Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Josh Slone and Coaltown

Josh Slone is good, real good. He knows how to make a song his and get into it, and make it come alive. Slone has been blessed with a great voice plus the tight high lonesome harmonies are great.




Rural Rhythm scores again. This recording is hot, the followup of the great opening song is a heartbreak ballad "Daddies Don't Cry" and then the real upbeat "Destination Heartbreak" which is another strong offering, nice mandolin and fiddle. This recording has a good deal of reverb and compression, but it is used tastefully. When a producer or mastering engineer uses these tools right, it adds excitement and warmth to the music.



I would love to hear his four piece band live, because it is just him on guitar, a bass player, banjo and mandolin. He has a lot of guest musicians and vocalists on this CD. It is hard to pick out which singers and players are in his band, because there are seventeen people listed as singers or musicians on the CD. But the vocals are tight and there is great Dobro, Banjo and Fiddle.



I love the material, some great song writers stuff. Songs are more like country songs done the bluegrass way. Mark Brinkman, Larry Cordle, whose "Big Blue Raindrops" is a classic. Josh really sounds like a pro, not someone who is doing his first CD.



"Bluegrass and Me" by Mike Wells who wrote alot of these songs is a great uptempo song. The arrangements may be sparse at times, but the music is always top flight. There is a great guitar solo on "Hillbilly Girl", which I'm guessing was done by Josh, because he is the only guitar picker listed.



The closer "Long Legged Woman" is a hoot with some great fiddle playing by Gerald Evans who I read that this was his last CD. That is sad news, Sounds like a man that will be missed by many.



Josh is also a very good guitar player. This is a very good CD overall with lots of great original bluegrass, wish Josh The best!!!



http://www.joshsloneandcoaltown.net/

Thursday, February 17, 2011

The Judds To Premiere In Primetime On Own: Oprah Winfrey Network,Sunday, April 10

"THE JUDDS" TO PREMIERE IN PRIMETIME ON


OWN: OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK, SUNDAY, APRIL 10

New Docu-Series Follows Legendary

Mother-Daughter Duo On Their Reunion Concert Tour

Los Angeles, CA --- For the first time on television, Judds fans and OWN viewers enter the private and public lives of country music icons, Naomi and Wynonna Judd, on the new docu-series, “The Judds.” The six-episode series follows the award winning mother/daughter duo as they hit the road for their first and final concert tour in ten years. Cameras capture their emotional journey as they work to heal their relationship, reconnect with their fans and share the spotlight once again. “The Judds” premieres April 10 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network.



After decades of struggle and recovery, Naomi and Wynonna are ready to share their celebrated and often complicated lives. The series begins as both mother and daughter prepare for their final reunion tour. Stress is high as both Judds realize that performing together again is a “make or break” deal when it comes to their relationship. They love each other and want more than anything to heal their connection, but the tour, combined with unresolved issues and painful memories from the past, threaten to derail their efforts.



Viewers are fully immersed in Naomi and Wynonna’s hectic and exciting world. They travel city-to-city performing and meeting with their loyal fans (“Juddheads”), head home to their 1000-acre farm, and go behind closed doors for emotional sessions with their longtime life coach, Dr. Ted Klontz. Through it all — the good and challenging times — Naomi and Wynonna share their personal story openly and honestly. Naomi confesses never-before-told painful secrets from her childhood and together they discuss their fears about the tour. In addition, Wynonna speaks candidly about finding new love and the challenges of being a single, working mom.

On the surface, “The Judds” is about a much anticipated reunion tour starring two legendary performers. But just below the surface, the series is a moving exploration of the universal mother-daughter bond. For Naomi and Wynonna, their relationship is firmly grounded in love, but plagued by misunderstanding. In the end, by sharing their experiences, Naomi and Wynonna hope that others will be inspired to strengthen their own personal connections.



“The Judds” is produced for OWN by Gay Rosenthal Productions, Inc. The executive producers are Gay Rosenthal, Bruce Toms, Kerry Hansen, Naomi Judd and Wynonna Judd.



About OWN: OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK

A joint venture between Harpo, Inc. and Discovery Communications, OWN: OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK is a multi-platform media company designed to entertain, inform, and inspire people to live their best lives. OWN debuted on January 1, 2011, in approximately 80 million homes on what was the Discovery Health Channel. The venture also includes the award-winning digital platform, Oprah.com. For more information, please visit www.oprah.com/own  and www.press.discovery.com/us/own .







Media Contact:

Domenic Morea

Director, Publicity

Domenic_Morea@own.tv

(323) 602-5516

The Judds:

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Charlie Daniels,Wynonna,Montgomery Gentry, and The Grascals set to perform at Lipscomb University's 'Operation Yellow Ribbon' Event March 29,2011

CHARLIE DANIELS, WYNONNA, MONTGOMERY GENTRY AND THE GRASCALS SET TO PERFORM AT LIPSCOMB UNIVERSITY'S 'OPERATION YELLOW RIBBON' EVENT MARCH 29, 2011




Gen. Tommy Franks announced as keynote speaker



NASHVILLE (Feb. 16, 2011) – Charlie Daniels, Wynonna, Montgomery Gentry and The Grascals are set to perform for 'Operation Yellow Ribbon' at Lipscomb University March 29, 2011. General Tommy Franks (Ret.) has been confirmed as the keynote speaker, and the Center for Deployment Psychology will be featured at the Symposium for university administrators.



Operation Yellow Ribbon features a daylong symposium sponsored by Lipscomb University and featuring experts from the Center for Deployment Psychology (CPD), Challenge America, Not Alone and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The day will be filled with clinical as well as non-clinical approaches to working with veterans and developing a better understanding of this unique population. Another focus of the symposium is to bring together university administrators, certifying officials and others who work with student-veterans to discuss best approaches in creating veteran-friendly campuses as thousands of veterans across the country are enrolling in universities through the Post 9/11 GI Bill.



Capping off the day’s events, Franks will address attendees at Lipscomb’s Allen Arena. Musical appearances by Charlie Daniels, Wynonna, Montgomery Gentry and The Grascals are scheduled for the evening event at 7 p.m. in Lipscomb’s Allen Arena.



“Our goal is to provide an informative day for those who work with veterans at universities across the country to help equip them with knowledge and expertise to make their campuses more accessible and friendly for veterans. By partnering with the Center for Deployment Psychology we want to help educate university counseling teams so they can offer programs that adequately serve our veterans as they reintegrate home and adjust to university life,” said David K. Hughes, Lipscomb University assistant dean of students and director of the Yellow Ribbon Program.



Admission to the symposium is open to any university representative or administrator who works with student-veterans or coordinates Yellow Ribbon programs on their campuses. Registration is $75 per person, which covers all activities, materials, meals and VIP tickets for the concert. For more information or to register visit http://www.yellowribbon.lipscomb.edu/   or call 615.966.5176.



Tickets for the evening event only will go on sale for $10 on Feb. 18 at the Lipscomb University box office. Call 615.966.7075. Members of the military and their families will be invited as guests of the events corporate sponsors. Proceeds from the event benefit Lipscomb University’s Yellow Ribbon Program.



Lipscomb’s Yellow Ribbon Program offers eligible Post 9/11 GI Bill veterans and their family members an undergraduate degree tuition-free or a graduate degree tuition-free or at a greatly reduced tuition rate.



The Center for Deployment Psychology (CPD) is a non-profit, tri-service center funded through a grant awarded by the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences to train military and civilian behavioral health providers.



'Operation Yellow Ribbon' Event produced by David Corlew & Associates in conjunction with Lipscomb University.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Interview with Susan Gibson, singer-songwriter (wrote Wide Open Spaces for Dixie Chicks)

Search Amazon.com for Susan Gibson

Susan Gibson has a new CD out or will be out in a few days, it is called "Tightrope", I highly recommend it to anyone who likes acoustic music, This is the best sounding CD that I have heard this year, the sound quality is stunning, plus she has a set of ten very well written and performed songs. She is a great guitarist also and her vocals and lyrics have continued to grow since her hit with Chicks "Wide Open Spaces" .


1. Susan, "Tightrope" is a brilliant acoustic album that really has great sound quality, sparse , yet it is real warm and I love the guitar work. Tell me a little about the recording process and whether it is a digital or analog recording, it is so warm it sounds like it could be reel to reel.

(Susan's reponse)
It’s a digital recording using ProTools, and I would attribute the warmth of the album to the producer, Gabe Rhodes. But maybe it was the stained glass windows in the studio!


2. What kind of guitars were you and Gabe playing? The tone is so nice on the CD. Also, what kind of strings were you using?, I find that interesting, the tone is really unique. Do you have a collection of many guitars? Your guitar playing is excellent , and Gabe's bass and lead parts are also very good.


I play a Gibson Blues King Electro on the record and we mic-ed it. I use D’Addario medium gauge strings. Gabe does have a collection of instruments…he uses a 1919 Martin Parlor and a 1958 Gibson LG-1.


3. I am sorry to hear about your accident. i just read that the CD was finished before the accident. I am guessing that you are glad about that, it is such a fine set of songs. "The wood wouldn't burn" is a great song. Is that a true story?


Yes, the guitar in that story belongs to my friend Roger Marin, a singer-songwriter from Ontario, Canada. It was given to him by the wife of a fan who died in the house fire.


4. Really like the CD artwork, so effective and different, just black and white, Love how you open it up and the "Tightrope" turns into a guitar. Is that a town in the soundhole?


Yes, it’s a fictional town…It’s every town! The artwork was done by my friend Jess Rios from Dallas. http://www.jessrios.com/


5. This CD does not have a bad song on it, my favorites are "it's rainin' outside today, hooray!" , (Love Gabe's guitar licks), "Tightrope" , "oil and water", and all of the others. Do you have a favorite? You sort of remind me of a cross between Terri Hendrix and Carole King.


I love all the songs…but I love the chorus in Hope Diamond and I get chills every time I play The Wood Wouldn’t Burn.



6. OK, the obvious question, you wrote "Wide Open Spaces" for the Dixie Chicks which really took them off to super popularity, Both as the name of Album and as the song on the CD. How did this affect your career? When you wrote that song, did you have any idea how popular it was going to be, did you have a good feel about it? Did your friends like it? This was my favorite CD for like four years, I still like it alot.


When I wrote the song, I didn’t have any idea how popular it would be. I didn’t have any idea how the music business worked with people writing songs for other people. It’s my first original song I had written that was requested by someone I didn’t know at one of my gigs in Montana…and I remember that happening. It changed my career in the opportunities I have had since writing that song, whether it’s getting to go to a national award show or writing with other people that maybe wouldn’t have otherwise heard of me, or having an automatic handlebar for people to grab on to and remember about me. I have been Susan “The Girl Who Wrote Wide Open Spaces For the Dixie Chicks” Gibson for over a decade, and I love it!
 
http://www.susangibson.com/

Monday, February 14, 2011

Bandit Records Releases New George Jones Album

Search Amazon.com for george jones, hitsBANDIT RECORDS RELEASES NEW GEORGE JONES ALBUM...


GEORGE JONES:HITS



Nashville, TN – BANDIT RECORDS is proud to release the first new GEORGE JONES material in over 5 years. “I Ain’t Ever Slowin Down” written by Al Anderson and Stephen Bruton and “ I Should Have Called” , written by Eddie Raven are both featured in a new compilation called GEORGE JONES: HITS. Both new songs were produced by Jones’ long time producer, Keith Stegal, in 2006 and are included on BANDITS newest release. Also featured on the album are some of GEORGE’S biggest and most iconic hits such as , “The Window Up Above”, “Take Me”, “The Grand Tour” , “White Lightin” , his signature song “He Stopped Lovin’ Her Today” as well as gems like “ Hell Stays Open All Night Long” and “If Drinkin’ Don’t Kill Me (Her Memory Will)”.



Once again, even in his later years, Jones’ vocals continue to amaze and evoke an emotional response as strong as his classic hits have over the last 6 decades. Retailing for $11.99, sold exclusively at Wal*Mart, the 24 song compilation will be released on Feb. 15th.



Jones, a Country Music Hall of Fame member, has had a chart appearance in each of the last seven decades (50’s through ‘10s) and extends his lead for the most chart appearances of all time to 166 titles and his chart span to 55 years, three months and one week. Jones is added to a short prestigious list of acts to chart in seven decades, previously achieved by only Eddy Arnold and Elvis Presley.





Bandit Records Contact:

Evelyn Shriver/ Susan Nadler

615-242-1234



For George Jones Contact:

Kirt Webster

kirt@websterpr.com

615-777-6995 x230

Thursday, February 03, 2011

"Coal Minin' Man" - The Roys - New Single

Coal Minin' Man is the first single from The Roys’ upcoming March CD, LONESOME WHISTLE on Rural Rhythm Records.


It is a classic , traditional sounding up-tempo bluegrass track which tells a true-life story. The instrumentation is really full- with fiddle, guitar, mandolin and Dobro.

Lee and Elaine’s vocals harmonize perfectly as only a brother and sister can.

If the other songs on the CD are anything like this, we are in for a treat.
  http://www.theroyscountry.com/

Tuesday, February 01, 2011

"Blame it On The Bluegrass" - Valerie Smith and Liberty Pike - A Review

This bluegrass sixpack on Bell Buckle Records is a very good recording. It was the first recording ever at the International Bluegrass Music Museum in Owensburg, Kentucky. Valerie set up a studio in the "Cave", a room which houses the radio station at the museum. Sound quality is excellent , they brought in some very good digital recording equipment and set up in this room that did not look very sound recording friendly, but the producer did an excellent job and you can focus on six very fine bluegrass songs.




They actually recorded twelve songs , but plan to release the other six at the end of this year. Valerie has a fine ,feminine, bluegrass voice and really can sing in a natural way that compares with the best on the market today, plus she is a good guitar picker.



Blake Shelton started the six pack thing in country music very successfully releasing two sixpack CDs pretty close together.



Smith has six great songs here, "Blame It On The Bluegrass" is a very good upbeat number that is very original sounding. It would be a great song for a single.



Smith's voice is so natural and the recording is very warm sounding, not too cluttered , the arrangements are perfect for two or three part harmonies.

She goes from the upbeat to the very inspiring, "Lord, make this day Good", this is a very inspirational song.



Smith was a new name to me, but I love every thing about her, she has a great heart for good sounding bluegrass. Last year, she spent time in Kentucky schools, educating youngsters about bluegrass, that is an awesome thing to do.



http://www.valeriesmithonline.com/

Jamey Johnson Receives TWO ACM Nominations

JAMEY JOHNSON RECEIVES TWO ACM NOMINATIONS,


INCLUDING ALBUM OF THE YEAR



GRAMMY-NOMINATED ALBUM CONTINUES TO RECEIVE ACCOLADES



Nashville, TN - Jamey Johnson has received two nominations from the Academy of Country Music Awards, including Album of the Year for The Guitar Song, the most-lauded country album of 2010.



"The triumph of a gold-selling double album is shared by my family, my friends/bandmates/producers, my staff, my label, my booking agents, my publishers, my management, my publicists, my handlers, my wranglers, my fans, my dog, Willie's braids and that beautiful brunette in Toledo,” Jamey says. “Thanks all for the hard work and dedication. You all deserve each accolade. And thanks to the Academy voters for the recognition."



Jamey also received an ACM nomination in the category of Vocal Event of the Year for his performance with Colt Ford of “Cold Beer.”



"If working with Colt in the studio was a ball, touring with him on the road with the Grascals and Hank Williams, Jr. was several balls,” Jamey says. “He's a unique artist in a day where uniquity is not usually rewarded. I'm proud to be nominated alongside my friend."



Jamey is a two-time winner in the ACM Song of the Year category, taking home trophies in 2009 for “In Color” and 2007 for “Give It Away,” which was recorded by George Strait.



The Guitar Song was produced by Arlis Albritton, Dave Cobb and The Kent Hardly Playboys, all of whom received nominations as well in the Album of the Year category. In addition, two members of The Kent Hardly Playboys received individual nominations. Jim “Moose” Brown is nominated for Top Piano/Keyboard Player of the Year, and “Cowboy” Eddie Long is nominated for Top Steel Guitar Player of the Year.



Jamey’s The Guitar Song, an ambitious 25-song double album, also recently received two Grammy nominations -- Country Album of the Year and Best Male Country Vocal performance for “Macon.” (He received a third Grammy nomination in Best Country Collaboration with Vocals for “Bad Angels” with Dierks Bentley and Miranda Lambert.)



In addition, The Guitar Song was recently certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.



Last week, the Nashville Scene’s 11th annual Country Music Critics’ Poll named The Guitar Song the best album of 2011 and named Jamey Artist of the Year, Best Male Vocalist and Best Songwriter.



The Guitar Song was ranked No. 5 on Rolling Stone’s Best Albums of 2010 and “Macon” was ranked No. 23 on Rolling Stone’s Best Singles of 2010.



“What does Jamey Johnson keep under all of that hair? Songs,” says Rolling Stone. “Nashville’s gruffest and grittiest star turns out to be its most reliable traditionalist, a Music Row pro who can write a song for every emotional season. Johnson pulled out a whole slew of them – 25, clocking in north of 105 minutes – four his double-disc fourth album: acoustic confessions and rugged boogie blues, big weepers and grim reapers, cover tunes and novelty ditties, not to mention “California Riots” and “Playing the Part,” a pair of fiercely funny, unrepentantly redneck swipes at the frou-frou blue states.”



The Washington Post, which ranked the album at No. 2 on its list of 2010’s greatest hits, says, “He sings in the baritone of God and carries a guitar covered in Sharpie squiggles – autographed from the likes of Haggard, Nelson and other country music royalty. Now Johnson’s sweeping double album raises the question: How long before he has to sign it himself?”



Spin also named The Guitar Song as No. 5 on its list of The 40 Best Albums of 2010. “Johnson’s double-album opus isn’t one of the past decade’s best country records because he’s a boundary-pushing subversive,” Spin says.



The New York Times included “Even the Skies Are Blue” on its list of Top Songs, while People included The Guitar Song in its Top 10 Music list, noting, “In an era when much of country music is designed for bite-size radio consumption, this old-school outlaw – and Matthew McConaughey BFF – served up a meaty, 25-track double album that sticks to your bones.”



He also made best-album lists of The Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, Paste, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Detroit Free Press, The Arizona Republic and other publications.
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