Jason Coleman, Author at Nashville Rocks

Chelsea Bain – New Artist Spotlight – CMA Closeup

December 13, 2013 Leave a comment

Chelsea Bain

NASCAR fans like their Country Music tough, sleek and hot, just like their cars. That explains why Chelsea Bain has been rocking racetracks around the country. In May and June alone, her concert schedule included the Charlotte Motor Speedway and the Michigan International Speedway, not to mention an interview segment with Kyle Petty on the FOX Sports “Trackside” program.

Raised on an Arizona ranch, Bain personally prefers getting around on horses — she has won more than 10 national and world titles from the American Paint Horse Association. But there’s danger in her blend of Shania Twain’s and Johnny Cash’s spirits with elements of Joan Jett, Tom Petty and P!nk. Her music doesn’t crash and burn — it just burns.

Check out her debut single, “James Dean” (written by Luke Sheets and Kata Rhe Gillispie). Set at a slow, slithering tempo, it opens with Bain playing a 17-year-old running away from her family in the dead of night and into the tattooed arms of her lover. Yeah, he’s a bad guy, but the singer still hopes “maybe I’m looking for the right kind of wrong.” With her sassy drawl radiating attitude, it seems likely that she’ll cause more trouble than her partner in the long run.

Produced by Stan Lynch and Billy Chapin, her first album, All American Country Girl, on Jobe Entertainment, simmers with this sort of intensity. Even when she offers glimpses of a more sensitive side, you know she’ll end up taking the reins in the end.

For more on Chelsea Bain, visit www.CMACloseUp.com.

IN HER OWN WORDS

MUSICAL HERO

“Bob Dylan.”

DREAM DUET PARTNER

“Ronnie Dunn.”

CD IN YOUR STEREO

“The Traveling Willburys is on my record player.”

BOOK ON YOUR NIGHTSTAND

“The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho.”

SONG YOU WISH YOU’D WRITTEN

“Gangnam Style.”

LUCKY CHARM

“My horse Barbie.”

FAVORITE FOOD ON THE ROAD

“Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches must be on the bus. And bananas – I eat one every day.”

MOMENT YOU’D LIKE TO RELIVE

“None of them. I cherish moments, but I’m all about living new more exciting ones!”

On the Web: www.ChelseaBainMusic.com

On Twitter: @ChelseaBain

Cassadee Pope – New Artist Spotlight – CMA Closeup

December 12, 2013 Leave a comment

Cassadee Pope

You’ve got to hand it to Blake Shelton: He knows how to pick winners. When he recruited Cassadee Pope for Team Blake on 2012’s “The Voice,” he found an artist with that rarest of assets: outstanding chops tempered by interpretive sensitivity.

On her debut album for Republic Nashville, Frame By Frame, produced by Dann Huff and, on selected tracks, Nathan Chapman, Max Martin and Shellback, Pope does hit the occasional spectacular high note, but these only emphasize rather than obscure the essence of the song. The final, skyrocketing note on “You Hear A Song” (Nathan Chapman and Pope) is even lowered in the mix, so that we hear it not as fireworks but as a continuation of the song’s complex message.

Her real strength shows in more subdued moments, as she gets inside of a lyric. On her first single, “Wasting All These Tears” (written by Caitlyn Smith and Rollie Gaalswyk), she takes us immediately into the heart of this forlorn story. We find the protagonist collapsed on her bathroom floor, desperate and despairing. Pope taps into her inner darkness on the verses; more impressively, as the melody climbs on the chorus, she uses the crescendos to make these shadows even more tangible.

From her first voice lessons at age 4 to her triumph on national television, Pope’s ascension has been steady and strong — and it’s just beginning.

For more on Cassadee Pope, visit www.CMACloseUp.com.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

SONG YOU’D LOVE TO COVER

“I’ve always wanted to cover ‘Best of You’ by Foo Fighters. It’s so powerful and I could really have fun with it at a live show.”

DREAM DUET PARTNER

“I’d be absolutely honored to do a duet with Shania Twain. I grew up idolizing her and became the independent woman I am today because of her influence. We could do a sassy, empowering song together!”

PET PEEVE

“My pet peeve list is pretty long, but I’ll spare you and go with my top annoyance: some people’s lack of respect for personal space. I spend most of my life in airports, and there’s nothing more infuriating than someone bumping into you while you’re going through security. The process is hectic enough! Phew… Sorry. I’m done venting now. :).”

SONG YOU WISH YOU’D WRITTEN

“I wish I had written ‘Cry’ by Faith Hill.”

WORD YOU SAY OVER AND OVER AGAIN

“I say the word ‘badass’ a lot. It’s not exactly the best thing to say on live TV so I’ve had to restrain myself!”

FAVORITE MODE OF TRANSPORTATION

“I’ve always loved flying.”

FAVORITE FOOD ON THE ROAD

“I try very hard to eat healthily but it’s the most difficult part of traveling. When I feel like splurging, I usually want Italian … I’m talkin’ pasta, ravioli and lasagna. Anything of that nature is what I crave when I wanna be naughty.”

On the Web:www.CassadeePope.com

On Twitter: @CassadeePope

Swan Berger – Festival des puces 2010 – Django Reinhardt

November 19, 2013 Leave a comment

Swan Berger

So I found this video in my Facebook feed this morning and felt that it was a great piece to show you all. This is true raw talent and I can see this kid doing wonderful things with a guitar in the near future. Have a look at this video and you will see what I mean. His name is Swan Berger and I found some information on him here —>http://acousticguitarvideos.com/4715/swan-berger-natural-talent/

Tyler Farr – New Artist Spotlight – CMA Closeup

November 13, 2013 Leave a comment

NEW ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Tyler Farr

By Bob Doerschuk

Tyler Farr celebrates girls and trucks. Just what Country Music needs, right?

In Farr’s case, absolutely. He follows a familiar path through much of Redneck Crazy, his Columbia Nashville debut. But every now and then he slams on the brakes and veers in an unexpected direction.

Farr’s drawl draws from somewhere south of his hometown, Garden City, Mo. He rasps too, whether it’s from loving the outdoorsman’s lifestyle or working four nights each week at Tootsies Orchid Lounge. (The legendary Nashville venue hired him originally as a bouncer.)

His music is catchy, riff-heavy and steeped deep in tradition. He knows what kind of image he projects. But he has fun with it too, on “Wish I Had a Boat,” which is all about … wishing he had a boat. On various tracks, he compliments his ladies by comparing them to moonshine.

Then hold on for those sudden turns. The title track, let’s be honest, paints a scary picture of a jilted lover beaming his truck’s lights into his ex’s window at 3 AM and hurling empty beer cans at “both of your shadows” inside. This guy sounds dangerous; but on the other hand, Farr fully conveys his raw fury and pain without apology.

Yet on the last track, “Living With the Blues,” Farr goes solo, just acoustic guitar and a near-whispered lyric that reflects fragility and doubt. These yin and yang performances suggest there’s much more in Farr’s artistry than mere boat lust.

For more on Tyler Farr, visit www.CMACloseUp.com.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

MUSICAL HERO
“George Jones.”

DREAM DUET PARTNER
“Hank Williams Jr.”

BOOK ON YOUR NIGHTSTAND
“The Bible.”

PET PEEVE
“People posting food on Instagram.”

WORD YOU SAY OVER AND OVER AGAIN
“Damnit.”

FAVORITE MODE OF TRANSPORTATION
“My truck.”

MOMENT YOU’D LOVE TO RELIVE
“The last day is spent with my grandpa.”

FAVORITE FOOD ON THE ROAD
“Vienna sausages.”

TITLE OF YOUR AUTOBIOGRAPHY
“One Hell of a Ride.”

ITEMS FOR YOUR TIME CAPSULE
“What the hell is a time capsule?”

SOMETHING WE’D NEVER GUESS ABOUT YOU
“I buy things at Bed Bath & Beyond.”

On the Web: www.TylerFarr.com

On Twitter: @TylerFarr

Sunday Best – New Artist Spotlight – CMA Close Up by Bob Doerschuk – On Nashville Rocks

September 6, 2013 Leave a comment

Nick Jamerson and Kris Bentley of Sundy Best.

They come from Appalachia. Their friendship dates back to elementary school. Their voices blend like bourbon and soda. Listening to their debut album on eOne Music, Door Without a Screen, produced by Coleman Saunders and released Aug. 2, you get the feeling that Kris Bentley and Nick Jamerson were born to make music together.

Apparently they were also destined to represent their beloved home state to the world through their songs. Co-writing every track, they visit the theme of Kentucky’s wonders repeatedly, always with a twinge of nostalgia but also from a variety of perspectives. “Home” captures the ache of a country boy stuck in the city, with only memories of running “barefoot up a holler, in the shadows of the pines.” “Mountain Parkway” is a panorama of images seen through the windows during a cruise through their backwoods paradise. Then, on “Prestonsburg,” the very first lyrics declare, “I just got off the parkway,” and this time the singer is back home, where he — and maybe all of us — belong.

What else do Bentley and Jamerson share? Each began singing in church as kids; aside from a short-lived Christian rock band, that was their only musical outlet for years. Both were active in sports through high school and college — Bentley played basketball, Jamerson excelled at football. They enjoy shifting tempos to underscore different parts of songs. And they love acoustic textures. From scratchy banjos to sad or stompin’ fiddles, their music sounds the way a weather-worn barn looks — rough, sweet and tactile, all at the same time.

For more on Sundy Best, visit www.CMACloseUp.com.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

MUSICAL HERO

BOTH: “Tom Petty or Bob Seger. Chris Stapleton – fellow East Kentuckian – is a beast too!”

DREAM DUET PARTNER

BOTH: “Female – Sheryl Crow. Male – Chris Stapleton.”

PHRASE YOU SAY OVER AND OVER

BOTH: “Do what?”

FAVORITE MODE OF TRANSPORTATION

BOTH: “Roller blades.”

PET PEEVE

BOTH: “Bad grammar.”

FIRST GIG

BOTH: “Pikeville, Ken., at a bar called Champs. We drank beer for three hours before it started. They told us it went great.”

On the Web: www.SundyBest.net

On Twitter: @SundyBest

By Bob Doerschuk

Kristin Chenoweth finds diamond in the rough in Sarah Horn

August 28, 2013 Leave a comment

Kristin Chenoweth Discovers Sarah Horn

When Kristin Chenoweth invited fan Sarah Horn on stage to sing the Wicked duet “For Good” at the Hollywood Bowl last Friday, she had no idea she was about to blow some minds — including her own.

Horn, later revealed to be a Southern California voice teacher and musical theater lover, stunned so many with her tremendous chops that she was immediately branded a ringer.

But in a first hand account published by Broadway World, Horn explains exactly how this magical moment came to pass:

Toward the end of the second half of the performance, Kristin wanders on to the pasarel. She held a mic up to a lady in front of me and asked if she knew the song “For Good.” Nope. I took the chance, as I was directly behind Kristin, to stand up and wave and say, “I know the song!” This is not like me – to jump up and wave my arms like a crazy person and raise my voice at a celebrity. One of Kristin’s backup singers held a mic up to my face so I could answer some questions: “What’s you’re name?” – “Sarah.” “Who’s your favorite Broadway star?” I sarcastically hummm as if it’s a difficult question to answer. “Do you know the song ‘For Good’?” – “Yes. It’s one of my favorites.” This seemed to peak (sic) her interest. After this, she moved down the line and asked a guy if he knew the song and bantered with him for a few seconds. Afterwards, she said something about going back to pick me because I was a girl. Then, she invited me up on stage.

~NEETZAN ZIMMERMAN of Gawker