Music City Monday Morning Shuffle - Both Greasy Mix

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Sending all good thoughts to Texas. Do what you can to help.

Every so often, I look at where I am and think about where I may be going and how to get where I want to be...

That statement can apply to many aspects of my life, but for the purposes of this blog, I am specifically thinking about E2TG.   First of all I have to say that this blog has already far exceeded whatever expectations I may have had when I began it.  The most important measures are the incredible people I have met and gotten to know.

There is a sense, at least I feel it, that things have to always strive to be bigger and more. Whether it's Facebook "Likes" or page views or more festival attendees or move to bigger venues or whatever... and there is nothing inherently wrong with that, but there is also a reality that I see - that bigger is not necessarily always better (it isn't necessarily worse either) - sometimes bigger is different and the better or worse is relative to your particular point of view...

There was a thought in all this, but I think it got lost some in the web of my mind. E2TG has definitely grown over time - although just by pure numbers it isn't a completely steady growth (up then down then up)... it has definitely changed but not radically. I know that not everyone who used to read this regularly still does but I also know that new readers show up almost every week. I sometimes get big ideas and then can't find the time (or something else) to carry through.  I think about changing to get more readers but I quickly lose interest because usually the ideas I get run counter to everything I want E2TG to be. I might go further if I stuck to one genre or style of music and covered it more thoroughly or if I posted lists or went negative*.  But none of those of things I really want to do.

*The topic of negative reviews has come up more than once recently.  I need to say that I am not against critics writing negative reviews. A well written slam can be great reading, and if I happen to disagree it can force me to think more about why I disagree. The thing is - negative reviews can also be just another tool for increasing viewership. Which is fine, but it's just not what I want to do. I can barely cover all the really good music out there, and I choose not to spend time on music I don't really care about. Again just my choice. Furthermore, E2TG has always been mostly about under-the-radar artists, and when I look at what these artists are up against, I would rather look for the positive.  I do think constructive criticism is important to keep an artist growing and I hope those voices continue to get heard.

Bottom line, I am just me. I do this for the love of the music and to keep my fingers moving across the keyboard. I keep my Ear to the Ground, and I am constantly amazed and thrilled by what I hear.

It's Monday and we delve into the Music City Monday shuffle (songs with some sort of connection ot the city where I live):

Music City Monday Morning Shuffle - Bad Decisions Mix

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I attended the J.R. Wyatt CD Release show last night.  J.R. sounded amazing. I have been a fan of his since I saw him perform a solo set at Logue's Black Raven (RIP).  He writes amazing songs, has a great voice, and last night he was backed by an awesome band (who all played on his new album, Staying Gold which is out now).  Expect to hear more about this album very soon....

E2TG Artist of the Year  Jon Latham went on right before J.R. playing his first full-band show one year after completing the mastering on his album Real Bad News.  He has had an incredible year. Having seen him perform many times and having been impressed many time, I feel like last night was Jon's star turn (or something like that).  Yes, his band was extraordinary - filled with great musicians and songwriters and friends (Aaron Lee Tasjan, Eli Rhodes, Sean Quinn, and Raun Shultz). and they were every bit as good as one could have expected. Still, it was Jon Latham's stage and he owned it completely.  It is truly heartening and inspirational to see the growth of his confidence and stage presence in the almost two years since I was first introduced to his music. Yeah, I'm one of those, "I knew him before..." people, and I say that with pride and joy!


Time for a Music City Monday shuffle:

Tuesday Morning Music Shuffle - Honey Honey Mix

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I am honestly at loss for what to write about in this introduction.  I am scheduled to see a bunch a good music including taking in my first 3rd and Lindsley show for No Depression. At the rate things are going, I may not even make it to East Nashville until Friday - which is highly unusual.

Today's shuffle is a pretty balanced mix of current (or at least recent) music along with some of my all-time favorites....  Let us see what is in store....