CMA CLOSE UP: FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE SET NEW BOUNDARIES

By Chuck Dauphin

© 2015 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

Florida Georgia Line accept their Vocal Duo of the Year Award at the 2014 CMA Awards.

Photo credit: John Russell

Ask reigning CMA Vocal Duo of the Year Florida Georgia Line about the moment they knew they had something special with their debut single “Cruise,” and Tyler Hubbard says he can pinpoint the time and place.

“I think it was the Country Throwdown Tour in the summer of 2012,” he recalled. “That was a moment where we thought that things were starting to turn for us. People were beginning to recognize who we were. It was then that things really started to spread. Since then, it’s been a crazy ride.”

“Every show we played after releasing that song, things got better and better for our set,” agreed Hubbard’s duo partner, Brian Kelley. “People were buying the EP, our old stuff, and looking up YouTube videos of what we had covered, to make sure they knew that too.”

The Republic Nashville duo enjoyed a similar reaction to their sophomore effort, Anything Goes, which debuted at No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 and Top Country Album charts and has been certified Gold. “Everything you hear on the album is something that (producer) Joey Moi brought to the table,” Hubbard insisted. “We call him the Wizard. He understands our dream, our vision and our sound, and who we are and what we represent. If it’s up to us, we’ll never let anyone else touch our music.”

Tyler Hubbard, producer Joey Moi and Brian Kelley.

Photo credit: Jason Mrusek

Scott Borchetta, Founder/President/CEO of Big Machine Label Group, is also essential to the duo’s process. “Any time you have somebody who has been as successful as Scott on multiple levels of the industry, you have to listen to him,” said Kelley. “He gives great advice. His leadership is incredible. His vision is out of this world. When he speaks up with an idea, it’s pretty much greatness that comes from his mouth. He’s so driven and business-savvy. We’ve known that since Day One, and it’s cool to learn as much as we can from him.”

Jimmy Harnen is another important player in the Anything Goes story. “We had the pleasure of listening to it as it was being made,” said the Executive VP/ Big Machine Label Group and President of Republic Nashville. “We heard the demos and the rough mixes. It was always fun to watch as they built the follow-up to a great record. There were so many high points to Anything Goes, but at the same time, it maintains the core of Florida Georgia Line.”

This widening of the FGL sound may be what it takes to build on their already exploding fan base. “It’s amazing to see how music can touch so many people and turn them into Country Music fans,” Hubbard observed. “One of our best compliments is hearing that someone might not have listened to Country Music before we came out, and now they love it. We look forward to the meet-and-greets where we hear their stories. It’s so great to see them out in the crowd, letting loose and having a good time. That’s what we do it for.”

On the Web: www.FloridaGeorgiaLine.com

On Twitter: @FLAGAline

CMA CLOSE UP: CMA SONG OF THE YEAR WINNERS FOLLOW THEIR ARROW

Shane McAnally, Kacey Musgraves and Brandy Clark share Song of the Year honors at the 2014 CMA Awards.

Photo credit: John Russell

By Jeff Walter

© 2015 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

“Follow Your Arrow” still doesn’t sound like a Country hook to Shane McAnally.

This is despite the fact that McAnally, along with Brandy Clark and Kacey Musgraves, built on those three words to create the song that won Song of the Year honors at the 2014 CMA Awards.

“It sounded more like a pop hook,” said McAnally, who added that Musgraves had asked if she could take it to her friend Katy Perry, the pop and Super Bowl sensation. “It sounded more like a sign or a bumper sticker.”

Truth be told, Country radio appeared to agree, as the song peaked at No. 43 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. “It’s the lowest-charting single I’ve ever been a part of,” said Musgraves, who recorded it for Same Trailer Different Park, her critically acclaimed major-label debut on Mercury Nashville. “And it’s done more for me.”

“Follow Your Arrow” has touched a lot of people. “Country Music is supposed to be the truth-telling, storytelling format,” Clark observed. “Whether it’s my truth, Shane’s truth, Kacey’s truth or yours, it’s somebody’s truth. It’s great that people recognized that.”

Though “Follow Your Arrow” has been celebrated and condemned for its support of marijuana and same-sex relationships, the writers insist it’s about far more than that. Indeed, Clark and McAnally, the first openly gay artists/writers to receive a CMA Award, express hope that someday such distinctions won’t matter.

“I don’t think we were making some big gay statement or some big drug statement,” said McAnally.

“People try to highlight those parts of the song, but we’re encouraging the other side too,” Musgraves added. “It’s just … “

“Be. Who. You. Are,” McAnally chimed in.

These days, when in Nashville, Clark, McAnally and Musgraves get together for a weekly writing session. With “Follow Your Arrow,” Musgraves showed up with a melody, a hook and a general idea for a song “to encourage people to go with their internal compass.” Her inspiration was an arrow necklace she had given to a friend who was going to Paris for four months. She included a card with a little poem that read “Follow your arrow wherever it points.”

“I thought that would be cool to put in a song,” she said.

It mostly came together in around two hours, with Clark and McAnally helping to shape it and lend it a little more of a narrative feel. They reconvened the next day to write the summarizing bridge: “Say what you think. / Love who you love. / ’Cause you just get so many trips ’round the sun. / Yeah, you only, only live once.”

For Clark, the power of “Follow Your Arrow” continues to unfold on the road. “People tell me what that song has meant to them,” she said, shaking her head in amazement. “I mean, it’s like ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ to some people. It’s really cool to know that we had something to do with maybe someone walking a little taller that day, feeling like, ‘My parents don’t accept me, but I’m OK in my own skin.’”

NEW ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: THE SWON BROTHERS

By Bob Doerschuk

© 2014 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc. Photo Credit: Jeremy Cowart

Whatever Merle Haggard and his pals did or didn’t smoke long ago in Muskogee, Oklahoma, one couple there managed to raise Colton and Zach Swon on a diet of strong values and good music. As toddlers, the brothers debuted with Exodus, the Swon family’s band. Zach was just 9 or 10 when he took over its drum chair, with Colton already entertaining up front and in the spotlight.

 After they cut down on touring and concentrated on building a residency at Wagoner, Oklahoma’s Civic Center, the band broadened beyond its Southern gospel style. They covered everyone from Michael Jackson to Elvis to Frank Sinatra, complete with appropriate stage costumes. Their typically sold-out shows soon propelled Colt and Zach into a duo career. They moved to Nashville, began writing their own songs and won national exposure as members of Team Blake on NBC’s “The Voice.”

With the Oct. 14 release of their self-titled debut album on Arista Nashville, produced by Mark Bright and The Swon Brothers, their momentum accelerated. Whether riding a dance beat prickled by banjo and a few well-placed turntable scratches on “95” (written by Ryan Hurd, Frank Rogers and Brad Tursi) or surfing surging dynamics on the ballad “Breaking” (Derek Southerland and Jamie Moore), their voices trade solo spots and twine in tight synchronicity, often free of vibrato but always rich in expression. This “Swon song” augurs a bright future.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

ACTOR WHO’D PORTRAY YOU IN A BIOPIC

COLTON: “Paul Rudd or Owen Wilson.”

ZACH: “Jack Black.”

WHAT YOU’D BE IF NOT A MUSICAL ARTIST

COLTON: “Coach in the NFL.”

ZACH: “”Football player in the NFL.”

MOMENT YOU’D LOVE TO RELIVE

COLTON: “Suiting up to play football.”

ZACH: “Singing with Bob Seger.”

SOMETHING WE’D NEVER GUESS ABOUT YOU

“Zach gets pedicures and Colton hates velvet.”

On the Web: www.SwonBrothers.com

On Twitter: @TheSwonBrothers

CMA CLOSEUP NEW ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: DANIEL LEE

Photo Credit: Lyn Sengupta

By Bob Doerschuk

© 2014 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

Daniel Lee isn’t the first young Country artist to write about trucks, beer and ball caps. But he’s found a few fresh perspectives on these tropes.

Consider “Hell Yeah,” one of five solo-writes on his debut album Roots, available now from Average Joes Entertainment. This is a flat-out exercise in braggadocio. He hollers out that he’s a “throw-down fighter,” a “Mason jar sipper” and “one crazy S.O.B.” His litany owes less to Music Row than to Mike Fink, the frontier riverboat legend who informed the patrons of countless saloons, “I’m a Salt River roarer! I’m a ringtailed squealer! I’m a reg’lar screamer from the ol’ Massassip!”

Whether consciously or not, Lee invests his lyrics with a kind of folk eloquence and delivers them with swagger, sensitivity and/or pain, whatever is most appropriate. Another self-penned song mirrors “Hell Yeah,” this time conveying adoration to his true love through more-than-clever metaphors: “I’m a freight train ready to go off any minute and you’re the track that keeps me in line,” he assures on “To Me.” And a third solo composition, “For Sale Sign,” turns prosaic want-ad copy into a confession that the object being sold is “this heart of mine.” Sounds corny, yes, but it also feels real and works beautifully.

This Winder, Georgia, native is already writing and performing like a truck-bed, bar-brawl poet.

For more on Daniel Lee, visit www.CMACloseUp.com.

IN HIS OWN WORDS

MUSICAL HERO

“It's a tie between Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings.”

SONG YOU’D LOVE TO COVER

“‘Iris,’ by the Goo Goo Dolls.”

PET PEEVE

“Being hung up on.”

ACTOR WHO COULD PLAY YOU IN A BIOPIC

“Whoever is crazy enough at the time!”

LUCKY CHARM

“It’s a little piece of metal that I engraved ‘luck’ into. I wear it around my right boot.”

On the Web: www.DanielLeeOfficial.com

On Twitter: @DanielLeeMusic

CMA CLOSEUP: CMA BRINGS COUNTRY MUSIC TO PUBLIC TELEVISION

By Bob Doerschuk

© 2014 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood of Lady Antebellum

 perform on “Front and Center.” -  Photo Credit: Donn Jones

On June 25, CMA and live concert television series “Front and Center” filmed two episodes celebrating the 10th anniversary of the CMA Songwriters Series, featuring CMA Award winners Dierks Bentley and Lady Antebellum onstage in intimate acoustic settings.

The Bentley performance will be made available to public television stations on Tuesday, Oct. 14. Songwriters Jim Beavers, Ross Copperman, Brett James and Jon Randall join him onstage in this one-hour broadcast.

Lady Antebellum showcases its hits, previews tracks from its fifth album 747, shares personal stories and anecdotes and invites songwriters Rodney Clawson, Tom Douglas, Josh Kear, Luke Laird and Abe Stoklasa to share the stage. This one-hour installment will be made available to public television stations on Tuesday, Oct. 28.

“Country Music is a genre based on the foundation of great songs,” said CMA CEO Sarah Trahern in New York City during a Sept. 3 press conference to reveal the final nominees for the 2014 CMA Awards. “Announcing the ‘Front and Center’ shows the same time we are recognizing our CMA Awards-nominated songwriters for the CMA Song of the Year was a natural fit and a great way to build excitement leading up to the Awards broadcast on Nov. 5.”

Dierks Bentley is joined by Jon Randall, Brett James, Jim Beavers and Ross Copperman

 at his “Front and Center” taping. - Photo Credit: Donn Jones

“We were privileged to be able to work with as prestigious an organization as CMA, to bring these compelling shows with Dierks and Lady Antebellum to public television,” said Don Maggi, Executive Producer, “Front and Center.” “They were truly special shows that we hope have laid the groundwork for future programming with CMA.”

“With its new CMA partnership, ’Front and Center‘ becomes an outlet for the true backbone of Country Music — the songs and the people who wrote them — to be laid bare,” noted Rolling Stone Country.

For air dates in your market, check your local public television station schedules.

CMA CLOSEUP: NEW ARTIST SPOTLIGHT - AMERICAN YOUNG

Photo Credit: Reid Rolls

By Bob Doerschuk

© 2014 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

When two artists, already wise to the ways of the Country Music world, form a duo, the result can be more varied than what you often get from sibling pairs.

When the twosome is Kristy Osmunson and Jon Stone, it can also be close to magic.

They have plenty in common. Both are American and, though well established in Nashville, young. Stone’s writing credits include “Me and My Gang” for Rascal Flatts, “A Woman Like You” for Lee Brice and “It Ain’t Yours to Throw Away” for fictitious superstar Gunnar Scott on “Nashville.” Osmunson sizzled on fiddle with another duo, Bomshel.

On June 24, Curb Records released their first digital EP, whose six tracks bubble with their chemistry and daringly defy convention. Their first single, “Love Is War” (written by Billy Montana, Kylie Sackley and Jonathan Singleton), eschews slamming backbeats and hillbilly swagger for simple, quiet harmonies and unisons over delicate, lutelike plucks and an almost evanescent drum part. Each takes a turn in the spotlight — Stone with tangible urgency on “Wasn’t Gonna Drink Tonight” (Lee Brice, Billy Montana and Stone), Osmunson with muted desperation on “God Sends a Train.”

Expect American Young to be making music this memorable well into adulthood.

For more on American Young, visit www.CMACloseUp.com.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

BOOK ON YOUR NIGHTSTAND

OSMUNSON: “The Do’s and Don’ts of Twerking.”

STONE: “Touring for Dummies.”

PET PEEVE

OSMUNSON: “Jon.”

STONE: “I don’t have a pet. I travel too much.”

FAVORITE MODE OF TRANSPORTATION

OSMUNSON: “Horse.”

STONE: “Teleportation – anything besides the back of a cop car.”

TITLE OF YOUR AUTOBIOGRAPHY

OSMUNSON: “Eat Dessert First.”

STONE: “Confusion Gets You Far in Life.”

FAVORITE FOOD ON THE ROAD

OSMUNSON: “Carrot juice and veggies – I’m pretty much a rabbit.”

STONE: “Anything local.”

SOMETHING WE’D NEVER GUESS ABOUT YOU

OSMUNSON: “I’m not really blond.”

STONE: “I can read.”

On the Web: www.AmericanYoung.com

On Twitter: @American_Young

CMA CLOSE UP: DOGS AND COUNTRY STARS ON THE ROAD

Carrie Underwood and Ace.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Carrie Underwood

By Crystal Caviness

© 2014 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

After a show in Indianapolis, Carrie Underwood walked off stage and straight to her dressing room, where she had left her beloved rat terrier, Ace. But when she opened the door, Ace wasn’t there … or so she thought.

In the absence of his “mom,” the agile and energetic little dog had jumped onto a folding chair, which of course folded right up, trapping him inside. “He didn’t make a sound, but eventually he was rescued,” Underwood recalled.

So goes life on the road with pets in tow.

Underwood is among a growing number of Country artists who can’t bear to leave their pets behind while traveling to gigs.

“They pretty much go everywhere with me,” said Underwood, referring to Ace and her second dog, a rescued dachshund mix named Penny. “I only leave them home if I’m just going to be gone for a few days. I just want to do what’s best for them. I know traveling is hard on them too. If they can stay at home with their dad (Underwood’s husband and Nashville Predators centerman Mike Fisher) or with a sitter, sometimes that’s the better option.”

Rodi and Chelsea Bain.

Photo Credit: Craig Campbell

Rodi, the 9-pound, long-haired dachshund that belongs to Country up-and-comer Chelsea Bain, knows no other life than by her mom’s side.

“When I first got Rodi, she was 8 weeks old,” Bain recalled. “Two days later, she was on the road. The best thing you can do is get a puppy and throw them into it. This is the life and this is normal. She’s going to know this is what we do. As long as she’s with me, she’s content.”

Bain totes Rodi on planes and the bus as she travels the United States, including shows at many NASCAR events. On planes, Rodi rides in her carrier, which slides beneath the seat. Though she gets nervous at the beginning of the flight, the puppy usually calms down after takeoff. But Bain suspects that anxiety could be sympathy fear.

“I am petrified to fly. When I’m scared, I feel like she’s scared. So I try to comfort her. Rodi is probably an emotional support dog and I don’t even know it,” Bain said, laughing.

Gwen Sebastian and Angel. 

Photo Credit: Michael Gomez

Flying Island Entertainment artist Gwen Sebastian’s dog, Angel, a rescued pit bull mix whose owner calls her “a pretty little mutt,” even has her own bunk on the bus. Unlike Rodi, Angel is usually calm and even works as a navigator of sorts.

“One of my favorite things on the road is when we’re driving on the bus,” Sebastian says. “She rarely hangs out with me. She sits next to the driver in the jump seat, watching out the window.”

All three artists admit that it can be challenging to travel with pets. But they also agree that it’s worth it.

“She just makes it feel like home because she is part of the family,” Sebastian said about Angel. “A dog wagging her tail or licking you is really cool at the end of the day. I guess it’s selfish in some ways, but it makes the end of the day really rewarding and it just feels good!”

Underwood agreed. “Ace and Penny are my little bits of home,” she said. “I love them so much and love having them waiting for me on the bus after every show. I love cuddling with them in whatever random hotel room I’m staying in. They are something that is constant in my life. They don’t care that I’m ‘Carrie Underwood.’ To them, I’m just Mom.”

CMA CLOSEUP NEW ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: LEAH TURNER

Photo Credit: Jeremy Cowart

By Bob Doerschuk

© 2014 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

Leah Turner was raised on a California ranch, the daughter of a rodeo champion. Her parents bought her a piano when she was 5. Within a year, inspired by the Country classics her mom and dad enjoyed, she had written her first song.

In a college songwriting class, she caught the ear of Kenny Loggins, who persuaded her to move to Los Angeles. But Turner, sensing that Nashville was more consonant with her sound and spirit, eventually booked a one-way ticket to Tennessee and began making herself known in the heart of the Country capital.

On her self-titled debut EP, released by Columbia Nashville and produced by Cary Barlowe, Jim Catino and Jesse Frasure, Turner’s talent explodes like a sunburst. Her singing is intense, with a rough timbre shaped by technical command and deep soulfulness. Each of these six songs rocks hard but at medium tempo, allowing Turner plenty of room to sculpt her delivery with delicate nuance.

When she needs to interpret a lyric carefully, as on “Beat Up Bronco” (written by Turner, Barlowe, Frasure and Hillary Lindsey), she does so; even on the “whoa, whoa” lick at the end of the chorus, she pours soul into her syllables. And when she needs to shout it out, nothing can stop her.

Turner’s grit, humor and talent suggest that the era of male chart domination in Country may soon be coming to an end.

For more on Leah Turner, visit www.CMACloseUp.com.

IN HER OWN WORDS

SONG YOU WISH YOU’D WRITTEN

“I really love ‘Love Can Build a Bridge’ by the Judds. I remember singing it as a little girl. There’s so much truth in that song.”

SONG YOU’D LOVE TO COVER

“Right now, I cover ‘Cowboy Take Me Away’ by Dixie Chicks.”

FIRST GIG

“The first time I played guitar out was in a place in L.A. called On the Rocks, on Sunset Boulevard. My mom, dad, my uncle and three other people came. I learned right there what Garth Brooks meant when he said if there’s only one person there, play like there were thousands.”

GREATEST PERFORMANCE TO DATE

“It was the second night of the Brad Paisley tour. The band was on. I felt on. The crowd was loving it. And I walked off of there with my band, feeling like, ‘Hell, yeah. We can do this’.”

On the Web: www.LeahTurner.com

On Twitter: @LeahTurnerMusic

CMA COUNTRY CLOSEUP - "LESSONS FROM A MUSIC VOCAL COACH"

Inside Tips from a Vocal Coach to the Stars

Gary Allan with Dr. Gaelynn Garrett.

Photo Credit: Anne Rayner / Vanderbilt

By Tricia Despres

© 2014 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

There was a time when a singer's voice disor­ders were mainly about crisis man­agement. But recently, preventative treatment has become important, es­pecially in Nashville, where the voice is one’s moneymaker.

“For many years when we saw an artist, it was very hush-hush,” said Dr. Gaelyn Garrett, Medical Director at the Vanderbilt Voice Center and an Associate Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology. “It was literally taboo to think something was wrong or say that something was wrong. Artists were scared. If they weren’t working, they weren’t getting paid, their band members weren’t getting paid, their agents weren’t getting paid … The list went on and on.

“But I think the labels now all recognize that it’s like professional sports — a knee injury is going to take out a football player as much as a voice injury is going to take out a singer,” added Garrett, whose clients have included Country stars Gary Allan and Josh Turner. “It behooves them to proceed with some preventative management.”

Besides the more serious vocal ailments that can occur, day-to-day problems with one’s voice can be common. Often, these nagging vocal issues stem from a number of factors.

LACK OF SLEEP “Lack of energy is often going to mean lack of breath support,” Garrett said. “Not having enough breath support is going to end up straining the muscles around the larynx, which is something we are seeing a lot of now.”

MUSCLE ISSUES “Any sort of neck or shoulder or back issues are going to have a secondary effect on how one uses their voice,” she added. “I have had patients who simply changed the way they were holding their guitar and ended up with some changes in their voice."

LACK OF WARM-UP TIME “I spend a good amount of time in the shower on show days doing the scales and slowly bring my voice up to where it’s supposed to be,” said Allan, who now goes into the Vanderbilt Voice Center for annual checkups. “If I do 10 shows in a row and I can’t talk, I’m going to have to warm up all day, starting with a bit of humming in the morning to get things going.”

LOUD SETTINGS “If I sing for two hours and then you put me in a loud room, talking over that noise just kills me,” said Turner. “To cut through that noise with a lower voice takes so much effort that it’s undoubtedly going to end up affecting my singing voice.”

“If 100 percent of voice performers could come into my office when everything is OK, we could have a baseline exam when they were in good voice that we could always go back to compare it to,” said Garrett, whose office hallways are filled with Gold albums of the singers she and the Vanderbilt Voice Center team has treated. “These performers live extraordinary lives with very busy schedules. But for the ones who do come in to see our team, getting them back on the road is the only thanks I need.”

CMA CLOSE UP - NEW ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: DOWNDAY

Photo Credit: Render Records

By Bob Doerschuk

© 2014 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

DownDay could fit in equally at CMA Music Festival or on a bill with Metallica. But the Arkansas quartet’s hearts are pure, if power-chorded, Country.

Christian Dean and Rockey Jones, along with bassist Damon Shores and drummer Mike Martin, signed with Render Records in April 2013. Nearly two months later, the label released the band’s earlier, regional album, Chapter 1, along with “Back in the Day” (written by Jones, Dean, Steve Freeman and David Oneal). From the structure of the song to the catchy chorus, that debut single leaned strongly toward Country and began earning adds within a month on Country radio.

Their first album for Render, After All These Years, produced by Steve Freeman and releasing May 26 on Render Records, stretches way beyond this foundation. Dreamy washes of piano, a moody minor key on the verses and anguished lead vocals wrap “Last Song” (Jones, Dean) in the cloak of metal balladry. And “Slide Me One More” (Dean) is nothing but voice and a ringing guitar playing slow, droning arpeggios.

But the lyrics draw from both vintage Haggard and modern Music Row, mourning, “I bet no one would ever miss a drunk like me.” A crunchy guitar and muscular Hammond organ riff do kick off “Crank It Up,” (Jones, Dean, Freeman) that’s true — but the lyrical bullet points are Country all the way: blacktops, cutoff jeans, beer cans and George Strait on the radio.

So mix in a little Dokken or Stryper with your Waylon! DownDay does — and it works.

For more on DownDay, visit www.CMACloseUp.com.

IN HIS OWN WORDS

MUSICAL HERO

DEAN: “Man, there are a lot of them, Paycheck to Haggard. They wrote and sang about their music, their way of life, so I try and do the same with my songs today. It lets people see the real you and that’s very important in my music."

SONG YOU SING IN THE SHOWER

JONES: “I always turn on Pandora ‘Drink a Beer’ radio on my phone when I get in. Whatever is on there at the time usually works. Sometimes we come on and I’m like ‘Hey, I sound just like that guy!’ LOL!”

LUCKY CHARM

DEAN: “A leather guitar strap my brother Rick gave me when he was in the Navy. I was in my teens. I still have that strap and it stays on my main guitar and is in our videos as well. I do not play a show without it. That strap shows the road I’ve been down to get here. Thank you, brother.”

JONES: “I have a football card in my wallet that my best friend gave me when we were kids. We were inseparable from age 5 until he passed away Monday, March 29, 1999, less than a month after his 21st birthday. It has been in my wallet for over 20 years now and it will be with me when they shovel the last bit of dirt on me. I’m never without it.”

On the Web: www.DownDayBand.com

On Twitter: @DownDay1

CMA CLOSE UP: COUNTRY STARS PAY TRIBUTE TO THEIR MUSIC TEACHERS

By Deborah Evans Price

© 2014 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

Ask just about anyone in Country Music today and you’ll likely find that music education was a cornerstone in the foundation of their careers.

“People would ask, ‘Why don’t you play basketball? You know you’re tall,’” said Chris Young, with a laugh. “I was like, ‘Well, basketball practice was always at the same time as choir rehearsal.’ Between the two of them, I picked choir and it seems to have worked out.”

Chris Young performs with Nashville School of the Arts students Mignon Grabois and Charley Woods at the 2012 Keep the Music Playing All Stars concert.
Photo Credit: Donn Jones / CMA

“I had a unique opportunity to go to a school for performing arts in Columbus, Ohio, called the Fort Hayes Performing Arts Center,” said Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts. “I had a teacher there named Mary Daniels, who really pushed me to be better than I thought I was. I’d turn in projects and she’d say, ‘It’s good, but you’ve got better inside of you.’ She was actually more a friend to me than just a teacher. She had a way of disarming you to make you feel so comfortable and capable of doing more than you thought you could.”

Jay DeMarcus plays the new grand piano donated to Nashville’s McGavock High School by CMA’s Keep the Music Playing program in 2009.

Photo credit: John Russell / CMA

Like Chris Young, Scotty McCreery learned much from performing with his high school choir. “Our teacher, Meredith Clayton, would take us to New York City, Chicago, Florida and different places for competitions,” he recalled. “She was awesome. She has a big, bubbly personality and a love for music that she passed down to her students. She was all about preparation and putting in the work, and that’s big for Country Music nowadays. If you’re going to be successful, you’ve got to put in the work. Nobody’s going to hand it to you. So I learned a lot of good lessons from her.”

Scotty McCreery performs with students at the 2013 Keep the Music Playing All Stars Concert.

Photo Credit: Donn Jones / CMA

A number of music teachers inspired Sara Evans as she grew up in New Franklin, Missouri. “I was playing clarinet in band,” she said. “I was also in choir. Our two music teachers, Mrs. Burnett and Mrs. Nugent, were both really sweet and fabulous as teachers. Our school was so small that we didn’t even have football, so we would march in the town’s parades. I was always the assistant teacher. Sometimes I would get to direct the band.”

The benefits of music education are a top priority for Evans to pass along to her children, son Avery, 14, and daughter Olivia, 11. She has also lent support to other kids studying music. In 2011, she visited Nashville’s Pearl-Cohn Entertainment Magnet High School as part of CMA’s Keep the Music Playing program to support public school music education.

Sara Evans visits Nashville’s Pearl-Cohn Entertainment High School in 2011on behalf of CMA’s Keep the Music Playing.

Photo Credit: John Russell / CMA

“That was a really cool experience,” she said. “I learned so much about how they benefit from Keep the Music Playing. It was really cool to see these kids perform and work so hard on these songs and then perform them for us. You could just tell they were so proud and that they were such good friends, just from being in the music program together.”

“It’s really a great way for us as musicians and other people to be able to give back,” agreed Young, who has also participated in programs for KTMP. “It’s a great investment of our time, and it’s great for the kids.”

“I’m so passionate about Keep the Music Playing because I remember as a kid that if I didn’t have music to distract me from some other things, I don’t know where I would have ended up,” DeMarcus added. “It helped me focus a little bit more in school, having music to look forward to in the afternoons.”

McCreery concurs that KTMP is “an awesome program. As a performer and a musician, I hear about the public schools and their budget cuts. A lot of times, the first things they cut are their music and arts programs. But these programs are so vital and important to kids and their upbringing. I couldn’t imagine growing up without having arts and music in my school. Keep the Music Playing and CMA are doing great things for these kids, for their future.”

Half of all CMA Music Festival profits are donated annually to Keep the Music Playing. More information is available at www.CMAworld.com.

CMA CLOSE UP: HOW TO THWART MUSIC EQUIPMENT THEFT

By Randy Rudder

© 2014 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

 From rock stars to up-and-comers towing U-Haul trailers, too many artists and musi­cians have been victims of equipment theft. Whether it’s Tom Petty and the Heart­breakers losing five vintage guitars during a soundcheck to a sticky-fingered security guard, or Country newcomer JJ Lawhorn being ripped off for $4,000 worth of gear from his band’s van while checking into a hotel in Valdosta, Ga., no one is immune.

But everyone can more effectively deal with and prevent equipment loss.

Step One involves purchasing replacement value insurance or, at the very least, adding replacement value riders to homeowners insurance as a safeguard against theft. “All my gear is insured for replacement value,” said veteran guitarist, guitar builder and former Lonestar tech Ricky Dodson. “I have detailed descriptions of my gear and any upgrades that were made to them, as well as model and serial numbers, obviously. I take pictures and mark them, sometimes overtly and sometimes subtly, where the would-be thief might not think to look for it. Also, I don’t advertise on my car that I play, with bumper stickers of brands or anything like that. And I always leave my gear in the trunk if I can’t carry it with me.”

Top-call bassist Dave Pomeroy, President of the Nashville Musicians Association, AFM Local 257, suggests another way for some musicians to minimize losses to theft. “Some players have ‘home’ guitars or ‘studio’ guitars and use other, less valuable instruments for the road or gigging around town,” he said. “But many carry their personal favorites on the road despite the risks. Those who are on the road know to be extra careful and the tech crews are ultimately responsible for the security of the band’s instruments.”

To keep the classic look while cutting down on the value of gear stolen on tour, Pomeroy noted that “more and more instrument companies are offering ‘relic’ or ‘vintage’ versions of new guitars that attempt to recreate the things that make a 40- or 50-year-old instrument desirable, with varying levels of success. Taking these to gigs does work for some folks.”

Regardless of whether the purloined item is a Gibson SG Junior ’60s, like one of the guitars boosted from Petty’s band, or a lower-budget knockoff, some gear will inevitably be taken. When that happens, there are ways to alert the community to be on the lookout. “We want to make it easy for musicians to get organized and hard for thieves to sell stolen gear,” said Molly Nagel-Driessen, who owns Gear Track (www.Gear-Track.com), an online instrument and music gear database. “Through the registration of serial numbers and other identifying information, users can simultaneously keep track of their own gear and be armed with the right details should theft occur. Our ultimate goal is to become the first stop for buyers and sellers of used instruments, as well as pawn shops and law enforcement.

 “Our first recovery story is a great case study in how Gear Track works,” she continued. “A buyer of a mandolin near Seattle put out an inquiry about the value of the instrument to a popular mandolin forum. One of the users there searched our site and found that it had been listed as stolen. The buyer contacted the original owner, negotiated with the pawn shop they’d bought it from, and the instrument was returned, along with a second mandolin, to its rightful owner.”

Chris Stone, Founder of the Screaming Stone Stolen Instrument Recovery Project (www.ScreamingStone.com), has similar stories to share. “We just recovered a guitar that was stolen about 15 years ago,” he said. “It was a Les Paul Junior, and he had a picture of it with ‘Murph’ etched on the top, because his father’s name was Murph. Someone saw the picture on our website just after seeing the guitar in a pawnshop.”

There’s a lesson in this tale, Stone insists. “You could hire a professional luthier to etch your initials into the bottom of the fretboard. Or if you change the tuning keys, take a picture of that. And if you see an instrument that seems to be tampered with in a store, put a deposit down, write down the serial number, go home and do a serial number search on a stolen instrument site or Craigslist.”

CMA COUNTRY CLOSE UP: MARTINA MCBRIDE RIDES HER SOUL TRAIN

Photo credit: Glynis Carpenter

PRESS RELEASE

By Bob Doerschuk

© 2014 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

Country Music headliner Martina McBride’s catalog overflows with powerfully communicative performances. The playful “I Love You,” the heartbroken ballad “Wrong Again,” and the empowering anthems “Independence Day,” “This One’s for the Girls” and “Wrong Baby Wrong” unfold along clear lines of melody, which the five-time CMA Award winner animated with her own distinctive phrasing and interpretive sense.

In contrast, much of her new album, Everlasting, pays homage to R&B and showcases vocal improvisation. A perfect example would be “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long,” which in essence was a sketch over which Otis Redding unleashed his volcanic and highly extemporized performance. Speaking generally, the emphasis in soul music is often on the performance, while to paraphrase a familiar line in Music City, Country recordings start with and often stay grounded on the song.

“There are some differences in phrasing,” McBride noted. “When I was first thinking about making this record and finding songs that would fit my voice, I was a little bit overwhelmed. Tackling some of these songs was a bit intimidating. But then Don (Was, producer) helped me a lot. He said, ‘Just be you. Sing it how you would sing it.’ That was a liberating moment for me. I was like, ‘Oh! That makes sense!’”

Martina McBride and producer Don Was at Blackbird Studio.

Photo credit: Brian Totoro

Their collaboration began with a meeting in Los Angeles. “We just had a musical conversation,” McBride recalled. “We listened to music for hours in his office to figure out what I was drawn to. I was thinking about making a mellow, singer/ songwriter record in a soul vein, something with horns, like a Ray Charles record. At some point it just clicked and we decided to lean in that direction.”

Everlasting was a milestone for Was as well. For all he had accomplished in the industry, this was the first album he had ever produced in Nashville. The musicians exemplified the best of the city’s approach to tracking, working quickly and efficiently, with no problems crossing the Country Music divide.

“We were all in the same room, Don and us, except for Martina in the vocal room,” said her longtime music director and keyboard player Jim Medlin. “He sat there with us and listened, his eyes shut the whole time, smiling like a kid in a candy shop. We all had little talk-back mics; when we’d do a pass, he didn’t give a lot of direction but just let everything unfold with a couple of words here and there. It was a real laid-back endeavor.”

“I think it was really thrilling for the musicians because they were playing for an audience of Don Was,” McBride added. “With so few instruments, everybody played so tastefully. Nobody got in anyone’s way. It was like they’d been playing together for 20 years.”

One concern that didn’t come up in the studio was whether Country fans would have any trouble connecting with Everlasting. McBride still doesn’t worry about it; she’s played some of these tracks on shows with George Strait this year, trusting that the music would speak for itself.

“To some Country fans, it might sound like I’ve taken some kind of a left turn,” she admitted. “But this is so similar to Country Music! And anything I do is probably going to have a Country sensibility because that’s what I’ve sung for so long. The common thread is that it’s me. I hope people listen and go, ‘Oh, that’s just Martina, doing what she always does.’”

On the Web: www.MartinaMcBride.com

On Twitter: @MartinaMcBride

CMA CLOSE UP: COUNTRY ARTISTS INVEST IN CUSTOM GUITAR STRAPS

Hank Williams Jr. and his Jeri Designs strap rock a "Monday Night Foorball" opening night.

Photo Credit: Courtesy Webster PR/Hank Jr. Enterprises

By Jeff Walter

© 2014 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

A guitar strap is more than a means to support a piece of musical equipment. It’s also a canvas for personal expression and for helping audiences see exactly who you are.

Take Marty Roe. When the Diamond Rio guitarist wanted a strap with a prisoner-of-war theme for the video of “In God We Still Trust,” he called on Jeri Hart, founder of the St. Louis-based jeri designs. She fashioned a one-of-a-kind strap: thick but supple belt leather, painted blue, airbrushed with the words “You are not forgotten” and adorned on the front with a hand-cut kidskin POW logo.

Hart, whose clients include Trace Adkins, Little Big Town, Brad Paisley and Keith Richards, noted that her challenge “is to create a gorgeous strap that’s really detailed, that will last a lifetime, that you can roll up and stick in your guitar case a million times, that has really personal meaning for the artist, that fits their style, personality and the way they feel about things. I want it to be one of their most treasured items.”

Patty Griffin, Emmylou Harris and Shawn Colvin with a Jodi Head strap.

Photo Credit: Lisa Sharken

Straps can be made from a variety of materials, the cheapest and most widely used being nylon. But custom designers typically start with fine leather. Among the many choices are kidskin, elk skin, snakeskin and cabretta. Terry Misner of the Indianapolis-based Action Custom Straps makes his products from soft leather, largely for reasons of comfort.

“Some of the performers who use our straps play for hours at a time,” said Misner, who has outfitted Adkins, Eric Church, Miranda Lambert and Keith Urban, among others. “If the strap is comfortable and the performer doesn’t even notice it, then it has done its job.” (Misner and other top designers generally avoid working with suede because of its tendency to hold moisture and adhere to the performer’s shirt.)

There are numerous options for decorating leather, including embroidery, metal hardware such as conchos or spikes, gemstones, hand-sewn beads, crystals – even snake heads, a specialty of the Jodi Head Design Studio in New York City.

Pistol Annies guitar straps, created by Terry Misner of Action Custom Straps.

Photo Credit: Courtesy Action Guitar Straps

One priority is to protect the guitar itself. Hart positions whatever buckles and other hardware she uses so that they never touch the instrument. And Misner wants no embroidery backing or metal showing on the underside of his straps.

Customer input can vary a lot. Hart asks questions and does a lot of research on her customers, about their hobbies and passions and what’s important to them. She’ll use the information she gathers to incorporate birthstones, meaningful symbols, favorite colors and other expressions.

Starting out, Head often gave straps to her favorite artists, including Emmylou Harris and Lucinda Williams, to get her name out there. She takes particular pride when she sees Williams wearing her skulls strap. “It’s beautiful, and every time I see it, I think, ‘I can’t believe I made that!’” the designer said.

And Misner gets a sense of fulfillment from the hula-girl strap he created in 2002 for Jimmy Buffett. Wife Dena hand-embroidered the girl and added beads to form her lei and grass skirt. “It’s nice to see it still at work each time Jimmy comes to town,” he said, with a smile.

CMA CLOSEUP NEW ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: NORTH 40

By Bob Doerschuk

© 2014 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

Heather Looney and Paige Logan of North 40. 

Photo credit: Kristin Barlowe

PRESS RELEASE

It’s been a while since Paige Logan and Heather Looney chased their dreams to Nashville. Logan came from Safford, Ariz., where she studied piano, taught herself guitar and mandolin and soaked up the sounds of her dad’s LP and 8-track collection. In 1993, she and her sister hit the road for Music City; a year later, Paige was there alone, beginning a long stretch of day jobs and determination.

Meanwhile, Looney and her dad had been performing around Shreveport, La. Going solo, she relocated frequently before settling in Nashville with her husband a year after Logan’s arrival. Eventually the two crossed paths, and their 20-year friendship culminated in their debut album, Whole Lot Of Livin’, produced by Paige’s husband Mills Logan and Leigh Reynolds. Rhymetown Entertainment released the debut album in January.

Vocal blends distinguish this duo. They embrace vibrato as an expressive device. When they drop it for a few beats, as in the higher passages of “Far Too Long” (written by Logan and Looney), the impact is dramatic. They also avoid the upper register, concentrating on the contralto range; the result is a honeyed, rich quality that draws listeners in as if to a whisper. And they sing almost exclusively in harmony; when one breaks into a solo line and the other improvises some churchy backup on “Don’t Make Me The Reason” (Logan and Looney), the moment seems to spark from the speakers.

Is there life over 40 in Country Music? You betcha.

For more on North 40, visit www.CMACloseUp.com.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

SONG YOU’D LOVE TO COVER

“Heather would love to cover ‘Stand By Your Man’ and Paige would cover ‘El Paso.’”

ALBUM ON YOUR PLAYLIST
“Heather has Train and Chris Knight. Paige has Tom Petty’s Greatest Hits and Simon & Garfunkle.”

DREAM DUET PARTNER

“Heather’s is Michael Bublé and Paige’s is Freddie Mercury.”

PET PEEVE

“Heather’s is rude people. Paige’s is people who take more than they need or don’t give back more than they take.”

SOMETHING WE’D NEVER GUESS ABOUT YOU

“Heather was adopted at 2 weeks old through the Volunteers of America and believes that her parents chose her because she could scream on key! Paige has been on a vegan diet for 22 years and she likes coffee and water at room temperature.”

On the Web: www.North40Country.com

On Twitter: @North40Country