Wednesday, April 30, 2008

UPDATED: Carrie Underwood's Next Single Will Be...

... determined by the XM Nation! Arista has narrowed it down to two, but they've asked for our (YOUR!) help in making the final decision.

Tonight during Jay Thomas' live show, he'll be playing the two contenders, then taking votes from the XM Nation. Jay goes live at 6pm Eastern -- this will happen sometime in the 7pm Eastern hour. He'll have both an email address and phone number for you to vote. (one vote per person please!) Do you want me to tell you the 2 choices, or do you want to guess?

You can hear Highway 16 on XM / XM Radio Online channel 16 or DirecTV channel 814. And if you aren't yet an XM subscriber, I am sorry that you are missing yet another awesome benefit to being part of the XM family! Remember - I have deals!

Monday, April 28, 2008

Monday Check In

Howdy. Did y'all have a good weekend?

We had a perfectly crazy weekend at Casa Rizer... actually it's been a crazy week. I had my house painted last week, Ashley moved out Friday morning, Friday night my brother arrived with his family, Saturday morning we had a community garage sale, Saturday we went to the zoo, Sunday to church and the park, they left this morning, I'm up to my ears in interviews, and it's only Monday.

We had a great weekend with my nephews. Cutie cutie patooties they are. Cousin Laynie had a blast with them. But boy oh boy... boys are very different than girls. Even as toddlers!

I didn't make it to the cocktail party at Phil Vassar's house last night to celebrate the release of his new album. I did however, make it to an Alan Jackson #1 party today.

The event was held at ASCAP, to celebrate "Small Town Southern Man." There was a massive media turnout... to the point where the label folks were asking "who ARE all these people?" Alan was in a good mood and quite chatty, and we covered a lot of ground in our 15 minute Round Robin. Food was fried chicken fingers, chips and salsa / queso / guacamole, little (delicous!) cheeseburgers, and a plate of chocolate concoctions that I stayed far away from.

Our studio sessions were interesting today. It was back to back bluegrass... and didn't particularly go according to Plan A. We didn't alot enough time for session A, which has turned into our most expensive show ever, LOL - and that made session B start 3o minutes late, and band B was trying to get everything wrapped up to get on a plane to Europe in the morning. Lesson learned.

On a more exciting note -- I've booked the first session in our NEW studios! Now, they just need to get finished. :-)

Friday, April 25, 2008

Music Row Robberies

The excitement today happened in the back alley behind our studios... between 16th and 17th. The guy in the neighboring office came running in and said "there's someone breaking into that Jeep in the parking lot." Sure enough, some guy casually wandered down the alley... walked through the lot, picked out a car, and opened up the door, searched the console, and found some cash. Then continued meandering down the alley. My office mate went and talked to the vehicle owners... turned out they leave their vehicles unlocked on purpose because they have so many break ins. Good plan... but don't go leaving cash in the unlocked car. Duh!

I always say it never rains but it pours, and let me tell you, the schmooze fests are pouring out next week. On my agenda: Cocktails with Phil, Cooking with Trisha, Partying with Alan, and Chatting with Gretchen. Plus the Grascals are back in studio, along with Tracy Lawrence, Bonnie Bramlett and The Infamous Stringdusters. And that just accounts for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday!

I've been sitting on Grascals news for weeks now... I'm told it is coming out next week. Looking forward to having these guys back in - and getting this Studio Special on the air! It truly is special!

The blog entitled "Discombobulated" has to wait - I have to go crawl around my house on my hands and knees and see what kind of trouble 2 year olds can get into. Aidan and Andrew will be here by bedtime!

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Music Row Ramblings

Yesterday was an interesting day on the 'Row.

Started out my morning by meeting Fisher Stevenson. New guy on Big Machine Records. I'd heard him perform at the Big Machine Showcase during CRS. Nice guy.

There were two big news events yesterday, both involving Capitol Records.

First off we learned that Little Big Town has left Equity Records, and moved across town to Capitol. Most interesting is that they were able to take BOTH of their Equity Records albums with them. There's going to be a new LBT single - worked by Capitol - soon, from this album. They had a "key player" clause of some sort in their contract, and when one of the top label execs left a few weeks back, they were able to fly the coop.

The really big news, I thought, was that Lady Antebellum debuted as the #1 country album last week - and the #4 on the Billboard Top 200. Go Lady A!

According to Radio and Records:
Opening with 43,000 copies, Lady Antebellum's self-titled set (Capitol Nashville) is the first rookie album by a duo or group to start at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums since the chart was launched in 1964 and the chart's highest bow by a new duo or group since the Wreckers' "Stand Still, Look Pretty" popped on at No. 4 in the June 10, 2006 Billboard. "Lady Antebellum" pings The Billboard 200 at No. 4 and parks at No. 6 on Top Digital Albums (9,000 copies sold), accounting for an eye-catching 21% of the album's first-week total.

I don't think we got a chance to talk about the Lady Antebellum Driver's Ed taping, so this reminds me to tell you about it, now that the show has already aired, LOL. More often than not, my time with the artists is very limited when they come in to tape shows for 16... I do my best to cram a few words in edgewise, but a lot of times it's not much more than hi, bye, love the album, here's a t-shirt.

On Lady A, however, Amy Paige was hosting and I got the opportunity for a lot more interaction. They were totally fun! I had spent a lot of time before they came in watching their "Webisode Wednesdays" from their website, and worked a few elements from them into the things we did with them. (For example, you'll notice when you hear their liners on our air, it's not "and Dave." He doesn't like that he always comes last in the "This is Hillary, Charles, and Dave." So he got to go first. :-) Poor Hillary was last. LOL)

The songs they all did on the first take -- and boy do they sound great live!

Anyway, they were a lot of fun, but I was totally bummed that they didn't have a camera along to tape a Webisode Wednesday with us. Dave was kicking himself once he realized that I'd watched them... he actually had the camera, but not a tape. So, they promised to come into our brand new studios and tape a Webisode Wednesday, giving their fans the grand tour of the new digs.

I know, the next question is going to be "when are the new digs going to be done?" Next question?

I've been spending a lot of time in Strait Country this week. Jay Thomas, who's the MD for the channel, is on vacation, so I'm scheduling his logs. Fortunately, I don't have to mix them - the PD back at the Mother Ship takes care of that. I get cross eyed looking at all those George Strait songs! We just put a bunch more production on the air this week, so there's lots of new little treasures awaiting you in Strait Country! And lots more to come... including a VERY cool show that Jon Anthony put together that will air next month.

Fan Fair plans are shaping up nicely... we have several Fan Club Parties confirmed, with many more requests out. I'd tell you... but I'd have to shoot you. But I think we're going to have even MORE than last year. There's some Fan Fair surprises in the works too!

I think that catches you up on everything. Tomorrow's blog is going to be entitled "Discombobulated."

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Happy Earth Day

Several weeks ago, I blogged about winding up in the same elevator as former Vice President Al Gore. Me being me, I managed to not utter a single word. In honor of Earth Day, I wanted to share what should have come out of my mouth... had I been able to script it in advance.

And for those who don't know me well... I don't do politics. I don't like 'em, I don't understand 'em, and I don't generally discuss them. This has nothing to do with lefts and rights, so please don't make it political.


(Elevator door closes....voices continue... Producer J. turns around to find herself sharing 12 square feet with 3 strangers, one of whom she recognizes...)

Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry to interrupt, but I may never get this chance again. Mr. Gore, my name is Joyce Rizer, and I'm with XM Satellite Radio.

So nice to meet you. Do you have just a minute? Because I'd like to share something, if I may. So many times in life we do things and we really have no idea if people are paying attention. If we're getting through to anyone. So I wanted to tell you that you've gotten through to me. But it took a while.

For a long time, I really turned away from all this climate change, global warning ballyhoo. And quite honestly, I'm not sure I really buy into it. But more than anything I was a little aggravated that these superstars who fly around the world in their private jets had the gall to tell me I needed to change my light bulbs.

And actually, we've been using the curly-q light bulbs for some time now. At least in the hard to reach fixtures. Over time we've added more. Someday, when they get to the point that they don't take so long to get bright, and you can use them with dimmers and 3 way lamps, we'll use even more. But honestly, the curly-q light bulbs were the extent of my inner green.

So as you know, XM carried Live Earth. And as it happened, I was in Washington at our HQ on 7-7-07. Things were Live Earth crazy there. A dear friend of mine wanted to go see Garth and Trisha perform. Now you wouldn't know this, but I'm a bit of a Garth fan. And I think his wife is pretty cool. However, I had no interest in fighting the tree huggers to get a spot to hear him sing one song. Because really, I figured he'd have done more good for the environment by leaving his private jet parked in Tulsa. So I was just going to let her do her thing and I'd meet up with her afterwords.

However, things ran later than anticipated, and I wound up being down at the Smithsonian in time to hear Mr. and Mrs. Brooks sing. I got a good spot, and was pleasantly surprised to see most of the crowd was pretty much like me. Country music fans who were out enjoying the beautiful weather. No one tying themselves to trees or asking me sign pledge cards vowing to buy a hybrid car. It was actually a pretty cool little event.

So back home in Nashville a few weeks later, I moved. And I moved from an area in Davidson County that offered recycling, to an area that doesn't. Since "Curby" was introduced several years back, we kept a Rubbermaid tote in the kitchen, and we flung stuff into it, and dumped it into the big cart, and wheeled it out to the curb the first Friday of every month. No big deal.

However, at the new house, I found I was missing it. And I started noticing that my garbage can was a little fuller each week. Sure, I could save all the recyclables and drive them across town to the drop off center. But what a hassle that would be. So aside from saving the aluminum cans for the program at church, I didn't recycle much of anything for a couple of months.

Then one Sunday last fall, our minister gave a sermon entitled "Is God Green?" This raised some eyebrows. In fact, one woman in my Sunday School class told me she was skipping service that day because she was not in the mood for a bunch of global warming garbage. I was intrigued.

Really, when you think of it... the preachers have the ability to strip it all down to the basics. If God created the Earth, don't you wonder what He thinks of the way we're taking care of it? A lot of what Rev. Purdue said that morning made sense to me. And suddenly, it wasn't about climate change or carbon emissions or whether my hair spray came via aerosol or a pump. It wasn't because Bono, who could plant an entire forest with one night's paycheck, told me so. It was really as simple as taking a look at the world around me, and wanting it to be a better place than I see it right now.

So we came home from church and my daughter made recycling bins. She got on the internet and found graphics and made signs for cans and paper and bottles and cardboard. And so there's a corner of our garage for garbage that doesn't go into the garbage. It's amazing to me how much we pile up. And once a month when we go to her orthodontist, we drive by the drop off bins and unload a carload of garbage. And feel good about it. I've started using the re-usable bags at Kroger, which means we're bringing a lot less plastic into the house. And I've started listening when I hear things like how long it takes a Diet. Mt. Dew bottle to disintegrate in the landfills.

I'm sorry, I've kept you and your friends longer than I intended. It would be nice if you could convince Public Works to expand Curby out to the boondocks of Cane Ridge. But in the meantime, I just wanted you to know that one more person was paying attention that wasn't really a year ago at this time. Two more if you count my daughter. Although I suspect someday she'll implement some sort of recycling program at the Zoo where she heads up the Worldwide Wolf Conservation Alliance.

Now when I hear about environmental issues, I don't sigh and wrinkle my nose up. I'm not forming protest groups or picketing either, and I sure can't afford to buy all those expensive recycled paper goods. But as a whole, my family is doing better on this Earth Day than they were the last. Most importantly, we're thinking about things, and finding ways to improve our little corner of God's creation.

And it all goes back to Live Earth. If you got through to me, there's no telling how many others you got through to. But don't give up on everyone else, they'll come around. It sometimes takes a while.

When the skies and the oceans
are clean again
We shall be free.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Apparently she DOES like Hockey


Yesterdays (losing) Predators Playoff Game.... courtesty of Keith's publicist.
Photo credit John Russell.

Trace Adkins - Everywhere!

Press Release Just Received:

Country star Trace Adkins will appear on THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS on Friday, May 2 on the CBS Television Network.

Adkins makes an appearance in Genoa City to help Nick Newman (Joshua Morrow) surprise his wife, Phyllis (Michelle Stafford), for their first anniversary. He performs his #1 country single "You're Gonna Miss This."

Waking Up with Garth - UPDATED

Ok, technically... Rascal Flatts was singing when my alarm went off... but that doesn't make as good a headline for this crowd. ;-)

Maybe a better headline would have been Waking Up Laughing (Thank you Martina!) because Gerry House started heckling Garth, and I was cracking up because it sounded like something I'd be prone to blog about.

Yesterday, as suspected, Garth showed up at Steve Wariner's induction to the Music City Walk of Fame. And, despite it being warm and sunny yesterday, he was wearing his blue Wrangler sweatshirt. The same one he wore to CRS when Gerry interviewed him. (And again that night when he showed up at Trisha's showcase.)

The best part of the heckling was when he started talking about how clearly, Trisha was spending into oblivion, and poor Garth had to wear the same clothes over and over as he flew around the country on his private jet. :-D

From Country Aircheck:
"Steve's such a casual guy and he was so casual about this induction. Had I known everyone would be dressed up, I would have dressed more appropriately," joked Brooks

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Spring Cleaning

I have an assortment of things to clear out... including a bunch of Trisha Yearwood t-shirts, Keith Urban t-shirts, promo CDs.... is there an interest in me selling them here? Or should I yard sale them?

Let me know....

Friday, April 18, 2008

$3.42!

That's the price of gas at the Kroger by my house. $3.42 a gallon. Yikes.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Speaking of Down Under...

Keith Urban's publicist wanted me to share this:

Nashville, Tn. (Wednesday, April 16, 2008): Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban look on as Nashville Predators host the Detroit Red Wings in Game 4 of the Western Conference Quarterfinal Stanley Cup Playoffs
Credit Nashville Predators
They managed to leave out the fact that the Predators WON.

One Year Ago TODAY

I was headed to New Zealand.

*sniff *sniff*

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

All Is Well Again

Press Release Just Issued:

Chesney's First Next Big Star Is A Lone Star
Austin's Curtis Grimes WOWs Legendary Stubbs Barbeque To Edge Joral Segura

Austin, TX: To borrow from Cameron Crowe's Oscar-winning coming-of-age-amongst-the-rock-stars “Almost Famous”: “…It's all happening” out on Kenny Chesney's Next Big Star Competition for the opening slot on each stops of his Poets & Pirates 2008 Tour. Poet Curtis Grimes, channeling the emerging Pat Green, edged out Joral Segura in a night of amazing music at legendary Stubbs' BBQ to win the coveted Frank Erwin Center opening slot for the 3 consecutive and current Academy of Country Music and 3 time and reigning Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year's show in Austin.

Garth, the Singing Chipmunk

I'm driving in to work this morning in absolutely BRUTAL traffic -- took me over 45 minutes, it was ridiculous. And WSIX had a particularly annoying commercial on, so I turned over to WKDF. Which quite honestly, I almost never listen to because their morning guy bores me to tears. But I was looking for traffic.

So I turn it over, and Garth is singing. And my first reaction was "Yay!" because since US Country went away... I pretty much never hear Garth. (Which wouldn't be a problem if I could get my Ipod away from daughter long enough for her to teach me how to use it, but that's another post.) Back to the radio, it took me about 3 seconds of listening before I started laughing.

Because his Garthness... singing "Two Pina Coladas"... sounded like a chipmunk.

We've talked about this before, how some radio stations pitch songs to speed them up, to get more commercials in. However, I didn't realize KDF did this (they didn't back when I worked there!) and I'm really surprised they're gutsy enough to mutilate music like that here in Music City.

But back to Garth... it was comical. He sounded like Billy Gilman doing Garth-y-okie. And you know how the chorus at the end has those slightly dramatic pauses? "Bring... me.... Two pina coladas...." Yeah. Gone. It was Garth, the singing chipmunk, on speed.

Artists' Charities Win Big at CMT Awards

Ok, I confess, I didn't watch the CMT Awards. I considered Tivo'ing them, but figured they would run another 857 times on CMT over the next 6 weeks. However... I peeked at the winner's list in a press release, and discovered this very cool thing. Each winner gets a substantial donation made to a charity of their choice. Much cooler than that big ugly belt buckle trophy.

So here are the true winners from the awards -- these lucky charities:

VIDEO OF THE YEAR
$10,000 donation split between St. Jude Children's Research Hospital on behalf of Taylor Swift and MusiCares on behalf of video director, Trey Fanjoy
MALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
$5,000 donation to The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) on behalf of Trace Adkins
FEMALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
$5,000 donation to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital on behalf of Taylor Swift
GROUP VIDEO OF THE YEAR
$5,000 donation to Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt on behalf of Rascal Flatts
DUO VIDEO OF THE YEAR
$5,000 donation to the American Liver Foundation on behalf of Sugarland
USA WEEKEND BREAKTHROUGH VIDEO OF THE YEAR
$5,000 donation to the AARP Foundation Grandparenting Program on behalf of Kellie Pickler
COLLABORATIVE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
$5,000 donation split between The Philadelphia Soul Foundation on behalf of Bon Jovi and Nashville Humane Association on behalf of LeAnn Rimes
PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
$5,000 donation to the AARP Foundation Grandparenting Program on behalf of Kellie Pickler
SUPPORTING CHARACTER OF THE YEAR
$5,000 donation to the Polycystic Kidney Disease Foundation (PKD Foundation) on behalf of Rodney Carrington
WIDE OPEN COUNTRY VIDEO OF THE YEAR
$5,000 donation split between Thistle Farms on behalf of Alison Krauss and TurtleWill on behalf of Robert Plant
TEARJERKER VIDEO OF THE YEAR
$5,000 donation to the AARP Foundation Grandparenting Program on behalf of Kellie Pickler
COMEDY VIDEO OF THE YEAR
$5,000 donation to the Target House at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital on behalf of Brad Paisley
VIDEO DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
$5,000 donation to the American Cancer Society on behalf of Michael Salomon

Watch this space for my next 2 blogs -- "Country Music That Will Put You To Sleep" and "Garth the Singing Chipmunk."

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Breaking News From Nashville!

I hope you're sitting down. I just got a Kenny Chesney press release that did NOT use the phrase "three consecutive and current ACM and three-time and reigning Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year."

What if I forget?

Monday, April 14, 2008

So NOT Into Mondays

The most exciting thing on my agenda today is a root canal.

What's your day looking like?

Friday, April 11, 2008

Steve Wariner Getting Walked All Over

NASHVILLE, TENN. (April 11, 2008)-- Grammy®-winning singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer and Grand Ole Opry member Steve Wariner will be inducted into the Music City Walk of Fame as part if its fourth class of honorees, which also includes Steven Curtis Chapman, Merle Kilgore, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Kirk Whalum and Hank Williams, Sr. The honorees will be recognized officially with the unveiling of commemorative sidewalk markers on Sunday, April 20, beginning at 3 p.m. in the Hall of Fame Park in downtown Nashville. The induction ceremony, sponsored by Great American Country (GAC), is free and open to the public.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

It's THAT time of year... again!

Hard to believe it, but CMA Music Fest (I just had to backup and re-type, because I typed Fan Fair) is just around the corner. We have begun the massive task of planning our even more massive coverage. There are some AWESOME things in the work already.

SO. Who's coming to town, and what fan club parties will you be attending?

There WILL be a Monday Morning gathering of the Producer J. Blog Readers... location TBD... so don't plan on flying out early.

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Very quick question

Anyone out there have a fire pit? Not like a pit in the ground they start fires in, but one of those metal bowl things on legs?

I'm contemplating purchasing one for a church event... can you roast hot dogs and marshmallows over them?

George is still the King!

Just got the National Soundscan charts -- King George is the only country artist in the Top 10 - and he's perched at #1. 166, 305 albums sold in week #1.

Country Top 10 looks something like this:

1. George
2. Taylor Swift
3. Alan Jackson
4. Josh Gracin - 18,120 his first week
5. Carrie Underwood
6. Trace Adkins
7. Garth
8. Eagles
9. Robert Plant / Alison Krauss
10. Sugarland

If you've been listening to Strait Country I'd love to know what you think. I'm amazed at the number of songs I've not been exposed to before. His catalog is massive. Reading the email has been fun too. My favorites are the people who demand that if we don't change the channel back to US Country by a certain time, they are going to cancel their subscription. LOL, sorry to tell you, but the deal has been done, they couldn't change it now if they wanted to. (And they don't.) There have been a good number of positive / thank you emails too, although our email address was posted on George's message boards, so it's hard to know how many of them are really listening.

The hope is, this will cause US Country listeners who maybe listen to mostly one channel all day long, to flip around and discover some other channels they're going to fall in love with. With any luck, there will be very few people like me, who went out and bought an Ipod. LOL

Monday, April 07, 2008

Lest there be any doubt...

We have a Memphis resident residing with us at the moment... who, for the record did not GO to Memphis... in fact, she wasn't even BORN in Memphis. Yet for some reason, she seems to feel like she needs to cheer for Memphis in the National Championship tonight.

So just in case there was any confusion about where the loyalties lie within this house...

Rock - Chalk - Jayhawk! Anyone who cheers otherwise most likely will find themselves homeless.

In Case You Missed Friday's Opry

Kenny Chesney made a surprise appearance on Friday night's Opry with his band member, Tim Hensley, who recently released a Bluegrass CD.

If you missed it live, the Friday Night Opry broadcast will re-broadcast Wednesday at 10am ET on XM 10 America.

Get Your Game On


Sunday, April 06, 2008

Who's Crafty?

Barbara and I got sidetracked with a knitting discussion in an earlier post, so I thought I'd see what other crafty people we have out there?

I love to scrapbook, but rarely have the time for it unless I go away for the weekend with some girlfriends.

This is the knitting project I'm working on, it's part of a prayer shawl ministry and church. I've discovered the joy of big needles and bulky yarn. :-) Makes it go much faster!

These are #17 needles -- plastic, although I like metal better. And the yarn is Lion Brand "Homespun." It's soft and multi-colored, with all kinds of colors available, and I've already decided that everyone I know is getting a scarf for Christmas. :-D

Saturday, April 05, 2008

Rock Chalk Jayhawk!


Life at the Rizer Zoo

Remember all that gardening I did a couple of weekends ago? Including 3 hanging baskets on my front porch? I titled the post "How Does Your Garden Grow?"


Mine, apparently... is going to hatch.

Friday, April 04, 2008

T.G.I.F. !

Yay for Friday!

I'm spending my day editing... sniffling... sneezing. It's violently raining in Nashville today... so I'm planning on going home tonight and lighting a fire and curling up in front of it.

Gary is gone most of the weekend... Delaynie will be spending tomorrow as a Junior Zookeeper. (please let the weather improve!) My weekend will hopefully be nothing more strenuous than knitting, reading, and drinking hot chocolate.

What are your weekend plans? Name and town please. :-)
(This is a good chance for you lurkers to de-lurk and say hello!)

J.

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Getting Personal

Hmmm... I'm in the middle of a tough writing session. (Send chocolate.)

Every artist is different in how you deal with their personal lives... and you can generally take the cues from the interviews they do and the information contained in their bio. But in general, country music artists are fine with asking about their children and spouses and marriages and babies. And sometimes, it's not only welcome, but it's expected.

You don't interview Tim without talking about Faith. And you don't talk to Faith without getting some cute story about something one of her girls have done lately. And in general, artists are more comfortable talking about their families, and they get to beam and sparkle when talking about their loved ones and it makes for a more intimate conversation when they give you a glimpse of life at the dinner table.

But what about when it's not all candles and roses? Or there's something slightly scandalous like a dui in the news? I've had publicists tell me "so and so will NOT talk about ______." Which generally is fine, as the shows I write are much more focused on the music, and anything we get of a more personal nature is icing on an already delicious cake.

Which brings me to tonight's dilemma. I'm writing a Phil Vassar ShortCuts. And Phil has recently gotten divorced, which is not something that I would ever bring up in a show. (So, hot stuff... you're single now... what kind of girl are you looking for?)

However... there are two songs on this album that Phil co-wrote with his ex-wife.

Tricky waters to navigate. Even trickier when some of the songs on this CD are gut wrenching heartache songs. Really, I just want to hug him. But first, I have to write a show.

Shows, Shows, More Shows

In case you haven't been keeping up, we've been churning out a BUNCH of Highway 16 programming lately. Bookmark Highway16.xmradio.com or MySpace.com/Highway16 to keep up on the airdates and times. A few of the things I've written lately:

Highway 16 ShortCuts:
Josh Gracin
Jeff Bates
Phil Vassar (taping tomorrow, and ok, technically, it's not written yet)

Highway 16 Driver's Ed:
The Road Hammers
Lady Antebellum (taping today, and it is written)
James Otto
Phil Stacey

And remember... if you missed it the first time, these shows come around again - So check them out -- and tell a friend!

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

April Fool's!

As if taking away a channel that 1.2 million people listen to every week wasn't cruel enough, my daughter in law one upped every April Fool's joke imaginable today.

I get this email... that says "Guess Who's Pregnant!!!!!!!!!!!"

Worst. Joke. Ever.

Today, My World Slipped Away

I had intentions, as I noted below, on doing a proper send off for US Country. It was mentally written. Then last night something dropped on me out of the Blue Clear Sky, and I wasn't really sure what to write. And while I'm sure the Strait fans are Drinking Champagne and thinking that this is The Best Day.... the irony of this channel launching on April Fools Day is rather amusing. Check Yes or No - have you listened yet?

As a Garth fan, I am concerned that This is Where the Cowboy Rides Away - so now where do I find him? And How 'Bout Them Cowgirls like Trisha, Reba, and Shania? Are they nothing but a Foolhearted Memory now? Just Gone As a Girl Can Get? Personally, my fix when I'm Down and Out is retail therapy. Right or Wrong, last night I bought an Ipod. However, If I Know Me, I'm going to have no idea how to use it. But I know y'all will be there to teach me - I've Come to Expect It From You.

(I could Go On and on... Jay Thomas and I had all kinds of fun with this last night, but I Cross My Heart, I'm done.)

Meanwhile, I hope you'll spend a little time with Strait Country and give it a chance before you Give It Away. (Ok, I'm not quite done.)

The two most frequent questions I've gotten over all this are "How do I complain?" (In addition to sending a letter to USCountry I'd send one to the general Programming@ emailbox. If you're really Sirius about it, I'd call Listener Care) and "Are you working on Strait Country?" (at this point, no.. Ray Knight and Jay Thomas are doing it out of DC, my involvement has been limited to prepping some questions for King George and digging up some soundbites. However... the results of The Big One that dropped on me out of the Blue Clear Sky last night may alter that. Stay tuned. By the end of the day I should be able to tell you if I have this new gig that was promised to me, if I'm moving into Strait Country, or if I'm unemployed. Hee hee hee.)

For now, I gotta Run.