Book Review by Roy E. Perry: “Shopgirl: A Novella” by Steve Martin

 

Editor’s Note: Roy E. Perry reviewed books for “The Tennessean” and “Nashville Banner” for more than thirty years. “Underground Nashville” is always proud to post Mr. Perry’s latest book review. 

REVIEW BY ROY E. PERRY: 

Steve Martin’s Shopgirl: A Novella (2000) is an interesting psychological study of four characters. (CAUTION: The risqué nature of this work may offend some readers. The author peppers its pages with “the f-word”; when released as a film in 2005, it received an R rating.)

Mirabelle goes into a Beverly Hills yogurt shop and hears a woman conversing on a cell phone. Concerned about someone who is ill, the woman says to the person on the other end of the line, “Just remember, darling, it is pain that changes our lives.” (Hold this thought in mind; before story’s end, we shall meet it again.)

The protagonist, Mirabelle Buttersfield, 28—the shopgirl of the title—works in the fourth-floor glove department of a Nieman Marcus store in Los Angeles. Hers is a boring job “selling things that nobody buys anymore.”

Shy and terribly lonely, Mirabelle is attractive, it’s just that she is never the first or second girl chosen. She takes Serzone (and, later, Celexa) to control her immobilizing depression. Separated from suicidal thoughts by only a thin veneer, she struggles to keep that veneer from cracking. Mirabelle desperately needs someone to talk to, to hold her close, to affirm and appreciate her inner beauty.

Lisa Spencer, a flirtatious tart who seduces and captures men simply for the delight of ditching them, also works at Nieman’s, and is Mirabelle’s exact inverse. Steve Martin writes:

“If Immanuel Kant had stumbled across the two women [whom we now see having lunch at the Time Clock Café], he would have quickly discerned that Lisa is all phenomena and no noumena, and that Mirabelle is all noumena and no phenomena.” [In Kant’s philosophy, a phenomenon is a thing as it appears to and is constructed by the mind, as distinguished from a noumenon, or thing-in-itself.] In other words, Lisa is all surface; Mirabelle has depth.

Enter two men with whom Mirabelle develops romantic and erotic involvements: Jeremy, 26, and Ray Porter, a millionaire twice her age. The chronicle of these relationships is an insightful psychological study of how men and women—having divergent expectations—consistently misread and misunderstand one another.

Although the 130-page novella contains some clever quips and humorous moments, it is basically a serious work, rather than the slapstick gag one might expect from Mr. Martin. One pulls for Mirabelle, hoping she will overcome her problems and mistakes, and find the right road out of her slough of despondency.

Although people know Steve Martin as a zany, stand-up comedian—a “wild and crazy guy”—most do not know he majored in philosophy at California State University, studying, among other things, metaphysics, ethics, and logic. At various places in this novella, his penchant for the philosophical peeps through.

In fact, Martin may have picked up a key idea from Nietzsche, who wrote: “Only suffering leads to knowledge. Mighty pain is the last liberator of the spirit; she alone forces us to descend into our ultimate depths. I know life better because I have so often been at the point of losing it.”

Or, as the character in Shopgirl puts it: “Just remember, darling, it is pain that changes our lives.”

For other book reviews by Roy E. Perry, please visit: http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A2MVUWT453QH61/ref=cm_cr_auth/002-6294896-4602409?%5Fencoding=UTF8

David M. (Dave) Carew is writer/editor of “Underground Nashville” and the author of the novels “Everything Means Nothing to Me: A Novel of Underground Nashville” and “Voice from the Gutter,” both now available at Amazon.com and XLibris.com. Dave is also a freelance book editor, publicist, seminar and workshop leader, journalist, and advertising/marketing/public relations writer. ************

Everything Means Nothing to Me: A Novel of Underground Nashville by Dave Carew—which was praised by The Tennessean as beautiful, haunting, powerful—is now available in an all-new paperback edition. For more information, please visit:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss/191-4818370-7728230?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=David+M.+Carew

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Do you want to help homeless people in Nashville learn culinary arts and other employment skills that provide a specific, effective path off the streets? Please visit Lambscroft.org (link below) and consider making a financial contribution. Any amount is very helpful and appreciated. Thank you.

http://www.epiclifecreative.net/LambsCroft/

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Editor’s Note: “Underground Nashville” covers artists, authors, musicians, poets, political figures, and other compelling people and happenings not typically covered by the mainstream Nashville media. It also presents reflections and commentary from an underground/indie perspective, offering thoughts from the shadows of a great American city. Dave Carew

Chakra Bleu hits #1; releases new dance single

By Dave Carew

These are exciting times for beloved pop/rock/Americana artist Chakra Bleu. Her tune “All of Me” just hit #1 on New Music Weekly’s Top 40 Indie Chart, while simultaneously climbing into the Top 10 on the NMW Mainstream Top 40 and Hot 100 Singles Charts.

Released on April 18, the single has been relentlessly edging up the charts, and now has received thousands of radio spins. The hit tune was co-produced by Chakra Bleu and John Billings, a former bass player for the legendary Donna Summer. The accompanying video (check it out on YouTube) was produced by Ray Boone of Music City Video.

If you think “Bleu” is content to do nothing but bask in the glow of a #1, you would be mistaken. She recently released the follow-up to “All of Me,” the dance tune “When We Dance.” A press release from her label described the tune as “a magnetic, pulsing recording that captures the timeless, passionate moment of a couple dancing closely together on the dance floor.”

If you dig that feeling, you’ll likely dig this tune.

For more information, and to download tracks, please visit: http://www.chakrableu.com/

David M. (Dave) Carew is writer/editor of Underground Nashville and the author of the novels Everything Means Nothing to Me: A Novel of Underground Nashville and Voice from the Gutter, both now available at Amazon.com and XLibris.com. Dave is also a freelance book editor, publicist, seminar and workshop leader, journalist, and advertising / marketing / public relations writer. ************

Everything Means Nothing to Me: A Novel of Underground Nashville by Dave Carew—which was praised by The Tennessean as beautiful, haunting, powerful—is now available in an all-new paperback edition. For more information, please visit:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss/191-4818370-7728230?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=David+M.+Carew

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Do you want to help homeless people in Nashville learn culinary arts and other employment skills that provide a specific, effective path off the streets? Please visit Lambscroft.org (link below) and consider making a financial contribution. Any amount is very helpful and appreciated. Thank you.

http://www.epiclifecreative.net/LambsCroft/

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Editor’s Note: Underground Nashville covers artists, authors, musicians, poets, political figures, and other compelling people and happenings not typically covered by the mainstream Nashville media. It also presents reflections and commentary from an underground/indie perspective, offering thoughts from the shadows of a great American city. Dave Carew

 

Louise Mosrie: The “Underground Nashville” interview

By Dave Carew

Louise Mosrie is a gifted, award-winning folk / Americana singer-songwriter who was a Rocky Mountain Folk Festival Showcase Artist in 2012. Louise’s album Home was #11 on the Folk DJ “Album of the Year” charts in 2010, and the album and single “Home” hit the #1 position in January of that year.

Last month, I, along with my uncle and his wife, were lucky enough to catch Louise’s wonderful writers’ night at the Bluebird Café. I was so struck by Louise’s performance that I requested an interview. She graciously consented, and here’s how our conversation went:

UNDERGROUND NASHVILLE: Why did you feel compelled to become a singer-songwriter?

LOUISE MOSRIE: I wanted to be a singer from the minute I knew what singing was . . . I mean, from when I was in the crib. I was also a rather introverted type of kid and wrote poetry. Years later, I combined the two things and started writing songs. After I wrote my first song (which really sucked, by the way), I was hooked. It’s been a passion ever since. My goal is to write songs that give you goosebumps or make you cry or both.

UN: If you had the length of an elevator ride to tell Underground Nashville‘s readers what is distinctive about your music—and why they might be enriched by it—what would you say?

LM: My songs are simple, honest, and usually convey a sense of place—very visual and sensory. I write about topics that are atypical and songs that have layers of meaning, very purposefully. Many of my songs are set in a historical context and that seems to attract some listeners who are history buffs. But what other people get from it is their business because it’s different for everyone.

UN:  Where do you hope your music takes you in the next two years, and why?

LM: I would simply like to keep writing and making records and touring. It’s all I’ve ever wanted. If I can make it work in whatever capacity—either as an indie artist or on a label, it makes no difference to me. I just want to keep going. Nowadays it seems like you need lots of outlets to make it all come together . . . TV/film placements, publishing, touring, and downloading/CD/merch sales.

I am working on a new record—hopefully will be doing some fundraising and start production in the next few months. In November, I’m touring in NY with two gigs in New York City, one of which is opening for folk legend Cliff Eberhardt at the historic Gaslight Café, which is exciting for me!

For more information, please visit LouiseMosrie.com.

David M. (Dave) Carew is writer/editor of “Underground Nashville” and the author of the novels “Everything Means Nothing to Me: A Novel of Underground Nashville” and “Voice from the Gutter,” both now available at XLibris.com. Dave also is a freelance book editor, publicist, seminar and workshop leader, journalist, and advertising / marketing / public relations writer.

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Do you want to help homeless people in Nashville learn culinary arts and other employment skills that provide a specific, effective path off the streets? Please visit Lambscroft.org and consider making a financial contribution. Any amount is very helpful and appreciated. Thank you.

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Editor’s Note: “Underground Nashville” covers artists, authors, musicians, poets, political figures, and other compelling people and happenings not typically covered by the mainstream Nashville media. It also presents reflections and commentary from an underground/indie perspective, offering “thoughts from the shadows of a great American city.”

Dave Carew

 

 

New Gram Parsons book sheds fascinating light on GP’s visionary musical contribution

by Dave Carew

For years the debate has raged: What was Gram Parsons’ REAL contribution to contemporary American music? Is he over-rated? Under-rated? Why has the fascination with this thoroughly unique musician—who lived mostly on the periphery of the music scene during his brief 26 years—grown stronger and stronger with each passing year?

A new book, Calling Me Home: Gram Parsons and the Roots of Country Rock by Bob Kealing explores GP’s groundbreaking contribution to American music and culture. Shedding eye-opening new light on GP’s legendary life and career, Mr. Kealing has drawn on dozens of new interviews, uncovering information that even Gram Parsons’ most rabid fans will find fresh and revealing.

In this exclusive two-part interview with Underground Nashville, Mr. Kealing, a central Florida resident, discusses his new book:

UNDERGROUND NASHVILLE: What sparked your initial interest in Gram Parsons?

BOB KEALING: Gram is central-Florida born and spent a lot of his teen years in Winter Haven. The more I dug into this story, the more I realized how Gram is the thread to tell the story of so many important musicians and entertainers who grew up in [central Florida]. The list is long. Add to that Gram’s upbringing—part old South aristocracy, part free-wheeling musician, part trail-blazing visionary, part addicted child of alcoholics—and you have the makings of a fascinating story and cautionary tale.

UN:  Why did you feel there is a critical need for Calling Me Home? What is distinctive about your new book vis a vis other books about Gram Parsons and his music?

BK: In other writings about Parsons, he seems to receive particularly harsh treatment because he overdosed and died young. If time has taught us anything, it’s to blame the addiction, not the addicted. What resulted [in the book], was a cathartic journey tracing the entire arc of Gram’s career, but from a uniquely Southern perspective.

In 2009, at the Newseum in Washington D.C., I uncovered the Ted Polumbaum photos of Gram Parsons at Harvard. This is the first time they’ve been published in a book. I was [also] given the first access to quote from a memoir written by Gram’s little sister Avis. Her words are often heartbreaking. But they clearly spell out how she and Gram felt about their mother, father, and later, their adoptive father.

There are new interviews with key figures in Gram’s career, who’ve been hesitant to speak out: Jim Stafford takes us to the very living room where he gave Gram the advice to pursue country music. Roger McGuinn gives a new take about Gram’s brief but historic time in the Byrds and their landmark album, Sweetheart of the Rodeo. I interviewed a guy who snuck backstage before the Byrds’ performance at the Ryman, and interviewed the Byrds for his college newspaper. He has some keen, up-close insights on Gram’s experiences that historic night.

Part 2 of our exclusive Underground Nashville interview with author Bob Kealing will be posted later this week.

Calling Me Home will be officially published on September 23, but may be pre-ordered now at Amazon.com and other online vendors. 

David M. (Dave) Carew is writer/editor of “Underground Nashville” and the author of the novels “Everything Means Nothing to Me: A Novel of Underground Nashville” and “Voice from the Gutter.” He also is a freelance book editor, publicist, seminar and workshop leader, journalist, and advertising/marketing/public relations writer.

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Do you want to help homeless people in Nashville learn culinary arts and other employment skills that provide a specific, effective path off the streets? Please visit Lambscroft.org and consider making a financial contribution. Any amount is very helpful and appreciated. Thank you.

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Editor’s Note: “Underground Nashville” covers artists, authors, musicians, poets, political figures, and other compelling people and happenings not typically covered by the mainstream Nashville media. It also presents reflections and commentary from an underground/indie perspective, offering “thoughts from the shadows of a great American city.”

Dave Carew

 

 

What’s important about your music?

by Dave Carew

Last month I had the honor of leading a workshop for singer-songwriters at the first-ever Liahonaroo festival.  The title of my workshop was “5 Tips for Getting Publicity,” and an important facet of what I taught was how to work most effectively with the media.

One of the crucial things I taught was how vital it is for musicians to be able to talk clearly and intelligently about their music. I asked the singer-songwriters and band members to take some “down time” and truly reflect on these three questions:

*  What is your music all about?

*  What’s unique about it?

*  Why do you believe people should care about it?

Anyone who can answer those three questions—clearly, concisely, intelligently, and without arrogance—will have a decided advantage in cultivating positive relations and communications with the media . . . and, by extension, with current and prospective fans.

Here’s how David Ditrich—a gifted, up-and-coming Christian pop artist who attended my workshop—answered those three questions:

UNDERGROUND NASHVILLE: What is your music all about?

DAVID DITRICH:  I want my music to be a positive message and to be full of hope. Everyone has a story—and a past full of hurt and pain—but no matter what you have gone through, or might be going through, there is hope that your situation can change and things can get better. I want my listeners to be encouraged and reminded that hope is never lost or gone, only forgotten. It’s been here the whole time, so hold onto it and don’t let go!

UN: What’s unique about your music?

DD:  I feel what makes it unique is that, while having a positive message, it still remains kind of edgy. For example, if I start a song off kind of dark, by the end of it I want to resolve it with a message of hope.

UN: Why do you believe people should care about your music?

DD:  A couple of reasons: First, I think people are wanting more than what they are [currently] hearing. There are too many songs in the world that leave people feeling angry, sad, or depressed. And there are far too many songs about things that do not really even matter, like money, sex, and drugs.  I believe my music—even with it being edgy—still can keep my purpose of encouraging and speaking a message of hope, which people can connect with in a real way.

A review of David Ditrich’s (very fine) album’ Hope’ will appear soon in Underground Nashville. In the interim, visit FaceBook.com/DavidDitrichMusic.

David M. (Dave) Carew is writer/editor of “Underground Nashville” and the author of the novels “Everything Means Nothing to Me: A Novel of Underground Nashville” and “Voice from the Gutter.” He also is a freelance book editor, publicist, seminar and workshop leader, journalist, and advertising/marketing/public relations writer.

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Do you want to help homeless people in Nashville learn culinary arts and other employment skills that provide a specific, effective path off the streets? Please visit Lambscroft.org.  Please also consider coming to ParkLife, the benefit concert for Lambscroft, to be held in Sevier Park in 12South on a Saturday in August or September (date TBA soon). Thank you.

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Editor’s Note: “Underground Nashville” covers artists, authors, musicians, poets, political figures, and other compelling people and happenings not typically covered by the mainstream Nashville media. It also presents reflections and commentary from an underground/indie perspective, offering “thoughts from the shadows of a great American city.”

 

Dave Carew

 

 

Cappo’s Christmas Party” benefit for the Nashville Humane Association coming this Saturday to Douglas Corner

Editor’s Note: “Underground Nashville” covers artists, authors, musicians, poets, political figures, and other compelling people and happenings not typically covered by the mainstream Nashville media. It also presents reflections and commentary from an underground/indie perspective. As I told ‘The Tennessean’ in 2008, “since moving to Nashville twenty-five years ago, I have met people whose lives do not remotely reflect the caricature of what many outside our city presume to be a Nashvillian” or the Nashville experience. “Underground Nashville” thus explores the soul of the city, not its surface—offering “thoughts from the shadows of a great American city.”

Dave Carew

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Do you want to help homeless people in Nashville learn culinary arts and other employment skills that provide a specific, effective path off the streets? Please visit Lambscoft.org.  Thank you.
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“Cappo’s Christmas Party” benefit for the Nashville Humane Association coming this Saturday to Douglas Corner

by Dave Carew

One of Nashville’s most beloved good guys (call him Cappo) is again hosting his popular annual Christmas Party/Benefit Concert to raise money and collect much-needed supplies for the Nashville Humane Association. The benefit, known as “Cappo’s Christmas Party,” will be held this Saturday, December 3, at Douglas Corner Café, starting at 8 p.m.

Admission is free, but Cappo (pronounced COP-oh) always appreciates donations of dog or cat food, animal toys, leashes, beds . . . you get the picture. And money contributions to the Nashville Humane Association always are welcome, too.

If you like good live music—from everyone from Grammy winners to six-year olds getting their first-ever chance to perform before a live audience—this beloved annual benefit is not to be missed. And did I mention your host will keep you in stitches all night?

David M. (Dave) Carew is writer/editor of “Underground Nashville” and the author of the novels “Everything Means Nothing to Me: A Novel of Underground Nashville” and “Voice from the Gutter.” He also is a freelance book editor, publicist, and advertising/marketing/public relations writer.

Premier Beatles cover band Fab to present solo Beatles hits at 3rd & Lindsley

Editor’s Note: “Underground Nashville” covers artists, authors, musicians, poets, political figures, and other compelling people and happenings not typically covered by the mainstream Nashville media. It also presents reflections and commentary from an underground/indie perspective. As I told ‘The Tennessean’ in 2008, “since moving to Nashville twenty-five years ago, I have met people whose lives do not remotely reflect the caricature of what many outside our city presume to be a ‘Nashvillian’ or the Nashville experience.” “Underground Nashville” thus explores the soul of the city, not its surface—offering “thoughts from the shadows of a great American city.”

Dave Carew

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Do you want to help homeless people in Nashville learn culinary arts and other employment skills that provide a specific, effective path off the streets? Please visit Lambscoft.org.  Thank you.

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Premier Beatles cover band Fab to present solo Beatles hits at 3^rd & Lindsley

By Dave Carew

This Saturday, Fab—easily one of the best Beatles cover bands in the world—will be presenting SOLO Beatles hits at 3^rd & Lindsley…that is, hits John, Paul, George, and Ringo racked up on their own, after the greatest pop/rock band of all-time broke up. The fun starts this Saturday night, November 5, at 7 p.m.

Asked by Underground Nashville who came up with the idea for this new kind of Fab show, the band’s singer/keyboardist Bill Roberts said, “I think it came from a fan, who told it to our bass player, Alison. We’re always looking for new approaches to keep our shows fresh and entertaining.”

So learning a bunch of solo Beatles songs—was it hard?

“Learning new songs is like starting over—they don’t come easy,” Bill replied. “But what is life without variety?”

Hmmmm . . . we wonder if, when Bill said “they don’t come easy” and “what is life,” was he thinking about specific Beatles solo hits?

David M. (Dave) Carew is writer/editor of “Underground Nashville” and the author of the novels “Everything Means Nothing to Me: A Novel of Underground Nashville” and “Voice from the Gutter.” He also is a freelance book editor, publicist, and advertising/marketing/public relations writer.

CD Review: The Burritos’ “Sound as Ever”

By Dave Carew

”Sound as ever” was a valediction Gram Parsons used when closing letters to family and friends. It’s an obscure reference—you basically have to be a Gram freak (like me) to get it, and to, hence, get the connection between Gram Parsons, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and this outstanding debut album by the Nashville-based band The Burritos.

Twenty years from now, when music historians pose the question: “Who, in Nashville during the early 21^st century, most kept the musical legacy of Gram Parsons alive?” I will—if still kicking around—answer unequivocally: Chris James and Walter Egan, both of whom now are members of The Burritos. Among the many things each man has done to keep GP’s flame burning has been to play and/or host numerous Gram Parsons Tribute shows. Chris also has written at length about GP in his much-loved music magazine Shake! And Walter frequently has graced his recent shows with the song “Hearts on Fire”—which also appears on this record—which Walter gave to Gram in the early 1970s and which later appeared on Gram’s second solo album, Grievous Angel.

What really counts, though, is how much The Burritos, on this record, delve into the mystic richness of the legacy and use it to create new musical gold. Song after song on Sound as Ever is an absolute gem of the “Cosmic American Music” genre. The unforgettable songs just keep on coming—with “Beggar’s Banquet,” “Angeline,” “The Hundred Year Flood,” and “Song and Dance Man” being particular examples of writing that is—by turns—emotive, country-soulful, and just damn way-cool.

I can offer no higher compliment than this: If Gram Parsons and the original Flying Burrito Brothers could have warded off the demons and produced a great follow-up to their classic The Gilded Palace of Sin, it may very well have sounded like this fantastic new album.

David M. (Dave) Carew is writer/editor of “Underground Nashville” and the author of the novels “Everything Means Nothing to Me: A Novel of Underground Nashville” and “Voice from the Gutter.” He also is a freelance book editor, publicist, and advertising/marketing/public relations writer.

Libertarian Party Blasts War in Afghanistan

Editor’s Note: “Underground Nashville” covers artists, authors, musicians, poets, political figures, and other compelling people and happenings not typically covered by the mainstream Nashville media. It also presents reflections and commentary from an underground/indie perspective. As I told ‘The Tennessean’ in 2008, “since moving to Nashville twenty-five years ago, I have met people whose lives do not remotely reflect the caricature of what many outside our city presume to be a ‘Nashvillian’ or the Nashville experience.” “Underground Nashville” thus explores the soul of the city, not its surface—offering “thoughts from the shadows of a great American city.”

Dave Carew

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Do you want to help homeless people in Nashville learn culinary arts and other employment skills that provide a specific, effective path off the streets? Please visit Lambscoft.org.  Thank you.
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Libertarian Party Blasts War in Afghanistan

Exclusive Interview with Wes Benedict, Executive Director, Libertarian National Committee, Inc.

Although it supported the initial U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in the aftermath of September 11, the national Libertarian Party has staunchly opposed most of the ensuing conduct of the war. In this exclusive interview for Underground Nashville—conducted shortly after President Obama’s recent announcement of a forthcoming troop draw-down—LP Executive Director Wes Benedict explains his political party’s firm stance against the present war:

UNDERGROUND NASHVILLE:  How do you respond to people who say we must stay in Afghanistan at least through 2014, to keep Al Quaida (via the Taliban) from regaining a foothold that could lead to more attacks against the West?

WES BENEDICT:It was wrong to go there, it is wrong to be there, and we should get out now. Our response to the terrorist attacks has caused far more damage to the West than the terrorist acts themselves. If you’re a Western Christian, I’d say take your finger off the trigger and have some faith in God. If you’re a Western believer in the superiority of freedom, have some faith that authoritarian societal arrangements will self-destruct, like the Soviet Union did. I don’t like Al Quaida, but we can survive with it if we stop doing what they want.

UN: How do you and the LP believe potential terrorist attacks against the U.S. should be countered?

WB: Every human being is a potential terrorist, thief, and murderer. Get over it. People need to get out of their heads that we should be focusing on preventing every possible terrorist attack. Most terrorism against America is a symptom. It is a reaction to our foreign policy of meddling in others’ affairs. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The 9-11 perpetrators were criminals and we should have only gone after those involved—not entire countries.

For more information about the Libertarian Party, visit LP.org.

Editor’s Note:  The fact that Underground Nashville presents ideas from a certain political figure or organization should not be construed as support of that person or organization. When we write political posts (which happens rarely), we present ideas from across the political spectrum. We believe people should study ideas from a wide variety of sources. It’s what used to be known as “thinking.”

David M. (Dave) Carew is writer/editor of “Underground Nashville” and the author of the novels “Everything Means Nothing to Me: A Novel of Underground Nashville” and “Voice from the Gutter.” He also is a freelance book editor, publicist, and advertising/marketing/public relations copywriter.

Book Review: “Music City’s Defining Decade: Stories, Stars, Songwriters & Scoundrels of the 1970s” by Dennis Glaser

Editor’s Note: “Underground Nashville” covers artists, authors, musicians, poets, political figures, and other compelling people and happenings not typically covered by the mainstream Nashville media. It also presents reflections and commentary from an underground/indie perspective. As I told ‘The Tennessean’ in 2008, “since moving to Nashville twenty-five years ago, I have met people whose lives do not remotely reflect the caricature of what many outside our city presume to be a ‘Nashvillian’ or the Nashville experience.” “Underground Nashville” thus explores the soul of the city, not its surface—offering “thoughts from the shadows of a great American city.”

 Dave Carew

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Do you want to help homeless people in Nashville learn culinary arts and other employment skills that provide a specific, effective path off the streets? Please visit Lambscoft.org.  Thank you.

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Book Review: “Music City’s Defining Decade: Stories, Stars, Songwriters & Scoundrels of the 1970s” by Dennis Glaser

By Dave Carew

Dennis Glaser (Tompall’s cousin and former manager) had, in his words, “a front row seat” during the seminal decade of the 1970s when “outlaws” like Waylon Jennings led a transformation of country music sound and culture from ‘hillbilly’ to today’s more modern sound.

Now, Glaser offers YOU that front-row seat in his new book Music City’s Defining Decade, a colorful, insightful, sometimes wickedly funny look at Glaser’s own experiences on Music Row in the ‘70s.  Between the covers of one highly enjoyable and engaging book, Glaser gives us an “up close and personal” look at the stars, songwriters, and scoundrels whose talent, personalities, achievements, and foibles made the 1970s country music’s most transformative and indelible decade.

From Waylon Jennings to John Hartford to Shel Silverstein to the Glaser Brothers to Alabama to dozens of others, Glaser reveals what it was like to know, hang with, and sometimes work for oh-so-human artists and biz wizzes now often viewed as musical icons.

For anyone fascinated by country music history and who desires a street-level, “you are there” perspective on Nashville in the 1970, this book is an absolute must.

Music City’s Defining Decade: Stories, Stars, Songwriters & Scoundrels is now available from Amazon.com.

David M. (Dave) Carew is writer/editor of “Underground Nashville” and the author of the novels “Everything Means Nothing to Me: A Novel of Underground Nashville” and “Voice from the Gutter.” He also is a freelance book editor, publicist, and copywriter.