DISClaimer Single Reviews (8/11/10)

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It’s Independents’ Day.

As regular readers know, I occasionally like to stray off the major-label path and devote a column entirely to indies. Just to survey the scene and see what’s going on.

Guess what? I haven’t been missing much. This stack of platters is pretty much a sea of mediocrity.

The few bright spots include Teea Goans, whose entire The Way I Remember It collection is easily the Disc of the Day.

Ms. Goans is a newcomer to this column. But for this week’s DisCovery Award, I decided to go with someone more obscure. Emil Bishaw, according to his website, is a 16-year-old living in El Paso, Texas. He clearly has something special going on in the vocal department. No wonder Music City’s Judy Rodman has taken him under her talented wing.

JEFF OLSON/Rhythm Of The Rail
Writer: Jeffrey Olson; Producer: Dick McVey; Publisher: Jeffrey Olson, ASCAP; D&T (CDX) (615-838-2141)
—Love the track, the tempo, the harmonica, the twang guitar, the fiddle and the slippery piano. His voice, however, is pitch-y at best.

JOHNNY A/Politicians
Writer: Eddie Ray Russell/Randall K. Hicks; Producer: Ed Russell; Publisher: Alley Roads, BMI; Castle (CDX) (www.castlerecords.com)
—He bemoans the economy and blames politicians. But it’s a flat-footed vocal performance.

MIKE AIKEN/Love You Tonight
Writer: Mike Aiken; Producer: Mike Aiken & Amy Aiken; Publisher: Michael Aiken, ASCAP; Aspirion/Northwind (CDX) (www.mikeaikenmusic.com)
—His singing voice is so lightweight it practically floats away. Good thing the melody is as simple as a nursery rhyme.

CHRIS FILER/John Deere, John 3:16
Writer: Shane Minor/Brett Jones; Producer: Dennis Dearing; Publisher: Shane Minor/EMI Blackwood, BMI; Lofton Creek (CDX) (www.chrisfilermusic.com)
—His delivery and earnest and strong. The heartland-America song is sturdy and well written. The production is understated and clear. It probably won’t change your life, but it’s certainly worth a listen.

EMIL BISHAW/All I Ever Knew Of Love Was You
Writer: Gregory Steven Gonzalez; Producer: Judy Rodman; Publisher: Emil Maes Productions, BMI; Caper (CDX) (www.emilmusic.us)
—The slight feathery rasp in his tenor vocal is intriguing, and the bopping pop track is a winner, even though it occasionally threatens to swamp him. Highly listenable.

SMOKEY RIVER BOYS/All Pure Country
Writer: Robert Metzger; Producer: Robert Metzger; Publisher: Aim High/Universal, ASCAP; Platinum Plus (CDX) (www.smokeyriverboys.com)
—Definitely hillbilly. It made me smile with its innocence and simplicity. Corny country fun.

KELLY PARKES/Nothin’ Good Ever Happens After Midnight
Writer: Doug Bryson/David Dorn; Producer: Kim Copeland; Publisher: Cross Bayou/Big Loud Bucks/Songs South/David Dorn/Perleejo, ASCAP; Edge/Lofon Creek (CDX) (www.loftoncreekrecords.com)
—She’s a honky-tonk angel, looking for a good time. A little bluesy, a little rocking, a lot of wailing.

DAVID WOOD/Simple Things
Writer: Alan Laney/Bill C. Graham; Producer: Ronnie Guilbeau, David Wood & Bill Graham; Publisher: Soloal/Bill Graham, BMI; Dew Note (CDX) (www.davidwoodcountry.com)
—As you might expect from the title, the track is spare and uncomplicated. The lilting tone would be more enjoyable if his rather bland singing voice had something “country” in it.

ULRIKA OLUND/Sick And Tired
Writer: Ulrika Olund/Petrus Wessman; Producer: Petus Wessman & Ulrika Olund; Publisher: Sunday Morning, no performance rights listed; Sunday Morning
—Everything was bopping along splendidly as long as she stuck to the verses and their less-than-challenging melody. She was doing fine until she got to the first chorus. That’s when she went up into her wavering-pitch upper vocal range. Ouch!

TEEA GOANS & DAN TYMINSKI/Made For Loving You
Writer: Curly Putman/Sonny Throckmorton; Producer: Terry Choate; Publisher: Sony-ATV Tree/Sony-ATV Cross Keys, BMI/ASCAP; Crosswind (track) (www.teeagoans.com)
—The songwriter credits on Teea’s new CD The Way I Remember It, read like a who’s-who of classic country tunesmiths—Hank Cochran, Red Lane, Bill Anderson, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and even Ernest Tubb are represented. She sings with direct, true phrasing throughout. And on this slow duet shuffle with Dan Tyminski she a piercing arrow of emotion above his perfect vocal harmony. Recommended.

Summer Sales Await Fall Finale

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The album sales chart which compares 2010 YTD sales against 2009 sales (physical and digital) finds country languishing in the summer sales doldrums, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The steep purple trend line shows the genre’s fall continues to worsen compared with 2009. Although all genre YTD sales percentages are lower overall they have leveled somewhat and stabilized for the time being. One factor influencing country’s 2nd and 3rd quarter declines is a weak release schedule. That, however, is about to change.

A stack of viable artists are set to launch new CDs over the coming weeks, beginning with Blake Shelton’s newest SixPak just placed on shelves, and including, among others, upcoming discs from Trace Adkins (8/17), Jamey Johnson (9/14), Randy Houser (9/21), Zac Brown Band (9/21), Kenny Chesney (9/28), Toby Keith (10/5), Sugarland (10/19), Taylor Swift (10/25) and Rascal Flatts (11/16). As country’s heavy artillery rolls out expect to see the purple line flatten and hopefully even rise a bit.

Jerrod Niemann

This week’s country sales action (week ending 8/8/10) is on the Digital Genre Country tracks chart. Taylor Swift enters at the top of the list selling over 297,000 downloads of “Mine.” Holding the second spot is K. Chesney reaping almost 82,000 downloads of his “The Boys Of Fall.” Sugarland’s explosive “Stuck Like Glue” was downloaded 65,000 times to take the No. 3 spot in line with its third week on the list.

One story of note belongs to Artista/Seagayle’s Jerrod Niemann. His successful single “Lover Lover” has now passed the half million downloads mark (it is still No. 5 on the country list) and his album has scanned almost 80,000 units in four weeks. For a debut CD and artist in today’s sales climate, his numbers are strong.The album is unique in that it has 20 tracks which include comedic interludes in addition to full length songs.

Free Taylor Swift App Garners Critical Raves

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Country sensation Taylor Swift is no stranger to rave reviews, and now the superstar can add her own iPhone app to her list of success stories. The new Mix Me In2 app gives listeners the ability to play or sing along with Swift, and, from the NY Times to US Magazine, critics are lining up to praise this latest manifestation of Swift-mania.

The app comes with two of Swift’s hits (“Love Story” and “You Belong With Me”). When you open the program mini avatars of Swift and her band appear as the music begins. Users can then tap one of the band members to open a second screen and adjust the mix or even remove particular vocals or instruments and add their own. There’s also a Record button that lets users replace Swift’s voice. The company is offering a special cable to connect a guitar.

Originally priced at $2.99, the manufacturer, Atlanta-based Fried Green Apps, is now offering the Taylor Swift app for free “to thank fans for making Taylor’s new single, “Mine” the #1 song in the iTunes store.” Only the first 10,000 fans to download the app will get it for free. Also, Swift will reportedly be launching a special contest involving the game in just a couple weeks. She will also act as a judge in the contest.

User-customized mixes can be posted online on the company website  (mixmein.com) or on Swift’s official site (www.taylorswift.com). Additional Swift songs will be available for $2.00 each, and the company says that it will be adding songs from other groups in the coming months.

Of course, Swift isn’t the only pop sensation getting into the app game. A similar app themed around the popular TV show Glee takes that show’s pop song obsession to new heights. It comes with backup band and vocals for three songs from the show ( “Rehab,” “Somebody to Love” and “You Keep Me Hanging On”). The app sells for $1.00 and additional songs (“Imagine,” “Lean on Me,” “Can’t Fight This Feeling,” etc.) are available for $1.00 each.  To guarantee that the user sounds like a star, the software uses a version of auto-tune (the recording effect that adjusts notes to the correct pitch) and includes reverb and other effects.

Dierks Bentley Readies “Draw Me A Map”

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Capitol Nashville artist Dierks Bentley will release “Draw Me A Map” as the second single off his critically acclaimed album Up On The Ridge. The pleading ballad ships this week and goes for official adds on Aug. 23.

“When we were making this album, we didn’t follow the rules of what a modern ‘country’ record should or should not sound like…we just tried to make a great album that wasn’t defined by genre,” explains Bentley. “To see country radio get on board and play this music…it really means a lot to me.  The fans have been asking for “Draw Me a Map” ever since we released the album…I can’t wait to hear it through my truck speakers!”

While critics continue to praise Up On The Ridge in its entirety, Bentley’s songwriting and delivery of “Draw Me A Map” has the Washington Post and Entertainment Weekly naming the ballad as their most recommended track.

“The wistful ‘Draw Me A Map’ ranks among Bentley’s most poignant ballads, with its aching lead vocal performance.” – Paste

“’Draw Me a Map’ finds Bentley softly pining for a route back to his lost lover’s doorstep, those clarion pipes sounding more genuine than ever.”  – Washington Post

“Bentley’s ballads remain one of his many strong points. ‘Draw Me A Map,’ a song he and Randall co-wrote, is a good example.” –  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

To preview “Draw Me a Map,” click here.

Chesney Offers Hemingway’s Whiskey

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Kenny Chesney’s Hemingway’s Whiskey will be released Sept. 28th on BNA Records. Its debut single, “The Boys of Fall,” is already Top 15 at country radio and an eight minute video, co-produced by Chesney, featuring football superstars Peyton Manning and Brett Favre can now be seen on video outlets, including VEVO, CMT and GAC.

Other standout tracks on the album include:

“Somewhere With You,” a haunting song about getting over a relationship, which Chesney says “is really tough – there’s always something to remind you of a time, a place, a memory, a feeling.”

“You and Tequila,” written by Matraca Berg and Deana Carter, is a duet with big-voiced rocker Grace Potter (says Chesney, “I just fell in love with her voice”)

“Coastal” is a celebration of low-key vacationing.

“Hemingway’s Whiskey”  the title tune, co-written by Guy Clark, Ray Stephenson and Joe Leathers, makes Chesney think of one of his favorite books, ‘The Old Man and the Sea,’ and about the idea of sitting down with its adventurous author for a drink. “I’d like to sit with him and talk about life, because he got through a lot in his life with some regret, but with a lot of grace too. And there’s a lesson in there for everybody.”

Tracklist

1. The Boys of Fall

2. Live A Little

3. Coastal

4. You And Tequila (featuring Grace Potter)

5. Seven Days

6. Small Y’all (Duet with George Jones)

7. Where I Grew Up

8. Reality

9. Round And Round

10. Somewhere With You

11. Hemingway’s Whiskey

Jesse Lee

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“Like My Mother Does”

Atlantic/WMN

“Like My Mother Does” is the debut single for new artist Jesse Lee, and her upcoming album will be released by Atlantic Records. The song is a tribute to a mother-daughter relationship that represents Jesse’s own relationship with her mom. “My mom’s my best friend, so when I’m singing that song, I’m coming from a very real place,” says Jesse. “When I played it the first time for her, she cried.”

The yet-to-be-titled album is a mix of traditional and contemporary country, aided by Grammy Award winning producers Mark Bright (Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts), Nathan Chapman (Taylor Swift), and Paul Worley (Dixie Chicks, Martina McBride). Jesse’s songwriting collaborators include American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi, as well as Hillary Lindsey (Carrie Underwood) and Liz Rose (Taylor Swift), who co-wrote “Like My Mother Does” with Chapman.

Born in California and raised in Florida, Jesse grew up with a deep appreciation for country music. By her early teenage years, Jesse was opening shows for artists such as Ronnie Milsap, Willie Nelson, Keith Urban, and Clay Walker and spending extended periods of time recording and performing in Music City. After high school, she enrolled in Belmont University’s music business program and was able to perform at famed Nashville venues like the Bluebird Café and the Ryman Auditorium.

http://www.jesseleemusic.com/
http://www.facebook.com/jesselee

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Can Karl Dean’s industry think tank rebrand Music City?

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by Adam Gold

[Nashville Scene] Nearly everyone can agree on why Nashville should be considered a world-class city and a music-business player in the same league as New York or L.A.: We’re the cradle of country music, the citadel of contemporary Christian. We’re home to many of the most skilled session players, songwriters, producers and engineers in the world.

And yet, touring bands make a beeline from Louisville to Atlanta — around us. When it comes to local bands, the national media suffers from some kind of amnesia: By the time the next one hits, they seem startled all over again to learn Nashville breeds something more than country music. It doesn’t matter who moves here, or who makes the pop crossover of the decade, or who sells more than 24 million digital tracks while the rest of the industry is throwing up its hands: For anything other than country, the Music City brand stops at the Music City limits.

Everybody knows we belong at the top of the big leagues — everybody in Nashville, anyway. What’s harder to pin down is why the rest of the world doesn’t seem to agree.

But for the past year, at Mayor Karl Dean’s behest, a think-tank of music-industry heavyweights has been asking the question: What will it take to give the Music City brand across-the-board weight? What will make Nashville a destination not just for tourists, but for the creative class that gives cities a cool cachet that translates into increased revenue and real-estate values?

Known as the Nashville Music Council, the mayor’s group amounts to a Justice League of music-business honchos, supplemented by up-and-comers from the trenches who make up in enthusiasm and ideas what they lack in connections. They’ve addressed themselves to a common topic — what’ll it take? — and applied it to a variety of fronts: industry development, venues, education, even public transportation.

Now a year into its existence, the council has many in the Nashville music community scratching their heads and wondering exactly who they are and what, if anything, they’re accomplishing. As an advisory board to the mayor — like the Health Care Council — they’ve managed to split into four subcommittees: branding, creative talent, live music and music education. And so far, a cynic might say, that is their greatest accomplishment.

But there are looming developments that may answer the project’s critics. The council is still wading through minutiae in an exploratory phase that, while time-consuming, could well be worth the wait. As a whole, it’s a big brain, rich with ideas, eager to work, full of power — but rife with question marks. While the council and the mayor are no doubt developing the biggest picture yet of Music City, it’s only slowly coming into focus. Keep reading.

First Listen To Aldean’s Latest

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Fans can now hear the first new music from Jason Aldean’s anticipated fall release. “My Kinda Party” is the lead single from his fourth studio album for Broken Bow Records and officially goes for adds Aug. 16. Aldean’s sponsor Country Financial is giving fans early access to the song on its The Road Trips and Guitar Picks concert series website, www.tripsandpicks.com.

“This song is all about workin’ for the weekend…my fans work hard, so they can rip it up when Saturday rolls around,” says Aldean. “I hope they hear this one and want to turn it up…we put a little extra juice on the electric guitars just for that reason.”

The new album is the follow up to his 2009 Platinum-selling Wide Open. Aldean’s first three albums have sold more than 3.5 million copies and spawned nine smash hits including “She’s Country,” “Big Green Tractor,” “The Truth,” “Why” and “Hicktown.” As a tour headliner, he has broken venue attendance records and continues to sell-out arenas across the country. Aldean recently extended his Wide Open tour into the fall with an additional 25 dates.

Aldean at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Coumbia MD with WMZQ/WPOC PD Meg Stevens.

Page Kelley Joins Milom Joyce Horsnell Crow

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Page Kelley

Milom Joyce Horsnell Crow PLC has welcomed attorney D. Page Kelley III to the firm. Kelley, a veteran music business attorney most recently with Baker & Kelley, brings his individual and corporate music clients to MJHC’s established entertainment, intellectual property, media and technology practice. He has joined Mike Milom, Robin Mitchell Joyce, Chris Horsnell, David Crow and Natalya Rose in the 3310 West End Avenue office.

Kelley, Milom, Joyce and Horsnell enjoyed a previous association when, in 1994, Kelley left his in-house counsel position with Arista Records/New York and joined Wyatt, Tarrant & Comb’s Entertainment and Intellectual Property Group in Nashville.

In 1997, Kelley accepted an in-house position with Arista Records/Nashville, moving to Word Entertainment as Vice President of Business & Legal Affairs in 2000 and returning to private practice in 2002.

Milom, Joyce, Horsnell and Crow launched MJHC in October 2007 after six years at Bass Berry and Sims. With the addition of Kelley, MJHC expands its nearly 40 years of consecutive experience.

Brigitte DeMeyer Signs with Green Hills Music

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(L-R): BMI’s Mark Mason, Green Hills Pres. Woody Bomar, manager Dan Herrington, Brigitte DeMeyer, Green Hills Creative Director Bonnie Baker, and manager Mitchell Fox. Photo: Michelle Stephens

Americana artist/writer Brigitte DeMeyer has signed a publishing agreement with Nashville’s Green Hills Music Group. The soulful touring artist plays festivals worldwide and has opened shows for such headliners as Bob Dylan, Dan Fogelberg and Marc Cohn. The longtime San Francisco resident recently relocated with her family to Nashville, which she calls her “spiritual home.” Her most recent album, Red River Flower, was recorded in Nashville with producer Brady Blade and features many of her musical heroes including Buddy Miller, Chris Donohue, Phil Madeira, Mike Henderson and Al Perkins. DeMeyer is managed by Herrington-Fox Management.

Green Hills Music Group Pres. Woody Bomar said, “We love what Brigitte does as an artist and who she is as a person. Her music is filled with honesty and compassion. It is an honor to represent these wonderful songs and to work with such a passionate musician and songwriter.”

DeMeyer will perform on the Green Hills Music Writers Night at the Bluebird Cafe at 6:00 on Aug. 26.

Green Hills Music Group opened in 2007 and also markets the music of Steve Williams, Georgia Middleman, Bob Regan, Rick Giles, Bonnie Baker, Paul Nelson, Warren Wilken and J. Fred Knobloch.