I promise, I really have no interest in blogging about Can You Duet every week. But I have a soft spot in my heart for Chelsee and Rob, and in point of fact, they were the reason I made a point to watch at all. They seem to have escaped the attention of producers during the audition show so this week's episode was the first time the tv audience got a chance to enjoy them.
I saw Chelsee and Rob several weeks ago at The Bluebird Cafe (another introduction made by Karleen Watt, who attracts and only surrounds herself with the best talent). And I have to say that while they did great on the show, I not sure their appearance on Can You Duet fully did them justice. Chelsee has an adorable girl next door look with sparkly eyes and an agile voice that can span the gamut from the big diva sound to a soft lilting swampy harmony -- a haunting bayou sound that you don't expect from a gal from Traverse City, Michigan.
Rob has a very John Mayer sound except with actual emotion and not just vocals. He brings a pop infusion to Chelsee's strong country sound. And as an actual romantic couple in real life, they clearly love playing together.
They did a soulful version of "Boondocks" by Little Big Town with some unique harmonies that spun a spell both eerie and melodic all at the same time.
Scott Borchetta, President and CEO of Big Machine Records (Taylor Swift, Trisha Yearwood, Jack Ingram, etc.) gave his seal of approval on the new arrangement, complimenting the couple for taking the chance and saying, "it worked."
Naomi Judd said Chelsee has nearly perfect pitch and is a "star," which seemed to be a recurring theme among the judges' comments. Big Kenny (Big & Rich) started off his commentary saying,"Rob, you really held her down." The way Borchetta put it was that Chelsee came "ready to rock." You've gotta know that no matter how well earned and deserving that praise was, it was a little tough for Rob to hear in an absence of support for his own contribution. Especially since I suspect Rob took the lead on putting together the hot arrangement of the song.
To that point, Big Kenny referenced early conversations he had had with the performers about how much they had improved since they started working together and " talked about the possibilities of what y'all could do with these two crazy voices you guys have got." Naomi simply said they were "lopsided" and indicated that she wished she could match Chelsee up with another partner, lamenting that it was too late in the process to do so.
Chelsee handled the situation with grace and aplomb, reframing "lopsided" as being about her height in heels and saying that when she first heard Rob in Nashville he sounded "like home."
From things Chelsee and Rob said at The Bluebird it sounds as though both performers started out as solo performers and have mostly been following that path, taking advantage of opportunities to gain exposure by also playing as a duet where appropriate. In other words, this may not be their primary gig.
In the end, the Can You Duet judges pared Chelsee and Rob off the performer's list for the rest of the competition, opting instead to support three more established duets: O'Shea, The Stellas, and Steel Magnolia. It was the right call, even though I hate to see it. I hardly think this is the end of the road for Chelsee Oaks or Rob Bolin, but I don't think this is going to ultimately be the right configuration for them. I am thrilled that they made it to the Top 10 duets on this nationally televised show with such high visibility on Music Row. I know some exciting things will happen for them in due time.
Upcoming Shows:
July 3, 2009, 7 pm at The Commodore - Chelsee performs in Writers in the Round, Nashville, TN
July 10, 2009, 6 pm at the National Cherry Festival - Chelsee and Rob open for Sammy Kershaw, Traverse City, MI
July 31, 2009, 9 pm a tthe French Quarter Cafe - Chelsee and Rob play the French Quarter, Nashville, TN
Where are you reading this blog? You can subscribe at http://singerssongwritersandstorytellers.blogspot.com
Saturday, June 27, 2009
The Diggy Band and the phenom of a cover band in Nashville
Nashville has an incredibly rich depth and breadth of muscianship -- musicians from every genre. It is, without doubt, one of the greatest elements of our magic.
Every genre records here. After all, compared to New York and L.A., Nashville is an extremely livable place to spend weeks at a time putting together an album. The talent is available, you can do some cool songwriting while you are here with world class songwriters, and the down-to-earth environment sparks a lot of creativity.
So from a musicianship standpoint, we've got the 99% flawless studio musicians -- the guys who can play a song to the upper echelon of perfection the first time through. Then there are the touring musicians who use Nashville as a home base. These are the guys who can play a song to connect with a crowd. They tend to have a high boredom threshhold (since they have to play the same set over and over every night all summer long) and they can usually play a song to the middle to high echelon of of perfection by end of the second time through. (Editor's note: hate to burst your bubble, but these are not the guys on the record. Hardly ever.)
And then there are the Up and Comers -- the guys who have put all of their eggs in the Nashville basket and are trying to make it up the ladder. In any other town in America they would be stars and could easily make a living doing nothing but music. Here they struggle, and often have to supplement their income with a mundane job out in the real world. Over time, some of these guys assimilate and become working stiffs who happen to like music. The alter egos of these guys are the local working stiffs dedicated to an actual career but who also dabble in music...because the resources and creative impetus to do so are so omnipresent.
And then there are the musicians who have already worked their way up the ladder. They have done the gigs, written the songs, toured with the best, taken over the session scene and now they are producers -- the guys who can hear what perfection ought to sound like before it happens. Because they can speak to world class musicians in their language they are able to achieve this audio "vision."
All of that to say, a cover band in Nashville is, more often than not, a stellar group of talent not found in cover bands any place else in the world. Because here, a cover band is just some extra bread and butter money for musicians who love to play.
Every genre records here. After all, compared to New York and L.A., Nashville is an extremely livable place to spend weeks at a time putting together an album. The talent is available, you can do some cool songwriting while you are here with world class songwriters, and the down-to-earth environment sparks a lot of creativity.
So from a musicianship standpoint, we've got the 99% flawless studio musicians -- the guys who can play a song to the upper echelon of perfection the first time through. Then there are the touring musicians who use Nashville as a home base. These are the guys who can play a song to connect with a crowd. They tend to have a high boredom threshhold (since they have to play the same set over and over every night all summer long) and they can usually play a song to the middle to high echelon of of perfection by end of the second time through. (Editor's note: hate to burst your bubble, but these are not the guys on the record. Hardly ever.)
And then there are the Up and Comers -- the guys who have put all of their eggs in the Nashville basket and are trying to make it up the ladder. In any other town in America they would be stars and could easily make a living doing nothing but music. Here they struggle, and often have to supplement their income with a mundane job out in the real world. Over time, some of these guys assimilate and become working stiffs who happen to like music. The alter egos of these guys are the local working stiffs dedicated to an actual career but who also dabble in music...because the resources and creative impetus to do so are so omnipresent.
And then there are the musicians who have already worked their way up the ladder. They have done the gigs, written the songs, toured with the best, taken over the session scene and now they are producers -- the guys who can hear what perfection ought to sound like before it happens. Because they can speak to world class musicians in their language they are able to achieve this audio "vision."
All of that to say, a cover band in Nashville is, more often than not, a stellar group of talent not found in cover bands any place else in the world. Because here, a cover band is just some extra bread and butter money for musicians who love to play.
With that paradigm in mind, I want to give you a spectacular example of what this phenomenon can look like in The Diggy Band. I recently saw "The Diggys" at Sambuca, a fabulous fusion cuisine restaurant in The Gulch area of downtown Nashville. Sambuca has music 7 nights a week and I have never heard bad music there. In fact, I have never even heard mediocre music there. Whoever is booking talent either has an ear or knows who to talk to.
But The Diggys are something special, precisely because at heart they are not a cover band at all. We were there for a celebratory dinner for a friend's 40th birthday, so like most diners, we weren't listening exclusively to the music. And in fact, they may have played some of their originals (which I'm sure are spectacular) but I wouldn't know it. When diners are engaged in conversation it is the sound of a familiar song played especially well that catches the ear. And on this night my ear was frequently "caught."
They started out the set establishing their chops in R & B, and then came out with an old Simon & Garfunkel song that has been one of my favorites for decades!!! "For Emily, Wherever I May Find Her" is sheer poetry and not a song you often hear in commercial venues. And The Diggy's did it proud. So while I can't say I was surprised at finding an amazing cover band at Sambuca, I did pay a bit more attention after that.
Their Beatles medley defied the obvious, their version of "In Your Eyes" pulled at the heartstrings, and their version of "Halllelujah" was richer, more melodious and more engaging than Jeff Buckley's.
Let's face it, these guys are awesome, anyway. Among their collective experience are a variety of very successful tours in regional bands and solo performances, and all of the other hallmarks of a successful career in the upper ranks of musicians.
Diggy, in addition to much solo success in his own right has had opening gigs for The Wallflowers,Tori Amos, Chris Whitley, Gov't Mule, Duncan Sheik, Jars of Clay,
Keb Mo, Alejandro Escavedo, Chris Whitley, legendary folk singer Eric Andersen, The Maryjanes, and Those Darn Accordions. He has also worked with producers who previously earned their keep with Bruce Hornsby and the Range, and with Bonnie Raitt.
Rick Elias' music appeared in the 1996 hit movie That Thing You Do, Dawson’s Creek, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, as well as numerous other albums, independent films, and TV shows. Rick has also produced artists such as Rich Mullins, Amy Grant, Aaron Neville, Michael W. Smith, and many others. Rick's work has been nominated and awarded by the GMA, UCMVA, and the Nashville Music Awards, and his first solo record was voted as one of the top 100 greatest albums in Christian music by CCM magazine.
Mark W. Winchester played bass on the multi-million selling, Grammy-winning, "Jump, Jive, and Wail" and became a full time member of the Brian Setzer Orchestra from 1997-2001. Throughout his tenure with the Orchestra, Setzer encouraged Mark W. to step out front, even asking him to sing his own composition "Rooster Rock" on the Setzer release "Ignition" (surf dog). Emmylou Harris enlisted Mark W. to "slap" the upright bass in her Grammy Award-winning all acoustic band, the Nash Ramblers. He is also an accomplished songwriter with several cuts including Randy Travis' recording of his song "Would I?" which ranked in the top 20 of the Billboard Country charts.
I can't find a website for the 4th guy, or I'd detail his resume for you, too. But the long and the short of it is that you don't find cover bands of this caliber in other places. It is part of the magic of Nashville. The bottom line is that we are a little spoiled...and we like it!
Coming Soon:
The Diggy Band at Sambuca
July 10-11
July 24-25
Where are you reading this blog? You can subscribe at http://singerssongwritersandstorytellers.blogspot.com/
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Leith Loftin -- Naomi Judd is being Short Sighted
The new season of Can You Duet (CMT) has begun and I finally got around to watching the premiere on my DVR. I knew about some of the top duets, and have even seen one of them perform around town. But today I am going to write about one of contestants competing as a "single" to be partnered with another single to form a duet -- Leith Loftin.
He made it to the top 7 singles from the singles section. In fact he was in demand among the 7 to partner up. And in a relatively late turn of events, he decided to partner with a guy singer (Matt) instead of a girl singer (Ashley). This left Ashley as the last man out, not picked to be on anyone's schoolyard kickball team -- a turn of events which the producers made much of. In the end, Leith was dropped in the last five minutes of the premiere episode...the final cut before the season's tv cast is formally announced (although Country Weekly has published a preview.)
Naomi drove home a point that Matt was "one of the best male vocalists they had seen all day," and that they were cutting Leith because ,while he is a charmer and "will always have a bar gig," he just isn't good enough. And before it was all over both Ashley and Matt made it to the next cut.
Now, I actually have a tremendous amount of respect for Mama Judd. I mean, she raised some highly talented and independent women with a significant amount of talent in their own right. She was committed to her career in nursing, and since then has proven phenomenal business savvy and a gift for performance that has leveraged her, um, "musical ability" to incredible effect. She knew that the combination of her performance skills and Wynonna's amazing voice would create a "package" that was greater than the sum of its parts. And did so to history-making success for more than a decade and then launched Wynonna onto a stage of her own for another decade (and counting). Naomi is no shrinking violet or voice to be discounted.
BUT...I'm not sure I am with her on this one.
I met Leith about a year ago on his first night as a bartender at Nero's Grill here in Nashville. I was on a girls night with my friend Angie and it all started with a damn good martini. What may not come across on tv is that the guy isn't just charming, or even just charismatic. He oooooozes pheremones. I have rarely encountered someone with as much raw interpersonal pull.
After an enjoyable night of harmless flirty chatting with the bartender, Angie and I left and continued our hen fest in the parking lot. (You know when you finally get the call to hang out with your friend who is just emerging from the hermit-hood of the first year of marriage? It was THAT night.)
In fact we were still talking when Leith came out to his truck, which was parked near my car. So we talked some more. And he tells us he is a singer/songwriter. Mind you, like most Nashvillians, Angie and I have been in this conversation before and are well aware of the incredibly slim odds of this guy ever getting anywhere, much less being any good. In fact, our response was probably a more polite version of the initial audience response to Susan Boyle, "Oh really? A songwriter?" Soon followed, in an attempt at covering our disdain, with, "Have you written anything we would have heard?" We were basically just playing along.
He put in a demo CD of a song called "Don't Pull It Out (Unless You're Gonna Use It)" -- and shame on you ...it was about a knife, a credit card, and a guitar. It was incredibly clever, well written, well constructed, and well performed. Angie and I looked at each other and had to consciously pull our respective jaws off the ground. THIS bartender a.k.a. singer/songwriter guy was actually really, really good at his craft!!
Now here's the thing. The Can You Duet judges recognized, acknowledged and coached people through nerves when they were manifested as shyness, meekness, or not singing to or connecting with the judges. But somehow they missed the guy who is a seasoned enough performer to channel his nerves at being an almost finalist on a national tv show by using his god-given charm that has stood him in such good stead when he needed to man up to a scary situation for his whole life. And maybe, yes, maybe it came across as a little heavy handed.
But frankly, I think there might have been a little more Mother Hen than Mama Judd in Naomi's final comments to Leith. I mean, who are we kidding? Producers talk. I have no reason not to think that her feathers may have been understandably ruffled when Leith left cute, unspoiled, talented little Ashley stranded in the green room.
So here's what I have to say: Leith is an exceptional prospect for Music Row. He's got a lot of raw talent and performance skill. He has some natural gifts that will be a powerful tool as he works with the support of a label to build an audience. And he has some real chops as a songwriter -- more than most new artists, I dare say. I think Naomi's response was more tough love than a denouncement of his talent -- and a denouncement is exactly how it came across on tv.
Big personalities drive big emotional responses...and maybe Leith needs to work a little bit on managing that phenomenon to his benefit, at least until he makes it big and can be a jerk with impunity. (Why did you think I said John Rich out loud? I didn't say anything at all about John Rich.) He needs some Bill Clinton/Garth Brooks lessons on how to read a room and come out on top even after a (sometimes inevitable) gaff. What he doesn't need is an unnecessary and unwarranted indictment of his talent.
I really hope that Leith is able to leverage this experience with someone -- another producer, A&R rep, or label rep -- to get the support and artist development that would take his talent to the next level. He's got the stuff. He just needs the right team. He might still be a little rough, but Can You Duet is supposed to be finding the diamonds in the rough and helping to polish them. That's kinda the point.
The whole season was filmed, over, and in the can before the premiere, so everyone involved is sworn to secrecy about the outcome. We, the audience, will just have to follow along to find out what has already happened with this cast. I still have very high hopes for lots of the performers who made it to the Top 10 Duets. But in the meantime, throw a little love out for Leith. He really took it on the chin for no good reason.
Where are you reading this blog? You can subscribe at http://singerssongwritersandstorytellers.blogspot.com
He made it to the top 7 singles from the singles section. In fact he was in demand among the 7 to partner up. And in a relatively late turn of events, he decided to partner with a guy singer (Matt) instead of a girl singer (Ashley). This left Ashley as the last man out, not picked to be on anyone's schoolyard kickball team -- a turn of events which the producers made much of. In the end, Leith was dropped in the last five minutes of the premiere episode...the final cut before the season's tv cast is formally announced (although Country Weekly has published a preview.)
Naomi drove home a point that Matt was "one of the best male vocalists they had seen all day," and that they were cutting Leith because ,while he is a charmer and "will always have a bar gig," he just isn't good enough. And before it was all over both Ashley and Matt made it to the next cut.
Now, I actually have a tremendous amount of respect for Mama Judd. I mean, she raised some highly talented and independent women with a significant amount of talent in their own right. She was committed to her career in nursing, and since then has proven phenomenal business savvy and a gift for performance that has leveraged her, um, "musical ability" to incredible effect. She knew that the combination of her performance skills and Wynonna's amazing voice would create a "package" that was greater than the sum of its parts. And did so to history-making success for more than a decade and then launched Wynonna onto a stage of her own for another decade (and counting). Naomi is no shrinking violet or voice to be discounted.
BUT...I'm not sure I am with her on this one.
I met Leith about a year ago on his first night as a bartender at Nero's Grill here in Nashville. I was on a girls night with my friend Angie and it all started with a damn good martini. What may not come across on tv is that the guy isn't just charming, or even just charismatic. He oooooozes pheremones. I have rarely encountered someone with as much raw interpersonal pull.
After an enjoyable night of harmless flirty chatting with the bartender, Angie and I left and continued our hen fest in the parking lot. (You know when you finally get the call to hang out with your friend who is just emerging from the hermit-hood of the first year of marriage? It was THAT night.)
In fact we were still talking when Leith came out to his truck, which was parked near my car. So we talked some more. And he tells us he is a singer/songwriter. Mind you, like most Nashvillians, Angie and I have been in this conversation before and are well aware of the incredibly slim odds of this guy ever getting anywhere, much less being any good. In fact, our response was probably a more polite version of the initial audience response to Susan Boyle, "Oh really? A songwriter?" Soon followed, in an attempt at covering our disdain, with, "Have you written anything we would have heard?" We were basically just playing along.
He put in a demo CD of a song called "Don't Pull It Out (Unless You're Gonna Use It)" -- and shame on you ...it was about a knife, a credit card, and a guitar. It was incredibly clever, well written, well constructed, and well performed. Angie and I looked at each other and had to consciously pull our respective jaws off the ground. THIS bartender a.k.a. singer/songwriter guy was actually really, really good at his craft!!
Now here's the thing. The Can You Duet judges recognized, acknowledged and coached people through nerves when they were manifested as shyness, meekness, or not singing to or connecting with the judges. But somehow they missed the guy who is a seasoned enough performer to channel his nerves at being an almost finalist on a national tv show by using his god-given charm that has stood him in such good stead when he needed to man up to a scary situation for his whole life. And maybe, yes, maybe it came across as a little heavy handed.
But frankly, I think there might have been a little more Mother Hen than Mama Judd in Naomi's final comments to Leith. I mean, who are we kidding? Producers talk. I have no reason not to think that her feathers may have been understandably ruffled when Leith left cute, unspoiled, talented little Ashley stranded in the green room.
So here's what I have to say: Leith is an exceptional prospect for Music Row. He's got a lot of raw talent and performance skill. He has some natural gifts that will be a powerful tool as he works with the support of a label to build an audience. And he has some real chops as a songwriter -- more than most new artists, I dare say. I think Naomi's response was more tough love than a denouncement of his talent -- and a denouncement is exactly how it came across on tv.
Big personalities drive big emotional responses...and maybe Leith needs to work a little bit on managing that phenomenon to his benefit, at least until he makes it big and can be a jerk with impunity. (Why did you think I said John Rich out loud? I didn't say anything at all about John Rich.) He needs some Bill Clinton/Garth Brooks lessons on how to read a room and come out on top even after a (sometimes inevitable) gaff. What he doesn't need is an unnecessary and unwarranted indictment of his talent.
I really hope that Leith is able to leverage this experience with someone -- another producer, A&R rep, or label rep -- to get the support and artist development that would take his talent to the next level. He's got the stuff. He just needs the right team. He might still be a little rough, but Can You Duet is supposed to be finding the diamonds in the rough and helping to polish them. That's kinda the point.
The whole season was filmed, over, and in the can before the premiere, so everyone involved is sworn to secrecy about the outcome. We, the audience, will just have to follow along to find out what has already happened with this cast. I still have very high hopes for lots of the performers who made it to the Top 10 Duets. But in the meantime, throw a little love out for Leith. He really took it on the chin for no good reason.
Where are you reading this blog? You can subscribe at http://singerssongwritersandstorytellers.blogspot.com
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Rachel Williams's CD Release Party
All right, Rachel is hot. I gotta give it to her...the girl can sing. And today is Rachel's day. Today she is releasing a new 7 song EP called Lovers and Liars. It is available for download on her site and on Amazon and coming soon to iTunes.
I recently saw Rachel sing most of these songs at a songwriter's round at the Bluebird Cafe. The round was organized by Karleen Watt -- an exceptionally gifted young writer on the Nashville scene that always introduces me to great talent! (you'll hear more about her, I promise!)
Rachel is one of those singers who has found her voice...she can pull you into the song with her and take you on the ride. You could totally envision her voice and these songs in rotation on the radio. It really just comes down to what kind of support she gets on the Row -- which comes down to what kind of support she can get from fans like us.
So let's hit a few of the highlights so you will find yourself supporting our young artist before you realize what has happened.
The title song Lovers and Liars starts with the line
You took a wrecking ball to my heart
without even blinking
Now who among us hasn't been there???
This one is an anthem about lessons learned the hard way.
You'd think that I'd know better by now
But it's always too late by the time I find out
And I'm startin' to wonder
If I'll ever know the difference between
the smoke and the fire
Lovers and liars
It's universal, it's up tempo, and it's catchy. That's got the makin's of a hit song. It could hold its own against any country diva on the radio. (editor's note: It turns out Karleen is a co-writer for this one. I KNEW I liked this song!!)
A Woman to Love is an enjoyable female definition of what love ought to look like. Women everywhere will sing along at the top of their lungs, nod their heads and then look wistfully away and wish it were so.
Unboken Ground manages to take a real life relationship with warts and all and take it to an upbeat place with a morale to the story that reminds us that the good things don't come easy.
We'll never find the truth
with the words unspoken
or get to the love
with the ground unbroken.
You Let Me is a speech that any of us have given to a lover on their way out the door who left you heartbroken and strung along when they were just passing through all along. It manages to use a 3 minute song with a good hook to tap into the complicated feelings of anger and betrayal, loss and blame, and self doubt for having bought into the fairy tale to begin with. And it sticks with you...humming the chorus far longer than you would think.
Where My Line Is tells all about how "you won't cross that line again on me." You get the idea of that one. It's an uptempo diva song with an emphatic tone that women will take as their own when they need a little extra umph to hold the line in their own life.
So download a tune, go to the release party and hear my girl Karleen play her own compositions, and generally rise to the challenge to support an amazing young singer/songwriter as she travels the gravel paths on Music Row.
CD RELEASE PARTY
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24TH
3rd & Lindsley
Nashville, TN
6PM-9PM
Special performances by:
Karen Staley
Mark Narmore
Sara Beck
Karleen Watt
Bruce Wallace
Bonnie Baker
I recently saw Rachel sing most of these songs at a songwriter's round at the Bluebird Cafe. The round was organized by Karleen Watt -- an exceptionally gifted young writer on the Nashville scene that always introduces me to great talent! (you'll hear more about her, I promise!)
Rachel is one of those singers who has found her voice...she can pull you into the song with her and take you on the ride. You could totally envision her voice and these songs in rotation on the radio. It really just comes down to what kind of support she gets on the Row -- which comes down to what kind of support she can get from fans like us.
So let's hit a few of the highlights so you will find yourself supporting our young artist before you realize what has happened.
The title song Lovers and Liars starts with the line
You took a wrecking ball to my heart
without even blinking
Now who among us hasn't been there???
This one is an anthem about lessons learned the hard way.
You'd think that I'd know better by now
But it's always too late by the time I find out
And I'm startin' to wonder
If I'll ever know the difference between
the smoke and the fire
Lovers and liars
It's universal, it's up tempo, and it's catchy. That's got the makin's of a hit song. It could hold its own against any country diva on the radio. (editor's note: It turns out Karleen is a co-writer for this one. I KNEW I liked this song!!)
A Woman to Love is an enjoyable female definition of what love ought to look like. Women everywhere will sing along at the top of their lungs, nod their heads and then look wistfully away and wish it were so.
Unboken Ground manages to take a real life relationship with warts and all and take it to an upbeat place with a morale to the story that reminds us that the good things don't come easy.
We'll never find the truth
with the words unspoken
or get to the love
with the ground unbroken.
You Let Me is a speech that any of us have given to a lover on their way out the door who left you heartbroken and strung along when they were just passing through all along. It manages to use a 3 minute song with a good hook to tap into the complicated feelings of anger and betrayal, loss and blame, and self doubt for having bought into the fairy tale to begin with. And it sticks with you...humming the chorus far longer than you would think.
Where My Line Is tells all about how "you won't cross that line again on me." You get the idea of that one. It's an uptempo diva song with an emphatic tone that women will take as their own when they need a little extra umph to hold the line in their own life.
So download a tune, go to the release party and hear my girl Karleen play her own compositions, and generally rise to the challenge to support an amazing young singer/songwriter as she travels the gravel paths on Music Row.
CD RELEASE PARTY
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24TH
3rd & Lindsley
Nashville, TN
6PM-9PM
Special performances by:
Karen Staley
Mark Narmore
Sara Beck
Karleen Watt
Bruce Wallace
Bonnie Baker
Joanna Cotten -- my favorite new find of Tin Pan South 2009
TPS is rife with talent. This year I got to see the incomparable Jeffrey Steele, the hot delta rhythms of Rivers Rutherford, the always impressive Jonell Mosser, and even a surprisingly good song from Nashville Star alum Lance Miller (listen for a Faith Hill single called Unjaded in the indefinite future). But frankly, I knew I would love these guys before I ever walked in the door.
Joanna Cotten took me by surprise. She has a unique sound...with just plain rediculously good vocals. She tells her own musical story in Funkabilly:
If you wanna know where I'm comin' from
You gotta cross that bridge into Memphis, son.
and later
From the cotton fields of Arkansas
Down the mighty Mississippi to the Mardi Gras
Let me hear you yell from the country to the city
Gimme that deep down funkabilly!!
and of course the line that speaks to the genre gumbo that is my soul:
Gospel or Country
Rhythm and Blues
Ain't nothin' but a Southern girl showing off her roots!
There are some other gems in her repertoire...no shortage of them, actually. But I'm going to do you a favor and just point you in the right direction. Download them and pepper some soul into your iPod playlist...or burn a CD to liven up your morning commute.
Joanna Cotten took me by surprise. She has a unique sound...with just plain rediculously good vocals. She tells her own musical story in Funkabilly:
If you wanna know where I'm comin' from
You gotta cross that bridge into Memphis, son.
and later
From the cotton fields of Arkansas
Down the mighty Mississippi to the Mardi Gras
Let me hear you yell from the country to the city
Gimme that deep down funkabilly!!
and of course the line that speaks to the genre gumbo that is my soul:
Gospel or Country
Rhythm and Blues
Ain't nothin' but a Southern girl showing off her roots!
There are some other gems in her repertoire...no shortage of them, actually. But I'm going to do you a favor and just point you in the right direction. Download them and pepper some soul into your iPod playlist...or burn a CD to liven up your morning commute.
Tin Pan South - the Best Annual Event in Nashville
The end of March/beginning of April heralds a festival that isn't particularly well known outside of the songwriter community...even to the locals. Tin Pan South brings together some of the biggest hitmakers in the industry to raise money for the intellectual property rights of songwriters -- you know, the folks who get screwed out of royalties when people illegally download music.
The festival is a fundraiser for legislative advocacy efforts of Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI). They partner with anywhere from 7 to 12 local venues to do 2 shows a night for 4-5 nights. And frankly, you can't go wrong in picking a show. If you threw a dart at the schedule you could be pretty confident that you would see a good show.
I don't make it every year because it really is an investment of money as well as time and focus. See, in order to get into the best shows you have to have the weeklong pass which is only sold in advance. This year the pass cost $90 for non NSAI members, $80 for members. They tell you that you can go to the door at a given venue and see a single show, but I have seen many, many people turned away because the people with passes have already filled the place to capacity. The pass does help you avoid most cover charges (except the Bluebird which still has a $7 minimum per person). And of course, you don't want to go alone. So by the time you have spent $180, you kind of want to get your money's worth, which means really commiting to the week long musical pub crawl. Luckily, it's not that hard to get excited about!
It is fairly common to see some guest performers at these shows...artists you have heard from radio play that are trying to help draw a crowd for the cause. Here's a hint...by the end of the night the person you thought was going to be the highlight of the night will have succeeded only in turning you on to a little known songwriter who entranced you all night long.
In the tradition of Songwriters in the Round/Row, performers are constrained to only sing songs they have written...with a little leeway given to artists who don't happen to write but want to be part of the party anyway. Each writer takes a turn and they continue down the row/ around the circle until each has had as many turns as they can fit into the show. Often, several of the writers have written together, and in these cases you may find them playing along or singing harmonies -- which is cool! And it is not unusual for them to call up their friends from the audience to sit in for a song, which means you are likely to get exposed to even more talent than was advertised.
The performances are generally acoustic...just a singer and a guitar or a singer with keyboard...so even if you have some bias against country music, you will be fine in this environment. First of all, you will have access to most genres of music, and secondly a guitar is not a banjo...you have to really work to make it twang. It'll be ok, I promise. Good musicianship and a well told story is captivating in any genre.
It takes a little strategy to plan your transportation from the first show to the second. If you can pick shows that are near each other you will be much more likely to get an earlier place in line and thus, get into the second show. And yes, they clear out the whole place before the second show, so even an attempt to beat the system by going to the same club for both shows comes with some amount of risk.
To get into shows at the Bluebird Cafe, generally acknowledged to be the premier songwriter venue in Nashville, you will still need to either make a reservation or stand in their standing room only line...the pass won't help you there.
By the end of the week you will be exhausted -- happy and filled to the brim with musical satisfaction -- but exhausted. So make sure to plan a day or two to recuperate from your vacation.
What can I say? Magic takes a lt of energy.
The festival is a fundraiser for legislative advocacy efforts of Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI). They partner with anywhere from 7 to 12 local venues to do 2 shows a night for 4-5 nights. And frankly, you can't go wrong in picking a show. If you threw a dart at the schedule you could be pretty confident that you would see a good show.
I don't make it every year because it really is an investment of money as well as time and focus. See, in order to get into the best shows you have to have the weeklong pass which is only sold in advance. This year the pass cost $90 for non NSAI members, $80 for members. They tell you that you can go to the door at a given venue and see a single show, but I have seen many, many people turned away because the people with passes have already filled the place to capacity. The pass does help you avoid most cover charges (except the Bluebird which still has a $7 minimum per person). And of course, you don't want to go alone. So by the time you have spent $180, you kind of want to get your money's worth, which means really commiting to the week long musical pub crawl. Luckily, it's not that hard to get excited about!
It is fairly common to see some guest performers at these shows...artists you have heard from radio play that are trying to help draw a crowd for the cause. Here's a hint...by the end of the night the person you thought was going to be the highlight of the night will have succeeded only in turning you on to a little known songwriter who entranced you all night long.
In the tradition of Songwriters in the Round/Row, performers are constrained to only sing songs they have written...with a little leeway given to artists who don't happen to write but want to be part of the party anyway. Each writer takes a turn and they continue down the row/ around the circle until each has had as many turns as they can fit into the show. Often, several of the writers have written together, and in these cases you may find them playing along or singing harmonies -- which is cool! And it is not unusual for them to call up their friends from the audience to sit in for a song, which means you are likely to get exposed to even more talent than was advertised.
The performances are generally acoustic...just a singer and a guitar or a singer with keyboard...so even if you have some bias against country music, you will be fine in this environment. First of all, you will have access to most genres of music, and secondly a guitar is not a banjo...you have to really work to make it twang. It'll be ok, I promise. Good musicianship and a well told story is captivating in any genre.
It takes a little strategy to plan your transportation from the first show to the second. If you can pick shows that are near each other you will be much more likely to get an earlier place in line and thus, get into the second show. And yes, they clear out the whole place before the second show, so even an attempt to beat the system by going to the same club for both shows comes with some amount of risk.
To get into shows at the Bluebird Cafe, generally acknowledged to be the premier songwriter venue in Nashville, you will still need to either make a reservation or stand in their standing room only line...the pass won't help you there.
By the end of the week you will be exhausted -- happy and filled to the brim with musical satisfaction -- but exhausted. So make sure to plan a day or two to recuperate from your vacation.
What can I say? Magic takes a lt of energy.
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