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All of this happened a long time ago when the world was a very different place. Of course, none of us knew that at the time.
(From The Drift - A Novel by Joe Wolfe-Mazeres) Available at Amazon.com (Kindle edition also available)
If you have read The Drift, please consider writing a review on Amazon. If you haven't read it, you can get your own copy through Amazon or if you are in Nashville, you can get them from me.
E2TG January 2018
E2TG February 2018
E2TG March 2018
E2TG April 2018
E2TG May 2018
E2TG June 2018
E2TG July 2018
E2TG August 2018 (coming soon!)
E2TG September 2018 (coming soon!)
SAVE THE DATE!!!!! Thursday, November 15, 2018 - We have a pretty cool event in the works. More to come! I can tell you this isn't really an E2TG event. It is connected to my novel, The Drift, and we have some super cool guests lined up. Announcement soon!
Every single day.... every single day for the last almost two years... there is some atrocity, some outrage.... Remember when candidate Trump mocked a reporter with disabilities and it didn't negatively affect his campaign? Remember when Trump called Mexican immigrants "criminals, drug dealers, and rapists" and his crowds cheered? Remember when president-elect Trump appointed White Nationalists to high level positions in his administration? Those of us who called these atrocities out for what they were - were labeled as having "Trump Derangement Syndrome". Make no mistake, what is happening today is not a coincidence or an accident. The neo-Nazis and White Supremacists and White Nationalists and anti-Semites are being emboldened and encouraged by the White House - and nothing is being done about it. I know that there are reasonable, good people in the Republican Party - at least I have always believed that - but failure of the Republican led Congress to provide checks and balances to the madness that is occurring (EVERY SINGLE DAY) is causing me to doubt this. And I'm not talking about the Flake and Collins and other so-called moderates - who make statements that seem reasonable but then fail to back those statements with any meaningful action.
The fact is, we are a nation without a moral leader. The fact is 60-70 percent of the country does not have a leader and all. And the 29-39 percent who think they have a leader - are lied to daily and are either too willfully ignorant or too blind to see it. Even if a Blue Wave happens on November 6, our nation is in deep trouble. If it doesn't happen, I don't know what will happen next, but it will not be good.
My heart goes out to the victims in Kentucky and in Pittsburgh. To those who live in feat because of the color of their skin or because of their religion (or religious or ethnic heritage), or because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. We are in dangerous and unprecedented times. Choose acts of love today. Resist, persist, vote, get others who care about all people to vote...
In the midst of all this, I am in the middle of a move - set for Wednesday and I am listening to music as I pack and prepare. Music is a balm for me. Let's do this Music City Monday shuffle.
"Really Doing It Right" by Tim Carroll
We start with a bit of deep cut from Tim Carroll's 2012 album Look Out! Carroll's music career began in the late 1970s in his native Indiana, followed him to New York City, and then to Nashville in the early-mid 1990s. Today, he is one of the steadiest and best artists and performers that Nashville has to offer. Plus, he is a prolific songwriter with an incredible wide and deep repertoire of wonderful songs.
"Hugh Hansen" by Eric Brace, Peter Cooper, Thomm Jutz
Next up, we have a track from the superb and super Nashville trio of Eric Brace, Peter Cooper, and Thomm Jutz from their album Profiles in Courage, Frailty, and Discomfort. The song was written by Cooper, Jutz, and Fred Knobloch about a luthier who repaired a Martin guitar that belonged to Knobloch.
"In the Service of the King (Instrumental)" by Tom Mason
Fresh on the heels of our Double Shot theme about Instrumentals, I am reminded of one I missed (we will be doing that theme again!). The instrumental version of Tom Mason's great song In the Service of the King. As you should know by now, Mason leads the best Pirate band around. He is also a fine guitar player and songwriter, and a wonderful human being.
"Cannon Fodder" by Joshua Black Wilkins
Next up, we have another track from Valentine Sessions by Joshua Black Wilkins. Wilkins, in addition to being an amazing songwriter and performer is also a first class photographer and visual artist. He is part of the foundation that makes East Nashville, East Nashville.
"I Wanna Go Home" by Lilly Hiatt
I admit, when I first heard of Lilly Hiatt, I thought - oh yeah, she's John Hiatt's daughter - cool - because I've been a John Hiatt fan for over 30 years. Soon, however, I stopped thinking of her that way. She is Lilly Hiatt - one of the best that Nashville has to offer. This is a track from her breakthrough album Trinity Lane. I consider this album - which has been out just over a year - to be one of the best that the East Nashville community has produced.
"Goodnight Partner" by Wild Ponies
The thing I love about the musicians I have met over the last few years - mostly in and around East Nashville - - well one of the things - is that these are not just great musicians and songwriters - but wonderful people whose approach to music includes speaking truth in love and a deep appreciation for the music of the past. Wild Ponies embody those principles in spades. This is from their monumental album Galax - wherein the duo - packed up some incredible Nashville musicians and headed to Galax, Virginia - one of the cradles of American music, teamed up with some of old-time music players who live and play in and around Galax and recorded (with a simple, old school set up) a truly remarkable album.
"Same Old Town" by Bill Eberle
Bill Eberle just released his latest album, Soft Light. It is one of my favorite albums of 2018. This is a track from his 2016 release Matter and Time. Check out the video - which is from CXCW 2014. The song is dedicated to and about his native Pittsburgh - which seems fitting for today's shuffle.
"Big Jim Folsom" by Davis Raines
Davis Raines is a long-time and valuable part of the Nashville music community. He is native of Alabama. This is from his 2008 album Going to Montgomery. I consider Raines one of Nashville's finest songwriters. This is a great song.
"Hard Feelings" by Patrick Kinsley and a Fistful of Dollars
It's been a minute since we heard from Patrick Kinsley. He's been expanding his family, but we are about to get a new album from Kinsley and his band, and Friday - he released the first single and title track from that album. And lo and behold, it showed up here in the shuffle. Great to hear this new music which takes some of Kinsley's best musical traits and moves things forward. Can't wait for the full album!
VIDEO PLAYLIST
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