BILL BLOG
Monday March 27, 2023
Monday morning…last week of March has rolled around believe it or not. Nothing but sunshine ad a high of 70 in Music City today.
THE WEEKEND
Mine started Friday morning with a co-write with Thomm Jutz at his house where he built a recording studio onto the house he bought several years ago. And like me, Thomm tends to be a pretty fast writer as he can spit out amazing lyrics SO quickly. So Friday morning I showed up at his house at 10 and played him the first verse of an idea to see if he liked it. He did, and by 11:15 or so we had this wonderful new song with a great message about being grateful for the blessings in one’s life.
Besides teaching songwriter classes at Belmont University here in Nashville Thomm is a gifted guitar player and producer. So the minute we finished writing this song, he spun his chair around in his studio and had me to into the vocal booth and we recorded the song in “demo” form so we could pitch the song. He turned it into his publisher who sent a note right back telling Thomm that he was going to pitch it to one of country’s greatest acts this week. That artist is looking for songs right now, so maybe we’ll get REALLY lucky. We’ll see. Either way I know we’ve got something special in this song.
DIRT ROAD
I was scrolling through Facebook on my couch Saturday evening watching March Madness going down when I saw that my Aussie bluegrass friend Kristy Cox was doing an online concert with a full band. I clicked on just in time to hear her sing a song I wrote with her and Jerry Salley titled “Dirt Road” that’s on her current album. What a nice surprise. The song talks about unplugging and building a house down a dirt road away from the noise and trying to live a simpler life. And if you’ve not heard it just click HERE to listen.
ALL ABOUT Z MUSIC
After a 3-year hiatus one of the great house concerts is about to start up again in Franklin, Tennessee hosted by Terry and Wanda Seay who truly love songwriters. Once a month they host noted songwriters into their house to perform. Folks bring potluck stuff and gather in a room they built onto their house specifically for these kinds of shows.
I’m excited to have a date for this series with my “Hits & Grins” friends Steve Dean and Victoria Venier on August 26. Always fun. Make plans to join us if you can.
GULF SHORES
I also got word that Trop Rock singer-songwriter Kelly McGuire who’s a friend is already working on putting together his guests for his multi-day songwriter rounds for MOTM…”Meeting of the Minds” which is the big Parrot Head gathering.
For years it’s been held in Key West, I emceed the event there last year. But for the first time the huge event full of Parrot Heads, floral shirts, and flip fops will be held in Gulf Shores, Alabama. And I’ll be one of Kelly’s guest again this year…so thank you Kelly for having me again.
The event will be held October 25-29 this year and I do not mind that the drive time is a lot shorter for me this year as opposed to Key West. Looking forward to it.
HEALTH NOTES
Doctors say if you’re over 50 you need these 5 supplements the most. B12, Calcium, Fiber, Melatonin and Glucosamine. (I had to look that last one up too)
That huge wad of seaweed is coming ashore in the Ft. Lauderdale area and it’s going to grow and grow according to folks who know seaweed. It stinks like rotten eggs and can cause rashes and blisters.
A new report says that Millennials are racking up more chronic health conditions than other generations.
EUROPA
My daughter Heather and her husband Casey Face Time me and my wife a lot these days as they are now over in Germany with the Army. The two of them are recording videos they post online that are fun and well done, even if it is her Dad saying this. Saturday they drove to the Europa Theme Park that was built by a guy who loved Disney World. And you can see that on this VIDEO TOUR. Animatronics, Haunted House, and Pirates of the Caribbean rides exist there too. Who knew? Even and EPCOT ball. So when we get over there to see them this place is going to be on our list of things we want to see as well.
FUNNY AND TRUE TWEET
This came from a list of tweets I saw from folks who obviously need to quit their jobs. This guy tweeted, “Tattoos should actually make you more employable because it shows you can sit in place for hours while tiny needles are jammed into your skin. That’s what every corporate meeting I’ve been in has felt like”.
Been there. Felt that. How about you. What’s the old saying? “The longer the meeting the less I accomplish”.
And you know you’re in trouble if you’re called into a meeting to talk about having other meetings.
GOOD MOVIE
My wife and I saw the movie “Champions” that star Woody Harrelson who has to serve a community sentence by coaching some special needs kids. The trailer looked good enough to go see it in a movie theater, something we’ve not done in a while. We had the theater completely to ourselves at the 1 pm showing and the movie did not disappoint. Two thumbs up from me for sure. It was funny and heartwarming all at the same time. Really enjoyed it.
TAYLOR SWIFT
How big is her current tour? BIG. It takes 90 trucks and 3 weeks to set up her stage and all the bells and whistles that go with it. And it’s costing her 100 million dollars or more. Folks who have seen it say it’s like watching a different Broadway show for every single song she sings. And yes, there are more costume changes apparently than 100 Reba shows. I have GOT to find me a second costume. Maybe I’ll start changing ballcaps after every song.
WEIRD CUSTOM
Did you know that in Denmark, a country that’s routinely named as one of the “friendliest” places to live has an odd custom? If you reach the ripe old age of 25 in Denmark you get tied to a chair and then get pelted with cinnamon. True. Crazy, but…that’s not the most awful thing to be pelted with.
I have a cup of coffee and wouldn’t mind a little cinnamon-pelting to go with it right now. Pelt away.
AI
What can Artificial Intelligence AI do? Well, it looks like it can put people out of work. Like models. The Levi company has announced they are going to use AI generated models for their clothes…at least for some of them. That means they don’t have to pay for expensive “live” models that need lots of makeup and lighting. So in the future when you someone in an ad wearing Levi Jeans? That may not be a girl you’re looking at…or a guy.
SPEAKING OF AI
Check out this incredible Disney robot named Hopps. Wow. I mean wow. Pretty soon I’m going to be able to own a robot to mow the lawn for me.
HEADLINE OF THE DAY
“I Got Plastic Surgery So My Kids Could Inherit My Nose”. Uh huh. I didn’t laugh at that until I realized that’s nothing to sneeze about…and then I laughed.
TODAY
I’m paired up with two wonderful songwriters Andrea Pearson and Josh Shilling at my publishing company this morning. Josh is working on a new album for his amazing progressive bluegrass group “Mountain Heart” and Andrea is singing background vocals for a ton of artists in the recording studio these days. Always a pleasure to hang with these two creative souls for sure.
Have a great Monday!
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