An Earnhardt, NASCAR, and Talking Vegetables

The cool thing about having studios in various places (D.C. / NY / Nashville etc.) is that any of our studios can hook up to each other and conduct interviews. It's like XM Magic. Since we don't do much with the classic country channels out of Nashville, it's not uncommon that I do something with an artist in our studios talking to Country Dan or JW back in D.C. Over the past year or so we've done interviews with The Bellamy Brothers, Dwight Yoakam, The Oak Ridge Boys and Jessi Colter that way amongst others, along with some assorted Southern Gospel groups whose names I can't remember.

Of course, there's a lot more than just country music that passes through Nashville, and so sometimes our other channels take advantage of our studio space here. And when that happens, someone needs to handle getting everything hooked up with D.C., getting the guest where they need to go, and running the board for the session. Because guests don't bring their own producers.

Unfortunately (for me) we don't have any sort of production assistant / guest relations / engineer person here in Nashville. (In D.C., there'd be at least 3 people assigned to any given artist visit and they'd cater in lunch, LOL.) Which means all of the above fall to me to handle. (Without the lunch) Normally not a big deal, the regulars I work with up there are always ask nicely so if I'm in town, I usually accomodate.

This week however, I have a hat trick of outside guests.

First up tomorrow morning I have one David Earnhardt, coming into the CMHOF for the Bob Edwards show. As usual with Bob's guests, I know nothing about them. "Earnhardt -- As in the NASCAR Earnhardts?" I say to a co-worker. "Why else would they be talking to him," was the reply -- which was the opposite of my thought, which was closer to "Why on earth would Bob be talking to him?"

Oh joy. My NASCAR knowledge is limited to knowing that the cars make left turns. Thanks to Google, however, I was enlightened that Mr. E is the writer/producer/director for a documentary about saving our election system. Couldn't be further from NASCAR. So perhaps I will learn something.

I will not escape those left turns that easily, however, as you will learn.

Following that session I head over to our Music Row offices for a lunch meeting about our new studio spaces, which I will have to leave early to accomodate talking vegetables. A tomato and a cucumber, I believe. Their names are Bob and Larry, although don't ask me which one is which.

Indeed, we've got The Veggie Tales coming in... this one for XM Kids. I'm trying to remember if I've ever worked for them before, and I seem to have vague memories of doing something with Kermit the Frog, but I can't for the life of me remember it.

So basically, I'm not going to be able to get any of my own work done tomorrow, because I'll be working for everyone else. Which is one of the reasons I've done nothing but music logs for the past couple of days, so I can stay ahead of the curve. The best thing about the talking veggies though is that it gets me out of the nearly hour and 45 minutes of drive time that I'd have in leaving downtown, getting my daughter from school, taking her to the orthodontist, and back home again. Hubby got drafted. (And quite honestly, he's long overdue to make that trekk.) Hooray for cucumbers! I shall eat a salad in their honor tomorrow.

Friday, however, is the real treat. (Draw your own conclusions about my excitement level.) Claire B. Lang, from the NASCAR racing show "Dialed In" is coming to Nashville for Sound & Speed, and doing her show out of our Hall of Fame Studios. Which, if you haven't seen lately, has a big old "Give the Gift of Museum Membership" over half of the window, which will make it very difficult for the tourists to see her. But trust me, she'll be there, beginning at Noon local time.

Claire is a hoot, she's a little bitty ball of energy. Her show is live 4-7pm ET. Six hours of NASCAR in the next room, yippee skippee!

I shall leave you tonight with your very own picture of the previously discussed Pepto Bismol Truck.

Would YOU drive that down the highway?