BILL BLOG
Wednesday March 15, 2023
Another Hump Day has rolled around. Wednesday all day. It’s only 27 degrees as I start the blog this morning…with a 55-degree high on tap.
YESTERDAY
I got to spend time writing with my talented bluegrass
friend Tim Stafford over in Knoxville and that’s always a fun hang. We got a
new mournful bluegrass song written, and if you don’t know,
“mournful” and “bluegrass” go together like peanut butter on a banana.
Tim’s busy as always. He and his award-winning bluegrass band “Blue Highway” are getting ready for a lot of festival dates and shows starting in May and he’s also been out promoting a new album he recorded withanother talented friend Thom Jutzz that’s out everywhere right now.
We had fun talking about New York experiences. He and his band played Rockefeller Center once and DROVE with a trailer full of equipment behind them. Imagine trying to find a parking place in the Big Apple with that rig! And they couldn’t. So as they’re sitting at a standstill Al Roker the weather dude walks in front of them and they roll down the windows to get help from Al. Only in NYC folks.
I shared with Tim that I’d been to New York three different times and how it’s ALWAYS an experience. I covered a Country Music Association Awards Show there once from Radio City Music Hall. Covered Garth Brooks “Live” from Central Park. And went once by myself to see Yankee Stadium. Both of us agree that New York is acquired taste for sure. And that for us it’s a lot like Vegas. Three days in either town in plenty. Fun creative day with Tim.
UP NEXT ON THE SHOW SCHEDULE
March 18 at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Noon show in the Ford Theater with Steve Dean. Admission is free with museum admission.
March 20 & 21 Murfreesboro, Tennessee writing songs with veterans along with several other Nashville songwriters for Freedom Sings USA. Free concert the evening of March 21 with all the songwriters and the veterans whose stories were written into song.
April Fool’s Day in Stephens City, Virginia with Linda Davis, and Lang Scott for the “Faith, Love and Laughter” concert at the Bible Valley Church.
LAST NIGHT
I watched the movie Terminal starring Tom Hanks that Steven Spielberg produce. I had seen it when it was released to movie theaters years ago and had forgotten how good some of it was. The movie is about a foreign visitor who gets stuck and lives in a New York terminal because his country is at war and he’s not a citizen of any country as that war broke out.
What stuck with me was the scene where the war ended in his home country and how loudly he and his friends he’d made in the terminal cheered when they announced on TV that the war was over. It occurred to me that no-one ever celebrates the START of a war. We celebrate the END of any war.
HEALTH NOTES
A church in Connecticut is filing suit against the state claiming their first amendment rights were violated with a vaccine mandate.
Some early studies show that a breakthrough bone cancer drug is slowing tumor growth and extending survival.
In California a care home was charged in connection with 14 COVID deaths allegedly caused by carelessness.
THE VOICE
My wife and I are fans of the “Voice”. We sat on the couch last night pondering who in the world is going to be able to fill Blake Shelton’s cowboy boots as this is his last season in the chair. Self-effacing, fun and he wins a lot. Hard to imagine the show without him. Who could take his place?
One name being mentioned is Brad Paisley. I could see that. I could even better see Garth filling that role if Garth would do it. NBC’s choice is going to be interesting.
SPEAKING OF TV
The OSCARS had a nice bump in the ratings. They’ve been declining for years. I’ve always thought it’s partly because the award show has gotten so political over the past I don’t know how many years. But this year the ratings went up 12%. That’s the biggest increase in over three years. Maybe it was because folks wanted to hear what jokes Jimmy Kimmel would make about the Will Smith-Chris Rock slapping incident that happened at last year’s Oscars. Not sure.
SAD…REALLY SAD
The Country Music online publication “Taste of Country” just named the Top 50 SADDEST country songs of all time. And boy does country have a lot of those or what?
Here’s there Top 5 saddest.
5 John Prine, “Summer’sEnd”. (Although not many would classify Prine as country)
4 George Jones, “The Grand Tour” (step right up)
3 Hank Williams, “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry”
2 Willie Nelson, “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain”
And their selection for SADDEST country song of all time?
Vince Gill, “Go Rest High On That Mountain”
HOLD YOUR BREATH
David Vinci a Czech just broke the world’s free dive record by diving down to 170 feet in a frozen lake in Switzerland. He wore no wet suit and came up after a minute and 54 seconds spitting out blood, but otherwise fine. I’ve never been able to figure out what makes a person wake up one morning and say, “You know what I’m a gonna do today”?
Heck I feel good when I can hold my breath 20 seconds or more after I’ve run over a skunk.
DOG-GONE COOL
How about this new use for drones. There’s a company in England that helps find lost dogs by using drones with camera. They’ve already found 1,400 lost dogs for their owners. I can see this catching on in lots of places as folks are crushed when they lose their pet and don’t have a lot of great options at their disposal for finding them Cool idea.
YOU TUBE
Oh, I think I like this. You Tube is launching early access to a multi-stream feature that will allow us stream four TV channels at the same time. And big sports fan will see the value in this. And with March Madness on this week…can I get that right now?!
MARRIAGE TWEET
From a husband. “I can be in the living room and I’ll still be in my wife’s way in the kitchen”.
TODAY
I’m writing with young talented Larry Frick in North Carolina who will be looking at me on his computer on his farm today. Really good traditional country singer and player. Someone who was managing his career a few years ago struck up a conversation with me backstage at the Grand Ole Opry and told me about Larry and asked if I’d write with him. Glad I said yes. He’s got an idea for a new song that he wants my help on for some reason, so I’m going to try and do that today.
Have a great Wednesday!
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