once again, it has been a month since my last journal entry. when I started this I said, once a week. then it turned into every couple weeks. I guess “once a month” it is. at least this way I have a fighting chance at keeping them interesting!
been doing a lot of writing. yeah, I know I say that in every journal entry, but more than ever in my life. I feel very blessed to be at a place where I am at liberty to devote this much of my time and energy to creating songs, and writing about the things i think and feel. i don’t know if any of what i write will live in infamy or anything like that, but it is very therapeutic for me. i have finished a couple songs that i am stoked about, and have a couple more in the works with sean patrick mcgraw , j.r. mccoy and my good friend stan saxon. the chemistry i have with each of these fellas is great and unique from one another. i not only feel good about our writing, but i just love their company.
cross canadian ragweed was in nashville on feb. 10th and in birmingham, al. on monday the 11th. my brother cory, donny from kingbilly and i, decided we had better road-trip down to birmingham. we met up with my good buddy kyle bell, and enjoyed one hell of a show. on the way home tuesday, donny and i wrote a killer song. he and I haven’t really written together since we wrote “girls gone wild” 3 or 4 years ago. donny is one of my favorite people, and kingbilly is one of my favorite bands EVER! if you ever watch GAC you might see them on “GAC shortcuts” kingbilly , go listen, love em’, and tell em’ db sent ya!
what else? I celebrated a birthday february 28th. i am 31 years old now. see my blog on myspace, “me, on turning 30” and just add a year to it! lol! we of course had to have a party. i was sort of opposed to it at first, but once all my friends that i hadn’t seen in too long started arriving, i was so glad we did. i have matured an aweful lot, i can tell. i only did two keg-stands, and one beer-bong! we did the usual things we love to do… ate, drank, laughed, picked guitars and sang songs. thank you to all my amazing friends for coming, it was a blast!
on the actual night of my birthday, i was scheduled to play a benefit show at the mercy lounge here in nashville. take a look at the flyer we attached. some amazing artists on hand for this special evening. this congregation of generosity was all in the name of raising money for the red cross, to go to the victims of the recent tornados in tennessee. aaron tippin has always been one of my favorite artists. he proudly stands for god, family, and love of country. he hunts and fishes and writes about the way it really is for good hard workin’ folks like us. he kicked off the show, and sounded amazing. it was so cool to get to meet him in person.
my buddy david kersh was also on hand with his beautiful and talented wife, kerry harvick. we hung out and took in all the great acts that were on hand. (thanks for your help guys!)
i was fortunate enough to have some of my favorite friends join me on stage for my performance. tim teague came out to play lead, dave fowler played bass and kelly schoenfeld sang harmony. they of course did it out of the kindness of their heart’s and i can add it to the ever growing list of things that i owe them for!
when i finished my last song, i was heading off stage and they told me to come back up. then they told everyone that it was my birthday and gave me a big beautiful cake. the whole crowd sang “happy birthday” to me. yeah, that was kind of embarrassing. they also gave me a card that was signed by everyone involved in the benefit. i have put it in my lock box as a keep sake. ya’ll made me feel so special!
it felt really really good to be part of a project that involved so much giving and no taking. you could see it in all the faces that attended. we all talked about how hard it must be for the people that lost everything they own and especially for the ones that lost loved ones.
my very special thanks to: glenn sweitzer (http://dustinboguemusic.com/theteam/) cathryn and paul with nashville hype , john breslin, nixa country, the mercy lounge, and of course all of the incredible artists that donated their time and talent.
this week is CRS (country radio seminar) all of the country radio program directors from all over the country will be in town for some good ol’ nashville tennessee fun. it is one of my favorite times of year. my good friend chris conn will be flying in tomorrow for the week. it has sort of become a tradition for us. we will be out and about all week long havin’ a big ol’ time! i will try to remember to get some good pics for the next journal entry.
please comment this journal entry after you have read it. it’s nice to hear back from ya! plus, we would love to get some more pics of you and I to put in the “friends”
-take a look around at all your belongings, and the people you love. now be grateful!
March 4, 2008
CCR, Benefit, Birthday, and now CRS? Sounds like you had a time. Wish I coulda made it down for the benefit. There's no cake on your face in that picture. What gives? Hope Nashville is still in one piece with you and Conman hanging down there. Can't wait to hear that music... and I hope the video is still a go... Take care of yourself.
Michelle in Indy