Rookie Driver Alerts!

Those of you who listen to XM's Highway 16 know that artists on their first single are called "Rookie Drivers." And those who make it to having an album come out get to go through a little show we call "Driver's Ed." Cool little show, 2 songs performed live, 2 from the CD, sort of a "get to know you" session. Past graduates of Driver's Ed include Sugarland, Little Big Town, Jason Aldean, and Taylor Swift.

(We've also had to revoke a few Driver's Licenses too... anyone remember Shelly Fairchild? Boy was I wrong about her! Or Aaron Lines?)

Last week we cut a Driver's Ed with Luke Bryan. One thing that stood out on Luke's cd, to me, was some really strong songwriting. He was a great show - him and Jon hit it off really well, and Luke was a great interviewee. It was just him and the guitar for the performances. When I script those shows, there's a lot of just winging it... hoping that the route you draw from point A to point B actually gets you there. Unfortunately, especially with new artists who don't know the "stories" that the label has created for their bios, they don't always give you the answers you're expecting, and things don't always segue like you want them to. Luke walked through every door we opened for him, and it's a real high energy show. It debuts next Tuesday, be sure to check it out!

Another Rookie Driver to keep your eye on is Chuck Wicks. A group of us had lunch with Chuck last Friday at Maggianos -- OMG put this restaurant on your "MUST DO IN NASHVILLE" list. The food was amazing. I've got some sort of wierd tomato / garlic allergy which makes it really hard to do Italian. But this food was just too much to resist, and it was worth every bit of pain I was in later. I'm definitely going back, I could just live off their house salad.

Oh yeah, Chuck. He's in this new tv show "Nashville" which debuted on Fox last week. I didn't see it, (hubby was supposed to tape it for me but forgot) but a former intern dropped me a note to tell me how much it made her miss Music City. The review of the show wasn't very hot, but let me tell you... Chuck is. He's young enough to be my... ok, we're not going to go there. Cutie patootie, and seemed to be a very nice guy. His debut single is called "Stealing Cinderella" and it's a very sweet song to begin with. Then you learn that his girlfriend of 4 years (sorry gals!) played Cinderella at Disney World. Everybody now... awwww! Keep your eyes and ears open for Chuck.

I've been gathering items for a "Protecting the Guilty" column lately, but this one can't wait. We're cutting a Driver's Ed tomorrow with a band that I really didn't know anything about -- including which person in the publicity photo was who. So I did some digging. Couldn't find anything that identified the band members individually, so I did some more digging.

And that's when I found the dirt. Muddy dirt. Two of the members of this group once had a pop deal, which isn't necessarily a crime - they wouldn't be the first act to not be able to make it in the pop world so they gave country a try. (love ya Sugarland!) That was just an interesting little footnote. That oddly, wasn't mentioned in their bio.

However... another member... did serious time in the rock world... SERIOUS time...as the lead singer for a hard rock group that had 3 #1 singles...as the lead guitarist for that almost-country dude... Alice Cooper... as the lead singer in another heavy metal band that apparently isn't done yet. We're not talking the Eagles kind of rock. (Oh wait, they're charting country singles these days!) We're talking black leather, black eyeliner, your press photo kinda scares me rock.

And... if all that isn't damning enough... Mr. Rock Star is planning to put out an album - and tour with - his heavy metal band. Next year. Yet his country album is coming out shortly. Already, his participation grade in Driver's Ed is mediocre at best.

Just to make things a little MORE interesting... we've got Amy Paige hosting this show. Sweet, adorable, Amy Paige. Teddy's Mommy. Can't WAIT to bring back photos from this session!