Copeland Debuts “Smashville” Theme

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Copeland poses with Nashville Predators Ice Girls who attended the "Smashville" after party. Photo: Bev Moser

Lewis Copeland recently debuted his original theme song “Smashville” at the Nashville Predators game vs. the San Jose Sharks (12/15). Later during a special performance at the Stage on Broadway, Copeland again performed the song. Among those present at the “Smashville” after party were several Nashville Predators Ice Girls who passed out Preds merchandise to fans.

Josh Turner Welcomes Son; Jake Owen Benefit Concert

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Josh Turner and his wife, Jennifer, welcomed their third son, Crawford Marion Turner, on Monday, December 13. He was born at 8:52 p.m. at a Nashville hospital. He weighed 6 pounds, 15 ounces and was 19 inches long. Both baby and mother are doing well.

“Jennifer and I are overjoyed at Marion’s arrival,” Turner says. “He’s a strong, handsome little boy with a resilient spirit. Thanks to all of our family, friends and fans for their thoughts and prayers.”

Josh and Jennifer married in 2003 and have two other sons, Hampton, 4, and Colby, 17 months.

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Vero Beach, FL, native Jake Owen recently headlined his annual hometown Jake Owen concert called Mardy’s Tennis & Jake’s Music Fest. This year’s event moved to Holman Stadium, where Owen and special guests Little Big Town entertained a crowd of over 4,500. Owen presented checks to St. Jude for $30,000 and a check to the Mardy Fish Foundation for $33,000, on behalf of the Jake Owen Foundation.

Pictured (l-r): during the Jake Owen Foundation check presentation to St. Jude are: Jake Owen, Abby Alonzo (an 11 year old St. Jude patient) and her mom Katie Alonzo.

Fallon And Rich Holiday Duet On iTunes

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Jimmy’s holiday ballad “Drunk on Christmas” has officially become a tradition on his show. Fallon reintroduced the song (12/16) on his show with country star John Rich, who came decked out in a Santa costume with golden cowboy boots. Seasons drinkings everybody!

In the wake of response to the musical pairing, the “inappropriate holiday duet” will be available exclusively on iTunes starting Dec. 21.

Written by Gerard Bradford and Jimmy Fallon, “Drunk on Christmas” is full of yuletide references and the catchy sing-along line, “gonna get drunk, drunk, drunk on Christmas.”

Country Thunder Lineup Expands

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Country Thunder Festival stops in Arizona and Wisconsin have added additional performers to their lineups.

Joining the performance schedule for the Florence, Arizona Country Thunder Festival April 7-10 are Clay Walker, Rodney Atkins, Eric Church, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and Neal McCoy. Previously announced performers include Jason Aldean, Toby Keith, and Martina McBride. Full weekend tickets are available through January 15 for $120. More information here.

Darius Rucker, Easton Corbin, Sawyer Brown and Neal McCoy will join the lineup of the Twin Lakes, Wisconsin Country Thunder Festival taking place July 21-24. Previously announced performers include Lady Antebellum, Zac Brown Band, Martina McBride and Rascal Flatts. Full weekend passes are available for $99 through December 31. Tickets and information here.

DISClaimer Single Reviews (12/21/10)

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I dread this column every year.

It’s not that I don’t like Christmas. Far from it. It’s just that so much bad music gets recorded in its name. And, as usual, there is far more of it than I can hope to cover in a column. Among the many left “out in the cold,” so to speak, are Clay Walker, D.J. Miller, Jackie Evancho, Suzy Bogguss, Jeff Cook, Pat Garrett, Sherwin Linton and Liz Anderson.

Working with what we could get into a review session, Highway 101 wins our Disc of the Day for this holiday season. They still sound sensational. Other recommendations for stocking stuffers are Mandy Barnett, Point of Grace and the cast of Glee.

Surprisingly, there are several DisCovery Award contenders. Rachel Holder and Danielle Car both sound like they have the pipes to become stars. But how can you deny an album called Merry Ex-mas, devoted to holiday songs for the divorced? Besides, just look at the names of the folks who’ve banded together as The Irreconcilables.

HIGHWAY 101/Six Gold Coins
Writer: Curtis Stone/Cactus Moser/Brian Henningson/Clara Henningson; Producer: Cactus Moser & Curtis Stone; Publisher: Cactus Doin’ Work/Hometown Jamboree/Skyline/Cactus Moser, ASCAP/BMI; Keytone (CDX) (www.highway101.net)
—This is drawn from the band’s DVD Christmas on Highway 101. It is arguably the best new original holiday tune of 2010. Nikki’s lead vocal is packed with emotion, and the band’s support is stellar. The ballad’s striking lyric is based on gold coins that anonymous donors drop into Salvation Army bell ringers’ kettles every year.

POINT OF GRACE /Labor Of Love
Writer: Andrew Peterson; Producer: Nathan Chapman & Stephanie Chapman; Publisher: New Spring, ASCAP; Word (CDX)
—The album is titled Home for the Holidays, and if there are any voices in Nashville who are more suited to Christmas music, I have yet to hear them. This new Yule song is a sweet, acoustic ballad about the event in the manger 2010 years ago.

THE IRRECONCILABLES/See Ya Santa
Writer: Don Pfrimmer/Will Robinson/Mike Reid; Producer: Fred Bogert, Mike Reid & Will Robinson; Publisher: EGBG/Detect an Intruder/Rivers and Roads, ASCAP/BMI; Merry Ex-Mas (track)
—New here’s a concept: Holiday songs for the divorced. The CD’s title is, naturally, Merry Ex-mas. It kicks off with this groovy, jazzy/bluesy outing. The track swings, and lead vocalist Joanna Cotten delivers the lyric with plenty of sass. Santa, you see, is a cheater. The other Irreconcilables are Fred Knobloch, Perry Danos, Paige Bainbridge, Danger Will (Robinson) and Oscar Franks.

MANDY BARNETT/Winter Wonderland
Writer: Felix Bernard/Richard B. Smith; Producer: Mandy Barnett; Publisher: WB, ASCAP; Rounder/Cracker Barrel (track)
—Mandy has the most “classic” sounding holiday disc of the year. All the tunes are standards, and the players are such A-listers as Harold Bradley, Hoot Hester, Gary Prim and Tony Migliore. This is the CD’s title tune and track #1, and it’s a sprightly outing, laced with plenty of Lloyd Green’s steel. Her vocal is, of course, flawless. (Full disclosure: I wrote the liner notes.)

DR. ELMO/Come On Boys, It’s Christmas
Writer: Potterton/Manry; Producer: Gary Potterton; Publisher: none listed, BMI; Laughing Stock/Time Life (track)
—“Dr. Elmo” is banjo playing Elmo Shropshire. If that doesn’t ring a bell, how about “Elmo & Patsy” who originated the classic “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer?” On his Bluegrass Christmas CD, he proves conclusively what a fluke that was. He can’t sing.

BURNS & POE/Hear The Angels Singing
Writer: Keith Burns/Michelle Poe; Producer: none listed; Publisher: Banshee/Bana Bear/Crane Wreck/Studio 33 Music Group/Poe Haus, BMI/SESAC; Blue Steel (www.burnsandpoe.com)
—Another new contribution to the Christmas repertoire. This one is a gentle ballad that features both vocalists singing softly to delicate, tinkling, acoustic accompaniment. Their harmonies on the choruses are just lovely.

GLEE/The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
Writer: J. Marks; Producer: Adam Anders & Ryan Murphy; Publisher: St. Nicholas, ASCAP; Columbia (track)
—New cast member and native Nashvillian Chad Overstreet (Paul’s son) makes his disc debut on the Glee Christmas Album with this track. He plays “Sam” and gets several hearty standout lines during the ensemble singing of this standard. The male-male pairing of “Kurt” and “Blaine” on “Baby It’s Cold Outside” is raising eyebrows and getting lots of attention, but the rest of the Glee cast’s tracks are equally listenable.

BRITTANY ALLYN/Christmas Has A Way
Writer: Brittany Allyn; Producer: Chris Nole; Publisher: Mighty Pen, BMI; Mighty Pen (track) (www.brittanyallyn.com)
—The title tune to Allyn’s holiday collection is thin sounding. Plus, her singing sounds timid and tentative.

DANIELLE CAR/Save Your Cookies For Me
Writer: Danielle Car; Producer: Chuck Alkazian & Danielle Car; Publisher: none listed, BMI; DC (www.daniellecarmusic.com)
—This Detroit gal lays into this bluesy lament with blow-torch heat. She’s got some serious vocal firepower. By all means, lend her your ears.

LEE BRICE/O Holy Night
Writer: traditional, arranged by Lee Brice /Doug Johnson; Producer: Doug Johnson & Lee Brice; Publisher: public domain, arrangement Mike Curb/Sweet Hysteria/Sweet Radical, BMI; Curb (CDX)
—It wouldn’t be Christmas without a new version of “O Holy Night.” The song’s dynamics generally call for a vocalist of range, might and power. I wouldn’t think this guy would have the chops for it. And he doesn’t.

RACHEL HOLDER/Christmas Eve
Writer: Chris Frasca/Maria Chistiansen; Producer: Chuck Howard, Wilbur Rimes, Elmer Cole & Kevin Moore; Publisher: none listed; All Entertainment (www.rachelholder.com)
—At last! Some tempo. This toe-tapping bopper is underscored by slapping snare and bubbling bass. She sounds like she’s having a ball with this sexy little romance lyric. Deserving of massive airplay.

Chrysalis Fetes Jeff Stevens Producer Honor

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(L-R) Victoria Banks, Jim McCormick, Shelley Skidmore, Jersey Ross, Abbe Nameche, Jeff Stevens, Dale Bobo and Patricia Wittmer.

Chrysalis hosted a luncheon to congratulate Jeff Stevens on his inclusion in Billboard’s Year In Music 2010 Hot Country Songs Producers list.

“2010 was a great year for Jeff,” says Chrysalis Nashville Executive VP Dale Bobo. “With another hit single (“Someone Else Calling You Baby”), a gold record for his production on Luke Bryan’s “Doin’ My Thing” album, and now being named one of the top producers in the yearend Billboard rankings. We’re also very proud that Jeff Joined the Chrysalis team this year.”
Jeff is currently producing both the forthcoming “Spring Break” project and the third full length album for Luke Bryan.

Music Evolves From Commodity To Experience

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Corey Smith

It’s a classic conundrum: music industry sales are shrinking and at the same time interest and consumption of music is skyrocketing. A recent Wall Street Journal article by Damian Kulash Jr., lead singer and guitarist of rock band OK Go delves into some of the corners around which the new models are being built.

“We once relied on investment and support from a major label,” says Kulash. “Now we make a comparable living raising money directly from fans and through licensing and sponsorship. Music isn’t going away. We’re just moving out of the brief period—a flash in history’s pan—when an artist could expect to make a living selling records alone.”

Records became a music commodity in the sense that fans could experience music via a “discreet package.” The Internet changed that equation and global record sales plunged from about $27 billion in 1999 to $17 billion in 2009. Kulash ties the sales slide to the new freedoms afforded by the digital era. “Music is getting harder to define again,” he says. “It’s becoming more of an experience and less of an object. Without records as clearly delineated receptacles of value, last century’s rules—both industrial and creative—are out the window. For those who can find an audience or a paycheck outside the traditional system, this can mean blessed freedom from the music industry’s gatekeepers.”

One such artist profiled in the article is singer/songwriter Corey Smith who recently signed with Nashville-based Average Joe’s Entertainment whose roster includes Colt Ford, Brantley Gilbert and Josh Gracin. Smith’s manager Marty Winsch tells WSJ that his artist grossed about $4 million in 2008 from touring, merchandise and other revenue. Smith’s music is available FREE from his website in digital format and CDs can be purchased at discounted prices. So the music is used to promote touring rather than the reverse. “We don’t look at it as free, ” Winsch says. “When people come to the website and download the music, they’re giving us their time, their most valuable commodity.” Not surprisingly the Average Joe’s label deal is non-traditional with the artist reaping 50% of any net revenue.

So it makes sense to use the music to bolster ticket sales, but touring has also faced cutbacks and faltering demand this past year. The article notes that popular artists therefore are returning to the “centuries old logic” of patronage in the modern-day form of sponsorships and licensing. For unknown acts, however, these deals are harder to forge, but can offer creative freedom when successful. “Outside sponsors tend to take a broader view of success,” says Kulash. “The measuring stick could be mentions in the press, traffic to a website, email addresses collected or views of online videos. Artists have meaningful, direct, and emotional access to our fans, and at a time when capturing the public’s attention is increasingly difficult for the army of competing marketers, that access is a big asset.”

Kulash sums the overall dilemma nicely, “Music is getting harder to define again. It’s becoming more of an experience and less of an object. Without records as clearly delineated receptacles of value, last century’s rules—both industrial and creative—are out the window.”

Garth: Good Ride Cowboy

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Garth Brooks at a press conference 12/16/10. Photo: Alan Mayor

The 140,000 concertgoers turning out this week for Garth Brooks’ Nashville shows haven’t been disappointed. His infectious energy radiated through the sold-out Bridgestone Arena last night (12/19) as the headset-wearing hit machine ran through two hours of material. Dubbed Nashville 10: The Rescue Party, the series of shows benefiting flood relief has raised $5 million to date.

The crowd did the wave in anticipation of the superstar’s entrance, and fanatical screams filled the arena as a silver box rose up from below the stage and Brooks stepped out. “Rodeo” was a perfect opening number, given its line about “the roar of a Sunday crowd.”

Brooks’ monumental success is a combination of stage and song. He selects excellent material, executes it with perfection, and then offers a thrilling concert experience—a showcase for his extensive catalog. Last night he sang older hits like debut single “Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old),” and newer ones like the Chris LeDoux salute “Good Ride Cowboy.” All his songs were met with wild adoration from fans, especially his most well-known chart-toppers like “Shameless.”

Brooks took the stage with just his acoustic guitar for “Unanswered Prayers”—a set-up similar to his Las Vegas shows—and the audience sang lead for most of the song. They erupted after only the first four notes of “Friends In Low Places.”

Steve Wariner joined him onstage for “Longneck Bottle,” and Brooks’ lovely wife Trisha Yearwood appeared for the duet “In Another’s Eyes.” She stayed on to perform her hits “She’s In Love With the Boy” and the “Wrong Side Of Memphis.”

What wasn’t lovely was the price gouging going on downtown. Making a killing from benefit concertgoers were Central Parking ($20/car) and the arena ($10/beer).

Nonetheless, the spirit of giving prevailed, with volunteers collecting Toys For Tots at the show’s entrance. The event was also broadcast on the Armed Forces Network for troops worldwide.

The enthusiasm of Brooks and his fans can’t be stifled. It filled the venue with excitement, just like the confetti and streamers during the grand finale.

Grascals, Vincent Earn Multiple SPBGMA Nominations

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Nominations from the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America (SPBGMA) Awards were recently announced, with the Grascals and Rhonda Vincent & The Rage both earning multiple nominations.

Reigning SPBGMA Bluegrass Band of the Year The Grascals are up for 10 SPBGMA Awards, including Album of the Year (The Famous Lefty Flynn’s), Entertaining Group of the Year and numerous instrumental awards for individual band members.

Rhonda Vincent & The Rage claims to be the most awarded band in bluegrass, and the eight additional nominations this year could add to their total of over 75 awards won. Nominations include Vocal Group of the Year, Bluegrass Band of the Year, and several instrumental nominations for members of the Rage.

The 37th Annual SPBGMA Convention will be held on February 3 – 6, 2011 in Nashville, TN at the Music City Sheraton, with the Awards ceremony on Sunday, February 6, 2011. A full list of nominations is available here.

Hot Schatz and Adkins End Business Relationship

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Schatzi Hageman

Schatzi Hageman, President and founder of Hot Schatz PR, has announced that her long-term professional relationship with Trace Adkins will be ending at the end of the year. Hageman and Adkins have worked together since 1998.

“Changes like these are difficult, but they can be very invigorating and energizing, as well,” Hageman continues. “I’m really looking forward to new collaborations that are as fruitful as what Trace and I have had.”

Beginning January 2011, all press inquiries for Adkins should be directed to Natalie Moore, Manager of Artist Development & Creative Services at Show Dog-Universal Music ([email protected]).