Willie Nelson needs to solve Austin City Limits' studio problem

By Blair Lovern

I love the Austin City Limits show, I mean who the hell doesn't? But in the back of my mind I have always thought the studio was dumpy. On TV the audience sits there in the dark, they look kind of blurry; Austin is always dark. I remember the first time I went to Austin in the daylight, it freaked me out.

Hopefully, Willie will change all this.

I can't find an audience shot but I found this photo from the Audio Engineering Society of Central Texas, who took a group photo onstage one day. You can kind of get the idea. Whatever. You know what I'm talking about anyway. But look at those engineers - these are exactly the people we need to solve this lighting problem. I don't care if they're "audio" - they know how to finagle stuff:

December 4, 2006

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How to write a country music hit

By Blair Lovern

Interesting read by Nashville songwriter D. Vincent Williams, originally from Lufkin, Texas, in the latest issue of Hall of Fame magazine - Your Connection To Greatness. I was clueless about this magazine until about five minutes ago, when I found it by accident. Its executive editor is eight-time Emmy Award-winner, Armen Keteyian. Again, I had no idea he was doing this crap.

On to the excerpt:

"How to write a country music hit? We don't really write the hit songs, we just write them down. I heard it said once that in order to write a good song, you have to be willing to write a bad one. And until you write a good song, you'll never write a great song. It took eight years, 500 songs and one plane ticket home to prepare me for the hit. When I heard Gary Levox's voice singing my song, I had to walk out of the studio and regain my composure. Rascal Flatts thought I didn't like it. They had no idea that it was the best version I had ever heard of one of my songs."

November 14, 2006

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102.1 Edge's Chris Ryan on OnQ TV

By Blair Lovern

It ain't country but I've got the POWER computer in the office and video duties now fall to me. Check out the new interview. Chris gives some very simple, but keen, advice here for local bands wanting radio airplay, which is often overlooked.

November 9, 2006

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Raskal Flattski

By Blair Lovern

From the freakin' Kyiv Post, for pete's sake:

"Just recently Ukrainian showman Anton Mukharskiy released his first solo record called 'Zlokokhuchiy Man' (the adjective 'zlokokhuchiy' proved impossible to translate into English) – an album of country music adapted to Ukrainian realities. According to Mukharskiy, who released an album under a different first name – Antin, the works presented on the album are “songs of an agrarian country performed in the style of village glamour.”

Agrarian country performed in the style of village glamo(u)r is basically their version of Raskal Flattski, da?

November 9, 2006

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Cross Canadian chart crap

By Blair Lovern

Courtesy Radio & Records and the R&R country chart: "In other retail developments, Craig Morgan's Little Bit of Life (Broken Bow) arrives with 17,000 scans at No. 13 on Top Country Albums, followed by a No. 19 start by Willie Nelson's Songbird (Lost Highway/UMGN), with 12,000 copies. Cross Canadian Ragweed's Back to Tulsa: Live and Loud at Cain's Ballroom (Universal South) bows at No. 27 (8,500 copies), while Tracy Byrd's Different Things (Blind Mule) pops on at No. 36 (6,000 units)."

November 8, 2006

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Chicks and Cash

By Blair Lovern

Yeah, I can rip the Dixie Chicks. But here is some cool info. to pass along. From countryaircheck.com, which for now comes to you only in glorious PDF: "The world premiere of the video for Johnny Cash's "God's Gonna Cut You Down" will air tomorrow (11/9) on CMT, MTV and VH1. Kris Kristofferson, Dixie Chicks, Bono, Justin Timberlake, Jay Z, Keith Richards, Johnny Depp and Kanye West are among the three-dozen celebrities paying tribute to Cash in the clip. The video will air first on CMT Top 20 Countdown at 4pm ET, with MTV and VH1 airing it simultaneously at 11pm ET."

November 8, 2006

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Geez Louise - er, Faith

By Blair Lovern

I wouldn't normally post anything about the CMA award show last night, and you may have seen this brief video on Drudge or something. In case you did not, it's kinda ridiculous. Look at her reaction when she loses to Carrie Underwood. What a pro.

But I must say, if other people had the same reactions on camera I'd watch these awful programs.

November 7, 2006

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Country rocks

By Blair Lovern

From Forbes this morning, you Forbes-loving Forbesers:

"Music sales this year are down again, burnt by file sharing and CD burning, among other reasons: So far this year music buyers have bought 423 million units, down 5.2% from a year ago, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Rap and R&B fans in particular have kept their money in their wallet: Both genres are down about 22%.

"But country sales are up 9.6%, and the genre's overall market share has increased to 12.7% , up from 10.9% a year ago. (The only other genre that has shown significant growth this year is Latin music, boosted in large part by the success of hip-hop inflected reggaeton.)"

Here's a chart for you chart-loving charters out there:

November 3, 2006

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Welcome to Clueless City

By Blair Lovern

To paraphrase a friend of mine - as if any of you all know or care - but nonetheless: Vince Gill never sang a country song in his life.

I now put on my white gloves and present to you this giant pile of crap on a silver platter in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

October 31, 2006

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Eye of the Tiger

By Blair Lovern

I love golf. Some people hate it. But I love it. You know why? Because it's you versus the course or you versus your fellow man. You are out there to kick someone's or something's ass. No one can help you. It's not a pansy game. It's you out there alone. It's you who must tackle the world. You, I say! Face to face, out in the heat, hanging tough, staying hungry, they stack the odds until we take to the street, for we kill with the skill to survive. Golf to me is Rocky III, dammit.

Below are the best golfers in the country music business, thanks to CMT.com:

"Steve Azar, Vince Gill and Marty Roe are among the top musician golfers, according to the latest issue of Golf Digest. Gill comes in second on the list behind sax player Kenny G. Diamond Rio's Roe and Azar land at third and fourth place. Rudy, Larry and Steve Gatlin enter at No. 6, 7 and 8, respectively. Other country artists on the list include (in order of appearance) Mac Davis, George Strait, Clay Walker, Glen Campbell, Ray Benson, Kix Brooks, Joe Diffie, John Michael Montgomery, Pat Green, Mark Miller, Anne Murray (the highest rated woman on the list, tied at No. 40), Toby Keith, Charley Pride, Trace Adkins, Willie Nelson, Eric Church, Clint Black and the Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines."

You may read about all musical golfers here, courtesy Golf Digest, which must be filled with a staff having zero to do all day but figure out the best musical golfers. What a pansy job. By the way: In case you didn't read above correctly, King Pansy (Kenny G) is the #1 overall musical golfer.

p.s. - King Pansy will soon be in town for not one, not two, but three nights.

October 31, 2006

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