Check out this fun interview with one of our very favorites here on Focus On The 615, Jana Kramer!
See this related article:
Archive | February, 2012
CRS 2012: Interview With Jana Kramer
Focus on the 615 at CRS 2012
And that’s a wrap. Averaging four hours of sleep per night, around noon on Friday we finished up our last of 23 interviews for CRS week. Aside from all of these (stay tuned to watch them all here), the week consisted of exclusive performances, incredible after parties and an overload of fun.
CRS again is the Country Radio Seminar, a weeklong event at the Nashville Convention Center “created to provide a platform and structure for education and growth for the Country Music format, serving as the conduit connecting the interests of Country Radio with the Country Music Industry” (crs.org). Our job was to cover it as part of the media… therefore we hung out in the media room and interviewed artists instead of going to the educational seminars. Not a bad gig.
Tuesday
Day 1 was Tuesday, a day that proved just a warm up for the week ahead. We started at Warner Music where we caught up with The Dirt Drifters, HER & Kings County and Ty Stone. HKC are some of the most energetic people we had the good fortune of meeting.
“Y’all kicked our hangover to the curb like a Bloody Mary.” – HER & Kings County
You’re welcome guys.
Then it was up to the Bridge Bar (a cool lounge area located on the walkway over Commerce Street) to meet up with The Roys, DJ Miller and Mark Cooke. Six interviews ain’t bad for a days work, and then we were invited to attend the Country Radio Hall of Fame induction ceremony, followed by the Sony-hosted after party featuring Brent Anderson, Wade Bowen and Jerrod Niemann. They all brought the house down, especially Niemann’s finale, a cover of the classic Pride and Joy.
Wednesday
Now we come to the day where we almost had TOO MUCH fun. No kidding, it was almost hard to process it all. The day started early with an interview with The Farm, a great group of people, then Gloriana, who I’ve had my eye on since their first single Wild At Heart three years ago. Then finally, I got to meet Jana Kramer who is in fact the sweetest person in the entire world.
Then came lunch at The Ryman, one of the best musical venues in the country, for a performance by nearly the entire Universal Music Group roster. I won’t mention them all, but it started off with none other than King George Strait. Let me tell you, there is not a lot that can trump watching Troubadour live in The Ryman Auditorium as the sun shines through the stained glass windows. But if there was one thing that could, it was the way they closed the show: with Lionel Richie. And he immediately brought out one of his biggest fans to perform with him: Luke Bryan. They played Easy (Like Sunday Morning) one of my favorite songs of all time, and after a well-deserved standing ovation, we were back to the media room. So yeah, that was lunch.
After this, we caught up with Marlee Scott, Frankie Ballard and Jason Mitchell. Soon thereafter we found ourselves at a meet-and-greet with most of the aforementioned artists in attendance, along with Josh Turner, Scotty McCreary, Lauren Alaina, Luke Bryan, Craig Morgan, and others. No interviews with those folks unfortunately, but all very nice people.
But we weren’t done yet: after that was the sold out Lady Antebellum concert at Municipal Auditorium. Thompson Square opened the show in incredible fashion before Darius Rucker took the stage, singing a couple Hootie & the Blowfish classics as well as a Nashville favorite Family Tradition. Then it was Lady A’s turn, and they put on one impressive show. They played all the hits, and even featured surprise cameos from Luke Bryan (performing Do I, co-written by Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood) and Sara Evans (who performed Stronger, co-written by Hillary Scott). After the show we were exhausted… oh, but not done yet.
The after party was a Warner Music gathering with an 80’s theme. Artists played one of their own songs followed by an 80’s classic. On the roster were (among others) HER & Kings County, Ty Stone, Jana Kramer, THE FARM, Jason Jones, The Dirt Drifters, Frankie Ballard, Hunter Hayes, and Big & Rich who performed a rousing rendition of Madonna’s Like A Virgin.
Cue exhaustion.
Thursday
After Wednesday, Thursday became a blur of sleep deprivation masked with too much caffeine. Of the interviews I remember, we had Glen Templeton, Due West, Amber Hayes, Jessie James, Deborah Allen, Adam Gregory, Maggie Sajak and Bucky Covington (forgive me if I forgot anyone). By the time Bucky finished out the day our batteries were drained figuratively AND literally (Bucky’s interview ran slightly short due to the death of the camera battery).
Lunch featured an acoustic set by Alan Jackson, and shortly thereafter we had a few hours where I was able to go home and nap before the Black River Entertainment showcase featuring Glen Templeton, Sarah Darling and Due West.
Friday
An easy day today! Only two interviews with icon Billy Dean and the lovely The McClymonts, and then on to lunch with Faith Hill! She debuted two new songs during her performance, and sounded as good as ever.
After a little break, we were back for the New Faces of Country Music show. The pre-show and happy hour featured a performance by The Lost Trailers, before we adjourned into the performance hall to see Hunter Hayes, Eli Young Band, Sunny Sweeney and David Nail. Thompson Square was also set to perform, but had to cancel due to an unfortunate death in Shawna’s family. The performances were amazing, and the after party was equally as amazing with everyone cutting loose after a long week.
We have pictures of all this excitement on our Facebook page, and will be sure to post these interviews online as soon as possible, so be sure to check back often! We would also like to thank each artist for their time, their management for their patience, and everyone who was involved with CRS for their hard work and dedication to an extraordinary week. Thank you!
Below is a recap of our CRS interviews:
The Dirt Drifters
HER & Kings County
Ty Stone
The Roys
DJ Miller
Mark Cooke
The Farm
Gloriana
Jana Kramer
Marlee Scott
Frankie Ballard
Jason Mitchell
Glen Templeton
Due West
Amber Hayes
Jessie James
Deborah Allen
Adam Gregory
Maggie Sajak
Bucky Covington
Billy Dean
The McClymonts
Troy Tomlinson Named President Of CMA Board Of DirectorsI; Ed Hardy Named President-Elect
Photographer: Amanda Eckard / CMA
NASHVILLE – At the meeting of the Country Music Association Board of Directors this week in Phoenix, Ariz., Troy Tomlinson was named President of the Board and Ed Hardy was named President-Elect. The appointments begin immediately.
Chairman of the CMA Board Gary Overton, Chairman and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment Nashville, made the announcement at the first quarterly gathering of the Board. Tomlinson, who is President and CEO of Sony/ATV Music Publishing moved from President Elect to the open President’s position. Hardy, President of GAC, was named President-Elect. Jessie Schmidt, President of Schmidt Relations, remains Secretary/Treasurer for a second year.
“I am very excited about working with our new CMA Board President Troy Tomlinson and President-Elect Ed Hardy,” Overton said. “Both Troy and Ed are highly successful and honorable leaders in the Country Music industry. Further, they have already shown themselves as leaders with insight and wisdom while serving on the CMA Board and its various committees.”
“Given the ambitious vision of the CMA, I am honored to be serving alongside strong executives like Gary, Ed, and Jessie,” Tomlinson added. “The fact that we are all friends makes it even more exciting.”
“I couldn’t be more proud and deeply honored to be invited to serve as President-Elect of the CMA Board,” Hardy said. “I’ve known and worked with Gary, Troy, and Jessie either in business or on the CMA Board for the past six years and greatly respect them and look forward to serving with them in a leadership role. This is a very exciting time for the CMA and the Country Music industry and it’s great to be able have a role in taking it to the next level of success.”
More than 6,400 music industry professionals and companies around the globe are members of the Country Music Association. Formed in 1958 as the first trade association for a single genre of music, the organization’s objectives are to serve as an educational and professional resource for the industry while advancing the growth of Country Music around the world. This is accomplished through CMA‘s strategic imperatives – CMA Music Festival and the companion CMA Music Festival television special; CMA’s newest television venture “CMA Country Christmas”; and the crown jewel, CMA Awards, which are known as Country Music’s Biggest NightT. All of CMA’s TV properties air on the ABC Television Network through 2021. For information about CMA visit www.CMAworld.com.
Sh*t Country Singers/Songwriters Say by Carter’s Chord
If you’ve spent ANY time around country music singers or songwriters, you’ve probably picked up on some mannerisms and clichés. Parodying some web sensation YouTube videos, Focus friends Carter’s Chord capture a demographic near and dear to all our hearts… in “Shit Country Singers/Songwriters say.”
Adele Cleans Up, Whitney is Remembered, and Numerous Performances Rock The GRAMMYs
If you watched last night’s GRAMMY Awards, two things are clear: (in case you didn’t hear) Whitney Houston is no longer with us, and Adele cleaned house. And also, there were some (and by some, I mean 382) performances in there. Oh and this image to the left? Nothing but freaking hilarious.
If you happened to catch me on Twitter (@mattwilliams27) throughout the telecast, you’d know that much of the night was worthy of a good ribbing. Most notably was Chris Brown’s useless, God-awful performance, Taylor Swift ironically coming up flat on a note during the line in her performance of Mean: “…grumbling on about how I can’t sing,” a couple collaborations that sort of fell short, and a MIA Kanye West, despite his leading in the nominations.
On the other hand, certain elements will not soon be forgotten. I don’t typically comment on fashion, but if anyone saw Rihanna on the red carpet, they were probably picking their jaw up off the ground. And although I was sick of Whitney Houston references by the time LL Cool J took the stage, the simple, understated, and beautifully powerful tribute to her by Jennifer Hudson brought the house down.
Watch Jennifer Hudson’s Whitney Houston Tribute | “I Will Always Love You”
As did the highly anticipated return of Adele, who gave her first performance after undergoing vocal chord surgery. She absolutely nailed it, and received a well-deserved standing ovation. Oh yeah, and she went six-for-six on awards, including the big three: Song and Record of the Year for Rolling in the Deep, and album of the year for “21.” Bon Iver took home Best New Artist, which surprised many people, mainly because… no one knew who they (or he?) were.
The night also featured a fun, but touching tribute to Glen Campbell, featuring the Rhinestone Cowboy himself as well as The Band Perry and Blake Shelton. Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson performed their hit Don’t You Wanna Stay, and although Aldean’s mic cut out at the very end, they sounded fantastic.
The big story in the country realm last night was The Civil Wars, who took home Best Country Duo/Group Performance for Barton Hollow and Best Folk Album. They also performed a segment of Barton Hollow while introducing Taylor Swift. Taylor, by the way, took home two honors, including Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song for Mean. Lady Antebellum came up with a (in my opinion) highly-contested win for Best Country Album for “Own The Night” over Swift’s “Speak Now,” Aldean’s “My Kinda Party,” “Chief” by Eric Church (who I wanted to see take it), “Red River Blue” by Blake Shelton, and “Here For A Good Time” by George Strait.
So all-in-all… meh. Whitney will be missed, but the timing of her death overshadowed the entire show. Adele was well deserving of her awards and her standing ovations. And I think we proved that the most talented individuals don’t need dancers, pyrotechnics, auto tune, theatrics or lip-syncing (although Katy Perry’s performance was enjoyable, and an obvious “in your face” to Russell Brand). Real talent needs a microphone and a stage, and sometimes a guitar. And for that, Nashville, we thank you.
Nashville to Make Big Impression at 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards
Music’s biggest night is upon us, and Focus on the 615 wants to keep you in the loop with your favorite GRAMMY hopefuls! Kanye West, Adele and Bruno Mars may be among the most nominated, but our hometown country stars make up a notable portion of the prestigious list as well.
First-time nominees Jason Aldean and Blake Shelton each landed three nods, as did past GRAMMY-winner Taylor Swift, each competing for Best Country Album. Newcomers Thompson Square have two nominations for their hit Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not, and The Civil Wars also have two for best Country Duo/Group Performance and Best Folk Album. Receiving a huge honor, The Band Perry continues their incredible year with a nomination for Best New Artist.
Other notable nominations include Kenny Chesney and Grace Potter’s collaboration on You And Tequila, garnishing two nods, and the Zac Brown Band finding their way into the Visual Media category with Where The River Goes from the Footloose soundtrack. Click here to see a complete list of the GRAMMY nominations.
Nashville is well-represented in performances as well, with Aldean, Carrie Underwood, Glen Campbell, The Band Perry, Shelton, The Civil Wars and Swift all gracing the GRAMMY stage. Jason will perform his smash Don’t You Wanna Stay with Kelly Clarkson, Carrie will team up with legendary crooner Tony Bennett, and Campbell, TBP, and Blake will all be taking the stage together. Click here to see a complete list of the GRAMMY performances.
Who are your favorites to win? What performances are you most looking forward to? Let us know!
Focus will be tweeting live throughout the performance, so be sure to follow us at @FOCUSonthe615! You can also follow contributor Matt Williams at @mattwilliams27!
Parallel Music Publishing Continues Growth, Addition Of Brian Maher To Roster
Nashville, TN (February 7, 2012) — Parallel Music Publishing in Nashville is pleased to announce the addition of award-winning songwriter Brian Maher to its publishing roster. Maher, who signed with the company in December and is probably best known for co-penning Justin Moore’s “Small Town USA” with songwriter and producer Jeremy Stover, joins recently on-boarded songsmith Blake Chaffin to Parallel’s quickly expanding roster.
“Brian is a great friend and a talented songwriter,” said Stover. “I expect amazing things to come from his new relationship with Parallel.”
The son of famed Nashville producer/songwriter Brent Maher, Brian grew up around a studio and with some of the biggest names in the business (Dionne Warwick, Sly Stone, Bobby Darrin, Kenny Rogers, etc.). He even went to school with the Judds, an act his father discovered and made famous.
“There never was a conscious decision to strive for a creative career in the industry,” explains Maher. “I was just constantly around it…it was already a part of my life. So writing and producing were something that kind of just happened through osmosis…it was just something I naturally absorbed.”
By the age of 21, Brian had already landed his first publishing deal with Moraine Music Group. Throughout the years, Maher has bolstered the catalogs of Welk Music and Warner Brothers publishing groups, landed cuts by such artists as Taylor Swift, Justin Moore, Lonestar, Emerson Drive, Danielle Peck and Randy Montana and has received numerous awards and recognitions by ASCAP, NSAI and Billboard (to name a few).
Maher is now beginning a new chapter in songwriting with Parallel Music Publishing and is anxious to get to work.
“I feel very fortunate to work with such a talented group of people,” expressed Maher. “Parallel’s influence in the entertainment industry reaches far beyond that of a typical Nashville publishing company,” he adds. “I am really excited about the additional opportunities our relationship will bring.”
Parallel Music Publishing is part of Los Angeles-based Parallel Entertainment, a full-service talent management and production company. It has produced everything from motion pictures to music albums, to programming for a variety of cable television networks. Its talent roster boasts some of comedy’s most notable acts like Jeff Foxworthy, Larry the Cable Guy, Bill Engvall and Lisa Lampanelli, as well as music acts like Zella Day and Warner Music Nashville recording artist Dean Alexander. It also manages actors including former CMT Insider host Lance Smith. The Nashville publishing company is a partnership between Tim Hunze, Parallel Entertainment Founder & CEO J.P. Williams and C.T. Wyatt, who runs the Nashville office of Parallel Entertainment.
About Parallel Entertainment
Founded in 1991 by CEO J.P. Williams, Parallel Entertainment is a Los Angeles-based talent management and production company. Parallel develops, finances and produces a wide range of entertainment projects, including feature films; DVD premiere features; comedy and music albums; and television series and specials for network and cable. The filmed entertainment productions include several one-hour specials for Comedy Central and HBO; and several motion pictures, including Blue Collar Comedy Tour: The Movie; Blue Collar Comedy Tour Rides Again and Larry the Cable Guy: Heath Inspector, Delta Farce, Witless Protection for theatrical release. For more information on Parallel Entertainment, please visit: parallelentertainment.com.
10 Questions With A Thousand Horses
One of my favorite new bands I’ve come across is southern rock band, A Thousand Horses!
This up and coming southern rock band puts me in mind of a cross between The Black Crows and Lynard Skynard if you’re wondering what they sound like. This is a band with strong, soulful vocals and solid, skilled musicianship from all members based right here in Nashville. Best experienced live because they KNOW how to put on a show!
To learn a little more about them, please see my interview below AND check out the video that I just shot of them performing live last week at Nashville’s own, 12th and Porter! Hope you enjoy both!
Interview questions:
When did you become a band?
“Michael and I (Bill) have been writing and recording music together since we were 15. So about 8 years now. This band (A Thousand Horses) was formed around March of 2010.”
How did you come up with the name of the band?
“The band is named after a song on our debut EP. ‘A Thousand Horses’.”
List the names of the members of band and instrument. Where are all the members of the band from?
- Michael Hobby-Lead Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica (Newberry, SC)
- Bill Satcher-Lead Guitar (Newberry, SC)
- Graham Deloach-Bass, Vocals (Savannah, GA)
- Zach Brown-Guitar, Vocals (Lawrenceville, GA)
- Jonathan Carman-Drums (Charleston, SC)
How did you get your start as a band?
“A Thousand Horses was formed as an old band that Graham, Michael, and I were in falling apart. As we lost interest in our old band and old group of songs, Interscope Records offered us a record deal for what was becoming A Thousand Horses. It was a strange time.”
Do you write all of your own songs?
“Yes. On our older material, we would co-write every now and then with an outside writer. All of the new material we are working on now is written by a member or members of the group. While co-writing early on was a great learning experience, a vast majority of the time the songs just felt awkward and forced. We’ve found through experience that no one else can say what we want to say better than us and certainly not “Joe Platinum Songwriter” of the moment. That being said, we aren’t naive, and we know that great things can come through collaboration, and they have for us. So we know that it would be an immature move to completely cut ourselves off from that sort of situation. Hell, if writing with other people was good enough for Tom Petty, it’s good enough for us.”
Where do you usually find inspiration for songs and process? Who writes most of music?
“That is an almost impossible question to answer. And I hesitate to even try to because I’ve noticed our best songs just happen. The more we write the better they seem to get. That’s a certain kind of voodoo I don’t want to try to manipulate. I just pray it continues to flow. Michael and I (Bill) were the original writers of the group but Graham and Zach have begun to throw out very impressive ideas as of late. You will begin to hear more and more of their songs in the future, I predict.”
Describe your music and musical influences.
“Wow. Another almost impossible question to answer. Im not sure any artist enjoys trying to describe their music. It’s a question that I always stumble over. Our biggest influences aren’t necessarily bands so much as they are songwriters. That comes through in our sound. We have always been more captivated by brilliant songwriting than jams and solos. Well, except Zeppelin’s jams and solos. Our influences are as deeply rooted in English Rock music as they are Country music, American Rock N Roll, Soul and Blues. Dwight Yoakam, Tom Petty, and Noel Gallagher are some of my favorite songwriters just to name a few. And of course living in Nashville there are brilliant songwriters everywhere, and some of them are inspiring as well. It’s a town that continues to push us forward as songwriters because here you know that your next door neighbor could be writing a better song than you right now. And we certainly don’t want that to happen.”
What has been your favorite experience as a band? Biggest challenge you’ve faced as a band.
“Well touring, and getting to play our songs has been the best experience of all. I mean, I love traveling and it’s a blessing that we have gotten to see the country and parts of Canada while doing what we love.
As far as challenges go,
We have actually been very lucky so far. Sure we’ve lost a record deal, had managers, booking agents, and our drummer quit on us all at once. You gotta keep going. At the time I felt like we were being kicked while we were down. Now I realize it was all a giant blessing in disguise and I believe firmly in Divine Intervention. Now I see you can’t let a couple of assholes deter you from your main goal: Being great for yourself, the people that dig your music and support you and no one else. And to the people that have bought our music, come to a show, and given us the time of day, we are and will be eternally grateful because at the end of day, those are the only people who matter.”
What’s next for A Thousand Horses? Touring, new music?
“YES. We plan on releasing a new EP very soon and plenty of regional tour dates should accompany that release. We will also being throwing a big CD release party/show somewhere in town for that. Details on that will be released as soon as they are finalized.”
One of your songs was on the ‘Footloose’ soundtrack. Explain how that came about.
“The song they used was our song “Suicide Eyes”. I’m not sure of all the little details but basically the version on the soundtrack is actually the original demo. It made its way to Anastaia Brown and The director, Craig Brewer, heard the demo and thought it had the right vibe for the scene he had in mind. We had the chance to speak with Craig during the premier we attended and he could not of been more cool. We were and are honored to be a part of a killer soundtrack and movie like that.”
Thanks,
BILL SATCHER ( A Thousand Horses)
A Closer Look @ Coldwater Jane: Episode 2
Hope you are enjoying getting to know the talented, up and coming country duo, Coldwater Jane! AKA sisters, Brandon and Leah.
Here is the 2nd video interview in the series. Please check it out below and if you like what you hear, be sure to support them by buying their music on iTunes!
