Jason Coleman, Author at Nashville Rocks

Eric Paslay – New Artist Spotlight – CMA Close Up Interview

February 6, 2014 Leave a comment

Photographer: Eric Adkins

Eric Paslay

Eric Paslay’s story is familiar, from his upbringing in Waco and Temple through his gigs on the Lone Star circuit and inevitable move to Nashville.

Eventually hired by Cal IV Publishing, the tall Texas redhead penned several hits. He won CMA’s coveted Triple Play Award for writing or co-writing three songs that hit No. 1 in 2012: “Angel Eyes,” “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” and “Barefoot Blue Jean Night,” which also was honored as ASCAP’s Country Song of the Year. Impressive, but not unique … yet.

The epiphany comes with his self-titled inaugural album, released Feb. 4 on EMI Records Nashville. Produced by Marshall Altman and Daniel Hill/Billy Lynn, its 11 tracks reflect the strength of this young artist’s work. Compositionally, he cultivates simplicity. Many of his verses cycle just three or even two chords. “Country Side of Heaven” (Paslay, Dylan Altman and Shane McAnally) hangs entirely on the I and V. But on that track, Paslay’s organic dynamics, his inspiring vocals and especially his ability to conjure compelling images enrich both his sound and his story.

Though all his songs are beautifully crafted, one may qualify as a masterpiece. Caressed by a sensitive arrangement, Paslay’s aching vocal and evocative lyrics on “She Don’t Love You” (Paslay and Jennifer Wayne) build on the title (“… she’s just lonely”) to cast a spell that doesn’t resolve until literally the last word. This is supreme writing and execution, by any measure.

For more on Eric Paslay, visit www.CMACloseUp.com.

IN HIS OWN WORDS

DREAM DUET PARTNER

“I’ve had the wild fortune of singing with some awesome icons so far (Sheryl Crow, Amy Grant). I’d love to sing with Dolly, Emmylou and Bono … the list could keep growing!”

BOOK ON YOUR NIGHTSTAND

“The Bible.”

ALBUMS IN YOUR PLAYLIST

“U2’s Greatest Hits, Kenny Rogers’ You Can’t Make Old Friends, Coldplay’s Mylo Xyloto and Emmylou Harris’s Wrecking Ball.”

SONG YOU WISH YOU’D WRITTEN

“‘What a Wonderful World.’”

MOMENT IN YOUR LIFE YOU’D LIKE TO RELIVE

“Christmas with my whole family as a child.”

FAVORITE FOOD ON THE ROAD

“Catering, because it’s free!”

FAVORITE MODE OF TRANSPORTATION

“Teleportation.”

On the Web: www.EricPaslay.com

On Twitter: @EricPaslay

NEW ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Eric Paslay

By Bob Doerschuk

Logan Brill – New Artist Spotlight – CMA Close Up Interview

February 5, 2014 Leave a comment

Logan Brill releases “Walking Wires”

If we were to judge Logan Brill by the lyrics on her debut album, Walking Wires, we might feel a little worried. After all, she sings about being haunted by a lost relationship on “No Such Thing As Ghosts” (written by Chris Stapleton), the consequences of staying with a stranger in a hotel room on “Month of Bad Habits” (Andrew Combs and Doug Johnson), forlornly “going from bar to bar” on “Rewind” (Paolo Nutini), being “too tired to swim, too weak to crawl” on “Seven Year Rain” (Heather Little and Travis Meadows) …

But don’t call for an intervention. Instead, marvel at how this upbeat, positive 22-year-old brings a sad story to life. Brill was born with a strong, assertive voice, which she has sculpted into an expressive instrument. When she interprets Patty Griffin’s “Nobody’s Crying,” she animates the melody with tasteful filigrees, and on key words she subtly hardens her timbre to more vividly convey anger. Yet she also maintains a conversational quality — no easy feat.

Raised in Knoxville, Tenn., Brill enrolled in Nashville’s Belmont University in 2009 as a vocal performance major. Location and talent combined to connect her to Carnival Music, which released Walking Wires on Oct. 15. Produced by Matthew Miller and Oran Thornton, the album is also a sonic triumph. Layered guitars, meaty organs and, on Audra Mae’s “Ne’er Do Wells,” some imaginative voice processing combine with Brill’s delivery to create a winning combination.

Hear “Scars” NOW!

IN HER OWN WORDS

ALBUM ON YOUR PLAYLIST

“Dawes, Stories Don’t End. I’ve been wearing that album out the past few months.”

DREAM DUET PARTNER

“If I could go back in time, my dream duet partner would be Ray Charles and we would sing ‘Georgia on My Mind.’”

BOOK ON YOUR NIGHTSTAND

“A collection of love poems. It has everything from Shakespeare to Emily Dickinson.”

LUCKY CHARM

“Before I play a show, my two main men are Van Morrison and Jack Daniels.”

FAVORITE FOOD ON THE ROAD

“The veggie burger at Burger King with a large fry and some zesty sauce. Delicious and easy to eat on the go.”

SOMETHING WE’D NEVER GUESS ABOUT YOU

“I have a degree in French.”

On the Web: www.LoganBrill.com

On Twitter: @LoganBrillMusic

Jon Pardi – New Artist Spotlight – CMA Closeup Interview

February 5, 2014 Leave a comment

Jon Pardi is the “Life Of The Pardi”

Saloon pianos clink, guitars crunch and fiddles, well, they fiddle throughout Write You a Song, Jon Pardi’s debut album on Capitol Records Nashville. And it fits together into a package that practically dares you not to get up and dance.
A lot of Pardi’s energy stems from days on the road and long nights on stages throughout his home state of California. He was already absorbing the spirit of real-world Country when he performed “Friends in Low Places” at age 7 for his father’s 30^th birthday party. His first songs came at 12, his first band debuted two years later. The move to Nashville followed two restless years at Butte Junior College.

Apparently his experiences left Pardi unscarred. While there are no tears-in-my-beer blues here, that’s not to say he avoids introspective material. But even on the down-tempo “Love Hangs Around” (written by Pardi, Treat Summar and Odie Blackmon), you sense that it’s just a matter of time before the lyric’s two long-distance lovers enjoy a happy reunion.

Similarly, the rockin’ numbers have dimension. You’ll hear hardly a mention of trucks or cut-off jeans; instead, actual stories inhabit his down-home grooves. The title cut (Pardi, Bart Butler and Davy Ulbrich), as well as “Up All Night” (Pardi, Butler and Brett Beavers), showcase his fondness for melodies built on tight, repetitive motifs. The guy just sounds like he’s having a ball, and with his amiable drawl he’s inviting us all to join him.

IN HIS OWN WORDS

MUSICAL HERO

“There are so many, I don’t know where to start. Elvis was pretty awesome, though.”

ALBUM ON YOUR PLAYLIST

“Bakersfield, by Vince Gill and Paul Franklin.”

DREAM DUET PARTNER

“Willie Nelson. Willie just takes a song up to a whole new level.”

PET PEEVE

“People who eat really loud.”

TITLE OF YOUR AUTOBIOGRAPHY

“Life of the Pardi.”

On the Web: www.JonPardi.com

On Twitter: @JonPardi

Natalie Stovall and The Drive at Music in the City 2014

January 8, 2014 Leave a comment

Note from Nashville Rocks: Natalie Stovall and the Drive appearing at Music In The City by Nashville Lifestyles Magazine. I’m so excited for Natalie, having worked with her in the past in another capacity. She is truly an amazing musician and worth going out to see. Check out this article and make sure to get your tickets to support this great band!

Natalie Stovall and The Drive

Show-stopping singer Natalie Stovall’s high-energy, take-no-prisoners live performances and relentless, barnstorming global tours have earned her the attention she deserves from those who matter the most to her — the fans. Natalie has been playing professionally since she was ten, and by the time she graduated high school she had already performed everywhere from the Grand Ole Opry to the Oprah Winfrey Show. And since she put her first band together in 2007 while studying at Berklee, things have really taken off as they are wrapping up their debut album with famed producer Paul Worley (Dixie Chicks/Lady Antebellum/Big & Rich).

Stovall, a Tennessee native, has amassed more than 200 dates each year across college campuses, clubs and military bases around the globe. In 2012, she won the coveted Campus Activities Magazine Entertainer of the Year Award, marking the first time a female performer has received the honor in more than 20 years. The Drive includes band members James Bavendam, Joel Dormer, Zach Morse and Miguel Cancino. Blending country/roots background with a strong rock sensibility, Natalie Stovall and the Drive’s fiddle-shredding shows are bred for wide audiences, and this year that mainstream popularity is paying off in a big way with a record deal and a new album on the way.

Keep watching as we’ll be announcing each Music in the City artist over the next two weeks.

Get your tickets for the 2014 Music in the City showcase!

– See more at: http://nashvillelifestyles.com/entertainment/music-in-the-city-lineup-#.UrCrBywvSrY.email

Written By: Nashville Lifestyles

Photographers: Provided

– See more at: http://nashvillelifestyles.com/entertainment/music-in-the-city-lineup-#.UrCrBywvSrY.email

Kayla Calabrese – New Artist Spotlight – CMA Close Up interview

January 8, 2014 Leave a comment

You can thank the CVS drugstore chain for getting Kayla Calabrese excited about Country Music. After all, she was born in Pine Beach, N.J., far from the nearest ranch or honky-tonk. Her family is pure Italian-American. Though she definitely enjoyed singing, Calabrese grew up dreaming more of being a doctor than a Country crooner.

All of that changed when she and her mother took part in a scavenger hunt for tickets to a Martina McBride concert in Reading, Pa. Amazingly, they beat everyone else to the CVS pharmacy where the prize was hidden behind some greeting cards. With that, a new dream took shape.

At 17, Calabrese made the pilgrimage to Nashville. There, she earned a nursing degree from Belmont University, worked at Baptist Hospital and taught gymnastics. She also met Kent Wells, who mentored her as she began writing songs and produced her as she recorded her debut EP.

The self-titled results were released digitally by Go Time Records in September. As co-writer on all six tracks, Calabrese shows that she knows how to come up with a hook and, as a singer, drive it home. With McBride and Carrie Underwood evident among her influences, she shines against powerful instrumental backdrops.

On the power ballad “Kiss Me,” which she wrote with Tami Hinesh, the message rolls out over muscular guitar arpeggios. It’s Calabrese’s buoyant delivery that bats this single all the way from the Jersey shore into the heart of Country.

IN HER OWN WORDS

MUSICAL HERO

“Martina McBride.”

ALBUM ON YOUR PLAYLIST

“Right now, it’s Sara Bareilles, The Blessed Unrest.”

DREAM DUET PARTNERS

“Martina McBride and Idina Menzel.”

MOMENT YOU WISH YOU COULD RELIVE

“I don’t really believe in regrets. Everything happens for a reason. I am where I am today because of the decisions I have made.”

TITLE OF YOUR AUTOBIOGRAPHY

“Believe. It’s my favorite word.”

On the Web: www.KaylaCalabrese.com

On Twitter: @KaylaCalabrese

By Bob Doerschuk

BRENNEN LEIGH AND NOEL MCKAY – New Artist Spotlight – CMA Close Up

January 8, 2014 Leave a comment

Before the World Was Made is a delicious mix: raw, retro Country plus sweet irony. That’s apparently the specialty of Brennen Leigh and Noel McKay, the Austin-based duo whose debut, on their B&N imprint, is hilarious, sentimental and profound, usually all at the same time.

Produced by Gurf Murlix, with only one of its 12 tracks penned by an outside writer, this album draws from Guy Clark, Lucinda Williams, the Louvin Brothers and, perhaps unconsciously, Nichols and May. Backed by a bare-bones band that consists of a drummer playing mainly snare, an acoustic bassist and occasional guests, they ponder love’s absurdities. A theme emerges in their titles alone. “Breaking Up Is Easy” is followed by “Breaking Up and Making Up Again,” in which McKay intones, “I forgot that you’re a bore,” and Leigh responds, “And I forgot how loud you snore,” both singing with a delightfully flat, deadpan delivery.

And who could resist the wisdom of “Let’s Go to Lubbock on Vacation,” which reasons that if they survive a week or so there, they’ll know they’re in love? Or “The Only Other Person in the Room,” a forlorn pickup song involving the last two folks in the honky-tonk at closing time?

But then they close with “Great Big Oldsmobile,” an unexpectedly touching pledge of lifelong adoration. “I’ll be deafer than a post and grayer than a ghost, but you’ll still steam my glasses up when you’re 92,” McKay promises — and we believe him.

For more on Brennen Leigh and Noel McKay, visit www.CMACloseUp.com.

IN HER OWN WORDS

MUSICAL HERO

BRENNEN: “Jim Lauderdale.”

NOEL: “Guy Clark.”

ALBUM IN YOUR PLAYLIST

BOTH: “Guy Clark’s My Favorite Picture of You.”

DREAM DUET PARTNER

BRENNEN: “Melba Montgomery.”

NOEL: “I sing with my dream duet partner nearly every night.”

PET PEEVE

BRENNEN: “Everything.”

NOEL: “Tailgating.”

FAVORITE MODE OF TRANSPORTATION

BOTH: “Train!”

ACTOR WHO WOULD PLAY YOU IN A BIOPIC

BRENNEN: “Jackie Chan.”

NOEL: “Brigitte Bardot, of course.”

MOMENT YOU’D LOVE TO RELIVE

BRENNEN: “Getting to play mandolin and sing with Charlie Louvin.”

FAVORITE FOOD ON THE ROAD

NOEL: “Peanut butter and strawberry sandwiches that Brennen makes while I’m driving.”

On the Web: www.BrennenLeighAndNoelMcKay.com

On Twitter: @BrennenLeigh; @McKayNoel

By Bob Doerschuk