Saturday, May 14, 2011
Friday, May 13, 2011
Up & Coming New Nashvillle- Tara Oram
The brand new single from Tara Oram, "1929," shot by Margaret Malandruccolo (Dwight Yoakam, Alan Jackson, Billy Currington), on Sycamore Cove beach in California.
Juno Nominee and winner of the CCMA Rising Star Award, Tara Oram, is preparing to release her highly anticipated follow up to her 2008 debut 'Chasing The Sun' - due out this summer. Produced by John Ellis (Jane Siberry, Dustin Bentall, Ridley Bent) includes the hit track '1929', written by Kaci Bolls (LeAnn Rimes, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, among others). Keep an eye on www.taraoram.com for updates on the new record.
Tara Oram stepped into the spotlight as the star of the CMT produced show 'The Tara Diaries.' Her undeniable spirit and unshakeable drive proved her a stand out singer/songwriter and performer, earning her a recording contract with leading country music label, Open Road Recordings.
Tara's first album, Chasing The Sun, made its debut in October of 2008 and features three top-15 Canadian Country singles, and earned a number of awards and nominations including the ECMA Award for Country Recording of the Year. In addition, The Newfoundland Herald named Tara 'Entertainer of the Year' in 2008. In 2010, Tara performed live at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Tara Oram is also the spokesperson for the SPARKLES OF HOPE campaign. Tara has been influential in the sales of over $2,000,000.00 in bracelets sold in support of this very important foundation. In April of 2010, Tara performed and spoke at the event benefiting the Dr. H. Bliss Murphy Cancer Care Foundation in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Born in Gander, NFLD, Tara's music is inspired by her family, and is a celebration of her small town roots. She is also influenced by many established artists, such as Rosanne Cash, Marty Stuart & Dwight Yoakam.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
New Music Video From Ronnie Dunn- "I Can't Help Myself"
This is the third music video released for songs from Ronnie Dunn, the debut solo album of former Brooks & Dunn main vocalist Ronnie Dunn.
Chris Young, Mandy Barnett and Billy Ray Cyrus Announce New Projects
Vocalist and stage performer Mandy Barnett is set to release her stunning new album Sweet Dreams on May 24th on the Opry Music imprint. The highly anticipated album launch occurs in conjunction with her leading role return to Nashville's historic Ryman Auditorium stage in the musical production Always…Patsy Cline.
Sweet Dreams provides Barnett with an opportunity to honor not only beloved music icon Patsy Cline, but also the songs she made famous and the songwriters who crafted the timeless tunes. The album includes Cline's well-known signature hits such as "Crazy," "I Fall To Pieces," and "Faded Love." Barnett leaves her unique and powerful vocal stamp on these songs and others, like the Irving Berlin standard "Always" and "Strange." The project, produced by Steve Gibson, features many of Nashville's most talented studio musicians. This year also marks the 50th anniversary of Patsy Cline's hit "Crazy," which was written by Willie Nelson.
Billy Ray Cyrus, multi-platinum artist, returns to his patriotic roots with the June 28 release of his new album I'm American on Buena Vista Records. Cyrus' collection of songs dedicated to the spirit of being American features special guest appearances by Amy Grant and country artists (also veterans) Jamey Johnson, Craig Morgan and Darryl Worley. Cyrus' single, "Runway Lights," will be shipped to Country radio later this month, and will be the theme song to his upcoming TLC "Surprise Homecoming" series that debuts on May 30, in which the artist will greet troops coming home from the war.
Inspired by a 2009 USO tour in which Cyrus performed for the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, Cyrus has dedicated the album to a new generation of troops, while paying respect to all veterans past and present. The album will feature eight songs – "Runway Lights," "We Fought Hard," "Keep The Light On," "Stripes and Stars," "I'm American," "Nineteen" and "Old Army Hat." The album will also include a newly re-recorded version of "Some Gave All," the song and title of his debut album released in 1992, which was dedicated to the men and women of the U.S. military, and earned Cyrus the Congressional Medal of Honor Society's Entertainers Award.
Hear It Here: Mark Wills Launches "Crazy Being Home" For A Good Cause
Mark Wills, in alliance with USA Cares (a non-profit national military assistance charity founded to assist post-9/11 military families in emotional health and recovery, and bearing the burdens of service with financial and advocacy support), officiated the Warrior Treatment Today “Crazy Being Home” campaign last week at the 6th Annual National MilBlog Conference, presented by Military.com, at the Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C. on Friday, April 29,2011.
In an initiative with USA Cares to introduce the Warrior Treatment Today “Crazy Being Home” national awareness campaign surrounding the severity of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Wills performed the campaign theme song for the first time as the official spokesperson and USA Cares “voice” before conference attendees. The lyrics are poignant: “…It’s right to fight for what you love, but his young eyes have seen too much. Until you’ve been where he’s been, you wouldn’t understand…”
The campaign and corresponding web site (www.crazybeinghome.com) is an outreach to encourage and support America’s post-9/11 veterans, assist in raising funds for the PTSD and TBI programs and to serve as an outlet for those who suffer to share their mutual stories.
Recorded by Wills as a tribute to our brothers and sisters in service, “Crazy Being Home” is featured on his forthcoming album, due in June. Having traveled to visit the troops on many occasions, it is a heart-song for Wills.
"The first time I made a trip to visit our troops, I was amazed at their dedication. When I returned home, I was surprised to find myself overcome with emotion every time I tried to speak of my experiences,” Wills said. “Each time I tried to recount the stories to my family, friends and strangers alike, I could not get through my thoughts without becoming emotional...and I was only gone ten days and kept out of harm's way. It’s hard to imagine what these men and women go through to try to get back to ‘life’ as we all know it.”Written by Chris Lindsey, Brad Warren, Bret Warren and Robin Lindsey, the song hits heart and soul--touching many. CrazyBeingHome.com early postings:
“I wonder what makes someone pick sandstorms over fresh country air? Why is she [my sister] happier in places where flak vests are required? Why isn't being home with us enough? The scariest question - what if over there is home, and not here with us? ...I heard your song…it answered the questions my sister couldn't.”
“My son, a former Marine SGT, is truly living the song ‘Crazy Being Home.’ Five years later, and two tours in Iraq, my son decided to leave his military life and give ‘being a civilian’ a try again. He’s fallen into my lap in tears, crying for help…begging me to help him to ‘just be ok.’ He asks me what’s wrong with him. These invisible wounds of war are real. I listen to Mark’s song and am brought to tears. Perhaps removing the stigma will help many of our young military personnel get the help they need, my son included.”In existence for the past two years, the publicly funded USA Cares Warrior Treatment Today program has summoned over $800,000 enabling more than 500 OIF/OEF veterans residential treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).
Visitors of CrazyBeingHome.com may offer financial assistance as well as emotional support to share their personal stories with folks who care. “The goal behind the ‘Crazy Being Home’ program is two-fold: to elevate the success of USA Cares Warrior Treatment Today program and, more importantly, to just ‘be there’ to listen and to say ‘it’s gonna be okay,’” Wills closed.
His new CD, entitled Looking For America (featuring both the title cut that is currently at radio and the USA Cares Warrior Treatment Today campaign song, “Crazy Being Home”), will be available June 21, 2011.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Hear It Here- The Pistol Annies Sing "Boy From The South"
Remember when you were a kid and your parents got you a Christmas present real early and it sat around wrapped up in plain view from about Thanksgiving on? Remember how you couldn't wait to get it opened? Yeah... that's how I feel about Miranda Lambert's new Pistol Annie's project. I'm in love.
Behind The Pen: Analyzing Willie Nelson's Handwriting
But what does the actual scribble say about the songwriter? In this instance for Willie Nelson, forget about what the artist wrote and consider the question: “What does it mean about how they wrote it?” What insights into the artist psyche can be derived by analyzing their handwriting? Graphology is the study and analysis of handwriting and how it applies to human psychology. In short, it is the science involved in producing a personality profile of the writer by examining the characteristics, traits and strokes of an individual’s handwriting.
The next job was finding a qualified and certified handwriting analyst that would be willing to take this project on. Dr. Donna Schwontkowski easily fit the bill. Dr. Donna is a Certified Handwriting Analyst and runs a website on the topic and shares her insights:
The handwriting reveals many insights into a person’s personality.
When a handwriting sample is written with very small letters, such as in Willie Nelson’s handwriting, it denotes that at the time of the handwriting, he was concentrating very hard.
The cramped letters within a word can indicate a stingy personality; stingy with his money. The words have big gaps between them, which indicates the desire for a lot of space in his surroundings and that friends should give him a lot of space emotionally.
Emotional Slant of the Handwriting
When a cursive handwriting sample is analyzed, it is relatively easy to determine the emotional slant of the writing. This indicates how a person would tend to act around other people and his desire to show emotions and express them. In the case of Willie Nelson, his handwriting shows a very emotionally volatile person. One moment he is logical and in control of his emotions and the next minute he is as emotional and passionate as a person could possibly get. This is a very difficult person to deal with in a relationship.
Similarly in the handwriting, we see that some words are written on an upward slant while others are written on a downward slant. An upward slant translates to an upbeat attitude, one that is optimistic. A downward slant translates to a depressed attitude. Willie Nelson needs balance in his life! Not knowing if you’re going to be depressed or optimistic from one minute to the next is exceptionally stressful.
It’s possible that Willie Nelson has blood sugar imbalances that he is not aware of. This could cause some of the erratic nature of the handwriting.
Because the handwriting shows erratic moods, it is difficult to know how to interpret some of the traits seen in the handwriting with different strokes. For example, Willie Nelson has the stroke of large looped letter d’s. This shows a lot of imagination, and sensitivity to criticism about one’s appearance. Thus, he often imagines people are talking behind his back about his appearance. If he’s feeling uplifted at the time when these little paranoid thoughts sneak in to his conscious mind, he may easily dismiss them. But if he is feeling depressed, he could sink into depression by realizing that more people are talking about him again, when will it ever stop, it’s his plight in life, woe is me…
It is possible to determine how a person responds to emotional situations with regards to how much of a tendency a person would have to forgive another person. This is determined by the amount of pressure used on the pen during the handwriting. In this case, Willie Nelson shows a medium to heavy type of pen pressure. This indicates that he is a person that is capable of holding grudges for long periods of time. Someone that writes with light pressure is someone that can easily forgive and forget, someone that doesn’t want to hold things against another person.
Traits and Characteristics
There are other traits that can be seen, as determined by the strokes of the letters. Below is a list of them:
Trait and Explanation
1. Self-degrading.
Most of the time, Willie Nelson makes a completed loop on the small letter d but there are times when he makes it as an incomplete loop. When a pen stroke of a loop goes backward and stays there, that indicates a person is self-degrading. This characteristic would come up in a situation where things may not have worked out like he wanted them to, and then he would proceed to be down on himself for quite some time. He may call himself names, feel as if he is stupid or incompetent in some way, or feel that there’s no hope for himself to ever improve.
2. Loves to travel
Large lower loops of the letter f indicate a desire to travel and also the ability to become physical and sexual at the drop of a hat. An example of this loop is in the f of the word “of” in the phrase, “best of friends”.
3. Efficiency
In the letters th, connecting the two letters together indicates a person that strives to be efficient. This trait is repeated at least a few times in the handwriting. The more times a trait appears, the more that trait is displayed in the person’s personality.
4. Doesn’t achieve the goals he sets for himselfThe long tail on the letter y displays this trait. When the final stroke on the letter y never makes it up to the baseline, it is similar to never really making it to the goal. Willie Nelson has a tendency to quit in the early part of a new goal. For example, if he wanted to give up smoking, you could expect him to give up early in the process, well before he really gave it a fair trial.
5. Quick thinker
When the tops of the letter m are jagged instead of round and smooth, it indicates a quick thinker who is able to make decisions fast. A good example of this stroke is in the letter m in the word “making”, located in the phrase, “love is making”.
6. Enthusiastic
The length of the t-bar that sits on top of the stem of the letter t is closely tied to one’s enthusiasm in life. Willie Nelson is a very enthusiastic person to be around; the problem is that he can also be very moody.
7. Mechanical
When the letter r is made with a flat top, the person is often mechanically minded. This can show up in different ways – the ability to take apart and put things back together, the ability to play a musical instrument that needs manual dexterity, or even the ability to use one’s hands for massage or other types of hands-on work.
An example of this stroke is in the r of the word “never” in the phrase “may never see”.8. Diplomatic
Again, in the letter m, the size of the humps determines diplomacy. If the first hump is larger or higher than the second and the second is higher than the third, this indicates that a person can talk to others diplomatically when difficult situations arise. It’s an excellent trait to have, since this type of person could talk their way out of difficult situations with angry people around.
An example of this stroke is in the letter M of the word “May” of the phrase “I may never see”.
9. Determination
When Willie Nelson ends some words, he ends them with a hard downstroke that extends beyond the baseline. This indicates strong determination. However, without the upstroke of the letter y meeting the baseline (showing a tendency not to achieve goals), his determination is most likely short-lived.
An example of the determination stroke is found in the letter n in the word “On” in the first sentence.
10. Honesty
Honesty can be seen in the letter o when it looks like an open o without any additional strokes inside it.
An example of this honest o is found in the word “road” in the third line.
11. SecretivenessThe letter o can also show secretiveness if it is made with an extra loop as in the word “road” in the second line.
Sometimes different letters will show different traits. A person may not always make the letter o the same, and any additional ways that that letter is made gives additional insight into the personality.
Dr. Donna Schwontkowski is a Certified Handwriting Analyst and runs a website on this topic at www.funhandwritinganalysis.com. She can be reached at 916-649-8323 for personal and private handwriting analyses.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Kevin Fowler Finds New Label Home
Critic's Corner- Emmylou Harris- Hard Bargain- CD Album Review
Ken Morton, Jr.
That Nashville Sound
“Few weave stories like Emmylou Harris. Her Hard Bargain is a collection of tales that can make us feel whole again. In the case of Hard Bargain, simple storytelling is the name of the game. Harris draws on a deceptively basic set of words, concocting songs of experience and passion that only a performer with her life could craft. Emmylou Harris, now 64 years old, has built a record with her bare hands. Constructed with simple materials, Hard Bargain is perhaps more than a collection of her stories. It's something to put our stories in.”
Jordan Richardson
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
“Brimming with ethereal sorrow, Harris sympathetically gives voice to the black teenager whose grisly 1955 murder became a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement. Personal tributes “Darlin’ Kate” and “The Road” seem to be attracting most of the attention, but this one (“My Name is Emmett Till) is beautifully done.”
CM Wilcox
CountryCalifornia.com
“Her voice revealing cracks as fine as her white hair, Harris actually sounds better — more open and passionate — on Hard Bargain than she has since starting her career. Speaking of which, her salute to mentor Gram Parsons, ''The Road,'' is lovely nostalgia, and there's a rare flash of fun cornball humor on ''Big Black Dog.'' Her grief over the 2010 death of friend/musician Kate McGarrigle (''Darlin' Kate'') is palpable. Some of the story-songs are drippy, but that voice remains dry.”
Ken Tucker
Entertainment Weekly
“Over the latter half of a career that has spanned four decades, Emmylou Harris has gravitated toward spare, acoustic ballads that highlight the ethereal qualities of her distinctive voice. Though that style has resulted in some exceptional work, including 2008's All I Intended to Be, it's also made her output somewhat predictable. Her latest, Hard Bargain, stands as a pleasant surprise, then, because it regularly kicks up the tempo and gives Harris ample opportunities to prove that she can still belt and growl with the best of them.”
Jonathan Keefe
Slant Magazine
“Whether you lose a soulmate at 26 or 62, the pain is the same. Emmylou Harris’s much-mythologized partner Gram Parsons died in 1973 and her frequent collaborator Kate McGarrigle left us last year. Harris looks back at both of her departed friends on her new album: Parsons is the subject of the relaxed-sounding, feel-good opener The Road and McGarrigle is plainly and directly addressed in the simple and sentimental Darlin’ Kate. It could have been maudlin or exploitative, but what makes Harris’s 21st studio album such an engaging meditation on loss — and the importance of grabbing life by the collar while you can — is the disc’s graceful optimism in the face of life’s blindsides.”
Bernard Perusse
Montreal Gazette
“If there is a one guarantee in the music world, it is that an Emmylou Harris will be filled with gorgeous singing. Since gracing Gram Parsons' solo albums in the early '70s, Harris' vocals have been among the most heavenly in contemporary music. Her latest effort, "Hard Bargain," is no exception. The disc soars on Harris' signature vocals, an exquisite intertwining of the earthy and ethereal. Matching her always-beautiful singing with a set of personal, emotionally-moving songs, Hard Bargain marks another triumphant recording in a career filled with memorable work.”
Michael Berick
CountryStandardTime.com
Sunday, May 8, 2011
New Music Video From David St. Romain- "Twenty Years Late"
This one is very appropriate for Mothers Day. We wish all the mommas out there a wonderful day.
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