'TIN PAN SOUTH' REPORT
Day Two: March 25 (Wednesday)
For these two MCAU
writers, the quality of day two measured up to the first night, but in a
different way. The shows we attended on Wednesday were beautiful, eloquent and
less produced, offering a living room-like acoustic feel with playful
camaraderie. Douglas Corner is perfect for these kinds of shows with
songwriters (most of them good friends) facing each other as they perform in a
square-shaped pattern. The give-and-take is warm, friendly and down-to-earth...
a pleasant treat for the music lovers and fans who surround them.
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Rachel Thibodeau and Blessing Offer Celebrate after their
"Tin Pan South" show at Douglas Corner on March 25 |
First Show (Early Show
at Douglas Corner):
The first show
featured Rob Crosby, Allen
Shamblin, Angela Kaset, and Brett Jones.
Angela Kaset kicked
this round off with her Lorrie Morgan hit, “Something in Red”. Why does this song always make me
cry? What a slice of life, so
honest and true. She reflected
over her life with the tender “Jesus with the Light Brown Hair”, later joking
it was inspired by the Stephen Foster song “Jeanie with the Light Brown
Hair”. Kasset said writing was
therapy as she introduced “Sunshine Through the Pain”, which was inspired by
the losses the Nashville Music Community has suffered this past year. She caused a little controversy when
she sang a line from the tongue-in-cheek tune "More For Me":
"Give up what you've got and they'll be more for me”. Crosby interrupted,
saying, "It’s a song about Republicans!" He later confessed, “My
father would say it’s a song about Democrats. I guess you could look at it from
both sides.”
Brett Jones (I
mistakenly thought I was going to see Brett James but was not disappointed!)
had us all rockin’ on His Jason Aldean hit “Crazy Town” (inspired by all of the
changes that have taken place in Nashville over the 25 years that Jones has
lived here). I was a little
insulted, but smiled, when Brett said don’t look for any country boys in New
Jersey as he related an experience he had there while introducing “That’s How
Country Boys Grow”. But I got over
it and enjoyed his 2009 cut by Billy Currington. I hope Brett gets over it too! Everyone listened intently as he told us that his brother’s
name is on the Vietnam Memorial in Washington. He then segued into “If Heaven
Wasn’t so Far Away”, a tribute to his brother. He had us belly laughing and shaking our heads on “Monkey
with a Blue Tail”, an upbeat cut from his “Cowboy Sailor” album. The inspiration from this one came one Sunday
when his wife dragged him to church to hear a boring preacher. His eyes were on
the 4-year-old in front of him coloring a monkey with a blue tail!
Any bill that has
Allen Shamblin on it is going to be great. I love everything he writes and no
one puts more heart into his songs than he does. I remember having tears in my
eyes the first time I heard co-writer Marc Beeson perform "What I'm
For" several years ago. It was just as moving when Shamblin sang the line,
“You don't have to guess what I'm against if you know what I'm for”. Can it get any better? By the way... Pat Green cut this song. We all related to “The House That Built
Me”, which won a Grammy for Miranda Lambert. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of his first
publishing deal, Allen decided to write a children’s song “I Like Frogs” with
the line, “Just like me they hate biology!" Six months after he signed his deal, he was told his option
was coming up and he would be dropped if he couldn’t produce a song that was a
potential cut. At an all-time low
and thinking of returning home, he turned on the TV and a preacher was pointing
his finger at him saying, “There is someone willing to give up on their
dream... the last stretch of the race is always the hardest.” Allen took heart
and wrote his first number one, “He Walked on Water”, a song we all hope to
hear Randy Travis sing again.
Allen closed by saying, shortly after moving to Nashville on Dec. 31,
1987, he had no money, no job, no friends, and he prayed “God help me”. He then said “God has answered my
prayer” as he closed with “I Can’t Make You Love Me”.
I first started listening
to Country Music in 1991. One of the first albums I bought was Rob Crosby’s
“Solid Ground”. I’ve been a fan
ever since. Rob’s first song was the Trace Adkins' cut “Till The Last Shot’s
Fired”. It begins with the Civil War Battle of Nashville, moves to World War
II, and ends with Vietnam and Afghanistan. “No we can’t come home till the last
shot’s fired." Everyone clapped and sang along on the chorus of “I Want to
be Your Friday Night" (cut by Lady Antebellum and Eric Paslay). You could
hear a pin drop when he played “Concrete Angel”, a song about child abuse that
Martina McBride brought to number five.
Rob closed with a song he wrote with Carl Perkins and Dottie Moore, the
energetic “Mile out of Memphis”, a duet by Paul Simon and Carl Perkins (a song
that stayed in my head all night).
-- Wil Comstock, MCAU
Contributing Writer
Second Show (Late Show at Douglas
Corner):
I arrived at Douglas
Corner in a rather anxious mood. The night before, I was thrilled by the
big-show mix of beautiful voices, guitars and percussion at 3rd and Lindsley.
But now my thoughts were on the whirlwind of the day's events. The lovely
J.Karen Thomas (who died Thursday) was in her last days of battling a serious
illness, and various busy personal challenges cluttered my mind. I needed to be
touched and encouraged... moved by messages of love, hope, togetherness and
friendship. The evening of heartfelt performances by Jamie Floyd, Blessing Offor, Mark D. Sanders, and Rachel Thibodeau did just that... with "a little bit of
country, a little bit of rock 'n' roll, and insatiable accents of R&B, jazz
and pop."
Stevie Wonder is one
my favorite artists, so hearing the multi-talented Blessing Offor soulfully sing about love and togetherness was a
true blessing. He began his set with a jazzy number called "Star
Gazing", delighting the audience with his souring, wandering vocals and
expert guitar riffs. His funkiest number, "Bad", was playful and
fun... accented with masterful "dobro'n" by Josh Matheny. Tender
moments came after he moved to piano. The sultry and romantic "Grow
Together" encouraged us to "put (our) roots down", and the
gospel-like ballad "This Is Life" (with lovely dobro accents)
revealed how a loving relationship can "keep you going in the dark".
The song that resonates with me the most though is "Fingers". The
gentle tune included the memorable lines, "My fingers are always looking
for yours... Tell me what your fingers know." Of course, wise-cracker Mark
D. Sanders had to "ruin" the performance afterwards (and prompt a few
laughs) by saying he was going to write a song about his wife giving him
"the finger". Oh well... Not everyone is a quiet romantic like me.
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| Blessing Offor |
I loved every song
that Jamie Floyd performed. The
clarity and power of her vocals came through immediately on the bluesy,
knock-out number "Casino". I was deeply touched by "The People
You Knew", a song co-written with Bostonian Lori McKenna. How do you feel
when you "can't call someone anymore... not (knowing) what we're missing."
As I listened, I thought about potential friendships that never happened,
romances that never materialized, and the deaths of friends and family members
who touched my life. Her background vocalist boyfriend, Dave (sitting to her
left), joined Jamie on the delightful "Trouble Get Me Off Your Mind",
a song featured in the Dolly Parton movie, "A Country Christmas
Story". She closed her set with "The Blade" a tune co-written
with Marc Beeson and Allen Shamblin. I can still hear her singing the stinging words,
"You caught it by the handle... I caught it by the blade".
Unfortunately, we all get hurt sometimes. What can we learn from it?
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Josh Matheny's dobro
playing was outstanding |
Piano writer Rachel
Thibodeau was very apologetic when
she walked in late... seeming to have just stepped out of the shower. She has
an exuberant, happy-go-lucky personally (with humility) that works well in a
Douglas Corner "living room" environment. "I haven't performed
in a year, so I'm very nervous," she told her songwriting friends and the
crowd. Her charm made an occasional flub refreshing... encouraging songwriters
like me to stop worrying about every note and to just have fun. Her gentle
rendition of "Where Do We Go From Here" came to life with the aching
cry of Josh's dobro. She introduced "I Give It To You" by thanking
Martina McBride. "I was at a crossroads when I wrote it," she told
the crowd. "I didn't know that Martina had the song. She told me she had
been listening to a rough, taped version for three years." Rachel held her
5-year-old daughter on her knee briefly before performing the Billy
Currington hit "Directions", the song that "bought" her
house.
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| Rachel Thibodeau cuts up with Blessing Offor |
I've seen Mark D.
Sanders many times over the years,
and every one of his performances seems better than the last. Mark is a class
act... a humble guy who loves family along with an easy-going life of fishing
and shooting the bull. He's an excellent storyteller and
"jokemeister" who can get away with saying things someone like me
would get slapped for (i.e. "My wife gave me the finger.") The
audience was treated to hits like "Blue Clear Sky", "(This
Ain't) No Thinkin' Thing", and "Heads Carolina, Tails
California". The audience especially appreciated it when he was joined by
his daughter, Sophie, on a new song they co-wrote called "Sailing
On". "I love my children... all five of them," Mark noted with a
smile. "My daughter asked me to write with her after she returned from the
Peace Corps." The poignant lyric includes the lines, "It's hard to
leave, but you go because you have to... Love can be a distant island." I
was glad Mark left one of his best songs for last (one I definitely needed to
hear that night). "I Hope You Dance" remains one of my favorite
country songs. How many times have we shyly sat on a chair while others danced
around us?
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| Like family... Great music and good times |
In retrospect,
hanging out at Douglas Corner was the perfect thing to do on the second night
of "Tin Pan South". I feel encouraged... looking forward to hearing
more talented artists and writing more songs.
-- Chuck Whiting, MCAU
Editor
All photos by Chuck Whiting.
Do you have a "Tin
Pan South" story/experience to tell.
We can only be so many places at one time. Please send it to us at
Info@MusicCityArtsUpdate.com .
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