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For your holiday shopping: The Drift - A Novel by Joe Wolfe-Mazeres Available at Amazon.com (Kindle edition also available)
Last night was the first ever WXNA Holiday Party - it was a swell affair and affirmed how lucky I am to be a part of this amazing group of people.
After that, I headed to The Basement for The Big Dumb CD Release Party. It is hard for me to relate how much I love this amazingly talented group of musicians. In addition, not one, not two, but three past E2TG Artists of the Year were special guests for the show. Rayvon Pettis, Darrin Bradbury, and Jon Latham. I would put good money that this will not be the last you've heard about The Big Dumb this "Earie" season.
It's the end of the first full-week of December, and it is Day 3 of the 2018 Earie Awards. The Earies are kind of like the Grammys - except they are nothing like the Grammys.
Today for our shuffle, we journal back to a more innocent time - March 2018......
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"Raggedy Andy Williams" by Benjamin Jason Douglas
One of the most anticipated albums for me, became one of my favorite albums of 2018. First World Blues is the name of the album. You may recall that we got to premiere one song from the album. Ben Douglas can be spare and moving when playing solo, and he can rock your socks off when he plays with a band. When he is not making brilliant music, he can sometimes be found manning the front door at The 5 Spot in East Nashville. While doing that job, he has been known to do some amazing sketches of the musicians playing and other things. So, for his Earie award, I am going to steal his Instagram handle and give Ben Douglas the Doodling Doormando award for 2018.
"You" by Lobelia
A hold over from an album we featured heavily in 2017. Lobelia Lawson was born in the U.S. but is based in the U.K. - where she hosts a songwriting series. She won an Earie last year for her album, Love or Something Like It.
"Good Day" by Renfree Isaacs
Yet another 2017 holdover - remember, E2TG features albums over several months, so in March, we still had a lot of 2017 albums being featured. In 2018, The Renfrees and Dave Isaacs went back to their separate careers, but while together they made a lovely album and picked up a coveted "Earie Award".
"My Wallet is a House of Cards" by Ajay Mathur
2018 has been a great year for "discovering" new-to-me artists, and among my favorites in that category is Ajay Mathur. This was our first listen - back in March to his album Little Boats. Mathur was born in India and is based in Switzerland, and his truly global music includes elements of Americana infused with music from all over the world. Playing off his album title, I am giving Ajay Mathur, the "Captain, My Captain Award" (get it, Little Boat, Captain, boat captain....)
"Hey, Hey Mama" by James Scott Bullard
A highlight of the year was getting to meet James Scott Bullard and co., and to see him perform. Another highlight was getting to check out his album Full Tilt Boogie. It is an, at times, raucous music - but it is raucous music with a heart. I am giving James Scott Bullard the "Who the Fuck is James Scott Bullard" Award (hey it's from a t-shirt he had at one time).
"Feather and Down" by Boris Garia
Yet another hold over from 2017. Boris Garcia's album Around Some Corner was produced by Tim Carbone of Railroad Earth. Boris Garcia are based in New York, and their music is inventive and fun. I realized that I failed to give them an "Earie" last year, so I offer up the "Nobody Puts Boris in a Corner" award for 2018, to Boris Garcia.
"The Bottle Let Me Down" (Live) by Buck n Stuff
Buck n Stuff have already won two Earie Awards - which they accomplished before releasing any recorded music. In 2016, they won the "Please, Please, Please, Please Award" (give or take some please's). Last year, they shared the "Keep Nashville Cool and Interesting and Original and/or Funny and/or Wild and/or (fill in the blank with a word or phrase that means something good) - Band" Award with Microwave Mountain, and The Big Dumb (quite a great group of bands). Well, in 2018, Buck n Stuff finally did put some music out into the world in the form of Saviors of Country Music: Live at American Legion Post 82." They played a super fun release show at said American Legion Post 82, and they spent most of the rest of the year being the busy and amazing sidemen that they are. So, in light of the busy 2018. Buck n Stuff do not need to share an Earie - they are the outright winners of the #AndaBucknStufftoYouAsWell Earie Award.
VIDEO PLAYLIST
I am continuing to work on my Spotify playlists for E2TG. So far, I have completed nine - January - October 2018. These are meant to be a cross-section of music I featured during those months - not necessarily music released in those months. If you are interested, you can check out the playlists (links below) and follow my personal profile to find out when new playlists are created.
JUST ADDED! October 2018 Playlist!
E2TG January 2018
E2TG February 2018
E2TG March 2018
E2TG April 2018
E2TG May 2018
E2TG June 2018
E2TG July 2018
E2TG August 2018
E2TG September 2018
E2TG October 2018 (NEW!)
E2TG November 2018 (Coming Soon!)
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