Pictured (L-R): Ann Powers, Lori McKenna, Dave Cobb. Photo: Eric T. Parker
Nestled in the cozy Sound Emporium studios, the historic recording complex once helmed by Jack Clement, a small group of industry members gathered for an early hearing of Creative Nation songwriter Lori McKenna’s latest project, The Bird & The Rifle.
McKenna and producer Dave Cobb were front and center to discuss tracks from the project, in a conversation moderated by NPR Music music critic and author Ann Powers. Among those present were John Marks, Creative Nation’s Luke and Beth Laird, Creative Nation songwriter Barry Dean, and more.
Recorded live over 10 days at Cobb’s home studio in Nashville this past winter, The Bird & The Rifle is elegantly sparse, with instrumental backing strategically spaced to highlight the project’s introspective lyrics.
“Going in, I usually know the five core songs that I’m going to have that are me, right now and then we pick the other ones from there. I have to be able to sing, by myself and play it. Maybe not that good… I’m pretty good at compartmentalizing a bit. I like sitting in the room and writing and not being the artist and watching the artist and trying to figure out what they need.”
McKenna notes that her vocals on the project are authentic, if not perfect. In some ways, that allows for her signature approach to writing songs. “If I could sing like Carrie Underwood, I wouldn’t write like I do. I’d write a lot differently, that’s for sure.”
It was that combination of a raw, honest vocal and insightful lyrics that drew Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell) to the project.
“Beth Laird sent me the demos, and when I heard the demos…[Lori] is able to paint such a visceral picture with everything she writes lyrically. I’m always attracted to that,” said Cobb. “I’m a terrible writer and lyricist. I admire people who are really strong with a pen. I heard her Massachusetts [2013] record, which I adored. I think that’s the first thing I said to Beth, ‘I love her voice. I’m in. It was a no brainer for me.’”
“Wreck You,” written with Felix McTeigue, is about eight years old. “It was one of those songs that wouldn’t die,” says McKenna. “If a song is going to last eight years in my brain, it’s a good sign. I was texting back and forth the other day with Brandy Clark and we were talking about traveling and being away from home and your husband or wife or kids, and that’s always been my biggest burden as far as being blessed enough to have this job. That’s really where it came from, ‘What am I doing to all these people?’ I told her I wrote the song eight years ago and I still feel the same way. It’s that still-lingering emotion.”
The album’s title track, a metaphor for love, insecurity, and freedom, takes its title from an episode of Modern Family.
“I was folding laundry and a re-run was on TV,” McKenna recalled. “They start talking about tattoos they get and [a character] mentions ‘The Bird and The Rifle.’ Troy Verges and Caitlyn Smith were at my house writing that week. I knew [the song] would be [about] a woman and a man… I ended up with the spreading of the wings brings out the rifle in him. It presented itself that way. It’s love but how dangerous is it or how accepting is it?”
Lori McKenna. Photo: Eric T. Parker
The Bird & The Rifle includes McKenna’s version of “Humble & Kind,” which Tim McGraw took to the pinnacle of the country charts—the first penned by a solo writer since Taylor Swift’s “Ours” in 2012. The song is a gentle reminder to listeners to work hard, but to be encouraging to those around them, without being preachy.
“I got my answer ready in case there was a press thing and somebody did say, there was this big headline that says, ‘You’re being preachy,’” says McKenna. “I was going to say, ‘Screw you, I have five kids, I can be preachy. I wasn’t talking to you, I was talking to these five.’ Honestly, in this song, every line, I can tell you, like, what kid…I think I was lucky that it didn’t end up preachy because it could have.”
“I find it really uplifting in every possible way. I had this very encouraging spirit to it,” said Cobb.
Though McKenna regularly writes with country music’s top songwriters and artists, she says her children, who range in age from 12 to 27, are not impressed by their mother’s career.
“I’ve been doing this a while now so the littlest ones have grown up in this world,” she says.
Her career has brought some interesting experiences, however, such as when Swift was co-writing at McKenna’s home in Massachusetts.
“Neighbors called the police because there were bodyguards in Escalades around the neighborhood,” she recalls. “So they thought their kids were going to get kidnapped and called the police. Someone called me, and I was like, ‘No, it’s just Taylor Swift.’”
The Bird & The Rifle, out July 29 on CN Records, via Thirty Tigers, is McKenna’s 10th studio album and follows 2014’s acclaimed Numbered Doors.
Exclusive: Hudson Moore Plots His ‘Getaway’ Plan On The Road
/by Craig_ShelburneHudson Moore
Hudson Moore cruised through MusicRow this week to introduce his new album, Getaway.
Moore lives in Nashville but has accrued his strongest fan base in Texas. He’s a Fort Worth native who recorded Getaway in the hill country of Texas. Rather than spending time shopping it around, he and manager Ryan O’Nan of 21 Guns Management opted to release it themselves and take it on the road.
“That’s my priority – building fans,” says Moore, who is booked by Henry Glascock at WME. “We decided to put this out independently, on our timeline. I think as the fans come in, other people will be interested. But who knows? Maybe we’ll want to keep being independent. We’re just taking it as it comes.”
Taking a fun, contemporary approach to country music, Moore co-wrote with numerous Nashville songwriters for Getaway. Although he’s currently self-published, he has been taking meetings with music publishers in town. Because of the way he grew up, Moore says that the country music route comes naturally.
“I didn’t really think about it too much. I think it just kind of made sense,” Moore says. “A lot of my heroes are in country music and I wanted to emulate that, like Tim McGraw and Keith Urban. And the fans, I feel like I can relate to them better than in any other genre. When I play, I always say they’re friends and family. The fans who naturally like my music to begin with happen to like other people in that world, so I think it’s a natural fit.”
Moore studied radio, TV and film at the University of Texas. But these days he’s taking lessons on how to build an career by observing the superstars.
“I try to study my favorites and think, ‘What can I take from that?’” Moore says. “From the way Keith does his show and engages his audience, to the music he puts out and how he’s evolving, I try to take all of that into account and see what I can learn from that. Obviously I want to pave my own road but I want to take those things and apply them to my career.”
Pictured (L-R): Ryan O’Nan, 21 Guns Management; Hudson Moore; Craig Shelburne, General Manager, MusicRow
Weekly Chart Report (6/17/16)
/by Troy_StephensonClick here or above to access MusicRow‘s weekly CountryBreakout Report.
LifeNotes: Star Bass Player Mike Chapman Passes
/by Robert K OermannAs a member of the Garth Brooks band The G Men, Chapman was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame on June 5. He died eight days later, on June 13.
Chapman also recorded with LeAnn Rimes, Brooks & Dunn, George Jones, Trisha Yearwood, Collin Raye, Doug Stone, Joe Diffie, Joe Stampley, BlackHawk and others. He played bass on over 30 No. 1 hits and on records that have sold more than 170 million copies.
Michael “Mike” Leo Chapman was also a National Guardsman. He earned a degree in business from Athens State University in Alabama.
He is survived by his wife Connie, sons Lee and Clinton, daughter Allison, sister Faye Wise and grandson Wyatt Sartin.
A celebration of his life is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Friday (June 17) at Church of the City Franklin (formerly The People’s Church) at 828 Murfreesboro Road in Franklin. The private burial will be Monday in Williamson Memorial Gardens.
Donations can be made in his name to the Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum and/or to Meals for Health & Healing and sent to Williamson Memorial.
Joey Feek’s Story Becomes Documentary
/by Jessica NicholsonJoey+Rory
The inspirational story of Joey+Rory’s Joey Feek will come to the big screen for one night only on Sept. 20, via the documentary To Joey, With Love. Joey died in March at age 40 after battling stage IV cervical cancer.
The project was written, filmed and directed by Rory Lee Feek and produced by Aaron Carnahan. Ben Howard of Provident Films served as executive director. The documentary being is distributed by Provident Films.
The documentary will chronicle 2 1/2 years of their lives together, from the birth of Joey+Rory’s daughter Indiana, who was born with Down Syndrome, through Joey’s struggle with and ultimate surrender to cancer at age 40.
“Joey didn’t live to see her 41st birthday, but this September, just a week or so after her birthday on the 9th… my wife will get the chance to live again,” said Rory Feek. “On a movie screen, her heart will start beating and her story will come to life once more and it will be my gift to her. And to our girls. And to our friends and family and all who loved her.
“I have had lots of time these last few months to think about what anniversary gift I wanted to give to my wife this year — what act of service I could do, that would matter to her — if she were here. So with the help of some friends, I am going to try to give her a gift that is pretty much impossible … To live on, even after she’s gone.”
Watch the trailer for To Joey, With Love below:
Justin Moore Announces Track Listing For ‘Kinda Don’t Care’
/by Craig_ShelburneJustin Moore.
Justin Moore will release his fourth studio album, Kinda Don’t Care, on Aug. 12 on The Valory Music Co. The lead single from the project is “You Look Like I Need a Drink.”
Pre-order for the standard and deluxe versions will be available July 15, with four instant free tracks available through release date.
Moore is credited as a songwriter on “Goodbye Back” on the standard edition, in addition to “When I Get Home” on the deluxe edition.
Brantley Gilbert appears on another track, “More Middle Fingers.” Moore is currently providing direct support on Gilbert’s Take It Outside Tour.
This is Moore’s first album since 2013’s Off the Beaten Path.
“It’s hard to believe that we just recorded our fourth album. The process has changed, drastically, since our first time in the studio so many years ago,” Moore said. “This is the best piece of music we’ve delivered because it gets more fun each time. Naming the album Kinda Don’t Care is not meant to be nonchalant or careless. It’s meant to be a challenge to folks to live life a little more freely and be true to themselves.”
Kinda Don’t Care Track Listing
1. “Robbin’ Trains” (Brett Beavers, Deric Ruttan, Josh Thompson)
2. “Put Me in a Box” (Erik Dylan, Randy Montana)
3. “Kinda Don’t Care” (Rhett Akins, Ross Copperman, Ben Hayslip)
4. “Hell on a Highway” (Blake Bollinger, Matt Rogers, Ben Stennis)
5. “Goodbye Back” (Justin Moore, Ross Copperman, Jeremy Stover)
6. “You Look Like I Need a Drink” (Rodney Clawson, Matt Dragstrem, Natalie Hemby)
7. “Somebody Else Will” (Kelly Archer, Adam Hambrick, Tebey Ottoh)
8. “Between You and Me” (Smith Ahnquist, Pavel Dovgaluk, CJ Solar)
9. “Got it Good” (Jaren Johnston, Neil Mason, Jeremy Stover)
10. “Rebel Kids” (Dan Isbell, Randy Montana)
11. “More Middle Fingers” featuring Brantley Gilbert (Casey Beathard, Monty Criswell, Shane Minor)
12. “Life in the Livin’” (Travis Dennis, Jared Mullins, Chris Stevens)
Deluxe Tracks
1. “Middle Class Money” (Rhett Akins, Marv Green, Ben Hayslip)
2. “Pick Up Lines” (Corey Crowder, Travis Denning, Jared Mullins)
3. “Spendin’ The Night” (Kelly Archer, Andrew DeRoberts, Adam Hambrick)
4. “When I Get Home” (Justin Moore, Dean Dillon, Jeremy Stover)
5. “Amen” (Rodney Clawson, Jamie Moore)
Lori McKenna, Dave Cobb Preview ‘The Bird & The Rifle’ In Nashville
/by Jessica NicholsonPictured (L-R): Ann Powers, Lori McKenna, Dave Cobb. Photo: Eric T. Parker
Nestled in the cozy Sound Emporium studios, the historic recording complex once helmed by Jack Clement, a small group of industry members gathered for an early hearing of Creative Nation songwriter Lori McKenna’s latest project, The Bird & The Rifle.
McKenna and producer Dave Cobb were front and center to discuss tracks from the project, in a conversation moderated by NPR Music music critic and author Ann Powers. Among those present were John Marks, Creative Nation’s Luke and Beth Laird, Creative Nation songwriter Barry Dean, and more.
Recorded live over 10 days at Cobb’s home studio in Nashville this past winter, The Bird & The Rifle is elegantly sparse, with instrumental backing strategically spaced to highlight the project’s introspective lyrics.
“Going in, I usually know the five core songs that I’m going to have that are me, right now and then we pick the other ones from there. I have to be able to sing, by myself and play it. Maybe not that good… I’m pretty good at compartmentalizing a bit. I like sitting in the room and writing and not being the artist and watching the artist and trying to figure out what they need.”
McKenna notes that her vocals on the project are authentic, if not perfect. In some ways, that allows for her signature approach to writing songs. “If I could sing like Carrie Underwood, I wouldn’t write like I do. I’d write a lot differently, that’s for sure.”
It was that combination of a raw, honest vocal and insightful lyrics that drew Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell) to the project.
“Beth Laird sent me the demos, and when I heard the demos…[Lori] is able to paint such a visceral picture with everything she writes lyrically. I’m always attracted to that,” said Cobb. “I’m a terrible writer and lyricist. I admire people who are really strong with a pen. I heard her Massachusetts [2013] record, which I adored. I think that’s the first thing I said to Beth, ‘I love her voice. I’m in. It was a no brainer for me.’”
“Wreck You,” written with Felix McTeigue, is about eight years old. “It was one of those songs that wouldn’t die,” says McKenna. “If a song is going to last eight years in my brain, it’s a good sign. I was texting back and forth the other day with Brandy Clark and we were talking about traveling and being away from home and your husband or wife or kids, and that’s always been my biggest burden as far as being blessed enough to have this job. That’s really where it came from, ‘What am I doing to all these people?’ I told her I wrote the song eight years ago and I still feel the same way. It’s that still-lingering emotion.”
The album’s title track, a metaphor for love, insecurity, and freedom, takes its title from an episode of Modern Family.
“I was folding laundry and a re-run was on TV,” McKenna recalled. “They start talking about tattoos they get and [a character] mentions ‘The Bird and The Rifle.’ Troy Verges and Caitlyn Smith were at my house writing that week. I knew [the song] would be [about] a woman and a man… I ended up with the spreading of the wings brings out the rifle in him. It presented itself that way. It’s love but how dangerous is it or how accepting is it?”
Lori McKenna. Photo: Eric T. Parker
The Bird & The Rifle includes McKenna’s version of “Humble & Kind,” which Tim McGraw took to the pinnacle of the country charts—the first penned by a solo writer since Taylor Swift’s “Ours” in 2012. The song is a gentle reminder to listeners to work hard, but to be encouraging to those around them, without being preachy.
“I got my answer ready in case there was a press thing and somebody did say, there was this big headline that says, ‘You’re being preachy,’” says McKenna. “I was going to say, ‘Screw you, I have five kids, I can be preachy. I wasn’t talking to you, I was talking to these five.’ Honestly, in this song, every line, I can tell you, like, what kid…I think I was lucky that it didn’t end up preachy because it could have.”
“I find it really uplifting in every possible way. I had this very encouraging spirit to it,” said Cobb.
Though McKenna regularly writes with country music’s top songwriters and artists, she says her children, who range in age from 12 to 27, are not impressed by their mother’s career.
“I’ve been doing this a while now so the littlest ones have grown up in this world,” she says.
Her career has brought some interesting experiences, however, such as when Swift was co-writing at McKenna’s home in Massachusetts.
“Neighbors called the police because there were bodyguards in Escalades around the neighborhood,” she recalls. “So they thought their kids were going to get kidnapped and called the police. Someone called me, and I was like, ‘No, it’s just Taylor Swift.’”
The Bird & The Rifle, out July 29 on CN Records, via Thirty Tigers, is McKenna’s 10th studio album and follows 2014’s acclaimed Numbered Doors.
Mike Reid, Don Henry, Wendell Mobley Join Hits From The Hall
/by Craig_ShelburnePictured (L-R): Don Henry, Wendell Mobley, Mike Reid
Songwriters Mike Reid, Don Henry and Wendell Mobley are confirmed for the next Hits From the Hall concert at City Winery on Tuesday (June 21). Proceeds will benefit the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
The show begins at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 for downstairs seating and $30 for limited upstairs VIP seating.
Henry’s hits include Miranda Lambert’s “All Kinds of Kinds” and Kathy Mattea’s “Where’ve You Been.” Mobley’s catalog includes Jason Aldean’s “Tattoos on This Town,” Kenny Chesney’s “How Forever Feels” and “There Goes My Life,” Randy Houser’s “How Country Feels,” and Rascal Flatts’ “Banjo,” “I Melt” and “Take Me There.”
Reid, a 2005 inductee into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, has written Tim McGraw’s “Everywhere,” Ronnie Milsap’s “Lost in the ‘50s Tonight,” “Smoky Mountain Rain” and “Stranger in My House,” Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me” and Wynonna’s “To Be Loved By You.”
In Pictures: YEP Mixer At BMI
/by Craig_ShelburnePictured (L-R): Josh Tomlinson, BMI; Jarrod Holley, YEP/Suit Music; Leslie Roberts, BMI; Andrew Cohen, YEP/Suit Music. Photo: Lindsey Grace Whiddon
Young Entertainment Professionals (YEP) hosted a networking mixer at BMI on Wednesday night (June 15). Over the course of the night, the event drew 800 professionals at every level of the industry.
Pictured (L-R): Ryan Beaver, singer/songwriter; Marc Rucker, Parallel Entertainment; Natalie Osborne, Downtown Music Publishing. Photo: Lindsey Grace Whiddon
Pictured (L-R): Christina Wiltshire, Latigo Shore Music; Andrew Cohen, YEP/Suit Music; Jamie Bruno, TenTen Music. Photo: Lindsey Grace Whiddon
Pictured (L-R): Sam Ashworth, singer/songwriter; Kendall Lettow, MV2 Entertainment; Nathan Nicholson, TenTen Music. Photo: Lindsey Grace Whiddon
Pictured (L-R): Wes Osborne, Grand Ole Opry; Amber Anderson, Grand Ole Opry. Photo: Lindsey Grace Whiddon
Lari White Prepares Double EP For Fall Release
/by Craig_ShelburneLari White will mark her 25th anniversary as a recording artist with a double EP, titled Old Friends, New Loves, scheduled for fall. White is using Kickstarter to involve her fans in the process of recording and releasing the album.
“I’m excited to bring everyone into the studio with me—and Kickstarter lets me do that,” White said. “This will be the first recording I’ve done where the fans ARE the record label. They back the project and I report directly to them on every little detail, giving them control-room access to the whole process.”
Recording at The Holler, White’s recording studio, Suzy Bogguss, Lee Roy Parnell and other longtime collaborators will make special guest appearances.
The Old Friends EP is highlighted by rootsy versions of 1990s RCA hits, such as “Lead Me Not,” “That’s How You Know When You’re In Love” and “That’s My Baby.” Meanwhile, the New Loves EP features recent originals and favorite covers, influenced by soul, jazz and country songs, and featuring guests Shawn Mullins and bass legend Victor Wooten.
“My fans have followed me the whole way on this crazy 25-year creative journey,” White said. “We love music and we love storytelling, and we don’t let ourselves be limited by rules about genre or medium or ‘brand’ for God’s sake. The only rule is that it’s honest. And I honestly LOVE country and jazz and soul and movies and literature and photography and any art that moves the human spirit to a good place.”
The Kickstarter campaign features a range of unique rewards for contributors, including a two-night Nashville vacation in White’s West Nashville bungalow with a champagne breakfast prepared by the singer herself. Other notable items include voice lessons with White through her new ArtistWorks Country Vocal School, and a backstage pizza party at one of her upcoming concerts. Contributors can also get producer credit on the new albums or an intimate acoustic house concert.
In addition to her career as a country artist, White has produced albums (Toby Keith’s White Trash With Money), acted in films (Cast Away) and appeared on Broadway (Ring of Fire).
Artist Updates: Chase Bryant, The Bass Brothers, Rizzi Myers
/by Eric T. ParkerChicago White Sox To Host Chase Bryant And Grand Ole Opry
Chase Bryant. Photo: Chris Hollo.
The Grand Ole Opry will take its replica Opry Circle to Chicago’s U.S. Cellular Field on July 8 when country singer Chase Bryant entertains prior to the White Sox and Atlanta Braves game at a 7:10 p.m.
The White Sox will celebrate country music before the game with a live radio broadcast with US99*5 at U.S. Cellular Field from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. and throughout the game. There will also be a first pitch from US99*5 afternoon on-air talent Kasper, a Country Music Night Party Shop in Section 159, country music giveaways and country music played throughout the ballpark. The night will conclude with a post-game fireworks show accompanied by video footage from the Opry stage. More information and tickets at whitesox.com.
The Bass Brothers Perform During CMA Fest
Pictured (L-R): Mark Bass; Phil Guerini, VP of Music Strategy Disney Channels Worldwide; Nate Bass. Photo: Spencer Huff.
London, England’s The Bass Brothers, who are currently finishing their project with Dann and David Huff producing, stopped by the Radio Disney Stage at CMA Music Fest to meet Phil Guerini, VP of Music Strategy Disney Channels Worldwide.
Rizzi Myers Signs with Phivestarr/AVJ Records
Rizzi Myers
Pop singer/songwriter Rizzi Myers has signed to Nashville-based Phivestarr/AVJ Records (a division of Average Joes Entertainment). “Closer to Closure,” Myers’ debut single for the label, is available on iTunes.
The 26-year old’s YouTube channel virtually exploded when her viral video, “1 Woman, 15 Voices,” went from 1,300 views to 4 million in just four weeks. The video highlights Rizzi impersonating 15 different female vocalists ranging from Adele to Marilyn Monroe to Amy Winehouse.
Myers will be featured on labelmate DJ KO’s debut EP, High Gravity, set for release this summer.