Sometimes we all need a little pick-me-up. A boot in the pants to get us out of our blues and on to the next step we’ve got to take. A reminder that we’re all human and all fall, but if we really want to be happy we’ve got to get back up and keep moving, and who better to do that for us than our favorite country legends? Here’s a few pieces of country music wisdom that help me shape my days: What’s your favorite country music quote?
An inside look at what’s new with Hank III, including FOUR new albums! It’s tough to be saddled with a famous pedigree and expected to walk the line, so to speak, on that same path blazed by your forebears. Worse still, fate doubled own on Hank III– he’s compared not just to his grandfather, the great Hank Williams, but to his father as well, populist and welder of the southern rock to country, Hank Williams Jr. Like any rebellious child, Hank Williams III squirmed for a bit, indulging his heavier side with projects like Assjack and Superjoint Ritual. But genetics are hard to duck, and even the sludgy Assjack had a weird kind of “cow metal” sensibility. With 1999’s solo outing Risin’ Outlaw, Hank III took his rock and roll attitude, impolite subject matter, and applied it to country. Like his own song says, “If the shoe fits/ wear it,” the man has since etched out a career in C&W’s gutter. What fans may not have known was that the situation between Williams III and his label Curb Records had turned acrimonious since they first paired up for Risin’ Outlaw. After refusing to release the Hank III album This Ain’t Country when it was turned in to the label in 2003, Curb has decided to push the record out this year under the name Hillbilly Joker. But the real joker having the last laugh will no doubt be Hank himself, who is releasing not one, but three new records this year. Notably, Ghost to Ghost/Gutter Town is actually a double album, bringing that count up to four. Attention Deficit Domination is purportedly a doom metal record, and 3 Bar Ranch Cattle Callin’ falls somewhere between the two in a genre christened “cattle core.” Finally in charge of his own production, Hank III created his own label (appropriately titled Hank3) to manage his discography. We can only hold on tight and see where Hank III takes his sound next. Adam Schragin is the editor of MadeLoud, which features its own stable of country musicians.
American Idol Tour with Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery Kicks Off! The 2011 American Idol Live Tour featuring the Top 11 finalist from this season kicked off Wednesday, July 6th outside Salt Lake City. The tour, of course, will feature Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery. As previously reported, both Lauren and Scotty are actively pursing their careers within the country music industry, each having already released a single. All of you who voted Lauren and Scotty to the top, this is your chance to see them perform live for the first time! No doubt we will be seeing a lot of both of them after the tour wraps up on September 10th in Rochester, N.Y.
WC’s feathers are ruffled – Find out what it is about Jason Aldean and Gwyneth Paltrow that have her so upset! So it’s not often that something in the country music world riles me up to the point of creating a special post about it, but this week I’ve managed to find a few side-stabbers that just have me in a sour mood. I’m sure the rest of my readers will probably strongly disagree with my frustrations, but I as with most opinions, I just have to get this off my chest! First off, Jason Aldean now has his own line of cowboy hats. These hats arrive to the buyer with the sweatstains carefully airbrushed on, the brim factory-curled up, and in some cases even the straw is slightly disheveled to show what looks like years of wear and tear from a real cowboy lifestyle. I think that’s bullshit. That tan line on the brim of your hat comes from years of dirt and sweat and working in ways that America can’t run without. There are some women out there who judge how hard a man works by the creases in his hands and the condition of that essential piece of western wear. To think that young men across the nation would be wearing this falsified trophy of grit is downright annoying, and that a man from a country background supports it is offensive. And speaking of offensive, Gwyneth Paltrow has now signed a record deal with Atlantic Records, valued at almost 1 Million Dollars. Now either she REALLY impressed record execs with sales of the soundtrack singles from Country Strong, or someone just got a case of the “we’ll try anythings” trying to save their job at Atlantic. Granted, Gwyneth did a fine job of portraying Kelly Cantor, the struggling country star in the movie, but she belongs in country music the same way Matt Damon belongs in the C.I.A.! Just because you play a role in a movie, does not mean you are automatically entitled to live out that role in real life. There are literally MILLIONS of young singers out there who have more vocal talent and stage presence in their pinky fingers than Miss Paltrow has in her entire Glee-promoted awkward little body!
Jim Nash is back and today he’s asking how you buy YOUR music! Hope ya’ll had a Hillbilly Holiday! Let’s start the New Year off by talking about your music. Back in December, I saw some offers to download Keith Urban’s latest release Get Closer for only $4.99 from Amazon. It’s still available for $5.99. Target on the other hand offers this CD for $8.99 with a Deluxe Edition for $11.99. In today’s economy, that may mean the difference between making or not making the purchase…or does it? Long gone are the days when the only option was to pick up an album (am I dating myself?) or a CD. Nowadays, you can also get your music streaming online via free or subscription based music services, via radio stations that offer a live audio feed online, through satellite radio or songs a-la-cart through iTunes, Amazon or Wal-Mart. I would say I’m still old fashioned in this regard. While I listen to country music online, when it comes to purchasing my music, I’ll pick up the CD. Here’s the process that works for me. Once I hear at least 2 songs by an artist that I like, it’s probable that I’ll like a few more tracks off their CD. Or, if I already have a track record with an artist, I’ll pick up their CD anyway. Otherwise, if an album comes highly recommended from someone who’s opinion I trust, I’ll pick it up. I like CDs for a few reasons. When away from a computer, I listen to a lot of music on a portable music player, but my car has a 6-CD player and no auxiliary input for said portable music player. I even have one of the FM transmitters but they don’t work all that well. And once said portable music player is in it’s protective case, it doesn’t fit in the FM transmitter holder. Grrr… I also like to look at the liner notes. See who wrote the tracks, the lyrics, some photos and other amusing information. Even though some digital purchases now offer something similar to download and view, who’s going to do that. Oh, and usually as soon as you open the CD, a little card falls out with instructions on how to get free ring tones of these songs on your phone. Great. CDs also make great Holiday gifts. Lastly, I like they way they look on the shelf. Your music collection says a lot about you, so when friends come over, are they going to peruse the titles on your portable music player? The one thing I dislike is that it takes me around 10 minutes to finally free a CD from its “coat of armor.” Seriously, the cellophane plastic rips into a million pieces sticking to everything with static, then the tape that seals the CD shut, I can never get started! There must be an easier way. But every now and then I’ll download a track. If it’s a single oldie or Continue reading Physical or Digital Albums?
Jim Nash V wants tips on getting the best concert seat in the house! In my last article I mentioned that Carrie Underwood was performing on Long Island on November 5th. Since I wasn’t sure if I would be able to make the show, I did not purchase tickets right away. The Monday before the concert I start checking Ticketmaster to see what kind of seats were still available. Each day I checked and every result only offered tickets near the rafters just about parallel with the stage. Not the best seats for a concert. Friday afternoon around 3:00pm I find out that I WOULD be able to make the show, and decide it’s better to have lousy seats than miss it all together. Back on to Ticketmaster. You know the drill. Enter the number of tickets. Select Best Available section. Click Find Tickets. Attempt to enter in the virtually impossible to decipher – even as humans – security check nonsense words (thanks scalpers) and click Continue. Wait for the spinning Searching… graphic to come to a halt (is it just me or does it feel like we’re playing slots at this point?) Eventually, the best available tickets appear and to my amazement, they are in section 101 (right off the floor section, 2 rows back but not quite parallel to the stage.) For 5 hours before the show, these are pretty darn great seats! I complete the transaction without incident and enjoyed the show. I’ll relay 2 other experiences. A few years ago, as soon as tickets for a Brad Paisley show at a Live Nation open amphitheater in New Jersey went on sale, I go online right at Public Onsale and scored what I thought were pretty good seats. The day of the show, we find out 2 friends want to join us so I go online and got them tickets. Guess whose seats were better? Guess who swapped seats? The most frustrating experience was at a Tim McGraw show. Same scenario as the Paisley show – Live Nation event, open amphitheater, get tickets minutes after Public Onsale. Our seats were last two right next to the wall. We sat there for the 2 opening acts waiting for the 23 other seats in our row to fill up. By the time Tim McGraw got on stage we moved to the complete other end of the row, closer to center stage. The row was still otherwise completely empty. Unbelievable! And we got the best seats? Anyone else have experiences like these? Why are the best seats not released first? I’ve heard from fellow concert goers that if you wait until the last minute, you can still get decent seats – but you run the risk of the show getting sold out though. Are tickets held because of hoarding scalpers or some other secret reason? Or do you need to join every fan club to get good seats? Keeping it Countriversy, Jim Nash V. Jim Nash V is a contributing Continue reading Concert Seating – Does it Pay to Wait?
I’m from Long Island, the New York State Eastern land mass appendage which feels like a Country Music black hole. I say that because, typically, country music acts avoid Long Island like the plague. We haven’t had our own country music radio station since 1987 and our last big act to play on the Island was in the Summer of 2009 when Kenny Chesney, Lady Antebellum and Miranda Lambert appeared at our main outdoor beach theater. Heck, we were lucky to get Chesney’s 3-D movie in local theaters! But this Friday, November 5th, Carrie Underwood’s “Play On” tour rides into town with Billy Currington and Sons of Sylvia in saddlebags. So while watching our local news, a newscaster who was reviewing this weekend’s upcoming events mentioned the concert. Then another newscaster commented (regarding Carrie Underwood) , and I quote, “I’m not a Country Music fan but I like her songs.” That got me thinking. What is it about Carrie Underwood that they like, but dislike about country music? Is it the twang? The Southern drawl? Which artists are they considering country music artists? The newscaster mentioned identifies Carrie Underwood as a country artist, but on Long Island she is in standard rotation on our Top 40 and AOR radio stations – as are Taylor Swift and Lady Antebellum. Now country music purists have been up in arms over the country crossover artist claiming that it dilutes the genre (maybe why there are so many sub categories in iTunes?) And I’ve argued, what makes the crossover artists country if they sound more Pop than country? The only commonality I can come up with, is that they are (mostly) from the South and are all on Nashville record labels. Then I got to thinking about the Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Charlie Daniels Band. They are not considered “Rock”, they are “Southern Rock.” A-ha! So I think yet another music genre needs to be created. One that separates the country crossover artists from the “country” label, yet identifies their music as Nashville or Southern oriented. Maybe something like Country Pop or Southern Pop. Everyone’s happy. What do ya’ll think? Keeping it Countriversy, Jim Nash V. Jim Nash V is a contributing writer with a passion for country music. Jim works to promote line dancing and country music in Long Island New York. For more on Jim, find him on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/jim.nash.vafeas or visit www.YeeHawLI.com.Country Music Photo Gallery
Jim Nash V. explores the reason an artist on his 3rd year of major success is just now getting a “Best New Artist” nomination. As new artists are signed up to perform at this years CMA Awards, I took a look at the nominations. Under New Artist of the Year I saw Luke Bryan. Uhh….. Luke Bryan? New Artist of the Year? This is 2010. Don’t they mean of 2007? Did someone forget to update their calendars? For reference, Luke Bryan release his first full length CD “I’ll Stay Me” on August 14, 2007. His released singles from that Album were “All My Friends Say” and “Country Man”, both of which did pretty well. Now, with an August CD release it’s not unusual that he did not make the CMA cut for New Artist (or the Horizon Award as it was known back then) in 2007, but why not a nod in 2008? So Luke releases his sophomore CD on October 6, 2009 and has so far seen success with “Do I”, “Rain is a Good Thing” and most recently “Someone Else Calling You Baby”. Now I like Luke. He’s a good country act complete with a pedal steel and fiddle player. We’ve seen him open for Sara Evans in 2007 and Dierks Bentley in 2008 and is currently opening for Jason Aldean on his Farm Tour. But has why is Luke getting New Artist recognition in 2010, on his second CD, and 3 years after he broke onto the scene? Anyone have any answers? Remember to watch The 44th Annual CMA Awards on Wednesday. November 10th on ABC at 8:00pm/7:00pm Central time. http://www.cmaawards.com. Keep it Countriversy, Jim Nash V. Jim Nash V is a contributing writer with a passion for country music. Jim works to promote line dancing and country music in Long Island New York. For more on Jim, visit YeeHawLI.com Glad you asked Jim! Here’s the official word from the Country Music Association: NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR – This Award is to the artist, whether individual or a group, who is known primarily as a Country artist, who has for the first time demonstrated the most significant creative growth and development in overall chart or sales activity (of a debut or sophomore album), live performance, professionalism and/or national media recognition related to the launch of their career. Any artist who has previously won a CMA Award (except Song of the Year, Musical Event of the Year and Video of the Year) or who has twice been a final nominee for the Horizon Award or New Artist of the Year Award is ineligible for nomination. Country Music Photo Gallery
Jim Nash V is back as a guest writer, exploring the border-pushing definition of country music. In a follow-up to my article from last week, “Country Music on iTunes”, I’ve decided to explore some of these categories a bit more. The Country Pop Rock category can be a pretty large umbrella. When I think of Country Rock, I think of songs that rely more on a heavier guitar sound that drives the song. One of the earliest examples I can think of would be Garth’s Ain’t Going Down ( Ti’l the Sun Comes Up). The guitar parts are full-steam ahead, in your face rock-n-roll style (not unlike his concerts) and include traditional guitar “riffs or hooks”. Without Garth’s vocals, this could easily be a classic rock song. (Remember his duet with Huey Lewis on Working for a Living a few years ago? Not a big stretch.) Now fast forward to modern day and you have artists pushing that heavy guitar sound even further. Most notably Big & Rich, Carrie Underwood (before you disagree, how about Last Name?), Rascal Flatts (Life is a Highway), Randy Houser, Trace Adkins and Jason Aldean. Even Keith Urban, who’s early music with the Ranch is much more Country sounding than his stuff today. These artists are using multiple distorted guitar tracks, using the “wah” effect, detuning their guitars to give them a deeper, more ominous sound and are writing guitar hooks and solos into their songs that sound nothing like Country. Jason Aldean’s She’s Country stands out as a song that, without the obligatory fiddle parts and the title, could easily pass as a Nickelback or Soundgarden track. So when does a song become too Rock for Country? And if fiddle, pedal steel or banjo is added to a “heavy” country song and the singer comes from South of the Mason / Dixon line, is that enough to keep it Country? Is this what Country music has to do to build the younger generation fan base so that the overall genre lives on? Is the umbrella too large though or do we need yet more categories like Country Modern Rock? Country Alternative Rock? Country Metal? Keep it Country, Jim Nash V. Jim Nash V is a contributing writer with a passion for country music. Jim works to promote line dancing and country music in Long Island New York. For more on Jim, visit YeeHawLI.com Country Music Photo Gallery
Country, Country Pop Rock, Country, Classic Country, Oldies, Nostalgia or Country, Top 40, Pop? If you use iTunes to purchase / organize your music, you may be familiar with the Genre column which allows you to assign a song as a particular Genre to assist in categorizing, sorting or creating playlists for your music. iTunes has 39 Genres available to choose from, including None, Custom and Unclassifiable (?), but what struck me as interesting is that there are 4 Genres for Country – the only Genre with more that 1 Genre choice. These Genres include “Country”, “Country Pop Rock”, “Country, Classic Country, Oldies, Nostalgia” or “Country, Top 40, Pop”. Has Country music become so diversified musically that 4 Genres are necessary? Would Taylor Swift or Carrie Underwood be classified as Country Pop Rock or Country, Top 40, Pop? How about Lady Antebellum or Zac Brown Band? How about Jason Aldean? Blake Shelton? How would these artists be classified? Veterans like George Strait and Alan Jackson, who still come out with new releases but have a “classic sound”, are they just Country or “Country, Classic Country, Oldies, Nostalgia”? You would think with all these Genres it would make it easy to search for “Country Pop Rock” music within the iTunes store, but that is not the case. In fact the top result for that search is the band Big Country. Anyone have any thoughts or am I the only one confused by this? Keep it Country, Jim Nash V. Jim Nash V is a contributing writer with a passion for country music. Jim works to promote line dancing and country music in Long Island New York. For more on Jim, visit YeeHawLI.comCountry Music Photo Gallery
