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

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

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

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...

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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

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

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...

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

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.