Monday, February 29, 2016

Music City Monday Morning Shuffle - Rosebud, Too Mix



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Quick recap, I continued to lay a little low - still dealing with a lingering cold, and working on song selection for the forthcoming "Double Shot with Joe and Sue" (still no confirmed start date).

Friday:  First, it was good to see a large and vibrant crowd for the weekly Tim Carroll Rock and Roll Happy Hour  (one of this town's best weekly events in my opinion).  I left there a little early and headed to Bobby's Idle Hour on Music Row for the Darkhorses of East Nashville - a collaborative round featuring the amazingly talented trio of Julie Christensen, Amelia White, and Sergio Webb.  Trading off songs and backing each other, produced several magical moments.  If they come through your town, do not miss it.


So, as I promised Friday, it seemed like a good time to shake things up here at E2TG - just a little bit.  Inspired by the success of Featured Friday, I have decided to have a "theme" playlist every for every day of the week.  The large #E2TG playlist had gotten very large and getting bigger. By having smaller playlist each day, it may provide more opportunities to feature different artists.  We shall see.

So, without much more ado, we begin this new chapter with the debut of Music City Monday - featuring music with connections to Nashville.  As you will see, this playlist features both current artists/albums and classics covering over half a century.  Non-Nashville artists: Do not be concerned, there will be many opportunities throughout the week for me to feature your music.


"The Homer Bellamy Centennial Blue Yodel" by Jesse and Noah 

Jesse and Noah Bellamy have roots in Florida and first made a name for themselves in Texas, but Nashville is happy to claim them now.  This song, from the album Driven Back, marks what would have been the 100th birthday of their Grandfather who solidified their love of Country and Western music.  The brother's performed this long on the Grand Ole Opry.  A very Nashville way to introduce Music City Monday.

"Crazy Lady" by Paul Zografi
Our final featured song from Paul Zografi's most recent EP - Brevity Lane.  Zografi is part of loosely organized group of artists that includes some of my favorite people.  His songs are very strong and extremely fun to hear.
"Follow Me Home" by SHEL

We started off this shuffle with brothers, and now we have a band of sisters.  SHEL (the name derives from the first letters of the first names of the 4 Holbrook sisters originally from Fort Collins, Colorado.  They divide time between their hometown, and Nashville (thus their qualification for this playlist).  They played an important (if coincidental) role in the genesis of this recent phase of my life as a music writer.  In May of 2014, on the day, I first met Darrin Bradbury in person, I followed him down to The 5 Spot - where Darrin was manning the merch table for Tim Easton during his residency.   SHEL performed as part of that show - which was also the first time I saw Aaron Lee Tasjan and Megan Palmer (who backed Easton).  Anyway, what is more important than my own experiences, is that SHEL are a really awesome band with a pretty cool sound. They are currently running a Pledgemusic presale for their new album Crazy Enough which is due out in May.  In support, they released a sampler on Noisetrade which includes a couple of tracks from the new album and some bonus songs which have appeared in television and film.  Including this one, which was featured on MTV's Eye Candy.  SHEL will be down at Safety Harbor Song Fest in early April and are scheduled to play Nashville's Earth Day concert in Centennial Park on April 23.

"Cut n Run" by Brandy Zdan 

Another Nashville transplant and another track from a Noisetrade sampler.  Brandy Zdan is getting some good and well deserved attention here in Nashville.  She is originally from Winnipeg, and here self-titled album was released in 2015.

"Chainsaw Dance" by Crazy Aces

A short fun track from Music City's resident instrumental rock band.

"Home Sweet Hotel" by Amelia White

Fresh off Friday night's show at Bobby's Idle Hour, we have Amelia White with the title track from her brand new album.  Expect much more from this album. White is one of East Nashville's best and this album is a true collaboration with several more awesome folks from both sides of the Cumberland River.

"Stubborn Lover" by Sugar and the Hi Lows

Nashville based duo Sugar and the Hi Lows are up next with a track from their 2012 self-titled album.  They were an E2TG featured artists when that album came out.

"Cattle Prod" (Guadalcanal Diary cover) by Government Cheese
Okay, so Government Cheese are technically a Bowling Green band, but Tommy Womack lives in Nashville, and they were a vital part of the Nashville music scene during their original run.  Furthermore, the video I found for this track was shot at the late, lamented venue, The Rutledge by the fabulous Too Much Country.  Oh, and the song was originally by Guadalcanal Diary who were also not a Nashville band (from Marietta, Georgia), but who played here often in the 80s and early 90s (I saw them several times).  Everything about this is awesome. From the retrospective, 1985-1995. They had me at Government Cheese covering Guadalcanal Diary.

"Nine Pound Hammer" by Johnny Cash with The Carter Family

I don't think I need to explain Johnny Cash's connection to Nashville.  This song was written by Merle Travis (and put too fine a point on my connection theme), this song was often used as Darrin Bradbury's warm up song back in the heyday of the Darrin/Tim Carroll Fran's Eastside era.


VIDEO PLAYLIST

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