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?
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
George Adams, 10/18/08, VFW Post 1970, Nashville
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.
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.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Silver Stars - Ryman Auditorium 10/4/08
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.
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.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
My Writers Night Weekend
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.
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.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Debi Champion Writers Night, Commodore Grill 9/9/08 (Wendy V's Birthday!)
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.
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.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Tokens, "The Politics of Jesus" 9/2/08
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.
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.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Commodore Grill 8/14/08 (Deb Ziems' Birthday!)
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
