For those of you that enjoy going to the Nashville Boogie that Muddy Roots has been putting on for two years now, Mr. Jason has created a winter event for us to enjoy, that falls along the same lines of the spring event. You know I always have TOTAL FUN at the Palace and with Muddy Roots events, and I’m sure you will too. So here’s a ticket link and some hotels for you.

Club Hotel Nashville Inn And Suites
Country Inn And Suites Opryland North
Best Western Opryland
Holiday Inn Express Opryland
Airport Super 8 Opryland
Courtyard Nashville
Hampton Inn And Suites
Guest House Inn
Days Inn Opryland
Fiddler’s Inn Opryland

Fri, Nov 3, 2017, 4:30 PM  Sat, Nov 4, 2017, 11:30 PM CDT
The Nashville Palace
2611 McGavock Pike
Nashville, TN 37214

Wanda Jackson & the Music Valley Jamboree will give you the Nashville Boogie fix you need! Featuring rockabilly, country & western bands and DJs Friday 6pm to 2am and Saturday 12 noon to 2am! An all day cruise in will take place behind The Nashville Palace on Saturday. There is no fee to park in the cruise in. We’ll be wrapping up the weekend with a record convention on Sunday. Hosted by  www.muddyrootsrecords.com

Friday lineup
Wanda Jackson
The Cowpokes
DJ Reb Kennedy
DJ Krazy Kat Daddy
Billy Harlan
Kyle Eldridge & The Rhythm Rounders
DJ Col. Paco Chaos

Saturday Lineup:
DJ Krazy Kat Daddy
Hillbilly Casino
Bloodshot BILL
DJ, Col. Paco Chaos
James Intveld
Reb Kenedy
TJ Mayes
DJ Juke Joint Jenni
DJ Phantom
The Rhythm Kings
Screamin’ Rebel, Angels
Jane Rose

I met Mr. Kurt Fortmeyer many moons ago on the Myspace website when I was truly taking raw form of an actual website. I had NO knowledge of HTML coding or how to operate the back door aspect of this deal, I had no connections and I had no knowledge of how to go about organizing. BUT I DID have a knowledge of obscure Country Music and somewhat of a knowledge of songwriters.

I have always stated that Country Music as a whole has three major fundamental pillars of it’s structure. And if you have all three of those you indeed have a timeless classic Country album. The steel guitarist, the producer and the songwriter.

To be honest nowadays I think the songwriter role has been pretty much pushed under the carpet by the major media ACCEPT the major songwriters that also perform and sell out venues like John Prine. I mean the writers that got together in those publishing houses, and sat in those dirty rooms full of smoke, and old white castle bags and created REAL songs. Unless you are into underground music like THIS website is dedicated to you won’t know who Billy Don Burns or Jimmy Payne are. Mr. Kurt is one of the kindest and honest individuals I have ever shook hands with and to be honest it’s a downright shame he is not regraded higher than he is by many.

I started hanging out with Mr. Kurt downtown at the open mic nights all over town and playing rounds with him. We had MANY terrific FUN nights of music and friendship together. EVERY Thanksgiving he invites me over and EVERY cookout I have I invite him, I LOVE to hear him play what I consider HIS HITS!

I’ll be honest overall this isn’t his best album HOWEVER there ARE some BEST songs on this album that I hope one day he puts on “greatest hits” album. This album was truly a DAMN FINE album with some genius twists on words, it’s amazing how his brain works when it come to lyrics. Just because I said it wasn’t his best doesn’t mean I thought it was a bad album, I simply don’t believe he COULD MAKE a bad album!

The album opens with a somber and slow song “The Heart Of A Hobo” which is about a vagabond who was a hobo at heart, and eventually ends up actually obtaining a heart from someone who was. It contains SO MANY clever quips and witty lines like ‘how he came to have that change of heart”..it has two meanings and you must LISTEN CLOSE to “get it”.

With Mr. Kurt you will get religious songs and political ones as well and if that not your cup of tea it’s ok! He’s got a song called “Jesus Wouldn’t Do It That Way” which opens with “To some pillhead on the radio calling women whores, Jesus wouldn’t do it that way”. Oddly enough that was about my VERY OWN uncle, however I haven’t had anything to do with him for many years, I also don’t think Jesus would call anybody a pillhead either. It just struck me for a good giggle he would even know who my uncle was! However I did agree with this song Jesus wouldn’t appreciate neither side of the political spectrum of today’s society. I myself choose to ignore the people and things I don’t like, when Obama was president I saw some pretty nasty pictures and now I see nasty pictures of the current President by the people whom were offended by the pictures of the past one….how does that justify any actions?  Now you CANNOT say leave politics OUT of music because everyone does it and it’s OK with me, not much offends me, I simply point out things from both sides of politics that I find naughty.

You will get humorous and downright entertaining songs like “The Wrong Side Of The Roost” which is about ornery old Roosters in that barnyard that likes to peck your butt. Once again you get MANY good lines in the song like “change his name to stew (meaning Stu)” Comes off a little too cocky?  VERY good song here.

Perhaps on of the finest songs Mr. Kurt has ever created is this one called ‘Merle Go Round”, it’s already been cut and I’ll include the video here. You will absolutely LOVE this song, and it made MY Merle go round for sure! It’s just plain out good old Honky Tonk Country for sure!

The BEST SONG on this album and might even be the best song he’s ever done in my opinion is “We Can’t Cut The Baby In Half” which is a classic song about divorce. WOW, Mr. Kurt amazes me more and more EVERY ALBUM he makes. It focuses on a couple splitting up and dividing up their assets but when it comes down to deciding who gets the baby they have a change of heart and decide to stay together. You know this is a rather easy to understand song with complex lyrics. You have to REALLY listen to get the full meaning.

‘A woman’s Touch” was a song I related with really well, at 46 years old I have NO drama and no problems in life. I’d be a really good catch for some lady even though I’m a fixer upper. But I quit trying because I’m just not wanted by anybody, it’s all about looks. “On the market as a fixer upper” is a truly good line indeed. You’ll ALSO get a really good re issues of one of his older songs called ‘What’s Not To Love About That”. This is an older song that everybody downtown REALLY enjoys and garners a lot of people singing along to it.

You can purchase this album by clicking HERE

For the past two years, unless you have been living under a rock, or you just don’t care for Country Music you have heard the name Cody Jinks And The Tone Deaf Hippies. For the last ten years this man Mr. Cody Jinks has been tirelessly traveling the country playing his Country Music for the masses totally off the radar of MOST of the mainstream media sources.

I have been covering him for years as well as a few of the websites out there, and this past weekend one of them wrote a pretty nice piece on him….but I didn’t see him there? I’m also not aware of any of his representatives were there. I went to the Saturday show, the only reason I didn’t attend the Friday show was because of my job situation at the time, I was previously on second shift and couldn’t have Friday off. I now work third shift and Friday night is my Saturday night now. For another take on the weekend I’m sure you can find a good review of this show on Country Music Armadillo.

According to my studies I am Flocker member number 2751..so I heard many people asking this weekend, WHAT IS A Flocker? And WHAT significance does this term have with Cody Jinks playing at the Ryman? Well I’ll be completely honest with you as a music website, I endorse MANY groups and scenes from so many genres of music it’s uncanny. Also pretty much to HELL with genres, it’s just a term I use to keep up with things. I feature music I love and ignore music I don’t.

The Flockers are a fan group of THOUSANDS of like minded people that belong to a group called the Flockers. It was started by a man named Mr. William Higgins and if you click on the name it will take you to my interview with him. I had the chance to feature him during my side article features for the Kansas City based festival Tumbleweed.

Now the original name for the fans of Mr. Cody Jinks And The Tone Deaf Hippies are called Black Sheep taken from one of his earlier albums, however the Flocker nation rose to surpass everything and become more prominent of a fan club than ANY artist I  could possibly name besides Jimmy Buffet’s Parrotheads. I’m telling you I WATCH things in the music realms, I SEE EVERYTHING, I’m WELL trained to notice things. This group has raised over Sixty Thousand Dollars for charity and self admitted by Cody Jinks last night ‘He Couldn’t Do It By Himself”.

During Saturday night’s show he said ” You know for many years there were a large number of suits and ties that wanted nothing to do with me. Well, I darn sure bet they are watching me now”. It was absolutely heartwarming to witness him introduce his family to his other family of fans.

Mr. Cody and the many artists that you could construe as his ilk are the prime examples of the American Dream…hard work and determination can very well lead to success. I mean it’s TRUE Mr. Cody didn’t achieve all this by himself because WE made him this big, but without his hard work and music there would be nothing for us to love. He damn sure didn’t get to this pinnacle he is currently at from radio play and CMT features, he got here from YOU buying HIS music….and YOU THERE that is wearing his shirts, and YOU there reading THIS article..THANK YOU for your support. However on the other side of the coin you have Mr. Cody himself that has kept it real for all these years, and stood behind the music he plays. He’s NEVER stooped or bowed to any power that is or trend, and he’s not acting like he is anything special or better than anyone else. He’s pretty much just a Country Music and Heavy Metal nut like me that happened to have real music that a LOT of adult people relate to…and is on his way to surpass the fake, packaged people that do not.

Right now I shall be writing MY account of this weekend, now I want to point out at this juncture that I wasn’t in the auditorium during the Ward Davis set, my constituent Mr. Joshua Wallace was. I’ll be adding this later on to this article, if you don’t mind. I covered Mr. Ward Davis last weekend and you can read that HERE from Bowling Green, I also covered Mr. Cody YEARS AGO from that same venue and you can read that HERE.

You know the LAST TIME I went to see Mr. Cody Jinks in Nashville it was at 3rd And Lindsley and I covered that show too, you can read about that HERE. He was featured on Music City Roots and many other places. The ONLY mainstream source I can mention that has featured Mr. Cody was the Conan O Brien show on late night television.

So Friday night Mr. Joshua Wallace and I hung out at Layla’s on Lower Broadway to catch up with Miss Sarah Gayle Meechwho was playing with a championship lineup tonight. Miss Sarah has always been one of my personal favorites down here and pretty much LIVES in the Honky Tonks of town playing her songs from her two albums, produced by the powerful Mr. Andy Gibson.

Her set included covers like “Little Sister” and the some “Luckenbach Texas” that was made famous by Waylon. However the original songs are what I truly love to come down and see Miss Sarah perform. She commands audiences from all over with songs like “old White Boots” and “All I Want Is A Honky Tonk”. I just had a wonderful time being the DD as she played songs like “Watermelon And Root Beer” from her latest album “Tennessee Love Song” and the song called ‘Get It Over”.

I attended the Saturday show at the Ryman and first up was the Texas gal herself Sunny Sweeney. I have had the blessed opportunity to become friends with her over the years, and to be honest I’d do anything for her. She’s been out there busting her ass for just as long as Mr. Cody, battled personal demons and overcame HUGE obstacles to get to where she is now. Mr. Cody has five albums to her four, however I myself have been following her longer since 2007.

I watched her every step of the way, and stuck with her no matter what she’s done. This past August she played her 50th Opry performance, and she holds dear the Opry traditions. In fact I’d go so far as to say she holds them dear to her heart more passionately than many of it’s current members. MANY of it’s current members could care less about playing it unless they need to promote a new album or such.

The Opry management is TIRED of hearing from me and others regarding inducting her as an Opry memeber IF YOU ARE READING THIS CALL OR EMAIL AND MAKE THIS HAPPEN. I mean don’t YOU WANT your kids to be able to grow up to call her a Country Music Legend? Is she NOT filling their shoes?

She focused a LOT off her new album “Trophy” tonight (Look for that on my 2017 Top 50….um…look on the TOP 5)…oh did I leak that out already? She opened up the show tonight with “Better Bad Idea”. You know I could easily ascertain the influence of Stevie Nicks on her lately. Just little things I notice about her demeanor on stage, Miss Sunny has a magnetic stage presence. I’ll be honest, I’d pay to see her play over many of the women acts associated with her when I’m in the mood for Country Music.

“Pills” was next followed by a 1974 cover of Waylon Jenning’s “Rainy Day Woman”. this was the second single from the album “Ramblin Man” of Waylon’s RCA tenure. She also played another song off Trophy called “Pass The Pain”, before reverting back to her third album “Provoked” by including “Everybody Else Can Kiss My Ass”.

Honestly if you ask me I REALLY LIKE her first album “Heart Breaker’s Hall Of Fame”, of which she included “If I Could”. I’ll be honest this song is one of her finest she does, it’s upbeat and fun to watch her play it. She also played “Why People Change” and closed her set with “Bad Girl Phase”.

I will be including more about Mr. Ward Davis later when Mr. Joshua writes it from his set list, as I mentioned earlier I recently saw him perform in Bowling Green so I was spending time catching up with Miss Sunny at her merchandise booth while he was playing.

Mr. Cody Jinks entered the stage under the intro music of “Ecstasy Of Gold”, which has been the intro music for the metal band Metallica for 25 years. Thusly he wore a Master Of Puppets shirt on the Friday show, and the set lists didn’t vary between nights accept for two songs. I might have someone write the Friday night show up soon.

He opened with two songs off his new album “I’m not The Devil” from last year, one of those were “No Guarantees” and he followed that up with “She’s All Mine”. The next song was “David” from the Adobe Sessions album, he really didn’t focus on his first three albums as much as I had hoped he would, but make NO mistake this show was absolutely phenomenal in every way!

“Wake Up Becki” was off his 2010 album “less Wise” which was his first album, and I was really pleased he included that song in this show. I also wanted to point out the fact he wore his 5 Shots With Fairbanks shirt on the stage tonight. If you aren’t familiar with his interviews you MUST GO check them out.

He played the song “No Words” and then played a song off the “30” album called “We Get By”. This show included many opportunities for Mr. Cody to include the audience in participating with singing many of the songs and responding to them. He paid TONS of homage to his mentors and heroes tonight by playing “Whiskey Bent And Hell Bound” and often referencing people like Merle Haggard. However they did a REALLY GOOD version of an old Clint Black song called “Nothing’s News”, which included a TRULY GOOD steel guitar solo intro from Mr. Austin Tripp. That song appeared on the 1990 debut album “Killin Time”, and was a VASTLY overlooked song.

“Birds” was next followed by one of my favorite songs called “Vampires”. I would like to currently say that this was truly a good lengthy show, and you got your TOTAL money’s worth out of all three artists. PLUS there were MANY guest appearances by people like Jamey Johnson on Friday night and Whitey Morgan on Saturday nights. MANY people coming out to join him on various songs throughout the whole weekend.

“Been Around” and “Give All you Can” were next, and continued on into the second portion of the show with a song called “What Else Is New”. Another song he played was one of my favorites called “Last Call For The Blues” from the Less Wise album. One of the highlights of the show was the intro story to the title track of his new album called “I’m Not The Devil”. He told us all the story of how he and Mr. Ward Davis got acquainted which was really fun to listen to.

After he played ‘Chase That Song” as I mentioned earlier he payed homage to Merle Haggard by including us in singing the 1980 Working Man’s anthem ‘The Way I Am” as he was joined by Mr. ward Davis and Mr. Whitey Morgan. Then they played their version of the Pink Floyd hit “Wish you Were Here”, before going into “Momma” and going into older songs like “Fast Hand”. Fast Hand is a really good song that is always included in many of his sets, and always sounds good live.

As he got to the closing songs and encores he played the epic juggernaut song he does called “Cast No Stones”. Every artist pretty much has that song everybody likes and can relate to easily, and I believe this was it. It had HUGE crowd participation from a very willing Mr. Cody, as well as “Loud And Heavy”.

The two encore songs were “Rock And Roll” and finally his anthem that he usually always closes with called “Hippies And Cowboys”. They are his two favorite groups of people to raise hell with, by all means. It’s one of his older songs from 2010 and one of the first songs I remember that turned me onto his music.

Mr. Josh Morningstar has never ceased to amaze me lately..his new album “Whole Lotta Crazy” has garnered a plethora of attention with NO major media support whatsoever. Shit, if Mr. Sturgill does it why can’t Mr. Josh? Well I do not know Mr. Sturgill very well personally, I DO KNOW Mr. Josh and I can readily vouch for his authenticity and his passion.

There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for him, and there isn’t anything he wouldn’t do for me…so I guess we go through life not doing anything for each other! All jokes aside people I wanted to bring an upcoming show he is doing to your attention.

He’s going to be making a special appearance at the iconic Nashville Palace on October 28th. And I’ll be coming down for this event you can bet on it, the food is still pretty good there and the staff is TOP NOTCH. Miss Tara is an awesome human being and I love her very much. Miss Julia has the biggest heart for Country Music that I have ever run into, she teaches obscure artists and I LOVE her knowledge.

If you would like to order his new album it’s available on his name there click on that. OR come on down and buy if from him in person and grab a shirt and a handshake. TRUST ME this WILL be a truly fun time and I’m planning some cool things for this event.

Erin Enderline
Emi Sunshine
Porter Union
Brent Cobb
Joshua Morningstar
Cody Jinks
Tennessee Jet
The Steel Woods
Dallas Moore
Justin Wells

Hey guys this week I am happy to bring you guys Mr. Jonathan Parker . He represents country music the way it should be, I enjoy it and I think you guys will to. Like always please like this page to ensure you never miss any upcoming interviews and please share this week’s interview to help spread JP’s music so others can hear it.

Round 1 – Being a traveling musciain I am sure you see and hear a lot while on tour, can you tell us about one of your favorite memories from the road?

JP – I find it hard to zero in on one memory. Honestly, I’ve been blessed to be able to meet and play shows with some cool cats and even a few heroes of mine. I look forward to doing more of that.

Round 2 – Do you come from a musical family or is music just something you grew to love doing?

JP – I actually do not come from a musical family. Meaning, no one in my family plays or writes music but me. Although, I totally credit my dad for my love for music. Traditional country music in particular.

Round 3 – How would you describe your perfect day?

JP – Man. My perfect day right now would be any day spent with my family. I have a wonderful wife and a first grader that’s a total miniature me. When I’m not on stage or recording, I try spend as much time with them as possible.

Round 4 – What are some of your upcoming goals and plans?

JP – My main goal at the time is to make another album and keep touring.

Round 5 – What are some of your favorite things/hobbies to do outside of the Music World?

JP – My favorite things to do outside of music are fishing, hunting, and spending time with my family. I also dabble in graphic design a bit.

Last Call – Open message to say anything you want to the your fans and the people reading this.

JP – First of all, I want to thank all my fans and all music lovers for giving folks like me a job. I’d also like to encourage all of my fans specifically, to show some love to one another. Maybe introduce this music to someone new. Take them to a show. Any show. Let’s try to encourage something that will unify us rather than create more negativity and evil. Shed some light!

Jonathan Parker

By Joshua Wallace

Laid Back Country Picker is one of those artists you hear about through the
grapevine. Either you see his videos on Youtube, you see someone wearing
his shirt or you see a friend post about his album online. There is an
infectious quality about the single he released titled “Magoffin County
Cadillac”. The entire self titled debut album has that same quality that
draws you in and doesn’t let go.

“Magoffin County Cadillac” is the best track of the record. It’s a great
song about buying quality, cheap former police cars at police auctions.
It’s actually refreshing because it’s not something you hear about a
thousand times in other country songs. “I Live In The Now” and “Gangsters
and Preachers” are other highlights. They keep that same classic country
sound that makes “Magoffin County Cadillac” so good.

It is worth mentioning that John Neff plays steel guitar on this record.
He played on a lot of the Drive By Trucker albums including my personal
favorite Brighter Than Creation’s Dark. “Kathy With An Eight Ball” is a
simple track that is essentially a show piece for his work as it features a
long steel solo that is worth checking out.

I’m digging what I hear of Laid Back Country Picker. The CD has a quote on
it “I just want to play some good country music and treat everybody
right…”. They’ve got the good country music part right here, and so far
Laid Back Country Picker seems to be an alright guy. Currently the only
way to get this CD is to see him at a show or message Laid Back Country
Picker on Facebook. Tell him Gary Hayes Country sent ya.

Laid Back Country Picker

1.Laid Back Country Picker
2. Magoffin County Cadillac
3.Party Line
4. Kathy With An Eight Ball
5.I Live In The Now
6.Gangsters and Preachers
7.David Bowie
8.Put Me Away
9.Jim Frank

Tickets are available for this event by clicking HERE .

Folks parts of Florida were severely damaged  by the hurricanes this year but The Suwannee Roots Festival will be going on this weekend, and this lineup is wonderful. I believe I have included all of the needed information below including FULL band links and I also researched hotels and area places to go.

As all of you know my website promotes and attends up to 175 festivals yearly, this one is nothing short of stellar, so please if you are out in that area support this event.

Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn     

The Wood Brothers
Mother’s Finest
Peter Rowan
Donna The Buffalo
Steep Canyon Rangers
Chatham County Line
Rev Jeff Mosier Band
Jim Lauderdale
Verlon thompson
Shawn Camp
River Whyless
Willie Sugarcapps
Joe Craven And The Sometimers
Seth Walker
The Revelers
The Lee Boys
Amanda Anne Platt And The Honeycutters
Nation Of Two
The Grass Is Dead
Rumpke Mountain Boys
Richie And Rosie 
Grandpa’s Cough Medicine
The Pine Box Dwellers

Dread Clampitt    

Katie Skene    

Belle and The Band    

LPT

The Adventures of Annabelle Lyn    

Quartermoon    

Sloppy Joe

The Walker Family Band    

The Dunehoppers    

Jeff Bradley

Habanero Honeys  

Suwannee Spirit Kids

Tania & Magic Moon Traveling Circus

All Suwannee Roots Revival weekend tickets include primitive camping. The Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park is over 700 acres of spacious and shaded camping areas. Primitive camping is on a first come, first served system. There is plenty of room for your car at your campsite.

RV Hook Ups & Upgraded Sites

The Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park offers hundreds of RV upgrades with power and water hook-ups plus dozens of cabins for rent at the festival. All RV upgrades and cabin rentals are the park’s business, not the music festival’s. Please call the park office for information, rates and reservations. 386 364-1683 You are welcome to bring your RV for free if you won’t need the water and electric upgrades.

Local Hotel Options

Holiday Inn Express
386-362-2600, located at 6694 US 129 N in Live Oak, Florida. This lodge includes a swimming pool, fitness center and continental breakfast. In the room there is a coffee pot, hair dryer, cable TV, iron and ironing board; suites include microwave, refrigerators, smoking & non smoking rooms, queen and king beds, data ports, and a Jacuzzi.

Quality Inn
386-362-6000, located at 6819 US Hwy 129 in Live Oak, Florida. This lodge includes a swimming pool and continental breakfast. In the rooms there are a coffee pot, hairdryer, iron and ironing board, cable TV, microwave, refrigerator, and many more amenities.

Econo Lodge
386-362-7459, located at 6811 N Us Hwy 129 in Live Oak, Florida. This lodge includes a heated swimming pool and a continental breakfast. Other amenities include coffee pot, cable TV, double beds, and laundry facilities.

Also as I research this event,I’ll be adding MORE hotel options and places to enjoy your stay.

 

Driving Directions & Travel Info

Located just north of Live Oak, Fla, the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park is a one-of-a-kind music park and premier campground nestled on the shady banks of the historic, tea-colored Suwannee River in North Florida. The Spirit of the Suwannee is proud to host a variety of events throughout the year. In addition to these events, the park offers live music during the week in the Music Hall and a natural amphitheater for outdoor music festivals.

The grounds include 700+ acres for camping, hiking, canoeing, bird watching, jogging, observation at the world’s largest bat house, Way Down Upon the Suwannee River Trail Ride and New Year’s Eve Party, putt putt golf and pro-quality disc golf, a honey bee observation exhibit, beautiful rental cabins (and custom built cabins for sale), RV parking with full hookups, electric and water sites, shower and bath houses, full service restaurant, golf cart rentals, the Arts and Crafts Village, Country Store and much, much more. Or, you can just hang your hammock between two trees, put your feet up and relax as you listen to the quiet sounds of nature all around you

Need more information?

The Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park is conveniently located near Live Oak, Florida, between Interstates 75 and 10.

Festival Entrance GPS Address

9379 County Road 132, Live Oak, Fl 32060

From I-10

Take exit 283 and go north on US 129 4.5 miles.

From I-75

Take exit 451 and proceed south 4.5 miles. Keep an eye out for our sign!

Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park & Campground is centrally located to over 500 Florida Tourist Attractions within 2 ½ hours driving time.

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I had the pleasure of taking ‘5 Shots’ with the very talented Erin Enderlin today & I am proud to bring you the results of that & introduce you all to this amazing singer/songwriter.

Round 1 ~ How long have you been a singer songwriter and how did you 1st get started?

Well, I was that weird kid. I fell in love with country music super early. I even took a Conway Twitty record for show and tell in kindergarten. By the time I was in 4th grade I was writing songs and performing them for my music class. Then I started playing shows in public at 16.

I had the honor of talking to Cole & Kendra of Porter Union right after they got home from playing the Tumbleweed festival and these are some of the most down to Earth, genuinely nice people that I know. It is my pleasure to bring you this exclusive Q&A that I did with them. Hope you enjoy. 🙂

Round 1 ~ How did you guys first meet each other?

We met at a small bar & grill in our hometown, Republic, MO, in 2010. I played there regularly and Kendra was a waitress. One night I was just hanging out up there with some buddies. They had a karaoke DJ set up in the corner. We were no karaoke pros but every now again we’d tie on a good one and give it a go. I guess this was one of those nights. We were sitting at our table when Kendra walked by. She was fairly new there and so I was asking my friends about the new waitress. They kept trying to get me to go ask her to sing karaoke with me, they were convinced it was a good pickup line. Being one of “those nights” I had plenty of courage to work with and finally agreed. She was standing at a register near us putting in an order when I decided to go for it. I asked her and she immediately answered with, “sure!”. Her confident and quick response kind of stunned me. Usually it’s like pulling teeth trying to get someone to sing karaoke and I was expecting to have to put some work in to convince her. I had no idea she could sing. We went over to the DJ to pick a song and somehow landed on “Whiskey Lullaby”. My part was first and I quickly realized I didn’t know the song very well, even with the words in front of me. I fumbled my way through my part, and then Kendra started singing. My jaw dropped. I couldn’t believe the incredible voice that I was hearing. To me, it was fate. I was pretty well hooked from that moment on.

Round 2 ~ Do you guys own any pets, if so can you tell us about them?

We have a dog, Dolly Porter, and a cat, Loretta Lynn. Dolly is a 3 year old Australian Shepherd / Corgi mix and Loretta is the spawn of Satan.

Round 3 ~ When your not playing or writing music what is your favorite thing to do?

We really love spending time with our families. We like to hangout by the water and go hiking when we get the chance, but we’re also really good at watching Netflix. We definitely like to get out and catch live music, that never fails to inspire.

Round 4 ~ If you had to say one person, who would you say influenced your musical style the most?

For me, Jason Boland is probably my biggest influence. I found his music at an important time in my life and it really lit a fire in me. For Kendra (she’s driving) it’s Lee Ann Womack. That was the first cassette tape the she every owned. She fell in the love with her story telling and the way she sang.

Round 5 ~ Are you guys sports fans, if so what teams do you support?

We are sports fans but the only team that I’d say we’re passionate about is the Kansas City Chiefs. Arrowhead Stadium is one of the greatest places on Earth.

Last Call….Open message to your fans

2017 has been one of the best years of our lives thanks to everyone that has shown us so much love. It’s really a crazy feeling to see all your hard work start to pay off and we couldn’t be more thankful for all the people that have stood beside us. That’s the kind of thing that keeps you moving forward even during the tough times. We love you guys.

I love that I am able to bring you all this week’s ‘5 Shots’. It is heartfelt & real because that is just the kind of person Josh Morningstar is. I consider this guy family & I am very happy that I am able to be a small part in spreading his story and his music. I hope you guys enjoy this read as much as I did.

Round 1 – You have a new album about to be released can you tell us a little about it?

The new record, “Whole Lotta Crazy” comes out Sept. 29th. It’s the culmination of the last few years of my life-ups, downs, etc. All the songs except for one (“Memories Cost A lot” written by Billy Don Burns) were written by me and brought to life by the excellent group of musicians I’m lucky to have not only as my band but as my friends. They are:
Bobby Miller-lead guitar
Greg Johnson-steel guitar
Michelle Lucas-bass and background vocals
Eric Avey-drums and background vocals
This is EASILY the best record I’ve ever made. The musicians are all top notch and I feel the songs are as well. I write my life-if I’m singing it, I lived it, simple as that. To quote the great Harlan Howard, “three chords and the truth.”

Round 2 – You openly mention your past issues with drugs in your songs, Could you tell us some about you past and your story so maybe hearing it will help someone else out there that is in the darkness find the light?

I’m a recovering heroin addict. Good Lord willing I’ll have 6 years clean October 17th. I was bad on the shit-at my worst I was shooting up 2 grams of heroin a day, which for those unfamiliar is a lot of dope. I was the worst kind of junkie-I lied, I stole, I did anything I could to get my next fix. I was a bad person and a bad father. Rehabs, NA, none of that worked for me. I woke up one morning, dope sick as hell, looked in the mirror and made up my mind that I was either gonna overdose and kill myself that day, or I was gonna get clean. I chose to get clean. Still deciding if I made the right choice (that’s a joke lol). I talk about it openly bc I like helping those who are where I was. I risk being labeled “the drug guy” by those that don’t understand where I’m coming from, and sometimes that bothers me, but it would bother me more if I didn’t help others. That’s the main reason I’m so open about it-I want to show people that you CAN make it out, that you CAN change, that it CAN be better. There is light at the end of the tunnel.

Round 3 – I know that you just got married to your wife Tess, can you tell us how you guys met and the story there?

Tess and I met after she stalked me on Facebook lol. She waited til I was single, when she saw that I was she sent me a msg that said “hey.” I thought she was beautiful so I asked her out. She agreed, then she cancelled the day we were supposed to go out-turns out a friend of hers knew me and knew my reputation and had convinced her that I wasn’t right for her. Luckily she ended up not listening, apologized for cancelling, and we went out the next night. I’ll spare you the details, but let’s just say I sang her “Blues Man” by Hank Jr., and the next morning when we woke up we went to church together lol.

Round 4 – Most of your fans know that you love Billy Don Burns can you tell us about that relationship and who some of your other major musical influences are?

Where to begin. Billy Don tells the story of the first time we met like this (these are his words):
“I was playing at some little honky tonk down on Lower Broadway in Nashville. Before the show started, I was onstage tuning my guitar. This kid walks up to me, doesn’t say a word, just opens up his shirt. He had the name of one of my songs, “Honky Tonk Singer,” tattooed across his chest. I knew right then and there that that kid had heart and that I liked him.”
That story is true, and that’s exactly how we met. I’d known BD’s music long before I’d ever met him-the first song of his I heard was “Dark Side of the Spoon.” As a junkie at the time that song hit me like no other song ever had before. I immediately dove into his catalog. I studied every song he had recorded, and to this day have every one of them memorized-it makes me smile that when he can’t remember how a song starts or what key a certain song is in he calls me. He’s taught me so much-not only about songwriting and the music business, but about life. We’ve done a lot of the same stuff right, but maybe more importantly, a lot of the same stuff wrong. He’s been the best teacher a guy like me could ask for-aside from that, he’s the best friend a guy could have. BD is one of a kind, and if I never receive any other “accolades” from the music business, knowing that Billy Don Burns told me were cut from the same cloth is all the praise I’ll ever need.
Other than BDB, some of my other musical influences are guys like Hank Sr., Waylon, Dale Watson, George Jones, Lefty Frizzell, the Hag, Kristofferson, and Keith Whitley. I’m a student of the history of country music and try to add a little from each person I look up to into my own music. I try to write honestly like ol’ Hank and Kristofferson; I try to be smooth vocally like Haggard, Jones, Keith and Lefty; I try to purvey the same kind of energy onstage as guys like Waylon and Dale. Obviously those guys are in a league of their own and I’m not even on the same field, but I do my best to make my heroes proud.

Round 5 – What is some of your favorite things to do outside of the music World?

I really don’t have a lot of things I do outside of music-it’s pretty much my whole life. If I’m not writing songs I’m booking shows; if I’m not booking shows I’m trying to think of creative marketing strategies; if it’s not that it’s something else. It goes on and on. I guess studying the history of country music would be something you could say I do for fun-I can talk for hours and hours about where our kinda music came from. We can go back to Jones and Haggard, or further back to Hank and Lefty. We could go all the way back to Jimmie Rodgers and The Carter family. I’ve only met three people that know more about country music than I do: Gary Hayes, Sara Leann Turner, and Owen Mays. Sadly Owen is no longer with us. I’m not saying there aren’t more people out there than that that know more about the history of our kinda music than I do-obviously there are-just that those are the only ones I’ve personally met. Aside from my wife and kids, country music is my life.
PS-
Oh yeah, we watch “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia” and “The Office” in the tour van. I like those shows.

Last Call – this is an open message to your fans.

I don’t have “fans,” I have friends. It’s bc of the people that enjoy my music that I’m able to feed my family and put a roof over their heads. That’s not something a “fan” does-that’s what friends do. I’m not a “headline” act-I’m not selling out shows, or selling all kinds of records. I’m a road dog-we do 300+ shows a year. We play the bars, the joints, the honky tonks. We roll into town, have a good time with our friends, then we head to the next one and do it over again. It’s bc of the people that enjoy my music that keep me going. If you like what I do, tell someone else about me. Come to a show. Tune into “Good Morning Live” Monday thru Friday at 10am Eastern on my Facebook page. I make music for my friends, but I also do it bc I have to. I do it bc if I don’t, well, I’ve been down that road-it ends with me dying a broken down junkie. Country music is my whole life, and I love it. It’s what I do, and it’s what I’ll always do. However, without you guys there’s no me. So from my heart, from my family and myself, thank you. I love you all.

I first met Tennessee Jet on Dec. 2nd 2016 in Nashville Tennessee at 3rd & Lindsley, he was opening for Ward Davis and Cody Jinks. I was highly impressed by him and have been a fan ever since. I contacted him and asked if he would be interested in being on the page and his response was “It would be an honor” which really meant a lot to me and I felt the same way so I will say it is an honor to bring you all this ‘5 Shots’ with my friend TJ McFarland. If you enjoy please like this page for future interviews and share so we can help spread Tennessee Jet’s music. Thanks!

Round 1 ~ I’m always amazed when I watch you perform because you do it all by yourself. How many intruments are you able to play and how many do you normally play at the same time on stage?

TJ ~ My typical setup gives me the option to play drums, guitars, and harmonica with a couple mics set up for vocals…one distorted and one clean. There are a few songs I’ll play guitar with my left hand and the drums with my feet and right hand while singing and taking solos with the harmonica. My style was born out of necessity…trying to make the biggest sound possible as a one-man-band.

Round 2 ~ I have always been impressed by the lyrics in your songs. How old were you when you wrote your first song, do you remember any of the lyrics to it?

TJ ~ I’ve written as far back as I can remember, not always songs…a lot of little short stories and what I guess you could call poetry…not really knowing why, writing was just something I always did. I started putting words to music when I was probably 15 or 16. Really traditional country stuff.

Round 3 ~ Your real name is TJ McFarland, where does your stage name ‘Tennessee Jet’ come from?

TJ ~ I was living in Nashville when I came up with the name…that’s where the “Tennessee” part comes from….and ”Jet” is the name of James Dean’s character in the movie “Giant”. That’s the movie dialogue you hear in the background of “Please Come to Austin” from my ‘Reata’ record.

Round 4 ~ Most people think that being a musician is an amazing job and for the most part it is but those of us that are around it all the time know that it also has it’s negitives. What is your favorite thing and least favorite thing about being a musician?

TJ ~ Favorite thing: Creating and pushing myself to learn a new way to write or play.
Least favorite thing: I think the worst days of this gig pale in comparison to the worst days of most other jobs like being a soldier or a cop…and I HATE
it when musicians whine.

Round 5 ~ What are some of your favorite things to do outside of the music World?

TJ ~ I watch westerns…usually Clint Eastwood…and drink…usually Jim Beam.

Last Call ~ This section is an open message to your fans, so you can tell them anything you would like them to know.

TJ ~ Thanks for asking me to do this Josh. I’m glad to know you and people like you that have such a passion for music and the musicians that they dig.

Video Credit goes to Lynn Hillis

I have been a fan of Dallas Moore‘s music for a long time. I have been trying to get out to see him live for a couple years now but every time I got tickets something would come up in my life to prevent me from going. I finally got to see him on September 16th 2017 in Bowling Green Kentucky. I was blown away and can’t wait to see him again. Him and his band were amazing but beyond that they we so friendly and treated you like part of the family. I love artist like that and I will continue to recommend him to anyone that will listen. Thank you for taking the time to do this brother, I will see you again soon. Please remember to like this page for future interviews and share this article to help spread Dallas‘ music, Thanks!

Round 1 ~ How many shows do you usually play each year, do you enjoy all the traveling?

Dallas ~ I play over 300 shows a year between solo, duo and full band shows. This year (2017) finds me playing 327 shows total. I keep the roads hot!

Round 2 ~ If you could hand pick one artist today who would you want to cut a song with and why them?

Dallas ~ Willie Nelson of course! I’ve toured with Willie in the past but never recorded with him. The late, great Jody Payne (Willie’s guitarist of nearly 40 years) was my Godfather and we recorded my Hank To Thank Live album together and Mickey Raphael (Willie’s Harmonica player of 42 years) played some tracks on my upcoming album. Now if we could just get Willie that’d be awesome!

Round 3 ~ What is your favorite song that you have written so far and why?

Dallas ~ I don’t know that I have a favorite song that I have written. They’re all my creations and I love them all in their own way. My favorite song by another songwriter would be Live Forever by Billy Joe Shaver.

Round 4 ~ Can you tell us about Victory? How is she doing

Dallas ~ My daughter Victory Lee Moore was born on June 14th, 2017. She just turned 3 months old and is doing great. She’s such a happy little baby and her Mama, Jenna Danielle Moore and I are blessed beyond measure!

Round 5 ~ What is your favorite thing to do outside of the music World, what other hobbies does Uncle Dallas have?

Dallas ~ I ride my Harley Davidson Road King every chance I get. Whenever I can get my knees in the breeze it’s a great day for Ol’ Uncle Dallas. It’s also when I come up with most of my lyrics to write new songs. Out on the road it’s the best way to clear my head and beats the Hell out of therapy!

Last Call ~ This is an open message to your fans so just tell them whatever you want to.

Dallas ~ I can’t wait to get my new album Mr. Honky Tonk out for y’all to hear! We recorded this one at OmniSound and Beaird Studios in Nashville with Dean Miller (son of Roger Miller) producing. I believe it’s by far the best recording I’ve ever made and we got really great cuts on all of these songs. The album will be released on SOL Records in February 2018 and we’ll be touring all over the country in support of it. Limited Edition Preorder Packages are available now at www.dallasmoore.com