July 2014

News On Sunny Sweeney Album: Provoked

Jul 302014

It was recently announced that the brand new Sunny Sweeney album will be
available August 5th. This her third album has been a long undertaking and has
taken a few years to complete.

The album will be entitled “Provoked” and will be her most personal album to date.
It showcases all her personal struggles with her personal life,
And one of the songs on the album is a song I have enjoyed for some
time “You Don’t Know Your Husband”.

This album will have 13 songs on it and will be released on Thirty Tigers label
and produced by Luke Wooten.
Her website says “The album is a journey from nearly hitting bottom and losing everything
personally to regaining my footing and being able to find not only my true self again,
but real happiness,” Sweeney reveals.

A portion of the album’s sales will go to one of Sweeney’s most adored non-profits,
CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates).

Pistol Annies members Angaleena Presely and Ashley Monroe helped co-write
a few of the songs on this album, one of them a duet where she readily
admits her part of the fault in her own personal problems.

I have been on a really big push to bring Sunny Sweeney forward
to Opry membership because of her constant performances on it.
She is actually performing on the Opry MORE than alot of
the current members!
THAT says A LOT about her integrity and LOVE for Country Music.

Folks I’ll be honest THIS GAL LOVES to play rabble rousing Honky Tonk
Country Music. She NEVER FAILS to please an audience.

Th Legendary Shack Shakers Long Awaited Return.

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Jul 272014

Well In the past I wrote about Th Legendary Shack Shakers and their return to the stage at
Muddy Roots Music Festival. That’s correct folks the
Colonel himself J.D. Wilkes is bringing the western Kentucky band back
to the stage!

After their reunion from a few years of absence they will continue
touring after labor day weekend.
I’ll include a list of tour dates in this article, and I am equally anticipating
a new album or some new songs as their last album was 2010.

Aug 30 Muddy Roots Festival Cookeville, TN
Sep 03 Cosmic Charlie’s w/ Whiskey Shivers Lexington, KY
Sep 04 Zanzabar w/ Whiskey Shivers Louisville, KY
Sep 05 The Southgate House Revival-Sanctuary w/ Whiskey Shivers Newport, KY
Sep 06 Rumba Cafe w/ Whiskey Shivers Columbus, OH
Sep 07 Magic Stick Lounge w/ Whiskey Shivers Detroit, MI
Sep 09 Beachland Ballroom w/ Whiskey Shivers Cleveland, OH
Sep 10 Club Cafe w/ Whiskey Shivers Pittsburgh, PA
Sep 11 Knitting Factory w/ Whiskey Shivers Brooklyn, NY
Sep 12 The Middle East Cambridge, MA
Sep 13 Asbury Lanes w/ Whiskey Shivers Asbury Park, NJ
Sep 14 Chameleon Club w/ Whiskey Shivers Lancaster, PA
Sep 15 Black Cat w/ Whiskey Shivers Washington, DC
Oct 17 Hangar 9 Carbondale, IL
Oct 18 Maiden Alley Paducah, KY
Nov 12 Double Door w/ Aaron Lee Tasjan Chicago, IL
Nov 13 Lyric Room w/ Aaron Lee Tasjan Green Bay, WI
Nov 14 Rock Island Brewing w/ Aaron Lee Tasjan Rock Island, IL
Nov 15 Dg’s Tap House w/ Aaron Lee Tasjan Ames, IA
Nov 16 Turf Club w/ Aaron Lee Tasjan St Paul, MN
Nov 18 Big’s Sports Bar & Billiards w/ Aaron Lee Tasjan Sioux Falls, SD
Nov 19 Reverb Lounge w/ Aaron Lee Tasjan Omaha, NE
Nov 20 Mojo’s w/ Aaron Lee Tasjan Columbia, MO
Nov 21 2720 Cherokee w/ Aaron Lee Tasjan St Louis, MO

You can SURELY BET I will be reporting on this band further if any
plans are released to put out a new album.
I will try my BEST to make the Muddy Roots Music Festival and cover their
reunion set.

J.D. Wilkes is known for his onstage antics and explosive performance.
And also on the same festival bill he will front his other project
The Dirt Daubers.

Now on the 22nd of November I know they are booked at the Exit/In
in Nashville. And any other dates further than November are unreported
to me at this time.

Please Help My Friends Walk For Autism.

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Jul 272014

Folks many of you know I use my website to help our community
any way I can use it.
Beginning Monday my personal friend Brandy Hood will be walking
for autism on behalf of her son Blake Hood.

I’m going to include some links so YOU can donate to this worthy
cause that benefits children diagnosed with Autism.
This information comes directly from their social media profile:

At Autism Speaks, our goal is to change the future for all who struggle
with autism spectrum disorders.

We are dedicated to funding global biomedical research into the causes,
prevention, treatments, and possible cure for autism; to raising public
awareness about autism and its effects on individuals, families, and society;
and to bringing hope to all who deal with the hardships of this disorder.
We are committed to raising the funds necessary to support these goals.

Autism Speaks aims to bring the autism community together as one strong voice
to urge the government and private sector to listen to our concerns and take
action to address this urgent global health crisis. It is our firm belief that,
working together, we will find the missing pieces of the puzzle.

Autism Speaks. It’s time to listen.

Company Overview
Autism Speaks’ Walk Now for Autism, the nation’s largest grassroots autism walk program,
is our signature fundraising and awareness event, taking place in communities across
the United States, as well as in Canada and the United Kingdom. Powered by volunteers
and families with loved ones on the autism spectrum, this successful grassroots fundraising
effort not only generates vital funds for autism research but also raises awareness about
the increasing prevalence of autism and the need for increased research funding to combat
this complex disorder.

Now the walk will take place at Centennial Park in Nashville on September 6th.
You can register that morning at 8AM and the walk itself is one mile long.

You can donate through This Link up to the day of the walk.

Miss Brandy will be walking on behalf of her son Blake, who enjoys
Cowboy Woody and Mutant Ninja Turtles.
He was recently diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and
this walk will benefit funding for research on how to cope
with this disorder for the medical teams.

Local Oprys: Kentucky Opry

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Jul 242014

Welcome to my NEW series which is designed to help YOU find local talent
in YOUR area!
Now I see TONS of Country Music websites “analyzing” pop country and
why it’s ruining real country, but they don’t actually DO A damn thing
about it!
They are not OUT THERE researching the nooks and crannies of
America and FINDING SOLUTIONS to the old problem…mainstream music
90 percent sucks!
You know what folks? I got better things to do with MY time than analyze
something I dislike…let me help YOU learn how YOU can support YOUR
community and local acts.

You know when we think of Country Music we often think the “Mother Church”
started it, and the Opry is the staple of it all..the epicenter of it’s heart.
But dear friends there ARE OTHER Oprys ALL OVER AMERICA where you can go
every weekend and see REALLY GOOD talent for an honest price.
IN NO WAY am I slamming the Grande Ole Opry or telling you NOT to go!
Ohhh no no I myself try to go once a month. I mean WHO doesn’t love Charley Pride?

Deep within the Land Between The Lakes region of Benton Kentucky near
Draffenville you will find the Kentucky Opry.
It’s run by Clay Campbelland Barbie Campbell and let me tell you these fine folks
praise God EVERY CHANCE they get! Sometimes that has a lot to do with Traditonal
Country music, and I was very impressed the times I visited with them.
It has been a few months since I have had the time to go but It is on my list again soon.

One of the members that I loved enjoying play was Steve Helm.
Steve Helm was forever changed as a youngster when he first heard a steel guitar.
From that moment on he know he would play the steel guitar. Steve also enjoys playing the Dobro.
He has been playing music for twenty years. Steve has been a member of the Kentucky Opry since 1991.
Steve resides in Metropolis, IL. Steve enjoys computers and programming.
For a complete list of members you can click HERE.

They have SO MANY exciting upcoming events (Sorry folks Gene Watson is sold out)
but they have a talent search and Stars Of Tommorrow.
And tribute shows to MANY of your favorite Country Music Legends like Dolly Parton.

Physical Address: We are located 5 Miles South of Kentucky Dam on Hwy 641 in Draffenville.
(That is 3 miles north of Benton KY on hwy 641)
Our US Mailing Address:
The Kentucky Opry
88 Chilton Lane
Benton, KY 42025
Phone: 1-270-527-3869
Toll Free: 1-888-459-8704
Fax: 270-527-6553

You need to go down there and check them out as they now celebrate 25 years
of REAL COUNTRY MUSIC!
I KNOW you’ll have a great time and enjoy some really awesome music from
some REAL Kentucky folks.

And they have their Search For The Stars program every spring where YOU
can go showcase YOUR talents for the public to enjoy.
I have heard some really exciting things from people that have gone to enjoy
this protion of the show.

Every Christmas holiday is REALLY HUGE for this area and for the Kentucky Opry
in general. They go all-out and have a HUGE gala affair out there with
all the lights and special things going on.

Folks these two really do a WHOLE lot for their community
and THAT is what local music is ALL about.
Friendships and fellowships and accepting one another no matter WHAT
they believe and love…as long as it’s REAL and it’s country!

Third Pistol Annie Goes Solo..News On Angaleena Presley And Ashley Monroe

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Jul 222014

Well folks I have to say outright some of y’all will say Pistol Annies are
pop country or too mainstream.
Well, I’m not writing this article to analyze anything they do nor will
I critic the fact I don’t personally care for Miranda Lambert.
I WILL SAY that her latest release “Platinum” had a few good songs on it
and probably WAS her best album yet.

But I MUST admit I have a guilty pleasure and it’s Hippie Annie, Holler
Annie and Lone Star Annie A.K.A. Pistol Annies.
Their first album didn’t leave my CD player for half of 2012…UNTIL..

Ashley Monroe released her second album “Like A Rose”.
When I heard that Vince Gill co-wrote three songs and produced the
album AND Paul Franklin was behind the steel guitar I KNEW it was
automatically good.
And Daggumn it if it wasn’t one of 2013’s BEST albums! Hell it
is STILL in my current constant rotation of CD’s.
The song “Monroe Suede” just BLEW ME AWAY!

Now honestly they were not getting a mega ton of airplay
together as the Pistol Annies and they were not playing a ton of dates
on tour together either.
So honestly I can NOT tell you whether the Pistol Annies are or are NOT
together..may be they are on hiatus.
Their website has listed no show dates right now cause I would LOVE to see
them again live.
Ashley Monroe had publicly said they didn’t have enough time to
rehearse for the tour so they did not tour for their second album
“Annie Up”.

Ashley Monroe puts on one HELL of a damn fine show all by her lonesome
and her writing talents are just amazing!
Kind of trashy but yet in a middle class way so to speak.
I believe she defiantly identifies with middle class working people
MUCH LIKE the days of older country music…like Merle Haggard that
still rings true today.
Merle Haggard is one of the best legends left.
These gals are showing mainstream country it’s OK to be “curvy”
and average and fed up with your husband!

She debuted a song called “Has Anybody Ever Told You” for the first
time ever on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry.
Now,another reason I really like her is because of her involvement with
the Opry.
I applaud her always taking the time to stop and perform on it as often
as she does.

Now I want to tell you about the debut album from Angaleena Presley.
The album will hit you on October 12th and it will be called
“American Middle Class” and it will be released on Slate Creek records.
So let me remind you JUST WHO is head honcho at Slate Creek Records.
The master behind Don Williams….Garth Fundis.
And she will be co-producing the album with her husband Jordan Powell.

ONE THING you will read constantly on this website are the three
pillars or fundamentals of country music.
The producer, the songwriter and the steel guitarist.
You have two or all three of them you have a classic country album.

She is almost finished with the album and is currently
doing some dates with the Indigo Girls.
And there will be some singing presence from Country singer
Patty Loveless.

So there you have it folks, you can take it for what it’s worth.
I myself firmly believe we will see the Pistol Annies together
again.
BUT when I pay to see them I REALLY hope they do NOT play their
solo music during the show.
I was once upset during an Eagles show..cause I paid to hear them
together!

Country Legend George Riddle Dies

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Jul 202014

I learned early this morning on social media that Country Legend George Riddle
mostly famous for providing George Jones with high notes on his early hit
songs died last night from complications of throat cancer surgery in May.

George Riddle gave Country Music so much and took very little in return
and I would like to write a small piece to love him and remember how
integral he was to our precious genre.
I promise you many other websites and sources of Country Music news
wouldn’t know whom he was..or how kind he was.
I knew about him because of my love for the Starday recordings
and George Riddle was a part of them.

He was born September 1st 1935 in Marion Indiana and in 1960
after serving our country he became the very first Jones Boy
in history which backed a young and wild frontman named George Jones.
Along with many more that were Jones Boys they blazed a trail through
America’s Honky Tonks for years.

He also provided Starday Label and MGM, Bryte and United Artists with
countless recordings and singles.
His biggest hit was “It’s All Over Now”.
His songs were recorded by Faron Young, Melba Montgomery, Jones himself
Del reeves, and Ray Charles.

He is also credited for helping Del Reeves invent his signature
‘Doodle-do-do-do” which he always used in his cuts.

He played on the Opry stage on and off for over 40
years for many many acts.
And he performed on Carnegie Hall, The Hollywood Bowl,
The Nashville Network, The Johnny Cash Show, Country
Music On Broadway, Cobo Hall, The Palomino Club and more.

He was a radio disc jockey and had a 55 minute show on WBAT
that featured country music.
He also contributed to WLBC Hoosierland Barn Dance.
He was a Country Music DJ Legend and in 2011 the folks
at R.O.P.E. presented him with an award for his achievements.
And in 2012 he got the songwriter award and Lifetime Achievement
award.

He certainly was a treasure and did a whole lot to preserve
traditonal country music and it’s roots and did all he
could to proliferate it.

July 2014
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