Featured Friday Morning Shuffle - Pavement Confessions Mix

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I am back.  After a three day work-related trip, I am back and ready to officially close out the first half of 2017.  Since, I missed a couple of days and still have tons of music to present, I will probably continue spinning from the "New Music" Playlist into next week before reverting back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Time is short... let's shuffle!

Manic Monday Music Shuffle - Dadaism Mix

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Welcome to Monday, the beginning of the last week of the month of June - which means it is the beginning of the last week of the first half of the year.

Program alert: I will be traveling a bit this week - so there is a good chance that there will be no posts on a couple of days this week - which makes our quest to feature as many of our "new music" playlist songs as we can while we can.

Let's get to it!

Featured Friday Morning Shuffle- Burn it Down Mix

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Okay - I need to get some things out:

Take care of those less fortunate, protecting and empowering the oppressed, having compassion for others, honesty and transparency from our elected representatives, and respecting our planet. These should not be controversial of divisive issues. But, it seems they are... and to be honest, I don't get it. When I read the comment sections on posts (which I really need to stop doing), I realize that I do not ever share the same realm of reality as some of the people making comments.  How do we resolve this?  Listen, in matters of public policy and politics (if you will) there is plenty of room for debate - even among people who fundamentally agree with one another.  But, facts should not be up for debate. But they are... we find ourselves in the era of alternative facts. How do we get out of this place?  Where is the common ground?

Another quick thought before I move on... can I treat everyone by the same standards. Especially our elected officials.  I guess bias is fairly natural.. but when I am reacting to something an elected official has done, I need to ask myself - how would I react if that official was from a different political party or philosophy?  Would I be just has pleased or just as outraged? If my answer is yes, then I need to work toward living up to that standard......
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Last night I made it out for the early show at The 5 Spot.  The Easy Leaves (a California band with Nashville's Adam Kurtz on pedal steel) were great.  Rich Mahan and The Tripmonks were wonderful. When Allen Thompson joined them for a rare cover of the Velvet Underground classic "The Gift"... I was blown away. (I captured this on video which is on my personal Facebook page).

ICYMI:  Another song premiered this morning on E2TG.  Please check out "Isle of Hope" by Jefferson Ross from his album (out today) called Live at Hillbilly Haiku.

Tomorrow - a live Double Shot is coming up on WXNA.  Later tomorrow, I will representing WXNA at Nashville Pride Festival downtown.  Stop by the WXNA tent to hear cool tunes and meet the DJs.

Well, week one of our two week mid-year  "New Music" clearance.  The playlist down below 300 songs - but I have more to add over the weekend.  Let's see what today's shuffle has in store...

E2TG Song Premiere - Jefferson Ross - "Isle of Hope"

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For the second day in a row, we have a song to premiere.  This one comes from singer-songwriter Jefferson Ross, who is based in Savannah, Georgia - but Nashville is all over this track.  The song is a live recording from the brand new album Live at Hillbilly Haiku. The album is produce and features the work of noted Nashville musician Thomm Jutz. Hillbilly Haiku is a House Concert series run by Rick and Denise Williams in nearby Lebanon, Tennessee.  The awesome Fats Kaplin and Kristie Rose are next up at Hillbilly Haiku - on Saturday June 24!)

Jefferson Ross is a former Nashville resident. He was a staff songwriter and a noted session player and road musician.  He is also a painter. He brings a life of experiences to his music which is distinctly Southern,

After the jump, you can hear more about Jefferson Ross and "Isle of Hope" and you can give the song a listen.

Trending Thursday Morning Shuffle - Helps the Flowers Grow Mix

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ICYMI: E2TG premiered a brand new song from Flying Buffaloes earlier this morning.  You can check that out HERE.

Keep your ear to the ground for more premiere's as I begin to dig myself out from my backlog which developed during my Residency last month.

In other news, a release date has been set for Lifers - Jon Latham's follow up to Real Bad News. The album will drop on September 1 on Cafe Rooster Records. I plan to take the day off from work and listen to the album in the parking lot of a local Taco Bell.  You should make similar arrangements.

Speaking of Cafe Rooster Records, the line-up that graced us with their appearance in week 4 of the E2TG Residency will be down in Georgia on July 1 at Eddie Owen Presents in Duluth. If you are within driving range and able to make it there, it is highly recommended.

All week (and next), we have been playing songs which populate our "New Music" playlist.  These are primarily albums/songs that were submitted to E2TG for play plus some old friends and favorites that we added even if not specifically submitted.

Anyway, let's shuffle....

E2TG Song Premiere: Flying Buffaloes - "Hey ;) is for Horses"

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Man, it seems like forever since I've posted anything but a shuffle, but how about a brand new song premiering today.  Flying Buffaloes are a Nashville band, and their forthcoming album is called Taking Off.  The single we are premiering today is cleverly titled, "Hey ;) is for Horses" (the emoji is intention and apparently essential.  Clever right? But clever isn't going to get you onto E2TG... well, it might depending on my mood, but it's not going to get you a song premiere.  What I am trying to say is that the clever titled helped convince me to give it a listen, but it was the song itself that won me over.  I think it's a great song, and a wonderful addition to the current awesome Nashville vibe.  You can judge for yourself at the end of this post.  After the picture and the jump, I will share a bit more about the band and the song.

Wild Wednesday Morning Shuffle - Dog on my Lap Mix

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The world and this country and many of my fellow humans having getting me down of late. I am trying to remember to find the beauty, to dance in the rain, to fight for the oppressed, to worry less about my own needs and wants, to be kind to strangers and friends alike, to bring light in whatever ways I am able, to find gratitude because I am a really lucky guy, to stop comparing myself to others, to stop worrying about what "they" have, to push myself to make the most of my good fortunes (and their are many), to be a better friend, a better family member, a better citizen, to remember that the best advice I've ever gotten sometimes took me years to fully absorb, to accept my own faults and limitations so that I better accept those in others.  

Okay - we continue shuffling from the New Music playlist... it's still wild enough for me!

Trending Tuesday Morning Shuffle - Hide Your Daughters, Hide Your Sons Mix

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Well, it is officially the longest day of the year, the Summer Solstice, or the beginning of the long march to Winter gloom - if you will.  As I mentioned yesterday, we are also approaching the half way mark of 2017.  In an effort to present as much "new" music as possible, I am going to be spinning tunes from my "new music" playlist every day for the next two week. It's Tuesday today, and I would be doing that anyway, but still....


Well - let's get to the music shall we?

Manic Monday Music Shuffle - Punchline Mix

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Hello Reader!

Well - I had the realization that we have just two weeks of shuffles left and then the first half of 2017 will be over.  It's been a busy year so far. I know New Years is the traditional time to make life changes (or at least to talk about it), but I like to think of June 30 as kind of halftime for the year.  In my limited knowledge of football, it seems like teams that are good at making halftime adjustments tend to do better (overall).  Okay sports analogy over.  Anyway, as I sit here on the verge of the 2nd half of 2017, I noticed I have over 300 songs in my "New Music" playlist. All (with one or two exceptions) represent music that was submitted to me in one form or another in relatively recent months.  I also noticed that some recent additions have been underplayed - the nature of the random shuffle, and there are also some stragglers (one or two songs from albums nearly or over one year old). It seems like a good time to tidy up the playlist, but before I do, I thought I would dedicate the next two weeks to just playing songs from the "New Music" playlist to clean it out a little naturally.

This would normally be Music City Monday - but as I suspected over half of the songs in this shuffle would have fit that playlist, too.

Let's shuffle!

Featured Friday Morning Shuffle - Florescent Thoughts Mix

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Well - here we are at Friday...

I am a bit short on time as I got out and enjoyed the weather at bit before the heat and humidity kicked in... I was 80% through my walk when it hit...

Let's jump to it!  These are songs from the "New Music" playlist (i.e. songs we are specially featuring here. i.e. submissions, old friends, etc.)

Topical Thursday Morning Shuffle - Cellphone Out the Window Mix

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Remember when we had a President who was not under investigation for obstructing justice?  Good times!
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Had a blast last night at Music City Roots!  Note to myself: it's not really that bad driving down there.

Peter Cooper hosted and opened show with a song. It's always good to hear Peter Cooper - even if it is just one song.

E2TG favorites Adrian + Meredith were the first guest act.  Every time I see them, I am more and more impressed, and they sure won over the crowd at the Factory in Franklin.

Sean McConnell was next.  I was not that familiar with his music - though he has a quite a following.  Great voice, great playing, catchy songs.

Mark Robinson Band - another E2TG favorite was smoking as always - doing some of my favorite songs of theirs.  Somehow, no matter the line-up, Mark Robinson always has a killer band and he is - a consummate entertainer in the truest sense of the word.

New Orleans legend Walter Wolfman Washington closed the show.  Smooth rhythm and blues music that was dripping in New Orleans charm and history.  Backed by a great band - Washington has roots back to many of the New Orleans legends - like Ernie K. Doe for example, and it is great to hear him still making great music in 2017.

The closing "jam" was a treat. I have to say, I had never seen someone clogging to a blues song, but I have now thanks to Meredith (of Adrian + Meredith).  All that and I was home not long after ten.

As you may know by now, we are still "celebrating" the sixth anniversary of this blog via a special playlist I created.  Basically, I went through my entire collection of music and selected one song from each artist that I determined was an E2TG alumnus. It gets complicated - I admit.  Back in the early days of the blog, I had "Bands of the Week" "Bands of the Month" "Featured Artists" and the like. I considered any band/artist that fit one of those categories to be part of the E2TG "Family" (whether they liked it or even knew about it).  Later, I decided just to keep writing about bands but not worry about designations.  Nowadays, I get music submitted to me from a variety of sources. I still think about the bands I write about as "family" - albeit a very extended family.  Of course, in some cases I never really connected with the band/artist - or I have lost touch in the intervening years, or whatever... but in any event, I went through all of the artists I had songs for - and the ones that I deemed E2TG artists were added to this playlist.  450 in all originally.  Every Thursday, we shuffle that list - we'll do it until I get tired or it or we run out of songs - which ever comes first.

Wild Wednesday Morning Shuffle - Joan Jett is a Goddess Mix

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I'm back - I was a bit under the weather yesterday... "under the weather" -what does that even mean? I was sick.

Today - I am overwhelmed by all of the hate and negativity in the world and in this country.  I am vowing not to read any more comment threads about anything remotely political for at least the rest of the day... why do I do this to myself?

My solution for today is to share music I love and to send out (to the best of my ability) love and light to all.

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting and this is Pride Month.  So I send out special love and light to everyone who needs it... in the words of Wild Ponies - "Love is not a sin."


A reminder:  Music City Roots tonight features not one but two veterans of E2TG Anniversary shows... look for Adrian + Meredith and The Mark Robinson Band joining a great lineup.  You can listen on-line if you can't make it to Franklin.

Now for a Wild Wednesday Shuffle!

Music City Monday Morning Shuffle - Whiskey and Cocaine Mix

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Enjoyable weekend - got to see some cool music. Friday - the always fantastic Rock and Roll Happy Hour at The 5 Spot with Tim Carroll.  After that I headed out west to catch some of Joe Maynard (Maynard and the Musties) with Mark Robinson sitting in on guitar.

Saturday - first it was the one year anniversary show of Double Shot with Joe and Sue.  Then I got to fill in on Nashville U with Gina and her guest Rayvon Pettis.  I got to spin some Nashville music.

Saturday night was the CD Release Show (Nashville edition) for Dan Montgomery's new album GONE.  Dan's band was incredible.  Julie Christensen, Sergio Webb, and Chris Tench opened the night (and played some new songs), and BARK were awesome as always.

Happy to see some video  of and to read some reactions to  Aaron Lee Tasjan at Bonnaroo.

Monday we always play songs with some connection to Music City, and we call it Music City Monday - go figure.  Here's today's shuffle...

Featured Friday Morning Shuffle - T-Rex Mix

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It seems like there was a time when we could disagree about many things, but there were certain basic truths that we could agree upon.  Like "The sky is blue and therefore we need to do ____. "  "No, the sky IS blue, but we should do ____."  Now, it seems like it is more... "The sky is blue and therefore we need to do ______."  "No!  It is the fake media that has you convinced that the sky is blue.  The sky is red and therefore we MUST do ______."

I am short of solutions right now.  It seems like all of us are so far apart.  Common ground seems to be a lost concept. I guess I am thinking about the Congressional testimony yesterday, and how differently people can view it. I always want to try to understand on some level how those who think differently than me see the world, and on some levels I can, but regardless of the circumstances and experiences that lead a person to hold a particular set of beliefs.  There SHOULD be some points on which almost all people can agree.  Shouldn't there?
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We have reached the end of a another week... time is a raging river... The Foresters new album is out today,  Listen for me twice on the radio tomorrow - Double Shot's 1 year anniversary show and then right after that I will be filling in out Nashville U.  Gina will be interviewing Rayvon Pettis who will be playing a few songs, and I will be spinning some Nashville tunes from the past and the present.

It is Friday, and on Friday, we bring you a shuffle from our "New Music Playlist".  We call it Featured Friday - as these "new music" tracks are artists, albums, or songs that we are featuring.

Shuffle!

Topical Thursday Morning Shuffle - Old Bones Mix

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Well, we sure do live in interesting times.  Interesting is an interesting word.  It can be positive, negative, or neutral... or even ironically.  Time will tell, how "interesting" these times are, but from this up-close perspective, it sure is interesting.  #Comey #DumpTrump #Resist #Persist
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So, last month, as you may know, E2TG turned six years old.  It has been quite a ride to be sure.  To celebrate, I created a 450 song "retrospective" playlist of music that have been featured in some way on this blog.  That is basically 450 different artist - with allowances that some may be crossovers (solo acts vs. bands they were in/ people in two or more bands etc.)  It has been fun revisiting all of the great music. I have lost touch with some of these fine folks and in some cases, I cannot find updated information, but they were all a part of getting me to this point, and while I am not entirely sure that I know where "this point" is, I do know that a whole bunch of good stuff is happening and has happened because I started writing this blog. My point being that every step along the way was important, and I am grateful of ALL of the awesome music I have encountered.  Today's shuffle spans the six years pretty effectively - picks up on some rare cuts from the past, and well - rocks.  In many cases, I could not find a video of the particular song today, but I think I got at least something to represent each artist.

Let's shuffle!

Wild Wednesday Morning Shuffle - Sentimental Elemental Sushi Mix

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Catching up on some announcements: E2TG Favorites, The Foresters are releasing their eagerly anticipated new album House Stories on Friday!  Here is the link!

As always, there is a ton of great live music in Music City.  Of note: Saturday night, at The 5 Spot, I am excited about the Dan Montgomery CD Release Show with special guests BARK and Julie Christensen.  Montgomery's new album GONE sounds amazing, it is always great to see Tim and Susan of BARK, and Julie Christensen is one of my favorite artists and people. This is a no-brainer, do-not-miss kind of show!

Also, earlier in the day on Saturday, Sue and I will be celebrating our 1 year anniversary of Double Shot with Joe and Sue.  Our theme will be leftovers: we will be revisiting past themes and playing songs that we didn't get or think to play the first time around.  Right after Double Shot, I will be filling in for Leslie on Nashville U and spinning some local tunes (past and present) and Gina will be on hand with special in-studio guest Rayvon Pettis!

Double Shot begins at 11a.m. Central Time on 101.5 FM in Nashville and wxnafm.org or via the TuneIn App everywhere.

Really cool coincidence, yesterday, I posted Jon Magnusson's tribute to a local hockey team in Sweden and joked about co-opting the song for the Nashville Predators, and Magnusson commented that one of the Predators players (Filip Forsberg) previously played for the team his song is about.


Time for some wildness on our Wild Wednesday shuffle - this is the day we shuffle from ALL of the songs on my phone.  A wild mix today,,,,

Trending Tuesday Morning Shuffle - Pencil to a Fish Mix

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Without a doubt, there is a lot of ugliness in the world, which is why it is so important to seek out and notice and acknowledge beauty as much as possible.  Last night's Jon Latham benefit at The Basement East was teeming with beautiful moments. Featuring terrific solo sets from Sally Jaye, Rayvon Pettis, Brian Wright, Becca Mancari, and Peyton Parker to a scintillating full band set from Sadler Vaden. Jon's awesome band (Andrew Leahey, Sean Quinn, Raun Schultz, and Cory Nichols) played his debut album, Real Bad News in it's entirety with guests ranging from Darrin Bradbury's deliciously over-the-top reading of "Major Key" to Brian Wright and Sally Jaye's moving rendition of "Conversation at a Funeral".  Top to bottom, great performances by some of Jon's friends who happen to be the cream of the crop of Nashville artists.  The show ended with the band doing "Last in Line" from Jon's forthcoming album Lifers.  Then, everyone who played and more took the stage for the title track of Lifers with Jon himself leading the way.  Jon and his band closed the night with their version of Springsteen's "Darkness of the Edge of Town".   The love and respect and beauty was impossible to miss.

Well, it is Tuesday, and that is when we shuffle up our "New Music" playlist.  The fun thing about using the random shuffle function is you never know what it will bring up...

Music City Monday Morning Shuffle - Old Friends Mix

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It seems like a good time to check-in... yep, it is June 5, 2017, and there are still white supremacists in positions of power in the White House.
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Had a good time celebrating the 1st Anniversary of WXNA yesterday.  As someone who come of age musically speaking with college radio (WRVU in particular), I have to say, WXNA has filled huge gap in the Nashville radio landscape. There is great original programming every single day, all day long, and I am so happy to be a part of it.

TONIGHT!  Yes, the Predator's are in the Stanley Cup Finals, and Nashville is abuzz.  Game 4 is tonight, but I am going to recommend you get yourself to The Basement East for the Jon Latham Benefit tonight.  Not only is it a great cause for a great guy, the music is going to be incredible. Jon's ace band will be the house band with an incredible lineup of guest singers.  You can check in on the game on your phone as you need to...

Okay, I was off last Monday, so this is our first Music City Monday in a couple of weeks... so let's do this thing!

Featured Friday Morning Shuffle - Sleepless in Nashville Mix

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Honestly, I try to keep my commentaries at least semi-cordial - not that the current administration does that not even necessarily deserves it, but there have been so many straws.  Seriously, how more reprehensible can this administration be?  I can't believe this will go on for four more years.  I just can't.  About "covfefe" - you know if you are someone who cares about other human beings - then this year has been horrendously painful. You got to get your laughs when you can. Every once in a while, I will visit the Facebook page of one of the handful of "T-Rump" supporters I am friends with  (I generally do well with muting these posts from my newsfeed). Anyway, I wanted to check in to see what they were saying about "covfefe" - and there is actually a  (now debunked) piece that claims the "word" is a translation of an Arabic term meaning We Will Stand or some such.  By debunked, I mean the original article has some convoluted Google Translation that seems to indicate the meaning. It is based upon a false use and reading of Google Translate. Which means, even if the president intended to use it in this way, he was basing the usage on a erroneous source (not the first time there).  But, it got me thinking about a bigger issue... let's say the translation had been correct and that had been the intent of the "Tweet"... imagine if it had been President Obama who had tweeted an Arabic term - can you even imagine the outrage from the right?  Ugh!  Look, I don't care about weird tweets, I worry about the damage being done to this nation's reputation and standing in the world.  Honestly, I would be among the first to tell you that the Democratic party is less than ideal, and I hope they will improve and make some adjustments in policy and strategy, BUT,  the situation now is so dire that I feel even some options I previously viewed as odious are looking better,,,,,
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Anyway, it's Friday and we have some Featured tunes for the day!  I love that even my "New Music" playlist is so diverse. It's easy to get pigeonholed and I have worked hard to keep E2TG as wildly inclusive as possible, and the variety of submissions I get reflects that I am succeeding on that count - at least.

Shuffle!

Topical Thursday Morning Shuffle - Cape on the Floor Mix

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It's been a few days since I added any commentary to the current state of things in this country and in the world. Honestly, I am overwhelmed and exhausted by it all - but I am fighting to stay alert. In some ways, I see hope in the mounting investigation over Russia, but beyond and president or administration, I am deeply concerned about the ever-widening divide in this country.  I am also concerned about the potentially lasting damage being done to the environment, to basic human rights, to our country's reputation, and on and on. #Resist #Persist
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Well, it's a wrap!  Thanks again to everyone who came out last night for the finale of the E2TG Residency at The 5 Spot.  FuzzQueen rocked as expected and won over some new fans in Nashville and Amelia White was awesome with kick ass band - The Blue Souvenirs.

And thanks to everyone who came out, played, and/or played a part in making this month really special and something I will never forget.

Onward and Upward...  a couple of notes:  Sunday June 4 marks the One Year Anniversary of the beginning of broadcasting at WXNA.  They are celebrating at Dee's Country Cocktail Lounge from 3-8.  Everyone is invited - and you should come - this is YOUR community radio station.

Monday June 5 is the Jon Latham benefit at The Basement East - a pretty killed lineup will help raise some more money for Jon Latham who - as you may know - had some major health issues earlier in the month.

On Thursday's we shuffle songs around a topic.  Earlier this year, the topic was centered around the times in which we live.  For the 6th Anniversary, I began a new theme around a playlist of artists we have played/written about over the entire six years.  We will continue that for a while... Today's shuffle includes songs that span the years and diverse music styles we have featured.