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Helene...Frank Brown Songwriters...Flying Carpet

BILL BLOG

Tuesday September 24, 2024

 

Tuesday morning has done rolled in. And we finally got a little rain, with more on the way the next couple. 81 for the high.

 

All eyes though are on the Gulf Coast again with a possible hurricane named “Helene” coming ashore in a few days. The Governor of Florida has already declared a state of emergency for several counties in the sunshine state. Some predictions are suggesting it could be a major hurricane.



 

I’m scheduled to be in Gulf Shores-Orange Beach and Pensacola a week from this Thursday for several shows. At the moment…it looks like Helene will miss that area but things change with hurricanes. So I’m keeping an eye on it for sure.

 

OTHER WEATHER

Phoenix doesn’t have hurricanes…but man does it have HEAT. They just broke a record out there in the desert as they have now had 113 straight days of 100 degree or more heat out there. Wow. Try to avoid Phoenix in the summer boys and girls. Go in February or March when spring training baseball breaks out like I do. Perfect. Warm when it’s cold everywhere else.



 

YESTERDAY

It was a lazy Monday so I caught up on some of those things that needed caught up on. I did get official confirmation for the Frank Brown Songwriters Festival coming up in November.

 

This year I’ll be there from November 7 through November 12. Arrival into Gulf Shores will be on November 7 where myself and my “Hits & Grin” partners Steve Dean & Victoria Venier will check into our condo and get registered for the entire event.

 

Then Friday November 8 at 5 pm I’ll play my first songwriter show with long time buddy Brent Burns at the Woodside Restaurant that’s part of Gulf State Park. Outside show in a beautiful setting.


 



 As soon as that wraps up I’ll drive to Pensacola to play an 8:15 pm show with Wil Nance at a place called Warrior Beer Company. My first time playing there.


 

 

Saturday November 9 our “Hits & Grins” trio plays Perdido Beach Resort at 7 pm. Beautiful high-rise condo facility that sits right on the water.


 

 

Sunday night November 10 “Hits & Grins” plays the Flora-Bama Main Listening Room at 8 pm. 


 

 

And then Monday evening I’ll join our Freedom Sings USA group at the Coastal Arts Center where we will honor veterans on Veterans Day with some of the songs we’ve written with veteran’s through the years.  I play with hit writers Wil Nance and Bobby Tomberlin, Irene Kelley, Steve Dean and Mutt Cooper at 6 pm. Don’t miss this one if you’re coming to the festival!

 

SONG OF THE DAY

Today I’ve selected a polka song. With Oktoberfest’s already kicking off I thought this song “Celebrate” that I wrote with artist Lynn Marie and her husband Eddie Roddick would be appropriate.

 

Lynn has been a note polka artist (Grammy nominated multiple times) from Cleveland. Her husband Eddie plays multiple instruments including drums.

 

Lynn called me one day as asked me to write on an idea she had about “celebrations”. Like the way the way folks celebrate Oktoberfest…with beer!  And there’s lots to celebrate with a stein in one’s hand all year long. And so that’s how I wrote the song. I played it for them, the three of finished it and it went on her album. The song actually went #1 on a small polka chart (yes they have those) up in the Cleveland area. Truly a FUN song. Check it out…and “Celebrate” while you’re listening!


 

 

FYI
I’ve decided that if I do go to any Oktoberfest this year that I will do the “chicken dance”…because…who couldn’t use the eggs?”

 

HEALTH NOTES

The say Pickle Ade and brine juice help reduce muscle cramps.


Nope...can't do it. I get muscle cramps but I hate pickles way too much. I'd rather suffer than pickle.

 

Scientists are also saying that making arts and crafts improves your mental health as much as having a job. (All well and good…but I don’t see me taking up crocheting in the near future)

 

A new study says that black women are more likely than white women to die of all types of breast cancer.

 

HERE'S YOUR SIGN



 

Duly noted.

 

TOP 5 REGRETS

According to a leading internal doctor these are the top 5 regrets people have at the end of their lives.

 

I didn’t spend enough time with people I love.

 

I worked too much and missed out on life.

 

I let fear control my decisions and didn’t take risks.

 

I wish I’d been braver in the face of uncertainty or opportunity.

 

I focused too much on the future and lost touch with the present.

 

It’s those kinds of regrets my friend Brent Burns was thinking about when he called one day and suggested we write a song about how people put off things they really want to do…then wake up one day and find themselves on the back end of their lives. It led to this song “If Not Now, When”.

 

AI IS HERE

Already several restaurants are using AI technology to answer the phone. If you call to make a reservation for dinner you may be talking to AI…not a real person.

 

Heck, in 2016 they used AI to judge a beauty contest. Think about that.

 

I don’t think AI is going away anytime soon.

 

ALADDIN FLIES!

Did you see this daredevil jump off a mountain and go flying on his CARPET?! Holy Moly.



 

As cool as that looks, I don’t ever see me grabbing up the Persian off my floor and packing a parachute. Nope. BUT I did do THIS once which put my heart in my throat. And yes, I was younger then and my brain had not fully developed.



 

“I’LL BE THERE FOR YOU”

Got to admit. I was a big fan of the TV comedy series “Friends’. That couch they used to sit on in so many scenes in the coffee shop where they gathered just sold at auction. It fetched $29,250. Wonder if the buyer will put it in a real life coffee shop somewhere?

 

 YOU NEED THIS!



 

Yep…a guy here in Tennessee is selling his pool table truck. It can be yours for just $9,000. Rack em’!

 

TODAY

My writing appointment was cancelled today with Darin & Brooke Aldridge as we had all forgotten that we scheduled this write during the big bluegrass gathering going on right now in Raleigh, North Carolina called the IBMA (International Bluegrass Association). The two of them will be making a lot of music there this week along with a lot of my friends. So we’ll rhyme some other time.



 

Have a great Tuesday!

 


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