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Writing With Neighbors...Blast On The Bay Schedule...New Video

BILL BLOG

Thursday September 28, 2023

 

Thursday morning arises in Nashville with a little noise outside my window. Some loud thunder and heavy rain going on in the wee hour of the morning that will give away later to a nice day with a high of

 

YESTERDAY

I wrote with a couple of songwriters who are neighbors to each other out in the country. Wil Nance and Brian White both have beautiful properties that butt up against each other. So yesterday Wil walked across his yard into Brian’s and we wrote a fun song in Brian’s writing room that he built on his property that has a bunch of his music plaque’s and number one records hanging on the wall including “Watching You” for Rodney Atkins.

 

Wil too built a writing cabin on his lot that has his number one plaques on the wall including “She’s Everything” for Brad Paisley. I have GOT to get me a cabin like that!


 

 

All three of us will be in Port St. Joe, Florida in a couple of weeks for the songwriters festival there. Speaking of which…

 

BLAST ON THE BAY

The schedule rolled out for the Blast On The Bay Songwriters Festival coming up in just a few weeks now in Port St. Joe, Florida. I always look forward to this great event that features so many great songwriters. I’ll be there once again with my “Hits & Grins” trio that includes Steve Dean & Victoria Venier. We play three shows together, and I have a 4th show on closing day with some other writers. Here’s the schedule.


 

 

Friday October 20 at Scallops Republic. 5:30 pm “Hits & Grins” show.


 

 

 

Saturday October 21 I’ll  have two shows.

 

2 pm at the Lookout Lounge. 


 

 

Then another at 6 pm at The View At Windmark both with “Hits & Grins”.


 

 

Sunday October 22…closing day I’ll be in a songwriter round at the Indian Raw Pass Bar along with Jerry Salley, Dana Black, Aaron Barker, Donny Lowery, and Matt Warren.


 

 

It’s not too late to think about packing your flip flops and joining us for the fun in beautiful Port St. Joe.


 

 

 

JESSIE RITTER

My friend in Pensacola just put out this new video where she talks about one of the songs on her new album that’s out now. This one is titled “Gone To See America” that the two of us wrote with Steve Dean. Click on the link and here the great back story about how this song was written and how true it is to Jessie and her husband’s lifestyle (and now their two kids) on the road. AND…you’ll get to hear an acoustic version of the new song as well. Pretty cool.


 

 

BLUEGRASS CONVENTION

That’s going on now in Raleigh, North Carolina. Anyone who’s in bluegrass is pretty much there at the IBMA this week. Yesterday my publisher sent me a text with a video of my friends Darin & Brooke Aldridge singing this song “Grand Ole Circle” that we wrote together to a packed and appreciative crowd. The kind of stuff that gives songwriters goosebumps. I’ve been blessed to have had a lot of bluegrass songs of mine recorded over the past year so I know several of them will be sung in Raleigh this week…and that makes me feel pretty danged good. Wish I was there to hear them!

And check out this video of my friends talking to Mike Huckabee about our little song. 

 

OSCAR MAYER
They’ve come back to a wiener of a name. For a few months the company changed the name of the iconic Wienermobile to the Frankmobile. That did not get a great reaction so the company has changed it’s mind. And “frankly”….Wiener Whistles sound better than “Frank Whistles.”.

 

When I was on air at WMIL in Milwaukee several years ago, we actually sent our producer out in the Wienermobile to pick up some kids that won a contest on air with us and were taken to school that morning IN the Wienermobile. We had the reaction and the play by play of the drive with the kids on air. They were like rock stars when they pulled up to school that morning.


 

 

Leave well enough alone boys. May the Wienermobile “relish” in the good news of getting its name back.

 

HEALTH NOTES

A new study is suggesting that Ginger may help those with autoimmune disease because they think it does help control inflammation.

 

The CDC says those of us over 50 years of age need to get 5 vaccinations this Fall. Flu shot, Shingles vaccine, Tdap or Td vaccine, Pneumococcal vaccines, RSV vaccine. My arm hurts.

 

A poll published yesterday says that less than half of us will get the COVID booster shot. 23% say they definitely will. 23% say they probably will. While 19% say they probably won’t and 33% who say they definitely won’t.

 

DEER

Is it just me or are there more deer out and about than ever before?  We have a herd hanging out at our place all of the time. Eyes up when driving. Although the guy driving his Jeep in New Jersey could not have seen a deer who decided to leap off an overpass that landed him in the windshield of the Jeep. Killed the deer. The driver was lucky and had minor injuries. Flying squirrels are cool…flying deer though?  That’s another thing.

 

MORE WEIRD ANIMAL STUFF

In Philadelphia a guy tried to get into the Phillies baseball park with an alligator. He told the folks punching tickets that it was an “emotional support” alligator. Uh huh. To their credit, they turned him and his emotional support reptile away. I’m no expert but I suspect if you’re walking around with a gator on a leash you need more than just emotional help. 


 

 

ONE MORE ANIMAL ENCOUNTER

A self-proclaimed pastor jumped into a cage with a lion to show he was a man of God and had divine protection. Pretty much sums up how “religion” gets such a bad rap sometimes. And you wonder where I get inspiration for some of my funny tunes?


 

 

I wrote a song called “Religion Scares The Hell Out Of Me” that went on my “Off The Wall” comedy-song CD. One of the verses is:

 

Now there are churches here in the south that take up the serpent

Check your hat at the door and bring your python to worship

But if there’s a rattle in the pew you’d better think twice

Before you take your seat

Sometimes religion scares the hell out of me

 

Nuff said.

 

THE DICTIONARY

Merriam-Webster just added 700 new words to its dictionary. Sports terms like bracketology, beast mode, and goated all were put in the book. I know all those word but did not know the word “rizz”. Apparently it’s slang for romantic appeal or charm. Rizz. So I guess Romeo was “Rizz” way before his time.

 

CALM DOWN

According to neuroscientists the song “Weightless” by Marconi Union is the most calming song on the planet. I have zero idea for how they determined this but I’m sure Marconi Union is grateful for all the downloads they are surely getting because of this. I was going to listen but I didn’t want to fall asleep while putting together the blog this morning.

 

RELATIONSHIP JOKE

“I love you,” she said. “Is that you talking”  I asked, “Or the wine”?

“It’s me talking to the wine,” she said.

 

TODAY

I’m off to write with Andrea Pearson who’s spent some time back home in Vancouver with her parents and her little girl who is truly Andrea’s little shadow. Andrea does a ton of vocals in studios and is truly one of my favorite singers in town. It’s always a joy to catch up with her and write something together.


 

 

And then I’ll stop and contribute to the Powerball again as there was no winning ticket last night. It’s now worth 925 million bucks. That would buy a lifetime supply of Mac N Cheese now.

 

Have a great Thursday!



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