Bill Monroe: A Centennial Celebration

Sept. 13, 2011 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of the father of bluegrass music and one of his longtime friends has honored him with a musical tribute. Banjo player and producer Mike Scott often played, dined and shared stories with CMA’s Country Music Hall of Fame member Bill Monroe. Scott was never a member of the master’s famed Blue Grass Boys band, but he was closer to him...

Concert Review: The Grascals

Return to your country roots with the bluegrass stylings of The Grascals as I did recently when they took center stage in Dallas, Georgia at the Raccoon Creek Bluegrass Festival. It was an enjoyable evening in a wooded amphitheater setting where everyone enjoyed spicy barbecue and sweet tea under a pavilion in the North Georgia heat as they waited for The Grascals to take the stage...

Trust the Process

This past spring, I was brought in to a popular live production workshop to provide a little one-on-one image consulting for the participants. It only made sense for me to do so since stage presence and image go hand-in-hand. The other reason why it makes sense? Because my approach to the work I do is very similar to the approach of live music producers: it’s a process...

The Summer Oil Patch Festival (Part 1 of 5)

In the Kevin Costner film Field Of Dreams, there is the famous line “If you build it, they will come.” That has been the unofficial motto of the organizers of one of the top rising events in Country Music, the Summer Oil Patch Festival. Held each July 4th in Drumright, Oklahoma, organizers / producers Rick and Myrna Sellers and Clif Doyal have grown the event each year, and what an event it is.

Dreams + Work = Success

One of my favorite parts of my job is media coaching. I think a lot of people don't realize that media coaching is part of my job as an image consultant (they assume I only do wardrobe styling), but how one presents themselves in a media interview has a lot to do with his or her image. To me, it's not about creating an image, but instead polishing the one you have and being genuine with your...

The Dos and Don’ts of Co-Writing

The following guidelines are designed to help those new to the art of collaborative songwriting understand it a bit better. The best kinds of co-writes are the ones where both collaborators feel like they¹ve written something better than either could have written alone. Looking back over 20 years to my first songwriting efforts, I remember my creative process as so personal and fragile that...

The Art Of The Riff

Every guitar player loves riffs, and every songwriter should too. A “riff” is a musical gesture or pattern, and often the musical signature of a rock or pop song. The opening arpeggio riff that starts “Sweet Home Alabama” is what makes the song instantly distinguishable from the thousands of other songs that share the same three chords and basic feel. A good riff is simple enough to be easily...

Continuity: An Essential Ingredient for Success

It’s no secret to aspiring artists that the music industry now requires artists to come to the table with the total package: talent, the look, the marketability, etc. But in addition to the total package, industry leaders are seeking continuity and consistency between all the elements of an artist's total package. According to Dan Kimpel, popular music industry journalist and author, there...

Conquering Pitch Problems

Not singing in tune can be embarrassing, costly and frustrating. Most of us have witnessed the legendary live performance gaffs by stars whose pitchy (out of tune) performances ended up on TV and YouTube (ouch!) In the studio, you may think it can all be fixed with a tuner but it’s best not to rely on electronic help too much for many reasons: budget (the farther from the correct pitch you...

Concert Review: Bucky Covington

The first time I caught Bucky Covington live was shortly after his top-ten placement in season 5 of American Idol. It was at 3rd & Lindsley in Nashville during a benefit headlined by Danielle Peck. I’m not going to mince words here... my first impression was “This kid’s got a long way to go before he’s star material.” (CLICK HERE to see the photos from that event) Recently, I watched Bucky’s...

Craft + Magic = Success

I’ve been doing this series of articles with excerpts from “Michael Anderson’s Little Black Book of Songwriting”. This article is a bit different. It’s more of an overview – an op-ed piece if you will. As a longtime screener at Taxi and now as an instructor at Musician’s Institute sometimes it just gets too easy to point out what may be technically wrong with a song. An experienced writer can point...

Putting Yourself in Others' Shoes: A Step Toward Success

As both a female and an image consultant who does a lot of wardrobe styling, it’s probably no surprise that I have a healthy obsession with shoes. But at this time in my life, I'm learning how to be more empathetic with others by figuratively putting myself in other peoples' shoes. In addition to that, I'm often telling my clients that in order to really reach their audience, they have to think...

Kenny Chesney Sees Eye to Eye with Costa Del Mar

Everything gets hotter when the sun goes down. But for those who don’t wear their shades at night, Kenny Chesney and Costa Del Mar sunglasses share a vision of how to heat things up in the daylight hours too, while also benefiting coastal conservation. As Chesney might have sung it, Costa sells no shoes, no shirts — just sunglasses. But these aren’t just any sunglasses. The five...

Colt Ford: Talkin' Country

Colt Ford and Shannon “Fat Shan” Houchins pulled into Nashville in 2007 with plenty of miles already behind them. They’d been working together for years, two Georgia country boys who had grown professionally and personally tight. There were differences between them: Ford was an imposing 300-pounder, a garrulous conversationalist who favored shades and black cowboy hats. Houchins...

Matt Hammitt - The Story of Every Falling Tear

It’s not unusual for the lead singer in a successful rock band to step outside the group and record a solo album, usually as a way to satisfy a creative impulse not possible within the confines of a band. For Sanctus Real frontman Matt Hammitt, writing and recording his solo debut, Every Falling Tear, wasn’t an exercise in artistic freedom, it was a process that helped the young father...