E2TG 7th Anniversary Residency Preview Shuffle - Month of Thursdays Mix Pt.4

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TOMORROW!  It's getting closer!  The Grand Finale of the E2TG 7th Anniversary Residency will take over The 5 Spot beginning promptly at Six O'Clock.  Here is the line-up in order of appearance:

Shane Tutmarc will open with a short set of songs promptly at six. Tutmarc is now an East Nashville institution, but he got his start in the Pacific Northwest - leading the band Dolour. whose membership included Robin Pecknold later of Fleet Foxes and members of Portugal the Man and other bands.   Tutmarc moved to Nashville in 2010. He has opened for Wanda Jackson. Most recently, he has been performing under the moniker Solar Twin. 

Joanna Barbera: A native of New Jersey, Barbera's spirit has lead her all over the world before arriving in Nashville. Her music reflects her exploration of spiritual paths.  Her latest release Imago is a favorite of mine from last year. A song from that release, "When the Rain Comes" was prominently featured in the CBS series Criminal Minds. Her music is emotive with a great sound and wonderful songs, if you have not heard Joanna Barbera live, you want to make it The 5 Spot tomorrow, 

Eli Cook:  Eli Cook took up the guitar as a teenager in the Blue Ridge foothills of Virginia.  He cut is teeth playing and singing in churches and at revivals. His music takes a firm foundation of blues greats like John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Fred McDowell and others and updates it with influences from bands like Soundgarden, Clutch, and Rage Against the Machine.  His latest album is called High Dollar Gospel. It is another favorite of mine from 2017.  Cook has shared stages with the likes of B.B. King, Johnny Winters, Robert Cray, Gary Clark Jr, and most recently Robin Trower. He is in town from his home in Charlottesville, Virginia home, and you do not want to miss this rare opportunity to see him live in the intimate confines of The 5 Spot.


Bee Taylor: I was first recommended to Bee Taylor's music a couple of years ago.  When I went out to see her live, I wondered why he had taken me so long to catch on to her. Possessing a powerful voice and an intense spirit, Taylor's music has been described as a combination of Tom Waits and Amy Winehouse. Bee Taylor's incredible band features the immeasurable talented Cody Brooks  (Taylor is also a part of Brook's band).  Her set promises to be an all-out throw-down to help close out this awesome month of music.

I hope you will be there if you can!

We have our final "Month of Thursdays" shuffle - featuring artists from tomorrow's show.

E2TG 7th Anniversary Residency Preview Shuffle - Month of Thursdays Mix

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TOMORROW!  The E2TG 7th Anniversary Residency kicks off at The 5 Spot in East Nashville.

The show starts at 6:00pm.  The music should get underway no later than 6:15pm (since we have a ton of great music on tap).  Clark Paterson will kick things off with a full-band set. Followed by Rayvon Pettis and The Big Dumb (including a set of The Big Dumb doing their own music).

I decided to create a Spotify playlist to showcase some of the great music we have in store of you in June. I was listening to some of it last night, and we have some pretty amazing artists and music in store (if I do say so myself).

For the month of June, I will be forgoing our usual "Wild Wednesday" shuffle to feature a very special E2TG Residency Shuffle... Let's get started!

Trending Tuesday Morning Shuffle - Five More Minutes Mix

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Well, I'm running a bit late today, and for some reason, I am really tired. So, I'm going to power through this shuffle.  I created a special playlist of artists I wanted to highlight for the end of the year for my "Earie Awards".  Step right up!

Trending Thursday Morning Shuffle - Drums are Two Books Mix

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I have been thinking quite a bit about the state of the world and this country. Since November of last year, and especially since January of this year, I have been in a near constant state of anxiety and depression.  It is hard to separate political differences.  Whereas, I may find certain actions/bills/pronouncements to be abhorrent (gutting protections of the environment and our most vulnerable citizens). These are at least things that can be assessed and debated and hopefully corrected in a democratic (small d) venue. (Although, I have serious concerns about the legitimacy of our democratic process).

But, it is the abusive and offensive tweets, the thinly (if that) veiled racist comments, the boorish behavior.... how any decent person can defend these things is confounding and troubling. There really is no modern precedent for this in the United States. I try to imagine a president that I supported, and who puts forth ideas in line with my values - behaving this way. To be honest, it's very difficult to imagine, but I cannot believe that I would actively support this behavior.  I am sure it would be difficult to admit that I was wrong about someone, but I like to believe I would do the right thing. 

Of course, the flaw in that is that the current president did not conceal his behavior until elected. He was upfront about just how awful he was.  So that is where the, what if falls apart, because I would never vote for someone who acted that way even if they seemed to support things that I support.


The rash of public figures being exposed and facing consequences for their sexual behavior is likewise troubling.  It is a complex issue to be sure. It is odd which people are facing consequences and which are not. And there is likely overreaction is some cases, but not all.

Two thoughts have occurred to me - societal "norms" that I think are contributing factors to this situation. 1. Is the way men are "taught" to behave from a young age. Expectation of masculinity, poor role models  2.  The way people in position of real or imagined power or prestige are treated. You see this from the highest positions with national governments and Fortune 500 companies, and down to the smallest organizations and social structures. If someone is in a position of power, they are not to be questioned or criticized. The idea of following orders without question. Excusing or ignoring or covering up abuses of that power.

Anyway, all of that is just me trying to wrap my mind around the awful circumstances of the world today.
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On with the shuffle....

Trending Tuesday Morning Shuffle - The End? Mix

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Well... it's Tuesday.

Another gloomy kind of day in Nashville. 

By the way, I am officially over the music player that came with my new phone. Songs I delete keep reappearing, tags get messed up, the song information doesn't appear on my car stereo when I'm playing from the music player via blue tooth, and a couple of time the same song has reappeared during a shuffle.  I am going to be trying out some music player apps to find a better option. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

Not really sure what else I am going to say here, so let's just jump headlong into the shuffle.  Here are some of the songs/artists/albums that are "trending" on E2TG.

Trending Tuesday Morning Shuffle - So Sweet Mix

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Today's shuffle is brought to you by the word indictments....
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I'm back after an extra long weekend, and it is Halloween. Personally, I think we all need to just go with funny costumes this year... nothing will come close to being as scary as the news these days...


No Halloween shuffle- just more scary good songs from our "New Music" playlist.  Enjoy!

Mondo Monday Music Shuffle - Trampoline Mix

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Another week... the last full week of October. A rainy, gloomy day in Nashville with cooler weather in the forecast.  I've been running behind all day, but I got a few minutes to write this.

Looks like a busy week for live music in Nashville... including Saturday at Grimey's Rocktoberfest to benefit WXNA.  Details to follow. 

Here we go with our Monday shuffle - for now, we are shuffling from the "New Music" playlist... trying to get through as many of those songs as we can before the end of the year.

Featured Friday Morning Shuffle - Space Jam Mix

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Well, we've reached the end of another week and another month of shuffles...

Temperatures have cooled off in Nashville - it actually is beginning to feel like Fall.

There is much to mourn, there is much in the world that needs to change- and which will only change if people of good conscience fight for that change.

There is also much good in the world, much beauty, and a great need to help share that good and beauty.


It's Friday, and on Friday E2TG plays songs from the "New Music" playlist which is currently just under 500 songs long - and includes songs received as recently as this week and songs added many months ago.  Perhaps I will move some of the older songs off the playlist... maybe.  Most of what I feature on E2TG will be new to someone who reads. 

I am feeling more comfortable being me and doing what I do. I still have a tendency to want to please everyone, but I have learned that when I try to do that I usually end of pleasing no one - least of all myself.

That last is true on so many levels about so many different parts of my life.

Let's just shuffle- 'cause that is one thing that I do...

Trending Tuesday Morning Shuffle - Opening Credits Mix

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Whew! Americana Fest week is (kind of) underway.  Last night was like a pre-pre AMA Fest night. And what a night, it started for me at Betty's Grill to check out Jon Byrd and the awesome pedal steel player Paul Niehaus who played a fun mix of traditional country songs and original tunes (included a couple of Davis Raines songs).  Betty's is a great DIY venue which works very hard at providing a space for a wide variety of great music.

Next, it was off to The Family Wash for Homemade Sin (less Dan Baird - who is undergoing treatment for a form of leukemia).  I have been looking forward to this show since I heard about it, and my expectations were pretty high... and they were wildly exceeded in every respect. First of all, it was yet another reminder of the incredible community that exists around music. Time and again, when I musician goes down to illness or injury or other hardship, it is heartening to see the community rally in support. It belies the common (and IMHO false) narrative of musicians being selfish or self-centered.

There were so many aspects to last nights show that were meaningful to me that I am having a hard time putting them down (at least in time I have to write this).  First off all, it was all just really, really great rock and roll music. Call it roots or Americana or whatever, it was just rock and roll and it was damn good!

Homemade Sin features Warner Hodges (Jason and the Scorchers), Mauro Magellan (Georgia Satellites), and a brand new bass player Sean Savacool.  Joe Blanton is filling in for Dan Baird.

Seeing Warner and Joe on stage together was pretty awesome.  I have been a fan of both of their music for over 30 years.  Warner from the Scorchers and Joe Blanton from The Enemy and Royal Court of China.

Speaking of The Scorchers.  With Dan out, the band have added a few Scorchers songs to their set and last night Jason Ringenberg himself was on hand to sing a few.  When they ripped into the classic Scorchers version of Dylan's "Absolutely Sweet Marie" the usually sedate dinner crowd at The Family Wash exploded and everyone sang along. It was thirty-two years ago this month when I first say The Scorchers live.  Jason still bounces around the stage like a whirling dervish and Warner still slings his guitar effortlessly and deftly.   Other special guests included Elizabeth Cook, Chuck Mead, and Aaron Lee Tasjan (with Jon Latham).

I was happy to get to hang a little with Robert Logue (Royal Court of China, The Shakers) and Chuck Allen (The East Nashvillian) and hear and share stories from back in the day.

One last thing (and this is kind of a hard story to explain so bear with me):  Dan Baird's old band The Georgia Satellites were a big part of the Nashville music scene in the 1980s when I was coming of age. The Satellites are probably best known for their huge hit "Keep Your Hands to Yourself". When I was nineteen years old, I started keeping a journal (I kind of think I was blogging but there wasn't any way to post it back then). The journal was mostly mundane details of my life, stray bits of random writing (fiction etc.), and song lyrics. From the time, I first heard "Keep Your Hands to Yourself" on WRVU (the Vanderbilt student radio station and predecessor to WXNA), I must have included lyrics to that song in my journal dozens of times.  And I watched in amazement as it grew from this local thing to a #2 song on the pop charts.  It was a pretty cool and pretty rare thing since most of the music I listened to was pretty non-mainstream.  So, there was a strange and wonderful feeling when the band launched into that song I got to sing along with Jon Latham and Aaron Lee Tasjan.  And then when Joe Blanton turned his guitar over to Aaron Lee Tasjan... I was just floored. Music for me is ALL about connections and there were so many connections made last night. It was a perfect way to begin a very busy week that promises many great moments.


As I mentioned yesterday, E2TG is going to break some new ground for us this week, as we welcome our first guest blogger - Collins de la Cour who will be covering some select Americana Fest shows for us. Her introductory post is coming later today, and I am blown away by how good it is, and I think you will be, too.

It is Tuesday, and this is the day that we shuffle up songs from the "New Music" which is mostly (fairly) recent music that we have had the chance to feature here.  We have a pretty cool mix today so let's not dally any more....

Featured Friday Morning Shuffle - Angel Food Cake Mix

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I am excited to announce that E2TG has more daily readers than any other music blog ever.  It's like billions and billions of readers every day (maybe more).   In fact, the editor of one of the lesser known music blogs PASTE called me to congratulate me and ask me for some advice on how to attract readers.

This is all true because I wrote it, and any "evidence" you see to the contrary is just FAKE NEWS.
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On a more serious note (all though the sentiment behind my little joke is very serious), I wanted to remind my readers (both of you ;-)  )  that I am taking next week off - so no regular shuffles... maybe a special post or two (but maybe not).

It is Friday - the end of another work week, and as we do, we have our "Featured Friday" shuffle - where we shuffle up songs from our New Music playlist.

Shuffle after the jump!