"Back Home"...Road Trips...Crocs

BILL BLOG

Monday April 10, 2023

 

Monday morning. Hoping you found all your eggs this past weekend. Sunny and 71 today in Nashville.

 

THE WEEKEND

Mine started with a busy Friday morning that included an online writing appointment with my Pennsylvania bluegrass bib overall wearing buddy Troy Engle. Troy is just so talented, great writer, singer and he plays EVERY instrument seemingly. Here’s proof of that in this video.

 

His current single we wrote together “Back Home”? That’s him playing every instrument and singing all the vocal parts. Never ceases to amaze me. And we got a very fun song written Friday morning to stack on top of our growing song catalog.

 

 

NEW JERSEY

Then early Friday afternoon I was right back online writing with Jennifer Rose who’s from New Jersey who signed up to write with me through Songwriter Pro where novice songwriters, or folks who want to learn more about the craft can book a session with a writer in Nashville. She had a song she wanted me to try and make better…hopefully we did just that. Jennifer runs a motel on the coast of New Jersey the Cape May the Perwiwnkle Inn.  I’ve never been to New Jersey for whatever reason…so now after seeing Cape May and her hotel I hope to go for a visit sometime.

 

 

It’s always fun getting to know new folks who are curious and passionate about writing songs.

 

BUSY COUPLE OF WEEKS

Tomorrow morning I’ll be in studio recording a song that I wrote about a veteran who’s now a nurse in Clarksville at the VA hospital Christine Brooks. She was a munitions specialist in the Gulf War serving in Saudi Arabia. So I’ll be recording her song “Welcome Home” which will be put on an album that includes several other veterans songs that will be made available for purchase at all our events as well as online at the Freedom Sings USAwebsite that goes towards raising money to fund the organization. I’ll let you know when it’s available for purchase.

 

 

And then this  weekend I’ll be at a  retreat in Shiloh, Illinois this weekend for Freedom Sings USA with songwriters Steve Dean, Don Goodman, and Wil Nance. We’ll sit down with a veteran Saturday morning and write their story into a song and then we’ll perform those in a free concert Saturday night.

 

 

Then Thursday night April 20 I’m in Morgan City, Louisiana with “Hits & Grins” for a show with Steve Dean & Victoria Venier.

 

And then Saturday night April 22 it’s Pampa, Texas with “Hits & Grins”. 

 

 

HEALTH NOTES

The Journal of the American Medical Association found that Paxlovid treatment reduces the risk of developing long term COVID symptoms by 26 percent.

 The WHO says the new Omicron spinoff XBB.116 is "one to watch" but is no more severe than the others that have gone before it. (Hard to keep up with them all ain't it?)

Meanwhile they say that the new COVID strain “Arcturus” is spreading quickly. 20 states now have cases.

 

THERE’S A MUSEUM FOR EVERYTHING

Yep…including one for Cannabis. The House of Cannabis is set to open in NYC. Appropriately enough they have a “Disorientation Room” one can visit. All things Weed in one building. Why there is no Cheech and Chong statue is beyond me…dude.

 

 

CRUEL

A wife tweeted this. “When I’m mad at my husband, I go to Target and spend money. When I’m really mad at my husband I still go to Target and spend money but I take the remote with me.”

 

PLUG IN AT WAMART

Pretty sure the electric vehicle thing is here to stay. Walmart just announced they will build a nationwide EV charging network. I think the Walmart execs have figured out that if you have time to kill waiting for your EV to recharge that you might just wander into the store and buy something. Ya want paper or plastic?

 

CROCS

A man in Connecticut owns 2,131 pair of those rubber Crocs. Yes, it’s a Guinness record of some kind. That has GOT to be one ugly shoe closet. And it’s proof that addiction is a very serious thing that’s hard to cure. 

 

 

MAY THE FORCE

No end in sight to Star Wars movies and TV series. Got to admit…I’m a fan. I don’t go out on Halloween dressed as Darth Vader, but I do love Star Wars. THREE new feature movies have been announced and are in production along with several new TV series. A final season is coming up for the Andor series which I’ve enjoyed. And right now I’m caught up in the Mandalorian on Disney+. I see a bunch of Baby Yoda’s under Christmas trees this year.

 

BASEBALL

The “pitch” clock in Major League baseball is working and it’s shortening games up considerably. Some games now are over in a little more than two hours That’s forced baseball stadiums to make a beer sales change. Normally the last beer they sell in a baseball park comes at the end of the 7^th inning. Because the games are shorter now at least some stadiums will now sell you a cold beer until the end of the 8^th inning. I’m going to my first Nashville Sounds game this Wednesday evening. It will be interesting to see how short the game is, and if someone is yelling “cold beer here” in the 8^th inning.

 

SPEAKING OF ALCHOL

The list for the states that drink the most per capita, and least per capita came out.

 

Top 5 drinking states starting with number 5 North Dakota followed by Montana, Nevada, Delaware and the #1 drinking state according the poll?  New Hampshire at 4.83 gallons of beer per capita per year.

 

The LEAST drinking states in reverse order are Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Oklahoma, and the least drinking state at #1 would be Utah. Just 1.36 gallons per capita in the Mormon state.

 

OLD FACE
Madonna now says she wants her old face back again in time for her upcoming tour. Now, Dolly is famous for changing her wigs all the time, but Madonna may be the first to be changing her face all the time. I didn’t even know you could change faces. Now I’m going to be looking for my 28-year-old face. If you’ve seen it, please send it to me…I’ll pay the postage. 

 

 

HEADLINE OF THE DAY

“Man Jailed For Scaring Neighbors Chickens To Death.” I figured it HAD to be Madonna’s new face but the headline says it’s a guy who did it. But now that I really think it, I don’t think there are any “live” chickens in Madonna’s neighborhood.

 

TODAY

I’m going to the old RCA building today on Music Row to write with Wood Newton who wrote “Riding With Private Malone” and my friend Mark House who not only is a great writer, but he also runs this great venue Americanaville that I’ve had the pleasure of playing a couple of times in Livingston, TN. Should be a fun co-write today.

 

Have a great Monday!