Swan BergerSo 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/
NEW ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Tyler FarrTyler 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
© 2013 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.
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
© 2013 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.
Kristin Chenoweth Discovers Sarah HornWhen 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
Nashville Rocks® T-ShirtHey Folks, I’ve been working on the site and would love it if you would help me test the new merchandise transactions. Besides, doesn’t everyone want a new Nashville Rocks® T-Shirt?! Anyway, I have several of these and am also considering offering them in different colors. Let me know your thoughts and what you’d like to see on the next T-Shirt below in the comments. Thank you and keep rockin’!
https://nashvillerocks.com/store/
~Jason R. Coleman
President
Nashville Rocks®
www.nashvillerocks.com®
Born in Mississippi, Charlie Worsham learned enough banjo by age 10 for bluegrass legend Jimmy Martin to invite him onstage at the Ryman Auditorium. Two years after that, he joined Mike Snider on the air at the Opry. After attending Boston’s Berklee College of Music, he headed to Nashville and eventually earned himself a deal with Warner Bros. Records.
On his new album, Rubberband, released today, Worsham distinguishes himself by his unerring taste and musical subtlety. As co-producer with Ryan Tyndell and co-writer on all 11 tracks, he knows his way into each lyric. He does play some burning leads, but most of the album is toned down, rich in acoustic texture. His banjo stays in the background, enhancing the Country flavor. Drums are often muted and minimal.
This gives Worsham room to tell his stories. Starting with solo guitar and vocal, “How I Learned To Pray” (written by Worsham, Tyndell and Jeremy Spillman) points not to church services “with a chapter and a verse” but to small epiphanies in everyday life as sources of redemption. On “Love Don’t Die Easy” (Worsham, Tyndell and Steve Bogard), metaphor mixes with clear-eyed observation to mourn broken souls haunted by love long or recently lost. Worsham finds daylight too, stirring cautious hope for the future during a morning after on the album’s first single, “Could It Be” (Worsham, Tyndell and Marty Dodson). His gift is to be able to whisper intimately one moment and, with minimal effort, rock the house the next — and that’s something they don’t teach at Berklee.
For more on Worsham, visit www.CMACloseUp.com.
IN HIS OWN WORDS
SONG YOU WOULD LOVE TO COVER
“I’d really love to cover a Katie Perry song – maybe ‘I Kissed a Girl’?”
MUSICAL HERO
“I grew up on Vince Gill and Marty Stuart. Earl Scruggs is in that category too, as is Jimmy Martin.”
SONG YOU WISH YOU HAD COVERED
“Any songwriter would say they wish they had written ‘The House That Built Me.’”
ACTOR TO PORTRAY YOU IN A BIOPIC
“Christian Bale – although I’d really get a kick out of hanging with Jack Nicholson.”
MOMENT YOU’D LIKE TO RELIVE
“I could relive playing at the Opry when I was 12 a million times.”
On the Web: www.CharlieWorsham.com
On Twitter: @CharlieWorsham
© 2013 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.