Friday The 13th Not So Kind To Gene Watson
- At 8 PM on July 23rd, ABC is going to broadcast a two-hour special titled CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock that was filmed during this year’s event. This will be the third year that ABC has aired the show. CMA Chief Operating Officer Tammy Genovese commented on the overall growth of the festival from year to year and said “Really, our goal is to grow the event every year and make it bigger and better and the best it can be.” While they have done some good things with the money they are making, a few of the commenters seem to be disgruntled with the way the event was handled.
- Dave Heaton reaches back to the early ’70s as he covers the long career of rodeo man Chris Ledoux.
Along with this changing state of cowboy-dom comes the changing state of country music. Through Ledoux’s song choices and his dedication to Western themes, his earliest albums display an outright love for classic country music. Yet as the popular country music of the day changed, and as his own music became more popular, his albums began to convey an inner conflict, or at least inner conversation, about commercial country music.
- Recently, while Blake Shelton was visiting his mom [Dorothy Shackleford], she received a phone call from her brother saying that there was a strange man in his house. Shelton and his mother hopped in the truck and drove to where his uncle lived. “Blake knocked on the door and the man sort of stumbled over and opened it, and Blake said, “Hey, you’re in my house, man,’” Shackleford said. Shelton then told the man to step out on the porch and Shackleford went inside to check on her brother, she said.
- John Rich on criticism from country music purists:
“I really don’t give a damn what people say about us in the media, critic-wise. We make the music we want to make and they don’t have to buy it if they don’t want to”.
- Gene Watson and his Farewell Party Band were on a trip from Houston to a gig at the Opry on Friday the 13th when grease from a broken axle shaft ignited and caught their bus on fire. Watson and the band fought the flames with sodas and water bottles for about 30 minutes before firemen were able to arrive and douse the fire. Fortunately, no one was harmed and the band had to rent another bus to make the Opry.
- Cole Deggs talked to The Houston Chronicle about his life and music (which are synonymous to him) that he describes as a rootsy, country background with a rockin’ edge.
- Jo Dee Messina has been talking about adopting.
- Eric Church on why he was fired from the Rascal Flatts tour:
“We got out there and played louder and longer than we were supposed to,” he says. Church responded by following the tour for eight dates, playing free shows in clubs near the arenas where Rascal Flatts was booked. Was he rubbing it in? “Anybody who thinks I can rub anything in Rascal Flatts’ face when they’re selling 40 billion records is crazy. We did it because we said we would. It’s a great thing to come and say, ‘Hey, man, we got fired from across the street, but we said we were coming, so we’re here anyway.’”
- Stacy Chandler from HickoryWind.org has a glowing review of Will You Miss Me When I’m Gone?: The Carter Family & Their Legacy in American Music.
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July 16, 2007 at 6:16 pm Permalink
I’m pretty excited about the CMA fest airing, since I didn’t get to attend this year!
I love the Eric Church story, I went to see him at one of the bars instead of seeing the Rascal Flatts show, and actually I think it was worth it. He is going to do great things in the future!
July 16, 2007 at 6:56 pm Permalink
I don’t know what to make of Eric’s comment that he was too “loud.” The only thing I can come up with is that it’s his way of implying that Rascal Flatts felt threatened by him.
Consistently exceeding his set limit would certainly be a fireable offense. I wouldn’t be surprised either. I alluded to this in my Midnite Jam review: while Eric is talented, I think that he performs with a sense of entitlement that far exceeds his status. He shared the stage with hall of famers and veteran Opry members who had to shorten their sets to accomodate all of the performers, yet he acted as though he was the headliner.
July 17, 2007 at 8:41 am Permalink
How much soda does Gene Watson have in stock to fight a bus fire for 30 min? My kinda guy!
July 17, 2007 at 8:58 am Permalink
Matt, now that you point it out, the “loud” comment is a little odd. I haven’t paid Church much attention before, but I wonder if he’ll start to turn people off with his antics, or if it’ll be something that will just garner him more exposure and fans.
Junior – I have no idea, it’s too bad he didn’t have any hot dogs though.
July 17, 2007 at 10:38 am Permalink
Is the loud comment in reference to the fact that Eric is more rock sounding then the pop tones of Rascal Flatts? He’s used that comment “louder and longer” from the day he got kicked off the tour.
I have yet to witness that though. I saw him open for Dierks Bentley and he seemed quite subdued. Maybe he’s changed his style now.
July 17, 2007 at 11:10 am Permalink
Rich’s comment is about what I’d expect from someone with a guilty conscious. Rich has been the business long enough to know what he’s currently churning out is garbage with no longevity. I’m no “purist” all I want is that the result of the hybridization not sound like crap.
July 17, 2007 at 7:29 pm Permalink
Church got fired after playing long in Madison Square Garden, of all places. When that automatic late fee kicks in, it ain’t pretty. I think it’s $25,000 for going even a minute over.
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