Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Reedy's Dream Music Releases 'Maybe She Lied' Video Featuring Scott Coner and Tanya Tucker


            NASHVILLE, Tenn. (February 2016) – Reedy's Dream Music has released a new music video for the hit song "Maybe She Lied", a duet featuring country artist Scott Coner and singing legend Tanya Tucker.

            Coner says he was inspired to write the song on his Takamine guitar after a very good friend went home from work and found his wife gone with all of her belongings. Coner and Tucker later recorded an emotionally charged rendition of the song at CTM Studios in Nashville. The tune hit number one in the United Kingdom shortly after its release.

            "My friend never saw it coming, and it shocked the daylights out of him when it happened," said Coner, who has worked with other country legends such as T. Graham Brown and Charlie Daniels. "Working with Tanya, even being in the same room with Tanya, is an honor. Her voice is stronger than anything I have ever heard, and she attacked the song like a seasoned pro. She truly is a beautiful person."

            To download the "Maybe She Lied" music video, visit the artist's website at www.ScottConer.com, his Facebook artist page at www.Facebook.com/ScottConerMusic, or You Tube channel at https://youtu.be/i8cKZ0OllCo.

Scott Coner (Photo by Cynnamae Media Productions)
            The "Maybe She Lied" music video reveals the heartache of a love affair gone wrong. Once together, now apart, the man and woman look back and yearn for what could have been. A crew from Cynnamae Media Productions shot the video on the Coner family farm in Nancy, Ky. The house and farm is where Scott's grandparents raised eight kids and the same place where he spent countless hours roaming the fields and thinking about his future. The video was directed by his wife, Cyndi Coner. She also appears with Scott in the video.

            "Everything in the video means something to me," Coner added. "The trees that I stand by are where I used to play as a kid. The porch scene is where I sat with my grandpa and grandma on many an occasion, and the hay and tobacco barns both make an appearance. Cyndi holding an umbrella is my favorite part of the song. I love the colors and beauty she brought to everything."
 
            Coner co-produced the song with sound engineer Logan Schlegal. A Floyd Cramer piano style was used throughout the song to help give it a classic country feel. Coner and Tucker worked with some of Music Row's top session musicians.

            "Of course, Tanya Tucker did an amazing job," Coner continued. "When I left the studio after the mix, I knew we had a strong track. Mark Mosely is a friend and producer here in town that helped bring Tanya to the table. I don't think I can ever thank him enough for that."

            Scott Coner has recorded songs with a who's who of country legends including Tanya Tucker, T. Graham Brown, and Charlie Daniels. Scott's single "Maybe She Lied", a duet with Tucker on Reedy's Dream Records, hit number one on the United Kingdom's Hot Disk Top 40. Other songs, including "Sanibel" (a duet with Brown) and "Reedy's Dream" (with vocal and instrumental contributions from Daniels) have been heard on terrestrial and online radio stations around the world. Also an emerging author, Scott recently penned the book "Lynyrd Skynyrd: Ronnie Van Zant and Me" with Gene Odom, a survivor of the Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash.

            To learn more about Scott Coner or to download his songs and videos, visit www.ScottConer.com, www.Facebook.com/ScottConerMusic, or www.YouTube.com/user/ScottConer. Follow Coner at www.Twitter.com/ScottConer. "Maybe She Lied" and other song selections can be downloaded on iTunes at https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/scott-coner/id333235738.

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Friday, December 4, 2015

'Tunesmithing' to Celebrate the Season on Dec. 16 With Special Holiday Show

         NASHVILLE -- "Tunesmithing" will celebrate the season with a special holiday show from 7-9:30 p.m. Dec. 16 (Wednesday) at WXYZ Restaurant/Bar at the Aloft Nashville Hotel, 1719 West End Ave. (near Music Row).

          Attendees will enjoy original songs and/or stories by Kelley Cline, Michael Elley, Karen Elley, Frank Fileccia, Dar Frantz, Dwight Liles, Claudia Nygaard, Candy Paull, Angel Pontier, Steve Trinward, Brian Wright, and Chuck Whiting.

Claudia Nygaard (Photo by Brenda Ladd)

          Admission is free. Food and beverages will be available for purchase. Publicist Chuck Whiting will emcee the show. Songwriter/audio engineer AJ Bigler will handle sound. "Tunesmithing" songwriters showcase is sponsored by Whiting Publicity and Promotions, Music City Arts Network, and Shine Time Records and Books.

          * This year's holiday "Tunesmithing" will support singer-songwriter Diane King and Lymphoma Research at Vanderbilt Medical Center.


          The monthly show was founded in 2003 to spotlight emerging, professional and hit songwriters, as well as artists of all kinds. The event offers mentoring, career growth and networking opportunities for artists at all levels.

          For more information about "Tunesmithing", call (615) 423-9857, write Info@Tunesmithing.com, or visit http://www.Tunesmithing.com


Gail McDaniel to Teach Watercolor Painting Course Near Atlanta in January 2016

            ATLANTA, Ga. (December 2015) -- Gail McDaniel, an acclaimed watercolorist who has served as an associate member and demonstrating artist/instructor for the prestigious Winsor & Newton Creative Artist Network in London, will celebrate 2016 by teaching an eight-week watercolor painting course near Atlanta.

            The watercolor painting course will be offered to beginning, intermediate and advanced artists on Wednesday afternoons starting Jan. 6 at Griffin First United Methodist Church, 1401 Maple Drive in the Atlanta suburb of Griffin, Ga. Sessions will occur from 1-4 p.m. on Jan. 6, 13, 20 and 27; and Feb. 3, 10, 17 and 24. Tuition is $165 for all eight, three-hour sessions.

            The artist/instructor will provide insights on composition, perspective, value, color theory and application. She also will demonstrate some of the techniques that have helped make her an award-winning artist, including abstract under paintings, disappearing purples, painting on Masa Paper, white on white, monotype paintings, let it flow, texturize your paintings, portraits, reflective surfaces, and wax-resist Batik. The course is structured to serve artists at all skill levels, from the very raw beginner to the most advanced. McDaniel will close each session with individual critiques.

            Because space is limited for the classes, reservations are required. Payments by check are accepted. For more information or to register, contact the artist by phone at (678) 603-1502 or send an inquiry to gail@gailmcdanielart.com. Individuals can learn more about the artist/instructor and view her artwork at http://www.GailMcDanielArt.com.

            Before moving to Georgia, McDaniel spent more than 20 years working as a professional watercolorist and art instructor in Franklin, Tenn. During that time, she taught more than 1,300 students in classes and workshops around the world. A number of her former students have developed into professional artists with exhibitions and commissions.

            "Some people come to find out if they can paint in watercolor," said the artist, who painted the invitation cover for "A Little Night of Music" starring country superstar LeAnn Rimes. "Like me, others love the look of watercolor paintings and want to learn the medium. Many come for the change of pace and the new, wonderful, relaxing challenge it brings. The intermediate and advanced students come to me to grow in the medium."

            Over the years, McDaniel has seen the positive change that comes over many people when they spend three hours with her creatively thinking from the right side of their brain.

            "It's truly a night-and-day change, not to mention the fun they have," McDaniel added. "Many who come to me with no art background find they really have a true talent for painting. Some of them never had the slightest notion they had any talent. It's such an outstanding reward for them and a source of real pleasure for me."

            A good example is Phyllis Tatum, a watercolorist who studied with McDaniel for 14 years in Middle Tennessee. She and her fellow students were thrilled when she won four blue ribbons and a red ribbon at the Tennessee State Fair. Her crowing achievement came later when she won the fair's "Best of Show", a rare occurrence in watercolor circles.

            McDaniel fondly remembers receiving a thank you note from former student Suzy Foy of Estes Park, Colo., who wrote, "My whole life I have dreamt about being an artist... I never believed I could live that dream, one painting at a time. Because of my workshops, mentoring and support (from McDaniel), it is happening."

            "One of the obvious results of classes is the togetherness that comes upon the group," McDaniel noted. "Friendships develop, and with that interest in each other's lives and the happenings and events in their world. The group watches children grow up, grandchildren being born, and members die. The group celebrates the joys together, as well as the sad times, giving special support. Sometimes, our paintings reflect those experiences."

            The classes near Atlanta should be no exception. McDaniel will demonstrate the techniques, shortcuts and concepts that she has developed or learned by doing, reading or studying with others. She plans to show her students everything she knows, holding nothing back. Her goal is to inspire them without making them feel overwhelmed.

Photo of Gail McDaniel by Ken McDaniel


            During her career, McDaniel has trained artists from 36 different states (including Alaska and Hawaii), the District of Columbia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Guatemala, Japan, Mexico, the Philippines and South Korea. She has taught 11 workshops at historic Ghost Ranch in New Mexico, a landmark where the late Georgia O’Keefe lived and painted. She also served as a member of the arts faculty of Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art.

            In 2002, she and her husband, Ken, launched the "Students and Friends of Gail McDaniel Awards", raising almost $90,000 for the visual arts in Middle Tennessee public schools. The fundraising effort earned Gail and Ken a nomination in the "volunteer innovator" category of the 2009 Mary Catherine Strobel Award. In 2012, the artist was named the PENCIL Foundation's "Volunteer of the Year".

            Before leaving Tennessee, she received an award for "Excellence in Community Service" from the Travelers Rest Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She was inducted into the Cave City, Ky., Hall of Fame and named (as an eighth generation Kentuckian) to the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels as one of  "Kentucky's ambassadors of good will and fellowship around the world."

            In 2001, she was invited by directors of the "Art in Provence" program to conduct an eight-day watercolor workshop in Dieulefit, France. She studied under 38 noted art instructors to help build her reputation as one of the South's top artists/instructors. -- even accepting a commission to paint a family landmark for former Kentucky Gov. Louie B. Nunn.

            For more information about Gail McDaniel or to see her work, visit www.GailMcDanielArt.com.