Eric Church (Has A) Record Year - New Video

Screen Shot "Record Year" 

Eric Church debuted his new video "Record Year" today on CMT’s Hot 20 Countdown and it's up for viewing on Vevo, you'll find a link below.

The video and it's song, filmed in an old abonded school house in East Nashville, deals with a breakup and the consequent flight of the left one into listening to an old three foot stack of warm sounding vinyl records. Cleverly written by Church and his longtime banjo player and guitarist Jeff Hyde.

I bet you thought before you left
I'd just sit in silence by myself
Turn this house into a jail
Dyin' slow in a livin' hell
But love's got a funny way of keepin' score
And your leavin' lit up my scoreboard
I usually make it through side A sober
All bets are off when I flip her over
One bourbon, one scotch, one beer
I'm havin' a record year

"Record Year" Shoot - © Reid Long (used by permission)

The John Lee Hooker reference "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer" - also known by a great version by George Thorogood - isn't the only name-dropping in the little epic, (George) Jones, (Waylon) Jennings are as well mentioned in the song as Hank (Williams) and Stevie Wonder's "Songs In The Key of Life." Willie Nelson lends comfort with "Red Headed Stranger", James Brown is mentioned and as a little great surprise the old quartet New Grass Revival, who started promoting progressive bluegrass in the early 80s. Even though it's uncertain if the vinyl session will help the hurt one to get over it or just inflect some more, this time physical pain by speakers being on ten, damaging his ears.

I'm either gonna get over you
Or I'm gonna blow out my ears
Yeah, you're out there now
Doin' God knows how, and I'm stuck here
Havin' a record year

Another "nice" reference, at least a great play on words, comes in the verse where he suggests that only a needle - not in his arm but on his vinyl - can save him:

Your leavin' left me goin' crazy
I'm countin' on a needle to save me
I drop it in the groove
And we go 'round and 'round
And down in a spiral

Eric also debuts his new Signature Gibson Guitar, Hummingbird Dark in the video.
To use the records to line up on an un-used weight lifting bench as a 3-D audio waveform reflecting the sonic intensity of the song is absolute clever (see picture on top of the blog) and Church's manager John Peets and video maker Reid Long, who directed "Record Year" deserves some great praise. Maybe the trio, Church, Peats and Reid can double down on winning video of the year, as they did with the ACM video of the year for the title track of Church's new album "Mr. Misunderstood."

Summary: Great song, outstanding video - musically a tad to contemporary for my taste, but still a favorite of country music videos released this year.

Record Year - Eric Church

Watch Record Year by Eric Church online at vevo.com. Discover the latest music videos by Eric Church on Vevo.

Sources: EBMedia, ACM

Happy Birthday Willie

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday, dear Willie...

glad to type that, and see that Willie is still going strong.

Some 30 years ago, Willie gave me due to a gig at the Hallenstadion in Zurich, my first front page story and picture in one of the biggest Sunday newspapers in Switzerland. A week earlier, I was able to interview and shoot him at the legendary Wembley Arena in London, where he was part of a three day country music festival over the Easter weekend. This and a personal favor while in Switzerland - not what you are thinking - I simply organized him a gym where he could go and work out, without being bothered, led to a great friendship with his late tour manager Poodie Locke. After moving to Austin, I was able to go see Willie and "Trigger" when ever I wanted. So thanks for still being around, for still pickin' and grinnin'...


A couple of weeks ago, Loretta Lynn turned 84 and just had a brand mew album "Full Circle" out. Hard to believe that both Willie and her with 50+ year careers, never recorded together before. The two octogenarians hit it off on the first take and duet beautifully on this album. Even though their collaboration "Lay Me Down" deals with mortality, it's amazing to see the "joie de vivre" in their performance. The video was shot at the Ryman Auditorium, the original Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.


Loretta Lynn & Willie Nelson


I actually don't know of any other artist in every music genre that has recorded more duet songs with such a variety of artists. From Toots & The Maytals and U2, beyond Bob Dylan and Matchbox20 to all the regular country "suspects" as well as from his first wife Shirley Collie, Norah Jones, Julio Iglesias and Tony Bennett, just to name a few.
Less than a year ago, Willie and the late Merle Haggard had a number-one country music album with their duet album "Django & Jimmie," not only honoring Reinhardt and Rogers, but also the Man in Black "Missing Johnny Cash." Well "all the whiskey in Lynchburg, Tennessee just couldn't hit the spot, it's all going to pot..."

Merle Haggard & Willie Nelson


Celebrating same more herbal medicine, the original gangster and birthday boy together with Snoop Dog.



Celebrating same more herbal medicine, the original gangster and birthday boy together with Snoop Dog.
So celebrate like Willie would (will), today and while you are listening to the below concert, recorded on June, 7th, 2000 at the Paradiso in Amsterdam, come up in the comments with some duets Willie did that belong to your favorites.

Willie Nelson & Family Live in Amsterdam

Strait Return To Stage Sold Out

© Ethan Miller - Getty Images - courtesy EBMedia

After a two year absence from the stage, the King of Country rode back in to town and a record-setting, sold-out crowd of 19'222 people came on April, 22nd to the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to see George Strait in his opening show of his "Strait To Vegas" concert series.

“I’ve missed you guys and I’m looking forward to being here a few more nights this year,” Strait told the crowd early on in the night before performing for over two hours, according to a press release by Essential Broadcast Media. Besides playing a selection of several of his #1 hits, Strait also took a moment to pay tribute to Merle Haggard who was not only an icon for Strait but also a friend. “We’ll never get to hear Merle play live again, but his music will live on forever,” Strait said before performing a medley.


YouTube user vegastrojan posted a decent quality video of George Strait doing the Merle Haggard Tribute during his concert.



Kacey Musgraves who opened for George this last weekend and will for his other 2016 dates, walked into the arena with a pony. (Picture from her Instagram feed @spaceykacey) - you may also want to check out her great version of the Lee Hazlewood penned cover "These Boots Are Made For Walking," orginally made famous by Nancy Sinatra  (look on her twitter feed +Kacey Musgraves.


Strait will be back at the arena in September (9 & 10) and December (2 & 3) of this year and has a weekend planned in February (17 & 18) of 2017. The brand new $ 375 million indoor arena opened this spring and will host a variety of events. Boxing and fighting matches will compete with entertainment events. The Billboard Music Awards, Garth Brooks and the Dixie Chicks are all scheduled to play T-Mobile Arena.

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Sturgill Simpson & Stephen Colbert - Unofficial "Waffle House" Etiquette Song

It took me 25 years of living in the States to finally make it to a Waffle House on a recent trip (March) to Atlanta. I was simply ignorant and unaware, as there are only two in all of Central Texas and Mexican breakfast and/or Tacos are everywhere and cheap.

So on Monday night, country artist Sturgill Simpson, who just released "A Sailor's Guide to Earth" some days ago, visited the "Late Show with Stephen Colbert," to perform a raucous swamp-rock, including full horn-section version of "Brace For Impact (Live a Little)."

Yet before Simpson was able to literally blow us away, he was invited and asked by host Stephen Colbert to do a "commercial" for "Waffle House." As Stephen mentioned, "Waffle House" has it's own songs on its jukeboxes, well according to slate.com, "the all-day breakfast chain that has become a Southern institution, actually has its own music label, which has produced songs such as “There Are Raisins in My Toast” for its restaurants since the mid-’80s."
As the tables were almost turned over faster than we could eat, I was never able to check out their own jukeboxes and am simply wondering what would rhyme with sausage and hash-browns.
Stephen and Sturgill's take on the unofficial song is hilarious and quite right deals with a lot of good manners missing of the late night crowds I have seen in IHOPs and other early morning breakfast places. Yes it may as Sturgill sings "You're killin' your hangover, but you're killin' my mood."

Next time I'm gonna go to a Waffle House, I'm gonna search for the jukebox. Watch the two performances below and comeback here, I will review "A Sailor's Guide To Earth" in a couple of days.