Change of Tune...

Well, those of you who know me know that I couldn't go long without posting about the CMA Awards last week and what a shocker it was. Before I get into that, let me say that I did enjoy little parts in the broadcast, like Jamey Johnson singing his song "Between Jennings and Jones" (which is an homage paid to country music, Waylon and George) as well as the tribute paid to Barbara Mandrell, featuring Martina and George Strait. There were other moments that reminded me of the past in face and music, but there is no doubt that times have changed, in more ways than one. First of all, I do not like including so many rock or pop acts in the show just to attract viewers. If you don't like country, we don't care if you watch or not. Not everything in life has to do with ratings and if Daughtry or Dave Matthews was the only reason you cared to watch, then move on ahead. Secondly and Thirdly and so on, I do not agree on how they go about choosing their winners. We here in Music City know that the awards are bought and that they are not voted on. The Country Music Association is about to go bust and so if you want your artist to win, you have to pay a healthy price to get them the trophy. I don't know if its always been that way (since in the past, the winners made more sense) but today, it is very true. On that note, Big Machine Records robbed the show. Stole the show is too positive. Taylor Swift is only music for the youngsters and too pop for country. She is a terrible singer and her moves on stage are a laugh. Entertainer of the Year is the highest honor given to someone who has toured for years and that has proven themselves in the industry. Taylor just started headlining this year and she has certainly not proven herself at 19. Even Female Vocalist was too much of a stretch for me since she can't sing her way out of a wet paper sack. Needless to say, everyone I knew was flabergasted and disgusted by the way the show turned out. And so was I...

But, when something goes 100% one way, like a pendulum, it only has one choice but to swing the other way. Starting from when the awards went off the air last Wednesday, there was the beginning of a new path being formed in country where country songs were being recorded and country singers were being signed. A revolution was being formed out of the ashes of what once was and what will be. In truth, only 5% of true country music listeners still listen to country radio. All the Taylor Fans are 15 year old, Jonas brothers, Hanna Montana lovers not over-25--yr-old-tried-and-true-Strait-or-Reba-fans. I was sickened by the CMA's but more hopeful since I realized that there has been a change of tune in town. A change that has been in development for a few years, since the signing of Jamey Johnson, Randy Houser, Gretchen Wilson, Ashton Shepherd and a few others. Keith Stegall has formed a new label which will be nothing but country and so many more are following suit. I'm glad to say that it is an exciting time and I'm glad to be apart of the scene. So I will let Taylor have her moment just know that a change is coming and this time, it will be for the better.

Happy Monday!

Not much to report on...Its the time of year that town shuts down for the Holidays and re-releases old Christmas albums from Garth Brooks circa 1995. Town gets sleepy and people take 5 week vacations. Here in a couple of weeks, I will be doing a segment on what and who to look forward to in 2010. Good artists and hopefully better albums. Speaking of, there is a new artist by the name of Easton Corbin that just came out via Mercury Records that I would swear was a young George Strait if I didn't know better. His first single is "A little more country than that" and it is a total winner. If radio gives him a chance then he will be on his way to great things. All it takes is one person believing in you and then it catches on like wildfire. I hope he does well 'cause if he does, then there is a chance for all of us tried and true country folk. Have a great week all!

Jess

You said it, George!!

Here is an article by the AP that I read this morning....awesome...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Country Music Hall of Famer George Jones isn't a big fan of where the genre has moved in recent years.
When asked about what he thought about music by today's top country stars, the 78-year-old said while they are good, "they've stolen our identity."
Jones made the comment during a recent interview when asked about music by artists like Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift.
"They had to use something that was established already, and that's traditional country music. So what they need to do really, I think, is find their own title, because they're definitely not traditional country music," he said.
"It's good to know that we still do traditional country music. Alan Jackson still does it, so does George Strait. We still have it, and there's quite a few of us that are going to hope that it comes back one of these days."
Still, his contemporaries haven't always stuck to traditional country, either. Fellow Hall of Fame member Johnny Cash was met with critical acclaim a few years ago by covering the Nine Inch Nails song "Hurt." Asked whether he'd ever branch out to a completely different genre of music, like heavy metal or rap, Jones laughed and said: "Rap? That's tacky."
"How can you call that music?" he added. "Now, I love music, too. I love all kinds. I really do. I've got Brook Benton. I like his singing. Ray Charles. I've got an open mind. But now, you can't call rap, talking stuff like that, music. No, no, no, you've got to have another name for that."
Jones recently put out a new CD, through Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, called "A Collection of My Best Recollection." It includes some of his most requested songs from throughout his career, including classics like "White Lightning" and "I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair," as well as two previously unreleased ones.
"Only thing I would like to keep accomplishing is music for my fans and achieving some goals to keep them happy with what I record in the future," Jones said. "I've done just about everything else. The good Lord's been good to me ... I'm going to enjoy the rest of my life."

Linda Davis...

So I was minding my own, going through my mail and postings, friend requests, gig updates, blah blah...and while I was on MySpace, I saw that I had a new friend request from Linda Davis. For you that don't know who Linda Davis is, she has two (now) claims to fame. Her first claim is her duet with Reba back in 1993 called "Does He Love You" that topped the charts and was heard everywhere. She was Reba's background vocalist forever and when she did the duet with her, Linda became a solo artist and started recording songs for a label. Her second claim to fame is her daughter, Hillary Scott, is the female vocalist in Lady Antebellum, who is kicking booty now in the country music realm. Anyways, when I got the friend request from her, I was happy but then she sent a little message along with it saying that she read my bio and that she realized that I was from Shreveport (born there) and she was from Carthage, TX, which I figure is about 30 minutes away from Shreveport, taking the interstate. I knew that already because she used to sing at Johnny High's Opry in Arlington back in the day and they used that as part of their ploy to sell the place to young up-and-comers, but the cool thing about her message is that she actually took time to read my bio after hearing something she liked (hopefully...) That made my week and probably the rest of the year if nothing else exciting happens. But, that was very cool and I will take it. That is my Linda Davis story. Everyone have a great week!

sorry! Its been a while...

Its been busy so not much updating from me in a while....But, here I am with some brief news and a link ya'll should check out. First of all, I won my catagory on Ourstage.com (happy to say) and came in 4th in the Music Finals. If your not familiar with Ourstage.com, go check it out. Lots of great music and lots of chances to win some money! Woohoo! I was happy about both placements, especially the Finals in which its very difficult for a country song to make it into the Top 5. I get closer to the Grand Prize everytime I'm there. Next time...In other news, I was having a chat with one of the teachers that I teach with about the state of country music (well, music in general) and we were debating on whether or not music labels will be an internet venture in the years to come. Most albums being bought nowadays are through internet stores (itunes, vcast) so what's the purpose in having a record deal with distrubution to actual stores has become a thing of the past? Good thing for me, being an indie artist, because now I can just sell my stuff online, promote myself online, and do what I do and not worry about what people say. So there...

Before I close, I want to pass on a link to a great country music site called the9513.com...
They have honest reviews on singles, albums and artists of yesterday and today and is well worth a check-out. Well! That is it for now! Everyone have a great week and stay safe!

Playing DJ on Labor Day...

So this is kind of a late post but I had to talk about my experience playing jukebox DJ on Labor Day. I didn't have to teach at all on that day so I thought it would be fun to swing by a place called Levi and Hanks and play some free pool and hang. Well, they had a jukebox over in the corner playing crappy rock music and so I decided that I was going to put a couple of dollars in and play some old country songs just because I was in that kind of a mood. So I was playing people like Paycheck and Haggard and Hank and Waylon and playing pool. Well, everyone in the place liked what I was playing so much (and I think they were slightly suprised that someone my age would know half of these songs) that they all gave me money to keep on playing and pickin' country music. Even the bar gave me money to keep on because I had kept people in their seats for 3 hours! It came out to be about 40 dollars and kept me at the jukebox for 30 minutes rackin' my brain. I played pretty much played everyone that came on the scene between 1960-1990. Actually, it was kind of work for a little while but I had a blast and so did everyone else. We were singing and laughing and remembering Nashville when it was still about the music. Some of these folks had even been living in Nashvegas when Hank Sr. had a house off of Music Row. You see...people still love country and still wanna hear it. Even if its only at Levi and Hanks on Labor Day...

the aftershock of the VMA's...

No big news...was going to sing at the Blue Bar here in Nashvegas on Wednesday but have been sick for about a week now with some sort of throat/ear infection and until I decide to go to the doctor, I can't sing. Hurts...Speaking of performing, I have to say that all of you who are ranting on and on about the Kayne/Taylor incident at the VMA's are totally forgetting to mention the incredible Michael Jackson tribute that happened at the beginning of the show. Madonna's poetic memoriam made me forget to breathe for a few minutes and when the dancers did exact replicas of some of Jackson's famous videos, I was brought to tears. It took me back to when I was a kid, listening to "Beat it" and "Lucky Star", watching MTV in its infancy. They don't make 'em like they used to. At least I can say that I grew up in an era where you had to bring it or you were brought down. Too bad kids nowadays can't experience that. Only in a echo reverberating from the past. But, isn't that how someone like me knew of Elvis and the Beatles? As people, we can't live forever here on earth but at least our deeds can. Music or otherwise....