned we had much in common. I met her personally for the first time at the Radio Free Nashville studios. She had accompanied John Heinrich, who was being interviewed by George Adams on "Geo On The Radio", the show that preceded mine at the station at the time. I will always remember when she came out of the studio, hugged me and said, "You're just as pretty as your picture!"

Judy became a friend and encourager to me, as she was to many musicians in Music City. Of course, Nashville at times can seem like one big "small town". At John Heinrich's steel guitar demonstration at the Country Music Hall of Fame, through Judy I met singer/songwriter Garry Jackson, who it turned out had a couple of other friends on Radio Free Nashville who I hadn't yet met at that time. Garry, Steve Haggard and Kimberly King have since become very dear friends to me. We're all connected. Judy was a great connector.

Judy and I shared a couple of fun lunch dates together. Besides a little bit of "girl talk" here and there, the one topic that consistently came up with us--and which we were both in strong agreement on--was when it came to dealing with musicians in the course of the business, the relationships and friendships were much more valuable and important than all the musical politics.

I'm comforted by my pastor's reminder this Sunday to us that "to be absent in the body is to be present with the Lord."

Go rest high, girl. As you always told us, keep the sunshine in your heart.

Recent Roundup

2010-02-16T08:17:00.004-06:00

Where have I been? Well, the truth is, winter and I don't get along very well. When I lived in St. Paul and Minneapolis, MN I pretty much hibernated between November and April. There, the winters average about five months. For my first couple of years here in Nashville, winter was, for the most part, just time on the calendar. Snow? If there was a sprinkling of it, it was a big deal. But now, this year's snow frequency and temperatures is almost giving the Twin Cities a run for its money (well, okay, no, so we haven't had the below zero wind chills). Like it did in the Twin Cities, it's gotten old. My snow driving rule has been in effect: ice or snow, the car don't go. (Perhaps the only advantage to being unemployed...I'm not forced to risk my life and my little old car to dangerous driving conditions).

Where I'm going with all the above is to make the point that this year's winter has not been conducive to me doing much of what I came here for and keeping up this blog of late. However, I did venture out now and then.

It had been a while since I'd been to Tunesmithing, regularly hosted each month by Chuck Whiting, out at Edgehill Studios Cafe. February's edition had a very strong lineup. There were some excellent songs and vocal performances by Gary Gulbergh (backed vocally by wife Susan Shann) and Melissa Javors. My friend Randi Perkins did one of his finest sets ever, with his warmth and honest stories, songs and vocals charming the crowd. Closing the evening was noted singer/songwriter/author Lisa Aschmann. I could have listened to her sing all evening. I've been blown away by her acapella singing in past gigs, but this time backed with guitar and percussion, she was just as impressive.

I also got out to see for the first (and sadly, maybe the last) time the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum. It was quite a wonderful display of artifacts and memories paying tribute to some of the unsung heroes of the music we love: the session musicians and writers. The biggest highlight for me was the screening of the film about "The Wrecking Crew". There was so much history there, filled with music and interviews with hit making artists and the people who made them sound great. It was hard for me to pull myself away from the screen, but I didn't want to miss the ceremony honoring the 2007 Hall inductees. I'd hoped to have been able to buy a DVD of the film (and resolved to do so if I could have, job or no job!)...but unfortunately, one wasn't available (you can go to the film website to help make that happen).

It was a thrill for me to see some of the noted honorees, such as Harold Bradley, Pig Robbins and many others. It was also great to see so many singer/songwriter friends of mine there (and to meet those for the first time who happened to recognize me!). I'd missed a lot of the networking and camaraderie being so danged cooped up.

I also got back out to Red Tree Coffee in Kingston Springs--hadn't been there since before the first of the year. The house was packed for the increasingly red-hot Calico Trail. Their songs, vocal harmonies and performing skills are first rate. They are currently recording their first CD. Watch these guys...they're going to do something big in town.

Spring is coming...right?

Good Gravy, Fillin' Station, Kingston Springs, TN 1/16/2010

2010-01-17T19:02:00.010-06:00

It was a dark and stormy night...rainy, a little hard to see on the roads. My friends told me to stay home. But look, when you really like an act and want to hear them play, what's a little rain, anyhow?

I'd already been a fan of one of the two husband and wife duos who make up the group Good Gravy. "Cool" Ray (guitar, vocals) and Ariel DeSilvis (vocals, percussion) also perform around the area as Those Two. After hearing Ariel's awesome power vocals and great songs, I was sold from the get go (and she's my hero also since I'm an aspiring percussion player who's only gotten as far as playing rhythm egg). The other half of the group is bass player Tom Good and Susan Julian, yet another amazing and powerful singer and one mighty keyboard player. Along with their original songs, whenever this combo takes on just about any cover song they choose to handle, they put their smooth jazz/blues/pop/R & B/rockabilly stamp on it and knock it out of the ballpark. Add in Fillin' Station owner and former War harmonica player Patrick Weickenand sitting in wailin' on the harp for a number or two and you've got icing on the cake.

In my opinion, Ariel and Susan are two of the best female vocalists I've heard in this town. How cool is it to have two equally top-flight singers in one band? A couple of other folks who were there that evening were so impressed with Good Gravy that they pledged to bring a crowd with them at the group's next Fillin' Station gig on the 30th. Some of the group members can also be heard at the weekly Thursday night blues jam at the Fillin' Station.

Me, I'd call it awesome gravy. Taste and hear for yourself.

Musical Christmas Cheer

2009-12-19T10:49:00.009-06:00

For me, the best Christmas spirit isn't found in what advertisers and media tell you about how you are supposed to spend your Christmas. It's about what's real, genuine and fun. Two events I went to this week were perfect examples.

WRFN's T.J. Kirby introducing Les Kerr and the Bayou Band

Les Kerr and the Bayou Band Christmas show, 3rd and Lindsley, 12/17/09

It was Christmas on the Bayou with Les Kerr and the Bayou Band. This annual show took a break for a couple of years but returned to its 3rd and Lindsley home this year. Lots of original and well-known tunes served up New Orleans style. Yes of course, those trademark references to food that Les loves so much were mixed in seasonal and non-seasonal songs("Christmas Gumbo", "Camellia Grill"). There were fun songs and touching ones as well, such as a fine cover of John Hartford's "On Christmas Eve", about spending Christmas on a boat on the Mississippi. Les and Caroline Stoker (daughter of bandmate Brent Stoker) did a sweet recitation of "Yes, There Is A Santa Claus".

There was great musicianship throughout the night, with a couple of special band member spotlights. Multi-talent Bryan Cumming celebrated getting a song that he co-wrote played on a soap opera earlier that day. Harmonica player Everett Brown amused folks with his spot-on song about writers nights. Brent Stoker soloed with an Elvis tune...his father Gordon's group the Jordanaires (who also appear on Les' "Christmas on the Coast" CD) are well known for being Elvis' long-time backup vocal group.

Another highlight was the reunion of the "Bayou Babes Chorale" on Robert Earl Keen's "Happy Holidays, Y'all" and the very fun "Meet Me With Your Black Drawers On".

Besides being a great entertainer, Les is one of the true nice guys in town. He is just what you see on stage...warm, genuine, appreciative and a great encourager of others. That's the sort of spirit we need all year long.

Red Tree Coffee Community Christmas Party, 12/18/09

One of the greatest gifts to the Kingston Springs community (and those of us who live within commuting distance) is without a doubt Red Tree Coffee. It was a packed house of love Friday night for the community Christmas party. The offerings included free sweets (the oatmeal raisin cookies were to die for and I overindulged!) and of course, great music. There were guest appearances by several of the regular Red Tree musicians: Those Two, Casey Campbell, E.G. Smith, and Linda McRae each shared a couple of Christmas tunes (and who cared if they didn't know all the chords or the lyrics...we loved them anyway!), along with Chelsea Bills, a singer from Paragould, Arkansas we first heard impressing the crowd at Jon Conley's birthday bash this summer.

We also heard from the Red Tree musical family, with Jon Conley starting off the night and accompanying most everyone (including toddler Polly with a couple of renditions of "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" once she got going!). Savannah, Katie and Amy led us all in carols. It was a very sweet moment of warmth and heartfelt emotion from and to the folks who make this little coffeehouse so special.

I couldn't end the night without stopping next door to the Fillin' Station and wishing Merry Christmas to my newer musical friends the Mohawk Slim Band. Mark Willoughby's drum set was decked out in Christmas lights for the occasion and the guys played some smokin' blues as always (with some amazing harmonica licks from Patrick Weickenand...hadn't heard him in quite a while).

You know what, it's been a rough year. But nights like the last two left me filled with a little more hope and optimism that things will be better...at least for now.

I'm taking the rest of the year off. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Danny Ellis, House Concert, Nashville, 11/8/09

2009-11-09T13:37:00.007-06:00

When Laurie McClain was a guest on my radio show "Never Too Old" back in September, she was raving about an artist she had met named Danny Ellis. She brought his CD "800 Voices" with her to our interview and asked me if I'd play something off the album. I did and was quite impressed. So, when she invited me to a house concert she was hosting for Danny, I was happy to accept.

Dublin-born Danny Ellis held a group of about 25-30 of us in Laurie's living room totally enthralled with his stories and songs from the "800 Voices" CD about his life in the Irish orphanage Artane Industrial School, run by the Irish Christian Brothers. Due to his parents' divorce and his mother's illness, Danny, his twin brothers and sisters were placed in orphanages. Danny was placed in the Artane School at age eight. As one of 800 boys at the school ranging from ages 8-16, he had to learn to adjust to life in an institution with an infamous reputation. Yet, it was here that he discovered his love for music. He told stories and weaved in songs of how it got him through his time at Artane, listening to it sung in chapel ("Tommy Bonner") and playing trombone in the band ("The Artane Boys Band"). There were also many songs and tales about shenanigans with bullies and buddies ("Who Trew Da Boot?"). Music also became his ticket out of Artane when he turned 16, taking his trombone skills to several show bands.

A couple of fascinating stories: shortly before Danny left Artane, he learned that two of the twin boys he helped teach music to were his lost brothers. After "800 Voices" was released, through a series of circumstances, he managed to also track down Tommy Bonner, the school's chapel singer that he admired so much.

Danny's songs and performance of them were moving and inspiring. There is talk of possible theater and film adaptations of Danny's story.

A memorable afternoon of music, potluck food and fellow music lovers. Turns out I knew several others who were there besides the folks who invited me. That's small town Nashville for you. Thanks, Danny and Laurie.

George Adams, Red Tree Coffee 11/5/09

2009-11-05T21:03:00.009-06:00

It's all about the vibe. It doesn't matter whether it's a large or a small crowd. When everyone's on the same page and paying attention to who's playing on stage and the performer's feeling that, drawing on it and giving it back to the audience, that's when the magic happens.

Tonight was one of those examples. In the cozy setting of Red Tree Coffee, George Adams did one very fine set consisting of several songs from his "Anthology" CD and some of his favorite cover songs. The first time I caught him live, which was just over a year ago, I thought he had one of the finest voices I've heard in Nashville. His set proved that once again and showed his wide vocal range well.

A few highlights: "Fuel To The Fire" (Think Marc Anthony with a band on this one. Well, yours truly did dig the rhythm egg out of her purse and played along...); "Hold On To Love", a beauty of a song from George's "Secrets" band days; "Stronger Than Words", a keyboard-driven song that also worked well done on guitar and with that great falsetto toward the end; very nice renditions of "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" and the Larry Gatlin song "I've Done Enough Dying Today". George was also joined for a duet by his friend, local singer/songwriter Annie Sims.

George heads back to sea in December for another run as a cruise ship featured entertainer. Check out more of his music at his MySpace page.

Weekend Roundup 10/17-18

2009-10-19T08:03:00.007-05:00

The Fillin' Station - Kingston Springs, TN

I'm not one that's real comfortable with going to bars a lot unless there's someone I really want to hear play. I don't even drink and bars are not the place I would go to find the guy of my dreams who would have my non-negotiable ideal traits. But the Fillin' Station in Kingston Springs, just a couple of stops over from my other favorite area hangout, Red Tree Coffee, is a bit different. It's a nice bar, as bars go. It has a friendly, "Cheers"-like atmosphere, small, intimate, and features a lot of great music 4 or 5 nights a week. In fact, the owner, Patrick Weickenand, played harmonica with the group War during the 80s and you can catch him filling in on harmonica behind the bar now and then when someone's playing.

On the previous week there, my friends and I caught a great crowd-pleasing set by Mark Elliott and Gary Culley, and the first of two gigs George Adams played in the area since being back in town after five months of performing on the Carnival Legend cruise ship. This weekend, we made a special trip out to the Fillin' Station to hear more from a group with a regular Friday gig there: the Mohawk Slim Band, a blues power trio led by guitarist/vocalist Sandy Blair (sporting the mohawk!), with Terry Browne on bass and Mark Willoughby on drums. Sandy's an awesome guitarist who likes to wander through the crowd playing and when the spirit moves he'll even jump up on the bar and play. This evening the group was also joined by friends sitting in for a few numbers, one being blues vocalist Miranda Louise, who impressed us a lot. We had such a great time that we stuck it out till the end of the evening... a little late for us but a lot of fun!

Doak Turner's 3rd Sunday

As I normally do, I headed for Doak Turner's 3rd Sunday songwriter potluck get-together. This month Doak celebrated 7 years in Nashville and being an encourager and positive influence on songwriters and those who love them (my kind of person!). Even the weather cooperated for this one...the sun came out and a lot of us were able to enjoy food and friendship outdoors before evening. Many people I know that I haven't seen there for a while also showed up...which meant lots of hugs to and from me. I love it.

Usually my mode of operation there is to jump restlessly from room to room and try to catch as many people play as possible. But this time my buddies Sam Cooper and Mary Hartman were both here, so I decided to follow them to whatever room they were playing at. Before long, we were joined by Don and Karen McNatt, Patti Higgins (debuting her first completed songwriting collaboration with Karen--a special moment for her and us), our buddy Anyta and other talented folks whose names I didn't get but they know who they are (and will of course if they see this!). There's always a great chemistry when friends and collaborators Sam and Mary team up to play. This time, though, there was such a special spirit in the room with all of us coming together and really getting into what was happening that I wasn't going anywhere.

Speaking of debuts, this was also my debut as a round-playing musician. Some time ago I picked up one of those percussion "rhythm eggs". I've been having fun playing it along to songs. (I did make an earlier appearance playing the egg while on stage with my radio buddy T.J. Kirby when we emceed the band intermission at Music in the Park at Pegram Park. We played CDs for the kids to hula hoop to--T.J. sang along on stage and I played percussion.) Sam, Mary, Karen and Don were very encouraging to me to take out my egg and play percussion. Also, special thanks to Jack Boucher for the rhythm sticks he gave me. You know what...it worked and it sounded good. I also felt great...now I sort of understand the rush my musician friends get while playing. Do I have a future here? Who knows! :)

Only in Nashville can a gal who claims to have no musical talent find a place in the band. I love this town.

Orleans and Friends 9/25/09-Glen Campbell and Jimmy Webb 9/26/09

2009-09-28T13:21:00.006-05:00

Back to back concerts on a weekend in Nashville = late nights with little sleep = one very interesting Sunday morning radio show with a host running on fumes. But hey, it was worth it.

I went to the Orleans and Friends "Rock The Power" concert at the War Memorial Auditorium in downtown Nashville. All of the net proceeds from the show went to support You Have the Power, Nashville's Crime Victims' Support and Children's Advocacy agency. We were royally entertained with hits galore from Orleans (who served as house band along with other stellar players), Jimi Jamison of Survivor, John Cafferty of the Beaver Brown band (who really rocked the house and got the crowd engaged, Joe Bouchard of Blue Oyster Cult, Wayne Nelson of the Little River Band and a surprise appearance by Tommy Tutone (of 867-5309 fame). Linda Davis, Kathie Baillie and Jonelle Mosser sang vocal backup and each got a solo turn (though I do wish they each could have done more than one song). The dance floor by the stage, and occasionally up in the balcony, was jumping. I had forgotten about a lot of those songs the performers did, so it was great to hear tunes like "Tender Years", "Take It Easy on Me", "The Night Owls" and others you just don't hear much anymore on radio these days. Good stuff!

I also had an unexpected opportunity to attend the last evening of a three-night concert series by Glen Campbell and Jimmy Webb with the Nashville Symphony at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Seeing them together performing those songs that Jimmy wrote made famous by Glen ("Wichita Lineman", "Galveston") was a thrill. Let me just tell you that Glen Campbell still has it -- great singer, awesome guitar player (even played with the guitar on top of his head!) Jimmy Webb in his solo segment was also quite charming, sharing stories about "Mr. Sinatra" recording his song "Didn't We", and performing other hits like "All I Know" (recorded by Art Garfunkel). The Nashville Symphony opened the evening, conducted by the charismatic Albert-George Schram. I also had a chance to go backstage and meet Glen Campbell, who was very nice and friendly.

The cool thing was that now it seems whenever I go to these events, I'm bound to run into at least a couple of friends of mine and the same was true on both these nights. I also got to attend both concerts with some dear friends. Special thanks to Lance Hoppen of Orleans and Mark McCormack of the Nashville Symphony for making this possible.

I love this town.

A "Birthday Bash" To Remember: 9/9/09

2009-09-10T19:50:00.004-05:00

I looked back at my blog entry from my birthday last year when I wrote about spending my birthday at the Commodore Grille writers night. I'd forgotten about the fact that it was my first time at one of Debi Champion's writers nights and met her initially then. But I'd never forgotten her kindness to me that night...how she gave me a piece of chocolate cake for my birthday and had the crowd sing happy birthday to me.

This year, Debi took things a step further by indulging my crazy idea of booking some writers friends of mine on her calendar for my birthday—she gave me an hour to send up a round or two of writers. With all of the dear talented friends in this town, it was for the most part a difficult choice. But I settled on some who didn't have a chance to play often at the Commodore and others who were significant in that I'd heard them there for the first time.

The lineup I chose was Brandon Maddox, Beth Browne, Dr. Jay and Miss Diana, Randi Perkins, Louise Mosrie and John Velora. As luck would have it, 9/9/09 just happened to fall on the regular monthly spot for the Wild Oats Records round, which would precede my round. My good friends and fellow Radio Free Nashville DJs Steve Haggard and Kimberly King were kind enough to indulge my pleadings to book themselves for that round and included with them talented labelmate Joel Alan Lehman and an impressive guest they had on their show earlier that week, Kenny McGeorge, in town recording a CD. The artists were very sweet to plan their playlists around the birthday gal.

I expected that many would have the same dilemma that I face most evenings in Nashville: too many events all happening at once. Would anyone come to my birthday bash? Happily, people did. The place was full of dear friends of mine and fans of those who were playing. I was very glad that all three of the rounds had a good attentive audience. Of course, there were some who weren't there who were noticed and missed...but that's how it is in a town full of choices. It was as perfect an evening as it was possible to be. I wish everyone could have at least one evening in their lives like I did. We should strive to show our love to our friends while they are surrounding us.

Love you, Debi, love you Commodore, love you my friends, and I love this town.

3rd Home Happenings

2009-08-29T17:28:00.013-05:00

If the Commodore Grille is my "second home", then the area of Pegram/Kingston Springs has to be my third. Pegram is, as many know, the home of Fiddle and Pick and its great old-time and acoustic music programs, and Friends of Pegram Park writers nights. In the early part of this year, I was led to Kingston Springs via Red Tree Coffee and its great music lineup and homey atmosphere. I discovered that the area had its own very rich music scene going on and met more people who kindly took me into the fold and accepted me as one of their own.

I had a last minute invite this past Friday to go to the Just Plain Folks awards shows. Since I was a judge for the JPF awards process for the better part of a year, I ordinarily would have gone, and at first thought perhaps I should. But I had made other plans. Sometimes you need to be at the smaller bashes, and those many times end up having a more important impact.

I had no doubt that whoever showed up to play at Jon Conley's birthday bash at Red Tree Coffee would be musically awesome. Jon is an extraordinary guitarist, singer and songwriter, husband and brother in law respectively to Red Tree co-owners Katie and Amy, and dad to an up and coming budding teen talent, Savannah Conley (who he called "his future retirement fund"). I think he's right about that. As I noted the last time I heard Savannah sing, you could hardly hear a pin drop in the audience. She had the audience on background vocals for an acapella song she wrote, "Tick Tock", which was quite remarkable.

Some of the others who entertained were a few of the members of Calico Trail (including Jon and brother in law Cole Bruce, drummer David Racine), guitarist Todd Woolsey, Linda McRae (performing at Red Tree on September 11), singer/songwriter/keyboardist Vic White of the Pitchmen (a group I raved about last time they played here), the duo Carolina Story, Chelsea Bills, a singer from Paragould, Arkansas (who was a huge hit with the folks who were sitting with me!) and sisters Amy and Katie themselves. All these people just tore it up in a packed house.
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I have more or less become an "honorary resident" of Pegram. Thanks to the Fiddle and Pick writers nights, Facebook and my WRFN DJ friends T.J. Kirby, Steve Haggard and Kimberly King, I've come to know many of the folks who are active in the Pegram community and have made me feel a part of it all. In fact, I'm now part of the Pegram Special Events Commmittee. One of the events we're doing is a series of concerts in Pegram Park. The series kicked off last week with the band Alchemy 3 and Ronnie Lee Twist and the Future Cats. Ronnie is a rockabilly enthusiast and a very solid entertainer.

This past Saturday's show featured the band Craggie Hope, who were victims of a thunderstorm during the 4th of July festivities and forced to shorten their set then. This time, the weather cooperated and they had lots of time to entertain the families who turned out to hear them and enjoy the park. In between sets, T. J. emceed a segment for the kids, getting them up and dancing and hula hooping. Yours truly got in on the act as the music spinner (once I figured out how the boombox worked) and "Action Kid dancer" (Remember them? I always wanted to be one). The rest of the schedule:
Sept. 12 - Caught Looking Back
Sept. 19 - Pipe Dream
All shows run 7-10 p.m. in Pegram Park--cheap eats and great fun.

I love this town, and all three of my homes.

9/9/09--coming soon!

2009-08-22T07:39:00.002-05:00

So what is so special about this date besides it being 9/9/09? Just a couple of weeks away, but for those in the Nashville area, mark your calendars now...I'll be having a "birthday round" at the Commodore Grille(www.myspace.com/commodoregrille) on Wednesday, September 9. Debi Champion so very kindly allowed me to have some very fine writers to be in a round to celebrate my birthday.

Festivities start at 6:30 with the regularly scheduled Wild Oats Records round with my dear friends Steve Haggard and Kimberly King and guests. My birthday round follows at 7 p.m. with Beth Browne, Dr. Jay and Miss Diana, Brandon Maddox, Louise Mosrie, Randi Perkins, and John Velora. Other great rounds to follow throughout the evening!

Hope you can make it for all or part of the evening!

Roundup recap

2009-08-22T07:36:00.003-05:00

Holy cow! Has it really been almost a month since I've written anything here? Between being busy and dealing with a sprained foot (which really didn't stop me from getting around), I just haven't had much time to write. But I'll try to recollect a few notes from some things going on recently:

Did a double header night recently, first a Bluebird round with Steve Craig, Katha Harris, Tom Shinness and Roxie Randle. Some great songs and singing as you can usually expect from Steve and friends...you'll find a couple of the songs done that evening posted at http://www.myspace.com/stevecraigsongs.

Then it was off to Red Tree Coffee at Kingston Springs to catch the Folklahoma Appalachi-Groove Train--who are in the studio working on their first collective release. I for one am looking forward to hearing the recorded version of an awesome song Mark and Kim (and Mark in some solo shows or duo with Gary Culley) do called "Tell You Goodbye".

Also happening recently at Fiddle and Pick was a showcase with new trio Braided Chord (Amber White and the McCarter Sisters, Lisa and Theresa). They pleased the crowd with their tight harmonies, new original songs and lots of humor. They are very down to earth people and if you weren't already a friend of theirs before you came to the show, you probably were by the time you left.

As always, there were lots of great rounds happening at the Commodore Grille (and one big one coming up next month--see additional post!). I'll talk more about those in my "Blog Spot" for September at the Commodore Grille MySpace blog page.

Weekend Roundup 7/24-25/09

2009-07-27T07:57:00.008-05:00

Chely Tackett/Annie Mosher, Alex Harvey and band, Douglas Corner Café, 7/24/09

This was my first trip to Douglas Corner Café, which has legendary status as a top songwriters venue. I planned primarily to see Alex Harvey and the band. But it being that the parking situation could be a challenge, I decided to make a night of it and take in the early show featuring Chely Tackett and Annie Mosher. That turned out to be a great call. I’d heard Chely Tackett a time or two and remembered Annie Mosher from a CLC writers night (particularly her green rain boots!). They traded off songs throughout their set--both were musically excellent and personally engaging. Also, it was very nice to be so warmly welcomed and appreciated by both those ladies.

Speaking of appreciation, I’ve said this before: anytime you’re seeing Alex Harvey, whether solo or with his awesome band, he gives you everything he’s got in passion and just plain stellar songwriting. The folks who came out were royally entertained--for my money, Alex Harvey is one of the best live performers in this town. It’s all about honesty and emotion.

Ronnie Fruge, Mark Stephen Jones, Gary Payne, Nick Sturms, Bluebird Café, 7/25/09

Most of the rounds I’ve heard at the Bluebird contained a lot of humor. This round had some of that as well from time to time, but the key element to this one was heart.

I heard Ronnie Fruge play some killer guitar licks all night in Alex Harvey’s band the night before at Douglas Corner. On this evening it was nice to hear him in a setting where he got to play some of his own songs. He explained he was “half Fruge, half Benoit” in his introduction to a tribute song for his grandpa Pierre who helped raise him. His warm personality , sweet spirit and Cajun heritage shined through in all of his songs, again with some fine (acoustic) guitar playing and vocals.

One of the names I keep hearing regularly in the songwriter circles among those most admired is Mark Stephen Jones. He’s written with several writers in town. The songs he played demonstrated why he’s highly regarded, most especially one I’ve been impressed with, “Addicted”. I also enjoyed one hilarious song about being drunker than you ought to be (starting with a mouse declaring “bring on the cat”) and he got a strong reception to his song “Red White and Pink Slip Blues”.

Mark Steven Jones has been working with Nick Sturms, a talented young writer who was part of the round. His songs had a strong spiritual element to them and he brought emotion and passionate vocals to the evening.

A fine storytelling songwriter, Gary Payne provided one of the most moving moments of the evening, introducing and dedicating his song “Hope and Freedom” to a war hero who was in the audience. You can hear that song on Gary’s MySpace page at www.myspace.com/garypayne.

By the way, that was the first time I sat at the table next to the soundboard. I think it's my new favorite place to sit.

I had to slip out early on this one because I was due at…

Lorna Flowers 5th Anniversary in Nashville Party, Commodore Grill 7/25/09

I arrived to a packed house at the Commodore Grill in celebration of Lorna Flowers' 5th anniversary in Nashville (and hers and Rick and Tammy Stewart’s 1st anniversary of hosting the weekend writers nights). I wasn’t a bit surprised at the turnout…Lorna’s made quite an impact in this town not only as a singer/songwriter but also because of the genuine friendship and support she extends to everyone (including yours truly). I knew about half the people in the room, which always makes it fun for me!

There was cake, champagne, appetizers (which I missed along with the raffle...oh well!) and of course lots of great music! The one or two rounds I had a chance to hear included Graham Rodgers, Craig Winquist, Jerry Foster, Julie Forester, Brigitte Tatum (“She’s Country”), Kirsti Manna (“Austin”), and Lorna herself. I wish I could have stayed longer, but I of course had a radio show to do the next morning. Love ya Lorna, Rick and Tammy!

Let me close with one thought: if you support any artists, get out to the shows as much as you can, when you can. Don’t assume someone else will fill the seats. If everyone figures someone else will go and it won't matter, the artists may end up with a sparse house. That disappoints the artists...plus, you’ll miss out on seeing a great show. You being there can make all the difference in the world.

Lorna says it best: “Isn't Nashville the coolest place to live, with the coolest people?” I say amen to that.

Weekend Roundup 7/10-12

2009-07-16T06:58:00.002-05:00

I'm just a little bit behind here with reporting in. I had a couple of events to prepare for. I gave a talk at Indie Connect on Monday and filled in for a couple of friends of mine on Radio Free Nashville on Tuesday. With all of that going on, not much time to sit down and write. So here goes:

I stopped up at Red Tree Coffee in Kingston Springs and heard a couple of terrific artists: Mike Siler from Texas, who did a great job with covers and his own material in a fine authentic country fashion (and gentle humor throughout). Also impressive was Dean Berner, of the trio Eden's Edge, in a solo outing. Also very nice songwriting and one or two good covers in his set. I will certainly watch for Eden's Edge the next time they play.

Saturday night was another in the series of Friends of Pegram Park Writers Nights (the 41st, actually!)at Fiddle and Pick. This one included a couple of friends of mine, both who will be part of my Commodore Grill birthday round on September 9: Louise Mosrie and Brandon Maddox. Louise was magnificent as always. There were a few people there who were hearing her for the first time and were, of course, blown away by her voice and songwriting skill. It was nice to not only hear Brandon, but also "Moose" back on harp...he'd been away from Nashville and music for a bit so it was a nice surprise to hear him sit in with Brandon. Brandon contines to grow stronger as a writer and singer.

Robby Hicks did a very nice job opening the evening. Jeff Miller, who I saw at the writers night here last November, also did a fine set. I must admit I spent most of the night watching his feet after he explained how he uses his Phase Sampler (looper). Using pedals to record guitar and vocal bits in layers, that essentially makes him a one-man band and he did it masterfully.

An evening standout is one to watch: young singer/songwriter Tyler Flowers. Tyler is recording a CD being produced by Pat Flynn. This fellow just absolutely stunned everyone--he is a triple threat singer, songwriter, guitar player. Tyler told me that he performs mostly as part of a band, but I and others assured him that he more than holds his own as a solo act.

This all is yet another example of the considerably strong scene also going on in the smaller Pegram/Kingston Springs area. It's worth venturing west of Nashville if you have the chance to do so.

Where Have I Been??

2009-07-02T08:16:00.007-05:00

Yow. I didn't realize it's been a month that I've written anything in here. I haven't been lazy, really. In fact, I've been quite busy running around. I've been once again bemoaning the fact that last month, and sure to carry into this one, it seems that there are 2-3 events every night at the same time that I want to be at. I have to make some tough choices. I really wish I can split myself in 2...or 3. (Clone me? Nah. One of me is enough.)

Unfortunately on some of the evenings I've been out, my notebook decided it had enough of my galavanting and decided to sneak out of my purse and stay home. So I didn't capture as many notes on events as I wanted to. But I'll try to make brief notes as best I can of some of the shows I have been to.

- Some people really should play out more often. One of those is a group called The Pitchmen, a group of stellar players with a ton of great credentials led by singer/songwriter Vic White. These guys rocked the house last month at Red Tree Coffee with solid original songwriting, a few inventive cover versions, some awesome playing and first class vocals (an impressive standout being singer/guitarist Brock Goodwin). Vic told me that these guys play gigs only about every couple of months and have very little rehearsal before they play. You'd never know it the way they got down that night. They'll see me again at a gig for sure (keep me posted, guys!).

- Ever been to Kimbro's Pickin' Parlor? It's a cute little place in the downtown Franklin area with a homey, intimate atmosphere that reminds me a bit of Fiddle and Pick in Pegram. It even has its own little jingle which you can hear on the MySpace page. It has a lot of neat memorabilia on the walls and the food's pretty good. It was a perfect space to hear a solo acoustic performance by Alex Harvey. As I've noted in the past, Alex has a way of creating community with his audience. He quickly established that "living room atmosphere" here with his passionate songs and vocals and warm rapport. Alex will be back at Kimbro's at the end of the month.

- There have of course been a lot of good rounds happening at the Commodore Grill as always. Two of my buddies in this town, Sam Cooper and Mary Hartman, did a great one last week, bringing up hit songwriter Chris Gantry (who teamed with Sam for a fun and powerful version of their song "Orange Man") and a fine talent catching notice in town: Michael Rodgers, son of legendary singer Jimmie Rodgers.

- I also was melting from the heat at the Fillin' Station for a couple of nights with the FolklahomaAppalachi Groove Train (Kim McLean, Devon O'Day, Mark Elliott, Chris Herin) and Mark with Cary Stone. But the music as always was awesome and well received.

- Last but not least, I spent a hot (on many levels, you could say!), long, but great day at the Nashville Songwriters Festival on Music Row. After dropping in some superb workshops by Dave Isaacs (guitar technique and education) and Debi Champion (starting writer's nights), I headed to my post at the Sure Fire Web Cast stage where I served as emcee and act roundup person for a four-hour shift. Folks came and went in the crowd but we had some fine players come through on stage. It was fun for me to be able to introduce some people I knew, like Boomer Castleman and Lois Hess, Kris Miller and Ellen Ohlsson. Only problem was there were some performances happening on other stages at the same time I was on duty. Luckily for me, the main stage was nearby so I was able to sneak away and hear a little of one set I really wanted to catch by John Heinrich. It was the only all-instrumental set there and he rocked the festival with his compositions and sax playing. Singer/songwriter Popcorn did an amazing job pulling this all together with volunteer help. Shows ya what can be done with limited resources and determination.

More to come this month for sure--I'll try to do better staying on top of it.

Things to plug:

- I will be doing a talk for Indie Connect on Monday, July 13 at 11:30 a.m. at Corky's in Brentwood. The topic will be on making radio interviews work effectively for artists. Hope to see you there!

- I will now be a monthly contributing writer to the Commodore Grill MySpace blog. The first piece, "Home Away From Home" is posted now. My thanks to Rick Stewart for making this happen!

- Mark your calendar NOW for my "birthday round" at the Commodore Grill on Wednesday, September 9! I will NOT be playing, but some great writers and singers will to help me celebrate. Scheduled to appear are: Beth Browne, Brandon Maddox, Dr. Jay and Miss Diana, Louise Mosrie, Randi Perkins and John Velora. That round starts at 7 p.m. but please come early at 6:30 for the Wild Oats Records monthly round featuring my dear friends (and fellow WRFN radio hosts) Steve Haggard and Kimberly King. Don't miss it!

Cirque du Chanson, 12th and Porter, 6/1/09

2009-06-02T09:55:00.007-05:00

No aerial feats happening at Cirque du Chanson at 12th and Porter Monday night...just musical ones.

Here's the recipe: take seven dynamite singer/songwriters all on one stage, complete with backing band, throw their names into a jar and create a spontaneous order. Mix all this together and you've got the writers night taken to a new level.

The singer/songwriter lineup was Kim McLean, Mark Elliott (see Folklahoma write-ups), Robin English (she of recent Hippie Chick Twang and Mommapalooza Bluebird round), Leilah (daughter of 70s musical icon Melanie), Mary Sue Englund (of the Pam Tillis band and fellow former Minnesotan), and two wonderful artists new to me: Beth Fox and Mark Sloan. Devon O'Day served as MC and "ringmaster".

We were treated to a superb mix of musical genres from folk, gospel, pop to bluegrass. Each artist had five songs, and it was very well-paced...about 37 songs in a three hour set. It was mostly uptempo, higher energy fare but there were some touching ballads in the night as well. It was one of those nights where you just left amazed by the level of talent on stage and you wonder what it would be like to have even just a fraction of that for yourself.

More, more. This event must be repeated...it's a hit by me.

What a concept. What a town.

Weekend Roundup

2009-06-01T18:23:00.006-05:00

I do a radio show called "Never Too Old" on Radio Free Nashville which celebrates the music we baby boomers grew up with and loved, as well as spotlights musicians of that age demographic presently doing great musical stuff. However, I also believe in supporting and lifting up the young artists who are just getting started with carving out a musical direction. Some young ladies from Georgia who I saw at the Commodore this past weekend proved that it's a worthwhile effort. 14 year olds Anna Harwood and Hayley Golden, 13 year old Katelyn Pope and 12 year old Krysta Nick impressed my socks off with their songwriting, vocals, poise and confidence. Krysta in particular is definitely one to watch..she's already an old pro in performing in front of crowds. Her song, "Why", which she wrote herself at age 11, nailed woes of unrequited love as well as some songs written by adults two or three times her age. These gals will be in town playing at various places during the month of June, so keep your eyes and ears out for them.

On Saturday the FolklahomaAppalachi-Groove Train pulled into the station in Pegram at the Fiddle and Pick (coincidentally, just across the train tracks). Kim McLean, Devon O'Day, birthday boy Mark Elliott and percussion prodigy Will McJ rocked the house down as always. It was a busy day for Kim, Devon and Will who made an earlier stop at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum for the "Songwriter Session" playing for a full house. I also want to say this about these folks. Not only are they incredible musicians...they're great people. As I've been preaching for years, the artist/fan relationship, when done properly and with the right intentions, works both ways. When both sides get and accept what the other's there for, without suspicion or agenda, it's a beautiful thing.

On Sunday many singer-songwriter friends gathered at CJ's 5th Sunday for food, friendship and a golf croquet tournament, with a cool opening set by the Harry James Band. Afterward, a few of us headed for the Commodore to support one of our own who was at the picnic--Mary Hartman, who was part of a round also featuring Ric Sandler and Jon Eben with Kristi Warner. Many times when I go there, I'm pleasantly surprised by who else is on the bill that I may not have known about. I was also delighted to hear Karen Angela Moore and Donna Ulisse (kudos to Donna who's been having a ton of success with her latest bluegrass release "Walk This Mountain Down").

I love my musical friends, old and new. I love this town.

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SAVE THE DATE! Wednesday, September 9 at 7 p.m. ... Wendy V's birthday round at the Commodore Grill! No, I'm not playing, but some great people will be...stay tuned for details to follow. The Wild Oats Records round with my friends Steve Haggard and Kimberly King starts just before that at 6:30 p.m.

What makes a good round? My $.02 and change

2009-05-27T09:58:00.002-05:00

As some people know, I go out a lot to shows and writers night rounds. Lately I've been to quite a few of them when I've said out loud to myself(or to whoever's sitting with me) "wow...that was a really great round!".

My perspective on what makes a great round for me is based on being a non-musician out in the audience sitting and listening and observing what's on stage. But I've heard and seen a lot, and I know what I like. So at those places like the Commodore which has several writers playing in one evening or other showcases around town, here are some things I look for. I'll use a couple of examples from when I stuck my head in the door at the Commodore last night.

- Energy and enthusiasm to go with a well-written song. Case in point: Scott Sanford of the mighty Dakota Grove, who know a bit about projecting high energy and crowd connection from the stage. Scott did a solo turn and clearly threw himself into his music. He had the audience cheering, whistling and making requests.

- Round members supporting one another. Now, I realize that not every round put together is made up of people who know each other or have played with each other before and that could affect comfort factor. But from time to time, I'll see rounds where while one person is playing, another on stage is staring into space. I just think each player should give the one who's up at the moment their full attention and support...especially if your fellow players have done that for you. If everyone on stage is into what's happening, that's going to project to the audience and it'll catch on.

A great example was in the same night with the round featuring Dan McCorison, Hillary McBride and Joshua Armstrong. It was great to see how much they enjoyed hearing each other and I felt that enthusiasm. I also enjoy it when people in a round spontaneously add a guitar or vocal part to each other's songs. I'd never heard these three before...all of the above plus the fact that each of them were just plain terrific really impressed me enough to give the round a "standing o" and look them up on MySpace afterward. (Of course, being blown away by people I hear for the first time is my very favorite thing of all!)

There you have it...my $.02 and change for what it's worth.

Cole Bruce, Eleanor Fye, Red Tree Coffee, 5/22/09

2009-05-23T09:39:00.004-05:00

Out at Red Tree Coffee's consistently solid Friday night music offerings, a last minute substitution worked out well. The in-house talents of Cole Bruce, accompanied by Jon Conley (they're the spouses of Red Tree owners Amy and Katie respectively) did a fine fill in job. It was an opportunity for Cole to showcase his CD "Hello Sunshine". Some exciting news announced as well--Cole and Jon have put together a group called Calico Trail. We should be hearing from them fairly soon.

I have this thing about people recognizing me from someplace, but I either don't recall meeting them or maybe I just haven't. Sometimes people see me at the many events I get around to. But much of the time, it's just that I have to see some people at least three times to successfully put a name and a face together (nothing personal toward any of these folks this happens with...I attribute this to age and "the change").

Such was the case with the second act to play this evening...Eleanor Fye. She asked me a question I get often: "don't I know you from somewhere?" I usually run down the list of places I frequent, and this time we figured out it was from Doak Turner's monthly gathering. If I didn't remember Eleanor from there, I certainly won't forget her going forward. Her set was perhaps one of the best I've heard here from a solo artist new to me since Louise Mosrie's back in February.

Eleanor is still fairly new to Nashville, having moved here last September. She hasn't played many gigs to this point, but on this night she successfully used her classical, jazz and pop influences to totally enchant and engage the audience with her warm personality, personal songwriting and excellent vocals (with Jon Conley on guitar). Eleanor sang songs about conquering fear by paragliding, processing being "stood up", and used some cool violin effects on one song she described as her "rocking, angry song". One challenge she threw out to the audience paid off for herself. She asked the crowd to sing along with her cover of the Minnie Riperton hit "Loving You". Now, most folks can handle the "la la la la la" part of this song okay. But I figured perhaps outside of Mariah Carey, few could pull off the stratospheric part of the end of that chorus. Well, Eleanor did. It sure blew us all away. She got a standing ovation for her set from me.

Eleanor Fye is certainly where she belongs being here in Nashville. I say keep an ear out for her to do great things. She plays here again on August 21.

I tell you what, Red Tree Coffee, you sure know how to pick 'em.

Mark Elliott, Cary Stone, Aaron Till, Norm's River Road House, 5/20/09

2009-05-21T09:44:00.007-05:00

It's been a challenging week. I got cut from a job and there's a mouse in the house. I needed a serious distraction.

I did a wonderful interview with Mark Elliott this past Sunday morning on my radio show "Never Too Old" (read about it here, hear it here). One of the gigs plugged on the show was this one out at Norm's River Road House. I set my VCR (yes, I still have one) for the American Idol finale and headed out for the show. Also on the bill were Cary Stone and Aaron Till.

The intimate venue was filled with family and friends of the three. These guys just brought it for two solid hours. Mark is such a top notch writer, vocalist and guitar player. One of the songs he did was a new one he wrote by request of someone who wanted a song for his baby girl. He was given just a few ideas and came out with a lovely song called "Being You". I wonder what it's like to have that gift.

Cary Stone is a singer/songwriter/guitarist who tours with Mark Chesnutt. It was nice to reconnect with Cary after meeting him at a gathering with Mark Elliott last December. Cary is working on his own album and did this gig on Mark's coaxing to get out and play his tunes. Let me tell you--based on what I heard, not only does Cary need to play his own stuff out more often, but he can easily step into a center stage role. He is a significant talent in the traditional country style.

Mark and Cary were well supported by Aaron Till on fiddle, mandolin, guitar and vocals. He had the opportunity to do a few songs of his own in the set. By far the crowd pleaser was his "stuck record" version of "Tennessee Waltz" which was spot on and had the audiences in stitches.

Commercial radio, pay attention. We love Keith and all the modern sounding folks, but I submit there is just as much of an audience for the traditional sound. Listen to us for once.

By the way, if you get out to Norm's River Road House, you need to try the pizza. It's some of the best I've ever had.

I am rich with musical friends. I love this town.

Weekend Roundup, 5/8-9/09

2009-05-10T15:21:00.006-05:00

Red Tree Coffee's 1st Birthday Celebration, 5/8/09

How does a new coffeehouse in a small town manage to flourish in the midst of a recession? The answer is simple, really. Be good at what you do and cause people to care. That's the secret to Red Tree Coffee's success, in my view. This cozy place in Kingston Springs celebrated its first birthday in style this weekend with a loyal crowd, great treats and lots of incredible music.

The musical offerings consisted primarily of the Red Tree family's formidable in-house talent (guitarists/singers Jon Conley, Cole Bruce and sisters Katie Conley and Amy Patience, who sang the house down) and some of the musicians who have played regularly on their Friday night showcases: duo Those Two, fiddler Casey Campbell, Grand Ole Opry player David Jolley, guitarist Billy Thomas and percussionist Todd Wilson, the latter two who smoked in a jam at the end with Jon and Cole. E.G. Smith led the crowd in a rendition of a song written especially for Red Tree's birthday. Without a doubt one of the highlights of the evening was Jon and Katie's 12 year old daughter Savannah. I've never seen a young gal quiet a room as she did when she sang Bob Dylan's "To Make You Feel My Love", and her own composition "Reality". She told the crowd how amazed she was when, after singing the song in a school talent contest, she learned how memorable it was to the other kids who were going around singing it the next day. It certainly shows that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree and that Savannah's got a bright future ahead of her.

I predict Red Tree will be recession-proof for some time to come because one of its greatest values lies in that which doesn't involve money; it's about creating community and a bonding spirit along with great coffee and great music.

Alex Harvey and Band, Puckett's-Franklin 5/9/09

One week after Alex Harvey's songwriter presentation at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum came one of his regular gigs at Puckett's. I've been to a few of his shows so far and this one was one of the best yet: lots of upbeat, rocking blues, great songwriting and solid musicianship. Alex and the band did many regular crowd favorites like "Rings", "Reuben James", "5 Dollar Fine For Whining", "Cry Like The Rain" and others, and had the audience singing along on "Dangerous". As you would expect, the more serious, heart-tugging moments came during "Somebody New", and "Delta Dawn" and "Next Right Thing" when Alex passionately shares how those songs came about through painful personal experience.

Here's that theme of community again: Alex said he considers folks who come to his shows like family. I can speak to that; I have certainly felt that way since I've been going. It's that second level of support I've written about where the people who have stood out for you keep you coming back over and over again. In this case it's Alex's passionate performances, legendary songwriting and creating that sense of oneness with the audience.

Another great weekend...and another reason to love this town (and a small town or two).

Another Great Night...Commodore Grill 5/7/09

2009-05-08T16:43:00.006-05:00

There are great nights of music...and there are GREAT nights of music.

I dropped by the Commodore Grill to check out a few acts on the list for this evening. Two of those I was particularly interested in happened to be paired up for the first round: John Velora and Dr. Jay and Miss Diana. Sometimes the right combinations are just magic and this was one of those. John's catchy pop/rock flavored melodies, skillful guitar playing and excellent vocals are a breath of musical fresh air. If you have not seen and heard Dr. Jay and Miss Diana, you absolutely must. From the moment Diana starts singing "Trying To Get Your Attention", well, you don't take your eyes and ears off her. She draws you in immediately with her voice and her showmanship. Like Eve Selis at the Hippie Chick Twang Tin Pan South show, this gal performs totally from her center. They back it up with great songs and Dr. Jay's fine guitar work (including some very tasty slide playing). In short, I love these folks to death. This round got a standing ovation from me.

It would have been a daunting task for anyone to follow such a dynamic round. Singer/songwriter JW Combs was up for it and delivered with strong material and very fine vocals.

Just when you thought it couldn't get any better, oh I forgot: Dakota Grove was on the bill for the night, minus CJ Watson and with hit writer Chris Wallin filling in for Daisy Dern.He with Camille Wallin and Scott Sanford grabbed the crowd's attention yet again with as usual superb songwriting, on-stage chemistry and top flight vocals. Camille Wallin is, to me, a major talent, proving so with great songs with "A Good Cry" delivered with power and passion. Scott Sanford is also a strong and diverse writer and vocalist, whether on a ballad or "getting in the groove" (with shades and all during one song). Chris Wallin played his #1 favorites "Don't Blink", "Something To Be Proud Of" and "Love Me If You Can" along with a new song that sounded like it could easily join the others as a future #1.

(Speaking of "Something To Be Proud Of", last time I saw Chris, I told him this story. A couple of years ago, I did the MS Walk in the Twin Cities. I hadn't planned on completing the whole 9 miles, but somehow I did. By the time I got to the finish line, the blisters caught up with me and I could hardly walk. "Something To Be Proud Of" by Montgomery Gentry was one of the songs in my IPod, which I set up for random play that day. The song came on as I made my way to the finish line. I swear to you, the minute I crossed the finish line, the line in the song where Eddie Montgomery says "you did it, man" was playing. True story...I couldn't have planned that one.)

My evening ended with another fine round with writers Ralph Martin, Donnie Winters, Bill Maier and an impressive duo from Houston, Ben and Rose (a beautiful gal with lovely Lady Godiva-like long hair and compelling vocals). My apologies for missing the other scheduled writers on later...my body starts kicking and screaming around 10 p.m.

Debi Champion knows how to serve up a great evening. Thanks to her, there is another sure to be unforgettable night of music in my future...and I'll be telling you more about that very soon.

What can I say except the usual... I love this town.

Weekend Roundup--First weekend in May

2009-05-03T16:14:00.004-05:00

It was just about the "no sleep till Sunday tour" for me this weekend. OK, so I'm exaggerating. It was just a whole slew of events happening which actually began Thursday night when I decided to go to the Commodore Grill. It was one of those wonderful warm nights when a dozen friends of mine happened to be there as well, so lots of hugs and company at the table. I also met a couple of great new people there, too. One act I absolutely loved to death was Dr. Jay and Miss Diana--what a great performer she is.

Friday night I stopped up at Red Tree Coffee and caught a "supergroup" known as Emotional Rex...made up of guitarist/vocalist George Hawkins; guitarist Bruce Gaitsch, writer of "Don't Mean Nothing" for Richard Marx and "La Isla Bonita" for Madonna; guitarist extraordinare Jon Conley and drummer/vocalist Kelly Keaggy, well known from Night Ranger. Yes, Kelly did sing "Sister Christian" and "Sentimental Street", the latter with a slower twist than the original recording but sounding super nonetheless. The group mixed some solid rock and blues with fine smooth jazz instrumentals.

Saturday began a 12 hour blitz of musical events pratically back to back. First, off to the Country Music Hall of Fame Museum to catch Alex Harvey as part of the museum's Saturday songwriter session series. Alex was accompanied by Ronnie Fruge on guitar (I saw a fine set by him at Red Tree about a month ago) and John Grapes on percussion. Besides the wonderful timeless songs he's written ("Delta Dawn", "Ruben James", "Rings"), the reason Alex is a favorite of mine is that I love his heart and his passion that he brings to his performances. In particular, his very touching song "Somebody New" grabbed the soul in the intimate setting of the Ford Theater.

About an hour or so later, it was back to the Ford Theater for a "Nashville Cats" feature paying recognition to renowned session guitarist Wayne Moss, noted for his famous licks on Roy Orbison's "Oh Pretty Woman" and "Only Daddy That'll Walk The Line" by Waylon Jennings, to name a few. Many of Nashville's finest session players were on hand in the audience to support Wayne, such as Charlie McCoy and Pig Robbins.

It couldn't be more perfect to have these events going on the same afternoon as one I've waited a few months for: the Ryman Auditorium broadcast of "A Prairie Home Companion". It was really good to see the show live again...of course, living in St. Paul for so many years I've seen dozens of performances, but it was very cool to be in Nashville and see it in the setting which inspired Garrison Keillor to start the show in the first place back in 1974. Special guests were Sam Bush and Brad Paisley (performing acoustically and sitting in with the Guys's All Star Shoe Band). However, I couldn't stay for the whole show, thus my one regret is not having a chance to say hi to my Shoe Band friends Rich Dworsky and Pat Donohue. (Did the gal in front of me with the autograph hat get it signed by Garrison or the band members? I couldn't stay to find that out, either!) Because...

I was due in Pegram for the Friends of Pegram Park Writers's Night at Fiddle and Pick. I am a solid supporter of these shows so I pretty much burned rubber to make it there on time. I actually got brave enough to take the freeway part of the way there! (Well, it was either steel thyself or be sitting at traffic lights on 70S for the beginning of the show). I wanted to catch one of the performers, Les Kerr, before the show started. Les was a last minute add to the evening...he will be my guest on my "Never Too Old" radio show on May 24 and this was my first chance to meet and hear him after a bunch of e-mails. He was absolutely delightful and I can't wait to have him on my show. He was joined by Karen Angela Moore on vocals (I saw her at the Commodore Thursday, and I said to her, "you're playing at Fiddle and Pick on Saturday, right?" She said no at that time...then of course, she was invited to later. Am I a prophet and don't know it?)and her husband Matt Josephson on percussion.

Also on the bill was Gary Culley, who I saw most recently with Mark Elliott (another upcoming radio show guest!) as part of their Culley and Elliott duo. He's a powerful writer and singer and did a lovely song for his mom, "70 Years Of Love". It was a night of artists with diverse side occupations. Dave Parks is a Harpeth High School computer teacher who is also a singer/songwriter. In between songs he gave the audience some very interesting insights on planning and recording a CD. He plans to share videos documenting his process and hopes to create community with others in doing so. Singer/songwriter Renee Wahl is an active duty captain in the Air Force and teaches ROTC Air Force...many of her students showed up to give her support.

As my friend Joe Hrasna puts it, "here's to good music and good friends... I love this town." Me too, Joe. But I better run...Debi Champion's first Sunday writer's night at the Commodore is starting pretty soon...

The Kingston Springs/Kim McLean, Red Tree Coffee, 4/17/09

2009-04-18T08:45:00.004-05:00

It's a funny thing about Red Tree Coffee. It seems lately whenever I go there, before long I'm pulling out my notebook and writing. Most times it's about the music, or sometimes it's ideas for some of my encouragement pieces or would-be song lyrics that pop into my head (which I haven't yet shared with a potential co-writer). You writers of all types know that you have to grab it as you get it or you lose it. One night there God and the muse wouldn't let up. I wrote through a whole music set with an ear on the music and an eye on the paper. But be that as it may...this evening I wrote about the music I heard.

On this night the place was packed with young people and proud parents along with us upper demographic regulars. The drawing crowd was a teenage band that I'd actually already heard a good buzz on, The Kingston Springs (named after the home of the group and which is also Red Tree's location). I heard their tracks on MySpace and was impressed. These fellows (Bass: Alexander Geddes, Drums: Matthew DeMaio, Vocals/Guitar: Ian Ferguson, Vocals/Guitar: James Guidry) are around 16-17 years old and have only been together for almost a year. But already they've got a loyal and sizable following, strong musicianship and melodic songwriting that shows promise. If they've got this much going on already, then they've got a lot to look forward to. (And thanks to the kind gentleman whose name I didn't get that bought me a cup of coffee!)

After that, the Folkahoma Applachia Groove Train pulled in, a little late but better than never with Kim McLean, Mark Elliott, Devon O'Day, bassist Chris Herin and Will McJ on drums. They'd been up since 4 a.m. having come in from Arkansas. Kim and Devon have been on the "Ain't No Glory" radio tour in support of the first single from Kim's new CD "Rapunzel's Escape" and said they'd driven 47 hours in three days. But no matter...Kim and company rocked the place with the same spirit and joy as they normally do. Mark Elliot, just back from a European tour in which he was plagued with a lung infection, soldiered through its lingering effects and pulled it off in his solo spots. One notable moment: Kim performed a new song devoted to the White Church on the Hill in Kingston Springs and a train whistle came in at an opportune moment in perfect key. A "God-incidence", as Kim put it.

By the way, Red Tree Coffee celebrates its first birthday on May 8.

Tin Cup Gypsy, Edgehill Studios Cafe, 4/10/09

2009-04-11T14:38:00.002-05:00

Last December, I went to a writers night at the Bluebird Cafe and heard a wonderful young group called Tin Cup Gypsy. They made a fan out of me that night musically and personally. I assured them I'd be back at a gig and made good on it. Despite the challenges of weather and having the wrong start time for the show, I ventured out to the intimate setting of the Edgehill Studios Cafe.

The three musicians of Tin Cup Gypsy also have notable gigs on their own. Brothers Jonathan and Jordan Lawson are backing musicians for Sara Evans and Josh Turner respectively and Cassandra, wife of Jonathan, has been seen in the Trisha Yearwood video "This Is Me You're Talking To". They come together (joined by Tyler Oban on percussion) with a style that mixes swing, acoustic, roots and country influences with smooth lead vocals by Jonathan and tight group harmonies. They shine equally on many original compositions ("To The Sea" and the encouraging "Bury Me" were standouts) and covers such as "Roly Poly" and the Fleetwood Mac song "Break The Chain". As last time I saw them, they did a great cover of Fastball's "The Way".

As I also noted previously, Tin Cup Gypsy bonded with its audience, and mentioned what was going on with several people at the show. To go up on stage and share your songs for an audience and do that well is one thing. But to reach out to fans with your heart and allowing them to connect in return is the thing that's going to get you to the next level and keep a loyal following. Sure, there's risk with that in some cases (I wrote a book on fan/audience relationships), but Tin Cup Gypsy obviously knows taking a chance is worth it. Willingness to be genuine has its rewards.

I recommend catching Tin Cup Gypsy for yourself and you'll be a fan, too.

Tin Pan South late show, Michael McDonald, etc., Mercy Lounge, 4/4/09

2009-04-05T06:27:00.004-05:00

The question of the day: would I or would I not be successful in getting in the door of Mercy Lounge to get to see Michael McDonald in a round with artists Meghan Kabir, Luke Laird, Leigh Nash, Emerson Hart, Kyle Cook and Michael's son Dylan McDonald? I didn't have a Tin Pan South pass so I went early, took my place around 6th in the cash line and waited and hoped. At least I had the possibility of my dear songwriter friend Debbie Pascarella saving me a seat inside. But happily, pass holders and cash payers got in. There were no seats but my consolation was a well-positioned spot at the front of the stage along with a swarm of photographers weaving in and out(note: great spot to see the show but not conducive to note-taking, hence lack of some detail here and there). If I hadn't, though, at least I could have said I saw Michael McDonald. In yet another display of the man's unaffected nature and humility he's known for, he and someone carried his keyboard in from the parking lot and made a joke about doing an honest day's work!

Main performers Meghan Kabir (who appeared to be the round organizer), Luke Laird, Leigh Nash and Michael had four songs each. Leigh, known from Sixpence None the Richer and Meghan gave the audience some powerful personal songs (why were we so quiet, Meghan? We were listening!). Luke Laird is co-writer of two Carrie Underwood hits "So Small" and "Last Name" (which as he noted was comical as he performed it as written in the female point of view!). Michael McDonald, of course, is "the man" in my book. He did a song in tribute of Martin Luther King (on a guitar close to the size of a ukelele...still surprising to those of us who associate him primarily with the keyboard), his song written originally for Christmas called "Peace", and Doobie Brothers hits "It Keeps You Running" and "What A Fool Believes". The audience demanded an encore from him and got "I Keep Forgetting", joined on stage by his sister Maureen who had done the backing vocal on the recording.

Guest artists were Emerson Hart from Tonic (who did a Tonic hit and a lullabye for his daughter), Kyle Cook from Matchbox 20 and Dylan McDonald, who had two songs each.

Along with Michael, the two I was most waiting to hear were Kyle and Dylan. Kyle's Matchbox 20 bandmate Rob Thomas always said Kyle had an excellent voice and I agree. He did one of his own songs and an evening highlight for me, a recent Matchbox single "In These Hard Times". He noted it was not a huge hit for the group and that many people may not have heard the song. Well, I did, and it's one of those many tuning fork of the heart songs that Rob, Kyle and the group have been so successful at hitting me with. So, I was a puddle.

I'd really been looking forward to hearing Dylan, since I've been digging his songs on his MySpace page. He is vastly different from his dad musically, but the apple sure doesn't fall far from the tree. He and guitarist Daniel DelMonaco did two quite excellent acoustic songs. I'd sure like to hear more from him. And you can, when he and his band the Avians play at the Basement on April 17. I got to meet Dylan afterward...a nice and gracious fellow.

Another late but awesome evening. Sleep? What's that? Who cares, anyway? I love this town.

Hippie Chick Twang, Tin Pan South, Edgehill Studios Cafe, 4/3/09

2009-04-04T07:55:00.011-05:00

This past week I've been reflecting on the fact that this weekend marks two years ago that my little car and a Dodge Caravan rolled into town from St. Paul, MN and brought me and what little left I had here to Nashville. I get asked all the time, "how's life in Nashville?" Well, I use words like "awesome" and such, but honestly, I don't think they come close to describing how truly lucky I am to be living here among such incredible musicians and people.

Nothing came close to capturing that feeling for me than to have been part of the Hippie Chick Twang Tin Pan South showcase. It featured my dear friends Kim McLean and Devon O'Day, my "new buddy" Eve Selis, and new (to me) amazing ladies Shana Morrison and Robin English.

Now, I must share that before this I was privileged to be part of a gathering with most of these folks and many others a couple of days before. All of that capped off with a jam which filled my soul over the top. To be sitting sandwiched in between two musicians I admire most in this town and hear them play together for the first time, hearing these amazing women pour out their heart, soul and passion into their music...well, someone was smart to have put a tissue box where I was sitting because there were times when I needed it. Then, imagine having the daughter of Melanie ("Brand New Key", etc.) sing a little of her mom's song "Beautiful People" just for you. Could anything have been as wonderful? As it turns out, there was more to come.

Many of those who were with me that same day also showed up at Edgehill Studios for the showcase, so we were already "like family". So, the spirit in the room pouring forth from these fabulous women throughout the evening bonded us all, and I would say God showed up as well. Many of the songs in the show were co-written by the amazingly prolific Kim McLean. Having gotten to know her and Devon better over these past few months (and taking in quite a bit of their shows and being dubbed the "support angel" by them), a lot of these songs were already close to heart, like "Angels and Eagles" and several songs from Kim's latest release "Rapunzel's Escape".

Even earlier this week, having met her in the Tuesday night prayer group I attend that Kim and Devon coordinate, no one had quite the impact on me like Eve Selis. You know how you just bond instantly? This lady loves, lives and gives from her center, as a singer and as a person. A mom with a teenager and two year old in her 40s, that life experience only served to enhance the power and passion which she expressed from the deep part of her soul. If we could all follow even a fraction of that in our own lives and how we relate to one another, this world would be much the better for it.

As well, we all were impressed and moved by Robin English and Shana Morrison (daughter of Van), by the sheer power of their voices and the words and passion of their songs. All of whom were backed by the mighty Hippie Chick Twang band of the amazing Tom Shinness on multi-string instruments, Chris Herrin on bass, "Will McJ" on drums, Mark Twang on guitar (and I apologize for not having the name of Shana's guitarist--I'll add it later once I find out).

One thing that made me feel good was that two or three of the performers told me they loved my energy and enthusiasm and it helped them feel supported. That's what I do and what I'm here for...and these dear people sure made it easy to be enthusiastic.

Wow. What a blessing. And what two amazing years so far. I love my life here. I love this town.

Debi Champion's Anniversary, Commodore Grill, 3/30/09

2009-03-31T15:15:00.004-05:00

Moments, moments, moments.

That pretty much sums up the time I was able to spend at Debi Champion's celebration of the 5th anniversary of the start of her writers nights at the Commodore Grill. Debi, of course, is known for being a solid supporter of writers and giving them places to be heard long before this five year period, notably at spots like the Broken Spoke (which I heard about often back when I was still living in Minnesota). The place was absolutely packed with writers and friends who came out to play and show up in support of Debi and join in the celebration. My stamina gave out so I couldn't spend the entire evening there, but I will share a few highlights of what I heard.

- Dakota Grove. Oh my gosh. I have told you about these folks before (Daisy Dern, Camille Wallin, Scott Sanford and CJ Watson). They just get up there and make magic with their voices, their songs, their playing and their onstage rapport and charisma. Something's gonna happen with this group.
- Boomer Castleman, Pam Belford and Jim Sales in an amazing round: Boomer adding tasty guitar to the haunting rhythm of Jim's first song, his own guitar artistry during his turn, and Pam Belford charming us and making us laugh. My favorite thing was watching Pam during Boomer's and Jim's songs; she looked as if she was in absolute nirvana taking in the music. We were feeling much the same way out here in the audience.
- Lisa Aschmann totally surprised and impressed me with her two acapella songs. I don't think I'd ever heard her sing before, and to draw in the audience like she did without accompaniment was no easy task.
- A great series of rounds featuring many hit writers: Jimmy Payne, Glen Todd, Bill Carlile Jr., Tony Lane, Chris Wallin, David Lee, Stan Webb, Craig Monday and Jerry Foster. From these folks we got to enjoy and sing along with such hits as "Woman Woman", "Skip A Rope", "I'm Tryin'", "Love Me If You Can", "Don't Blink", "Lucky Man", "We're From The Country", "Got A Little Crazy".

...And much, much more, I'm sure I missed.

You can catch Debi's writers nights during the week at the Commodore Tuesday-Thursday nights. Happy anniversary Debi. Love ya. Love this town.

Spirit At the 6th: Doak Turner's 3rd Sunday 6th Anniversary 3/15/09

2009-03-16T05:45:00.006-05:00

Each month I have a few standing commitments on my wild and crazy schedule. One of those happens on the third Sunday of the month, when I go to Doak Turner's Nashville Muse songwriter potluck. If you haven't read my previous writing on this event, it's a gathering at Doak's house where songwriters, those who love them and other music types gather to eat, meet, network for opportunities and fill a few rooms in the house and the yard as weather permits for spontaneous song sharing rounds. This month marked the 6th anniversary of the 3rd Sunday potluck.

This event has hosted people from all over the country and beyond its borders, from newbies to hit writers. Some who started coming without ever writing a song went on to become co-writers with people they've met at Doak's. For some of us, it was our introduction to the songwriting community in Nashville. I fully credit 3rd Sunday as the most important factor that helped me get to know many of the songwriters in town and enabled me to support them. I went from a new in town fly on the wall to a member of the "family". I am truly blessed to have been accepted so warmly by these dear people despite never having played a note of music in a round.

Every month at Doak's get together is a good time. But on this 6th anniversary day, everyone knew there was a certain spirit present that seemed to make the gathering extra special. "Moments" were breaking out all over the place. We were visited by a group of young singers from the University of Texas at Austin called "Ransom Notes", who wowed us all with their up tempo a cappella arrangements; our favorite funny man, songwriting teacher and ambassador, Marc Alan Barnette, who jumped in with the group and later held court in one of the rooms with his big power voice and engaging songs; Tom Shinness, musician extraordinaire who brought three different instruments and as always, impressed everyone and was in demand to add his musicianship to rounds; jam packed rooms with great new singers and writers and old friends with new material to share.

Musicians note that there is a unique sensation that takes place whenever the right players get together and find the right groove, one which perhaps those who don't play can't experience. I submit that we non-musician listeners have our own equivalent of that experience. It's that "pinch me" sensation you feel when you're in the midst of hearing something like this. Nashville, of course, is full of those moments for me. Lord knows I've written about many of them here. On this afternoon, from time to time, players and non-players alike, we were all fans.

Experience the magic for yourself through this video clip by Doug Farrar.

Happy anniversary, Doak. And many, many more.

Beth Browne, Fillin' Station, Kingston Springs, TN 3/14/09

2009-03-15T21:47:00.004-05:00

As most who know me can tell you, I tend to favor the acoustic singer/songwriter type of event such as writers nights or coffeehouse gatherings when I venture out. I don't always get to hear bands all that much. But on the spur of the moment, sick and tired of enduring dreary weather by staying indoors, I decided to head to another place in Kingston Springs I've also heard good things about musically, The Fillin' Station, to hear and support an artist who impressed me several months ago during a Commodore Grill round, Beth Browne.

Beth is just back from Los Angeles, where she attended the premiere of a new film, Junkyard Dog, which features two of her songs "Paradise" and "Little Boy Blue". Take note that this all came about for Beth when the writer/director of the movie happened to hear her songs at one of her gigs and was impressed enough to choose some for the film. Proof positive that being out there, ready and on your game and in the right place at the right time, things can happen.

Beth played a solid set at the Fillin Station with bassist and husband Terry Browne, guitarist Max McGuire, and drummer Allen Marshall. Whether she was doing covers ("Break Down Here", "Ain't No Sunshine") or material from her fine new country/bluesy CD "In Your Arms", her powerful, emotive voice brought a rousing reception from the crowd. A small bar/lounge which actually once was a gas station, the Fillin' Station was comfortable, appeared to be family friendly as well, and yeah, the patty melt was pretty good. Everyone was having a grand time enjoying the music and thanks to Beth, the whole place said goodnight to me when I had to split. Sweet.

Catch Beth on the 26th of March as part of James Breedwell's writers night at the Nashville Palace from 6-9 p.m.

Bluebird Cafe and Commodore Grill, 3/12/09

2009-03-13T09:26:00.005-05:00

Earlier this week I was sitting on my deck enjoying 70 degree weather. The next day or so I was looking at ice. The abrupt contrast was much too depressing. Rather than stay at home out of the weather, I knew I had to get out of the house and forge ahead with my plans.

Happily for Louise Mosrie, Greg Foresman, Julie Grower and Bruce-Jon Brigham, a lot of other people felt the same way and gave them a good turnout for their Bluebird Café round. These folks write together often in various configurations (and Julie and Bruce will celebrate their second wedding anniversary in May), so the four were well acquainted with each other's material to add parts as needed.

I was most familiar with Louise, having met and heard her for the first time at Red Tree Coffee last month. Louise writes a lot of songs about the road (and writes while on the road...she noted she starts many of these songs in her car!). Her upcoming CD, Backroads, will feature some of the songs she did and I am really looking forward to it. I'm particularly waiting on my favorite song of hers which she played, "Maybe I'm Your Angel". It will remind you a little of "Trying To Love You", the Beth Nielsen Chapman song done by Trisha Yearwood.

I first met Greg Foresman last September at Radio Free Nashville...he was being interviewed as I was waiting to go on the air for the first time. I learned then that he was Martina McBride's guitarist and had some pretty solid music of his own. Greg played some very fine slide guitar throughout the evening on his own songs (the bluesy" Something I Can Use" was a standout) as well as the others. He also has a new CD due out soon.

I also enjoyed Julie Grower and Bruce-Jon Brigham, both fine singers and songwriters. I particularly liked Bruce's songs "Prayer of a Simple Man" and "Montana", and Julie's humorous "Save the Drama For Your Mama" and "I Found You", which says that the person of your dreams may not be what you pictured, but turned out fulfilling nonetheless.

Afterward it was off to the Commodore Grill to wish a happy birthday to CJ Watson and to hear him with his friends (Camille Wallin and Scott Sanford, later joined by Jeff Gilkinson). I also heard this combination a few nights earlier. If you're looking at the lineups at the Commodore and you see these folks on it, you need to hear them as well. This is how top-flight songwriting, vocals and on-stage chemistry's done.

It was getting late and some of us were fading and really should have been heading home. But we couldn't because next up was Chris Wallin (writer of "Don't Blink", "Something To Be Proud Of", "Love Me If You Can" and "I'm Tryin", just to name a few...all of which he did). He wasn't sure how much stage time he had, but it seemed nobody wanted to let him go.

That is the magic of these nights. I love this town.

Nashville Music Group Writers Nights - Nashville Palace

2009-02-24T10:17:00.004-06:00

I thought I've been pretty busy these days, what with a number of writing projects going on and going out almost every night in the week checking out writers nights and other shows in support of many of my singer/songwriter friends. But I got to thinking, maybe I'm not half as busy as James Breedwell.

James hosts Nashville Music Group Writers Nights six nights a week: Mondays and Thursdays at the Nashville Palace from 6-9 p.m., Sunday at Pizza Pelon from 6-9 p.m., Tuesdays at Hooters in Hermitage from 7-10 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays at Chic-Fil-A in Hermitage from 6-9 p.m.

I went to two recent Nashville Palace writers nights and heard many friends and familiar names on these evenings. And of course, I also met and heard many new artists. Writers play about three or four songs each, with James opening the evening with a short set. When you walk in the door, you're not a stranger...James takes the time to warmly greet everyone who comes in. That's a nice touch. He also puts a lot of time and attention to the details of the evening and makes sure everything runs smoothly. James's focus is on giving writers and musicians networking opportunities and helping to perhaps make some dreams come true.

Some thought this was a joke, but it's absolutely true. Even though I would have liked to have gone to the Legends and Lyrics taping last Monday evening which featured Dwight Yoakam, I chose to come out and support my friends Brandon Maddox, Brian James and Sam Cooper. Hey, I have my priorities.

For more info on these writers nights, contact Pat at nashvillemusicgroup@yahoo.com .

Legends and Lyrics TV taping, 2/20-22/2009

2009-02-23T12:05:00.004-06:00

A few people around here sure have me pegged. I received at least two e-mails from people letting me know about the tapings for the Songwriters In the Round public television series "Legends and Lyrics", happening for the past few days in downtown Nashville and open for the public to be part of the audience. "This is so you...you would enjoy this," my e-mailers said. Absolutely. I promptly signed up for three weekend afternoon tapings.

This series brings together three renowned and established writers and one "rising star" act to play some songs they wrote and tell stories on how they were written. The "rising star" act did three songs to open the show, then the other artists came out and performed "in the round", with four or five rounds. It's taped at the Grand Masonic Lodge in downtown Nashville. The auditorium didn't have a bad seat in the house.

The first show I went to was Friday afternoon, which featured Felix Cavaliere (Rascals), Melissa Manchester, Josh Kelley and Damien Horne. I was most pumped to hear Felix, and I tell you, the guy still has his voice. He did "Groovin' ", "Lonely Too Long", "How Can I Be Sure", and "People Got To Be Free". Melissa Manchester wowed the audience with her singing and her powerful piano playing. She did "Midnight Blue" (originally intended for Dionne Warwick, but producers dug Melissa's voice on the demo and the rest was history), "Come In From The Rain" and two newer songs (didn't have my usually present pen and paper out—didn't want to get caught taking notes on camera!). Quite honestly, I wasn't all that familiar with Josh Kelley, but he was very impressive and engaging with the audience. I knew that "rising star" Damien Horne was part of the present "Musik Mafia" but hadn't heard much of his music. Once again, I was impressed and in particular my friend who was sitting next to me was quite blown away. I think we'll both be looking up more of his music.

On to Saturday afternoon...the lineup was newcomer Jessica Rae, who was excellent; in the round were Glen Phillips (known from Toad the Wet Sprocket), Guy Clark and Roger McGuinn. Glen Phillips was accompanied on guitar and vocals by Sean Watkins (Nickel Creek) and among other songs he did was the one I was hoping for, "All I Want". Storytelling songwriter Guy Clark engaged the audience and got some of the largest applause I've heard the artists receive. Roger McGuinn did an awesome version of "Eight Miles High" on acoustic guitar.

The last taping I went to was Sunday afternoon's, which had the largest crowd of the three afternoon tapings I attended. Opening as "rising stars" was a very strong duo, Sam and Ruby. In the round were Mac Davis, Peter Yarrow and David Pack (Ambrosia). In my opinion, the absolute best voice of all the artists I heard in the three days belonged hands down to David Pack. He got all of his Ambrosia hits in: "Biggest Part of Me", "You're The Only Woman", "Holding On to Yesterday" and "How Much I Feel". The beauty and range of his voice was stunning. Peter Yarrow, I think, wanted to talk as much as he did sing, but he did (accompanied by his daughter Brittany) get the audience singing with him to "Puff the Magic Dragon" and "Day Is Done". I would like to know Mac Davis' secret for hardly having aged since his TV days. The audience wanted to hear his own personal songs like "Watching Scotty Grow" and "I Believe In Music".

I figured I was going to see at least a few people I knew in the audience at these tapings and indeed I did. It was a great experience for all of us. If you missed out on this group of tapings, there will be more scheduled for spring and the "Legends and Lyrics" series should start airing on PBS in April.

Need I say it? I love this town!

Wanda Jackson, Steve Haggard, Those Darlins, 5 Spot, East Nashville, 2/17/09

2009-02-18T08:22:00.005-06:00

To be honest, I've never been the most comfortable in bars. I don't drink or smoke and the stereotype situations a gal on her own in one might find don't appeal to me. But my musical friends were successfully persuasive in getting me down to the 5 Spot in East Nashville to check out the queen of rockabilly, Wanda Jackson. It turned out to be one of the most fun evenings I've ever had.

As bars go, I found the 5 Spot to have a pleasant atmosphere. The music they play in between sets sounds a lot like my radio show, so I was digging that. A wide age range of people were well-behaved and just having a fun time loving the music and dancing. I also enjoyed seeing some of the retro fashions that folks were coming in with to get in the spirit of the evening.

Wanda Jackson, as you may have heard, will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year. She looked terrific and her vocals still packed a punch. Elvis Presley was a great encouragement to her as she was beginning her career in the 1950's, so she paid tribute to him with a medley of a few of his songs. Some of the biggest crowd favorites were her own hits such as "Riot In Cell Block #9", the country "Right Or Wrong", and the one I know a lot of us were waiting to hear, "Let's Have A Party".

There were two opening acts for Wanda. A young female group, Those Darlins, combined the power pop high-energy and spirit of the Go-Gos with a country twang. My Radio Free Nashville colleagues, Steve Haggard, Kimberly King and their band (which included Walter Egan) played a short but excellent set. Most of the group also served double duty as Wanda's backup band and did a great job.

I'm glad I decided to come after all when my schedule opened up. I had a nice time with some nice people. I love this town.

Red Tree Coffee, Kingston Springs, TN 2/13/09

2009-02-13T22:54:00.010-06:00

I walked into Red Tree Coffee this evening and immediately felt nostalgic.

You see, I spent about 15 years supporting local singer/songwriters on the coffeehouse circuit in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN. I credit that time in my life for opening the door for the support I'm blessed with doing here today for the Nashville singer/songwriter community. In the Twin Cities I bonded with many artists and coffeehouses and saw them come and go and change with the times. We rejoiced when we watched singers and writers progress from debuting their first CDs in such coffeehouses to making a living with their music and becoming touring artists.

Red Tree is one such sweet coffeehouse in Kingston Springs that holds that intimate, friendly atmosphere I've loved so much. Two sisters from Arkansas, Amy and Katie, serve up tasty coffee and other goodies and are two "cheerleaders" with great enthusiasm for the music they present every Friday night. This evening, the musical feature was one favorite singer of mine and one new to me.

Now, if you are a true fan of someone and you go to their show, the one thing you want to have happen most is to see that artist or group succeed with a great crowd that is totally attentive and enthusiastic. Those of you who have been reading this blog for some time know I've been on record about George Adams and how I think he's one of this town's greatest talents with a heartbreakingly beautiful, hit the tuning fork of the heart, flip your soul upside down and backwards voice. This night pulled together the best elements of the last couple of times I've seen him. His 45 minute set combined his own strong material with some covers. As I told you last October, George adds first class artistry to well-known songs, and in particular he brought it with "What's Going On", showing off that awesome vocal range of his, and Larry Gatlin's "I've Done Enough Dying Today." He had a good sized, mega-receptive crowd. I couldn't have been more thrilled for him.

It was also a pleasure to hear Louise Mosrie, a fine singer/songwriter with a lovely voice, solid material and engaging presence. One favorite of mine was "Don't Come Looking For Me" and the aforementioned Amy and Katie obviously loved "God Lives In Arkansas". Louise will be playing a few shows around town and is working on a new CD, so I'll be keeping an ear out for her, I'm sure.

As for Red Tree, I'll be back...they've got a couple of good friends of mine playing there in the coming weeks.

I'm very thankful for the presence of some friends who I invited to come down to join me for the show and help show support. I also thought about the friends I've been bumping into at all these events on this jam-packed schedule of mine (see the previous blog entry). How fitting it was that, as I was heading home, I turned on the radio and heard Michael W. Smith singing "Friends" on the Grand Ole Opry. I know it had to be God winking. I felt very lucky on this Friday the 13th.

I love my friends in this town and I love this town.

Plugged In Entertainment Writers Night, Blue Bar, 2/11/09

2009-02-12T11:01:00.006-06:00

My bemoaning saga of too many great things going on in one night in this town continues...

As I promised readers I would do, I checked out a writer's night that I hadn't yet been to. But first, I stopped in on the Wild Oats Records showcase at the Commodore to hear Steve Haggard and Kimberly King and Joel Alan Lehman. Then conveniently, it was on to the nearby Blue Bar to catch the Wednesday evening Plugged In Entertainment writer's night run by Joy Collins and my friend (and everybody's) Joe Hrasna, hosted this evening by Lacie Madison. I got there a little early so I got to hear the last of a set by a duo whose regular Blue Bar gig ads I'd seen on TV, O'Shea. They have a strong following and are powerful performers.

I picked this evening to come in support of Kim McLean and Devon O'Day. Kim has a fabulous new release called "Rapunzel's Escape" and she, Devin and bass player Chris (assisted by Matthew Burgess, who was awesome in backing everyone on percussion) did five songs from the CD. (Kim and Devon, by the way, will be guests on my radio show Never Too Old on the 22nd.)

There were many other great writers that evening...those I did get to hear were some favorites of mine, Scott Southworth and Stephanie Layne, Rachel Williams (whose autographed picture I got from her at the 2007 CMA Fest hangs on my office wall), and some new to me writers: Terrie Long and Sarah Gayle Taylor (sorry to be ignorant of names, but Sarah had an excellent fellow with her who did one song..I think his name was Mick. If I find out more, I'll edit the info). I could only stay a short time and couldn't make the rest of the evening, so my apologies to all the other writers I missed and hope to catch you elsewhere soon!

What is always so amusing and so wonderful is running into a lot of the same people at these events, even if I've seen them only a night or two before. That was the case at the Blue Bar, too. We laugh about it and we hug, and we enjoy that we're all there for the same reason: supporting these artists.

Next stop: a place I have heard a lot of buzz about, Red Tree Coffeehouse in Kingston Springs. Stay tuned.

Got Gigs? Plug 'em!

2009-02-09T07:11:00.002-06:00

No doubt about it, I've been a busy gal about town these days. If I wanted to, I could be out every night in the week with all that goes on around Nashville. I get a lot of invites to gigs by various musicians, and I can't possibly go to them all. Last week in particular was wild. I had two big events in one night which were great and I took the weekend "off" in order to recuperate from the rest of the week. It's a happy problem to have, most of the time. But a gal has to pick and choose in order to get a good sleep every now and then.

That being said, there are occasions that I hear of a show after the fact from musicians I like or am friends with, and I end up being bummed out because I might have gone to the show had I known about it. So, do make sure you are plugging your gigs well. If you are someone who doesn't play out as much, be sure your show isn't just buried on your calendar. If you are on MySpace, send out a bulletin a couple of days in advance! It's good to have all those bases covered, even though folks who have a large number of MySpace friends get tons of bulletins competing for attention. I hit that 1,000 friend milestone this past week, but I do try to page through those as much as possible. (On the other hand, don't go too extreme and post several bulletins all at once! That can be overkill and it's a turnoff to some people. Moderation is the key.)

And if you really want to make sure someone knows about a show—send an e-mail, too!

Just a little friendly advice from a promo gal...

"Second Home" Nights - Commodore Grill 1/14 & 1/18

2009-01-16T10:06:00.011-06:00

I know that there are a lot of great writers nights going on regularly in Nashville. Eventually, I will get around to them...I promise. These days I call the Commodore Grill my "second home" because for one thing, I'm there a lot. It's convenient, there's music most nights of the week if you need a fix, and it's a place where I know I'm going to be welcomed and accepted, especially on those times when I've needed it. Even the wait staff knows me now and what I drink (water with lemon or tea). So tip 'em well when you come!

I caught great rounds and acts this week. The featured artist on Wednesday evening was one talented and charming guy, Boomer Castleman. He works with a lot of people in this town as artist and producer. Boomer's musical impact goes back to the 60s, where he worked in a duo with Michael Martin Murphy as the Lewis and Clark Expedition and wrote for artists like the Monkees and others. He's an awesome guitar player and writer, with a wide vocal range (witness on "Never Say Never Again", which he's been kind enough to send out to me on a couple of occasions because he knows I like that song). You also need to take note of his drummer and percussionist, Lois Hess--she is terrific.

Wild Oats Records gets a featured round regularly at the Commodore. This week I got to hear Walter Egan, who did his hit "Magnet and Steel" along with other strong originals, and David R. Smith. Steve Haggard also sat in on harmonica and harmony vocals.

There was also a "surprise" round, at least for me. I always try to bring the list of names off the Commodore MySpace page with me so I know who's who, but as you'd expect, things tend to change. I was happy to hear and see two guys who I hear often and am always glad to, Scott Jarman and Craig Winquist, along with Jarrod Doucet. Another regular who I always enjoy hearing is Ric Sandler--I love his high energy and enthusiasm, strong keyboard and vocals. I also heard and liked Todd Abke, Glen Doolittle, Russ Woolen, Nat Durant, John Velora (particularly good vocals from this guy), Joe First (who I recognized as the guy who often brings his accordion to Doak Turner's gatherings) and Alexandria Kelly.

I went back Saturday night, which was one of those "where I'm supposed to be" nights I have now and then. The night began with a great set from "The Macs", being Don and Karen McNatt and Barbara and Max McGuire. Don and Karen (sporting a cute new short haircut!) are personal favorites of mine. The crowd loved Don's "I Want To Speak Spanish" song and Karen did one of hers I like a lot, "Red Umbrella". Barbara and Max did a wonderful song Barbara wrote with well-known writers Pete and Pat Luboff, "When I Breathe", to benefit Cystic Fibrosis.

I was particularly interested in checking out a young talent I'd heard so much about. Will Champlin has been getting a lot of notice around town, having won best R&B/Soul song Hollywood Music Award for "Now That We're Fallin'". His father is longtime Chicago guitarist/vocalist Bill Champlin (who I've been a fan of since the Sons of Champlin days in the 60s), and Will is indeed one to keep an ear on -- great vocals, keyboards, guitar work and stage presence with a humble spirit. His self-titled CD is also very strong. Will and his band have a resident gig at the fairly new venue Music City Bar and Grill in the Vanderbilt University area on Thursday nights at 8 p.m.

I can't keep too late a schedule on Saturday nights these days because I have a radio show to do on Sunday morning. But I did catch part of a very nice round which the players called a "sandwich": Diana Kelley and Erinn Sherlock on the ends as the "bread" and Scott Honaker as what he called "the sausage".

By the way, when you see me at the Commodore, my table is always open for folks to drop by and visit...I had a few visitors with me both evenings. Sometimes it's people I know, or other times it's folks who have seen me there often but never met me. It's nice to feel wanted and welcome. I love the Commodore Grill and I love this town.

Summing Up The Year...

2008-12-30T06:01:00.004-06:00

Someone who had read my "year end wrap" over at my "Ponderings" blog suggested I ought to do something similar here as well. OK, I will give it a shot.

Looking back over my postings, I've had a pretty amazing year. I took in a lot of awesome shows, both in the singer/songwriter and Christian/gospel circuits. I got to witness some special things I never did before, such as a television show taping and a recording session. I found a venue I made a "second home" (the Commodore Grill...the Bluebird's probably the third). I discovered many great new talented people, including some whose music profoundly impacted my soul and strongly reinforced the reason for doing what it is I do.

Speaking of what I do with this blog...well, let me do just that for a moment. I've been reading "Make Me A Star" by Anastasia Brown. It's an interesting, uncomplicated book. One of the things she mentions is people who always tell an artist he/she is great, when it may not be an honest opinion. I've been very blessed that 99% of those who follow this blog understand what I'm trying to do. But, I've also heard of the 1% who think "yeah, she tells everyone they're great whether they are or not."

In fact, I am quite judicious about what I write in the Blend. I have been to many, many more gigs than what I've written about here. I write about something if I am moved in a special way to. I've heard people who are ready for that major artist cut. I've also heard those I feel may be best going for carving a niche on their own. But I tell you this: when I go to a writers night or a show and you are playing, you will get a smile from me and you will get my attention. I love music, I love musicians and I believe everyone deserves a certain amount of respect for going for their dream and expressing their heart in their music. Above all, I believe that everyone needs encouragement. I'm not in the dream busting business just because I write a blog. There are plenty of critics out there and I don't aspire to that job. First and foremost, I'm a person and a fan. That's the level I relate on and whenever a writer comes up to me and says they've noticed my energy and support and it's made a difference to them, it never gets commonplace and I will never, ever take it for granted.

And you know something else? I'm looking forward to even more in 2009 as I begin my second year of living in Nashville. I love this town...and I love y'all. Happy New Year, everyone.

December 2008 - Oh What A Night: Commodore Grille 12/19/08

2008-12-19T23:19:00.009-06:00

I got to the Commodore early to hook up with my singer/songwriter friend Brandon Maddox before he left town for the holidays and to hear the first round which was to include a newer such friend, Adam Foster. Unfortunately, Adam was ill and couldn't be in the round with Mareesa Frank, Adam Lewis and Beth Browne. However, I had absolutely no complaints about his replacement.

George Adams, he of the 21 star review I wrote back in October in this blog, happened to be there and was invited to substitute in the round. Though he may have felt he was rusty, that's not what I, my friend and others thought. Even if I did agree, I'd say "so what?" To hear acoustic guitar versions of "Turn The Knife", "Change of Heart" and "Stronger Than Words" (which, yet in that form, did to me what it does to women I know who've heard the song--made me cry) was a special treat for me. I still say in whatever shape, George has one of the greatest voices in this town. As guitarists in rounds often fill in parts for one another, he also did some nice backup vocal work for his fellow participants (as did Beth Browne for George's songs).

All of the others in the round, Mareesa, Adam and Beth, shined brightly as well in their vocals and songwriting. Mareesa is a strong young talent to watch as a singer/songwriter/pianist, Adam is a very solid vocalist and writer, and Beth is a powerhouse vocalist (and congrats to her for having songs recently chosen for a movie).

If that was not enough, another round of magic followed which was full of family. Brother and sister duo the Roys, Elaine and Lee, played with Michael Bonagura and Kathie Baillie (Baillie and the Boys) and their daughter, Alyssa Bonagura, who was home from college in England. (Thus, with her wit matched with our British host, Lorna Flowers, there was lots of English humor during the round.) The camaradie between the Roys and the Bonaguras was warmly evident and the music, well, it just was wonderful. I'd heard the Roys before on the radio and was impressed--and I certainly was hearing them live as well.

It must be a very special experience for any set of musical parents to watch their children's talent flourish with the apple not falling far from the tree. It must also be a thrill for those parents to play music together with their talented children. The pride that mom Kathie, dad Michael and daughter Alyssa had in each other when performing together or separately was obvious and lovely to watch and hear.

I also caught a small portion of what I'm sure was another fine round with Graham Rogers, Susan Suruda, Mark Carson and Kathy Hudson. This entire evening was right up there with the one I raved about at the Commodore in November.

Forgive me if I'm self-indulgent, but the most personal highlight for me that evening didn't come from the music on stage. That was when Mareesa Frank of the first round told me "you're a great listener" and how much it meant to have people paying attention. It's what I pray I give to the singer/songwriters in this town, and it's what keeps me preaching this message of encouragement.

I couldn't have asked for a better unexpected early Christmas gift than this evening. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone.

Brief Roundup...

2008-12-15T16:00:00.008-06:00

Well, for a gal who never liked to drive when I was back in St. Paul, my little car and I have sure been hitting the road around here lately! I'll just briefly mention a few items on spots I've been recently:

- The Commodore Grill hosted a very successful benefit on December 3 for Character Counts, a fine organization which aims to educate children about good character and ethics, and helping youth understand choices and consequences. The evening was full of great songwriters, such as Pam Belford, Thom Shepherd, Ben West, Steve Goodie, Lorna Flowers and many others. The place was packed all evening so I thought it would do well donation wise, and well it did: the evening raised $5,000 through a silent auction, door prize raffle sales and other donations.

- I also had another opportunity to check out Alex Harvey and his band this past weekend, this time at Puckett's in downtown Franklin (which was a challenge to navigate due to construction and other events). Alex, harmony singer Gineille and the band are very effective in creating community with their audience. They give an open, passionate, honest performance. I personally also admire how Alex doesn't end the evening without strongly proclaiming his faith. You'll get into the groove with the hard rocking tunes and cry in the same places that touch your heart no matter how often the story's been told. That's what brings people back over and over again.

- On Sunday I was very kindly invited to a party/house concert by Terri Lynn, a well loved blues singer in this area who is celebrating the release of her CD, Blue Storm. Terri Lynn and her band literally rocked the house with "cool blues". Yet another navigation challenge there: I thought I wouldn't get there at all as I got tangled up in the Donelson Christmas parade twice, and no one was going anywhere across the parade route for an hour!

- After the party, I had plenty of time to make it down to the Bluebird Cafe. I planned to check out writer's night featured writer Steve Leslie, who I met last week while he was being interviewed on Radio Free Nashville and heard a week or so before at Fiddle and Pick. I got into the line and just about everyone I stood near buzzed about the early feature act, Tin Cup Gypsy. I gathered they had quite a following. Once I got inside and heard them, I found out why. This family trio made up of husband and wife Jonathan (also guitarist for Sara Evans) and Cassandra Lawson and brother Jordan Lawson (fiddle player for Josh Turner--I knew he looked familiar!) fuse acoustic Folk, Rock, Jazz, and Bluegrass with strong harmony vocals, fine original songs and inventive covers (like Fastball's "The Way", for example) and great musicianship. Tin Cup Gypsy have obviously bonded with their fans and they've got a new one in me...they are also three of the sweetest people I've ever met.

Writer's night at the Bluebird consisted mainly of the annual tradition of featuring many of the Bluebird employees who are singer/songwriters with their turn in the spotlight. I was impressed with all of them. I will certainly take special notice of them next time I'm there with a bit of encouragement as well as in tips. Steve Leslie, as mentioned earlier, closed the show. He was quite warm and entertaining, choosing to do newer material over the better known songs he's written for folks like Darryl Worley and George Strait.

This weekend was all about hospitality..that which was shown to me at the shows or kind invitations that got me there. That's why I love this town.

PS: Prayers continuing to go up for popular singer/songwriter CJ Watson, recovering at home from quadruple bypass surgery. There will be a benefit happening for him at the Listening Room on February 2 with performers to be announced, so stay tuned to various websites for more details.

Shantel Adams, Ben West, Scott Jarman, Denise Benson, Bluebird Cafe 11/25/08

2008-11-26T12:48:00.007-06:00

I am always surprised and flattered when people I haven't met before find my blog and tell me they've read it. I'm also humbled when people extend to me special invitations to their shows. So it was when Shantel Adams invited me to hear her in a Bluebird round. I already knew two of the other writers in the round, Scott Jarman and Ben West. When Denise Benson arrived, I realized I'd met her previously as well.

Native Canadian Shantel Adams was the new one in the group to me. She's had some successes with charting songs in Canada and is currently doing well with a Canadian Christmas song. She has a lovely gentle voice with, as was pointed out in the round, an Anne Murray type quality. Her songs received a most favorable reception from the crowd, among those being a beautiful Christmas song called "Thank God For Christmas", "He Sure Cleans Up Good" (on which she was joined by co-writer Janice Gilbert on vocals), "That Makes You You", and a fun tune a lot of us can relate to which urged us to "just say no to your high school reunion." Shantel is certainly one to keep an ear out for.

Two words aptly describe Kentucky guy Ben West: country gentleman. He's a traditionalist all the way and a charming entertainer. He amused and enlightened us with his autobiographical tunes "Cause I'm Country" and "This Hat Ain't No Act", "Grinnin From Gear To Gear", and touched us with "Nothing To Lose" about leaving home to make it in Nashville.

Dallas, TX native Denise Benson showed us some very strong material, starting us out with the very fun "Hunk of Bubba" and "I Must Be in Texas" (because there was salsa at the buffet). One inspirational highlight was the song co-written with Brandon Maddox, "Enough Grace".

Scott Jarman, who I run into often at songwriter events and rounds, is a solid singer/songwriter. Unfortuately, I didn't hear most of his song titles. Memo to artists: help out us bloggers, writers and fans and tell us the names of your songs! I really liked the first love song he did, as well as one he set up with a Civil War metaphor.

Overall, a very nice evening of good songwriting. As always, my good wishes and prayers going up for these folks hoping to get hit cuts in this town.

John Heinrich, Steel Guitar Demonstration, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, 11/23/08

2008-11-24T20:10:00.009-06:00

The very best thing about what I do here in supporting artists is watching the circle expand. Here's how this one went. I met artist manager extraordinare Judy Whiting on Nashville Music Pros. Virtuoso sax player and steel guitar player John Heinrich is her client. So, Judy invited me to John's steel guitar demonstration this past Sunday at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Before that all happens, I met Judy and John for the first time at the Radio Free Nashville station after John's interview.

John Heinrich is an extraordinary talent who plays many instruments besides steel guitar and saxophone. He's also a cool, humble guy. In his demonstration he gave us the history of the pedal steel guitar, the lap steel guitar (most commonly used in Hawaiian recordings) and the dobro and showed us how they worked. Of course, he played a couple of songs on each instrument. He invited any brave souls to come up and try the steel guitar (one did...certainly not me. I've never played a "normal" guitar, never mind working up the nerve to attempt pedal steel!). Now John made us promise not to tell this, so you didn't hear it from me. He did one song on pedal steel I hoped he would play, which was his arrangement of a modern jazz classic. (Hint: you can hear it on his MySpace profile.) As someone who is basically a fan first and never played an instrument for any length of time, I have to appreciate the opportunity to take a look through the window of a musician's world this way. It's very enlightening and gives you a greater respect for the entire creative process.

Again, one other cool thing about this event is meeting new people and especially those for the first time in person that I've communicated with online for awhile. And, to have these people accept what I do and include me on these and other events is very gratifying.

When the circle expands, it's a joyful thing.

What a weekend. I'm a blessed gal to be in this town.

Friends of Pegram Park Writers Night, Fiddle and Pick, Pegram TN 11/22/08

2008-11-24T18:28:00.004-06:00

The only time I'd been to Pegram before this night was when I was driving in the area I moved to this past summer. I missed my turn and kept going...eventually I found I had crossed counties and arrived in this little town. I found out later that Pegram was home to this lovely place called Fiddle and Pick. It's housed in a restored 100+ year old building which had served a number of purposes but is now a place which celebrates traditional music and offers instruction and workshops on fiddles, banjos, mandolins, guitars and similar instruments. Fiddle and Pick has a homey, country store atmosphere with excellent sound quality.

Many wonderful songwriters graced this writers night benefiting the Friends of Pegram Park. For me it had a combined intimate feel of a house concert and a CLC writers night I recently attended. By and large these writers have had cuts by major artists or are touring artists themselves. The half hour sets offered a variety of styles from folk to Americana to jazz.

Joe Doyle had cuts with many hit artists, including "In Pictures", a #1 song by Alabama. He played electric and acoustic guitars instead of his usual piano. A set highlight was the song "Tacklebox" recorded by Luke Bryan. The charming Steve Leslie admitted to being a little nervous without a set list, but did a fine job nonetheless performing among others, one song which was covered by George Strait. Laurie McClain, accompanied by Fats Kaplan on mandolin, is an alluring singer/songwriter who performed thoughtful songs off her lovely new release "Ascend", including one very cute song about a UFO landing, "Somewhere In Kentucky".

K Squared (Karen Angela Moore, vocals, Kent Gunderson, guitar) offered up an upbeat jazzy set of original material. Kim McLean, Devon O'Day and Mark Elliott, who tour together often, teamed up for a great set trading off songs and backing each other. Mark did a few songs from his latest album, "Good Life". Personal set highlight for me was Kim and Devon doing the hauntingly beautiful "Baruch Ha Ba" (Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; this can be found on Kim's marvelous CD "Soul Solace". You'll be blessed.) Wrapping up the night was Jeff Miller, a fine singer/songwriter and technical guitar virtuoso who created sound effects with his guitar. He's much like northern Minnesota artist Michael Monroe who I heard often in the Twin Cities.

This was for sure one of those warm fuzzy evenings. There were some familiar faces in the crowd and on stage at the show, and I made a few new friends among the players before the night was out. Some were so kind to share their product with me upon finding out I write this little blog. And a special shout out to Mark Elliott, who went above and beyond after the show to give me a "personal by request" performance of a song of his I enjoy called "Baseball and Beatles" from his "American Road" CD.

How lucky can a gal get, anyway? I am thankful to be in this town.

Alex Harvey, Puckett's After Hours, Leiper's Fork, 11/14/08

2008-11-15T06:37:00.009-06:00

In October I was sitting in the studio at Radio Free Nashville waiting to do my radio show. "Geo On the Radio" was on tape that day as he was away. It was a replay of the show where Alex Harvey, writer of "Delta Dawn", "Reuben James", "Rings", and many others was his guest. Besides being a superb songwriter, Alex is also a person of faith. Geo and Alex may not have realized it, but God showed up during the interview in that small studio. I laughed, cried and praised God right along with Alex as I was listening. After that, I did my best radio show ever to this date.

For that reason, I couldn't wait to have a chance to hear Alex Harvey live. I had a feeling I was going to get my socks blessed off. It was a dark and stormy night, though the drive to Leiper's Fork wasn't quite as scary because I had the sense to make a test run to Puckett's that morning to see where it was. Normally I'd stay home on these kind of evenings, but I sure was glad to have ventured out.

Alex and his wonderful hard rocking band played to an intimate crowd of folks who appeared to be regulars at his Puckett's After Hours gigs. But even this first timer soon felt as if I were one, too. His songs and performances were powerful and passionate throughout the entire evening. For the first part of the show it was up and fun, with songs like, "Reuben James", "$5 Fine For Whining"...and then, zing. Alex got you in the heart with complete honesty and bearing his soul.

I've spent years going to dozens of Southern Gospel and other Christian music concerts and coming away strengthened in my faith. But I tell you, what Alex shared was ministry in one of its most effective and, again, powerful forms. He told stories of tragic circumstances surrounding his family members (particularly in a moving setup to "Delta Dawn"), but did so packing a punch of a testimony of faith in a God that restores and sustains. Indeed, you could easily feel the love and joy from his faith and for his audience from the stage (and I loved watching the whole band join hands in prayer before the show started). I'm told he often leads worship for churches. That should be a great experience.

If you love great songwriting and a tight band, and want to get a big blessing, do check out Alex Harvey live. And, if you really want to be ministered to, get his album "Galilee".

Praise God for this town.

Commodore Grill, 11/7/08: Voice and Spirit

2008-11-08T08:56:00.009-06:00

The Commodore Grill is fast becoming my place of choice to check out writers nights. The renovations have made it a songwriter-friendly room and a great atmosphere to check out people you've heard before and meet new ones. Indeed, I have heard many, many rounds with singer/songwriters I have loved dearly. But the two rounds I attended last night were two of the best and most memorable I have heard in this room...both of them so for different reasons.

I first came across Rory Partin a couple of years ago when he brought his big band to the "don't tell the preacher" dance at Mark Lowry's first Senior Trip. He did a great job with bandleading and singing standards. I was delighted and interested to hear that he also has the singer/songwriter side so it was a nice touch to hear him in this setting. He described some of his songs as not "Nashville" but more R&B. Combined with his wife, Jeni Varnadeau, an equally charming songwriter (both backed by guitarist Jordan Jamison) and Treva Blomquist (filling in for two artists who needed to cancel due to illness), who was also enjoyable, it was pure magic to hear these folks interact and to experience some truly great powerful singing. Fortunately, it was a Friday night so the round went on for about an hour. It wasn't long enough...I hated to hear it end. Rory, Jeni and Treva are now on my radar for the future.

The next round, with Denny Martin (who I last saw supporting Alan O'Day at the Bluebird Cafe), Kira Small, and Justin Spears, may have received some of the "fairie dust" left behind from the previous group. There were many good musical moments here, too--Kira and Justin did a fine job on their songs and Denny's. But this one was mostly about heart. Denny is the embodiment of the joy and the spirit of making music. It's the feeding of the soul, the giving and receiving of energy between audience and performer...and in fact, Denny acknowledged feeling just that after one of his songs.

Excellence is great. We heard that this evening. But sometimes it's about spirit, and if your heart is open to receive, it can fill you the same way as that voice that knocked it out of the park. In my world, they can, and will, co-exist.

I shall not lose my sense of wonder. I love this town and all its artists going for the joy.

Marty Stuart Show Taping, RFD-TV Nashville, 10/20/08

2008-10-22T07:28:00.014-05:00

To me, Marty Stuart is the hottest guy in country music. (For the record, his wife, Connie Smith, agrees with me. She told me that when I met them both at the Eddie Stubbs Intimate Evening radio show taping.) I think so not only because he looks fine. He is also an artist of integrity with superb musicianship who has proactively done so much to further the cause of traditional country music and be an encouragement to those who have paved the way. That should hopefully make him an eventual shoo-in for the Country Music Hall of Fame.

I was fortunate enough to be able to attend a taping of the Marty Stuart Show at North Star Studios. My understanding was it started in the morning, so I arrived, was instructed where to park and told to walk to some path where I would see people waiting to get in. All I could spot was the two front doors. I went in, gave my name to the front desk person, was told to go through and went looking for some direction. I saw Marty out in the hallway looking like he was headed for the studio but I didn't think it would be all that cool to follow him or even ask "hey, do you know where the studio is?". Eventually someone found me wandering about and began to help me find where I was supposed to be to wait with the others. But the person at the front desk said my contact had me set up to go straight into the studio. I felt like a VIP! I didn't even have a clue going in...I was just winging it, this all being firmed up for me just earlier that morning! (I found out later on that even the beautiful young lady helping us out with audience applause was clued in advance to who I was!)

I found the studio and went in. There were only a handful of others in the audience seats. I got a seat right in front and watched guest John Anderson, banjo player Leroy Troy, Eddie Stubbs and Marty and the Fabulous Superlatives. It seemed as though they were taping in segments. After a while they called a 15 minute break and so, still puzzled by the small turnout, I started to go in search of the ladies room. At that point came an influx of people through the doors. At that point I realized it was a rehearsal I was sitting in on! Duh! The nice people sitting around me did not sell my front row seat for $100 as they hoped to and saved it for me as I headed for the restroom. Then the real taping began and it was great fun.

After a lunch break, we lined up for the second taping. Unfortunately, none of us made it in for that rehearsal, but that was okay...I had a conversation with a lovely lady who works backstage hospitality for the Opry while waiting. The second taping had the Old Crow Medicine Show as the guests. The highlight of this show was a cool number led by Superlative guitarist "Cousin" Kenny Vaughn with everyone getting in on the act.

"The Marty Stuart Show" follows a parallel format to the Porter Wagoner shows of the 60s and 70s. Marty and the band start off the show, followed by a guest. As Porter had Dolly Parton as the regular female singer, here it is none other than Connie Smith. Comic relief is provided by old time banjo player Leroy Troy of Goodlettsville (recall that Speck Rhodes did so for Porter). Also like Porter's show, a gospel number follows...the ones Marty and the Fabulous Superlatives taped for these two shows were awesome. WSM's beloved Eddie Stubbs is the show announcer. All of Eddie's fans will be delighted that he gets much "face time", and we even get to hear him jam on fiddle with the Old Crow Medicine Show.

There were some very nice people on the crew helping us with warmup and encouraging us to be enthusiastic and all while instructing us with various applause sound levels (similar to a couple of the Gaither Homecoming video tapings I've attended).

I hated to have it all come to an end...what a great experience. The show begins airing on November 1 with a regular Saturday evening half hour time slot of 7 p.m. Central time on RFD-TV. Here's a clip to hold you until then.

After these last few days, how can I tell you how much I love this town?

George Adams, 10/18/08, VFW Post 1970, Nashville

2008-10-13T14:41:00.020-05:00

For close to 20 years now, I've been actively supporting local musicians where I've lived (and encouraging others to do the same). I'm particularly talking here about those who have not yet experienced significant national fame and exposure. Since I've been doing this, I've found support falling into three different levels.

The first is where you go to a venue (or here in Nashville, most commonly the writers nights) and you hear some fairly strong people whose names you make note of to possibly see again when they turn up in lineups. The second is where you find those who stand out in particular and you make a point to go to their gigs fairly often.

The third level is the one people like me wait for...which is finding the diamonds. The ones that make it quite clear to me why I started and continue to do this whole support thing. The ones I become on fire for and write blog paragraphs and emails galore about, telling the world how amazing they are and why you should think so as well, or perhaps got lucky enough to be entrusted to promote them. Or, there's just something about their music that just makes "the wow" impact on you from the get-go. You can't always explain why in words. I noted once that sometimes you don't pick singers...they pick you. In this category in the Twin Cities, it was TD Mischke and Michael Loonan, who kicked this whole thing off for me in the first place. Sean Smith is another who could possibly fit into this category.

Welcome the newest addition to this third group--George Adams.

I found George as a result of my Radio Free Nashville stint, most specifically hearing his music on "Geo On the Radio", the show that is on before mine. I found some sample tracks and one full track on his MySpace and was completely blown away. That hasn't happened since finding Mark Lowry eight years ago...and the rest was history there. This guy has one incredible voice; if you've spent any amount of time in my blogs on or my website, you know how I feel about truly great voices. Plus, the songs, all originals, are great. George's monthly gig at the VFW Post 1970 in West Nashville went on my calendar and I became even more pumped for the gig after finding some short video performance clips.

What I heard on George's website was confirmed live. As far as I am concerned, he has the best voice I have heard in this town since I came here. In a smoky little VFW post hall with a "Cheers" like bar, he managed to outsing just about every less than superstar level male artist on the radio today and hold his own with all the rest. Now, I tend to avoid smoky places like the plague and my bedtime is usually long before the midnight closing time. But, I knew in short order I wasn't going anywhere after hearing just a couple of songs.

When I was driving out to do my radio show Saturday, I was listening to "Geo on the Radio" and heard him play "Everything That Glitters" by Dan Seals. He noted that he often performs it live. As I was listening to the cut, I said "yeah--that would definitely work for him". I asked George to do that song, and it was just as awesome a performance as I'd imagined. He also did "Life's Highway", "Somewhere In My Broken Heart" and several other covers that either made you forget or not care that someone else did them first because he made them all his. That of course is what a true artist does. I might also add he is a charismatic performer and his bio is accurate in that he has an entertaining way with an audience, all developed with years of performing around Nashville and elsewhere.

All I can say is, what a find George Adams is. This radio gig has its perks. I call these things as I hear them. Go to his websites and hear what I'm talking about. Then go hear him for yourself. He plays what he likes, and I like what he plays. So far, so good.

Silver Stars - Ryman Auditorium 10/4/08

2008-10-05T08:07:00.004-05:00

I had a week off from my radio show due to some required training. That gave me time to head downtown and check out the HealthSpring Silver Stars finals at Ryman Auditorium. It being a "baby boomer" talent contest, it was certainly of interest to me in light of my radio show being titled and themed, Never Too Old.

I high-tailed it down there as fast as I could so I could make it to the pre-show meet and greet, in hopes of meeting my idol, Brenda Lee, who was one of the judges. Alas, I was too late--she'd just gone backstage. Lucky for me, though, I managed to spot Billy Block. Billy was heading up and hosting this event...no surprise, with all the good he's done for showcasing talent in this town. I introduced myself and told him that like him, I also have a show on Radio Free Nashville. I explained I ran late to the event because of FCC training I was doing and asked if I'd missed Brenda. Well, he was kind enough to go find her and bring her to the door for a quick meeting. She was as sweet as I'd imagined. Billy Block, you rock--I can't thank you enough.

If ever an event was an example of the power of encouragement, this was it. There was so much joy and love going out to and from that stage. For some of the performers, the opportunity that Silver Stars provided them was nothing short of life-changing.

Opening up were four of the honorable mention winners: pop singer Sandy Merrill, charming spoon player Lucius Talley, yodeler Bonnie Bishop (beating a doctor's prediction of six months to live with a cancer diagnosis!), and gospel singer Clara Copeland, who brought the house down.

The competing finalists performed their numbers. Husband and wife Charles and Vonnie Garrett, performing separately with "Georgia" and "Misty" respectively; singer/songwriters Terry Pinnegar and Boomer Castleman each did an original song (Boomer is familiar to many folks as one half of the duo Lewis and Clark Expedition with Michael Martin Murphy in the '60s and the composer of the Monkees tune "What Am I Doing Hanging 'Round); pianist Darlene Shadden did "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"; Brenda Lee sound-alike Elsa Childers covered Patsy Cline's "She's Got You"; Hank Sasaki charmed the crowd with his autobiographical "Cowboy From Japan".

Winning finalists were third place winner "Uncle Doc Wilhite", reviving the spirit of Uncle Dave Macon; second place, pianist Jeannie Gleaves, who had a ton of audience support, playing a Gershwin medley. The winner was Thomas Maupin, a buck dancer accompanied by an old time trio (his banjo-playing grandson was as much of a showman himself!). In doing some research, I found one MySpacer who called Thomas "the king of all buck dancers."

It is clearly high time that this stigma regarding baby boomer agers, whether it be in the performing arts or in the job market, not being as viable as their younger counterparts, come to an end. We need to view more with our spiritual eyes and less with our physical eyes, and completely open our ears and hearts and let the gifts of this generation touch and enhance the world. This event showed without a doubt that it can, and should, be done. Bravo, Billy Block and bravo, HealthSpring.

My Writers Night Weekend

2008-09-14T15:06:00.008-05:00

I was supposed to be in Louisville, KY this weekend at the National Quartet Convention (Southern Gospel music gathering). But in my present situation, it's not a wise thing to be spending big dollars on a hotel room, so I had to cancel those plans. Just as well, as it turned out. I got to make a dream happen and start a radio show (go to this blog for the details). Also, there were a couple of events here at home that would have been going on at the same time as NQC that I just didn't want to miss.

9/12/08 - Bluebird Cafe

This was one gig I really didn't want to leave town to miss. Steve Craig once again put together a fine round of folks with Elizabeth Runde, Clara Oman and Tom Shinness.

I've said before that I think Steve's one of the top songwriters I've heard in town. He is also a fine accomplished singer. Whether he sang his compositions himself, or handed a song over to Elizabeth or to Katha Harris, a new singer who joined the round on two songs, they were well interpreted. I hear Steve often at either these gigs or at Doak Turner's monthly get together, so I am probably more familiar with his songs than some of the audience and at this point have some favorites to look forward to. A couple of those had a fresh spin with the additions of Tom and Katha. "If You Could See What I See" had a lovely break with Tom on cello. "Frequent Liar Miles", which Nikki Cole sang at Steve's last Bluebird round, was also enjoyable as sung by Katha.

I too share Steve's obvious admiration for Elizabeth Runde's talents. Her voice combines vulnerability and power in a sweet package. This was evident in one of Steve's newer songs, "Snowed In" and a song in which the night wouldn't have been complete for me without her singing, "That's A Different Story." I also really enjoyed the vocal harmonies that Steve and Elizabeth added to each other's solo turns.

Simply put, Tom Shinness is an extraordinary musician. His expertise is to mix elements of the many instruments he plays with one another to create an unique effect. One of his showcased instruments is a 1913 guitar harp with 10 bass strings. On this one, he did "Echo Song", in which he put the instrument through an echo effect ("that way, I don't have to play as much", he joked). He also played a guitar with a drumstick inserted in the neck to create a Japanese music effect. On top of all that, he's a good singer and enjoyable songwriter. (I had the pleasure of hearing Tom for two nights in a row--more in the next section.)

Clara Oman is a singer/songwriter/pianist who has had some success in overseas markets. She brought a very tasty jazz/pop/Broadway feel to her songs, vocals and piano style. Her humorous song "Percy the Priest" showed off her jazzy vocal phrasing. My favorite of hers (and judging from crowd response, also of some who were more familiar with her) was "Forgetful Me", which had a nice melody and again, very well sung.

The highlight of this evening, though, was the instrumental duet by Steve and Tom on Steve's composition "Storm In the Desert". Steve is a classically trained pianist, but this was the first time I'd ever heard him play. Accompanied by Tom on cello, Steve displayed another superb dimension to his talent. This piece was incredible and it held the audience spellbound.

After this round, then I was off to...

9/12/08 The Commodore Grill

... to hopefully be in time to catch a round with two other new songwriter friends I met at the Bluebird a while back, Mike McQuerry and CJ Garsee (readers will recall that evening here). I got there early enough to hear part of a very good round featuring Susan Shann, Gary Gulburgh and Michelle Dawn. Mike and CJ were joined by Leslie McDaniel and Monty Warren. All four were very good and I was glad to get to hear more of young CJ's talent (and thanks, my dear, for taking my "request" to do the touching and powerful "I Was Left".)

I was going to stay just a short time but ended up staying two hours. There's something about the Commodore that makes me feel like I belong. Once again, I felt so much fellowship and warmth from the other songwriters, those I already knew and some I met for the first time, to even the wait staff.

Eventually, I did have to go home, so I left a tired but happy and lucky gal to have experienced such a great musical evening in two spots.

9/13/08 Christ Lutheran Church Writers Night

It seems that every time the CLC writers night comes along, it happens on a date where I am originally scheduled to be someplace else but something falls through and it doesn't happen. And every time, it proved out that the writers night is where I really belonged in the first place. This evening was no exception.

Randi Perkins started off the evening with two songs from his new CD "Life Is Good". I've waited for this one to come out and earlier this year I was lucky enough to sit in on a recording session for some of the instrumental tracks. This is a lovely album and you will be hearing more about this one (for starters, Randi will be the first guest on my radio show on Saturday the 20th between 3-4 pm).

This was the evening for father-daughter combinations. The "newgrass" duo of Sisters Grimm (Jordana Greenberg on violin and Rebecca Reed-Lund on banjo) were joined by Jordana's father David on guitar and vocals. David wrote all the songs they performed that evening (and he was a very witty guy!).

For the second night in a row, I got to hear Tom Shinness and his musical magic. This evening he was joined by his lovely and talented daughter Jasmine, who played just about every instrument Tom played aside from the harp guitar (which Tom did bring with him and play), including guitar, upright bass and cello. She is also a very fine songwriter with a lovely smooth jazz vocal style. The apple does not fall far from the tree.

Many people were familiar with Aubrey Collins. At only 20 years old, she's racked up some impressive accomplishments. She was featured on NBC's Most Talented Kid and ABC's The One: the Making of a Music Star. Most recently, she spent a year as lead vocalist with Trick Pony and is now co-writing with notables such as Sheree Austin. Randi mentored her for a number of years, so this show was a homecoming of sorts for her. She talked about the challenges of songwriting and performing, and her "excuses" if her songs didn't come over as expected. None of those excuses mattered--this young lady's enormous talent is quite evident.

To sum up this weekend: this town is rich in talent. All are in various points on their musical journey. Some are close to where they want to be, others are still waiting. But all of them bring something valuable about who they are as artists to the table, and I think Nashville is a brighter place for having them here. That's why I love this town.

Debi Champion Writers Night, Commodore Grill 9/9/08 (Wendy V's Birthday!)

2008-09-10T09:52:00.003-05:00

It's going to be an active week on the "Blend", y'all. Three events are on my schedule this week and here's the first of them to talk about.

With this night being my birthday, I decided there was no better way for me to celebrate than to go to a writers night...so it was off to the Commodore Grill. I came better prepared from the last time I went to the Commodore Grill writers night. This time I did my homework and got the names of the lineup from MySpace (and added a few of those artists to my page ahead of time to get familiar with their music and their faces). Another lesson learned from last time was to sit near the speakers so you can hear who's who up there.

Debi Champion is a great host who takes great care to let you know who's up there. This evening we got the pleasure of hearing her play as well. And, she's as dear a person as you can imagine. I just met her for the first time that evening and got several hugs for my birthday. Later on she also had the crowd sing happy birthday to me. (That was very sweet, as were the pieces of chocolate cake I got from her and Brandon Maddox, who stopped by to join me. Thanks, guys.)

Here's the lineup of those I heard play: Melanie Sue Mausser, Ben West (a real sweetie of a country gentleman who recognized me right away from MySpace and gave me warm happy birthday wishes), Kyle Ryan, Daniel R. Ziemba, Stephenie Hargrove (with Jamie Dickinson), Jarod Doucet, Greg Jones, featured artist Michelle Little (co- writer of "The Storm" for Travis Tritt) with Tim Smith, Darren T, Laura A and Andy, Nashville Independent Music showcase with Debi, Ronny Criss and David Ryckman; Dana Romanello, Joel Turner, Dan Hutson and Corey Crowder.

I enjoyed every last one of these writers...I heard a lot of strong vocals and songwriting in their three song rounds. Again, as I often do, I notice a nice camaraderie within these sets as artists encourage one another or check in with a guitar lick that fits nicely into the song. One particular moment that came to mind was the loud cheer that went up in the room when Greg Jones announced he had finally gotten a cut (with Carolina Rain). Debi amazed me with how many of these artists' songs she knew enough to fit in some good harmony vocals from back at the sound board.

I'm here to tell you that from my view, Nashville is a town full of love. I haven't been here all that long, yet people who didn't even know me until that night showed lots of that love to a birthday gal. Thanks, everyone. I love you all...and I love this town.

Tokens, "The Politics of Jesus" 9/2/08

2008-09-03T13:54:00.009-05:00

What started out as Lipscomb University professor Lee Camp's "crazy idea" is turning out to be one of the hottest tickets in town. "Tokens" is becoming so popular that it had to expand to a second performance for its third outing, "The Politics of Jesus", due to a quick sellout. Another sign of the show's rapid growth is that it's also now a paid admission show (the first two shows were free admission).

Camp noted "why anyone would go and do something as stupid as talk about religion and politics in the buckle of the Bible belt while the fall conventions are in full swing is beyond me...but it sounded like a good idea when we were planning episodes." "The Politics of Jesus" took a thoughtful and often satiric look at the contrast between Christianity and politics.

The house band for Tokens expanded in name and personnel. Now referred to as "the most outstanding Sinai Mountain Boys", the band (bandleader Jeff Taylor, Buddy Greene, Aubrey Haynie, Chris Brown, Byron House, Pete Huttlinger) welcomed the addition of Bryan Cumming on sax and percussion (I also heard Bryan the previous Friday evening in Bellevue Park, playing as part of the "Wanna Beatles"). The band more than lived up to its "most outstanding" reputation throughout the evening.

Derek Webb, Buddy Greene and Odessa Settles provided the other musical highlights. Odessa in particular rocked the house with a spirited song, "Woke Up This Morning (With My Mind Stayed On Freedom)", and earned a standing ovation singing "The Lord's Prayer". The only thing missing for me musically this time out was the informal vocal groups that were a wonderful part of the last two shows...but that's a minor quibble.

The Tokens Radio Players (Lee Camp, Merri Collins, David Fleer and Barry McAllister) are academics by trade, but their characterizations and humor are as entertaining as any you'd hear on "A Prairie Home Companion". They poked gentle fun at politics and Christianity with new audience favorite segments as "Dear Preacher Man", "Adventures of Jane", and "Tales of the Ancient Near East" ("did he say the enemy peed or planted weeds on the land?").

The featured author interviewees were Randall Balmer (God in the White House), Steve Claiborne and Chris Haw (Jesus For President) and Jim Wallis (God's Politics and the Great Awakening). The full interviews are now available on the Tokens website. Other segments from the show should be posted there in a few weeks.

As I predicted in my first write up on Tokens, the show is now needing a bigger venue due to its growing popularity. "The Christmas Revolution", set for December 9, will move to the Collins Alumni Auditorium at Lipscomb University.

Lee Camp continues to bring a great mix of brilliant thinker and multi-talented entertainer to his hosting duties and vision for Tokens. Way to go, Lee--you've got a well-deserved hit on your hands and I can't wait to see how the show keeps developing.

Commodore Grill 8/14/08 (Deb Ziems' Birthday!)

2008-08-16T08:08:00.005-05:00

I first met and heard Deb Ziems a year ago at the JPF showcase at Lyrix. It was her birthday and she gave me beads. It was hard to believe a year had passed since then. When I got her MySpace invite to come down to the Commodore Grill, I decided to stop by. It had been a while since I've gotten out to a writer's night other than at the Bluebird, so I went to wish Deb well and also see the newly remodeled venue. The outside of the Holiday Inn is still a work in progress, but indoors it's looking and sounding good, the food is great and the waitstaff is very attentive.

Deb was gracious to invite me to sit with her other friends and her magnificent birthday cake. I met some other really nice folks and other artists. Deb started the evening with a very fine solo set (although she wanted some others on stage with her!).The lineup included many new to me artists and a few familiar faces.

Since the main mission of this blog is to bring recognition to these singer/songwriters, sometimes the toughest part for me with covering writer's nights which feature many artists is getting down all the names of who is playing when. Often times, people just get up on stage and don't introduce themselves or no one does it for them. I appreciated that Debi Champion, who ran sound, introduced everyone frequently, but from where I was sitting I still missed hearing a few names. This is where MySpace really comes in handy. I went to Deb's page and saw that among the friends on her page were some of the artists who played that evening. Then, I went to those artist pages and found some of the others they played with. (Of course, I added as many as I could find to my page!)

So with all that out of the way, let me give you the names of those I know that I did hear when I was there. In the "those I've heard before category" besides Deb were Scott Jarman, Frank Knapp and David Seger (I know I heard David somewhere--hopefully I will remember where!). "Heard of but not heard live" before were CJ Watson and Don and Karen McNatt. I recognized Don right away because I often watch his songwriters show on local cable. I'm sure I watched it while I've visited town before I moved, because I recall thinking "wow, if I lived here, I could see these shows all the time!" So of course, now I do and I do. Accompanying CJ was Jeff Jergenson, who was a member of the Dillards and who blew us away with his playing. Others new to me were Mike Mayo, Vickie Raye, Lisa Shaffer, and Jon Eben. My apologies to any whose names I didn't get or who I may have missed after I left. It was a musically solid evening.

I've got a birthday coming up next month (the 9th). I can't think of a better way to spend it than to go to a writer's night here in town, so that's what I plan to do.

Thank you, Deb, for your hospitality and for introducing me to all the great new artists and people I met and heard that evening. It was a sweet evening and it's a sweet town.

SoGospelNews.com Fan Festival 7/24/08

2008-07-26T08:34:00.004-05:00

One of my annual concert "must-dos" every year is the week long series of concerts which are part of the SoGospelNews.com Fan Festival at River of Life Church in Smyrna. If I could, I would have gone to each one. But with having just moved and getting settled (and yeah, gas price consideration, as I'm a little further now from the Smyrna locale), I had to choose just one evening this year. I went with Thursday's lineup, which for me held three "get me in the door" artists: Beyond the Ashes, Sunday Edition and Johnny Minick and Friends (Alison Durham Speer, Aaron Minick, Mike Allen); and those I hadn't heard before, Eighth Day and Brothers Forever.

Before the concert, I was talking with Chris Unthank of Sunday Edition and also one of the event organizers, about the diversity and style of all the acts on the evening lineup. Indeed, each one was effective and unique in how they ministered musically.

Trio Eighth Day, consisting of husband and wife Scott and Joni Robinson and Dave Mann(who did a standout solo on Dottie Rambo's "Sheltered In the Arms Of God")did well with upbeat gospel songs.

You can't go wrong with perennial crowd favorites Pastor Johnny Minick, son Aaron Minick, Alison Durham Speer and Mike Allen (also joined on one tune by Johnny's wife Sherry). This popular combination earned several standing ovations.

Beyond the Ashes is a fairly new trio that I first heard at their showcase a few months back at Edgehill Cafe. Emotional and passionate in expressing their faith in song, these guys continue to grow and get stronger. Group leader Anthony Facello is a powerful tenor who reached out and engaged the audience. They will have a new CD release very soon.

After hearing Sunday Edition for the first time at last year's fan festival, I went to their product table and bought everything they had. Chris, Amy Marie and Deon Unthank were smoking red hot this evening as well. Chris and Amy Marie are two powerhouse singers who when tying in with Deon for family harmonies brought it with a soulful stir. This group is the best kept secret in contemporary Southern Gospel as far as I'm concerned.

Brothers Forever were up to the task of following Sunday Edition's strong performance with a contemporary progressive gospel flair and original material with great hooks ("I Feel A Blessing Coming On").

The evening even had a little comic relief by Al Mahan as a chubby Elvis impersonator with parodies of Elvis songs relating to food...but with the message at the end that God looks at the inside and there is really only one "King".

I'm not a fan of long night drives, but there was no way I could bail out early...there was just too much good stuff going on this evening. Doesn't matter to me how it's being packaged these days--traditional, progressive, contemporary or modern--I love Southern Gospel. I love being here.

In The Round at the Bluebird- Scooter Simmons, Steve Christopher, Mike McQuerry, Jon Robbin

2008-06-29T06:09:00.001-05:00

If you've never been to a show at the Bluebird Cafe, let me give you the general scoop of what my experience has been. I find that most or all of the singer/songwriters in a round know each other, or know what it's like to be a singer/songwriter in Nashville. That makes for a kinship in which they will blend well with each other onstage or in the round. That synergy also opens the door for a lot of humor during the show. I don't think I ever laughed so much at a Bluebird round as I did at this night's show which featured Scooter Simmons, Steve Christopher, Mike McQuerry and Jon Robbin.

I was looking forward to meeting Scooter, having found him on MySpace (where you can find pages on these writers). I knew of him because he is the writer of a number of songs that Mark Lowry recorded, such as "Some Things Never Change" and "Jump Across Jordan". He was wonderful to talk to and hear--aside from his better known Christian songs, he has lots of strong material and a soulful voice which grabbed the crowd. I was pumped to hear one song, "Over My Head", which he and Steve Christopher co-wrote for Mark's next album. It's a beauty which will be a hand to glove fit for Mark--can't wait to hear his version.

Steve Christopher was the guy I laughed the most at, particularly his songs "God Bless The Boys Who Work For Beer" (which he dedicated to the others in the round!) and his ode to a devoted dog, with such classic lines as "like trash I'd been dumped" and "fired for the 3rd time this month", but yet he was still a winner in that dog's eyes. Mike McQuerry told us about all the compliments he gets on his MySpace by people who thinks he sings his posted demos (he doesn't). But that's cool-he sounded just fine to me and I learned from him yet another phrase that was a new one on me: "couple of sandwiches short of a picnic." Jon Robbin had a good mix of light-hearted and more serious songs, and brought one written hit to the round: "I Breathe In, I Breathe Out" which was big for Chris Cagle.

A little deja vu: like the last round I went to at the Bluebird, I had a beautiful young woman sitting next to me who sang in the round and was terrific. Last time, it was Natalie Tidwell. This night, it was CJ Garsee, a new artist who Mike is managing. She brought a very touching song, "I Was Left". I've added it for a week to my MySpace profile, so do check it out. There is so much talent here in Nashville that needs to be supported and encouraged.

It's great to be here and it's also fun to be in this town.

Bluebird, Rock Heroes and Gospel

2008-06-22T05:14:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I can't stand this town.

No, I haven't fallen out of love with Nashville. It's just that I tend to have what some would consider a "happy problem", especially this time of year. There's just too doggone much going on at the same time around here. These past couple of weeks, I had to make some tough choices about shows and events I really wanted to go to. Others, like the Songwriters Festival, I had no choice but to say no to because I have a home purchase on the horizon at month end and some things had to be done (in fairness, the mandatory homebuyers class was fun, though). What all this means sometimes is little sleep and even less free time...but I guess I thrive on this sort of thing when it all comes down.

I took in a most enjoyable round at the Bluebird last Thursday. I met Gary Talley at Randi Perkins' recording session a while back, so I thought I'd check him out. Again, this was one of those evenings where you go to hear some you've heard of but end up being also blown away by folks you hear for the first time. In that category were Corley Roberts, Susan Anders, Joe Truman and a guest vocalist Susan co-wrote a song with, Natalie Tidwell. All of these artists brought something strong and unique to the table and as a fan of strong vocals, I have to say this was one of the best rounds I've been to. You can find everyone on MySpace, so do most definitely track them down and give them a listen.

On Sunday I had to say no to two other invites and skip out of church early to do one of my "double header" gig runs. I found out that one of my 60s rock heroes, Al Kooper, would be doing a book signing at Borders. In 1977, I bought the first edition of his very funny memoir, "Backstage Passes". He's updated it twice since then. I had all three editions of the book with me, and Al was gracious enough to autograph them all. Al took questions about his career and the book. It was fun to see people there who had some of the old vinyl albums I did and who were knowledgeable enough to ask good questions. I've been a fan of Al's since I was 13...the first Blood Sweat and Tears album and the early Blues Project albums along with Al's solo work helped get me through my nerdy teen years. I noted that it was great to have the opportunity to share that with him through the internet and events like the book signing, and I asked Al if he's heard many similar comments from fans about how his music impacted their lives. He said that he did benefit from getting regular e-mails from fans and many of them have made his day...proving once again that even if you are a rock and roll legend, encouragement is important. It was a thrill for me to be there--thanks to Beverly Keel of the Tennessean for getting the word out on this.

My second event of the day was a "mini-Homecoming concert" with many of my friends from the Gaither videos: Woody Wright and his wife Vonnie, Reggie and Ladye Love Smith, Stephen Hill, Mike Allen and the legendary Ben Speer (and a cameo from his sister Mary Tom). It's been quite a long while since I've seen Reggie and Ladye and Stephen, so it was great to hear and see them again. Much like the concerts that were part of "Mark Lowry's Senior Trip", it was a "living room" type atmosphere with group sings and mini-sets from each artist. It was fun (and you can always count on that when Woody's around!), musically excellent, uplifting and encouraging. I also met two very dear people who, like me, had lived in Minnesota--Mary and Gary, who sat up front with me. I felt a lot of love that evening. These are the kinds of concerts I like--no pressure, no fan drama, where you can just go and love these folks and everyone will get loved back the same.

Even though it's hard to have to make choices sometimes about what to do when everything happens at once, I really do love this town and all the opportunities to do what I love.

Allison Lynn Single Release Showcase, Edgehill Cafe, 6/9/08

2008-06-09T21:46:00.001-05:00

OK, this is going to sound corny and an obvious cliche to some, but I am here to tell you that in this case, it is absolutely true: I am a real big fan of Allison Lynn.

This precious and gifted young woman, and dear friend, debuted her single release, "Shepherd Of The Hills", from her new CD "Real Big Fan", at Edgehill Cafe before an appreciative crowd of friends and supporters, including her sweet mom and dad who drove all the way from Toronto for the occasion. Joining Allison for this evening were her equally talented husband, singer/songwriter Gerald Flemming, and another upcoming Southern Gospel soloist, Tara Jackson.

The evening reminded me how skillful God can be at putting people together. Allison and Gerald moved to Nashville over a year ago from Canada, on a three year artist visa. She and I most likely met online first as fellow bloggers while I was still living in Minnesota. You most likely know and love her acclaimed "Adventures of a Starving Artist" blog, started during her first year at Stamps-Baxter School (for which she now works). I was occasionally doing Gaither concert reports on my websites, and as I recall, we ended up meeting at a Gaither show. Tara and Allison met on the Shoutlife site, where they became friends and fellow artists.

Musically, the evening was very special. Gerald Flemming, who did a strong set of secular originals of his the night before in a "Writers Night" segment at the Bluebird Cafe, did three of his spiritual songs, the bluegrass favored "Church Song Broke Me Down", "Halleluia, I Remember", and "Never Wait Until Tomorrow", a beautiful song inspired by a column Erma Bombeck wrote after learning she had cancer. As a writer and vocalist, Gerald is one to watch for in this town.

Tara Jackson combines strong stage presence with a lovely and powerful voice and testimony. She sang three songs from her self-titled debut CD: the upbeat, crowd-engaging "God's Got a Word For You" (soon to be a radio single), "Except For Grace", which she introduced by mentioning her work with the Bridge ministry to the homeless in Nashville, and her current radio single "Wonder Working Power". (By the way, I first "met" Tara online as well and finally met in person last year also.)

Allison's set was a great showcase for her album. Her vocals were as spot on live as on her CD. I love the old time jazz feel arrangement that many of her album tracks have...I learned to appreciate that style by listening to "A Prairie Home Companion", so this CD's got a strong appeal for me. Her theatrical skills served her well and enhanced her performances of her self-written "Do You Want to Be My Neighbor In Gloryland"; one of my favorites, "Wedding At Cana", based on the Biblical wedding feast (and I love the hook of "save the very best for last" in that song); "Sin Ain't Nothing But the Blues"; "Faith Will Take You Further", and the title track "Real Big Fan" (written by Gerald). The song of the evening's celebration, "Shepherd of the Hills", will be getting some airplay on Solid Gospel radio, thanks to positive fan feedback.

I've followed Allison's career for a couple of years and watched how she carefully laid the groundwork for all the great things she's accomplished thus far here in Nashville. (Among other things, I also had the honor of having her sing at my baptism last fall.) To be able to watch someone at this career stage make progressive strides and have them welcome you along for the ride is what I find most fulfilling, most real and most true about the artist support I've been blessed to be a part of since I've been in Nashville. It's also a big reason I'm blessed to be a part of this town.

Tokens Episode #2- Lipscomb University 5/27/08

2008-05-28T21:13:00.000-05:00

You may recall my rave review here a couple of months ago about the first Tokens show taping. I was thrilled to hear there was another episode to be done. I don't think it took me a minute to get on the phone and reserve a ticket after getting the e-mail.

This second episode's theme was "Jubilee: Land, Greed and Grace". As with the last episode, the music, the readings, the brief interviews and the sketches all tied in with the theme, this one being of land ownership, wanting more and experiencing reconciliation.

As also last time, the music was spectacular. House band the Sinai Mountain Boys, led by Jeff Taylor with Buddy Greene, Aubrey Haynie, Byron House, Pete Huttlinger and Chris Brown, provided several of the show's high points. There were many outstanding musical moments, like:
- Well, anything Buddy Greene does. Pair him up with the amazing Jeff Taylor, who managed to get in spoons, accordion and tin whistle all on one song he did with Buddy ("Little Beggar Man") and you've got a blockbuster combination, no matter what musical genre they're diving into.
- The "Class and Grass" segment, featuring the string portion of the Annie Moses Band along with the Sinai Boys on an Appalachian medley consisting of Aaron Copeland's "Hoedown", "Simple Gifts" and a few other influences. It brought the house down.
- Aubrey Haynie's "broke bow" style fiddle solo
- A beautiful acapella song which was a prayer for children, sung by Uncle Dave's 4 (Paul McClung, Daniel Rushing, Paul Smith and host Lee Camp). It was a perfect reflection on an interview before this with author Melissa Fay Greene on her book "There Is No Me Without You", about an Ethopian woman's efforts to rescue her country's children. The group later backed Hope Miller on a Jean Ritchie song.
- Solos by singer/songwriter Julie Lee and Native American performer Bill Miller, who was particularly compelling using his music as a tool for healing and reconciliation.

The Tokens Radio Players (Merri Collins, Barry McAllister, David Fleer and Lee Camp) were back again with a reprise of last show's popular "Dear Preacher Man", and skits supporting the show's theme, "Gimme More" and "How Much Land Does A Man Need?" by Leo Tolstoy (complete with dialects).

Also tying in to the show's themes were short interviews with folk musicologist Mike Seeger (also brother of Pete) and Rod Dreher, author of "Crunchy Cons", a crtique of consumerism.

Everyone got in on the closing number, "Mary Don't You Weep". One of those magical moments where the audience and performers became as one.

Lee Camp was even more comfortable in his hosting role this time out. I've heard he is a challenging and excellent professor of theology at Lipscomb, but I'd say he's a multi-talented guy. He handled several roles well--he can sing and he was quite good in the humor skits...certainly as good as another radio host that comes to mind.

For only a second show, "Tokens" has got it going on like a program that has been around for a while. Its website is now up and running and will have segments from the shows posted. Right now there is no long term plan nailed down yet, but take note that there are two more shows planned this year:
9/30/08 - The Politics of Jesus
12/9/08 - The Christmas Revolution
You can sign up for the show's mailing list on the website to get ticket information.

Lee was grateful to have us all at the show...but I am the one who is most grateful to experience this wonderful happening. I am also grateful to be in this town.

In The Studio With Randi Perkins

2008-05-22T20:25:00.000-05:00

This week I got a chance to do something I hadn't yet done here in Nashville: sit in on a recording session at Music Row. I've been in small and home studio settings when I recorded my audiobooks, but this is the first time I actually got to see first hand what part of a CD project recording session is like. I love knowing how things work and get created behind the scenes, so I was looking forward to this.

The session was for an upcoming release by singer/songwriter Randi Perkins (you've met him on my posts I've had here about the writer's nights he runs at Christ Lutheran Church in Nashville). On this evening he was getting instrumental tracks done for six songs. He had a great group of people supporting him: Rollie Mains (piano/keyboards), who is also an arranger, composer, orchestrator, producer; Gary Talley (guitar), a founding member of legendary 60's band the Box Tops; Dave Webb(bass), who has a long list of musical credits and most recently played with Sugarland; Justin Levenson (percussion), an in-demand studio musician, educator, performer and composer; engineers were Chris Rainwater and Jon Bufkin. Also documenting the session on video was Wayne Hall, known for video work with Big Machine Records artists.

I was really impressed with this group of folks professionally and personally. The musicians are all incredible players. They and the engineers really cared about the work they were doing and weren't satisfied until they got it right for Randi. Plus, they were just plain nice people who made me feel welcome (along with Randi's wife, Sandy, and son, Clark--also a musician!).

As a non-musician, I now have a much greater appreciation for the recording process that an artist walks through and will remember it every time I hold a CD in my hand by someone. I can tell you that Randi's project is going to be a nice one. You can hear live performances of some of the songs Randi cut studio versions of at his MySpace page. Take a listen to "North Dakota Farm Boy" and "The Last Harvest".

I enjoyed sitting in on the session. Thanks, Randi. And, I enjoy this town.

Brad Reynolds, Jill Parr, David Teems, Nathan Clark George, Bluebird Cafe 5/16/08

2008-05-17T05:07:00.001-05:00

Almost one year ago, I went to hear Brad Reynolds at the Bluebird Cafe when he was in a round with Michael O'Brien, Morgan Cryar, and Sean Smith. As I noted in my post then, everyone was fabulous, but Brad and Sean, who I hadn't known of prior to that evening, took the night for me and their music had the most personally lasting effect.

Thus, I'd been so looking forward to this evening for quite some time. This time, it was Brad along with Jill Parr, David Teems and Nathan Clark George at the Bluebird with an evening of mostly contemporary Christian themed music. It was a great, supportive crowd which included many family and friends and fellow artists from the Indieheaven network...it was fun recognizing and meeting a couple of them.

Brad, who accompanied Jill Parr and played along with his friend David Teems, was as always excellent instrumentally and vocally, and humble and passionate in his faith. He did "The Locksmith" and "The Edge", which I remembered from last year, along with the title track of his fine "In the Real World" album. All night I thought to myself, "oh please, please, please, sing "Anyway" and "Choices". He didn't disappoint me...both those songs have found their way into my soul. "Anyway" most deservedly won Indieheaven's Momentum award for "Song of The Year" (and if you haven't heard it yet, go here and take a listen). "Choices" was co-written by Brad with Sean Smith--Sean will have it on his upcoming release.

Jill Parr, like many of us in Nashville, is a transplant, hailing from Michigan. How I loved this gal...a riveting redhead with passionate vocals and a very expressive, transparent performer and songwriter. I related to her on a few levels, particularly on "County Line" which dealt with her feeling as if she didn't fit in and struggling for acceptance. I would most definitely go and hear her again.

David Teems, a fine singer, songwriter, guitarist and author (of a devotional, "To Love Is Christ") provided much of the gentle humor of the evening. He joked about being ordained to marry couples but most of the marriages ended in divorce, and the challenge of being asked to write songs for weddings and coming up with them at the last minute (in the bathroom!). But when he got serious, he touched a lot of hearts with songs like "Love That Brought Us Here" and "There's Another Woman In My Life".

Nathan Clark George is a self-described folkie at heart with an enviable lifestyle: based in Illinois, he and his family (with 5 children) travel all around the country. I particularly liked a thought-provoking song he did called "What If" which dealt with mistakes and observing Jesus, and a sweet love song called "You Make Me Smile".

Some of the Indieheaven members who attended this show noted how powerfully these artists of faith impacted the audience just by being who they were and by willing to be transparent and honest about themselves. Amen to that.

I've had some things to be thankful about this week...what was lost found again and this special evening of music. I love this town.

Nason Music Group Showcase, The Rutledge, 4/21/08

2008-04-26T18:52:00.000-05:00

This past week was GMA (Gospel Music Association) week, which means plenty of showcases around Nashville. Literally fresh out of Gaylord Opryland hotel where I spent the previous weekend at Mark Lowry's Spring Fling, I dropped off my bags at home and headed out to the Rutledge for a noontime showcase of Christian independent artists, sponsored by Nason Music Group.

I was hoping that this one would be as enjoyable at the IndieHeaven CIA Summit showcase I raved about earlier. What that had in common with this one was the same drawing card for me: Sean Smith. I'll take any opportunity I can to hear him. As it turned out, like the CIA Summit showcase, I was introduced to many new wonderfully talented folks here as well. I scooped up every bit of promo and CD samples that the artists so generously left on tables for the taking.

The main artist showcased here was Christian Walker, who has spent time in Iraq leading troops. He is a fine vocalist and writer, and I enjoyed his sense of humor, particularly on the song "Elmer Thomas Park", about the place where he was dumped by four different women ("well, I never met Elmer Thomas, but man, I hate his park"...).

Sean Smith, accompanied by another guitarist and percussionist, did "Real", the title song of his current CD, which was great to hear in an acoustic setting. He also did the song he debuted at CIA Summit, co-written by Brad Reynolds, "Choices". Sean made sure I left with a CD of two advance tracks from his upcoming album which included this song and "Front Row Seat". Both of these songs have grabbed hold of my soul. I can't get enough of them. Judging by these two cuts, Sean is on his way to yet another perfect album. I can't wait.

The other artists also did two songs each: Jennifer Benson, a rock edged artist from Chicago; Chad Gentry of Evansville, IN whose day job is in the auto industry; Krystyn Leigh, winner of the female vocalist IndieHeaven Momentum award (easy to see why-great voice and stage presence); Stephen Andrew, a member of the Nashville Soul Choir; Carrie Marshall, a worship leader from Boston; Kyle Obermeier, a powerful singer/guitarist who helps underpriviledged kids with music in his Cleveland, GA studio; and Embassy Music Showcase winner Lance Stafford.

All of these artists had a personal testimony of how God has worked in their lives, some especially under some very difficult circumstances. Their music certainly blessed me and I pray they get many opportunities to serve and share their gifts.

Guitar BQ 6 - 4/6/08

2008-04-07T19:38:00.000-05:00

After enduring nearly a full week of rain, the weather timely and appropriately became sunny and glorious just in time for the 6th annual Guitar BQ. This event is a larger version of Doak Turner's monthly 3rd Sunday songwriter potluck and get-together(Doak's Nashville Muse newsletter this week gives the count as over 450 in attendance). That for one thing meant tons more great food. The dessert section in particular was a sight to behold (since I don't do sugar anymore, that's all I did). You also had lots of barbecue chicken and pork, and several other dishes brought by attendees (my biggest weaknesses: the succotash and as usual, grapes).

It goes without saying but I'll say it anyway: It also meant lots more great music. I bounced around from place to place trying to check out as many of the rounds as possible. It was way too large for me to try to capture many new names, but let's just say I heard quite a few new talented folks. More people also meant more variety of instruments brought into the mix: percussion, an accordion, fiddles and mandolins found a place among the sea of guitars.

I had a couple of things to commemorate at this event. It was the official one year anniversary of my arrival here in Nashville, lock, stock and Geo Metro. I didn't get to town in time for last year's Guitar BQ, but last May I came to 3rd Sunday as a fly on the wall, hoping to find out if there was anything I could do to encourage songwriters here. I sure found out in a big way, and I cherish all the hugs I get and give from the many dear people I've met here who have allowed me into their world.

It was also the beginning of the retirement of the red hat, now that I've had a makeover with a new hairdo that is not compatible with hat wearing. I'll be looking forward to the photos taken of me and my new 'do (thanks as always, Kat!).

I love to eat, I love music and I love this town.

CIA Summit Singer/Songwriter Showcase 3/28/07

2008-03-29T15:54:00.000-05:00

IndieHeaven brought its 5th CIA (Christian Independent Alliance)Summit to the Factory in Franklin this weekend. This year, they added a new acoustic based singer/songwriter showcase which was open to the public. I love these events because they always end up being very special and you hear a lot of great new talent. Honestly, the drawing card that got me in the door was that Sean Smith would be doing two songs, and I later heard that Brad Reynolds would be there as well. If you recall on this post, I first discovered these two fellows at the Bluebird Cafe last May and gave them rave reviews.

I did not get to hear all of the artists who were scheduled to perform, but I was impressed with every one of those I did hear in two or three song sets. Evie Haskell, Chris Lucas, Chris Ames, Bill Petty, Amy Gustafson, and Mindy Boyd were all excellent singers, songwriters and players. Young Kelsey Muse in particular has very strong potential. She did a good cover of Sara Bareilles' "Love Song" and two of her own compositions.

One of the most entertaining sets came from Bill Mallia (with Drew Davidson on guitar and Les Worsham on percussion). I've been getting his emails for quite a while but never heard him--all I knew was he was sort of a Christian Jimmy Buffet type, so I was curious to hear his set. Well, he is a joyful character and performer and had the audience laughing as he sang about "sporting a tan on the body of Christ." Since I arrived early as usual, I got to hear him warm up before the showcase started--that also was fun.

Sean Smith and Brad Reynolds accompanied each other on parts of their sets. Brad showed his great guitar skills, fine singing and songwriting ability, with vocal backup by Sean, on "The Edge" and "Real World". (By the way, Brad will be back at the Bluebird Cafe on May 16.)

Sean began tracking for his next album this week and previewed two songs, "Choices" co-written by Brad and Sean (though Sean says the title was his main contribution!), and "What Keeps Me From the Cross". Let's just say I am seriously pumped and awaiting the release of this album. I later asked Sean about his recent appearance on "The Hour of Power" and he told me it was one of the coolest experiences he's ever had. I think there will be much more to come--he's on track for major success.

I noticed that a few of the artists had songs that centered on various forms of encouragement and most stayed to encourage each other's sets. Every one that I had a chance to speak with or say a quick "great job" to were humble and gracious.

I do hope CIA Summit will continue this acoustic showcase next year--I'm sure I'll be back. I am so grateful over and over again for these kind of events where you can hear new people and encourage them, and make new friends and contacts. And, I am so grateful for this town.

A Songwriters' Weekend

2008-03-17T10:33:00.000-05:00

It's now been a year since I arrived in Nashville. The time has sure flown. This past weekend I attended two events which further proved to me why I love it here so much.

First was the writer's night at Christ Lutheran Church in Nashville. Like the one I attended back in October, it was a warm, casual atmosphere with some great singer/songwriters, each who had something special and unique to bring to the table that evening. Randi Perkins, who's been one of my past featured songwriters, hosted this one again and did a song at the beginning and in the middle of the evening's sets (accompanied by Box Tops founding member Gary Talley on guitar, Randi's son Clark on bass and Rolli Mains on keyboards). Randi is working on a new recording which he hopes to have available in the next few months. I was excited about the first song he did, "Army of Angels", about seeing ourselves from other people's point of view...he assured me he's recording that one. I'm also excited about Randi as a performer. He did an accompanying slide show to his song "North Dakota Farm Boy" which was so warm and personal--it had pictures of him playing over the years and lovely slides containing some of the song lyrics. Randi's passion for his music shows when he plays...and he's a great guy. I think people are going to relate to him.

Other featured songwriters were Ellen Olhsson aka "Tuff Ditties" who I knew from Doak's 3rd Sundays. She also has a thriving career in the Second Life virtual environment as "Trulie Telling". Ellen effectively mixed her serious songs ("Tara Sleeps") and fun songs (the very entertaining "Boy Crazy" and one of my favorites, "He Cleans Up Good"), quickly becoming an audience favorite.

Red-headed Annie Mosher, wearing a very cool pair of green rain boots, has a sweet light voice and personality. I liked her song about things that make rhythm, at the end tying in a baby's heartbeat--she's expecting her second child.

Kathy Hussey writes very strong songs from a character perspective and has powerfully exquisite voice. My favorite of hers was "Cherry Jingles", which was a perfect illustration of how a voice and song perfectly enhance each other...it was hauntingly beautiful. Kathy hosts a unique sort of writers round on Sunday at Willhagens. I may stop by in the future to check that out.

This past Sunday was the 5th anniversary of Doak Turner's 3rd Sunday songwriter gatherings. Doak is solicting comments and memories of the past 5 years of get-togethers to include on his Nashville Muse website. Well Doak, you can quote me here. I have absolutely no doubt that 3rd Sunday was largely responsible for me to have been able to fit in to this community as a support person for singer/songwriters as quickly as I did. I am very grateful to folks like Doak and Kat Speer for making me feel so welcome, and to all the singer/songwriters who understand where I come from and "get it". The friendships I've made and the atmosphere created is a welcome oasis and a cherished blessing.

These fine folks showed the very same hospitality for two musical friends of mine from Austin, IN, Teresa Banda and Karen Meiers, who were in town for some studio work and networking. I of course strongly suggested they come to 3rd Sunday while in town. They loved it as much as I thought they would and got some good contacts and feedback. Thanks, Brandon Maddox, Steve Craig, and Dave Saunders, for sharing so much of your time and your great songs with them. Among other strong artists/writers I heard for the first time this weekend were Keith Whitley-influenced C. J. Garton, Julian Riviere (sort of a Keith Whitley meets Randy Travis in style), Josh Pennington and Robert Steele.

Happy 5th anniversary, Doak. And happy 1st anniversary to me. I love this town.

Beyond the Ashes, Edgehill Studio Cafe, 3/3/08

2008-03-03T20:21:00.001-06:00

MySpace can be a really great place to meet people. Among my top MySpace friends is one I met through the site, a fellow named Dusty, a gospel music industry person and one of the most powerful and amazing encouragers I've ever known of. He has been mentoring a dear friend of his, a terrific tenor singer, Anthony Facello (who I also found on MySpace), supporting the formation of a new Southern Gospel trio he is part of called Beyond the Ashes.

Beyond the Ashes had its first public Nashville showcase at Edgehill Studio Cafe. There was the now-weekly severe storm threatening outside, but it would just have to wait. None of us were going anywhere. The guys (Anthony, Justin Howard and Brian Alvey) and the people there to support them created a place of heart, soul and enthusiasm over the hour long set. Anthony noted that the guys had met each other earlier on, but God brought them together for this musical ministry at the right time a little over a year ago. The group is vocally solid, doing as good a job as any on well known favorites such as "Can't Stop Talking About Him", "How Great Is Our God" and "Daystar". They were also very strong on songs I wasn't as familiar with, such as "Gather At the River" and "That's How Much I Need A Savior", with Anthony turning in some very fine solo work.

The time went much too quickly and I wish it had gone longer. But it was long enough for me to know that Beyond the Ashes has a bright future beyond the walls of that small cafe.

There were several gospel music industry people and organizations represented whose names I recognized that night. I am still a new kid on the block. Anthony, Dusty and others made me feel so welcome and valued. I'm so grateful and fortunate to have these kind of experiences with all these wonderfully talented people.

God bless MySpace. And of course, God bless this town.

A Typical Weekend In Nashville...

2008-02-23T18:15:00.000-06:00

Well, it's not always my typical weekend in Nashville. Sometimes I have to work, do laundry or other things. But every now and then I get a chunk of time to take in a few of the great activities that are available to those who live in the area.

On Friday, I went to the Bluebird Cafe for a round featuring Barbara Cloyd (running a songwriter workshop that week), Don Poythress, Marcel, Trevor Rosen and someone I've been a fan of for awhile, Jessica Andrews. Barbara is legendary in this town for her mentoring of songwriters, and Marcel was no exception. He told the story of driving all the way from California for an open mike spot at the Bluebird...he managed to grab the last one and in the process blew Barbara away enough for her to get him connected in Nashville. The rest was history, with Marcel getting a record deal (you may remember his song "Tennessee" which he did Friday evening) and pairing up professionally and personally with Jessica Andrews. He was a writer of Jessica's hit "There's More to Me Than You" (he sang it Friday night with Jessica on backup vocals) and I didn't know he also wrote "Nothing To Lose" for Josh Gracin. It was a treat to hear Jessica sing the touching and inspiring "Who I Am".

Don Poythress showed us some of his great songs, including one that Kellie Pickler recorded "Things That Never Cross A Man's Mind". Trevor Rosen was there primarily as guitarist for Jessica and Marcel, but did get a song of his own in the round.

On Saturday, another treat for me: I went to the grand reopening of the Country Music Hall of Fame Museum shop. The main reason for me to go was to meet one of my radio heroes, WSM's Bill Cody. I'm not a fan of chatty morning radio shows unless you've got something interesting and entertaining to say. Bill Cody and Charlie Mattos and traffic reporter Richard Thomas make my commute much easier to bear each morning. What you hear and what you see (on GAC) is what you get with Bill--just as nice and as charming as he is on the air. Afterward, he found me in the corner of the gift shop with my head stuck in Loretta Lynn's latest book to make sure I got my museum gift pack--that was sweet (thanks, Bill!). Later I also got to see Eddie Stubbs, who I've met on a few occasions. He was, as always, the perfect Southern gentleman. I also took in a brief bit of a songwriter session with Rich Fagan, notable for writing songs on the George Strait "Pure Country" soundtrack and John Michael Montgomery's girl at the auction hit "Sold" (I actually heard that one at least twice on the radio this past week.), and a performance by bluegrass/country group Nash Street, winners of the Colgate Country Showdown.

I've lived in Nashville one year next month and I'll be talking about that milestone in later posts. But even though I'm pretty settled in a normal routine of life, still there's something about being in downtown Nashville. As a visitor, the sense of history and musical richness was very special and now that I live here I haven't become jaded about it. Like I said...I love this town.

"Tokens" Radio Show Taping, Lipscomb University, 2/19/08

2008-02-20T05:24:00.000-06:00

I am one excited gal.

My friend Annie from Buddy Greene's office asked me if I wanted a ticket to a taping at Lipscomb University for a new radio show pilot where Buddy was playing in the house band. Did I? Is water wet? If it's a radio show, I am so there.

"Tokens" is described by its host and creator, Lee Camp, an Associate Professor of Bible at Lipscomb University, as a "crazy idea" he had to mix theology, cultural analysis, good conversation, and good music. And yes, it will remind you of "A Prairie Home Companion", which is another reason for me to be excited about this show. (For those of you who are unaware of how "A Prairie Home Companion" impacted my life, you can read here.) The theme of this first program was "The Appalachian Longing For Home." The music and the commentary tied in well with the exploration of the idea of the Appalachian longing for a sense of community and the kingdom of God.

"Tokens" blends part of a tested formula with some unique elements. There was the music: the house band, The Sinai Mountain Boys, led by virtuoso musician Jeff Taylor, along with Buddy Greene, Pete Huttlinger, Aubrey Haynie, Dennis Crouch, and Vince Barranco (plus a guest appearance by bluegrass great Stuart Duncan--Jeff spotted him in the audience and brought him up to sit in on mandolin on a couple of numbers). Also featured was the amazing Odessa Settles, who I first heard with Buddy at the Bluebird Cafe a couple of months back. With this lineup, the band was, as you'd expect, superb and both Buddy and Odessa gave powerful musical expression to the longing for home theme. Other guest artists were Andrew Peterson, a fine singer/songwriter I would definitely like to hear more of, and acapella group Aunt Mag's Four.

There was also humor courtesy of the Tokens Radio Players (Merri Collins, David Fleer and Nate Fleer) with very entertaining bits like "Dear Preacher Man" and "Virtual Home".

Along with the music and humor was this program's twist: short audio excerpts of interviews with three authors. A.J. Jacobs, editor of Esquire magazine and author of the best selling Year of Living Biblically, took one year to live as literally as in the Bible, which included donning Biblical garb and stoning an adulterer. "Red Letter Christians" founding member and author Brian McLaren speaking on his most recent book, Everything Must Change posed some thoughts on how Jesus's message fits into today's global crises; and Professor Marcus Rediker shared tragic and compelling details from his book, Slave Ship, describing the inhuman conditions that slaves experienced on ships. Full versions of the interviews will be available on the Tokens show website(www.TokensShow.com),which I'm told hopes to be up and running in a couple of weeks.

As host, Lee Camp is more Noah Adams than Garrison Keillor overall, with an amiable and intelligent style and presence. He also did very well in the humor skits and as part of Aunt Mag's Four (yes, it does help that the host can sing!).

"Tokens" will be pitched to potential sponsors and outlets. Judging from the wildly enthusiastic audience reaction, I predict this "crazy idea" is gonna fly, folks. I'd even predict further if it finds an outlet, once it gets going it may even need a little more room than the intimate Shamblin Theater to hold all the people who will want to be part of it.

I am so blessed, so thankful to be here and be part of these events. I love radio. I love this town!

A Night At Puckett's Grocery and Restaurant 2/9/08

2008-02-13T18:30:00.000-06:00

Strange as it seems, I don't think I've yet to see much of the town of Franklin in the daylight hours, outside of the Cool Springs area and my church's office. I'd only ventured south of Nashville in the evening for one show before going to Puckett's Grocery and Restaurant for the first time. I'd never been to downtown Franklin, either. From what I could see in the dark, it's a very cute area. It reminds me perhaps of downtown Milford, CT and a town I know I've been to in Minnesota that I can't for the life of me think of now. What impressed me the most was the big parking garage I pulled into across from Puckett's --I tried to figure out where to pay for parking and how much...and then realized parking was free. Too cool.

Puckett's is probably about the size of the Bluebird Cafe, maybe a little larger. I was there this evening to have dinner and hear my friend Buddy Greene along with multi-instrumental genius Jeff Taylor and fiddler Aubrey Haynie (both of who are also members of the Grammy-nominated Time Jumpers. They skipped the awards ceremony to play this gig).It was a packed house so at first they sat me at the bar. I'm really not a fan of sitting at bars...the only advantage for me is being short I can sometimes get a better view. Plus, sometimes people think you're only there to drink or you get forgotten when it comes to food. Not at Puckett's. The wait staff was superb...no less than three waiters checked in with me to see if I put my dinner order in. The food was quite good, although I would have liked to have seen a vegetarian option among the three menu choices.

Just before the show, Buddy saw to it that I was moved to a table, so I joined Buddy's assistant, Ann, and a friend of his from Indiana, Tobin Wingard. Later on, Buddy called Tobin up on stage and he played some killer harmonica. As always, Buddy, Jeff, and Aubrey put on a musically excellent show overall with characteristic great playing and good humor.

Puckett's has two locations, in downtown Franklin and Leiper's Fork, that feature live music on the weekends. Check out Puckett's website for all the info on the great music and food (and did I mention the service?). It's won several "best of" awards in many categories.

I love Nashville and Franklin's pretty cool, too.

Gaither Homecoming, Sommet Center, 2/8/08

2008-02-09T10:56:00.000-06:00

After several years of attending Gaither Homecoming concerts in the round with a large lineup of artists, I was interested how the new setup of end stage and decreased artist roster would fare (I also wondered how I, being "vertically challenged", would see from the middle of the 5th row with the new setup. But there were empty seats here and there, and by the time the second half came along, those who don't have the duration of some of us die-hards left). Indeed at first, I was struck by the smaller number of artists on stage in the opening, and did miss a few of the regulars I'd been used to seeing (Russ Taff, Jessy Dixon, the Isaacs). But in the end, the Gaithers showed they still had the ability to engage the audience like friends or family musicially and with good natured humor and bind us all in heart and spirit.

Some of my favorite highlights:
- Rory Rigdon and Kevin Williams remain two of the funniest guys out there when they gang up on Mr. Gaither (Rory's expressions are priceless), with a few blurbs from Gordon Mote. (This year's routine, rather timely, is "Bill For President"). It also helps that Bill is graciously willing to go along with it all.
- Ernie Haase and Signature Sound are charmingly haphazard in choreography at times (they could use a little Motown step instruction), but I enjoy it. Boogie down, guys.
- I thought having the onstage artists singing songs with some clips of some of those who have passed cut in (the Goodmans, George Younce, Jake Hess) was interesting and effective.
- Nice to see Eva Mae LeFevre (looking lovely at age 90), the Christ Church Choir, and Michael English who joined the convention singing portion in the second half.

By the way, the show was as long as ever--started at 7, was over at 11:30. But that's all good.

Stop by MySpace...

2008-01-27T05:47:00.001-06:00

I just wanted to mention here that I am running a weekly feature at my MySpace profile. Each week I am featuring a different songwriter from the Nashville area who also can be found on MySpace. I post a song by the featured artist on my profile and have the artist in my "top friends" area. Here's hoping you will go to the artist's own profile and check out more of his/her work.

A couple of nights later at the Hall of Fame Lounge...

2008-01-06T07:01:00.000-06:00

So I got this MySpace bulletin on Saturday from Brandon Maddox announcing that he, Brian James and Mike Seals would be doing a round at 7 p.m at the Hall of Fame Lounge. With Brandon plus half the lineup of Thursday's amazing show at the Bluebird (see previous post below), this was a little too good to pass up. Though I hadn't been home much at all Saturday and was thinking about kicking back in the evening, well, what's a few more hours away? I jumped in my car and came out to the Hall of Fame Lounge for my first visit there. It's got that "informal" atmosphere much like the Station Inn and reminded me a little of the rumpus room of the house I grew up in.

If the above lineup wasn't enough, the whole thing was kicked up a notch by the addition of the amazing Patrick "Moose" Hovious on harmonica. Though there was only a handful of us in the audience at the time, all these guys brought it as if it were a packed house. Only issue was that the round was way too short, but that's how sets are run in order to get more singer/songwriters on an evening's bill. Brandon, Brian and Mike were promptly booked for next week (update: set time back to 8:30 p.m. on the 12th; Moose will join them for a special appearance, as he's moved from town for awhile to attend college. Good luck and hurry back soon!).

I stuck around for a little bit and was pleasantly surprised to see "Simply Lauri" Merrow, who I knew from Doak's gatherings as a consistently solid singer/songwriter. I hadn't had a chance to listen to her her outside of that setting, so it was a treat to hear her in a half hour set. Joining her was a songwriter new to me, Paul Welch. I enjoyed his songs as well; one particularly touching one was "That's The One I Was Looking For", in tribute to his dad.

I'll be going back here, I'm sure, to check out some more singer/songwriters. Stay tuned.

Brian James, Arika Nash, Jody Serrato, Mike Seals-Bluebird Cafe 1/3/08

2008-01-05T05:54:00.000-06:00

The first time I heard Brian James play some of his songs at one of Doak Turner's Sunday gatherings, I knew he was a major talent. The round which he put together at the Bluebird along with Arikah Nash, Jody Serrato and Mike Seals further convinced me of that.

This was one of the strongest early evening sets I've seen at the Bluebird, right along with Steve Craig's round of the previous month. The singer/songwriters touched on a variety of styles (country, blues, pop, a touch of gospel) and a couple of common themes: commitment in relationships, having faith to move into the unknown, and importance of family. It was interactive from the get-go, with the souvenir bookmarks on each table to solitication of song ideas from the audience on index cards (taking a cue from the old Mac Davis TV show in which he would make up songs on the spot from audience suggestions). Brian was up to the challenge, creating improv songs about riding a horse and burgers and election day.

Brian clearly has the full package--great songs, great singer, great guitar player, charismatic performer. He won the crowd over in a big way with a comical song, "You Don't Know Jack About Jill", about how little men knew about women. He also did a couple of songs which were already well known to some of us, "Fallen Angels" and "Footprints".

Brian blew me away at a recent gathering with a song about fatherhood, "Daddy Let Me Go". The song was co-written by one of the night's other artists, Jody Serrato. Described by Brian as "a young Mexican Billy Joel", Jody gave us some strong songs about his experience with marriage and fatherhood and the commitment it takes to keep them going as a traveling performer ("First Step", "Worth the Wait").

Arikah Nash, a singer/songwriter/actress, is full of personality and has a very powerful voice that effectively handles a variety of styles. She wrote her first country song while out in L.A., "Faded Blue Jeans" and it worked well with this crowd. She also teamed up with Brian for an electric performance of their song "Walk On Water".

Mike Seals, originally from Chicago, told us he was a rookie songwriter and had only written five songs so far, but they certainly were excellent. Favorites for me were "Crying My Eyes", a traditional country-blues style, and a highlight for the audience, "One Step" a blues number that got the crowd hand clapping and singing along. Mike, keep writing, so far, so good!

The strongest performance of the evening for me was "Stepping Out On Faith", a gospel tinged number with a solid lead vocal from Brian, backups from Arikah and Mike and some nice organ work from Jody.

You can go on the available MySpace pages for these artists and hear some of these songs for yourself. I was talking to someone the other day about how much fun it's going to be to watch some of these marvelous people I've met and heard here so far get that high-profile break that I am absolutely convinced is coming down the road.

It's 2008 and I still love this town.

Steve Craig, Nikki Cole, Stephanie Layne, Elizabeth Runde - Bluebird Cafe 12/18/07

2007-12-19T20:16:00.000-06:00

The last time I saw Steve Craig out at the 3rd Sunday gathering, he told me that he was excited about three female artists he was working with: Nikki Cole, Stephanie Layne and Elizabeth Runde. Steve put together a row at the Bluebird Cafe to showcase these three singer/songwriters who each did a very fine job of interpreting Steve's songs, and he in turn supported them well with guitar and backing vocals.

Steve kept noting through the evening about how "cute" Elizabeth is. Indeed, she is a darling young redhead with a powerful voice...currently a student at Middle Tennessee State University who plans to study music at Belmont University, Elizabeth has won several talent contests. Steve made good song choices to fit her voice, particularly "That's A Different Story", "Just A Dream", and "Way Too Many Tears Ago" (which Steve sang last time he was at the Bluebird in June).

Nikki Cole has a good stage presence and strong voice, as she showed on Steve's very clever song "Frequent Liar Miles", and her own composition "Roses" (accompanied by Tim Smith on guitar), a song about people trying to be strong on the outside in the face of trouble. Nikki has opened for several major acts including John Michael Montgomery and Tracy Byrd.

Northfield, MN native Stephanie Layne did a great job capturing the joys and sorrows of trying to carve out a career in Nashville in the song she and Steve co-wrote "Heart Wide Open". I also enjoyed her songs about cowboys and falling in love at the county fair. Stephanie fronted a band for a couple of years at Tootsie's Orchid Lounge.

Steve seems to have a wonderfully successful gift of writing songs that just flow out of him easily. He described a few of the songs he did last night as having come forward that way, and every one of them were good. I've yet to hear a not so hot song from him. I find his songs very easy to picture hearing on the radio. Keep an ear open...

*************
Speaking of Doak's 3rd Sunday gathering, I want to share with you a link to an article about it that Tennessean columnist, and songwriter, Rick Moore wrote:

http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071214/MICRO020201/712140433/1197/COUNTY01

Buddy Greene and Friends Christmas Concert, Christ Community Church, Franklin 12/14/07

2007-12-15T16:35:00.000-06:00

It's been a wild week. I spent three days at Gaylord Opryland for Mark Lowry's Christmas Celebration Senior Trip. On Friday, it was off to Christ Community Church in Franklin for Buddy Greene's Christmas concert featuring Buddy, Jeff Taylor, and Tricia Walker.

Sometimes when you get a few moments into a show, you know it's going to be special. This one truly was. What I liked the most about it was that it wasn't a concert where the same tired Christmas songs were sung. Buddy, Jeff and Tricia took it out of the box and also brought in songs that really reflect the values that should be remembered at this time and beyond: loving and caring for one another. If you go to one of Buddy's shows, you'll also find much of his gentle humor, and that too was mixed well into the concert. (Best line of the evening: while introducing Jeff Taylor, Buddy said "One of Jeff's ministries to me is being balder than I am.")

Admittedly, I wasn't very familiar with Tricia Walker, but the buzz on her at the product table was accurate. A singer/songwriter with songs recorded by Faith Hill, Patty Loveless and Alison Krauss, her voice is exquisite and her song "Heart of Dixie" grabbed the soul. Jeff Taylor is one of the most diverse musicians around, supporting Buddy superbly as usual on piano, accordion, penny whisle and perhaps other instruments I've left out. One moment that brought down the house was Buddy and Jeff's "movements for accordian and harmonica, two lost instruments of the classical era".

As for Buddy...aside from his musical excellence, I love his soul, and I love his spirit. His rendition of the Stephen Foster classic "Hard Times" was passionate and heartfelt, a highlight of the evening. He also shined on "Glorious Impossible", a widely acclaimed song that the Gaither Vocal Band recently recorded, and of course, no way could he do a Christmas show and not do "Mary Did You Know". He told the audience the story of how Mark Lowry handed him the lyrics and asked him to come up with the medley, and that the reaction he got when he first played the tune in South Africa told him the song was something special. It was a neat experience for me to hear both composers put their own stamp on their performance of the song in the course of the same week.

Buddy told us not to go home early, as he would have a surprise for us at the end of the show. Your eyes aren't playing tricks on you in the picture--that is indeed Amy Grant, who joined Buddy, Jeff and Tricia on stage. Buddy and Amy did a couple of special appearances together in the past weeks and she stopped in on the show as a favor...it was a treat for all of us. Amy sang "Tennessee Christmas" and joined in at the end for "Go Tell It On the Mountain".

I'm here to tell you too that Buddy Greene is the real deal onstage and offstage, a guy who walks his talk and has a lovely family. Love ya, Buddy.

And of course, I love this town.

Michael McDonald, Ryman Auditorium, 12/2/07

2007-12-02T22:23:00.000-06:00

OK...of all the great things that have happened to me since I moved here to Nashville, this one has to be the icing on the cake at this point. I got to meet the man himself, who has ranked high in my world of singers for 25+ years. Yes, that's right, Michael McDonald.

In truth, it's not really the first time I met him. A few years ago he played the Fine Line club in Minneapolis. I had planned to be visiting family out East then, but changed my flight plans for this show. He did an autograph signing after that show amidst a mob scene at the table. So I chose my one line to say to him: "boy, am I glad I changed my flight plans for this." I remember he said he was glad I did, too.

On this occasion too, I had to think about narrowing down what to say. I heard that the meet and greet where I'd be meeting Michael moves along quickly. I was hoping I'd remember my name (and not almost forget like the previous time when those blue eyes looked at me and I swear my heart stopped). My plan was to say this was by far the highlight of my move to Nashville and tell him I flew out for my 50th birthday a couple of years ago for his TPAC show.

Getting there, however, was a bit of an ordeal. Thunderstorms were predicted and, right on cue, the minute I got in my car, they started right up. People think that I am always just paranoid about this, but I kid you not. When I got around the Belmont University area, it looked like it had let up, so I figured maybe now I can move into the left lane. The moment I did that...whoosh. The next wave kicked in. I could hardly see where I was going but at least I wasn't far from downtown. I got to the First Baptist Church parking lot and decided I'd wait it out for a few minutes. But it continued and it was getting time for me to get there. Rain and all, I headed to the place where you pay for parking and the machine didn't want my credit card or my money. Great. So I decided to try the Landport lot and decided to pay whatever it wanted if I could get it to take my credit card. Fortunately it did and it was only $5. I was damp, but I made it there.

Every single person I have talked to who met Michael McDonald described him as one of the nicest guys in the business. After meeting him, I'd certainly agree. He was warm, down to earth, made you feel very comfortable. I did remember to say all the above, I didn't overtalk, and I didn't forget my name. He said he hoped I think it was still a highlight after hearing the show. (As if I would ever change my mind.)

The concert was terrific. Michael's voice was incredible as always and the musicianship of the band was outstanding. This was one of the shorter shows I've been to, clocking in at under two hours, but I appreciated that, especially on a Sunday night when you have to get up for work the next morning. Michael and the band didn't waste any time on filler, just got right down to it and gave the people what they wanted—Christmas songs and the hits. Though this was a Nashville show, there were no guest superstar appearances as in other concerts around town...but the man doesn't need any.

Drea and Sophie, I can't thank you enough for making the meeting happen.

60 degrees and thunderstorms on December 2 instead of 6 inches of snow. What the hey. I love it here.

This Says It All...

2007-11-27T04:42:00.001-06:00

In the "every picture tells a story, don't it?" department, this pretty much sums up a lot of what I've said in this blog about hearing all these songwriters here and enjoying what they do. This pic is from a recent 3rd Sunday gathering...I'm digging Brandon Maddox and Patrick "Moose" Hovious taking their turn in a round with a lot of other talented folks listening in.

Thanks to the amazing photographer Kat Speer for capturing this.

Songwriting To Be Thankful For

2007-11-20T19:03:00.000-06:00

On this Thanksgiving week, what am I most thankful for this year? Well, that's obvious. Being here in Nashville and getting to be part of the music community as a non-performer writer/publicist/columnist/blogger/podcaster. It is truly a joy to go to places like Doak's 3rd Sunday, the Bluebird Cafe and other writer's night events and get to hear and support so many wonderful songwriters of various levels. Some of them have had success, others are just time away from having their big breakthrough song, and others are developing their unique artist presence.

A week or so ago at the Bluebird I heard ACM songwriters of the year Jamey Johnson and Buddy Cannon (for "Give It Away"), along with Dallas Frazier and John Scott Sherrill (with Mickey Raphael of Willie Nelson's band on harmonica). At Doak's this week I was sitting in a room listening to a few talented songwriters -- one later arrival happened to be Alan O'Day, writer and singer of the 70s hit "Undercover Angel" as well as writer of "Rock and Roll Heaven" and "Angie Baby", all of which he kindly did for us. I heard him along with Denny Martin, Paul Scott and Craig Monday days later at the Bluebird. As with so many of the shows I've seen there, it was a great evening of solid and clever songwriting (with songs about kids, zoos and women "sexy by accident")and entertaining humor.

Can't beat this, I tell ya. I love living here.

Bluebird Cafe Double Header 11/2/07

2007-11-04T16:23:00.000-06:00

I took in a couple of shows at the Bluebird Cafe Friday for a long, late, wonderful evening. When I plan on going to the second show, I usually like to go to the first as well, since I work a few minutes away from the Bluebird (though on this evening, good old traffic took me half an hour to get there!). No sense going all the way home when I'm that close.

The first show consisted of some fine singer-songwriters: organizer Sonia Lee, who had a lot of friends and family from Rochester and Baltimore on hand to support her; Kim McLean (backed by Devon O'Day on vocals and "potato" percussion), who I last saw there at the JPF showcase; Mary Sue Englund, a Minnesota native who I used to hear from time to time at the Music City Cafe in St. Paul, now doing very well out here as a strong singer-songwriter presence and member of Pam Tillis' band; and Todd Sharp, who has worked as a guitarist with Rod Stewart, Hall and Oates and co-writer of the Christine McVie hit "I've Got Somebody" (which Sonia did the vocals on this evening). The three female songwriters knew each other and worked together (Kim also produced Sonia's CD and Sonia does all of their hairstyles!). Todd blended right in, bringing a warm camraderie and lots of laughs as well as great music. So many of their songs were based on personal experience (theirs or people they knew), creating a sense of intimacy between them and the audience. One common thread running through the set by these writers was letting go and letting God bring the inspiration through for their songwriting.

The second show was billed as "An Evening of Gospel Music, Old Hymns and Spirituals", featuring Buddy Greene (who needs no introduction to readers of this blog), singer-songwriter Ashley Cleveland, who has recorded often with Buddy and countless other artists, and the amazing family group Odessa Settles and the Connection (also featuring Todd Suttles, who appears on Buddy's "Happy Man" CD, and guitarist Bobby Hamrick). The styles ranged from African spirituals, powerful uptempo treatments of traditional hymns from Ashley and acoustic/harmonica renditions from Buddy. The artists backed each other on their songs, making for some wonderful collaborations. The audience loved it all and as I often do, I imagine what it's like to have these kinds of musical gifts.

Like I said, late but great evening of music. I love this town.

3rd Sunday Notes

2007-10-23T20:41:00.000-05:00

I missed the monthly get-together at Doak Turner's last month because I was in Louisville KY, so I was glad to be back this month. What's getting really cool for me now is that the more often I go, the more faces I recognize (and the more hugs I get). I've only been in town seven months and I must say, at this and other songwriter events I've gone to, I've not felt out of place and have always been made to feel welcome.

I got up to speed with some of those songwriters I've come to know from here and came away with a few tidbits:

- Steve Craig is excited to be working lately with three very talented artists: Elizabeth Runde, Nikki Cole and Stephanie Layne. They are doing some songs written by Steve. All three of these ladies have MySpace pages which you can check out.

- The awesomely talented Brian James has been playing gigs in other states but hopes to do some more in the Nashville area. We were especially impressed with a song he wrote about being a dad (even though Brian himself doesn’t have any kids!).

I met a couple of new faces and voices in person that I first met through MySpace and by word of mouth by my prolific singer/songwriter buddy Brandon Maddox. The Redheads, Britta and Brooke, now residing in Georgia, are reminding folks of a young version of the Judds.

Some of the others whose names I grabbed while dropping in on some rounds: Kenny Hayes, Scott Sanford, Andy Collins, Warren Evans (with an interesting song about being an organ donor), John DiBattista from Canada, Lois Akin and Jo Rankin. Some others I reconnected with from other occasions were Deb Ziems, Rob Wolf and storyteller songwriter Dave Saunders, who had a request from the Redheads for him to perform his song "Preacher Bill".

Just a reminder about why I love doing this particular blog. We have a lot of great talent in this town that needs to be heard. My job is to be a beacon of light to them and hope that you will be curious enough to note some of the names here and look for their websites, MySpace pages or find them in the weekly listings of songwriter events so you will check out their music. These singer/songwriters frequently perform for one another. I'm neither a singer nor a songwriter...I'm sort of the "end result", the listener. I think it’s important to give these artists encouragement at that level as well and let them know I'd be digging their songs if I heard them on the radio. For me to do all this here in Nashville is a great privilege.

And remember—if you're playing at Doak's or a writer's night and you see me there with pen and paper, be sure to tell me who you are!
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Update: Lyrix will be closing its doors on October 31 due to the venue having lost its lease. I only got to Lyrix a couple of times, both of which I've written about here (see the JPF showcase and Rick Stewart writers night posts). It was a very nice venue with a welcoming atmosphere and great food. Same as I've often experienced with many Twin Cities coffeehouses and venues, it tends to be the good ones that go. My best to Tanya and the staff of Lyrix.

Writers Night, Christ Lutheran Church, 10/13/07

2007-10-14T06:27:00.000-05:00

Back in my post about the monthly Music Row Mixer, I mentioned meeting a couple of people with some Minnesota ties. One of them was Randi Perkins, originally from North Dakota. We got to talking and I learned he was related to the talented Kat Perkins, now of the band Scarlet Haze.

I stopped by a writer's night which Randi hosted out at Christ Lutheran Church in Nashville. This event, a periodic fundraiser for the church's choir, started in 2005 and has featured new as well as established singer/songwriters. It was one of those intimate gatherings I enjoy so much, because there's a certain warmth which lends itself to a strong connection between artist and audience. Randi started things off with one of his songs (accompanying himself on piano for the first time publicly, he said—great job! ) "In Your Eyes". He's a poetic writer with a gentle Midwest manner and nice tenor range.

Mark Armstrong, originally from Philadelphia, is a relative newcomer to Nashville who brought a Delta blues feel and a reggae tune into the mix. I'm a slide guitar and dobro fan, so I appreciated his great string work he brought to his set, and he's a strong vocalist.

Randi first met Mitch Malloy, a Christian music artist, years ago when he judged a talent contest that Mitch won in the male vocalist category. He remembered Mitch for years afterward and it was easy for me to see why. He's a powerful singer whose songs convey a sincere message. Mitch has enjoyed success on the music charts and currently has a track, "Fly", featured on Sirius Satellite Radio channel 66. You can hear this and some of the other songs he did on his MySpace page.

Donna Ulisse, accompanied by her husband Mark Stanley on guitar and vocal, is a bluegrass artist (saying she married into the genre—Mark is Ralph Stanley's cousin) with a beautiful, clear voice. Donna's CD "When I Look Back" is getting a great reception internationally and on radio.

I was originally supposed to be somewhere else this evening, but things changed and I'd say they did for the better. I'm glad I had a chance to hear this group of artists…and thanks, Randi, for all of your hospitality. The next CLC writer's night may happen around the first of the year. It's a sweet event worth supporting.

Sparkle and Twang and Bluegrass

2007-10-06T20:45:00.000-05:00

One of the great things about living in Nashville is a lot of good stuff happens downtown that you can take advantage of and participate in. Today I finally got a chance to get over to see Marty Stuart's "Sparkle and Twang: Marty Stuart's American Musical Odyssey" exhibit at the Tennessee State Museum. It's an amazing collection of country music memorabilia that Marty has been compiling for many years. There are a lot of items tracing the development of Marty's career. The most fascinating of those is an essay he wrote in the 6th grade talking about how he wanted to be a famous musician and laid out exactly how he wanted to do it. Don't you know just about everything in there came to pass for him. Another interesting one is the display of the dress Connie Smith wore the day Marty went to see her perform when he was a youngster and declared he was going to marry her.

But Marty, you've got to make that video feature in the exhibit available for folks to buy on DVD. It's a compelling look at Marty's career which features lots of great archival footage, interviews, a feature on Johnny Cash including video from one of his last recording sessions, and a couple of songs. I about spent half my time watching that as well as looking over the displays.

Later, I headed down to the IBMA Bluegrass Fan Fest (thanks, Buddy, for the ticket!). I heard some great music, got a free lunch and checked out the exhibits. Most of the booths were instrument vendors or otherwise geared toward musicians. I walked around and heard so many amazing young kids trying out the instruments.

When I was in grade school, I was in a music program for a short time. I tried violin and flute, but didn't stay long with either. Now I've kicked myself for that from time to time. If I had known of the existence of bluegrass back then, I'd have stayed with the violin and of course, called it a fiddle. I talked to a fellow who was representing a great program called Bluegrass Apprentice Program, which is a curriculum for learning bluegrass in a school music class, including banjo, guitar, mandolin, fiddle and bass. He also showed me a G chord on the mandolin. I am a mandolin fan and still entertain thoughts of taking lessons one day. Getting involved in a program like that would give me a good reason for wanting to be a kid again.

Did I mention that I love this town?

Music Row Mixer

2007-09-29T09:04:00.000-05:00

This month I attended another monthly music industry get-together. The Music Row Mixer takes place on the last Thursday of the month from 4-6 p.m. at The Longshot Sports Bar, located in the same Music Row strip as Tin Roof and other places. Like Doak Turner's 3rd Sunday gathering, you'll see many singer-songwriters and perhaps a few music business people...except at this event, no one's playing. It's a networking social often leading to co-writes among those attending. Very tasty wraps, wings, pizza, and free drinks are courtesy of SunTrust Bank. If you're on the shy side, no worries--people are very friendly, just have a seat and you'll find someone to chat and network with in no time. For me, it was another "small world" event--I met someone related to a musician I know in Minnesota and I also met the NSAI coordinator in Minneapolis.

The first mixer was in February. Some of the people attending the event included Gary Hannan (Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off – Joe Nichols), Tony Stampley (writer of several Hank Jr. cuts and son of music legend Joe Stampley), and Rich Furtner of DISCMAKERS. Some came from Charlotte, NC, Green Bay, WI and Australia, along with many other locals of the Nashville music community. Host Jeff Jones from SunTrust Bank and Derek Sanders of SunTrust also attended the event.

(Thanks, Doak, for the additional background information!)

NQC

2007-09-17T13:26:00.000-05:00

Technically not a Nashville event, but one that does bring together many artists based here: I had the opportunity to attend the National Quartet Convention in Louisville KY for three days. For those unfamiliar, it's the big annual event that brings together a multitude of Southern Gospel music artists, music industry folks, and fans. As it has changed with the times, it's not just for quartets. You'll find soloists, trios and mixed groups among the artists.

I was there to work a booth so I didn't get the chance to hear as much music as I normally would have. However, these three days afforded me a great learning opportunity as to how things happen in the music world. As I noted in my most recent "Ponderings" post about my "birthday concert" featuring Buddy Greene and Gordon Mote, most fans who enjoy a music event on the surface level probably have not much idea of just what goes into the making of an event. Indeed, the same applies to the product tables which are an integral part of NQC. I learned that it's not as simple as unpacking CDs and putting them out on a table. Behind the scenes there are decisions about what to bring and how much, how to best display items, loading up and tearing down efficiently and how to hang in there when you're on your feet on a concrete floor for 8 or so hours.

For a play by play of NQC, I refer you to search the many Southern Gospel blogs and websites out there. But here are a few personal highlights of mine:
- Finally meeting some of the artists and industry people in person that I got acquainted with on MySpace or other cyberspace means.
- Mark Lowry and LordSong wowing the crowd on Friday evening and getting some glowing reviews.
- "Pianorama" on Saturday afternoon (the only music event I was able to attend in full). My favorites: Roy Webb, formerly of Signature Sound, off to a great start in launching a solo career and earning a standing ovation. I finally got to hear Kim Collingsworth, and fully got why there's such a big buzz for her piano playing. She was incredible.

Yeah, I'm thinking about going back next year.

Buddy Greene - Station Inn 8/22/07

2007-08-24T14:04:00.000-05:00

After a long day of work, I was pumped to be heading downtown for a gig I long looked forward to: Buddy Greene's CD release show at the Station Inn for his new bluegrass/acoustic album "Happy Man".

First, I'll disclose that I have the honor of doing radio promotion for Buddy Greene's "Happy Man" CD. But even as a regular fan, I would not have missed this show for any reason. It's been way too long since I heard Buddy play live--I think it had been at the last Gaither "Praise Gathering" event I attended a couple of years ago.

The place was sold out to capacity and people were being turned away. All of us lucky people who made it in were treated to an incredible evening of true virtuoso musicianship by Buddy and his two bands (yes, two sets with different bands!). All of Buddy's bandmates for the evening appeared on the "Happy Man" CD: Pat Flynn (guitar), Kenny Malone (percussion), Byron House (upright bass), Jeff Taylor (keyboards, accordion), Luke Bulla (fiddle), Bryan Sutton (guitar), Aubrey Haynie (fiddle, mandolin), Dennis Crouch (upright bass).

Some guest musicians stopped by also...it was great hearing Sonya and Ben Isaacs back Buddy on vocals on "Wrasslin' Jacob" and "Walkin' In Jerusalem" (joined also on this tune by Todd Suttles). "Hambone practitioner" Keith Compton sat in on "Little Rabbit". At one point in the evening, Buddy stepped aside and let his players shine on a little "Hillbilly Jazz", led by guitarist Richard Smith.

Along with the stellar musicianship, there was a lot of fun. The guys joked throughout the set and everyone had fun with the good-natured "Denomination Blues", a song described as an "equal opportunity offender."

My personal highlights: a beautiful rendition of "Hard Times", featuring Buddy and Jeff Taylor; Cajun boogie with "Happy Man"; and "Bonaparte's Retreat" which featured Buddy's harmonica wizardry and solid picking by the band.

I told myself I really should leave a little early because I did have to get up for work the next day. But there just was no way I could. I'm glad I stuck it out and opted for getting by on little sleep. Just like at "Praise Gathering", when we'd go out to eat after the evening concert and make it a late one, but got up early the next day because Buddy was doing the music for the early worship service. Sleep deprivation's a small price to pay to hear artistry like Buddy's.

Rick Stewart Writers Night - Lyrix 8/15/07

2007-08-16T06:16:00.000-05:00

So far, I've been to a few singer/songwriter events here in Nashville, but this was the first regularly held "writer's night" aside from the Bluebird Cafe that I've gone to in Nashville. This one, hosted by Rick Stewart, took place at Lyrix Cafe. This is a great little place to hear music and the food is excellent--do plan on having dinner if you go there for an event.

I didn't get to hear everyone on board to play as I was only there for the early part of the evening. The "small world department" was my reason for choosing this one to come to. Among the many talented people I heard when dropping by at Doak Turner's get togethers was a fellow named Brandon Maddox. I started a temp job across town recently and someone I was introduced to looked quite familiar. It was indeed the same Brandon I heard at Doak's. Thus I wanted to drop by and give him some support. Backed by a rockin' harmonica player, Patrick Hovious, Brandon was musically solid lyrically, vocally and on guitar. I think he's got the whole package to be a success, and he's a terrific young guy as well.

Also part of the same three song round set were Deb Ziems (celebrating her birthday!) and Mary Hartman, who had a good crowd following, both very strong, diverse songwriters and vocalists.

The evening kicked off with a round featuring Jesse McRae, Diana Kelley and Rob Wolf. Diana was another of those I first heard at Doak's, sitting in a den room with a few of us, playing a couple of her songs. I remember being very impressed with her voice and her songs (as did the others in the room), and she showed again this evening that she is a very strong talent to keep an ear on. Jesse and Rob also had some fine material, and Rob's ode to the Titans was a hoot.

Even as a non-songwriter, I easily pick up on the support and encouragement that singer/songwriters in this town give each other...not just by showing up, but also by those on stage with one another stepping up to add a musical part or backup vocal to kick someone's set up a notch. It's great to see them help each other out to achieve the same goal.

By the way, all those I've mentioned have MySpace pages, so do look them up if you have the chance. And as with these and all the singer/songwriters I've mentioned in the Blend, look for their names next time you are scanning the writer's night listings and go give them a listen.

JPF Showcases 8/2, 8/4/07

2007-08-05T14:37:00.000-05:00

I will always remember the Just Plain Folks (JPF) roadtrip showcase I attended in St. Paul a couple of years ago. Many of the musicians taking part were those I knew of or were friends with from the clubs and coffeehouses in the Twin Cities. I was so proud of everyone who played. They were all on their game that night and I met many new musicians, some I stayed in touch with for awhile. So now that I am here in Nashville, I knew I had to take in both of the showcases planned for Nashville this year, at the Bluebird Café and Lyrix, respectively.

The Bluebird Café showcase featured some of the multi award winners from the JPF music awards in a set of two rounds. The first one featured Melody Guy, Cheley Tackett, Chris Young and Kim McLean, who were all very compelling songwriters. I know many people were there to see Chris Young. At 15 years old, Chris would post questions to the JPF message boards about songwriting and getting started in the business. Looks like a lot of that good advice has paid off, since his career is growing steadily since winning "Nashville Star". The second round featured Bob Malone (a hot piano player/singer/songwriter), vocal powerhouse Erika Luckett and the legendary Janis Ian. It was a thrill to hear her perform "At Seventeen" live.

The Lyrix showcase featured over 30 artists who signed up for a one song spot. I didn't realize how many artists come from other parts of the country to play at a JPF showcase in a particular city. Quite a few came from the Massachusetts area. I wish I could say something about every single one of them, but with that many playing, it was just too hard and this entry would go on for days. I will just say they were all uniquely wonderful to watch. But, I did attempt to capture the names of all featured artists who played. JPF founder Brian Austin Whitney (pictured above) kindly let me grab his clipboard once or twice, but if you were there and you see anyone whose name I butchered or left out, let me know and I'll fix it. Anyhow, here goes:

Joe Wickersham, Alan Ross, Tori Sparks, Julie Grower, Judy Klass, Donnie Witt, Jacob Israel, Lisa Lawrence, Mike Dunbar, Lisa Martin, Hal Benoit, Guy-Michael Grande, Harriet Ames, Jack Swain, Susan's Room, John Stoecker, Herbie Gaines, Cowboy Slim, Shelia Quattlebaum, Carolyn Rose Wilson, Joe Wraybek, Melody Guy, Cheyenne Medders, JoAnne Lurgio, Brian Keith, James Norris, Rob U, Ka'hryn, Greg Austin, Lance Allen, Vondelle Hebert, Lee Quick, Barbara Cloyd

This evening was also a great networking opportunity and chance to meet new people. In the end, we capped off the long evening with the traditional JPF group photo. These showcases were just another testament to the great talent to be found out there. Perhaps you will be hearing more of these names again in the future, so take note of them...also try looking them up on the web or MySpace and check them out.

SoGospelNews.com Fan Festival

2007-07-29T07:50:00.000-05:00

As promised, here are a few notes on the SoGospelNews.com Fan Festival concert series of the past week. I went to two of the five nights of the concerts (Thursday and Friday), held at River of Life Church in Smyrna. Both had very strong lineups.

Thursday had Mercy's Mark, TK and McRae, Everyday Driven, the Prophets, Johnny Minick and friends and Ann Downing. I'd been particularly looking forward to seeing Ann Downing. I first saw her on the Gaither video "What A Time" doing "Jacob's Ladder". I thought, who is this vivacious woman? (I must note that I've only been a Southern Gospel fan about six years, so I learned about the Downings, Speer Family, etc. long after the fact). Thus I became one of her "FANNtastics". "Ann D" closed the show in her very personal style...and yes, she did "Jacob's Ladder". Johnny Minick, who pastors the church hosting the Fan Festival, brought with him Alison Durham Speer, Mike Allen (who also sang with the Prophets) and his son, Aaron Minick, who's been gathering quite a buzz with his big band style.

Friday's lineup was equally impressive: the Freemans, Blackwood Gospel Quartet, Joyce Martin-Sanders, Sharron Kay King, Sunday Edition, the Quicks and the Pathfinders. Joyce Martin-Sanders looked and sounded vibrant. The Freemans were great crowd pleasers. I was new to the Quicks, but enjoyed their Manhattan Transfer-like arrangements on a couple of songs. I had not heard Sunday Edition (Deon, Chris and Amy Marie Unthank) before, either...I was very impressed with their performance, enough to buy a couple of CDs and make note to see them again in the future.

I wish I'd been able to attend the last day's concert with the talent contest. I would recommend saving up gas money and gearing up for the rush hour traffic to do this again next year. It's a great series of gospel music concerts that's worth supporting.

Christ Church Choir concert 7/19

2007-07-21T19:04:00.000-05:00

July is a wild month for gospel music fans in Nashville...even more so if you're an artist seeking to learn more about your musical craft. There are three music schools that take place over the month: Christ Church music conference, Steve Hurst school and Stamps-Baxter school. All three of those include concerts. I heard so many great things about these shows from people in past years, so I hoped to be able to take in some of those now that I'm here. Unfortunately, this year it was hard to get timely information...many of those concert lineups seem to be secret or are not widely publicized, so I was a bit disappointed to learn after the fact I missed some folks I really wanted to hear.

I did catch one well publicized concert by one of Nashville's greatest musical treasures: the Christ Church Choir. The choir gave us a preview of its upcoming release, "He Still Leads", due in January. As always, it's a treat to hear the choir tear it up and watch choir director Landy Gardner boogie down and get totally absorbed in the music. I also found his testimony on seeking God's direction and the steps that brought him where he is today quite inspiring. The Christ Church choir is known for having superb soloists and there were many, standouts among them Gaither video favorite Joy Gardner, daughter Dionne Gardner Dismuke, Maurice Carter and Christ Church Pastor Dan Scott. Dan Scott in particular impressed me at Mark Lowry's Senior Trip in Asheville last year and I promptly bought his CD. I would go hear him in a solo concert anytime.

Before the Christ Church portion of the concert, there were sets featuring vocal group Higher Ground, the Voices of Lee and Gordon Mote. I knew Gordon has a new CD out, so part of my reason for going to this show was to hear him and get the CD. Gordon told the audience he was working through some laryngitis, but you'd hardly been able to tell. Gordon did the title track of the new release "Don't Let Me Miss The Glory"(which earned a standing ovation), "Adoration", backed as on the CD by the wonderful Voices of Lee, and always crowd-pleasing favorite "Old Gospel Ship", where he cuts loose on piano. But country radio, listen up: Gordon has a potential smash hit on his hands with the song "Wake Up Dancin". I heard this song about a year and a half ago as a demo on one of Mark Lowry's website shows, and I told Gordon then I thought this song could do big things. I'm glad he recorded this one...we'll see what happens.

The fun continues for Southern Gospel fans with the SoGospelNews.com Fan Festival. I'll report on one of those concerts in the coming week.

Sunday at Doak's: Boomer and a Room Full of Daves

2007-07-15T20:53:00.000-05:00

Some items from one of my favorite monthly events, Doak Turner's 3rd Sunday gathering of songwriters (and those of us who love them):

First, an item for the "who knew?" department. Growing up in the mid 60s and being a loyal 16 magazine and Tiger Beat reader, amidst a lot of coverage on the Monkees, I often read about some fellows closely associated with them, the Lewis and Clarke Expedition. The act was fronted by Michael Martin Murphy (later of "Wildfire" fame) and Boomer Castleman. I also do remember their hit "I Feel Good (I Feel Bad)". Boomer Castleman is now in Nashville and I got to meet him at Doak's gathering. He was really surprised that I remembered the Lewis and Clarke Expedition connection (and thanks, Boomer, for saying I wasn't old enough to remember, but really, I am). I mean, how cool is being able to meet someone you read about back in the 60s? Boomer is quite active these days, and this article will bring you up to speed on where he's been and what he's doing now.

Making the rounds, including a refuge into the air conditioning, I listened to some excellent songs by a roomful of Daves (Dave Saunders, Dave DeMay, Dave Stone) and Bill Luigi. I ran into or heard some folks I remembered from past gatherings: Joe Hrasna, Brandon Maddox, Jesse Goldberg. I also heard many talented people in the rounds outside, such as Gary Lynn Williams from TX, Don Gaylord...those were a few names I caught; unfortunately, sometimes it's hard to get all the names straight in that large a gathering.

I also had the pleasure of meeting renowned songwriter Marc-Alan Barnette, a regular organizer of the event along with Doak, who like so many of the songwriters here each month, went out of his way to make me feel welcome and take an interest in what I'm doing and why I'm there. He also premiered a new song, "Chicks and Salsa", co written by Marc-Alan, Desiree and Adriann Corso of Canada and Clifford from California.

A few other notes on some songwriters at the gathering:
"Simpli Lauri" Merrow has a new CD, "Leave the Porch Light On", with CD release shows at Music City Bar and Grille on July 20th and the Broken Spoke on July 21.

And, congrats to Doak Turner--a song he co-wrote, "Talkin' Part", recorded by Ryan Weaver, is starting to get some country radio buzz. Well deserved!

As I noted before, this is one of the nicest events in town and I sure look forward to doing this every month, even when I can only put in a few hours. Great music, great people, great food. Can't ask for much more than that.

Uncle Dave Macon Days

2007-07-15T07:49:00.001-05:00

This weekend I headed out to Murfreesboro and checked out the Uncle Dave Macon Days festival. Set in an old fashioned village, the event features bluegrass and old time music competitions and impromptu jams, plus lots of craft and food vendors.

But, I blew my chance to learn to become a banjo picker. I happened to meet up with the person teaching the workshop and arranged to stop by. However, because I somehow had it in my head it was happening at noon, I got engrossed in the mandolin competition (my favorite instrument) and went for chow after it was over. Then I happened to look at the sheet and saw the banjo workshop was at 11. I hurried over to where I thought it was, but found a locked door. Oh well. If it had been a mandolin workshop, I'd have been there a half hour early. Maybe it's just not in the cards for me to actually be a musician...guess I'll continue applauding.

I circled the grounds over and over looking for the WSM booth, but no one could tell me where it was. I was hoping to get my "Stubbs" shirt, but no luck. Then it started getting too hot and too crowded to hang out for long, so I headed out. But if you love bluegrass and old time, it's a nice place to check out some good music and encourage some up and coming players.

July 4th week: Eddie, Marty, Connie and Vince

2007-07-06T06:55:00.000-05:00

After attending two events in Nashville this week, one fact seems to be abundantly clear. Eddie Stubbs is the king of this town. And rightfully so.

Eddie is the consummate professional, a torchbearer for the pioneers of classic country music, and as you'd find when you meet him, a perfect gentleman. For all of this and more, he's very highly respected by artists and fans alike. He is showered with accolades regularly by many artists, especially the folks he appeared with this week, and takes them all with class and humility.

I went to my second of his monthly "Intimate Evening With Eddie Stubbs" live broadcast on WSM, this one celebrating the 10th wedding anniversary of Marty Stuart and Connie Smith. It was another evening of fun and laughter and tracing two distinguished careers. Marty is a musician of integrity and, like Eddie, a champion for the cause of remembering the legends of country music (evidenced by his new book of photos and his memorabilia exhibit "Sparkle and Twang"). I had the chance to hear and meet Connie last month at CMA Fan Festival. Marty described her best: "My baby is an American essential!" One fact I did not know until that evening was that Marty and Connie co-wrote my favorite track of his, the duet "Farmers Blues" with Merle Haggard.

One very entertaining moment was when Marty did his best to distract Eddie as he was doing one of his off the top of his head sponsor spots. Yet, despite all of Marty's efforts (including showering Connie with kisses), the unflappable Stubbs didn't miss a beat.

During the autograph breaks, I got my picture taken with Marty and Connie. I declared Marty the hottest guy in country music and Connie wholeheartedly agreed with me. I also got to meet other folks in the audience that evening: Joanne Cash and Dr. Ray Yates of the Nashville Cowboy Church, and country music historian Robert K. Oermann.

Now that I've been to a couple of these "Intimate Evenings" I've begun to spot some regular faces in the line before the show. One person even shared her cookie with me. These are really fun events to go to if you win tickets and a great deal all around.

Eddie was also featured at another event, a Bluegrass concert featuring Vince Gill and Jesse McReynolds and the Virginia Boys. Mandolin bluegrass legend Jesse and his band did a fine opening set which featured a guest appearance by Vince. Jesse also threw in a few amusing rooster and chicken stories (making sure to note these were not the sponsored Springer Mountain Farms chickens he was talking about!).

With the exception of "Go Rest High" (done as an encore by audience request), there weren't any of Vince's greatest hits in his set. Vince's roots are in bluegrass and he played many songs he loved when he was a young picker (covering much of his "top 9") and songs from the bluegrass disc of his well-received "These Days" collection. Regarded by many as an ace guitar player as well as a great singer, Vince played mandolin all evening and showed some fine skill.

Of course, an evening with Vince Gill wouldn't be quite complete without some of his trademark humor, and there was much of that throughout the evening. The highlight for me was the story of how he and his young bluegrass band opened for KISS in the 70s for $100. It was a disaster, with the band being booed off the stage after two songs. But the group did not escape notice from a reviewer. The review noted the opening act's mismatch with the rock band, and mentioned that group member Vince, upon leaving the stage, told the crowd which part of his anatomy they could kiss.

Vince brought in a special guest musician for one number: none other than Eddie Stubbs. Eddie played fiddle in Maryland as a member of the Johnson Mountain Boys, and fans here got a taste of that. Eddie received a rousing ovation.

Next time I go to an "intimate evening" broadcast, I'm getting me one of those "STUBBS" shirts.

Margaret Becker, Cafe Forte, 6/18/07

2007-06-19T05:34:00.000-05:00

Margaret Becker has had a long and distinguished career in Christian music. When I first started discovering contemporary Christian music in the 80's, one of the first albums I bought was one of hers. Her appearance at Cafe Forte (held at Edgehill Studios Cafe) was one of the most personally inspiring evenings I've ever spent. Margaret's songs and her testimony about her career journey lit a fire of encouragement under all of us artists and non-artists. Her voice is a beautifully strong and expressive instrument.

Margaret's beginnings were rather humble...she worked as many as seven jobs in her native Long Island before going for her dream in Nashville. She paid some serious dues once here, living in precarious conditions and playing multiple roles from backup singer to merch person to driver in her early tours. Yet, early on in her journey when things were tough, she declared, "I came here to do what I'm supposed to do and until I'm told otherwise, I will proceed." Eventually, a chance encounter with someone she met while in college led to her getting a record deal.

Margaret told the crowd to be true to whatever their calling is and it was something that they MUST do if their passion is strong. The Dove award winner emphasized that it was not about how many numbers of people you play to and how many accolades you get...touching even one person is worth it all. Addressing the pitfalls that come with being an artist, she also powerfully reminded us that "broken bread feeds many."

I found Margaret to be one of the most approachable, down to earth of the established artists I've met in my time here, very generous with her time and her encouragement talking to people in between sets and afterward.

After this evening, I too felt more empowered to continue doing what I came to Nashville to do.

Corner Music Showcase 6/6/07

2007-06-08T17:22:00.000-05:00

Amidst the throes of CMA week with a lot of events happening at the same time was a very charming evening of acoustic music at Caffeine in Music Row. Six unique singer/songwriter acts shared their music and their hearts at the first of a monthly series of faith-based songwriter events sponsored by Corner Music. Corner Music's Scott Oliver served as a supportive and entertaining host (pulling out quite a few musician jokes over the evening).

In the "small town" department, I either knew or met four of the six acts a short time before I realized they were all playing at this same gig.

I first met Jonathan Aaron Porter, of Lebanon TN, in the line at the door of the Bluebird Cafe about two weeks earlier. Newly graduated from ministry school, Jonathan charmed us with thought provoking songs about believers' roles as God's disciples. One of the most striking songs was "I See The Nails".

I met Irene Kelly a couple of nights earlier at Cafe Forte, where she led worship music for the organization's dedication service. This evening we got to see another musical side of her. Accompanied on bass by her husband Tim Gaines (a member of the Christian band Stryper), she showed vocally soft and strong edges. One set standout were "Bough That's Breaking", a song for the troops.

You might recall me mentioning how impressed I was with Brian James when I heard him briefly at Doak Turner's songwriter picnic. I was anticipating hearing Brian in a more structured set. He did not disappoint--he's got a sweet, clear voice and solid songwriting, particularly on "Fallen Angels" and a song he wrote based on the "footprints" poem.

One new person to me this evening was Kimberlee Dunbar, a gospel/jazz vocalist and founder of a new support organization called Christian Women of Entertainment. Despite still dealing with the effects of a vocal cord cyst which left her unable to sing for a year, Kimberlee sounded strong and showed great style and versatility. I particularly liked "In His Time" a song about awaiting God's timing rather than ours, and her fine take on the classic song "Smile".

Houston, TX native and music industry professional Stin Fox was the "fun guy" of the group. His amusing song "Gospel Hair" had the crowd laughing, but he also showed a serious side with "Symphony of Silence" where he asked to audience to remain silent for a moment at the end of the song.

Tara and Scott Oliver closed the show with some fine guitar playing by Scott and Tara's passionate vocal power. The duo spent many years performing at coffeehouses in Los Angeles, and one song this evening, "Georgia Brown" was dedicated to an older woman who had a rough go in life but was always in the audience to encourage Tara and Scott when they played.

On a personal and professional note, I was honored to be given an opportunity during the evening to tell the audience what it is I am hoping to do here in Nashville. To have that chance to speak to a group in the Nashville musical community after only being in town two months was beyond my expectations. I'm very grateful to Tara and Scott for their encouragement!

Corner Music's monthly faith-based showcases will be held at different venues around Nashville. Contact the Olivers for further information.

Cafe Forte

2007-06-04T21:39:00.000-05:00

Since one of the main purposes of what I hope to do in Nashville focuses on encouragement, I went to check out a group of kindred spirits who came highly recommended to me. Cafe Forte is an organization with the purpose of encouraging and edifying songwriters who are Christian and believers working in the music industry. The leaders of Cafe Forte, Jeremy and Kenya Whaley, Julie Branham and Irene Kelly, are dedicated to the goal of supporting each other in artistry with an emphasis on building relationships. More than just a musician showcase, its weekly programs feature such things as industry professionals sharing their experience or songwriters sharing the craft behind the song.

Cafe Forte celebrated its first anniversary this month with a lovely dedication ceremony and some great worship music. You can certainly sense something exciting and fresh taking place, and the deep love and caring that the artists and other attendees have for one another. I was very warmly welcomed and perhaps I'll be able to offer them some of what I do in the way of encouragement in the near future.

Cafe Forte meets every Monday from 7-9 p.m. at Edgehill Studios Cafe, 1201 Villa Place, in Nashville near Music Row.

Bluebird Cafe: Steve Craig, Ron LaSalle, Paul Neilsen, Kathy Ashworth 6/2/07

2007-06-03T06:20:00.000-05:00

Songwriter Steve Craig was one of those I met a couple of weeks ago at the aforementioned Doak Turner's 3rd Sunday songwriting gathering. So, when he e-mailed me about a gig he was doing at the Bluebird with three other songwriters, I decided I'd drop by. It was yet another enjoyable evening discovering new singers and writers.

What I've liked about many of the singer/songwriter "round" events I've been to thus far is that there is a lot of camraderie and humor among the artists. No one really takes him or herself too seriously, and that aspect makes for a more entertaining show for the audience.

A lot of the audience came in support of Steve Craig -- it looks like he's got a pretty good following. He shared a lot of new songs he hadn't played before crowds, though I did recognize a couple from the round I listened in on at Doak's gathering. Now, as a listener who is not a practicing songwriter, I listen with the perspective of "could I imagine hearing these songs on the radio?" Steve has the knack for placing memorable hooks in his songs, so I think he's got a good chance of meeting this goal in the future. Strong bets would be his songs "Closer Than You Think", "Way Too Many Tears" and a touching song written to encourage a friend, "If You Could See What I See".

Kathy Ashworth provided a lot of the humorous songs to the round. She zeroed in on a couple of topics that the women in the audience strongly related to --the love (and buying of) lots of shoes, and the bigger your life gets, also the bigger your purse gets ("Little Purse Girl"). She did a song she had Kenny Chesney or Jimmy Buffett in mind for, "Local Wherever I Go" which had the audience spontaneously joining in on the chorus (hmm...sounds like a hit in the making?). I also liked one song about life's blessings, "Upside Down", and a song she brought up a friend, Michael Scott, to sing, "Little In Love".

Originally slated for the round as Kathy's accompanying guitarist, Paul Neilsen proved to be a fine fill-in participant(replacing Amanda Hunt-Taylor, who had to cancel). Paul did some fine songs which he co-wrote. Perhaps the biggest hit with the crowd was a suggestive song which turned out to be about a guy wanting to come back as his wife's cat, because of all the attention it gets. Paul also did some excellent guitar work throughout the evening. One thing I admire about these players is their ability to just drop in these great licks, whether they've heard these songs or not.

Ron LaSalle is a rock/blues style singer and songwriter, with a big strong voice that reminds you of Bob Seger. He's an engaging storyteller, having the crowd laughing over one song's account of "giving away a house" (a/k/a divorce) and the unsuccessful attempt to get the house back. His crowd favorite was an ode to midlife crisis, complete with audience participation on the chorus, called "Let's Not Act Our Age."

One friendly reminder to artists: be sure you tell us before the evening ends if you've got a website, MySpace page, etc. so we can continue to keep track of you and hear you again if you're playing in town. I'm one of those who is proactive about hunting down this info, but others may forget to do so afterward--so make sure you don't miss out on the support.