Pictured (L-R): Jim King, Senior Vice President of Business Operations & Technology for BMI; Clay Bradley, Assistant Vice President, Writer-Publisher Relations for BMI; Scott Borchetta, President/CEO of Big Machine Label Group; Kimberly Perry; Reid Perry; Neil Perry; Jody Williams, Vice President, Writer-Publisher Relations for BMI

The Band Perry, along with BMI’s Jody Williams and Clay Bradley, BMLG president/CEO Scott Borchetta and a handful of industry members and media, gathered at BMI’s Nashville offices yesterday (March 25) to hear the trio’s sophomore offering, Pioneer. Williams greeted the crowd, saying, “We are in The Band Perry business.” Neil, Kimberly and Reid Perry sat on stools as the album played, offering insight into each track as the industry crowd nibbled on hors d’oeuvres.

The first two songs played were already familiar to most in the audience–the trio’s No. 1 single “Better Dig Two” and the rising single “DONE.”–an ironic title, considering it is obvious that this trio is just getting started. The Band Perry’s penchant for detailed and at times whimsical storytelling is perfectly in tact, and deepened by their experiences over the past two years.
Having spent more than 600 days on the road–many of those days away from family–they parlayed the feelings of solitude into “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely.” On “Back To Me (Without You)” the breakup of a friendship for Kimberly (as well as the siblings’ inclination to offer advice to each other) is chronicled in song.
In previewing the title track, Kimberly explained that while some might think of covered wagons or rural landscapes when they think of a pioneer, her definition is more basic. “A pioneer is someone who goes into the unknown. We didn’t know where we would go with this album. Coming off ‘If I Die Young’ and everything from our first album…we did not want to be a one-hit wonder.” The tender ballad captured the spirit of fearlessness, creativity, restlessness and insatiable curiosity that embodies the pioneers of all generations.
Kimberly stated that the trio wanted “bold statements and crazy moments” all over the record. That may have been showcased best in the tracks “Forever Mine, Nevermind” and “Chainsaw.” The trio listened to rock band Queen while making the record, and that influence showed on “Forever Mine, Nevermind” (co-written by Brad Paisley). The trio displays some Queen-esque harmonies to kick off the track, along with guitar work from Paisley. The bluesy tale of revenge “Chainsaw” was described by Kimberly as “the love child of The Judds and Led Zeppelin.”
“Mother Like Mine” is a touching tribute to the trio’s mother Marie, a tune that explores what the world would be like if their mother ran it. At the song’s conclusion, the crowd turned and applauded Marie, who was in attendance. The preview ended with “End of Times,” which the trio says is a sort of bookend to “Better Dig Two.”
Pioneer releases April 2.
 

“It ain’t final until it’s vinyl.”
That’s a saying people used to have about the vicissitudes of the music business. For the Pistol Annies, the slogan was revived via a listening party staged at United Record Pressing on Monday (March 25).
“We got to see our album actually being pressed, which is cool,” said group member Miranda Lambert at the event. “This is an album that’s meant to be vinyl.”
Guests toured the record-pressing plant, which was making gold-colored vinyl LPs of the group’s new Annie Up as they entered. In the event space upstairs, they then listened to selections from it.
“This place reminds us of why we got into the music business,” said Sony Chairman & CEO Gary Overton. “It was for those big, round things with grooves.”
Annie Up producers Frank Liddell, Chuck Ainlay and Glenn Worf presided. Liddell said that the female trio’s music had grown “exponentially” since its first album. Worf described the new album as “a brave record and a beautiful record.” Ainlay said it was in stark contrast to, “this era of paint-by-numbers records.”
“Their sense of artistry is astonishing, making their music on their own terms,” added Worf. “They’re among the most fearless people I’ve ever known. These three women have more balls than all of our male country artists.”
The producers first played the finger-popping, bluesy “I Feel a Sin Comin’ On,” which opens the album. The acoustic rocker “Damn Thing” features a throbbing upright bass and washboard percussion. “Girls Like Us” is a husky femme ballad. The thumping “Unhappily Married” drew audience chuckles with its tongue-in-cheek lyrics. The sweet, album-closing “I Hope You’re the End of My Story” is a waltz-time romance.
After the tunes, Pistol Annies members Ashley Monroe, Lambert and Angaleena Presley greeted the guests. “Did y’all like it?” asked Monroe. She was answered with a resounding cheer. “You’re all invited to my house for a jukebox party,” offered Presley.
Ainlay told the crowd that the album was recorded with the three women sitting in a circle facing one another. “It was essentially that easy and that fun,” he said. “Go out and sell this record for us, so that we get to go back and do this again.”
As guests departed, they were presented with the finished, gold-colored, vinyl copies of the album.