'TIN PAN SOUTH'
REPORT
Day Five: April 6,
2013
We
ended "Tin Pan South" with two terrific shows: the early show at
the Listening Room (featuring Ben Glover and Amy Grant, with special guests
Billy Montana and Matt Jenkins) and the late show at the nearby Rutledge
(featuring Aaron Barker, Lee Thomas Miller, Chris Wallin (with wife Camille),
and special guest Wynn Varble.
April 6 (Saturday):
LISTENING ROOM (Early Show):
The
schedule for this show listed only two names: hit writer/CCM artist Ben Glover
and CCM crossover artist/writer Amy Grant. On these two names alone, the house
was packed to standing room only. There were no complaints when country artist
and hit songwriter Billy Montana and hit writer Matt Jenkins turned up as
surprise guests. I caught Matt's brother, Paul Jenkins, at Winners on Friday
night. Talent sure runs in the Jenkins family!
(Photo: Billy Montana)
Billy
Montana performed his now-classic tunes, "Bring On The Rain" (Jo Dee
Messina), "House Of A Thousand Dreams" (Martina McBride), and
"Suds In The Bucket" (Sara Evans). Billy said a friend had called him
saying, "Hey, they're playing your song on 'American Idol'." When
Billy turned on the TV, contestant Kelly Pickler had just finished singing
"Suds". He heard Simon Crowell comment, "Of all the songs you
could have sung, why did you pick this one?" An open-jawed Montana pointed
at the TV and yelled out, "But that's my song!"
Billy
said he moved here from upstate New York in 1989 in his '77 Monte Carlo with
two kids and one on the way. In '93, he lost his publishing deal. He then
commented to a friend, "What I need is a Garth cut." He got one 14
years later with "More Than A Memory", a song Lee Brice and Kyle
Jacobs had been working on and brought Billy in to finish. Billy said that
Lee's line, "Dialing six numbers and hanging up...", was what really
sold Garth on the song.
(Photo: Matt Jenkins)
Matt
Jenkins sang the upbeat "Blue Jeans Baby", "Running Out of
Air" (Love and Theft), and "Fade Into You", which will be
featured this fall on the new "Nashville" soundtrack album. The song
was cut by Clare "Scarlett" Bowen.
Besides
writing pop, CCM and country hits for others, Ben Glover has several albums out
on his own. We were treated to his incredible vocals on the song his wrote for
his wife, "I See You". He also performed "Hard To Love"
(Lee Brice) and "I Can't Outrun You" (recorded by Trace Adkins and
Thompson Square).
(Photo: Ben Glover)
Amy
Grant sang the familiar "I Will Remember You" from her multi-Platinum
album "Hearts In Motion", and "Find What You're Looking
For" from her last album, "Somewhere Down The Road". I was happy
to hear some new songs from her upcoming May album release, "How Mercy
Looks From Here". I wasn't disappointed. The title cut is all I hoped it
would be. She was inspired to write the song after an emotional roller-coaster
year (the loss of her mother, the death of a friend in Afghanistan, and the joy
of her step-daughter's wedding). She invited her producer, Marshall Altman
(Marc Broussard and Audry Assad), to join her on "Our Time Is Now".
There was a certain sound that Phil Ramone had captured on an old Simon and
Garfunkel album. Amy called Ramone to inquire about it. He graciously told her
what he'd done, adding some stories from his long career. Phil died a few weeks
after that conversation. The song "Our Time Is Now" features the
legendary Carole King. The evening ended with Amy's new duet with James Taylor,
(love tells us) "Don't Try So Hard".
(Photo: Amy Grant)
Afterwards,
while washing my hands in the men's room, I struck up a brief conversation with
the guy next to me. "It's a special night, isn't it?" he said.
"It sure is," I answered, feeling fortunate that I was one of the
lucky people to see and hear such a remarkable group of writers.
-- Wil Comstock, MCAU Writer
THE RUTLEDGE (Second Show):
We
ended "Tin Pan South" where we had started five days earlier. The
Rutledge was the perfect setting for a show filled with tongue-and-cheek
ribbing, self-deprecating humor, entertaining stories (serious and not-so
serious) and unforgettable hooks and melodies (some coming from self-proclaimed
farmers and hillbillies). One of the performers even chewed tobacco as he sang.
Some of that rubbed on me (not the tobacco). I woke up thinking of song ideas I
never expected to have.
(Photo: Aaron Barker)
Aaron
Barker (the Blue Bell Ice Cream jingle singer) was a gracious host. Acting more
composed and laid back, he expressed his love of songwriting, telling the large
crowd how special it was to perform on the same stage as Lee Thomas Miller,
Chris Wallin (with wife Camille), and special guest (the crazy cowboy) Wynn
Varble.
"Nashville
is the last songwriting community," he said with a note of heartfelt
seriousness. "When a fellow songwriter is in trouble, we all come together
to help."
Aaron
put on a wonderful show, performing velvety-voiced classics such as Lonestar's
"What About Now" and George Strait's "I Can Still Make
Cheyenne", "A Love Without End, Amen", and "Goodbye,
Farewell, So Long". He closed with "Baby Blue", a surprise first
cut (and number one hit) by none other than George Strait.
"We'd
lost just about everything," said Aaron, looking back on hard times in
Texas before making it big. "Suddenly, out of the blue, I received a check
from BMI. It had a lot of numbers. Somehow, my publisher had gotten one of my
songs to George Strait. It was the number one song, but I didn't even know it.
When I showed the check to my stepdad, he thought it was a sweepstakes
promotion."
That
surprise hit and large check obviously changed Aaron's life. He eventually
moved to Nashville, writing hit after hit after hit... and a few Blue Bell Ice
Cream jingles.
Chris
Wallin made no apologies for his love of "suped-up" classic cars. He
remembered being at a car show when he learned his song "Something to Be
Proud Of" (Montgomery Gentry) had hit number one. Knowing a big royalty
check was on the way, he left the lot driving a 1966 Chevelle.
(Photo: Chris Wallin)
"We
need to be proud of what we have... even if it's still in the shop," he
laughed.
The
artist used his rich, Southern-as-can-be baritone to sing current and/or soon-to-be
classics such as "Man", "Love Me If You Can" (Toby Keith),
"I'm Trying" (Trace Adkins), and "Don't Blink". On more than one occasion, he raised
his left hand to show off a finger he had accidentally injured earlier in the
day. He was concerned the paper cut might affect his guitar playing, but it
didn't.
"'I'm
Trying' reached number 40 and stalled," Chris noted before singing the
song with his wife, Camille. "When Trace Adkins got arrested for DUI, the
song immediately jumped five spots."
Chris
handed his guitar to (bass diva) Camille a couple of times during the show. She
has a great voice that complements her husband's... almost a country-accented
combination of Bonnie Raitt, Wynonna and Etta James. It's nice to hear the
Southern blues in country music. The audience thoroughly enjoyed her
performances of the growling "One Way Ticket To Gone" and "A
Good Cry".
Family
man Lee Thomas Miller sang and played songs celebrating lost love ("She's
Cryin' On Her Suitcase"/Casey James), the rush of life ("You're Gonna
Miss This"/Trace Adkins), and manhood ("I'm Still A Guy"/Brad
Paisley). He was proud to introduce his wife, who was sitting in the audience.
Their "Miller bunch" kids were at home with the babysitter.
(Photo: Lee Thomas Miller)
The
crowd howled with laughter when he performed "Hillbilly Porn", a
hilarious protest song that received scrutiny (and the misspelling of the word
"hillbilly") from a reporter at The Washington Post. The song chides Nashville's former mayor and other
city leaders for investing in "the naked giants" statue at Music
Row's Roundabout.
"The
reporter treated me like a stupid country hick who didn't appreciate art, and I
played along," Chris said. "Her story was scathing."
Chris
added that the mayor wasn't particularly happy about being mentioned in the
song. "The mayor bought us some hillbilly porn... what's the tambourine
for..."
Wynn
Varble wasn't listed in the program, but we sure were glad he was there. He
kept us in stitches every time it was his turn to play. The cowboy-hatted farm
guy (with a tobacco tin in his back pocket) always provided a joke before
galloping into various trailblazers, including " A Little More Country
Than That" (Easton Corbin); "She's A Little Too Country For Me",
"Things That Never Cross A Man's Mind" ("American Idol"
contestant Kellie Pickler); and "Waitin' On A Woman" (Brad Paisley).
(Photo: Wynn Varble)
Then
he got serious, telling us how Willie Nelson had selected one of his songs for
a recent album.
"When
my phone rang, a guy on the other end said, 'Hello, this is Willie'," said
Wynn with as much seriousness as he could muster. "I didn't believe it was
him at first. He said he'd lost the recording I sent him and wanted another. I
said, 'Sure, I'll send you 500 copies of the song if you want 'em.' A while
later, I got a call askin' for the lyrics. He was in the studio recordin'
it."
The
audience listened intently as Wynn sang about a cowboy's adventures on Chisholm
Trail, through Death Valley, and across dusty plains. Some of them had heard
the Willie Nelson version... others hadn't.
Then
he sang the chorus: "But I ain't goin' down on Brokeback Mountain... No, I
ain't goin' down on Brokeback Mountain...." The room erupted with
laughter. Political correctness wasn't in Wynn's vocabulary, but it didn't seem
to matter. He had just about everyone singing along with him by the end of the
song. (Please don't tell the reporter at The Washington Post.)
During
the past five days we've heard and seen just about everything when it comes to
songwriting. It's truly been an amazing week... more than a memory.
-- Chuck Whiting, MCAU Editor
Do you have an unforgettable "Tin Pan South"
story/experience to tell. Please
send it to us at Info@MusicCityArtsUpdate.com .
"Tin Pan South" Schedule:
http://www.tinpansouth.com/2013/schedule.html
(Photo: Camille Wallin)
(Photo: Chris Wallin)
(Photo: Amy Grant)
(Photo: Listening Room Stage Shot... By Miranda Sullivan)
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(Photo: Listening Room Stage Shot... By Miranda Sullivan)
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