Head's Up

For various reasons, I have decided that after several years on Blogger that it would be best to head over to WordPress. I hope that you will all join me over there and enjoy! I've got a bunch of stuff coming...

Wordpress will be where I post the pay it forward blogfest.... head on over to meet some great bloggers on October 14. I also have a really special interview coming soon I'm very excited about. Can't spill any details yet but it's gonna be cool :)

Besides that, there will be more blogfest posts, the 30 Day Song Challenge and much more! I also am very excited to annouce that Call of Poseidon is now available as a print book on Amazon.com. I hope y'all will check it out. It is also available for free on smashwords this week. Just use the coupon code TM36W. I guess that's about it for this post. Take care and see ya soon!

Alexz Johnson Look At Those Eyes Video Release (And Free Download Link)

Look At Those Eyes is now online... check it out and comment back with your thoughts! Also be sure to check this page for info about a free download of the song and how it will help to stop bullying. I personally love this video and think it fits the spirit of the song well. It's also very fitting considering the cause that the song is going to help.

Kelly Clarkson Turns the Tables ("What Doesn't Kill You" Review!)

It's no secret that Kelly Clarkson doesn't like people leaking her music. This time, she has decided to turn the tables and leak a track herself! She posted a link to a new song from Stronger with a message saying she wanted fans to hear the real thing. The track is called "What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger)".

Levi Lowrey Tour Through the Grapevine

Got this info and wanted to pass it along to everyone who is a fan of Levi. There is also an embed link to the song "No Dreaming Kind".

LEVI LOWREY ANNOUNCES NATIONAL TOUR IN SUPPORT OF DEBUT ALBUM, I CONFESS I WAS A FOOL

"In addition to pouring a melting pot's-worth of musical influences into his songwriting, he's an unusually colorful lyricist as well; presenting affecting and genuine stories in each of his songs... a fine debut which should mark him as a rising artist to watch." ~ Yahoo! Our Country "This is pop-country as it should be and Levi Lowrey is no sell-out. Quality songwriting about regret and redemption, from a man unfettered by, but still steeped in tradition." ~ Pop Matters "Succeeds with a satisfying balance of rugged, honest material and stirring delivery that stays just this side of too smooth." ~ Stomp and Stammer "His style is a mix of the elements he is inspired by, lyrical genius and old southern eloquence. Playing fiddle since he was young, you can hear bits of bluegrass and country in his music tinged with stinging morsels of soul." ~ Country Music Pride

Weird Al's Alpocalypse Tour

Weird Al has a new album out and a concert special to go with it! His Alpocalypse tour special is a fun journey through some of Al's hits as well as new material. The show opens with one of his trademark Polka medleys featuring some really fun choices. Poker Face (Lady Gaga), So What (Pink) and Need You Now (Lady Antebellum) were among the songs that got the Polka treatment. As amusing as Al's polka medleys are, he really shines when he's doing spoofs.

Del McCoury "Old Memories" Through the Grapevine

Got this info and wanted to share it with everyone.....

THE DEL McCOURY BAND RELEASES OLD MEMORIES Legendary band records 16 tracks in tribute to Bill Monroe, "The Father of Bluegrass Music" Vinyl + Digital Download also available.

LeAnn Rimes and Jason Sturgeon Through the Grapevine

Looking for some new music to listen to? I got this in my inbox and thought you'd be interested to check it out.... Speaking of new music, be sure to check LeAnn Rimes' official website. She's going to be having a 48-hour listening party for Lady and Gentlemen up in a couple of days you can sign up for via e-mail. She's also hosting some cool contests as well.

Kelly Clarkson behind the scenes....

Kelly Clarkson, as you might know, has a new single called "Mr. Know It All". After it's release, she started sharing a few pictures from the video shoot on her twitter account and talking about what a great experience it was. Now, she's done even better: a video documenting the shoot...

Pistol Annies: Hell On Heels, but Easy on the Ears

Been promising a review of The Pistol Annies Hell on Heels for a bit now, so here ya go... When I first heard about this project, I was really excited. Miranda is one of my favorites in Country right now and I was always disappointed that Ashley Monroe didn't get more success with her single "I Don't Want To".  After listening to the whole thing, I am glad to say that they did a great job. Their vocals fit well together and their writing and sound is an homage to old country and all the things that makes the genre great. Below is a rundown of my favorite tracks from the album.

Lyrical Thought of the Day... and some Lady Antebellum Favorites

Since their new CD, Own the Night, came out today, I figured it was only fitting to use Lady Antebellum for my Lyrical Though of the Day. It comes from a song called "I Was Here":

I wanna do something that matters, say something different
Something that sets the whole world on its ear
I wanna do something better with the time I've been given
I wanna try to touch a few hearts in this life
And leave nothing less than something that says "I was here"

Funeral Club's "In the Fire"

I was recently given the opportunity to hear music from someone I had never heard of before- Funeral Club. The Andreotti's formed Funeral Club in LA in 2006 and already have a few albums to their credit. Their latest is called In the Fire and it's got a very interesting sound.

Lessons Learned: Carrie Underwood Vs. Kristin Chenoweth

Hi, everyone! You might remember Carrie Underwood did a TV special a little bit back that featured her performing alongside Kristin Cheonweth and Christina Applegate. They did an incredible medley of songs by the girls groups of the 50s/60s. It's not very surprising, then, that Kristin has covered a Carrie song on her CD, Some Lessons Learned.



What do you all think? Did Kristin or Carrie sing it better? Comment back and let me know. Speaking of Carrie... I found something cool I wanted to share with you. Someone uploaded a video of Carrie singing in church at 9 years old. Check it out :) Thanks for sharing, CarrieNews!

LeAnn Rimes "Give"

So, LeAnn has debuted her new video for her single "Give". The song is off her album Lady and Gentlemen, which will be coming out this month on the 27th. It's going to be the second alum she's release of cover songs. Her first, LeAnn Rimes, was released back in the late 90s and was great so I'm looking forward to this new one. The difference with this disc is all the songs were originally done by men except for "Give", "Crazy Women" and the remake of "Blue".

Tags: Give, LeAnn Rimes, LeAnn Rimes Videos

Anyway... back to the single. The song is the type of song I could see Martina McBride doing no problem. It's a slow, inspirational type song that talks about needing to give kindness and forgiveness before you can get it yourself. I do like the music and melody of the song, even if some of the lyrics are a bit cliche. I also enjoyed how LeAnn's vocals were very simple and restrained in this song. Even in the parts you'd expect the huge glory note to come out, she holds back and I think it adds something to the song.

While the video isn't the most creative, it does work with the song and I thought the bit at the end with LeAnn and the others singing live was cute. It also shows why I am still a fan after over a decade and all the tabloid drama... the girl can sing! She sounds just as good in that live acapella clip as she did in the rest of the song. So what do y'all think? Do you like it? Hate it? Don't care? Comment back and let me know!

Book Review: Christopher Pike's "Thirst"

The Shadow of Death by Christopher Pike
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The originial Last Vampire series was one of my favorites from Pike. I loved Sita's attitude and how she was not pure good or pure evil. She had that grey area that, to me, makes a character interesting. When I saw that the series had been re-released and was going to be continued I was unsure of how it would turn out. Was it going to be just as entertaining or would it ruin the original?

Music Review: The Basement Recordings by Alexz Johnson

 Now available on both Amazon MP3 and Itunes.

Hey, everyone! As promised, here are some of my thoughts on The Basement Recordings by Alexz Johnson. She made the record with her brother, Brendan. Before I get to my thoughts on the songs, I thought I'd give a little background for those who haven't heard of Alexz or this record yet.

My Country: Smash Hits 2

Hey guys! I am a big supporter of the troops, so when this release came my way I had to pass it along! The Album is for a good cause and there is also a contest going on for anyone who has family in the military....

Lady Antebellum Owns the Night....

As y'all may remember I mentioned that Lady A was getting ready to release their new album Own the Night. The release is scheduled for September 13th and I can't wait! In anticipation of this album, I want to share a release I got with you as well as a cool video. First, the video.... it mixes footage of the band discussing the new record with little snippets of some of their new songs. You see the band onstage and in the studio...



And here's some info about their new tour....

GRAMMY WINNING TRIO LADY ANTEBELLUM ANNOUNCES FIRST LEG
OF THE OWN THE NIGHT 2011 TOUR KICKING OFF NOV. 11

"We Owned the Night" Just Released As Second Single From The Trio's 3rd Disc OWN THE NIGHT

Nashville, Tenn. – Aug. 18, 2011 – After selling out every city on the group's first-ever headlining tour, multi-platinum group Lady Antebellum will launch the first leg of their OWN THE NIGHT 2011 TOUR on Nov. 11 in Knoxville, Tenn. Both the tour name and trio's upcoming album OWN THE NIGHT were inspired by the album's second single, the anthemic “We Owned The Night.” The track is now available for airplay at country radio stations and will be available tonight at 11:00P CT on iTunes. The album will be in stores on Sept. 13.
"We named our new album 'Own The Night' after one of our favorite songs ‘We Owned The Night' off the new album, and felt it was a great description of how we wanted our fans to spend each night of tour with us," explains Lady A's Dave Haywood. "When people come out to our live show or hear the song on the radio it's a call to action. Be confident, live in the moment and enjoy the experiences you're going through—own them."

OWN THE NIGHT 2011 TOUR

11/11 - Knoxville, Tenn. - Knoxville Coliseum*
11//12 - Macon, Ga. - Macon Centreplex*
11/13 - Pikeville, Ky. - East Kentucky Expo Center*
11/16 - El Paso, Texas - El Paso County Coliseum*
11/17 - Phoenix, Ariz. - Grand Canyon University*
11/18 - Las Vegas, Nev. - The Joint @ The Hard Rock*
11/25 - Huntsville, Ala. - Von Braun Civic Center**
11/26 - Florence, S.C. - Florence Civic Center**
11/27 - Savannah, Ga. - Savannah Civic Center**
12/1 - Colorado Springs, Colo. - Colorado Springs World Arena**
12/2 - Lubbock, Texas - City Bank Coliseum**
12/3 - Wichita Falls, Texas - Kay Yeager Coliseum**
12/4 - Belton, Texas - Bell County Expo Center**
12/8 - La Crosse, Wis. - La Crosse Center Arena**
12/9 - Sioux City, Iowa - Tyson Center**
12/10 - Springfield, Mo. - JQH Arena**
12/11 - Murray, Ky. - CFSB Center**
12/15 - Amherst, Mass. - The Mullins Center**
12/16 - Wilkes-Barre, Pa. - Mohegan Sun Arena**
12/17 - Roanoke, Va. - Roanoke Civic Center**
12/18 - Morgantown, W.Va. - WVU Coliseum**

*Tour Dates with Randy Montana
**Tour Dates with Eden's Edge
Lady Antebellum will release their third Capitol Nashville studio album OWN THE NIGHT on Sept. 13, 2011. The album's record breaking lead single "Just A Kiss" recently spent multiple weeks at the top of radio charts in the U.S. and Canada and has sold over 1.1 million downloads. OWN THE NIGHT is the follow-up to the band's GRAMMY winning second disc NEED YOU NOW. Since its release in Jan. 2010, the album has sold over five million copies across the globe, spawned three multi-week No. one hits ("Need You Now," "American Honey," "Our Kind of Love"), and scored five GRAMMY Awards (for a career total of six), as well as over a dozen other award show trophies.
For a full list of tour dates and ticket info, visit www.ladyantebellum.com.
For a preview of "We Owned The Night," Click Here: http://www.thegreenroompr.com/ladyantebellum.html
The first leg of the 21-city arena tour will feature special guest Josh Kelley and a combination Eden's Edge and Randy Montana in the opening slot. Tickets for the opening night in Knoxville, Tenn. will be available on Aug. 26 to the public.

So who else is looking forward to this release? Do you have a favorite Lady A song? If so, share it here in the comments... tile later!

Still Hearing it Through the Grapevine.... (Amy Lavere)

I saw this release in my e-mail and wanted to pass it along to y'all. It's about Amy Lavere's new release, Stranger Me and her tour:

Amy LaVere has confirmed a run of West Coast tour dates in support of her latest album, Stranger Me. Currently on a tour with stops along the East Coast and the Midwest, her second leg of tour dates will hit major cities along the West Coast, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Portland. In their eight (out of ten) star review, SPIN declared, "Part winsome alt-country gal and part avenging angel, Amy LaVere has made the breakup album of the year." The full list of tour dates is below or you can visit AmyLaVere.com/shows.



Produced by Craig Silvey (Arcade Fire), Stranger Me is LaVere's third record and is the follow up to the Jim Dickinson-produced Anchors & Anvils. Always texturally rich and often employing dissonance and off-kilter instrumentation, Stranger Me is her most exploratory work to date. Alternately haunting and exuberantly defiant, it is a perfect backdrop for this collection of songs about frustration and feeling emotionally disconnected.



Craig Silvey discusses recording Stranger Me | Episodes 1-4



Stranger Me has already received glowing praise. NPR gave the album the First Listen treatment, calling the songs "textured, ethereal, and even haunting at times." The track "You Can't Keep Me" was chosen as a "perfectly crafted tune from the talented LaVere" for USA Today's weekly podcast. Mojo gives Stranger Me 4 stars remarking it is "accurately titled" and "both intriguing and entertaining throughout." Paste Magazine, impressed by LaVere's witty lyrics and eccentricity, asserted "she has crafted a well-rounded album that is already among the year's best." While the Associated Press commended her "weird, wonderful...fabulous anti-love songs," and The New York Times reveres "Spookiness suits her."




Amy LaVere Tour Dates

Tuesday, September 6 | Flagstaff, AZ @The Green Room

Thursday, September 8 | Tucson, AZ @ Plush

Friday, September 9 | San Diego, CA @ Bar Pink

Saturday, September 10 | Los Angeles, CA @ Hotel Cafe

Sunday, September 11 | Felton, CA @ Don Quixote's International Music

Monday, September 12 | San Francisco, CA @ Cafe du Nord

Wednesday, September 14 | Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern

Thursday, September 15 | Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios

Friday, September 16 | Bainbridge Island, WA @ Treehouse Cafe

Saturday, September 17 | Troutdale, OR @ Red Shed at Edgefield

Wednesday, September 21 | Salt Lake City, UT @The State Room

Saturday, September 24 | Kansas City, MO @ Retro Lounge at Knuckleheads

Levi Lowrey, I Confess I was a Fool or Best. Album. Cover. Ever.

So I recently got to hear Levi Lowrey's I Confess I Was a Fool and I loved it. First off? The album art is really good and looks like thought and creativity was put into it (unlike some others).

Randomness Ensues: 30 Day Song Challenge, Trace Adkins and Boyz2Men

Another day, another entry in the 30 Day Song Challenge! This time, the topic is "A Song You Associate with High School". I have also added my answer to my 30 Day Challenge YouTube playlist. Enjoy and comment back with your own answers...

I also have a couple of links for you. The first one is a little blast from the past. Shawn Stockman discussed a little bit of the band's early days in a yahoonews article. The group was the soundtrack of my teenage years. Loved the vocals, the music, everything. Glad to know they've stayed active over the years.

The second (and last one) is about Trace Adkins and his new release, Proud to Be Here. He's not only a great artist, but also seems like a guy with his priorities straight. I can't help but be a fan and am looking forward to hearing that duet with Shelton. Here is one of my favorites of his: