Certain songs on Trace Adkins’ new album, Something’s Going On, set to release Friday (March 31), might sound as though the singer is intent on adding more free time to his schedule, but the versatile performer is still going full-throttle with a new label home, album, tour, and upcoming movies in the works.
The album marks Adkins’ first album for BBR Music Group imprint Wheelhouse Records, working with “song guy” and BBR founder Benny Brown.
“You go into his office and there’s like several two-foot tall stacks of CDs on his desk,” says Adkins. “He’s old school. He still listens to everything on disc. He loves the music and he loves his artists. I remember he would say—right in front of managers, too—he would say, ‘I’d rather talk to artists. I don’t like to talk to managers.’”
Working with Brown meant immersing himself in new music. Adkins ended up recording nearly 20 songs for the album, before paring the tracks down to the final 12 songs.
“I’d go in his office about 1 p.m., and he’d have lunch there for us. We’d eat and listen to music. I wouldn’t get out of there until 5 p.m. We’d listen to songs for four hours.”
The Louisiana native also found encouragement to step outside his comfort zone.
“There were a couple of things that [Benny] would pitch me and I would go, ‘I just don’t hear my voice on that song,’ and he goes, ‘Well, that’s the interesting thing about it, hearing your voice on this song.’ Then when we got in the studio, he said, ‘Let’s try it, it’ll be fun.’ Those ended up being some of my favorite tracks.”
Adkins’ first single from the project, “Jesus and Jones,” contained the rowdy yet reverent blend of music that Adkins has become known for. Adkins’ current single, “Watered Down,” sets a different pace, and acknowledges a need to enjoy life at a slower speed.
“It was right in my wheelhouse,” says Adkins. “That’s where I am right now in my life. It reflects where I’m at, what I feel. That one was a no-brainer.”
Adkins called on his longtime engineer Mickey Jack Cones to helm the album as producer. Cones served as producer on Adkins’ 2013 album Love Will…, and as associate producer on Adkins’ Proud To Be Here and Cowboy’s Back In Town projects.
“He’s an incredible engineer. I’ve always really admired Mickey because he’s not just an engineer or producer. He’s a musician. He’s a singer. It’s fun doing vocals with him because he has good ideas and input on melodies and phrasing.”
A theme of slowing down to enjoy a more leisurely pace pops up elsewhere on the album, such as “Hang,” and “Whippoorwills and Freight Trains.”
“There were songs on this record that I remember being in the vocal booth singing them, and I just had to stop,” Adkins says. “I told Mickey, ‘You’re just going to have to give me a few minutes,’ and I kind of regained my composure because they just tore me up. It’s cool that songs still do that to me. Every now and then you find yourself in an emotional frame of mind or a place in your life when a song comes along and hits you right between the eyes.”
Another sterling moment comes with the somber “Still A Soldier,” which addresses the emotional battles with post-traumatic stress disorder many soldiers wage after they return home following months and years of military service.
“PTSD is a real problem and this song addresses it in a conversational kind of way,” says Adkins, who will embark on his 12th USO Tour this year.
Album tracks such as these provide a glimpse beyond Trace Adkins the entertainer, touching on subjects and life experiences that resonate with Adkins the individual.
“I’ve told people over the years, you follow my maturation or lack thereof by listening to the album cuts. The label’s always going to want to pick those three, four or five songs they think have commercial potential, then you are pretty much given free reign, at least I am, to put whatever I want on the rest of the record. ‘Watered Down’ was one of those songs, but it ended up being a single, so it’s a win-win for me.”
Outside of the recording studio, Adkins worked on a couple of movies last year, most notably on the faith-based film I Can Only Imagine, inspired by the 2001 hit from Christian group MercyMe. The film is tentatively set to release in 2018.
In the film, Adkins will portray MercyMe manager Scott Brickell (who also serves as executive producer on the film), and appears alongside Dennis Quaid and Cloris Leachman.
“Having met Scott Brickell, he’s a rough around the edges kind of guy too,” Adkins says. “He was on set a lot of days. I’ve never experienced anything like that before, portraying somebody while he was actually there. I would go to him and ask, ‘Man, how rough were you on him in this scene? Was I a little too rough with him? How’d that go down?’
“So the director really deferred to him on some of those things because they wanted it to be as accurate as it could be. He’s a no-nonsense kind of guy. He’s not a rough character but he’s a big, imposing guy and pretty strong-willed. He’s also kind, though. It was fun to do.”
Something’s Going On marks Adkins’ 13th album (if you include his Celtic-inspired Christmas album, The King’s Gift, released in 2013). Adkins hopes to explore other musical genres at some point.
“I‘ve always wanted to do a crooner record. I can sing that stuff and I like that stuff. I’d like to do a record of those standards and try to make them my own. But that’s down the road. That’s always something I’ve always thought of doing, just like the Christmas record I did. It took me years to get around to doing it.”
In 2004, Adkins contributed a rendition of “Victory In Jesus” to Amazing Grace 3: A Country Tribute To Gospel. He says a gospel album could be in the works at some point.
“A lot of country artists, once they get into the sunset of their careers, they seem to turn out a gospel album because they are trying to get into heaven, so I’ll probably do that too,” he quips.
For now, one thing Adkins is certain of is simply that there will be a next album.
“I have to make another record because this is No. 13 and I’m not stopping on No. 13.”
Trace Adkins Gets Personal On ‘Something’s Going On’
/by Jessica NicholsonCertain songs on Trace Adkins’ new album, Something’s Going On, set to release Friday (March 31), might sound as though the singer is intent on adding more free time to his schedule, but the versatile performer is still going full-throttle with a new label home, album, tour, and upcoming movies in the works.
The album marks Adkins’ first album for BBR Music Group imprint Wheelhouse Records, working with “song guy” and BBR founder Benny Brown.
“You go into his office and there’s like several two-foot tall stacks of CDs on his desk,” says Adkins. “He’s old school. He still listens to everything on disc. He loves the music and he loves his artists. I remember he would say—right in front of managers, too—he would say, ‘I’d rather talk to artists. I don’t like to talk to managers.’”
Working with Brown meant immersing himself in new music. Adkins ended up recording nearly 20 songs for the album, before paring the tracks down to the final 12 songs.
“I’d go in his office about 1 p.m., and he’d have lunch there for us. We’d eat and listen to music. I wouldn’t get out of there until 5 p.m. We’d listen to songs for four hours.”
The Louisiana native also found encouragement to step outside his comfort zone.
“There were a couple of things that [Benny] would pitch me and I would go, ‘I just don’t hear my voice on that song,’ and he goes, ‘Well, that’s the interesting thing about it, hearing your voice on this song.’ Then when we got in the studio, he said, ‘Let’s try it, it’ll be fun.’ Those ended up being some of my favorite tracks.”
Adkins’ first single from the project, “Jesus and Jones,” contained the rowdy yet reverent blend of music that Adkins has become known for. Adkins’ current single, “Watered Down,” sets a different pace, and acknowledges a need to enjoy life at a slower speed.
“It was right in my wheelhouse,” says Adkins. “That’s where I am right now in my life. It reflects where I’m at, what I feel. That one was a no-brainer.”
Adkins called on his longtime engineer Mickey Jack Cones to helm the album as producer. Cones served as producer on Adkins’ 2013 album Love Will…, and as associate producer on Adkins’ Proud To Be Here and Cowboy’s Back In Town projects.
“He’s an incredible engineer. I’ve always really admired Mickey because he’s not just an engineer or producer. He’s a musician. He’s a singer. It’s fun doing vocals with him because he has good ideas and input on melodies and phrasing.”
A theme of slowing down to enjoy a more leisurely pace pops up elsewhere on the album, such as “Hang,” and “Whippoorwills and Freight Trains.”
“There were songs on this record that I remember being in the vocal booth singing them, and I just had to stop,” Adkins says. “I told Mickey, ‘You’re just going to have to give me a few minutes,’ and I kind of regained my composure because they just tore me up. It’s cool that songs still do that to me. Every now and then you find yourself in an emotional frame of mind or a place in your life when a song comes along and hits you right between the eyes.”
Another sterling moment comes with the somber “Still A Soldier,” which addresses the emotional battles with post-traumatic stress disorder many soldiers wage after they return home following months and years of military service.
“PTSD is a real problem and this song addresses it in a conversational kind of way,” says Adkins, who will embark on his 12th USO Tour this year.
Album tracks such as these provide a glimpse beyond Trace Adkins the entertainer, touching on subjects and life experiences that resonate with Adkins the individual.
“I’ve told people over the years, you follow my maturation or lack thereof by listening to the album cuts. The label’s always going to want to pick those three, four or five songs they think have commercial potential, then you are pretty much given free reign, at least I am, to put whatever I want on the rest of the record. ‘Watered Down’ was one of those songs, but it ended up being a single, so it’s a win-win for me.”
Outside of the recording studio, Adkins worked on a couple of movies last year, most notably on the faith-based film I Can Only Imagine, inspired by the 2001 hit from Christian group MercyMe. The film is tentatively set to release in 2018.
In the film, Adkins will portray MercyMe manager Scott Brickell (who also serves as executive producer on the film), and appears alongside Dennis Quaid and Cloris Leachman.
“Having met Scott Brickell, he’s a rough around the edges kind of guy too,” Adkins says. “He was on set a lot of days. I’ve never experienced anything like that before, portraying somebody while he was actually there. I would go to him and ask, ‘Man, how rough were you on him in this scene? Was I a little too rough with him? How’d that go down?’
“So the director really deferred to him on some of those things because they wanted it to be as accurate as it could be. He’s a no-nonsense kind of guy. He’s not a rough character but he’s a big, imposing guy and pretty strong-willed. He’s also kind, though. It was fun to do.”
Something’s Going On marks Adkins’ 13th album (if you include his Celtic-inspired Christmas album, The King’s Gift, released in 2013). Adkins hopes to explore other musical genres at some point.
“I‘ve always wanted to do a crooner record. I can sing that stuff and I like that stuff. I’d like to do a record of those standards and try to make them my own. But that’s down the road. That’s always something I’ve always thought of doing, just like the Christmas record I did. It took me years to get around to doing it.”
In 2004, Adkins contributed a rendition of “Victory In Jesus” to Amazing Grace 3: A Country Tribute To Gospel. He says a gospel album could be in the works at some point.
“A lot of country artists, once they get into the sunset of their careers, they seem to turn out a gospel album because they are trying to get into heaven, so I’ll probably do that too,” he quips.
For now, one thing Adkins is certain of is simply that there will be a next album.
“I have to make another record because this is No. 13 and I’m not stopping on No. 13.”
In Pictures: Thomas Rhett, Kirk Franklin, Chris Young
/by Jessica NicholsonThomas Rhett Makes Tour Stop At St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Pictured (L-R): Ryan Hurd, Kelsea Ballerini, Thomas Rhett, Russell Dickerson
Thomas Rhett‘s 2017 Home Team Tour recently made a very special stop St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN on Friday (March 24). The multi-ACM nominee brought along friends and tour openers Kelsea Ballerini, Ryan Hurd and Russell Dickerson to spend the afternoon decorating hats, coloring and spending time with patients at one of the world’s leading research and treatment hospitals.
RCA Inspiration Honors Kirk Franklin
Pictured (L-R): Tamar Rand, VP Promotions & Strategy, RCA Inspiration; Phil Thornton, SVP/GM, RCA Inspiration; Kirk Franklin; Ron Hill, Fo Yo Soul President. Photo: Shannon Earls
RCA Inspiration honored Kirk Franklin during the Stellar Awards weekend, presenting Franklin with a plaque to commemorate RIAA certified sales of more than 10 million albums over his career thus far.
The plaque was presented to Franklin at Brand Maverick Entertainment’s “An Afternoon with Kirk Franklin” Hollywood Confidential event, powered by RCA Inspiration and sponsored by Walgreens, which took place on Friday March 24, 2017 at the Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas.
Chris Young, Folgers Announce Jingle Contest Finalists
Chris Young with Folgers Jingle Finalists
Chris Young and Folgers have announced the five finalists for this year’s Folgers Jingle Contest. Finalists include Ryan, Briana, and Caleb Vanderburg of Midlothian, Texas; Greg & Andy, from Venice, California and Los Angeles, California; Katie Austin & Lainey Wilson, from Nashville, Tennessee; The Brashers from Denton, Texas; and J Dodd & Stephen James from Panorama City, California, and Los Angeles, California. Now through April 24, 2017, coffee fans across the country can vote daily at Jingle.FolgersCoffee.com for their favorite finalist’s jingle to be chosen as the $25,000 grand prize winner. Each voter can enter for a chance to win daily prizes and an online vote grand prize of $10,000.
Music Biz 2017 To Host Fifth Annual Metadata Summit
/by Jessica NicholsonThe Music Business Association (Music Biz) will host the Fifth Annual Metadata Summit on May 16 from 9 a.m. to 3:50 p.m. CT as part of the Music Biz 2017 convention at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel in Nashville. It will be supported by Presenting Sponsor OpenPlay and supporting sponsors including Berklee Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship/Open Music Initiative, DataArt, Digimarc, NPREX, Quantone, SOCAN, SoundExchange, and TiVo.
“Metadata is the foundation of the entire digital music industry, but many people don’t know it because the sizzle factor remains low,” said Bill Wilson, Vice President of Digital Strategy & Business Development at Music Biz. “Over the last four years, we’ve fought to change that with the Metadata Summit, amplifying the importance of data, providing a high level forum for discussion, and attracting key participants. We’re looking forward to another lively discussion among actively involved parties at every level of the business at our fifth installment.”
The event will be headlined by a keynote from Barak Moffitt, Executive VP of Content Strategy and Operations at the Universal Music Group. With more than 25 years in technology and music, including stints at Capitol Studios in Hollywood and the EMI Music Group, Moffitt will share his expertise on the importance of standardized, high-quality metadata and explain how it can be used to power new experiences in digital music. Chief among these is the rise of voice search via devices such as Amazon Alexa and Google Voice, which will be the subject of a panel hosted by Music Week’s Emmanuel Legrand and featuring Sony Music Entertainment’s Chris Frankenburg and Quantone Music’s Mike Pegan.
In addition, updates will be provided on global information infrastructure initiatives such as ISRC, DDEX, ISNI, and OMI by representatives from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Digital Data Exchange (DDEX), County Analytics, and the Open Music Initiative (OMI). The Summit will also tackle metadata-related issues such as global songwriting royalty collection, proper implementation of standards, and programmatic techniques for predictive metadata with representatives from Downtown Music Publishing/Songtrust, Loudr, OpenPlay, Pandora, ProMusicDB, and VeVa Sound.
The 2017 Music Biz Conference will be held in Nashville from May 15-18.
For more, visit musicbiz2017.sched.com.
Gospel Favorite “I’ll Fly Away” Chosen For Inclusion In National Recording Registry
/by Lorie HollabaughOther titles chosen in the 2016 picks include Marty Robbins’ 1959 “Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs,” “Amazing Grace” by Judy Collins, “American Pie” by Don McLean, “Over the Rainbow” by Judy Garland, “In The Midnight Hour” by Wilson Pickett, Sister Sledge’s 1979 hit “We Are Family,”and more.
Nominations were gathered through online submissions from the public and from the NRPB, which is comprised of leaders in the fields of music, recorded sound and preservation.
Tin Pan South Kicks Off 25 Years With Dynamic Hitmakers
/by Eric T. ParkerPictured (L-R): Cary Barlowe, Hillary Lindsey, Brothers Osborne, Audra Mae. Not pictured: Sean McConnell. Photo: Tin Pan South
Where wasn’t there talent performing last night (March 28)? The 25th Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival officially began at 10 venues across Nashville.
Early shows included a surprise appearance by Keith Urban during a Station Inn show with Ross Copperman and their BOOM published writers Logan Turner, Cali Rodi and Jordan Minton.
SMACK’s Josh Osborne and Shane McAnally played with Old Dominion’s Matthew Ramsey and Trevor Rosen at the Listening Room Café while SOURCE hosted Danielle Bradbery, Jaida Dreyer, Jo Smith and Lari White at Whiskey Rhythm Saloon.
Keith Urban. Photo: Tin Pan South
Pictured (L-R): Matthew Ramsey, Trevor Rosen, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne. Photo: instagram.com/shanemcanally
Songwriters Danielle Bradbery, Jaida Dreyer, Jo Smith and Lari White with SOURCE leadership. Photo: Bev Moser/Moments By Moser
While there were no surprise appearances for the early show at 3rd & Lindsley other than Cary Barlowe, playing guitar for wife and hit maker Hillary Lindsey, Sean McConnell’s round did include major label artists Brothers Osborne in addition to Audra Mae.
In what may have seemed like an oblong paring, the dynamic 3rd & Lindsley round featured the electrifying guitar embellishments from John Osborne, whose brother self-deprecatingly joked of “Stay A Little Longer” as their [singular] hit. The reigning CMA Vocal Duo of the Year continued to play a new title, “Shoot Me Straight” among the lively set.
Mae, with a rambunctious vibe similar to that of Elle King, pulled out her Miranda Lambert smash, “Little Red Wagon,” in addition to her McConnell co-write, “Riding Shotgun,” which was recorded by Christina Aguilera and Buddy Miller for Nashville.
With signature glacial-clear vocals, McConnell played through his own crowd-rouser “Save Our Soul” and welcomed Lindsey for their more subdued but potent Jake Owen heartbreak title, “When You Love Someone.”
Lindsey herself was a trooper, putting up with taunting from the stage about her 18 No. 1 singles, of which she played Carrie Underwood’s “Dirty Laundry” and Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush.” New titles previewed included a suggestive Love Junkies housewife fantasy, titled “Bed We Made,” alongside an existentially reflective, “Before The Curtain Call.”
Rounds continued at 9 p.m. including husband/wife Rodney Clawson and Nicolle Galyon (with special guests including RaeLynn, Rhett Akins, Jimmy Robbins, Dallas Davidson, Lori McKenna, Claire Douglas, Brad Clawson, Emily Weisband, Tom Douglas) at 3rd & Lindsley.
The Country bar, near Centennial Park, welcomed Matt McGinn, Walker Hayes, Josh Jenkins and Kristen Arian while the Bluebird Café hosted Allen Shamblin, Lee Roy Parnell, Larry Gatlin and Aaron Baker. Big Machine Music’s Tucker Beathard, Jonathan Singleton and Luke Combs were featured at the Hard Rock Café with Casey Beathard (Little Louder), all presented NASH FM 103.3.
Pictured (L-R Back row): BMI songwriter Claire Douglas, BMI’s Bradley Collins, BMI songwriter Lori McKenna, songwriter Jimmy Robbins, BMI songwriters Nicolle Galyon and Rodney Clawson, BMI’s Jody Williams, BMI songwriters Dallas Davidson, Brad Clawson and Tom Douglas. (Front row): Songwriters RaeLynn and Emily Weisband. Photo: Steve Lowry
Pictured (L-R): Casey Beathard, Tucker Beathard, Jonathan Singleton and Luke Combs. Photo: Big Machine Music
Allen Shamblin, Lee Roy Parnell, Larry Gatlin and Aaron Baker at The Bluebird Cafe. Photo: Bev Moser/Moments By Moser
Allen Shamblin, Lee Roy Parnell, Larry Gatlin and Aaron Baker with guests at The Bluebird Cafe. Photo: Bev Moser/Moments By Moser
Industry Ink: Jessi Colter, Songs And Stories For St. Jude, Maranda McGeary, Nashville Rising Star
/by Lorie HollabaughJessi Colter To Share Stories At Country Music Hall Of Fame
Songs And Stories For St. Jude Set For April 5
The BIG 98’s 5th Annual Songs and Stories for St. Jude with the Music City Hitmakers Symphony will take place at City Winery on April 5 at 7 p.m. Performers include Chris DeStefano, Brett James, Hillary Lindsey, Jessi Alexander, Rivers Rutherford and Marcus Hummon. Tickets start at $35 and can be purchased at songsandstoriesbig98.eventbrit
Maranda McGeary Joins G7
McGeary comes to G7 after marketing roles at MillerCoors, Revolution Pictures, and Universal Music Group Nashville. Most recently she has been running the marketing and brand consultancy she founded in January 2016, working with clients including the CMA Foundation and Red Light Management.
Nashville Rising Star Series 9 Launches
Nashville Rising Star is excited to announce Series 9 of their songwriter open mic contest, which is open to writers of all genres. The competition will be held at Kings Cool Springs beginning March 29 and will be held subsequent Wednesdays for nine weeks. The grand prize winner, who will be selected by a combination of audience (at the venue and online) and music industry votes, will receive $500 cash and other prizes.
Exclusive: Songwriter Tommy Lee James Celebrates 25 Years, Preps ‘The Wontons’ Release
/by Jessica NicholsonTommy Lee James. Photo: Olivia James
In the past 25 years, Still Working Music songwriter Tommy Lee James’ songs have found success when paired with some of the industry’s most dazzling vocalists, among them Celine Dion, Christina Aguilera, Reba, Martina McBride, Trisha Yearwood, and Ronnie Dunn.
James penned Reba’s 1995 hit, “And Still,” and the 1998 juggernaut duet from Reba and Brooks & Dunn, “If You See Him/If You See Her.”
“That’s one of those songs where total calculation paid off,” he says. “We heard that Ronnie and Reba were looking for a duet. I got together with [co-writers Terry McBride and Jennifer Kimball] and we wrote a song expressively for Brooks & Dunn, and Reba. We wrote it like, ‘If he said this, then she would say this,’ and we played it for them and that was it. It was really easy.”
McBride’s “Wrong Again,” Yearwood’s “Nothing ‘Bout Memphis” and “This Is Me You’re Talking To,” Aguilera’s “Beautiful People,” and Ronnie Dunn’s “Bleed Red,” are also in James’ musical arsenal, as are Tim McGraw’s “She’s My Kind Of Rain,” Blake Shelton’s “My Eyes,” Cyndi Thompson’s “What I Really Meant To Say” and Taylor Swift’s “Untouchable.”
“I do take range into consideration,” he says of crafting songs for vocalists with a substantial vocal span and power. “There is something about a song jumping from a verse to a chorus. It gives it that American Idol thing where it just hits.
“I usually target a bit when I write, just to keep me in the ballpark of what I’m writing for. I think when I have a specific artist in mind like a Celine or Trisha or Martina, I try to hear their voices singing it and it gives you inspiration and you follow that lead a little bit.”
James has crafted songs for an array of artists from country, pop and rock. He penned two songs, “They Don’t Know About Us,” and “Loved You First,” for British boy band One Direction’s 2012 Take Me Home project. “God Only Knows” found a home on rock guitarist Orianthi’s 2009 album Believe.
Tommy Lee James. Photo: Olivia James
James grew up in Virginia, listening to his relatives play bluegrass music and poring over Buck Owens and Glen Campbell songbooks. Music of all genres emanated from his transistor radio, as it did from television programs including American Bandstand, Hee Haw and The Ed Sullivan Show.
James began writing songs at 13, not long after he had joined his first band.
“My dad made me promise that I wouldn’t play in any place that served alcohol, and that I wouldn’t grow my hair long,” James says. “By 17, I was playing in a band in a bar and my hair was down to my shoulders and I was getting home at 2 a.m.”
After studying piano and voice in college, and influenced by the music of the Eagles and J.D. Souther, James was intent on pursuing a recording career in Nashville. Before long, he switched his focus to songwriting.
“I totally had blinders on about being an artist. I was writing songs for my artist thing. You think you are on one road but you are really on another road. My artist thing didn’t work out for the country market, but it was cool to start writing songs and realize how important that was.”
Still Working Music’s Barbara Orbison served as a prominent mentor in James’ career before her death in 2011.
“For 21 years when I worked with her, she opened up so many doors for me. She took me to that next level and believed in me in the good years and not so good years. She was not afraid to spit out my name in any room to anybody.”
James’ creations have taken him from Virginia to Nashville to London, where he penned Dion’s “Didn’t Know Love” with fellow Nashville writer Jessi Alexander and Francis Anthony “Eg” White, a producer and writer for Adele.
“That was more of a pleasant surprise,” James says. “Eg did this amazing demo of it and was producing for Celine at the time, so that’s how it happened. I love that song and she’s amazing. You almost expect a Celine song to be like a chest-pumping, ‘My Heart Will Go On’ song, but this is a little more subdued, a little more Adele-ish.”
On April 14, he will release the album The Wontons, with the album title taken from the name of a fictitious band his daughter created. James played nearly all the instruments on the album (with the exception of drums), sang all vocals, and wrote all of the songs for the album, which he describes as “early ‘80s, jangly guitar, garage pop.”
He recorded the album over a six-month period at Roy Orbison Jr.’s home studio, and says the process “brought me back to the love of music.”
“In some ways I’ve always been a frustrated artist,” he says. “When you’ve been writing songs for 30 years, your creativity level is going to go up and down. We’re not machines. You have to be engaged to do your best work. If I’d have had a record deal in 1981, it’s the record I would have wanted to make, if I knew then what I know now. I wanted it to sound like a bunch of 16-year-olds in their garage, figuring out what to play on their guitars. The one thing I miss from music from the ‘60s and ‘70s is there was a naivety about music that drew you in.”
Recently, James’ songwriting has expanded into the EDM market. His track “Are You With Me,” recorded by Easton Corbin, was remixed by Belgian DJ Lost Frequencies in 2014. The track topped the music charts in 17 countries. Since then, James has been writing more music and sending it to EDM markets. In a full-circle move, James says his vocals are featured on an upcoming track from German DJ Thomas Gold.
“[Are You With Me] totally blew up and got me interested in that market,” James says. “Nice to keep it interesting.”
ACM Awards Promise Plenty Of Interesting Pairings
/by Lorie HollabaughBrett Eldredge and Old Dominion have been added to the previously announced list of performers on the show, and presenters taking the stage this year include Lauren Alaina, Bobby Bones, Kane Brown, Savannah Chrisley, Todd Chrisley, Kacey Musgraves, Nancy O’Dell, Jake Owen, Kellie Pickler, Darius Rucker, Elliott Sadler, Miss America Savvy Shields, and Bubba Wallace.
The official red carpet pre-show for the “52nd Academy of Country Music Awards” will live stream exclusively on Twitter on April 2, starting at 6 p.m. ET.
Rascal Flatts Reveals Tracks, Songwriters On New CD ‘Back To Us’
/by Lorie HollabaughWith 12 of the 13 songs produced by the group and spearheaded by bassist Jay DeMarcus, the album includes a collaboration with Lauren Alaina, “Are You Happy Now,” a tune penned by Dan + Shay, Cary Barlowe, and Jesse Frasure, “Hopin’ You Were Lookin’” and the Chris Stapleton-Luke Laird penned “Vandalized.” Producer busbee also contributes a track he wrote and produced, “Hands Talk” to the deluxe album.
Rascal Flatts will perform the album’s lead single, “Yours If You Want It” at the 52nd ACM Awards live from Las Vegas on April 2 on CBS.
Back To Us – Track List:
Yours If You Want It – (Andrew Dorff, Jonathan Singleton)
Back To Us – (Cary Barlowe, David Hodges, Josh Thompson)
I Know You Won’t – (Steve McEwan, Wendell Lee Mobley, Neil Thrasher)
Hopin’ You Were Lookin’ – (Cary Barlowe, Jesse Frasure, Shay Mooney, Dan Smyers)
Dance – (Joe Don Rooney, Blair Daly, Troy Verges)
Are You Happy Now (with Lauren Alaina) – (Jay DeMarcus, Gary LeVox, Joe Don Rooney, Sean McConnell)
Love What You’ve Done With The Place – (Benjy Davis, Shay Mooney)
Kiss You While I Can – (Jay DeMarcus, Steven Lee Olsen, Greg Wells)
Vandalized – (Luke Laird, Chris Stapleton)
Our Night To Shine – (Gary LeVox, Chris DeStefano, Travis Hill)Deluxe Edition – Tracks Exclusive To Amazon:
Hands Talk – (Gary LeVox, busbee, Jon Nite)
Thieves – (Jay DeMarcus, Gary LeVox, Scooter Carusoe, Chris DeStefano)
Roller Rink – (Nick Brophy, Jeffrey East, Jennifer Hanson)
Lee Brice Joins SESAC
/by Jessica NicholsonLee Brice. Photo: Ryan Smith
Singer-songwriter Lee Brice has signed with SESAC for representation.
As an artist, Brice’s chart-topping singles include “I Drive Your Truck,” “Drinking Class,” and “Love Like Crazy.” He has penned songs including his own “I Don’t Dance,” in addition to Garth Brooks’ “More Than A Memory,” Tim McGraw’s “Still,” and Eli Young Band’s “Crazy Girl.”
“Lee is one of the most skillful lyricists and admired vocalists in country music,” said SESAC chairman and CEO John Josephson. “His creative versatility and wide-ranging lyrics not only resonates with his many fans but also his peers across the industry. We’re very proud to welcome Lee to the SESAC family.”
“I’m proud to be part of the SESAC family. John and the SESAC team are doing great things on behalf of artists and songwriters, and I’m thrilled to be part of their family of creatives,” says Lee.