New song, album honor families of fallen service men and women
By Preshias Harris
Country music has a big heart. Singers and songwriters come together at the drop of a cowboy hat to donate their time and talent to a worthy cause. Causes don’t get much worthier than the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS).
Love Lives On is the title of a new album with all net proceeds from the album going to TAPS, but it is more than that. The songs on the album tell the personal stories of the sacrifice of both the fallen warriors and also the families who must live with their loss.
The album comprises 10 original songs that feature Vince Gill, Billy Ray Cyrus, John Rich, All-4-One, The Gatlin Brothers, Lonestar and many more. It is set for release over the 2020 Memorial Day weekend. However, “Love Lives On,” the album’s lead single and title track, will drop on March 20 and can be pre-ordered now via links at https://www.lovelivesonmusic.com/
Many country artists wear cowboy hats and sing songs that evoke visions of ranches, horses and cowboys, but Kolt Barber has lived that life and has the bruises and broken bones to prove it.
Kolt Barber
We caught up with Kolt at the Country Radio Seminar in Nashville to hear about his new single, two albums and a unique tour that combines music and rodeo.
Kolt recorded the new single at Square One Studios in Franklin, Tennessee, where Kolt was able to really develop the song organically.
“Set the Night on Fire”
“The new single is titled ‘Set the Night on Fire,’” said
Kolt. “I went into the studio without a
demo. I’d written the song and we started creating it, in the studio, from
scratch. We were able to take our time. If I liked something we went with it,
if I didn’t like something we took it away.
It was really cool; instead of the normal, fast-paced way of ‘you have a
demo, you cut it, you’re done,’ we were able to sit and create. It was a really
cool experience and I really enjoyed it.
Justin Moore recently celebrated his latest No. 1 hit, “The Ones That Didn’t Make It Back Home” with the song’s co-writers. He also talked about his current single, “Why We Drink.”
(See my interview with Justin at the No. 1 party, previously posted here.)
Every type of music is constantly changing – pop, R&B,
jazz, even classical – and that is true about country music, too. Just compare
Hank Williams’ “Your Cheatin’ Heart’” (1952) with Luke Bryan’s “Knockin’ Boots”
(2019)! Over the years there have been sub-genres
such as countrypolitan, the Bakersfield sound, outlaw country, honky tonk,
bro-country and more.
‘Classic’ 90s Country
Today, the country music of the 1990s is what many fans consider ‘classic’ country. Justin Moore was born in 1984, so the music he listened to in his teens and early twenties was, of course, 90s country. That was the music influenced his own music when he moved to Nashville in 2002. With help from producer and songwriter Jeremy Stover, Justin met Scott Borchetta of Big Machine Label Group. Borchetta signed Justin to Valory Music, a new label that was part of BMLG.
Remembers “The Ones That Didn’t Make It Back Home”
By Preshias Harris
Justin Moore remembered “The Ones That Didn’t Make It Back Home” (Valory Music Group) at a No. 1 party in Nashville on 05 February. Justin was joined by his co-writers Jeremy Stover, Chase McGill and Paul DiGiovanni. Stover produced the song with Big Machine Records chief, Scott Borchetta.
The song is Justin’s eighth No. 1 single. For the other
writers, it was Jeremy’s seventh No. 1, Chase’s fourth and Paul’s second
chart-topper. It was also Jeremy’s thirteenth No. 1 as a producer. Paul is also
lead guitarist with the rock band, Boys Like Girls.
Before the award ceremony, I sat down with other members of the music media as we talked to Justin, Jeremy, Chase and Paul.
Pictured L to R: Chase McGill, Paul DiGiovanni, Justin Moore, Jeremy Stover. Photo credit: Preshias Harris
The story behind the song
Justin began by talking about how audience reaction to one of his earlier No. 1 songs, combined with his admiration of his grandfathers’ military service, inspired the creation of “The Ones That Didn’t Make It Back Home.”
Nashville attracts songwriters like bees to a sunflower. For many, it takes a giant leap of faith to leave home, family and friends – and often a good job – to move to Nashville with the hope of becoming a songwriter.
“I was here about eleven or twelve years before I had a song that was doing well at radio.” – Ashley Gorley
Recently, Chris Lane took a day off from touring to celebrate his second No. 1 song, “I Don’t Know About You” (on Big Loud Records) and talk about his new single, “Big, Big Plans,” that he wrote with Jacob Durrett and Ernest K. Smith.
During the roundtable media meeting before the presentation of the awards for “I Don’t Know About You,” Chris and that song’s writers – Ashley Gorley, Michael Hardy, Hunter Phelps and Jameson Rodgers – opened up about coming to Nashville and how their songwriting careers developed.
“I wrote 12 terrible songs!”
Chris Lane
“For me, I never knew that I wanted to do anything with music,” Chris admitted. “I was always involved with sports growing up. I felt that was what I was great at.” An outstanding athlete, he played baseball at the University of North Carolina and had plans to pursue a career as a professional baseball player. However, sports-related injuries made that dream impossible and he turned to music.
“When I graduated college, I was learning how to play the guitar and trying to figure out how to sing and play at the same time,” he continued. “I started a cover band and I guess I became extremely passionate over the touring side of things and being an artist. I don’t think at that time I was thinking, ‘Oh man, I’m gonna be a country artist one day that will have a song on the radio,’ or any of that kind of stuff. Songwriting was kind of an afterthought. I would go out and play all my favorite artists’ [songs], Kenny Chesney Keith Urban, Aldean, Eric Church. I mean I would just cover their songs every night and play for four hours.”
“To be able to sing a song… that connects with the crowd, that’s super special.” – Chris Lane
“What’s your name, what’s your sign, what’s your birthday? / What’s your wrist tattoo bible verse say? / Tell me this, do you kiss on the first date? / Don’t hold anything back.” – lyrics from “I Don’t Know About You”
It took 45 weeks to climb to the top of Billboard’s Country Airplay charts, but Chris Lane’s “I Don’t Know About You” (Big Loud Records) finally made it to No. 1 on October 01, 2019. On Tuesday, January 28, Chris celebrated that achievement with the song’s writers at a Number One party in Nashville, hosted by the performing rights organizations, BMI and ASCAP.
Receiving plaques to mark the occasion were songwriters Ashley Gorley, Michael Hardy, Hunter Phelps and Jameson Rodgers. The event was extra special for Phelps and Rodgers as “I Don’t Know About You” marked the first No. 1 for both songwriters. For Ashley, it was his forty-fourth No. 1. (To make things more complicated, last week Ashley celebrated his forty-fifth No. 1 for co-writing “Good Vibes” for Chris Janson, and since then has already scored his forty-sixth and forty-seventh chart-topper!)
Pictured (L-R): ASCAP Songwriter Jameson Rodgers, BMI Songwriter Michael Hardy, Chris Lane, ASCAP Songwriter Hunter Phelps, ASCAP Songwriter Ashley Gorley. Photo: Ed Rode
Song struck a chord with listeners
“I Don’t Know About You” really struck a chord with listeners as it is built around typical questions that a guy will ask a girl when they first meet, hoping for a date.
During the media roundtable before the presentation Lane and the songwriters talked about the song. “Lyrically, it had really cool lines in it,” said Lane. “For whatever reason, people just gravitated towards that. And even fans. I mean, a line as simple as, ‘Girl I know your favorite beer because you told me and I bought it.’ I’ve watched people scream that line! Obviously with the ‘wrist tattoo’ line. I’ve had people come up to me in the grocery store and say, ‘I love your bible verse tattoo song.’ That’s what they refer to it as, they don’t call it by its name! People took to it because of really great lines and a great melody as well.”
John Rich has gained international stardom, first as a member of the band Lonestar, then as a solo artist and as one half of the duo Big and Rich with Big Kenny with hits such as “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy.” He’s also a successful music producer and songwriter and part of a loosely formed group of artists known as The MuzikMafia.
Perhaps less well-known is the fact that Rich is a successful entrepreneur who has developed an entire line of products under the Redneck Riviera brand. This includes the Redneck Riviera Bar and BBQ, a restaurant and live music venue on Nashville’s Lower Broadway. He is also a generous philanthropist who has raised millions of dollars for charities, including Folds of Honor.
John Rich and I have known each since 1991. We met at a storage locker facility when he was a member of Texassee, a group that would evolve into Lonestar. I needed to get a special dress out of my locker that I wanted to wear to the CMA Awards. John was at a nearby locker getting the band’s drum kit out of storage. He graciously climbed over everything to get my dress for me – almost splitting his jeans as he did so!
Redneck Riviera brand expands
John Rich gets excited as he talks about his Redneck Riviera products. Photo: Preshias Harris
On January 11, John held a party at his Nashville home, named Mount Richmore, to celebrate the second anniversary of his Redneck Riviera whiskey that has proved to be a remarkable success in a crowded liquor market.
I joined John and members of the media as he introduced his newest products, a beverage named Howdy Dew and a line of meat snacks named Redneck Riviera Jerky. He also announced more details about his new show, set to run on Fox Nation, titled “Pursuit! With John Rich.”
Brantley Gilbert and Lindsay Ell got together with co-writers and members of Nashville’s music community to celebrate their Number One hit, “What Happens in a Small Town” on 08 January.
Number One parties are frequently held in one of Nashville’s many bars and honky tonks, but not this one. The celebration was held at Music City Indoor Karting, a go-kart track. There was a good reason for choosing this location. “I like to go fast. I like to go real fast!” said Gilbert with a grin. “December 18th was eight years without having a drink for me. I can still go to bars and it’s not a problem but it’s not quite as fun for me as it is for most. But this place, everyone can still drink and have a good time and I can run people into the wall!”
The story behind the song
Brantley Gilbert and Lindsay Ell. Photo: Joseph Llanes
At the media meeting before the award presentation, Brantley, Lindsay and co-writers Josh Dunne, Rhett Akinsand Brock Berryhill, talked about how the song, “What Happens in a Small Town,” came about. Brantley said he had recorded and delivered to the label (Valory Music Co / Big Machine Label Group) what he thought was everything needed for the new album, Fire’t Up.
All music genres seem to have sub-genres that are either extensions of the main genre or a fusion of two different but similar genres (Think: Rockabilly, for example). The Steeldrivers are a band that straddles different genres, creating music that is unique and doesn’t fit easily into any category.
They have sometimes been described as “goth-grass,” a blending of bluegrass and goth-rock. Their music is certainly anchored in the traditions of bluegrass with the familiar sound of banjo and fiddle. At the same time, their music often taps into some of the darkest depths of human emotion, giving a gothic edge to the songs.
Now comes their latest album, Bad For You (Rounder Records), set for release on 07 February, 2020, their first album since 2015’s The Muscle Shoals Recordings that won a Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album.
Tracy Lawrence is a country star with a big heart. On Tuesday, November 26, Tracy and an army of volunteers took over the parking lot at the Nashville Rescue Mission where they were deep-frying hundreds of turkeys in row upon row of propane-fueled turkey fryers.
It was part of his 14th annual Mission Possible that has served over 84,000 meals to the homeless and hungry in Nashville, Tennessee, and also in Dallas, Texas, and Louisville, Kentucky. Mission Possible also raises money (more than $500,000 so far) to help the homeless and hungry.
It was part of his 14th annual Mission Possible that has served over 84,000 meals to the homeless and hungry in Nashville, Tennessee, and also in Dallas, Texas, and Louisville, Kentucky. Mission Possible also raises money (more than $500,000 so far) to help the homeless and hungry.
Stars join Tracy for Wildhorse fundraiser
Tracy Lawrence performs at The Wildhorse. Photo: Catrina Engelby
After the final turkey was fried to perfection, Tracy was going over to Nashville’s Wildhorse Saloon for the (sold out) Mission Possible Charity Concert. In addition to Tracy Lawrence, fans were treated to performances by Tracy’s friends Justin Moore, Rhett Akins, Clay Walker and the band Halfway to Hazard.
I caught up with Tracy as he was frying yet another turkey. The weather was fine this year, cool but sunny; ideal weather for deep-frying hundreds of turkeys outdoors. I asked Tracy about previous years when the weather hadn’t been so good. “I don’t remember the year, but it was raining and sleet and cold,” he said. “It was probably down [near freezing]. It was absolutely miserable! It was one of the worst ones! But we still had lots of volunteers. Everybody was still here, nobody turned away. But this is a good day today.”
He turned to look at the Nashville Rescue Mission. “I love this place,” he said. “I’ve made a lot of great friends here. This is such a special event for them. It’s grown to be like their Super Bowl every year.”
