Wild Wednesday Morning Shuffle - Sasquatch Mix

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First off, I wanted to give out a show alert for tonight.  The late show at The 5 Spot in East Nashville will feature a CD Release show by Erica Blinn for her new album Better Than Gold. You may recall, we premiered her song, "Dance with the One (Who Brought You Here)" last September.

Closing the night will be another local favorites, Andrew Leahey and the Homestead.

Opening the show will be Memphis based and Fat Possum recording artist Liz Brasher - who I read is making her Nashville debut. I may be wrong about that.   Here's some information about Liz Brasher - NPR says, "Good-God-Hallelujah... Brasher shouts, rocks, rolls, and tears it up on stage; her music will dig down deep to touch your soul." A Memphian of Dominican descent who grew up singing in Spanish in the church, Brasher synthesizes the sounds of of '60s garage, girl group sounds, dirty blues, holy roller church music, and Bob Dylan into something completely her own.  And below is a video for her song "Body of Mine"  


Should be a great night of music.

Today is Wednesday so let's get "Wild" and shuffle from all the songs on my phone memory.

I'm am just a bit rushed, so bear with me...

Topical Thursday Morning Shuffle - Pad Thai Mix

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Today is Topical Thursday (previously Theme Thursday or something like that - and changed for no good reason).  Ever since the beginning of this year, I have been running on one topic or theme which I have alluded to but never outright explained. Originally my idea was to change topics every month, but a combination of laziness and the continued relevance of the original topic kept me from doing it. Beginning next Thursday - if all goes according to plan), I have a new Topic for the month of May.  Don't get the me wrong, the original topic is still, unfortunately, very relevant, but I am starting to become aware that this is a marathon and not a sprint... Stay tuned.

One week from today, I will be writing to tell you about the previous night's opening ceremony of the E2TG Residency. Now, I am telling you that Mark Robinson Band is coming up in less than a week!  Time to get off the fence and solidify your plans.  Otherwise, you will be reading my recap and saying, I wish I had gone. You don't want that!

So, here we go with the topic.  As I have said every week since I started this process.. The connection between these songs and my chose topic are strictly made up in my head.  I don't pretend to know nor do I wish to imply that the creators of these songs had a particular intent for the song that coincides with my interpretation.  There.... A couple of longish songs - so we have a short but sweet list.

Wild Thursday Morning Shuffle - Someone Else Has That Number Mix

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So it is December. The last month of the year, and that means it is awards season. And that means it is time for the 2nd Annual Earie Awards.  "The Earies" - "They sound odd, but they really aren't".

Continuing a tradition that dates back to... well last year... we present our first "Earie Award" for 2016 on December 1. 

Just to explain for those new to E2TG, The Earie Awards are a completely subjective arbitrary way that I choose to honor some of the great music of the preceding year.  There is no eligibility period, basically, even if an album came out in 2015, if it entered my consciousness in this year, it is eligible. And it is not specifically or exclusively albums that I honor. An artist/band that grabbed my attention with live shows or in other ways... eligible. Basically, it is "Earie" eligible if I say it is...

In 2015, the very first ever "Earie" went to Darrin Bradbury, who happened to have been our Artist of the Year in 2014.  So, I thought I would continue that one year tradition by handing out the first award of 2016.  The "Nice Guys Kick Butt and Then Write Sad Songs About It" Award goes to the one and only Jon Latham!  Jon was our 2015 Artist of the Year.  And in 2016, he continually showed why he was the absolute best choice for that award. In addition to recording his new album, unveiling some incredible new songs, leading bands at some of the best tribute shows in town, making his official Americana Music Fest showcase debut, backing other musicians, and sharing stages with Kevn Kinney, Aaron Lee Tasjan,  and many more; Jon has continued to be one of the nicest and most humble people I have ever met. His new album, Lifers, is due in early 2017, and I predict it will be his breakthrough. I base that upon the bits I have heard and the songs that he has unveiled of late.

Congratulations, Jon!  Jon is or will soon be heading to the Holiday Hangout in Arkansas, so I am accepting this award on his behalf, and I will be hocking it later today to get some scratch.


On to the shuffle. I still don't have a Throwback Thursday playlist, so stop asking me about it, jeez!  I decided, just for the heck of it, to shuffle all the songs on my phone again.  So, it is Wild Thursday. Who cares if the letters don't match...

Tuesday Morning Music Shuffle - Just for One Day Mix

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We move on... 

Last night was Week 2 of the Darrin Bradbury Residency at The Basement East. It also happened to be Stop 2 of my Birthday Week excursions. A great night of music spent with some amazing friends...

Tim Easton opened the night with a cover of David Bowie's "Five Years" which was really good. He followed with a set of old and new songs some of which featured Megan Palmer on fiddle.

Zach Schmidt backed by Adam Kurtz on pedal steel were next.  Zach's song and voice get to me every time.

Darrin Bradbury closed the night with a spirited set that included a new arrangement of his classic song, "Swordfish".  He brought out guest Margo Price and Adam Kurtz again for a couple of songs before closing the night with an amazing cover of "Ziggy Stardust". 

Tonight: There are two stops on my Birthday tour. First, I will be at The Basement for an industry showcase featuring Sara Syms.  From there, I am going to move over to The 5 Spot for $2 Tuesdays - Derek Hoke's weekly extravaganza.  This week's lineup includes Ashleigh Flynn and Jon Langford. Langford is best known as a member of the bands The Mekons and The Waco Brothers.

On to the shuffle...

Wednesday Morning Music Shuffle - Stain on my Notebook Mix

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It seems like the week has just begun, and yet here we are at mid-week.  Went out to The Bluebird Café last night for a great songwriters round. In an audience filled with people from Australia, Scotland, England, Poland, and other places, I got to see some of my favorite East Nashville songwriters perform some of their wonderful songs. Tim Easton hosted the night which featured Amy Speace, Darrin Bradbury, and Megan Palmer.

We have kind of short but sweet shuffle today... let's get to it.

Tuesday Morning Music Shuffle - #300 Tim Carroll Mix

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We've teamed up with The Finger to put on what we hope will be the first of many showcase events... it's going down tomorrow (Wednesday August 19, 2015) at The Building in East Nashville.  Details can be found at the Event Page on Facebook!

Yesterday, our Facebook Page crossed a milestone yesterday when we reached 300 followers.  Thanks to a groundswell, we are a mere 94 away from 400! Seriously, it means more to me than you will ever know.  When I started E2TG in May 2011, I honestly didn't know if anyone would read it.  Anyway, I promised surprises for the lucky 300th Follower.... in an incredible stroke of luck - the awesome Songwriter/Guitarist Tim Carroll was the lucky one!  It's kind of funny because when we reached 200, another great Songwriter/Guitarist, Richie Owens, was the one! 

So... You can see, that the Tim Carroll's name graces the post title.  I think this is the first time a real person has had that "honor".  Who knows, now that I am big time, maybe I will start selling naming rights.... or maybe not...

It would have been cool if a Tim Carroll song had come up in the shuffle, but alas... still, I know there are some songs in today's shuffle that Tim will dig.

Wednesday Morning Music Shuffle - Too Far From the Limb Mix

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And now, we reach the mid-point of the work week... tonight in Nashville is the final week of Kevn Kinney's residency at The 5 Spot.  Warner Hodges and Chuck Mead are the guests, and word has it that Dan Baird, Joe Blanton, and Brad Pemberton will be on hand as well... should be a fun show!

Friday Morning Music Shuffle - How many 'L's are in Van Halen Mix

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The reality of writing an independent music blog, as I have done for over four years now, is that you have to push through those days when it seems like no one is pay attention (and even those days when seriously no one is paying attention). Maybe by attrition or maybe dumb luck, sometimes good stuff starts to happen, and you find yourself in incredible situations that almost do not seem real. The key in those moments (for me at least) is to not lose my sense of wonder and no matter what to never lose the hunger for discovering new music.  For me, when I lose that hunger, it will be time to move on... fortunately, I am not there yet.

Okay, so what prompted all this?  Several things, some amazing opportunities have come my way, and I choosing not to be cynical or jaded about them. Also, something seems to have broken open in the last couple of weeks and the number of people contacting me to listen to their music has grown exponentially. It can be overwhelming, but seriously it is the most incredible good fortune.  So be patient... I will listen to everything sent to me, but I can't make any promises beyond that.  Every time someone sends me music, I hope it will be one of "those" albums that changes everything... it isn't always, but even when it is not, I still get to hear some incredible music.

Friday Afternoon Music Shuffle - What's So Funny Mix

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I took the day off work and barely saw the morning....  so no traditional shuffle but I did run an errand earlier and shuffled a few tunes.... Plus I had some other things to share:

Monday Morning Music Shuffle - Fight the World Mix

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So, Americana Music Fest week is over, and Nashville can go back to being this cool city with live music happening every single night all over town....  Even with being an official attendee at AMA, I managed to see some amazing music, saw a bunch of old friends, made some new friends, and discovered some new music which will be showing up on E2TG soon...

 



The End Men @ The Basement 9/21/2014

More pics and commentary coming up.



Let's shuffle...

Tuesday Morning Music Shuffle - Whiskey Thunder Mix

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Another day, another cool mix of music....  Today we close out a few albums we've been spinning for some time, we have a track from one of the coolest and most underrated bands of all time, and we close things out with four tracks in a row from some Ear to the Ground favorites. 

In case you missed it (shameless self-promotion): Check out an audio rendition of a excerpt from my novel-in-progress... 




Shuffle begins right after the jump:

Friday Morning Music Shuffle - If I Could Mix

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Francie Moon and The Great Outdoors at Fond Object 8/16/2014

Plodded my way through another week... Today's shuffle is a strange trip... or something...

Tuesday Morning Music Shuffle - Chill Out Mix

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Today's shuffle takes us from the Mississippi Delta via one of Nashville's hottest bands, up to New York with a singer-songwriter who's lead instrument is the bass.  To the North Mississippi Hill Country with a legendary blues player, to New York City where a cover of a Howlin' Wolf classic gets a dub remix, and ends up with some Connecticut teens taking on a lo-fi classic from the Pacific Northwest.  Not a bad ride for a Tuesday...