When my mother was going through menopause, she did some very interesting things. One was fanning herself with the bottom of her shirt (lifting it halfway up her torso) right in front of the open windows in the living room. And another was flipping off a college student at Christmas on her way into the Wal-Mart parking lot. Looking back now, she claims the funniest thing she did was listen to country music. She never listened to it before but, I was thrilled when she bought Brad Paisley's CD. Confused when she told me she liked the Carrie Underwood song... Continue reading

Anyone who is a music lover has figured out that the industry is tanking right now. Depending on who you are talking to, some say the days of major labels are gone. Most of the bands I personally listen to are no longer on major labels and are trying to figure out ways to get their music out to the fans and still try to feed themselves. Now, there is a hard working band out there attempting a new tactic. They are called Herrick. They are kind of a bluesy, southern rock, Lynyrd Skynyrd kinda sounding band. Even though I... Continue reading

I really do like Ashton Sheperd. She's southern, (seems) down to Earth, sassy, and a talented songwriter. But, this song did nothing for me. I would have liked to have seen her re-emerge from the success of her last CD with a better first single then this. Based on her other hits ("Takin' Off This Pain" and "Sounds So Good") I guess I expected something up to par as those songs. This wasn't it. I don't know if the other singles off of the CD are better but I certainly hope so. View the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1kT4u_D5PA Here is a... Continue reading

I first heard this song a couple of weeks ago on XM's Nashville station. I really liked their song "Different Breed" so, I thought that I would give this a shot. Well, I like it. I really, really, really like it. In fact, I can't stop listening to it. Literally. The song (from what I can tell) is about when a relationship starts to get stale. Even though I question their instrument playing abilities, I think that the song stands out from some of the rest because of the subject matter. It's not a bubble gum/break up type song. It's... Continue reading

First...I like this guy and his music. However, I am not quite sure why this was suggested as a review for a country blog. I don't really hear any country sound in him (albeit I only listened to a couple of songs off of his myspace page - www.myspace.com/mattwhitemusic or www.mattwhitemusic.com). His producer worked with Lenny Kravitz (again...country???) and his engineer has worked with Weezer, Goo Goo Dolls, Sparklehorse, and Shelby Lynn (okay I'll give him a smidge of country cred for that). The music isn't bad as long as you are not one of those listeners who exclusively only... Continue reading

(photo courtesey of amazon.com) In case you need yet another new Christmas CD, the trio Carter's Chord has come out with a four song EP that includes "Santa Baby", "Up On The Housetop", "O Come, O Come Emmanuel", as well as an original song titled, "Snowed In". I am not much of a Christmas person but, hey if it is what gets you in the mood, then don't let me stand in your way. Enjoy if you decide to buy it! Continue reading

(pic courtesey of social.entertainment.msn.com) Well, well, well...Look who Billy has been seen out and about with. Seems as though R&B superstar and mega-producer Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds has been partnering up with Billy to help him write some songs. Back in September the two got together and wrote but then back in November when Billy played Joe's Bar in Chicago, he surprised the audience and brought out Babyface and they did a duet of Babyface's song "Change The World". Check it out on youtube if you get a chance. The link is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hsvNxbraoY. It's actually pretty cool. I would be curious... Continue reading

(photo courtesey of aristopr.com) First off, I was very surprised with this CD. I actually really liked it. Daisy is a seventeen year old from Arizona that wrote or co-wrote all the tracks on her second CD "Girl Time". I know that you might be thinking that she is a red-headed Taylor Swift but you might be surprised. The songs actually do have a country sound to them. You can hear country intrumentation in the tracks. It's not bluegrass or honky tonk music but it does sound more country than half of what I hear on country radio. She actually... Continue reading

(picture courtesey of allaccess.com) So, I was talking to Mom the other day and she told me that Garth was going to be on Oprah Thanksgiving week. I checked my handy dandy DVR and sure enough! The episode is set to air on Wednesday, November 24th. Turns out Oprah is having an episode about the hottest tickets on Earth. Considering the story below about his nine shows in Nashville selling out so fast, I'll give credit to Garth for earning that title. I'm not sure if he'll be on the whole hour but, I guess some Garth is better than... Continue reading

 Looks like there is new Taylor Swift sweepstakes out there. This one puts you in the press pit during a Taylor show! WOOHOO!!! Not that I am Taylor obsessive or anything. But as a concert junkie/geek, that is where I have always wanted to go. Well, besides backstage. And the bus. But not the back of the bus. I do have a shred of self-respect. Unless it was Gary Allan (sorry, Shannon..). But the press pit is the third place on my list, I guess. But I digress. It would still be cool, right? I know I am totally... Continue reading

(Photo courtesy of www.amazon.com) First off, the CD only contains eight tracks. Overall, the CD is the average Keith Urban CD. If anyone has heard his last several CD's, this is very similar. I am not sure if Dann Huff produced it again but, it has the same pop/country sound that Keith has been a part of since "Love, Pain, & The Whole Crazy Thing". The theme throughout the entire CD is love. There is happy love and sad love. There were only two or three songs on the CD that showed off what Keith is known for and that... Continue reading

(Picture courtesy of billboard.com) Okay, I am not a HUGE Taylor fan or anything (she is a bit young for me) however, I have always kinda liked most of what I heard from her on the radio. So, I picked up her new CD last night and I am very surprised by what I heard. Overall, the CD is good to very good. The sound of the songs tend to get a bit repetitive sounding and expected in lyrical content. Especially towards the end of the CD. Like most of you have heard, the songs (for the most part) are... Continue reading

David is a twenty-three year old aspiring country singer/songwriter from Arkansas. Per his myspace bio (www.myspace.com/davidbyrnes.com) he has been in Nashville for a couple of years and wants to be a big star someday. His first single (which you can hear on both his myspace page and his official website - www.davidadambyrnes.com) is called "Sweet Distraction". It's a rocker type song that I think would attract the Jason Aldean/Justin Moore crowd. It's a song about forgetting a woman and having a good time. Nothing real deep and a bit of a no-brainer type song. So far, he is doing well... Continue reading