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The Blog
I moved to Nashville in 1992 and stood in line at the famous Bluebird Café to sing one verse and chorus of a song for a panel of judges. If it goes well, you are asked to come back to play three songs several months later. The results would come in a letter a few weeks later.
I remember my first recording session in Nashville. I had written an uptempo song that I thought was a smash. As I was directing the band, the piano player/band leader said, "You know, this is really a ballad." I was stunned. And I was too intimidated to speak up for myself.
We put a piano in our bookstore. People come in, sit down and play. Sometimes they sing. That's when I'm certain that Nashville is like no place else in the world.
The backyard chicken trend is becoming more and more prevalent these days. But in many North American cities, keeping a flock of hens is still illegal.
The lyrics of country music are stories of heartbreak and small towns, of high schools crushes and hard times -- of nights where we drink too much, and the way we feel when we fall in love. It's the soundtrack to life in many parts of America.
Butterfly Boucher has experienced a roller coaster of emotions in life, love and career since coming to America from her Australian homeland in 2001. On her self-titled third album, she shares all those feelings with you.
ABC's slate tends to typically skew towards soaps or family programming; but this year, it looks as though they want to expand into the kind of show that might be at home on a more action-oriented network like Fox.
My favorite stop was Layla's Bluegrass Hillbilly and Country Inn. The wooden floor was shaking with fun and I knew this was the spot for my next beer.
What do you do when your dreams don't work out? You redefine those dreams. You reframe them. Make new ones. Some people say the best years are in the past. I would strongly beg to differ.
A pair of sisters met a pair of brothers and became four of a promising kind. Known as The Vespers, this grounded group of homegrown musicians have Nashville in their blood but down-to-earthier ideals in their souls.
In 1969 I went to Woodstock. The girls all around me were going crazy for the musicians on stage. If any of those players had come down off the stage and walked through the crowd they would have had girls clinging to them like dryer sheets on a pair of freshly dried socks. I wanted that.
At first glance it might not seem that President Obama and kid-rocker Justin Bieber have much in common. But both men had just a tad too much altitude going through the doorway of aircraft and -- boom! -- the celebrity noggins got a good crack while the paparazzi snapped photos.
Why would you ride on Greyhound instead of driving -- or grabbing a train or plane?
As New York began to rebuild from September 11, 2001 and move into the 21st century, a new wave of younger people became successful art dealers. Scott Zieher and Andrea Smith helped lead the way.
The class act formed in 2006 by singer-songwriters Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood, known collectively as Lady Antebellum, is Nashville's hottest power trio, and their numbers don't lie.
What started out as a mild infatuation developed into a deep affection. So after repeated spins of Sugar + the Hi-lows' debut album, it's time to spread a little lovin'.
