BILL BLOG
Monday August 28, 2023
Monday morning has rolled back around and look. It’s the last week of August already. Some rain has cooled us off here in Nashville with a high of just 82 today.
Meanwhile Florida has got its eyes open for Jim Cantore as tropical storm Idalia is on the way and could turn into a category 3 hurricane before it’s all over. And some of those weather folks are saying the Sunshine State could get as much as 18 inches of rain from this storm.
THE WEEKEND
Friday morning I met and wrote with Mike Richards for the first time. Mike’s from Nashville, a rarity. Most of the musicians, pickers, writers have moved here through the years from other states but he’s a native. Mike is a writer for Billy Blue Publishing as am I so he writes a lot of bluegrass songs, though he started in rock n roll when he was young. He founded the Chigger Hill Boys gospel-bluegrass band many years ago, and they’re still going strong.
But one of the coolest things I learned about Mike is that he’s been on the TV show for American Pickers several times as an appraiser. One of those guys Mike Wolfe, the host calls when he finds something and wonders about the authenticity. One such item was a baseball signed by Babe Ruth! And Mike Richards told him he thought it was legit. Turns out that was correct and the ball is worth a lot of money as it also has Lou Gehrig’s signature on it as well, which is common according to Mike Richards.
I had a chance to tell him about my baseball I have signed by the late Tug McGraw AND his son Tim McGraw and he lit up.
Turns out that little baseball is worth a little as well. Not in the league of Babe Ruth but still…pretty cool.
And oh yea. We wrote TWO bluegrass tunes Friday morning for our publishing company as Mike brought a verse and a chorus of an idea, as did I. Bluegrass songs often require just two verses and a chorus and then they let those phenomenal musicians take over. So it didn’t take us long to wrap up those two and send them in. So I got two songs Friday morning and a great Babe Ruth story to boot.
SATURDAY NIGHT
What a great house concert I was part of in Franklin, Tennessee with “Hits & Grins”. Terry Sea and his wife Wanda are truly great friends of the songwriting community here. They built a house with a dedicated room just to hold these house concerts and almost anyone who writes songs has been there.
My Aussie friend Katrina Burgoyne opened for our trio promptly at 7 pm and was just SO entertaining and she sang two or three songs we’ve written together…a couple that she’s recording right now including this one “Stones” that had the women cheering. Thank you Kat!
Then at 8 pm it was me, Victoria Venier and Steve Dean performing. What a wonderful receptive crowd. My talented friend Nana Mascitti was there and I got her up to sing a song we’ve written titled “Look Who’s Crying Now” and she just slayed the room as she always does. That video and performance is on my Facebook page if you'd like to see it.
Steve Dean performed the song “Just Doing My Job” and told the story behind the song as he wrote this with a war hero for Freedom Sings USA who will be awarded the Medal of Honor in a few days at the White House, and if things stay as they are Steve will be singing his song and honoring this Viet Nam helicopter pilot AT the White House. What a tremendous honor for my friend.
Our host Terry Seay also announced that they are making a T-shirt for their house concert series that will have “Hits & Grins” on the front. I have ALWAYS wanted to be on someone’s chest! Dream realized.
Thanks to all who came out, brought some potluck, donated at the door, and just made Saturday night so memorable.
NEXT SHOW?
That would be Saturday night September 9 in Waynesville, Ohio at the Keepin’ It Country Farm where I’ll be performing with Linda Davis and Lang Scott with our “Evening In The Round” show.
It’s our first time playing this venue which features a lot of traditional country acts, and we’re all looking forward to this show.
HEALTH NOTES
Some experts say that older adults should be sleeping in a temperature range between 68-77 degrees for better sleep. According to them, those that sleep in temperatures ranging from 77 to 87 suffer sleep deficiency.
Several schools and businesses have reinstated the old mask mandate…again.
President Biden is asking for more money from congress to develop yet another vaccine for COVID and the new strain or strains of COVID.
FUNNY PARENT TWEET
From a Mom: “I paid $75 to take the family to the Zoo so my toddler could ooh and aah over a caterpillar in the parking lot.” Sounds about right don’t it?
AUSTRIA
How about Austria’s climate minister (didn’t know they existed) endorsing a campaign to give people a year’s free public transport if they got the rail card logo tattooed on their body? My daughter and son in law were just in Austria. Should be a fun conversation the next time they call home.
REAL ESTATE
A group of real estate folks agree that there if you buy real estate in one of these five states it will make you rich in 5 years. Those states are Texas, North Carolina, Washington State, Colorado and right here in Tennessee. Folks are moving from other states to get there…and property prices are going up and up. We have certainly seen that here in the Volunteer State.
DANCE LIKE YA MEAN IT
Or at least dance like Elaine did on Seinfeld. This is a cool baseball promotional stunt. The Brooklyn Cyclones, a minor league team holds a “Seinfeld’ night once a year. One of the favorite competitions on the field is the Elaine Dance Competition. Remember those unforgettable moves from Julia Louise Dreyfuss who played Elaine on the show?
These ladies were doing a pretty good job of imitating those moves. Now they should add Kramer door entrance competitions as well.
NEW TREND
“Hot Bedding”. Never heard of it? Me neither until I read about a woman renting out half of her bed to a stranger to make extra money. It usually means sleeping in the same bed at different times. Shift sleeping if you will. In 2021 3% of Australia college students participated. Lot of stripping and laundering of the bed sheets…I would hope.
MISSED IT
Nope…once again I chose to miss and not participate in the Philadelphia annual “Naked Bike Riding” event that happened this past weekend in the City of Brotherly Love. I keep thinking how my butt is sore when I ride a bike with pants on. Can’t imagine. But there’s a vision now that you’ll struggle to get out of your head. You’re welcome.
TODAY
My day is wide open but this evening I’m online writing with Darin and Brooke Aldridge in North Carolina. And we’ll have a chance to celebrate the success of their new single Wildflower Too that we co-wrote that’s getting a lot of attention right now. We captured a lot of them in this song for sure.
Have a great Monday!
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