Music City Monday Morning Shuffle - Dyin' of Thirst Mix

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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)

I am continuing to work on my Spotify playlists for E2TG.  So far, I have completed three - January - March 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.

E2TG January 2018
E2TG February 2018
E2TG March 2018
E2TG April 2018 (NEW!)

Running late, but I love Music City Monday - so I didn't want to miss.  It's funny how a random shuffle of the same mix of songs can yield a different mix of results. Today's shuffle is heavily weighted toward recent and fairly recent music.   But, you can see for yourself...

Music City Monday Morning Shuflle - Straggled By Love Mix

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The crazy weather continues (not just in Nashville, I know).  We had temps in the 80's at the end of last week, rain all day Saturday, cooler weather Sunday, and cold weather with a few snow flurries this morning.  Temps are supposed to be up into the 70's later in the week. I say this not to give a weather report, but to say, the change in weather has really had an effect on the state of how I feel - so I laid pretty low most of the weekend - except to help celebrate my radio DJ partner - Sue's birthday on Sunday. It was a wonderful time with wonderful people at a wonderful place (Dee's). 

Now, it is time for Music City Monday shuffle.  This is the only of my shuffles that comes from a Spotify playlist.  It is a huge playlist (ever-expanding) of current and former Nashville area artists and bands. It is an eclectic mix of older music and newer music - crossing musical boundaries.

Let's shuffle!

Music City Monday Morning Shuffle - Look Out Mix

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And suddenly it is Monday!  (Very) light snow has given way to sunshine here in Nashville.

Saturday, Mark Robinson and his band rocked The 5 Spot.  I took my daughter, and we both had a blast.  We are both huge Mark Robinson fans. 

Monday, we check in with our Music City Monday shuffle.  All songs by artists who do or have called Nashville home. Spanning decades and genres - as we tend to do.  This is the only shuffle we do from a Spotify playlist.  If you want to browse that playlist which has over 800 songs (and counting), you do so HERE .

Let's shuffle!

Topical Thursday Morning Shuffle - Thin Ice Mix

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I am old enough to remember when the newspaper came every evening (or morning), and there was news in the morning, maybe at noon, and in the evening.  Local news usually followed the national news. If there was "Breaking" news they would interrupt the regularly scheduled program (I remember my great aunt hated when they did that during one of her shows). But, it was usually actual breaking news. Oh and Time and Newsweek came every week if you got them which we sometimes did.

I also remember when CNN started - I thought it was cool because of the possibility of digging deeper into stories. Like much of early cable television - there were some cool ideas and interesting possibilities, but most failed to live up to their potential.  (Music Television rarely has music, Arts and Entertainment is mostly reruns of Law & Order, need I go on...)

I didn't have cable for many years and so I kind of lost touch, but I remember walking into a bank or somewhere that had a television with CNN on and seeing the banner with BREAKING NEWS and thinking something really important and serious was happening, and then realizing it was an insignificant non-event that further realizing that such banners ran pretty much 24 hours a day, every day.  

Then, the proliferation of news and "news" on social media.

All that to say, the last seven months have been exhausting. My desire to stay informed sometimes - often leads me down disgusting rabbit holes (I have a hard time not reading the comments). This week has been horrible. No matter how hard I try, I keep getting sucked into this constant state of outrage. And, yes, I should be outraged (everyone of good conscience should be outraged) but I also know I need to take care of my mental and spiritual health. I think about the warnings on airplanes - you are supposed to put your own mask on before you try to help someone else. If I burn out, I cannot be useful to anyone or any cause.

I guess I'm saying - just because something new is "breaking" several times an hour, I want to stay informed - it is okay to put limits or look for places to get a summary (at some interval besides constant).  

Anyway... that's what's on my mind.....

It is Thursday.  Since May, we have set aside Thursday's to revisit some moments, songs, and artists who have been a part of E2TG from 2011 (when we started) to the present... .It's been good to revisit some old friends and to hear all these great songs along side each other.

E2TG Review - Josh Morris: Can't Wait 'Til Now

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I have been following Josh Morris’ music career for several years now. First, as one half of the duo And the Giraffe, and later as a solo artist and producer. His first solo EP, Greenfields, was one of my favorite releases of 2015, and that year, he produced Real Bad News, the debut album by E2TG Artist of the Year Jon Latham.  

Morris has been busy in 2016: working on Latham’s follow up effort, working on a forthcoming Darrin Bradbury (another E2TG Artist of the Year) album among several other projects. Plus, he went back to school. In between all of that, he found the time to record his first full-length solo album.  Can’t Wait ‘Till Now is being released today (December 2) with a CD release show set for December 3 at The Country.

“Amusing to Me”, the opening track, has the hallmarks of a great Josh Morris song: a hook-laden melody that recalls some of the great pop music of the last half of the most recently completed century and smart, witty lyrics - “I’ve been looking for God, but He don’t drink at the bar.”  From this opening track, however, it is clear that Josh Morris is ready to expand his musical palette.

There is a lot going on musically on this album - like the organ sound at the beginning of the second track, “Waste Your Time”, but the musical acrobatics never distract from songs. It is Josh Morris, the producer, who gets the credit for that, and it is one of the reasons that he is one of the best new producers working in Music City.

The song, “Waste Your Time”, has the feel of a hungover morning filled with a hazy feeling of regret. “Slow Down” has been getting some local radio airplay. The driving insistent melody and the unearthly vocals make this a stand-out track.

Much of the rest of the album are slow songs buoyed by the vibrant musicality and the rich lyrical prowess.

“I Promise I’m Scared Now” is a stunning instrumental with flashes of warm ambient electronic music.

The album closes with “Heart Bleeds” which employees a discordant wall of sound that fades and returns and surrounds the moody introspective vocals and lyrics.

Can’t Wait ‘Til Now is, in the end,  a great pop album that shows off the growth and maturity of Josh Morris as a performer, songwriter, and producer.  On this album, he is backed by Cory Nichols and John Gentile, who both played on Greenfields, Jon Latham who adds guitar to three songs, and Mike Burns who plays slide on two tracks.  Jennifer Pappas provided the artwork, as she has done for virtually all of Morris’ releases.

The album is out now. You can stream it below, and you can buy it from the usual outlets. Now, who wants a doughnut?

Featured Friday Morning Shuffle - Wish That I Could Hate You Mix

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My oft repeated phrase is "Music Heals".  I say it because I believe it to be true.  Last night, still feeling sad about the death of my first best friend, I headed down to The Family Wash. There, surrounded by friends, I took one of those once-in-a-lifetime nights of music that seem to happen around  this town on a frequent basis.

Nathan Bell - a singer-songwriter who I first saw earlier this year at The Bluebird Cafe played first.  His songs are soooo good. He was joined by Annie Mosher on several songs and then by legendary Nashville songwriter Don Henry on one song.

After that, the always mind-blowing Sergio Webb made a rare appearance as a front man and an even rarer appearance leading a full-band.  The Cremonatones - a one-off super-group featured Julie Christensen, Dave Coleman, Parker Hawkins, and Fran Breen.  The set opened with a rocking cover of Lou Reed's "New Sensation" - a song I had heard Webb do solo at Bobby's Idle Hour - and continued through a set of songs including several written with John Hadley and David Olney.  It was one of those magical nights of insanely good music and an audience of some of the best musicians in the world.  It was just what I needed.

A ton a great music upcoming.  I wanted to highlight Richie Owens and The Farm Bureau making a rare appearance at my favorite venue - The 5 Spot on Saturday at 6:00pm.

We have a Featured Friday Shuffle...

E2TG - Video Premiere: Jon Latham (Live at Fort Dakota) - "LA Freeway" (Guy Clark Cover)

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Hey!  It is Tuesday night, I have been catching up on laundry and trying to catch up on e-mail.  My inbox has been flooded with a ton of great music - some of which you will be hearing here on Ear to the Ground, so of which will be coming your way soon.

In the midst of the excitement of scrolling through pages of unopened e-mail (sorry), I got a call from the 2015 E2TG Artist of the Year, Jon Latham.  That is how he is tagged in my phone by the way... "2015 E2TG Artist of the Year, Jon Latham".  He filled me in on a project he has in the works.

Returning to Fort Dakota Studio, Jon has recorded five solo acoustic songs all of which were also recorded on video. The recordings were a reunion of sorts with Fort Dakota's mastermind, Josh Morris who produced Jon's album, Real Bad News.

Look for an EP of those sessions coming your way soon, in the meantime, I am extremely honored to have the opportunity to present the very first video from that session.

When Jon and I talk, we often talk about music. As I have said before, Jon is extremely knowledgeable about a pretty wide variety of music genres - including some bands that I would not expect someone his age to know (thank you Michael Latham).

Inevitably, we talk about songwriters.  Names like John Prine, Steve Earle, and Guy Clark come up quite often.  We have discussed the importance of Guy Clark to much of the best music being played in songwriter rounds around this fair city.

"LA Freeway" has long been one of my favorite Guy Clark songs, and I really like Jon's cover of that song here - recorded at Fort Dakota.

A little trivia:  Steve Earle sang background vocals on Guy Clark's recording of this song from his debut album, Old No. 1.  Steve Earle, as you may recall, is prominently referenced in the opening seconds of  Real Bad News.

Without any further ado: Here is "LA Freeway" by Jon Latham

Wednesday Morning Music Shuffle - Frosty Sailor Mix

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Today's post will contain no references to Darrin Bradbury, Aaron Lee Tasjan, or Jon Latham. (damn, I just mentioned them...)

Tim Easton is one of East Nashville's most respected songwriters.  He is also (my words not his) the spiritual guiding force behind Campfire Propaganda - a loosely connected group of songwriters on the Eastside who feed off of each other creatively.

Over the past several months, Easton has undertaken the daunting task of posting 100 songs in 100 days - as a way to celebrate his 100th published song. He posted his 100th song yesterday, however, one of those songs was a Bob Dylan cover featuring the McCrary Sisters, Megan Palmer, and Aaron Lee Tasjan (damn, I mentioned him again!).  All proceeds from that song go to charity.




Because it was Easton's original intention to post 100 original songs, he decided to post song 101. It is called "Sail Away, Sailors".  And you can watch it below.  According to Tim Easton, "It's the tale of the Alaska youth traveler who gets a job trimming weed then goes to Mexico, then home to Kodiak Island." 




Expect one more song tomorrow, called "One for the Ditch" - just because.  Tim Easton is currently working on completing his next album.   Keep up with Tim Easton by following his Facebook page.

If you are in Nashville next Monday, look for Tim Easton along with Zach Schmidt opening up Week 2 of the Darrin Bradbury Residency.  (damn, I mentioned him again, too!)

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Oh well, since I mentioned the other two, I should remind you that Jon Latham will do a free show at Soulshine Pizza on Friday to cap off his week as Local Artist of the Week for Lightning 100.

On to the shuffle....

Monday Morning Music Shuffle - Steal Away Mix

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Welcome to 2016, #E2TG Style!  Well, the "Earies" are over, and no more "Red Cup" songs to be played.  We are back to a good old fashioned Morning Music Shuffle...

First a brief recap of the what has transpired since I last posted, and a sneak peak of what is to come.

New Year's Eve Eve - I headed to The Family Wash to see Wild Ponies  open for Don Gallardo. It was an amazingly Nashville-typical night of awesome music.

I posted a mega-Video Playlist "Earies" wrap up.  New Years Eve, I headed to the legendary Exit/In to ring in the new year - no frill style with some good friends and cool music.  Aaron Lee Tasjan and his killer band which included #E2TG Artist of  the Year Jon Latham knocked it out of the park (or some other sports metaphor).  Chris Knight was awesome, and he really could have cared less about midnight.

New Year's Day was a Friday which meant a trip out to The 5 Spot to ring in 2016 with another outstanding Tim Carroll Rock and Roll Happy Hour. 

After that, I kind of dug in and did some writing - the results of which will be out soon.

Tonight!  Tonight!  The month-long Darrin Bradbury Residency kicks off at The Basement East.  The kick off should be out of this world amazing.  With 2014 Artist of the Year Bradbury being joined by 2015 Artist of the Year Jon Latham and Artist of the Always Aaron Lee Tasjan.  Darrin will be backed by an amazing band.  Seriously, this is a "Don't Wanna Miss" event.

Now onto the shuffle...

Featured Friday Morning Shuffle - A Pretty Decent Crowd Mix

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Well... collectively we have made it through another work week.  If you are reading this, I assume you at least like music, so if you can, get out and see some live music this weekend.  I know I will...

It is Friday which means another edition of the Featured Friday shuffle of a playlist of music I wanted to highlight and pull out from our usual active playlist.  They full list currently has almost 1,100 songs in it, and I have more to add.   This subset Featured list stands at about 250 - still substantial but manageable.

Thursday Morning Music Shuffle - Five Cent Deposit Mix

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One of the reasons I love Nashville, is the fact extraordinary musical moments can feel down right ordinary.  For instance being at cool little dive bar on the East side for an early show that just happens to feature Kevn Kinney (drivin' and cryin') playing with a band he introduced as Sun Tangled Angel Revival (S.T.A.R.) which is a project he started in 2002.  The band just happened to feature Sadler Vaden (currently in Jason Isbell's band), Bryan Howard (of Cracker), and current drivin' and cryin' drummer, Dave V. Johnson. The band sounded great, and then a little more than half way through the hour and a half show, Audley Freed (Black Crowes, Sheryl Crow etc.) took the stage and there was some amazing guitar magic. Freed and Vaden together was simply out of this world.

After hanging out a bit at The 5 Spot for a little while, drive across the river for the Patrick Kinsley and a Fistful of Dollars album release show.  I hope by now you've read my review of For a Thousand Miles and grabbed your copy.  A singer-songwriter named James Roquemore opened the night, and I really like his songs and sound.  Look for some music from him coming soon to the shuffle.  Anthony Adams and the Nite Owls were up next and they brought the party to the party, they were followed by Kinsley and his band who sounded great, and the show was capped by local band Furious Primates - who I finally heard for the first time, and who I now consider myself a fan. 

Well... I've run on at the mouth a bit, so let's get to this morning's shuffle....

Saturday Night Music Shuffle - Clap Your Hands Mix

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Since I missed a couple of morning shuffles last week, I thought I would add in a special rare Saturday Night Music Shuffle....

Friday Morning Music Shuffle - Kiss Me Once, Kiss Me Twice Mix

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I try really hard not to pay attention to things like page views - I really do, but a couple of things have happened in the last 24 hours that I am pretty happy about.  My total Page Views since I switched the blog to Blogger a little over 3 years ago reached one of those milestones with lots of zeros. The number isn't really important because it is all relative. I mean, I know some of those brand x music blogs probably achieve the same number is a month or week or day or hour or whatever, and that is the part I don't really care about.  It's just nice to see those zeros and know that among those site views are people who come to enjoy the music that I am so happy to feature.

The other thing (and rather inexplicably) but the daily site views for the current 24 hour period has exploded. I know I owe a big thanks to the people who share my posts across the webbernets....  It's still not that important because I have a great shuffle today and for all I know something like 12 people will look at it, and if I don't get too worried about that, I can't really get to excited for the higher numbers... but I do.  And I thank everyone for it. 

As I said, we have a great shuffle with some old friends and some newer ones and some classic tunes...