E2TG 4/20/2020 - Music City Monday - Crooked Road Mix (Precious Time Remix)

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Okay, I'm kind of frustrated...  I managed to mess up my Friday blog post.  I know exactly how it happened, but I don't think I can get the entry back... which is a bummer - because it contained some information about this week's Featured Friday Playlist.

I don't really have time to recreate the post, but you can still checkout the playlist below and on Spotify and you can follow it on Spotify if you are so inclined.  If you need more information about any of the artists on the list, shoot me a message and I will hook you up.

Anyway, we are moving into another week of quarantine. Today, I am thinking about friends and family who have been especially hit hard by this pandemic. Most especially those who have lost loved ones, those in the medical field who have been working tirelessly, and those whose livelihoods have been taken away.  I admire those who are looking for creative solutions to these unprecedented times - while still following the advice of health officials to try to lessen the impact and scope of the virus.

I am not sure what to think about a President who in encouraging those who are breaking the rules his own government officials have laid out - and stoking  the fires of dissent and paranoid conspiracies.

Eh... we got some cool Nashville music to help get us through all of the madness!

    Featured Friday Playlist

2018 E2TG Earie Awards - # 2 - Recap February 2018

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For your holiday shopping: The Drift - A Novel by Joe Wolfe-Mazeres Available at Amazon.com (Kindle edition also available)


Day 2 of the 2018 E2TG "Earie" Awards/Recap of 2018.  Today, our shuffle is focused on the February 2018 Playlist. As today's shuffle highlights - diversity was the rule at E2TG in 2018.  Let's go!

Featured Friday Morning Shuffle - Tougher than Tough Mix

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FRIDAY!  First off, I have some big news!  Last year, E2TG hosted a month-long residency at The 5 Spot in East Nashville to celebrate our sixth anniversary. Well, we are doing it again this year for seven!  Mark your calendars for Thursday evenings in JUNE!  If you attended any of last year's shows, you know you will not want to miss this!  Details are still being worked out, but we have some awesome music in store for you.

Stay tuned for more details.

Now, it is Friday and every Friday, we focus in on the music we are currently featuring on E2TG. (Okay to be honest, the playlist is the same for Trending Tuesday and Thursday and for Featured Friday, but humor me).  We have an incredibly wide selection of songs in that playlist (almost 500 tracks), and it is always interesting to see what comes up.

Let's shuffle!

Trending Thursday Morning Shuffle - Colorful Recipes Mix

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Well, I'm back after being a little under the weather yesterday.

Happy Birthday to the 2014 E2TG Artist of the Year, and the most tagged artist in E2TG history - Darrin Bradbury!

Only 7 more shuffles and 7 more days of the 2017 Earies.  After next Friday, I will be out for the rest of the year, but you can expect the Golden Earie Awards to drop during the week between Christmas and New Year's Day.

Meanwhile, we have another batch of Earie awards that are burning a hole in my pocket (small award or big pocket?).   As always, no nominees - my categories are arbitrary and sometimes silly but the awards are heartfelt.

Tuesday Morning Music Shuffle - Sun Blown Mix

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Hmm... I'm just not feeling like a commentary today... maybe it's the heat. Maybe it's just life... whatever... ah more time for the music... music is a constant for me.  Hot, cold, good moods, bad moods... music is a balm, it makes me think sometimes, it makes me dance sometimes, it makes me nostalgic sometimes...

Today is Tuesday so we dive into the "New Music" playlist for our Trending Tuesday Shuffle....

Manic Monday Music Shuffle - Dadaism Mix

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Welcome to Monday, the beginning of the last week of the month of June - which means it is the beginning of the last week of the first half of the year.

Program alert: I will be traveling a bit this week - so there is a good chance that there will be no posts on a couple of days this week - which makes our quest to feature as many of our "new music" playlist songs as we can while we can.

Let's get to it!

Trending Tuesday Morning Shuffle - Pencil to a Fish Mix

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Without a doubt, there is a lot of ugliness in the world, which is why it is so important to seek out and notice and acknowledge beauty as much as possible.  Last night's Jon Latham benefit at The Basement East was teeming with beautiful moments. Featuring terrific solo sets from Sally Jaye, Rayvon Pettis, Brian Wright, Becca Mancari, and Peyton Parker to a scintillating full band set from Sadler Vaden. Jon's awesome band (Andrew Leahey, Sean Quinn, Raun Schultz, and Cory Nichols) played his debut album, Real Bad News in it's entirety with guests ranging from Darrin Bradbury's deliciously over-the-top reading of "Major Key" to Brian Wright and Sally Jaye's moving rendition of "Conversation at a Funeral".  Top to bottom, great performances by some of Jon's friends who happen to be the cream of the crop of Nashville artists.  The show ended with the band doing "Last in Line" from Jon's forthcoming album Lifers.  Then, everyone who played and more took the stage for the title track of Lifers with Jon himself leading the way.  Jon and his band closed the night with their version of Springsteen's "Darkness of the Edge of Town".   The love and respect and beauty was impossible to miss.

Well, it is Tuesday, and that is when we shuffle up our "New Music" playlist.  The fun thing about using the random shuffle function is you never know what it will bring up...

Trending Tuesday Morning Shuffle - Spaghetti Mix

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Okey dokey, I'm back after a long holiday weekend.  Had a good time at Field Day 2017 - with WXNA competing against teams from The Nashville Scene, Fort Houston, Duke's, Third Man Records, and the Belcourt. It was a a true Nashville experience - with Pete Finney playing the National Anthem on pedal steel and Jack White showing up to support the Third Man team and everyone pretending to be blase about it. ;-)

Tomorrow night is the grand finale of the E2TG Residency!!  FuzzQueen opens, to be followed by Amelia White and The Blue Souvenirs!  Looking forward to this show! Doors at 5:30, $5 cover, 21+ only!

It is Tuesday - which means we have our "Trending" shuffle today.  Several Nashville artists to make up for not having a Music City Monday post!

Featured Friday Morning Shuffle - Apathy and Sentiment Mix

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Whew! I am kind of exhausted, and I am behind on about everything, but I am mostly having the time of my life.  So, excited for the May Residency at The 5 Spot which kicks off Wednesday May 3 with The Mark Robinson Band!  This is going to be a great month of music, and I know I will have a blast, and I think you will too.  If you are reading this, and you are in or will be in Nashville on any given Wednesday in May, I hope you will come on out and say hey.

It's our final shuffle of April - where did the time go!

It's Feature Friday time....

Music City Monday Morning Shuffle - 7 Hours Away Mix

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So, the illegitimate president's illegitimate supreme court nominee has been sworn in.  Great.. just great...  Feeling pretty disgusted with the whole thing.
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Diving into Monday - a four-day work week for me... let's get this going.  Monday means time for our "Music City" shuffle. Let's go!

Featured Friday Morning Shuffle - Downslide Mix

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Sleight of hand.  Misdirection. Distraction. The con men all use these tricks to keep the "marks" from seeing what is really going on.  Do not be mislead.  Keep your eye on the ball. Focus. Resist.

Meanwhile, here is a song from 2013 #E2TG Band of the Year - The End Men which is sadly relevant once again.



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Okay. Last night, I headed out west - West Nashville that is... my first time at Betty's Grill. Probably my first show that far out west since Stone Fox closed. Pretty cool DIY venue.

A pretty cool line-up of rock and roll music - as the kids call it. Local band Sad Baxter opened the night with some grungy, thumping sounds. I dig them a bunch.  I had previously seen them backing up Bill Eberle at Andrew Leahey's CD Release show last August.

Next up was The Regrets from Brooklyn.  I had previously posted one of their tracks from a Mama Coco's Funky Kitchen compilation (btw, I don't remember all this stuff - the search box is my friend). I dug their music and expect to hear much more. The Regrets are currently on tour with another Brooklyn and MCFK related band, NO ICE who played next.

NO ICE is lead by Jamie Frey.  They are a six piece band and they pretty much freaking rock. The band includes Sam Braverman of Logan X* (whose latest release we are spinning these days). About NO ICE - great songs, great energy. I had posted about them before - also from a MCFK comp - but man I am a fan now for real.

*It was great to finally meet Sam in person. He played me an unreleased Logan X song which sounds amazing.  Look for new music from Logan X coming soon.

Closing the night was another local band, The Mumzees.  They are very young (of course - most bands are very young to me....). The lead singer was wearing a The Fall t-shirt - which was a good sign, and wow!  I don't get out to "punk" shows very often, and so, it is nice to be reminded that the
"kids" are still alright. It was loud and distorted and aggressive (at times), and it was awesome.

All in all, a nice change of pace for me, and nice to get out to a show - after spending most of the week working on stuff.

It's Friday - let's get right to the Featured Friday shuffle...

Music City Monday Morning Shuffle - Take One Down Mix

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Daily (not) political post:  It occurred to me reading a couple of recent news articles that the current administration is the most transparently unethical administration in this nation's history.  Transparent is usually seen as a good thing, but the way the current administration is openly flaunting their ethical breaches is astounding. Where are those in power who are willing to speak up? It's not like there even needs to be much of an investigation.  They are not even trying to hide it....
Busy weekend... saw some great shows, missed some great shows, worked hard, rested, hung out with friends, did a live radio show with guest DJ Mark Robinson, announced the first week of the E2TG May Residency with same Mark Robinson and his fabulous band, and did some other things.

The rest of the line-up will be announced soon.  

Saturday night was the David Olney CD release show and pop-up art event at The 5 Spot with Brock Zeman and Blair Hogan.  Great music and a great time..


It's Monday, when we shuffle up tunes from our Music City Monday playlist.... let's go...

Trending Tuesday Morning Shuffle - Looking at Their Phones Mix

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So yesterday, as I worked, I would look out the window and sea picture perfect day while I watched the temperature on my phone rise through the seventies into the low 80s. It was the first day of Spring, and it felt like it.  I hustled home and changed into shorts, grabbed a beer, and sat out on my back deck reveling in the sun and just right temperatures. And the the clouds began to roll in, and in less than a hour it was storming.  I guess that is Spring, too.

You know, like a lot of people, I have been doing a lot of thinking about the state of the world and this country, and our government. Sometimes, as I react to some new revelation, some new affront to decency, some new outrage... I find myself questioning if I am overreacting. Or perhaps more to the point, I find myself wondering if I am reacting to the right things. As I have said before, I NEVER intended, E2TG to be a forum for my political beliefs. I have always and still believe that this country is made great not by a uniformity of opinions and tenets and beliefs, but by the differences. I believe it is possible that not every belief or philosophy of mine is 100 percent correct 100 percent of the time.  Or that the "other side" is 100 percent wrong 100 percent of the time.

So, in the past two months, I have struggled to differentiate the "normal" political issues (some of which are very important) and this new "not normal" world in which we find ourselves. It is a difficult thing to do because the two are often intertwined. The current administration's ties to Russia and white supremacists - their outright lies and attacks on the press... these and more should transcend (D) vs. (R) or virtually any other artificial division.

I don't have a neat wrap up... these are just some things that have been on my mind. ****************************************************************************

On Tuesday - we shuffle up our "New Music" playlist - that is filled with (fairly) recent (including not yet released) music that has come to me by variety of mediums and people. It is today's glimpse at what is "Trending" on E2TG.