“Our opponents, the media and the whole world will soon see, as we begin to take further actions, that the powers of the president to protect our country are very substantial and will not be questioned,” said Stephen Miller, Mr Donald Trump’s senior policy director.
The above comments should be a cause for alarm to any rational thinking American citizen regardless of political affiliation. This is totalitarianism at work - and in the context of the information coming about Russia and the elections, it should be the impetus to speed up the process of impeachment (which seems at this point to be inevitable). This kind of mentality which seems to inhabit the current administration runs counter to the guiding principles of this nation. On a more personal level, we are already seeing proposed changes which will cause great harm to millions of American's with disabilities. The disabled were among the many groups targeted by the Nazi party in Germany. This is not a coincidence. Enough - for now. I attended the 9th Annual Love is Deaf show at Douglas Corner. It was my first to attend. To me this was a quintessential Nashville event. Couple perform a song - in many cases 1 partner is a non-musician and the other is a professional. The performers and the audience contained some pretty incredible names. The performances ranged from funny, to touching, to gorgeous. I definitely intend to make this a valentine's day tradition. My Double Shot partner Sue Havlish made me proud - backed my Mark Robinson on bongos. Among the performers was Tommy Tutone of "867-5309" fame - who is a long time Nashville resident. Also, Don Henry, Bobby Braddock's daughter, John Reed and Heather Lose, and many more... It is Wednesday and we have our usual "Wild Wednesday" shuffle which comes from a shuffle of all of the songs on my device.
Here we are! The final regularly scheduled shuffle of 2015. (I'm not ruling out a shuffle tomorrow but no promises). But first, we have one final bit of business to wrap up the debut edition of the "Earie" Awards. Remember: The "Earies" it sounds strange, but it's not really. The final award is the Golden "Earie" Award (aka the E2TG Artist of the Year).
Since we have a bunch of new readers, I thought I would indulge in a brief history of the award.
I began writing the blog in May 2011. That year, I named a "Band of the Week" every week. As the end of the year approached, I thought it would be fun to have a Readers Poll to select a "Band of the Year". So, I created an on-line poll that included all of the Bands of the Week. Being new to on-line polls, the poll was wide open meaning you could vote as many times as you wanted. The polling was spirited and fun with several artists really getting into it. At the end of the poll, The Mobbs (a UK band) flooded the ballot box and were named Band of the Year. Howard Rabach's band Ubiquity Machine finished second and Don Ryan from New Jersey finished third.
Because the poll was so much fun (and brought a lot of page views to the blog), for 2012 I decided to have a Band of the Month poll - which I did. At the end of 2012, all of the Bands of the Month plus some "Wildcards" competed for Band of Year. The now defunct but totally awesome Skeletons in the Piano from upstate New York were the second Band of the Year.
By 2013, I had kind of grown tired of the polls. It seemed like some artists were more into it than others plus I kind of decided it was a distraction from what was really important - being the music. When 2013 year end came up, to me there was one obvious choice for Band of the Year. The End Men, of Brooklyn, remain to this day the most tagged artist on #E2TG. Beyond that they are really wonderful people. They had a big 2013 and (as I expected) they had an even bigger 2014.
In 2014, once again the choice was obvious. Darrin Bradbury emerged from a Wal-Mart parking lot and began to conquer Nashville. He dominated Ear to the Ground - at one point I think there was at least one DB song in the shuffle everyday for almost a month. In 2014, I probably saw Darrin play life on average 2 or 3 times a week. Also, as expected, in the year that followed (2015), he continued to excel and made me very proud to have him as my Artist of the Year (I had to rename it because he wasn't a band).
Which brings us to the 2015:
The choice this year became pretty clear to me early in the year. my anticipation of Jon Latham's debut album was so high. But, anticipation does not equal awards. Real Bad News managed to exceed my very high expectations. My review can be read HERE. And the album alone is almost enough to make Jon a lock for Artist of the Year. But, there were several great albums released in the past 12 months. But wait, there is more! Jon is one of the kindest people I know. Some people may say that has nothing to do with music, but I would disagree. Grant it, there is long list of really amazing artists who happened to be assholes, however, in the case of Jon Latham, his kindness comes through in just about every song. Beyond that, Jon's knowledge and interest in a wide variety of music is almost encyclopedic. Again, at least in the case of Jon Latham, that depth of knowledge is, I think, crucial to his craft as a songwriter.
As 2015 rolled along, people began to take notice of Jon Latham. The Sin City vs. Guitar Town Eastside Throwdown was a turning point. Jon Latham backed Aaron Lee Tasjan in one of the most electrifying sets I have seen all year. Playing acoustic guitar and singing bgv, people took notice. Since then, Jon has opened shows for Aaron Lee and for the legendary Malcolm Holcombe. Real Bad News has garnered international acclaim and made some best of 2015.
You have one more chance to see the 2015 Artist of the Year in 2015. Jon will once again be joining the incredible Aaron Lee Tasjan in an opening slot for Christ Knight at the Exit/In on New Year's Eve. On Monday, you can catch 2014 Artist of the Year Darrin Bradbury as he kicks of his residency at The Basement East. 2015 Artist of the Year Jon Latham is on the bill for that night. I, for one, am excited!
Basically, those who get it, will understand right away why Jon Latham is my Artist of the Year. If you don't get it, check out the video playlist below and you probably will. Some of Jon's best moments (plus if you look closely in one video you will see the jean shorts clad leg of 2014 winner Darrin Bradbury). A couple of bonus clips that I came across: one is a clip I had heard about but not seen, Jon doing a song that does not often make it to his playlist these days. The touching and tender, "Put It in Your Butt" plus so that we didn't end on that note, a rare clip of the Latham Family Band doing a Dawes cover.
Congratulations Jon! Terry Rickards take note: 2013 Band of the Year, The End Men played the 2014 Post-Americana all-day marathon show at The Basement, 2014 Artist of the Year, Darrin Bradbury, played the 2015 Post-Americana all-day marathon show at The Basement East. I'm just sayin' American Fest will be here before we know it.
Now the last shuffle of the year.... a short commute and walk, and some longish songs means only 5 songs in the shuffle
To be sure, I see a bunch of great live music here in Nashville, and I probably miss at least as many if not more than I get to see.
Last night was one of those great shows that I did get to see, and it was a show that made me really happy that I live in Nashville. It was the Aaron Lee Tasjan Release Show for In the Blazes at The Basement (the original one) last night. Zach Schmidt opened the show back by Adam Kurtz on pedal steel. Zach Schmidt looks like a Country music star should look, and he has the songs and voice to back up the look. He is the real deal, and he easily kick the ass of any one of those "bro-country" posers, but he is probably too nice a guy to do that.
Aaron Lee Tasjan is a one of a kind artist, and he seems destined to as hugely famous as he deserves to be. Seeing him live under any circumstances and in any configuration (band or solo) is always a must-see event. When he assembles the kind of band he did last night, the show is one for the ages. Backed by drummer Aaron Shafer-Haiss, legendary bassist Keith Christopher, the always amazing Brian Wright and Jon Latham on guitars, and on two songs backed by vocal powerhouses Sally Jaye and Sarah Potenza - Tasjan's incredible songs were delivered with precision and power.
In short, the night was a demonstration of what I love about this city. Great songwriters, talented players, mutual admiration, and incredible music. The Basement was packed out and everywhere I looked were awesome songwriters and players taking it in.
In the Blazes is hands down one of the best records of the year, and you should definitely check it out.
So, last night was week 4 out of 5 of the Campfire Propaganda residency at The 5 Spot. Megan Palmer and Brian Wright were away, but great performances by guests Russell Thompson and Emma Berkey plus Darrin Bradbury, Nellie Clay, and Tim Easton. Love this town. Next week, Nellie Clay will be having her album release show - same time and place.
