Nashville Film Company Gets Kickstart

Best Part Productions, a Nashville production company created by brothers Chad and Trey McClarnon, recently completed two short films using local labor and talents. The brothers wanted to “embody the city’s new film culture” by creating an independent film company that would give form not only to their ardor and expertise in making great films, but that also would allow them to be surrounded by like-minded talent such as award-winning filmmaker Motke Dapp, photographers Kris D’Amico and Bradley Spitzer, wardrobe stylist Ciciley Hoffman, actress Elan Crawford, model Jennifer Blake, and Tennessee theatre mainstay Andrew Kanies. To date, Best Part Productions has created two complete short films, “A New Life” and “Without,” and are now using new fundraising avenues, including Kickstarter, to get these films out to the public.

Writer-Director Chad, a Nashville-based photographer, and Writer-Producer Trey, a trial lawyer, first filmed “A New Life,” featuring Kanies and Blake. The second film “Without,” which stars Chelsea McMahon, was produced as part of the Nashville 48 Hour Film Project where it won an award for Best Art Direction. Both “Without” and “A New Life” include original music scores from local composers, Rae Hering and Uncle Skeleton, respectively, engineered by Nashville producer Bobby Holland at County Q in Berry Hill.

BPP’s focus on Nashville as a film launch pad has enticed a number of local companies to help fund its efforts. Griffin Technology, Williams Medical Supply, Doug Bates Video, LLC., iV Music Group, Fox’s Donut Den, dose coffee, B&C Barbeque, and Carniceria Don Juan have all provided support.

In keeping with BPP’s innovative approach the company is using Kickstarter.com to raise funding intended to help bring the films to wider audiences. Currently the project has 32 backers and pledges of $970 with 21 days to go. Trailers for the films can be viewed here.

Sherrie Austin Introduces Circus Girl

Sherrie Austin’s first new music in eight years, the full-length album Circus Girl, is in stores today (11/15).

Included on the album is “Naughty or Nice,” a holiday duet with songwriter Shane Stevens, who also co-wrote Lady Antebellum’s “American Honey.” Austin and Stevens are real-life best friends and appear in the song’s video experiencing different Christmases on opposite sides of the globe. GAC is also featuring the clip in its On The Street segments, and AOL’s The Boot is offering an exclusive free download of the title track here.

Austin previously scored hits with “Streets of Heaven,” “Never Been Kissed,” and “Lucky In Love,” before landing roles in theatrical productions like Bonnie & Clyde and Ring Of Fire–The Johnny Cash Musical Show. More recently, she proved her abilities as a songwriter with cuts by Trace Adkins, Blake Shelton, Tim McGraw and George Strait. Her experiences as a songwriter helped inform the female-empowerment themes of Circus Girl.

“The last few years I had been complaining about that fact that there weren’t any females speaking to women above the age of 30, so I started thinking about how I was writing my songs and came up with the idea for ‘Friday Night Girls,’” says Austin. “I wanted to write a three minute song with every Sex and the City episode that had ever existed, so I did. I quickly noticed that the women in my audiences loved it and so I switched my songwriting focus for a while to concentrate on that audience, who are my peers, to speak to them.”

Austin and Stevens also appear together in the upcoming Sundance Channel reality documentary series Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys, about women and their gay best friends. The series premiere is Friday, Nov. 18 at 8 pm CT.

Throat Surgery, A Growing Trend?

Last Wednesday (11/9), Music Editor at the Hollywood Reporter, Shirley Halperin, ran an article titled Adele, Keith Urban, John Mayer: Why Are So Many Singers Having Surgery? Since then, the story has garnered additional media coverage including today’s (11/15) NPR: On Point.

Guests on NPR’s show included Halperin, Voice Center at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Dr. Steven Zeitels (who recently performed surgery on Adele), BU Professor of music Penelope Bitzas, and Pop culture writer Rich Juzwiak.

NPR discusses whether surgery has been an increasing trend among performers, vocal problems that result from the demands of a touring artist, and the state-of-the-art correctional procedures available to reverse damage and maintain vocal health compared to just a few years ago.

“It’s a 24/7 business, and the expectations are more,” says 16-year Sony Music veteran Ken Komisar in the Hollywood Reporter. “So much overuse of a singer’s vocal cords can be extremely detrimental to their ability to perform. We should all be advocates of taking better care of ourselves and our artists.”

Keith Urban‘s polyp on his vocal chord, and Adele’s hemorrhaging polyp are not just coincidences, says Mike Presca for NPR’s On Point, “Singers are pushing the limits of sound, and some are paying the price.”

Earlier this summer (9/29) Rachael Ray praised Celine Dion on her show for changing her life when she recommended her voice doctor, Dr. Gwen S. Korovin, to Ray, ”I had a quick operation, in and out of the hospital in a couple hours, and haven’t lost my voice since.” According to her blog, Ray suffered from a cyst on her vocal chord.

Link here to the Hollywood Reporter and NPR’s On Point (audio at the top “listen to the show”).

Dooleys Adds Another Dining Option To The Row

Eating options on the Row continue to expand. Dooleys Tavern opened a few months ago at the corner of 21st and Broadway, at the former location of Nick & Rudy’s Steakhouse. It is owned and operated by “Uncle” Mike Shafer, who’s nickname comes from his association with younger brother Uncle Kracker.

Dooleys is hosting industry events, including recent bashes for The Bigger Picture Group and Average Joe’s Entertainment.

The small chain of Irish pubs also has three establishments in Michigan.

Locally it is open 10:30 a.m. until 3 a.m., seven days a week.

For event booking, contact Shafer at unclemikemgmt@mac.com or on his cell at (586) 610-4499.

This news follows yesterday’s announcement about Lucy and Bobby Pinson’s new restaurant, Lucy’s Cafe Express.

Artist Updates (11/15/11)

Warner Bros. artist and CMA Male Vocalist of the Year Blake Shelton will headline the Coca-Cola Racing Family Concert at NASCAR Championship Drive this Thursday, November 17 at Florida’s Homestead-Miami Beach Speedway. Atlantic Records up-and-comer Hunter Hayes will be the special supporting guest. The free concert event will help kick off festivities for the NASCAR Championship Drive.

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Ronnie Dunn will be taping appearances on both Dr. Phil and The Doctors in Los Angeles this week. The theme for both shows is “Cost of Livin’” and corresponds to the title of Dunn’s current single, a reactive song that addresses the current economic hardships of many Americans. Both shows are slated for early December air dates.

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Country Hall of Famer and Opry legend Bill Anderson has released his first-ever box set, Bill Anderson: The First 10 Years, 1956-1966. Available in the US this week through Bear Family Records, the 4 disc collection includes 126 tracks from favorites to demos and rare cuts, as well as a 64-page book. Autographed copies are being offered on Anderson’s website for $149.99.

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Dolly Parton’s video for new single “The Sacrifice” will be featured on entertainment magazine show EXTRA tonight. The show will feature a portion of the video, and give a link to see the clip in its entirety on www.extratv.com. “The Sacrifice” is the second single from Parton’s acclaimed Better Day album (Dolly Records). “‘The Sacrifice’ is another song that is just so, totally, me,” says Dolly. “I think it’s so totally everybody that has a dream and desire to be successful, and in order to be successful we have to give up things that we’d rather not.  But if we’re not willing to make that sacrifice usually we don’t see those dreams come true.” In other Dolly news, the country legend will appear opposite Queen Latifah in the upcoming feature film Joyful Noise, which tells the story of two women working together to save a small town Gospel choir. Check out the trailer here.

Round-Up: Katy Perry Gives Fans Ultimate Thank-You

• Katy Perry is performing a free thank-you concert to fans on Nov. 23, the day before Thanksgiving. The pop hitmaker is renting out the L.A. Staples Center for the event on the night following her sold-out show there. Fans registered to win one of the 20,000 tickets on her Facebook page.









Erica Farber, best known as longtime publisher/CEO of R&R, is taking a new gig as EVP for the Radio Advertising Bureau starting in January. She was most recently CEO of consulting service The Farber Connection. Once she’s in the chair at the RAB, she can be reached at efarber@rab.com

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30-second spots on the 2012 Oscars telecast cost about $1.6 – $1.7 million, reports Ad Age. This is basically flat from last year’s ad cost for the show on ABC, which is also home to the CMA Awards. About 37.9 million viewers tuned in to the 2011 Academy Awards, down from 41.7 million in 2010.

 

WMN Announces Promotions and Hires

Warner Music Nashville has announced a round of promotions and new hires.

In the publicity department, Sarah Lai has been promoted to Publicity Coordinator where she will continue to report to VP Publicity Tree Paine.

Victoria Nugent has joined the Brand Management department in the newly created position of Director of Revenue and Research. Additionally, Tyler Wall will shift from the WMN Promotions department to the role of Marketing Coordinator under VP Brand Management Kelli Cashiola.

Previous Marketing Coordinator Carden Grissom has been named the label’s Manager of E-commerce, and will work under VP Strategic Partnerships Leigh Holt.

Wall’s previous position of Promotions Coordinator has been filled with Ann Jurasek, who will work under Sr. VP of Promotion Chris Stacey and the WMN Promotions team.

Following Rebekah Sterk’s recent appointment to Director of A&R, Film/TV and Special Projects, Stephanie Haymes will take over as the new A&R Coordinator.

Signing Photos: Randy Houser, LiveWire

Stoney Creek Records has announced the addition of Randy Houser to its roster. The surprise announcement was made Nov. 8 by Broken Bow/Stoney Creek President Benny Brown and Senior VP of Operations Rick Shedd at the label group’s CMA Pre-Party at the Hard Rock Café in Nashville. Houser will begin work on new music for his new album, and his first single with Stoney Creek will be released in early 2012.

(L-R): Rick Shedd; Benny Brown; Randy Houser; Broken Bow/ Stoney Creek SVP Jon Loba; Fitzgerald Hartley's Nick Hartley; Stoney Creek GM of Operations April Rider.

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Way Out West Records has signed rising country band LiveWire to an exclusive recording contract. The label will assume U.S. and European promotion of the single “Tater Fed” which is climbing MusicRow’s CountryBreakout Chart and currently sits at No. 2 on the Hotdisc chart in Europe. Last week, Way Out West released a video for “Tater Fed,” from LiveWire’s self-titled debut EP. The group also recently signed for management representation with the Clif Doyal Agency. LiveWire is currently touring regionally in the Midwest and working on a full-length album slated for release in the second quarter of 2012.

Seated (L-R): LiveWire’s Bobby DeGonia; Way Out West Managing Partner/Clif Doyal Agency owner Clif Doyal. Standing (L-R): LiveWire’s Cory Shultz; Danny Bell; Adam Hagerman; Andy Eutsler; Way Out West artist/co-owner Shawna Russell; LiveWire’s Landon Rolfe, and Way Out West VP Artist Development, Promotion & Marketing Mike Severson

Apple Launches iTunes Match

Apple unveiled its anticipated iTunes Match service yesterday (Nov. 14), a move that aims to make the company the undisputed leader in the cloud music battle.

For an annual fee of $24.99, iTunes Match will scan a user’s library and reserve a 256 kbps DRM-free AAC music file through its new iCloud service for any corresponding titles. These files will be playable/downloadable to any iTunes and web-enabled device, such as the iPad, Touch, iPhone, Apple TV and more. This applies not only to songs originally purchased through iTunes but to songs ripped from CDs or acquired by other means. Any songs not matched through iTunes can also be manually uploaded to iCloud.

The reveal of iTunes Match takes place just as Google is preparing to launch its Google Music service, which may be debuting without the approval of all the majors. Amazon has also been heavily pushing its new Kindle Fire for the holiday season, a tablet device that can play and/or purchase media from its large selection of products.

In short, the iTunes Match service is attempting to combine the future of access-based cloud music consumption with consumers’ history of file-sharing and hoarding. As more and more media-friendly devices hit the market, neatly managing libraries and files between them will be a growing concern.

Summer Signs of Success

Here’s a few banners that were waving ’round the Row around the beginning of Oct. (Photos: BossRoss)