Jim Lauderdale Is King.

Being a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame has it’s perks. You get a growing and lasting education on all things country music, exclusive updates and invites, and if you’re lucky enough, you just might walk in on a given saturday morning and get a front row seat to a prominent and legendary bluegrass Killer.
Mr. Jim Lauderdale, you are stunning.

Nothing soothes the soul like Bluegrass.
Be on the look out for “The Bluegrass Diaries” an autobiographical look at the life and times of Mr. Lauderdale himself.  Soon to be made into a major motion picture.

P.S. Be sure to pick up his new album Reason and Rhyme! in stores NOW!

Muz We Love: Alan Jackson “Talkin’ Song Repair Man Blues.”

Alan Jackson challange’s Harlan Howard‘s classic quote “Three Chords and the Truth” with this one!  Showcasing a little bit of the complexity that country music songwriters deal with every day!  The song it’s self is written, extremely well, we must say, by Mr. Dennis Linde.  Listen up to the lyrics, yo!

“Well I gave him my most sorrowful look,
And I said, “This song’s got a broken hook;
‘n-I can order you a new one from Nashville, but it won’t be cheap;
And I know you’ve been using a cut-rate thesaurus,
‘Cause your adverbs have backed up into your chorus,
Now your verse is runnin’ on verbs that are way too weak.”

P.S. Does anyone recognize the repair man… he’s Kurt’s Dad on Glee!

Muz We Love: The Judds “Why Not Me.”

One of the country station’s here in Nash will nottt stop playing this song.  We’ve seriously heard it like 5 times just driving in the car, which is insanely good considering we’ve only been here for a month and the song that came out in ohhh 1984.  We are literally always singing this song! and we only even know the chorus! Why Not Me?!
Anyway, we love The Judds, we think they’re revolutionary, but we don’t have all of their albums sooo we were pleasantly surprised to find out that they were the women behind the music.
This one’s written by the master, Harlan Howard, as well as Sonny Throckmorton, and Brent Maher.  Listen!

Check This Out: Kree Harrison, “Don’t Know What Love Is”.

Gahhh, so we heard this song a long long time ago and we could not remember who sang it.  We seriously spent like a solid two days trying to look it up.   Butttt, now  we finally figured it out.  This one’s by the beautiful Kree Harrison, it’s called “I don’t Know What Love Is“.   We love with how pure and simple it is.   It reminds us of something Harlan Howard could have written with Ashley Monroe.   We’re pretty sure Kree wrote this one though, but then again we could be wrong.  Either way she nails it, so check it out.

Click here to listen.  Or watch the live version below.  Sorry about the quality, it’s the best we could find.

Aaandd, don’t forget to hit up her Myspace!

New Tatoo Burnin’ Like A Brand. Sort Of.

It’s been a long time coming but I (Jamie) finally went in and got my tat touched up. It was super spotty and thin.  Buttt, I am so so so much happier with it now.  This one hurt too, but it was 100 percent worth it.  Anything for this music and this industry that we are so completely in love with.  Blood sweat and tears baby!

PS. The camera and the curve of my wrist make it look super crooked, it’s much sexier in person.

Harlan Howard said it best, “Three Chords And The Truth.”

Making Magic At Tootsies.

Gahh, so we found this video and it’s like the coolest thing on the planet!  Kris Kristofferson, Harland Howard, and Willie Nelson talk love, life, and songwriting at Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge in Nashville.  Guest appearances by Marty Stuart and Tootsie herself!   We would have done terrible things to be in the audience for this one.  Wow.

PYSK: Songwriters!

So, there are like 5 billion people involved in the musical process, all working super hard to give you the music you love and crave and listen to every day;  more than we can list, (Producers, Managers, Publishers,A and R Team. etc, etc.)  It’s kind of ridic. But awesomely ridic, of course.   Giving credit where credit’s due, however, we’ve got kind of a soft spot for the songwriters..

As the saying goes “It all starts with a song,” and without the writers there would be no songs.   Sooo yea, they’re kind of important. Here is a nod to a few of our favorites.

Natalie Hemby

Notable Cuts:
Mystery In The Making- Eli Young Band
The Airstream Song- Miranda Lambert
Virginia Bluebell- Miranda Lambert
Only Prettier- Miranda Lambert
The Bees- Lee Ann Womack
Play On – Carrie Underwood
Fun Fact: Our dad loves her! (But can never remember her name)
Check out this article we found about her: Natalie Hemby: Not Exactly Under The Radar
Myspace:http://www.myspace.com/nataliehemby
–By the way,  Nats is officially expecting a child in the near future, congrats to her and her her husband!

Hillary Lindsey

Notable Cuts–
Jesus Take The Wheel- Carrie Underwood
Wasted- Carrie Underwood
Crazy Ride- Michelle Branch
I Want Tears- Michelle Branch
Sooner Or Later- Michelle Branch
Keep The Change- Holly Williams
The Story Of My Life- Lee Ann Womack
Shut Up Train – Little Big Town
–and the list goes on and on!

Fun Fact: Carrie Underwood basically owes her whole career to this chick..
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/httpwwwmyspacecomhillarylindsey
–Check out her work with Combustion Music, she does some really cool duets with Gordie Sampson: http://www.youtube.com/user/combustionmusic

Harlan Howard

Notable Cuts- (His songs were cut by like 5,000 people)
Above And Beyond The Call Of Love- Buck Owens
Blame It On Your Lyin’ Cheatin’ Heart – Patty Loveless
Heartaches By The Number –George Jones
I Fall to Pieces – Patsy Cline
Pick Me Up On Your Way Down –Patsy Cline
Tiger By The Tail – Buck Owens
–and the list goes on for ever, seriously.

Fun Fact: He’s known as Mr. Songwriter because he’s written over 4000 songs, and coined the phrase “Three Chords and The Truth.”
Myspace– http://www.myspace.com/harlanhoward

Noteworthy Vids.

So I post videos on Facebook, like every second.  I went through and picked out some of my favorite ones I’ve been posting over and over again.   Here they are.  Because they are awesome. -J

Alison Krauss -“Forget About It”‘
If you haven’t figured it out yet, we’re absolutely obsessed with this chick.  Obsessed.   The voice says it all, baby.   There’s nothing in the world like it.

Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty– “As Soon as I Hang Up the Phone”
I’ve been getting super interested in Loretta Lynn lately.  Her song choice and writing style is so ahead of her time,  especially for a women.  She’s super ballsy and I’m obsessed with it.  Loretta is the queen of cute and clever songs, case and point:

Harlan Howard and Nanci Griffith– “Never Mind”
Harlan Howard is one of my all time heroes, (hence my tattoo) and this song pretty much sums up why.  The man is an american legend, nobody writes like him.
Ps. How pure does Nanci Griffith sound, you know what they say about sweet girls like that… just sayin :p

Sierra Noble -“Possibility”
I haven’t figured out if this girl has an album out or what yet, but I really gotta check that out.  Sierra Noble is one of Canada’s  finest, she’s got a few really sweet songs, including this one.  Check her out on Myspace. I do have a minor bone to pick with her however, since she hasn’t accepted my Facebook friend request. Hmmph!  Word on the street is she’s a killer fiddle player, so I guess I can forgive her.

Lillie Mae– “Little Red Coupe”
Our friends LM and AD from Jypsi owns this song.  Lovin the fiddle/mando combo.  This is the kind of thing I live for. Move over Patsy!