Yeah. So, technically he didn't EAT my husband's radio, he just kind of... gnawed on the chords. Not just any radio, his XM Radio. So now it doesn't really work very well.
Which is not the end of the world. I want an in-dash unit with a CD player... so my husband can have my SkyFi 2. A trip to Best Buy and a phone call to HQ and we'll be good to go.
Except... my husband didn't tell me the dog ate his radio....until we were underway on an 8 hour journey through the cornfields.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
Hey Ran Fans!
Attention Miranda Lambert Fans -- this message just in from Highway 16's resident early bird, Jay Thomas:
Tomorrow morning in the 8am ET hour I’m going to be playing two cuts from Miranda’s “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” CD to get some feedback for Columbia Records regarding the next single. I’ll be taking calls and e-mails. Tune in and take a Highway 16 Test Drive! Exclusively on XM channel 16 and DirecTV channel 814.
Jay will have the number / email address for voting tomorrow morning, so tune in!
Tomorrow morning in the 8am ET hour I’m going to be playing two cuts from Miranda’s “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” CD to get some feedback for Columbia Records regarding the next single. I’ll be taking calls and e-mails. Tune in and take a Highway 16 Test Drive! Exclusively on XM channel 16 and DirecTV channel 814.
Jay will have the number / email address for voting tomorrow morning, so tune in!
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Clearing the Cobwebs
I've sucked at blogging lately, I know. Thought I'd come in tonight and dust a few cobwebs off.
Nashville Star -- in person, I think Shawn Mayer looks like she could be a star. She's been playing Tootsies here in town for a while now. There are a few of the girls that really I just want to hug and say go home and be a teenager. Because they'd get eaten alive on Music Row. A couple of the guys are rather... obnoxious. Like they're afraid their 15 minutes of fame might run out any second, so they have to cram everything in right now. Melissa Lawson was definitely the one I related to most - we sat and talked about her kids -- the youngest of whom is 9 months.
Which brings me to the biggest revelation of Nashville Star radio... the contestants are SEQUESTERED. Like jurors. Cell phones taken away, no access to the internet, no contact with their family. The only way they even know if their family is in the audience is if they happen to see them from the stage. At one point, they weren't allowed to see the newspaper for a few days (probably around premiere time.) Quite honestly, I couldn't do it. This is the first year Nashville Star has done this with the contestants, and I have no idea if other reality shows do this, but I was shocked. Especially given that one of the girls is 16.
The production crew was awesome to work with though, and really went out of their way to make sure XM looked good on tape. We aren't in our new studios yet, as y'all know, so that's a bit of a bummer. But at least tune in to Monday night's show and see the XM gang on NBC. 9pm ET!
My favorite part of the show was watching Jon fret over what shirt to wear!
On the subject of reality TV, I just discovered last week that CMT is doing a little show of their own called "Can You Duet." They picked a winner last week, they get a record deal on SonyBMG. Was it just me, or did that show have zero buzz?
On a more personal note... I have a budding songwriter in the family. Delaynie has always written her own little melodies, from the time she was a toddler in the highchair and she'd hum out a tune over and over. Well last spring she and I wrote a little song together, based on that old sailor expression that my dad taught her (and me, 30 years before.)
Red Sky at Night - Sailors Delight!
Red Sky at Morning - Sailors Take Warning
It turned out pretty cute, and she recorded it acapella and sent it to my dad for Father's Day. If I could figure out how to put up MP3's here, I'd share it, because I think it's kind of neat. It's a "round the campfire" kind of songs. We made a pretty good co-writing team, so watch out!
A couple of media events on my to do list this week - including a Trace Adkins #1 party and a Toby Keith press conference. I will let you guess which one I'm excited about.
This is going to be another insane week... I'm hoping to take Thursday and Friday off (as battle pay for Fan Fair week)... I'm heading to Illinois to meet Ryan this weekend. 8 hours in a car with no air conditioning is not good, so I have to get my car worked on sometime... whenever that may be... I'm really hoping that I can talk Gary into taking Friday off and going with me. A) His truck has air B) I don't think I'm up to driving all that way alone. (Isn't it funny how you are going merrily through life, and then when some quack doctor decides something is wrong with you, their "cure" means you barely have the energy to get out of bed?) Anyway. I'm sure I'll blog from the cornfields, but the place may get dusty around here again in the meantime.
So how's your summer?
OH - which reminds me. I would like to take a vacation. I have a free Southwest plane ticket, 3 nights at a Marriott hotel and almost $500 Disney dollars. But I don't do Disney in the summer. Where should we run away to for the weekend without spending a lot of money?
The short list:
Cleveland (Delaynie's dying to go)
Niagara Falls (Gary wants to go)
Hattiesburg, MS (Gary's sister lives there)
None of that sounds exciting to me. Probably because none of them involve the ocean. Or because any of them require more energy than it takes to get out of bed. But I'd like to go explore somewhere funky and peaceful and fun. Not horribly hot or crowded. Does such a place exist?
Before heading to bed, I checked my blog stats, which I haven't done in 2 weeks. Funny batch of google searches that got people here today:
"Kelly Clarkson Pictures of Hair on Reba Duets Show" (St. Joseph, MO -- used to go there all the time to see my stepsons!)
"Carrie Underwood Love Life" (which comes up pretty much daily, however, this time is was from someone in Dubai!)
"Angela Hacker Bookings 2008" (Guessing that search didn't turn up a lot of results?)
"Sommet Center Tower XM" (Hopkinsville, KY -- come on down and see it for yourself!)
The search of the day, however, goes to the person in Ann Arbor, MI who searched "J. Smooze" and wound up at this post, reporting on an event I can't for the life of me remember attending.
Nashville Star -- in person, I think Shawn Mayer looks like she could be a star. She's been playing Tootsies here in town for a while now. There are a few of the girls that really I just want to hug and say go home and be a teenager. Because they'd get eaten alive on Music Row. A couple of the guys are rather... obnoxious. Like they're afraid their 15 minutes of fame might run out any second, so they have to cram everything in right now. Melissa Lawson was definitely the one I related to most - we sat and talked about her kids -- the youngest of whom is 9 months.
Which brings me to the biggest revelation of Nashville Star radio... the contestants are SEQUESTERED. Like jurors. Cell phones taken away, no access to the internet, no contact with their family. The only way they even know if their family is in the audience is if they happen to see them from the stage. At one point, they weren't allowed to see the newspaper for a few days (probably around premiere time.) Quite honestly, I couldn't do it. This is the first year Nashville Star has done this with the contestants, and I have no idea if other reality shows do this, but I was shocked. Especially given that one of the girls is 16.
The production crew was awesome to work with though, and really went out of their way to make sure XM looked good on tape. We aren't in our new studios yet, as y'all know, so that's a bit of a bummer. But at least tune in to Monday night's show and see the XM gang on NBC. 9pm ET!
My favorite part of the show was watching Jon fret over what shirt to wear!
On the subject of reality TV, I just discovered last week that CMT is doing a little show of their own called "Can You Duet." They picked a winner last week, they get a record deal on SonyBMG. Was it just me, or did that show have zero buzz?
On a more personal note... I have a budding songwriter in the family. Delaynie has always written her own little melodies, from the time she was a toddler in the highchair and she'd hum out a tune over and over. Well last spring she and I wrote a little song together, based on that old sailor expression that my dad taught her (and me, 30 years before.)
Red Sky at Night - Sailors Delight!
Red Sky at Morning - Sailors Take Warning
It turned out pretty cute, and she recorded it acapella and sent it to my dad for Father's Day. If I could figure out how to put up MP3's here, I'd share it, because I think it's kind of neat. It's a "round the campfire" kind of songs. We made a pretty good co-writing team, so watch out!
A couple of media events on my to do list this week - including a Trace Adkins #1 party and a Toby Keith press conference. I will let you guess which one I'm excited about.
This is going to be another insane week... I'm hoping to take Thursday and Friday off (as battle pay for Fan Fair week)... I'm heading to Illinois to meet Ryan this weekend. 8 hours in a car with no air conditioning is not good, so I have to get my car worked on sometime... whenever that may be... I'm really hoping that I can talk Gary into taking Friday off and going with me. A) His truck has air B) I don't think I'm up to driving all that way alone. (Isn't it funny how you are going merrily through life, and then when some quack doctor decides something is wrong with you, their "cure" means you barely have the energy to get out of bed?) Anyway. I'm sure I'll blog from the cornfields, but the place may get dusty around here again in the meantime.
So how's your summer?
OH - which reminds me. I would like to take a vacation. I have a free Southwest plane ticket, 3 nights at a Marriott hotel and almost $500 Disney dollars. But I don't do Disney in the summer. Where should we run away to for the weekend without spending a lot of money?
The short list:
Cleveland (Delaynie's dying to go)
Niagara Falls (Gary wants to go)
Hattiesburg, MS (Gary's sister lives there)
None of that sounds exciting to me. Probably because none of them involve the ocean. Or because any of them require more energy than it takes to get out of bed. But I'd like to go explore somewhere funky and peaceful and fun. Not horribly hot or crowded. Does such a place exist?
Before heading to bed, I checked my blog stats, which I haven't done in 2 weeks. Funny batch of google searches that got people here today:
"Kelly Clarkson Pictures of Hair on Reba Duets Show" (St. Joseph, MO -- used to go there all the time to see my stepsons!)
"Carrie Underwood Love Life" (which comes up pretty much daily, however, this time is was from someone in Dubai!)
"Angela Hacker Bookings 2008" (Guessing that search didn't turn up a lot of results?)
"Sommet Center Tower XM" (Hopkinsville, KY -- come on down and see it for yourself!)
The search of the day, however, goes to the person in Ann Arbor, MI who searched "J. Smooze" and wound up at this post, reporting on an event I can't for the life of me remember attending.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Nashville Star Radio on TONIGHT
Nashville Star Radio -- 8pm ET tonight on Highway 16
Jon Anthony and I put many many hours of our life into this show that we can never get back. The least you can do is listen. :-P Finished show is 98 minutes...
When it's over tell me what you think -- about the contestants, about the show, all of it.
Eventually (like... after I sleep?) I will fill you in on my impressions of the contestants... I've definitely picked a few faves.
i hear crickets chirping... no one listened?
Jon Anthony and I put many many hours of our life into this show that we can never get back. The least you can do is listen. :-P Finished show is 98 minutes...
When it's over tell me what you think -- about the contestants, about the show, all of it.
Eventually (like... after I sleep?) I will fill you in on my impressions of the contestants... I've definitely picked a few faves.
i hear crickets chirping... no one listened?
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Nashville Star Radio on XM!
No rest for the weary!
Nashville Star Radio on XM debuts this week -- we tape the first episode tonight. This is going to give you a much more in depth look at the contestants and the process -- it's very exciting for us.
Did you watch the first episode Monday? The new home on NBC means a new set, new host, new judges - and hopefully a much bigger audience! So what did you think?
It's going to be fun to follow this show this summer!
Nashville Star Radio on XM debuts this week -- we tape the first episode tonight. This is going to give you a much more in depth look at the contestants and the process -- it's very exciting for us.
Did you watch the first episode Monday? The new home on NBC means a new set, new host, new judges - and hopefully a much bigger audience! So what did you think?
It's going to be fun to follow this show this summer!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
My Contribution to People Magazine
Backstage at LP Field last week, Keith Urban met the press. It was actually really funny, because we had a game plan when he came back. There was a tabloid reporter in the press room driving us all crazy, so a bunch of us came up with a sequence of questions so we could get the good stuff answered without her asking something stupid.I got question #3, and I asked Keith what kind of baby gifts the fans had been giving him. You can read his answer at People.com.
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Is it Monday yet?
I have discovered, I'm not superwoman. Maybe I'm just getting old. This has been the most exhausting and emotionally draining CMA Music Fest ever. I didn't blog at 3am this morning while I was munching on room service because I couldn't really think of anything exciting to tell you about. I am behind on work I wanted to get done. Had to make some staffing decisions yesterday that made it easier on my psyche, but tougher on my workload. (I have a mental limit of 2 days in a row of getting my ass chewed, I needed a break.) So today, I plan to spend most of the day editing, cleaning the office, and getting caught up.
I had hoped to throw together a little post-Music Fest soiree at my place for those of you in town this weekend, but... I haven't seen my house since Wednesday, and can't be confident in what kind of state it's in. So let's get together Monday around 10:30 at the Pancake Tree.
If that doesn't work for anyone (most particularly baby Cebastian) please let me know. Delaynie and I will be there!
I get to meet the new Grascal today. I'm sure he's a great fiddler, but the real question is - can he dress like a Grascal? Their bus is parked outside... I really want to climb on board and see what Mayberry's Finest offers up for breakfast.
Will report back later. In the meantime, I've added a photo to the My Favorite Audio Blog Ever. Which, for the record, Jon has absolutely no memory of doing.
I had hoped to throw together a little post-Music Fest soiree at my place for those of you in town this weekend, but... I haven't seen my house since Wednesday, and can't be confident in what kind of state it's in. So let's get together Monday around 10:30 at the Pancake Tree.
If that doesn't work for anyone (most particularly baby Cebastian) please let me know. Delaynie and I will be there!
I get to meet the new Grascal today. I'm sure he's a great fiddler, but the real question is - can he dress like a Grascal? Their bus is parked outside... I really want to climb on board and see what Mayberry's Finest offers up for breakfast.
Will report back later. In the meantime, I've added a photo to the My Favorite Audio Blog Ever. Which, for the record, Jon has absolutely no memory of doing.
I'm back. Met Jeremy. Pleased to report that he's every bit the sharp dressed Grascal. I took a zillion pictures but never saw him smile. Definitely missing the smiling fiddler...
Saturday, June 07, 2008
06/07/08
My new nephew is a lucky little guy I think to have such a cool birthday as that! Ryan Christopher has arrived -- 5lb 6oz... I'm not able to get all the details since we're live from the Never Ending Chevy Stage, but I am eagerly awaiting photos.
Ryan is welcomed by big sister Maddie, and cousins Aidan, Andrew, and Delaynie. :-)
Happy Saturday morning,...
Happy Saturday morning, it is 3 AM. I am in my pajamas, just finished eating some cold pizza and I'm getting ready to go to bed. I experienced a whole new level of fandom(?) tonight that I'm going(?) to remember to talk about tomorrow. The whole camping out issue: People are camping at the ____ tonight, people are camping at the Convention Center tonight. I cannot comprehend this level of fandom(?). We'll talk about it tomorrow. Goodnight. listen
Powered by Jott
Powered by Jott
Friday, June 06, 2008
You know you're out...
You know you're out late, when you come into your hotel the same time as the morning paper. 2:45 in Music City, the end of a 17 or so hour day. Interesting night at the Coliseum. I have to tell you a good Luke Brian story, and I think I've solved the Rascal Flatts' mystery. The songwriter show at the Hard Rock Cafe, I won't tell you who was there because Blogger will totally butcher their names. Then, I took Sandy and her friend Tammy on a 2 AM tour of our new offices, and now I'm back in my hotel room, ready for a couple of hours sleep. We will do it all again tomorrow! Goodnight. listen
Powered by Jott
Powered by Jott
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Blogging from the Chevy Plaza!
Hello from the XM Broadcast Booth at the Sommet Center Plaza. We're currently in the bluegrass block of the Chevy Stage, heard live on Bluegrass Junction. Dan Tyminski is on stage. The Sommet Center is providing pockets of shade, the the crowd is moving their chairs as it moves... it's pretty funny.
Tonight I'm heading to LP Field for the backstage press conferences. On our list tonight to talk to: Kellie Pickler, Taylor Swift, Julianne Hough, Jewel, Sugarland, and Montgomery Gentry. On my way I'm hoping to stop by a James Otto #1 party.
No phone or internet from the lower bowels of LP Field, so I'll have to talk to you when it's over. In the meantime, go check out (and comment!) our XM blog at xmhighway16.blogspot.com
Tonight I'm heading to LP Field for the backstage press conferences. On our list tonight to talk to: Kellie Pickler, Taylor Swift, Julianne Hough, Jewel, Sugarland, and Montgomery Gentry. On my way I'm hoping to stop by a James Otto #1 party.
No phone or internet from the lower bowels of LP Field, so I'll have to talk to you when it's over. In the meantime, go check out (and comment!) our XM blog at xmhighway16.blogspot.com
My favorite audio blog EVER
To fully appreciate this blog, you must listen to the audio....(Joyce)It is one in the morning, Sandy and I are at Rippy's with the whole XM Engineering Crew including a very intoxicated... well served Jon Anthony who wants to say hello. Say hello to everybody, John.
(Jon) Hello everybody, thank goodness for Bud Light.
(Joyce)If only I had my camera here.
(Jon) And Maker's Mark Whiskey.
(Joyce) Goodnight. listen
Powered by Jott
For the record... I was drinking diet coke.
(Jon) Hello everybody, thank goodness for Bud Light.
(Joyce)If only I had my camera here.
(Jon) And Maker's Mark Whiskey.
(Joyce) Goodnight. listen
Powered by Jott
For the record... I was drinking diet coke.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Hey I am driving downtown...
Hey I am driving downtown and I realized that I almost forgot to tell you about a couple of very exciting thing that are happening today on Highway 16. First of all, Storming Warn(?) makes his SM debut at the top of the Chevy parade which is off the top of my head, 3:00pm Eastern. And then, we have a very special guest coming by the Chevy block party a little later in the day. I can't tell you who he or she might be. But if you are in the neighborhood you might want to come on over and be a witness to it. Otherwise be turned in the Highway 16 cos you are not gonna want to miss this. listen
Powered by Jott
Powered by Jott
Blogging to the Power of X!
I'm recruiting Team XM to help blog our way through CMA Music Festival for those of you who can't be here in person. Check it out at xmhighway16.blogspot.com
And also keep your eye on our Music Fest Photo Gallery at highway16.xmradio.com (you have to hunt for it down on the lower right)
You only get audio blogging here though. ;-)
And also keep your eye on our Music Fest Photo Gallery at highway16.xmradio.com (you have to hunt for it down on the lower right)
You only get audio blogging here though. ;-)
11:51 in Nashville,...
Cleaned this up... although I was tempted to leave the Tuckle Bell in... (I didn't find one, for the record.) The first time I audio blogged it cut me off, so for a while there were two of these up, sorry about that.
11:51 in Nashville, Tuesday at CMA Music Festival, just out of the Grand Ole Opry. I am still awake, thankfully. Umm... what did I want to tell you. The show was great. John Conlee was fabulous, Luke Bryan very entertaining. I did not get to see Montgomery Gentry because I was tearing down our booth. I tell you what, seven and half hours out there in that heat today, just about did me in and I am trying to figure out if there is a Taco bell between the Grand Ole Opry and my house. That is my mission. Going to go home and check my e-mails. Sleep in a little bit hopefully tomorrow and then I have got to pack a suitcase and head downtown. The Chevy Parade and block party starts at 3 p.m. Eastern, 2 p.m. Nashville time. You can hear it all live on Highway 16. It's never been heard live on the radio before, so we are very excited. Tune in, don't miss it. I will be there. Hope you will be too! listen
Powered by Jott
Powered by Jott
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Hello, from the very...
Hello, from the very hot and sweaty Opry Plaza. The first show has started. Carrie Underwood and Montgomery Gentry are about to come on stage. We have given away a ton of XM goodies and I have seen Dave from Connecticut and Paula and JoAnn from Massachusetts. And a whole bunch of other XM fans, and of course the most popular question that I have gotten today is, "Is that merger ever gonna go through?" Having great time out here - I'm gonna go to the 9:30 show, so, I will probably talk to you after that. listen
Powered by Jott
Powered by Jott
Monday, June 02, 2008
Happy Hell Week!
I just know the day is coming when someone from the CMA pulls me over and says..."umm Joyce... we'd really rather you didn't refer to our biggest event as 'Hell Week', ok?"
Ready or not - it's here! I have shipped my daughter off to camp, cleaned the house, and broken in new Sketchers. I even bought this ridiculously large pill box and am setting cell phone alarms to make me take all my meds this week (which would work better if I could A) find one of my meds that I'm missing and B)figure out which med is making me nautious when I do take it.) Feel free to ask if I've been drugged lately when you see me.
I've also prepped ridiculous amounts of note cards for our air talent this week and stuffed hundreds of goodie bags. At some point, I move downtown, which I haven't yet packed for, but I don't think that happens for a couple more days.
My first event today is a Gretchen Wilson graduation party, and my day ends with a Pizza & Planning meeting in our new offices.
Probably lots of audio blogging from here on out! Will check in as I can.
Ready or not - it's here! I have shipped my daughter off to camp, cleaned the house, and broken in new Sketchers. I even bought this ridiculously large pill box and am setting cell phone alarms to make me take all my meds this week (which would work better if I could A) find one of my meds that I'm missing and B)figure out which med is making me nautious when I do take it.) Feel free to ask if I've been drugged lately when you see me.
I've also prepped ridiculous amounts of note cards for our air talent this week and stuffed hundreds of goodie bags. At some point, I move downtown, which I haven't yet packed for, but I don't think that happens for a couple more days.
My first event today is a Gretchen Wilson graduation party, and my day ends with a Pizza & Planning meeting in our new offices.
Probably lots of audio blogging from here on out! Will check in as I can.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)