Saturday, October 10, 2009

Free Country Music Downloads From People Magazine

People Magazine is doing their quarterly country music edition this month and in conjunction, offering FREE country music. One is even one of our local girl girls made good, Emma Jacob from Colusa, California. Download the songs below by visiting People HERE. Here's just some of the good stuff you can put on your iPod or mp3 player.

• Jason Aldean - She's Country (Club Mix)
• Big Kenny - Wake Up
• Terri Clark - The One You Love (with Vince Gill)
• Patty Loveless - Busted
• Bucky Covington - Ole Kentuck
• Emma Jacob - Julianna
• Bomshel - Fight Like a Girl
• Ash Bowers - Stuck
• KingBilly - Waiting on You
• Easton Corbin - The Way Love Looks

TNS Video History- Hal Ketchum’s “Small Town Saturday Night”

Friday, October 9, 2009

Lady Antebellum On The Tonight Show Tonight


With country music fans and television audiences clamoring for more country music, we bring you Lady Antebellum. The band has traveled to Los Angeles today to debut "Need You Now" on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.

The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brian airs on NBC 11:35p EST/10:35p CST. Be sure to tune in!

Lady Antebellum also announced plans this week to release their sophomore album titled Need You Now on Jan. 26, 2010. The lead single by the same name is the fastest rising of their career to date pushing its way into Billboard's Top 10 in just nine weeks. "Need You Now" is also currently No. 2 on iTunes Country chart.

Watch Taylor Swift's Brand New Music Video For "Fifteen"

Taylor Swift premieres one of the more beautiful music videos of 2009. The graphic design, art and production are simply stunning…

Listen To The Brand New Single "Whistlin' Dixie" From Randy Houser

Randy Houser had two big hits off of his first album ("Boots On" and "Anything Goes") and now launches the first single off his to-be-determined sophomore album, "Whistlin' Dixie."

That Nashville Soundbites- Nathan Lee Jackson- Complicated Hearts


That Nashville Sound receives many different CD releases throughout the year from indie and small-labels that we’re doing short mini CD reviews on. We call them That Nashville Soundbites- it’s a feature that will allow us to give some props to some albums and artists that deserve a spotlight on their work.


Release Date: September 2009
Music Label: R.E.D. Distribution
The Skinny: This collection of pop-tinged country songs share extremely strong songwriting on many of the tracks although production doesn’t hide that Jackson’s voice gets just a bit pitchy hitting notes in the upper registers. There’s some very good material for national artists to look at here.
Sounds Like: Jimmy Wayne and Marty Roe
Standout Tracks: "Small Town Rain," "I Could Try,” “Sittin’ By The River” & "Kentucky Breeze"
The Verdict: Two & A Half Stars Out Of Five

Cajun & Country Musicians To Be Honored Tonight

Four Cajun musicians — Doug Kershaw, D.L. Menard, Jimmy C. Newman and Jo-El Sonnier — are set to be inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame during this weekend's Festivals Acadiens in Lafayette.

Kershaw, who sings in French and English and plays fiddle, is the son of an alligator farmer and continues to tour worldwide. Menard is known as "The Cajun Hank Williams" and has been one of Cajun music's strongest links to country music for five decades. Newman has enjoyed a career as members of both the Louisiana Hayride and the Grand Ole Opry, and Sonnier has brought his energetic accordion sounds to recordings by Bob Dylan, Alan Jackson, Emmylou Harris and Elvis Costello.

The four are being inducted during a ceremony tonight.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

CD Reviews- Rachel Proctor- What Didn’t Kill Me

The Background:
For those not familiar with Proctor, before signing to a record deal, she co-wrote Martina McBride's 2002 single "Where Would You Be". By 2003, Proctor had signed to BNA Records, releasing her debut single "Days Like This" that year. This song, which peaked at #24 on the country charts, was the first of four singles from her 2004 debut album Where I Belong. Proctor's only album for the label, it also produced her highest-charting single in the #18 "Me and Emily". Although she has not charted a single since 2004, she has written charted singles for Jessica Simpson (“Come On Over”) and Jesse Lee (“It’s A Girl Thing”). This October marks the return of this young singer/songwriter with a new indie release, What Didn’t Kill Me.

The Review:
How Rachel Proctor hasn’t hit it big is a puzzle. The beautiful blonde released a generally critically well-received album earlier this decade and has proven to have some serious songwriting chops with mid-level hits by herself and songs covered by bigger artists. On What Didn’t Kill Me, Proctor does a great job striking an equilibrium between fast propulsive numbers and those introspective ballads that marked her radio success the first go-around. Her appearance belies her music. She sounds older and wiser, singing stories about life's journey with a “kick butt and take names” attitude. Says Proctor, “This album is a collection of songs from the last 5 years of my life. There have been a lot of ups and downs & loves and losses that have made me grow both as singer and as a songwriter. I've always believed in writing from the heart about my own life experiences…” Each of the 11 songs of the album are written or co-written by Proctor and that life experience from the last years is poured out best on the first and title track of the album. She uses the loss of her major label record deal and her scrape for musical relevance as inspiration on a great autobiographical song about getting stronger from the stuff that knocks you down. She gets very sensual on “Your Hands On Me” and the album has great production elements like the very cool electric guitar bridge on “Why Wait.” Her voice is a versatile alto and a powerful instrument. She displays emotional depth matching that high quality songwriting. The West Virginia native’s vocals rival that of any of her contemporaries with all the sincerity and emotion to convey the meaning of these songs and really pull the listener in. Imagine a Carrie Underwood album written, produced and sung by Carrie Underwood with all the personal connections to each and every track. That is what you can expect on Proctor’s What Didn’t Kill Me album. Overall, it’s a fantastic CD that belongs in your collection for sure.

Sounds Like:
Rebecca Lynn Howard’s Songwriting with Carrie Underwood’s Voice

Track Highlights (suggested iPod adds):
What Didn’t Kill Me
What Goodbye Looks Like
That’s A Lie
Your Hands On Me

The Verdict:
Four Stars Out Of Five

Kristy Lee Cook To Host New TV Show On Outdoor Channel

Hosted by country artist Kristy Lee Cook – no stranger to top tens herself as a finalist on last season's American Idol as well as the voice to the mid-chart country music hit “15 Minutes Of Shame” – will be hosting a new television show this fall. The Outdoor Channel's 10 Best will showcase some of the most heart-stopping outdoor footage and trusted opinions from the world's most knowledgeable experts in the industry. Salem, Oregon (and log cabin-residing) host Kristy Lee brings her country charm and outdoor passion as on-air host and ringmaster of each episode.

“She has a deep passion for hunting and horseback riding,” explains Producer Kevin Fay. “There is obvious crossover between her budding country music career and the outdoor adventure genre. Her honest love of the outdoors comes through the screen and engages the audience.“

In season one, the show will take on topics such as "Best Whitetail Destinations,""10 Greatest Mountain Hunts,""10 Greatest Hunting Lodges" and the "10 Deadliest Hunts."

In addition to competing on Idol, touring with the "Idols Live" stage tour and television hosting duties, Cook also finds time to create music (her album "Why Wait" hit #8 on the US Country Charts) and create her own charity (The Kristy Lee Horse Heaven Foundation specializes in caring, saving and finding homes for displaced horses).

The 9513 Interview With The Kentucky Headhunters

The Kentucky Headhunters are now coming full circle two decades after their 1989 debut album, Pickin’ On Nashville, was recorded for a measly $4,500. That record was meant to be a demo, but went on to sell Double Platinum and spent an amazing 147 weeks on the charts. Richard Young (rhythm guitar, vocals), Fred Young (drums), Greg Martin (lead guitar, vocals) and Doug Phelps (bass guitar, vocals) now are just launching a brand new album, The Kentucky Headhunters Live/Agora Ballroom … 1990.

I had an opportunity to sit down with Richard Young over at the other site I write for, The 9513, to talk about the new project. Read the entire interview HERE.

"There needed to be a band associated with this scene and we just happened to be in the right place at the right time. We had been doing this so many years, we saw a really weird reaction from people when we were playing little bars and things. There was some kind of magic. Maybe it was the commonality of the guys. The band was different, it was innocent. It was different from anything else. It was a little risqué in terms of what Nashville was used to."

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Alabama's Jeff Cook Readies New Christmas Album

With the Holiday Season just around the corner, Jeff Cook, a two-time GRAMMY winner and multi-platinum selling founding member of Country Music powerhouse Alabama, is preparing the upcoming release of his first ever solo Christmas album, Christmas Joy. On Tuesday, November 3, the album will be available for digital download via i-Tunes, Amazon.com, and Cook's website, www.jeffcook-agb.com.

The ten track album will feature several tried-and-true classic Holiday hits including “Run, Run Rudolph” and “Away In A Manger” as well as original Alabama material rerecorded by Cook. Legendary Rock n’ Roll Hall of Famers The Ventures join Cook, a Country Music Hall of Famer himself, on the project’s title cut, “Christmas Joy.” Cook also brings in his better half, Mrs. Lisa Cook, for lead vocals on several songs.

“This is my first solo Christmas project and I have tried to select varied and not too overplayed Christmas songs" notes Cook.

Jeff Cook and Alabama have a career that to date has resulted in 21 gold, platinum and multi-platinum albums and more than 78 million records sold. The band garnered 42 #1 Hits and were named the RIAA’s “Recording Group Of The Century.” In 2005, Alabama was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and in 2001 Cook was named “Guitarist of the Year” by the Gibson Guitar Company.

Christmas Joy Track Listing:

1. Christmas Joy
2. Rock & Roll Guitar
3. Away In A Manger
4. Run, Run, Rudolph
5. Reggae Santa
6. Homecoming Christmas
7. Please Come Home For Christmas
8. The Night Before Christmas
9. If We Make It Through December
10. My First Christmas In Heaven

CD Reviews- Miranda Lambert- Revolution

The Background:
Miranda Lambert, a two-time Grammy nominee has seen both of her previous albums debut at #1 on the Country Album Chart. Lambert wrote or co-wrote all but three of the 15 cuts on the album and worked with a cross-section of writers including Blake Shelton, Ashley Monroe, Natalie Hemby and Lady Antebellum's Dave Haywood and Charles Kelley, who lends background vocals on 'Love Song.' Of the three songs Lambert did not write, she pulled from the best and her favorites - John Prine, Julie Miller, Allen Shamblin and Tom Douglas to complete the album.

The Review:
Brilliant. The whole review could be boiled down to just that. Really. While Lambert's first two albums were full of firepower and redneck chick anthems- and were phenomenally outstanding CD’s in their own right- they were missing a mature emotional theme. She successfully created a tough girl persona that allowed her to stand out from the crowd of pretty blond Nashville wannabe stars and her vocal abilities and songwriting skills were never in doubt. But the hard rocking tunes like “Gunpowder and Lead” kept us from embracing the entirety of songwriter and artist. The hard exterior of the character of the songs she wrote/sang belied the tenderness of some of the ballads. That is not the case in 2009. On Revolution we have witnessed the birth of a real artist and one of the true treasures of Nashville. Miranda's spunky Texas tongue-in-cheek sarcasm is alive and well on "Only Prettier," “White Liar” and "That's the Way the World Goes Round." She is and can still be a badass at times- “Time To Get A Gun” and "Sin For A Sin." But this album marks the first time we really get a feeling of the softer side of Lambert. Her incredibly emotive voice, from the wistful whispers to the highest belted notes, shine an emotion previously unseen on tracks like “Virginia Bluebell,” “Dead Flowers,” and “Maintain The Pain.” The best track on the album is the gorgeous and haunting "The House That Built Me." The song finds Lambert traveling back her childhood home and waxing poetically about the place that shaped her. Lyrically, it’s almost perfect, and Lambert’s mellow vocal performance gives it a tenderness that would be lost by some of country music’s other vocal gymnists. Miranda Lambert proves that she’s one of country music’s Cinderellas. While beautiful, it’s not with looks. And while gorgeous, it’s not even entirely with her voice. It’s pen and persona. And with Revolution, she’s blossomed into the best in the business.

Sounds Like:
A Modern Day Rocking Loretta Lynn

Track Highlights (suggested iPod adds):
White Liar
Only Prettier
Dead Flowers
Time To Get A Gun
The House That Built Me
Love Song

The Verdict:
Four And A Half Stars Out Of Five

American Idol Alum Katherine McPhee Skirts Country On New Single

A new song has been released from American Idol alum’s Katharine McPhee’s upcoming album Unbroken, due to be released by Verve in January 2010 and it has a hint of country in it. A hint.

She gained fame as a contestant on the fifth season of the Fox reality show American Idol, eventually finishing as the runner-up.

I’d be interested to hear what everyone thinks about the song below as well as the new blonde hairdo.

Free Concert Stream Of Marcia Ball From NPR

If you like your country music infused with a little Louisiana, be sure to check out this great live concert from National Public Radio where Marcia Ball plays her signature jump blues, boogie-woogie and swamp funk. Ball was born in Orange, Texas, and grew up in nearby Vinton, La. She's been a mainstay in the Austin, Texas, scene since a chance breakdown in the city.

You can stream and listen to the concert for free right HERE.

Have Yourself A Merry Little "Lee Greenwood" Christmas

He may be known for the powerful ballad that has become a part of the fabric of America, but Lee Greenwood has had a lasting career for a lengthy string of hits that showcase his insightful songwriting, captivating showmanship and that distinctive voice.

The two-time CMA Male Vocalist of the Year and winner of CMA Song of the Year (“God Bless the USA” in 1985) gives those golden vocals a turn on a Christmas album.

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas features the inimitable Greenwood on such beloved holiday classics as “What Child is This,” “Little Drummer Boy,” “We Need A Little Christmas” and of course, the wish-filled title cut.

The album will be released on Country Crossing Records in late October 2009.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

New Musical Celebrating The Life Of Marty Robbins Launched In North Carolina

Actor and singer Jason Petty pays a terrific tribute to the late great Marty Robbins in “Marty's El Paso,” onstage now at Flat Rock Playhouse in North Carolina.

Robbins put 90 songs on the charts, including 17 No. 1 hits, and won two Grammys during a career that started in the 1950s and ended with his death in 1982.

“The legend that Marty left us was in his music,” Petty says. “Marty's life was the family life. He endeared himself to his fans, a group called Marty's Army who would follow him everywhere. He was always the most popular on the Grand Old Opry. And he would stay and sign every autograph.

Petty has had a long career connected with country music, singing at the old Opryland theme park in Nashville, starring in “Lost Highway,” which won an Obie award for Off Broadway performance in 2003, and writing and touring with the Hank Williams Sr musical tribute “Hank and My Honky Tonk Heroes.” He also wrote “Marty's El Paso,” which shares some similarities with the Williams' productions while setting its own tone, he said.

“Hank's life was much more tumultuous,” Petty said. “He had problems with pills and alcohol and his marriage and anger. And he was a musical genius. Marty was also a musical genius but he had two great kids, never drank or smoke and rarely cursed. His only vice was racing cars."

Rather than portray the role of Robbins, Petty said he more or less plays himself telling the singer's story. “It gives me a direction connection to the audience,” he said. “I want it to be like a big front porch,” he said.

Watch Emmylou Harris & Vince Gill's Performance On Leno Last Week

In case you missed it last week, country Music Hall of Fame members Vince Gill and Emmylou Harris performed together tonight on The Jay Leno Show on NBC.

Harris and Gill were in Los Angeles last week to participate in a “guitar pull” with Melissa Etheridge and Dwight Yoakam in a benefit for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s All for the Hall fund. Watch the great video of them singing the old rockabilly song “Two More Bottles Of Wine” below:

Monday, October 5, 2009

Ty Herndon Puts Gears In Motion For New Album For 2010

Ty Herndon has inked a management deal with The Bucket Agency, signed publishing and recording deals with Dove Award winning producer Wayne Haun and Haun’s Sunset Gallery Publishing, and is putting the finishing touches on the completion of his first self–penned record Journey On scheduled for a 2010 release on Vine Records.

Herndon has charted a total of seventeen singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. This figure includes three Number ones — "What Mattered Most" (1995), "Living in a Moment" (1996), and "It Must Be Love" (1998) — and four additional Top Ten hits.

Ty’s MySpace released the widget below as a fundraising effort on the new album that has three song samples from the new album on it.

Up & Coming New Nashville- The Warped 45’s (With Exclusive Interview)

In less than two years together as a band, Toronto-based roots rockers The Warped 45s have been moving at warp speed creatively, rapidly turning heads and opening ears with their stylistically freewheeling and compelling sound. Their self-titled 2008 independent six-song EP scored unanimous rave reviews, garnered strong college radio airplay across both Canada and the U.S., and had such publications as Exclaim! and Toronto’s EYE Weekly citing them as “Destined for Greatness in 2009.”

Those predictions are being emphatically fulfilled this year, as evidenced by the $10,000 cash prize they took home in June by winning the Rogers Fan Choice Award for a triumphant performance at the North By Northeast Festival. The next step in their meteoric ascent is the September 1st release of 10 Day Poem For Saskatchewan. Out on the Pheromone Recordings label and distributed by Fontana North, this debut full-length album is a work of genuinely epic proportions.

Pigeonholing The Warped 45s sound is a slippery task best not attempted. As points of reference, consider the artists the band cite as musical touchstones - Wilco, The Band, Blue Rodeo, Steve Earle, Tom Waits - all of whom defy stylistic straitjackets. The Warped 45s incorporate country, gospel, folk and rock elements with seamless grace. This is a band with a formidable arsenal of musical weapons, as they feature four vocalists, two songwriters, and multiple multi-instrumentalists (how many groups do you know that include three banjo players?).

To further expand the widescreen sound of 10 Day Poem For Saskatchewan, they recruited such talented friends as Romney Getty and Annelise Noronha (backing vocals), J.P.Desaulniers and Alex Cheung (violin), Craig Smith (dobro), Andrew Penner of Sunparlour Players (lap steel) and award winning jazz trumpeter Brownman.



That Nashville Sound- You have a very interesting band name, where'd it come from?

W45’s- The Warped 45s comes from the lyrics to one of Dave’s songs “Radio Sky”

“Let my headstone be my favorite jukebox
Loaded with the songs of my friends
Tuck the sheets of rain tight under my collar
By the headwaters of a hubcap stream
Rest my head beneath the rusted needles
Rustic hymnals and warped ‘45’s”

TNS- Describe your music, it has lots of different genres- what's the mission behind the music?

W45’s- “Why do we sing”? As Townes Van Zandt said, “For the Sake of the Song.” We certainly treat each song differently and open-minded. There are many instrument options within the band so we experiment to see what sounds work best for the song. I think the instrumentation then guides the song one way or another. As far as song selection we usually bring in a couple new songs a month and see which ones really seem to find their own groove with the band.

TNS- What's the career highlight for the band thus far?

W45’s- The career highlight this far for the band was receiving the Fan Choice award at the North By North East Festival in Toronto. The 10 000 dollar prize wasn’t so bad either.

TNS- What kind of music are you listening to? What's in your iPod?

W45’s- Currently listening to a few local artists. Elliott Brood and Justin Rutledge are fantastic song writers. Really true to the craft. So much great roots music coming out of Toronto right now so thankfully we don’t have to look very far. Also love the Drive-By Truckers. We are playing a show with them in November and there is always room for some John Prine. This list could get long so I’ll cut it off here.

TNS- What's next for you? Where do you hope to be career-wise a couple years from now?

W45’s- A couple years from now we hope to be making regular tours around North America and Europe. Every small town, village and city that’ll have us. Also, there are alot of great artists that we would be honored to share the stage with in the coming years.

TNS- Quick questions (which do you like best?): Opry or Opera?

W45’s- Cowboy Operas

TNS- Record stores or downloads?

W45’s Record Stores all the way. Nothing like cracking open a brand new CD or vinyl.

TNS- Fine dining or southern cooking?

W45’s- Southern cookin’- Nobody does it like Grandma

TNS- Baseball or fishing?

W45’s- Fishing with baseball bat fishing poles

Cover Gloriana To Win Prizes



The hot new young country music band Gloriana is having a unique contest where you can win prizes by doing a cover of their brand new single “How Far Do You Want To Go?” Simply record your performance, post it to YouTube and leave it as a reply to this video. There, you are entered! Official Rules:- All entries must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. Pacific Standard Time on Sunday, October 18th to be considered. - Each video entry needs a minimum of 100 views and/or 50 comments to be considered eligible. Make sure you send it to your friends, Tweet about it, and spread it around to get your view count up! - Videos will be judged based on their originality. Get creative! Make How Far Do You Wanna Go? YOUR song! Feel free to bring in other musicians, dancers, singers, etc. to help you! - One grand-prize winner will win an iPod Touch complete with Gloriana's full album! - Three runners-up will receive a signed CD booklet.

For official rules, lyrics, and guitar tabs go to http://gloriana.com/howfar

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Columbia Records Splits With Caitlin & Will And Keith Anderson

It was announced that Caitlin & Will have parted ways with Columbia Records Nashville. After winning Can You Duet, they were signed to Columbia Records' Nashville division and started work on recording their debut album. On March 31, 2009, they released a six song digital EP, entitled Caitlin & Will - EP. It featured their debut single "Address in the Stars", which was intended as the lead-off single to a full-length and now not-to-be-released studio record titled Dark Horse.

Also mysteriously missing off of the Columbia Records website is Keith Anderson. Known for hits "Pickin' Wildflowers", "XXL", "Every Time I Hear Your Name", and "I Still Miss You", Anderson's one album on the Columbia label was August 2008's C'mon. He had previously released an album on the Arisa Nashville label.

Universal South's Clark Brothers Change Name To Sons Of Sylvia

The three members of the Clark Brothers, (three of the brothers behind the Clark Family Experience's "Meanwhile, Back At The Ranch") are getting ready for a 2010 record launch and have changed their name in preparation. In an open letter to their fans, the guys sent this note:

We’ve gotten a lot of emails asking what we’ve been up to and felt it was time to send everyone an update.

Since winning The Next Great American Band we’ve been on a bit of a journey discovering who we are as a group. Although we have grown up playing music together with our family, the three of us hadn’t spent much time alone, as a band, making music. So we set out to do just that, play and write together and try new things. During this time we’ve really grown.

Right after the show we started writing and working with a ton of different songwriters in Nashville. As time went by we realized our style and sound were going in a new, different direction. It was a very natural “evolution” and we are so glad to have been given the time to get where we are today. We’re making music that we truly love with the hope that it will touch people.

So now for the big news. With everything we’ve gone through and after much thought and discussion, we’ve decided to change the name of our band to...SONS OF SYLVIA!!

We are so excited about the music we’re creating and the new band name. We’ve been working with some amazing people and even got the opportunity to work on a song with someone very special, which you should be hearing in the next few months ;)

So that’s our update. We truly thank you for your continued support and we’re looking forward to being able to share new music with you!

Gretchen Wilson Launches Redneck Records With Herself As First Client

“My management and I looked at a lot of different options over the last couple of months, and starting Redneck Records made the most sense to continue the relationships I’ve built with radio, retail and the fans,” said Gretchen. “This is a really exciting time in my life, and I’m looking forward to everyone hearing my new music.”

And with that announcement, Gretchen Wilson kicked off her own Redneck Records, with distribution, staff and other team members already in place. A new single is coming next week and will be followed by an album early next year. Operating from Studio 27 in Lebanon, Tenn. Wilson will act as President, overseeing label operations with the support of her team at Morris Artist Management.

The first release on the label will be Wilson’s “Work Hard, Play Harder.” Written by Wilson, and longtime collaborators John Rich and Vicky McGehee, the single will impact radio on October 26th.

You can watch the video and listen to the new song HERE

Hank Williams Jr & Kid Rock Sing "There Ain't No Good Chain Gang"

In the weeks following Johnny Cash’s passing in 2003, there were a number of different tributes in his honor. CMT held their own and here’s a video of Hank Williams, Jr. and Kid Rock singing “There Ain’t No Good Chain Gang.”



And just to compare it against the original version, here's Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings below...



Email subscribers can click on the headline to watch the video.