Interview with Jamey Johnson’s manager, Arlis Albritton

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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Middle Tennessee was devastated in May by flooding from which it will take many more months to recover. Please join the recovery effort by contacting Hands on Nashville at Hon.org or by calling (in Nashville) 211. Otherwise, please call 800-318-9355. You can also support The Salvation Army’s relief efforts by going to Salarmy-Nashville.org or calling 800-725-2769.  Thank you.
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Interview with Jamey Johnson’s manager, Arlis Albritton

by Dave Carew

Jamey Johnson and his manager, Arlis Albritton, must be doing something right. Here was the news story ripped across the headlines on December 1:

Multiple GRAMMY Nods for Jamey Johnson – – Nominations for the 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards were announced on Wednesday, and Mercury Records recording artist Jamey Johnson has received three nods in the following categories:

* BEST COUNTRY ALBUM for The Guitar Song

* BEST COUNTRY MALE VOCAL PERFORMANCE for “Macon”

* BEST COUNTRY COLLABORATION WITH VOCALS for “Bad Angel” performed with Dierks Bentley and Miranda Lambert

In addition to managing his artist so capably, Arlis Albritton also is a gifted, in-demand songwriter whose “Good Morning Sunrise” (which he also produced) is one of the stand-out tracks on Jamey Johnson’s Grammy-nominated album. Arlis writes songs for Amylase Entertainment/Warner Chappell, where he has scored cuts with Diamond Rio, Keith Anderson, Julie Roberts, Randy Houser, and Josh Thompson.  During the past two weeks, the Arlis-penned “Won’t be Lonely Long,” recorded by Thompson, cracked the Billboard charts.  Arlis also has just released his own Jimmy-Buffett-vibe album, “All Washed Up,” now available on iTunes.

Underground Nashville interviewed Arlis Albritton last weekend about his amazing year and his Grammy-nominated artist.  Here’s how our conversation went:

UNDERGROUND NASHVILLE:  As Jamey Johnson’s manager, you must, in part, help craft the public perception of Jamey as an artist.  If you had 30 seconds to tell someone what is MOST distinctive and important about him, what would you say?

ARLIS ALBRITTON: I’d say Jamey is most distinctive because he is himself.  As a songwriter he writes what he knows and lives what he writes.  He honors and truly respects everyone who makes music in all genres, but has the utmost respect for the country music legends and the history of country music.

UN:  Why do you think Jamey’s latest album, The Guitar Song, has garnered such critical praise and, now, three Grammy nominations?

AA: Honesty, I feel that in some cases an artist may write for radio and critics, only to lose focus on real life.  I think Jamey can’t write or sing about anything other than real-life situations.  I feel his peers respect him for that.  Also, for the most part, the band on the road with him is the band that records in the studio.  He lives with these guys year-round on the road, so when they go in to the studio I believe it reflects on the recordings.  There’s a comfort level you can’t find with strange musicians recording your life story in real time.

UN:  Tell us about your own new album.  Why did you create it, and how can people discover more about it and/or purchase it?

AA: I was born and raised in Florida near the Gulf Coast.  My family always hung out with fisherman, sailors, and salty folks like that.  I started out writing Jimmy Buffett-style songs before turning to country music.  When I was let go by my publisher after six years, I immediately gravitated to writing these type of songs again.  I was at a super low when it came to income and myself.  These are those songs written during that time.  It’s funny.  I am not a singer, but decided to sing on all these songs because I wrote them all by myself.  I made it for my parents, and to help restore my confidence as a writer.  I have had a lot of great response from it.  Jamey liked one of the songs enough to cut it on his new album The Guitar Song.  People who tend to love-story-type songs like Jimmy Buffett or Willie Nelson will dig this album.  You can find the album All Washed Up on iTunes.

David M. (Dave) Carew is 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.

Interview with Americana singer/songwriter Jill Sissel

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

************

Middle Tennessee was devastated in May from flooding from which it will take months—in some cases, years—to recover. Please join the recovery effort by contacting Hands on Nashville at Hon.org or by calling (in Nashville) 211. Otherwise, please call 800-318-9355. You can also support The Salvation Army’s relief efforts by going to Salarmy-Nashville.org of calling 800-725-2769.  Thank you.
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Interview with Americana singer/songwriter Jill Sissel

by Dave Carew

I first met Jill Sissel nearly a decade ago, when she opened for Chakra Bleu, the Fleetwood Mac-esque band I was helping to publicize at the time.  I remember Jill’s heartfelt, passionate Americana music touching me whenever I heard it, and I made a point of buying both CD’s she was selling at her shows back then.

Underground Nashville recently received an e-mail blast from Jill, promoting her latest album, Haunted Highway, and her two upcoming shows, which will at the Franklin (Tennessee) Farmer’s Market on Saturday, December 11 from 9 -12 p.m., and at the Purple House (854 Bradford Ave, Nashville, TN.) on New Year’s Eve, with the show starting at 9:30 pm.  Because I hadn’t heard about Jill in a while, I thought it would be fun and valuable for our readers to catch up with her and ask her how her life and music have been these past few years. Here’s how our interview with her went:

UNDERGROUND NASHVILLE:  If you had to identify your musical / artistic vision and/or influences, what would you say they are?

JILL SISSEL: I first heard the term Americana in the late 90’s while attending a songwriters workshop. Someone told me my music was Americana. I believe the influences of country/rock music took hold of my imagination, as far as how I write melodies and song structure.  From the beginnings of lyric writing, I was strongly influenced by John Denver and the way he described the unity of all things in nature.  Other groups like Bread and the Eagles gave rise to how relationships and love influences a writer’s lyrics.  As a child, my mother and dad would play country songs by Lynn Anderson and Conway Twitty. The “story” behind a good song, country or rock,  has always captured my imagination and if, I allow the melody to flow, the lyrics will usually follow.

UN: In a note to me, you mentioned that your new album Haunted Highway (which Underground Nashville will review soon) is distinct because of the contribution of New Jersey songwriter Mike Kuhl.  What was Mike’s specific influence on the songs?  How did that help make them distinct from the songs on your previous five albums?

JS: Mike Kuhl is a colorful and prolific lyricist who I met through a mutual friend, Joni Ward. My first experience writing with Mike was on a three-way telephone call. He had an idea for a song called “My Girl Loves Merle.”  Being that I had never written with someone whom I could not see, it was extremely liberating.  We wrote a whole year before finally meeting in the same room.  On the phone, he would tell me an idea or hook he had, and I would pick up the guitar and write a melody to go with it.  Sometimes I couldn’t get to the instrument and he’d send me an email with the lyrics; after that I’d write the tune and send him my melody.  I wrote his ideas for a long time, then I began to introduce my ideas to him and he was right there with the help I needed, never straying from my vision. “Haunted Highway,” the first song on the album, was his idea.  “Thinkin bout Home” (Lita Music ASCAP) was mine.  “The Bottle or the Bible” was his, as well as “Time Machine.”  Our writing relationship continues to grow and is very gratifying.   His style is different than mine in that I usually write the melody first.  Mike always has the lyrics.

UN:  What has been your greatest thrill as an artist so far?  Why?

JS: My greatest thrill so far as an artist is the duet with Walter Egan on “Texas Moon,” the sixth cut on the CD.  Because Walter is such an easy going, very talented artist; I am so lucky to have had his voice on the song.

My first round in Nashville at the Broken Spoke back in ’98, I met Walter.  I finished my round and he approached me and said if I wanted to put together a round he would play.  I took him up on that, and the next time I sang there, he and Irene Kelly were my guests.  From there, we have been friends.  It’s a thrill because as a kid I used to hear his song, “Magnet and Steel” ALL the time.  To become associates with someone as successful as Walter Egan and then to have him come over to your house and work up a song he just learned and sing it right there, was a night to remember!

UN:  If you could play any venue or “room” in the world (that you have not yet played), what would it be, and why?

JS: I would love to play the Ryman Auditorium. Not only does the room bear quite a remarkable acoustic quality, but the great artists and musicians who have graced the stage have left an indelible impression and created memorable performances there.  Given the historical and prestigious values the building represents, I will hold on to the vision of performing there at some point.

For more information, please visit JillSissel.com.

David M. (Dave) Carew is 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.

Under-publicized event provides enjoyable, enriching night of Gram Parsons’ music

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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Middle Tennessee was devastated in May from flooding from which it will take months—in some cases, years—to recover. Please join the recovery effort by contacting Hands on Nashville at Hon.org or by calling (in Nashville) 211. Otherwise, please call 800-318-9355. You can also support The Salvation Army’s relief efforts by going to Salarmy-Nashville.org of calling 800-725-2769.  Thank you.

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Under-publicized event provides enjoyable, enriching night of Gram Parsons’ music

by Dave Carew

Earlier this month, the Gram Parsons Tribute Concert—promoted heavily on this blog and, seemingly, hardly anywhere else—was held at The 5 Spot in Nashville. Despite a crowd that never topped 50-or-so, due to the lack of publicity, the night was a huge musical success, with Walter Egan and Chris James’ “Grampyres” being particularly stand-out.  The interesting—perhaps sad—truth is that Walter and Chris perform Gram Parsons tunes at a much higher level than Gram or The Flying Burrito Brothers ever did.  (Don’t get me wrong; I love the Burritos. They just typically left a lot to be desired as a live band, thanks, in no small art, to Gram’s illegal smile.)

One curiosity about this show was why The 5 Spot…or the people handling publicity for the show…and/or The Tennessean would choose to bill this concert as “Gram National” in the newspaper listings.  “Gram National” means… um…approximately nothing to anyone but those behind the event. And listing the event that way in the newspaper guaranteed that even hard-core Gram Parsons fans in Nashville (of whom there are hundreds if not thousands) would have absolutely no idea a Gram Parsons Tribute Concert was being held at the 5 Spot that night.  Which was a pity.  Last year, when the simple words “Gram Parsons Tribute Concert” was used in the newspaper, the resulting crowd was (at least) three times larger.

The inability of most musicians to intelligently publicize themselves never ceases to amaze me.

David M. (Dave) Carew is 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.

Gram Parsons Tribute Concert (“Gram National”) coming this Friday to The 5 Spot in East Nashville

Gram Parsons Tribute Concert (“Gram National”) coming this Friday to The 5 Spot in East Nashville

by Dave Carew

Don’t forget that “Gram National”—the annual Gram Parsons Tribute Concert that advocates for Gram’s induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame—will be held this Friday, November 5, at The 5 Spot in East Nashville, starting at 8 p.m.

Included in the lineup are Underground Nashville favorites Walter Egan and Chris James—along with Rick Lonow and John Terrence—who will be playing as “The Grampyres.” (They are scheduled to go on at 10:40 p.m.)

Other outstanding artists hitting one of Nashville’s favorite stages will be The Coal Men, Jennifer Brantley (who recently was chosen to record the only unrecorded Hank Williams, Sr. song), Derek Hoke, Don Gallardo & How Far West, American Aquarium, and more.

This is always one of the coolest live shows of the year. Don’t miss it!

David M. (Dave) Carew is 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.

My interview with “The Vanderbilt Hustler”

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

************

Middle Tennessee was devastated by flooding in May from which it will take months—in some cases, years—to recover. Please join the recovery effort by contacting Hands on Nashville at Hon.org or by calling (in Nashville) 211. Otherwise, please call 800-318-9355. You can also support The Salvation Army’s relief efforts by going to Salarmy-Nashville.org of calling 800-725-2769.  Thank you.
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My interview with The Vanderbilt Hustler

by Dave Carew

After the release of my latest novel Everything Means Nothing to Me: A Novel of Underground Nashville, I was interviewed about my novel by The Vanderbilt [university] Hustler. I thought the reporter at the Hustler asked some particularly probing questions; I particularly enjoyed revealing why I felt compelled to write the story, why it’s set in underground Nashville, and which specific authors and filmmakers influenced my novel. I hope you might take six minutes to listen to this interview. You’ll find the podcast here:

http://www.insidevandy.com/drupal/files/author.mp3

David M. (Dave) Carew is 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.

 

The U.S Economy: A Distinguished Professor of Finance Challenges the Conventional Wisdom

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

************

Middle Tennessee was devastated by flooding in May from which it will take months—in some cases, years—to recover. Please join the recovery effort by contacting Hands on Nashville at Hon.org or by calling (in Nashville) 211. Otherwise, please call 800-318-9355. You can also support The Salvation Army’s relief efforts by going to Salarmy-Nashville.org of calling 800-725-2769.  Thank you.

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The U.S Economy:  A Distinguished Professor of Finance Challenges the Conventional Wisdom

Interview with Deryl Martin, Ph.D.
by Dave Carew

Dr. Deryl Martin is Professor of Finance at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, Tennessee. Dr. Martin’s research has been published in dozens of journals and newspapers, including the Journal of Economics and Business, the Journal of Business Ethics, and the Journal of Financial and Strategic Decisions.

Dr. Martin—a passionate libertarian—has been active in free-market-based politics and philosophy since 1980, and served as economic advisor to Andre Marrou, the 1992 Libertarian Party candidate for president.  He also is a past treasurer of the Libertarian National Committee, Inc.

Because Dr. Martin’s economic insights and perspective are so distinct from mainstream “conventional wisdom,” Underground Nashville was interested in asking him about his take on recent economic policies pursued by Presidents Bush and Obama. Here’s what Dr. Martin had to say:

UNDERGROUND NASHVILLE:  The common wisdom is that TARP (the Troubled Assets Relief Program) bail-out by President Bush and the federal government was necessary in late 2008 “to prevent another Great Depression.”  Why is this true or false?  If it’s false, what policy should the federal government have enacted at that time instead?

DERYL MARTIN, PhD: Examined a different way, TARP spells TRAP!  Believing that the Troubled Assets Relief Program was necessary is falling into the trap of thinking that politicians understand economics.  Commerce necessarily involves ebb and flow.  While some policies may postpone an economic downturn, it is equally true that when such measures are applied, the deferred downturns are more severe than they otherwise would be.  Thus, the result of government’s intervention is to magnify the swings of the business cycle.  Upswings lead to what Alan Greenspan called “irrational exuberance” and economic contractions turn into full-blown recessions.  The solution is to take government out of the economy, period.

UN:  Why do you believe President Obama’s economic stimulus package was the wrong policy?  if you had been President of the United States in early 2009, what policy would you have proposed instead, and why?

DM: Like TARP, targeted programs like “Cash for Clunkers” and first-time home buyer credits are nothing but corporate welfare and wealth transfers designed to attract various constituencies and votes.  Collectively, such stimuli are only band aids with temporary effect, as evidenced by the downturn in car and home sales when those programs ended.  What is needed is for the law to consistently hold companies and individuals accountable for their actions and for government to otherwise stay out of the way.  I would have reduced regulations and lowered taxes to give families more income to spend however they wished.  Government needs to spend less money, not more.

UN:  How do you answer critics of free-market economics who argue that it was the LACK of regulations (of Wall Street, of the mortgage industry, etc.) that resulted in “the Great Recession”?

DM: Who are these critics?  They certainly aren’t economists!  My guess is that they’re statists with a socialist agenda.  The root cause of this recession is government itself.  The free market didn’t ask for an increased role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the 1990’s.  The free market didn’t promote the granting of mortgages to people unable to afford them.  The free market didn’t have loose monetary policy to encourage economic growth.  No, Congress and our other government institutions did those things under the Clinton administration, and Bush continued them.  The Obama administration is just making matters worse.

David M. (Dave) Carew is 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.

 

Gram Parsons Tribute Concert Coming to Nashville on November 5

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

************

Middle Tennessee was devastated by flooding in May from which it will take months—in some cases, years—to recover. Please join the recovery effort by contacting Hands on Nashville at Hon.org or by calling (in Nashville) 211. Otherwise, please call 800-318-9355. You can also support The Salvation Army’s relief efforts by going to Salarmy-Nashville.org of calling 800-725-2769.  Thank you.

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Gram Parsons Tribute Concert Coming to Nashville on November 5

By Dave Carew

Our friends at “Gram National”—the annual Gram Parsons Tribute Concert that advocates for Gram’s induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame—have sent word to me that there WILL, in fact, be a Gram Parsons Tribute Concert in Nashville this year. (Previously there had been some confusion about this.)

An e-mail I received a few days ago reads, in part:

“Just to note that Gram National will be in Nashville again this year at The 5 Spot on Gram Parsons’ birthday, Nov 5. Included in the lineup are Walter Egan & Chris James (as the Burrito Brothers), Derek Hoke, Don Gallardo & How Far West, Jennifer Brantley (who played our first Gram National and recently was chosen to record the only unrecorded Hank Williams, Sr. song), American Aquarium, The Coal Men, and more. Please join us once again at The 5 Spot for a very special evening.”

As someone who attended both previous “Gram Nationals” in Nashville, I can personally vouch for the quality of this great annual concert.  So mark your calendar, and prepare to be part of the celebration of Gram Parsons’ life and indelible contribution to American music and culture.

David M. (Dave) Carew is 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.

Lynda Lucas dazzles on new demo recordings

Lynda Lucas dazzles on new demo recordings
By Dave Carew

Several weeks ago, I received in the mail the new, 13-song demo from Dublin, Ireland-based singer-songwriter Lynda Lucas. Lynda had absolutely knocked me and hundreds of other people out when she opened the Gram Parsons Tribute Concert held last September in Nashville at The 5 Spot.  After that, I asked her to send me anything she might record in the future.

After I received her new demo, I asked Lynda via e-mail what her plans are for it. She responded: “I am not sure what I am doing with the CD yet, but I have a few gigs lined up in Dublin. As you know, performing live is what I truly enjoy. I am still sending copies of the CD around to people, and hopefully I will get around to recording with a full band. I am on the lookout for a producer . . . hopefully T Bone Burnett will come to my rescue. Ha!”

Lynda may be kidding about ole T Bone, but the legendary record producer could certainly do a lot worse. When I think back on live performances I’ve seen over the past few years in Nashville—including from Conor Oberst, Mindy Smith, Mary Gauthier, and others of that ilk—the performance by Lynda Lucas at The 5 Spot last year easily ranks beside those of those much-better-known artists.

I also asked Lynda about various songs she performs on the demo CD, which includes cover and originals. I found particularly interesting her personal connection to the Gram Parsons-associated tune “Image of Me” (which you can see Lynda performing at The 5 Spot on YouTube).  Lynda responded:

“I first heard Gram Parsons sing this song, and [at first] thought he had written it. In 2007 I was in Crete, Greece at a songwriting seminar. There was a band there with Kevin Montgomery from Nashville. Kevin’s father is Bob Montgomery, who sang with Buddy Holly. Tommy Allsup, who also played with Buddy and who is 77years old, was with Kevin, and one night during a session singing around the pool, I was asked to sing a song. I sang “Image of Me,” and, afterwards, Tommy told me he had played on that track. That’s how I found out it was not a Gram [-written] song.”

Well, no matter who wrote it, it’s certainly never in better hands than when Lynda Lucas sings it. Which can be said of a heckuva lot of other songs, too. Here’s hoping someone in Dublin or London or Wherever wakes up to the amazing talent we saw last year in Nashville, and signs Lynda Lucas.

For more about Lynda Lucas, and to hear three new songs from her demo, visit  Myspace.com/lyndalucasmusic

David M. (Dave) Carew is 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.

The Rev gets it right

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

************

Middle Tennessee was devastated by flooding in May from which it will take months—in some cases, years—to recover. Please join the recovery effort by contacting Hands on Nashville at Hon.org or by calling (in Nashville) 211. Otherwise, please call 800-318-9355. You can also support The Salvation Army’s relief efforts by going to Salarmy-Nashville.com of calling 800-725-2769.  Thank you.

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The Rev gets it right

By Dave Carew

Kudos to Rev. Clay Stauffer for his “Message of the Week” in this morning’s Tennessean.  Normally, quoting a minister in Underground Nashville is about the last thing I’d be interested in doing. (I’m interested in the spiritual messages of Jesus, not in the way they’ve been polluted by ministers and “religion.”) But I’ll make an exception here. Although Rev. Stauffer is only thirty years old, he shares, in his column, a litany of spiritual/life insights that generally don’t come until a much older age—if at all. If I suddenly got beamed into a Shaft re-make, I’d be shouting “Right on!” after several of his assertions, including:

* “God is at work in this world in ways that we cannot even begin to understand . . . . God is a mystery and cannot be put in a box.”

* “Materialism and a false sense of self-sufficiency are the greatest threats to Christianity in North America . . . . [Jesus] was right when he said, ‘Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.’ Notice the order. Money makes a great servant but a terrible master.”

* “Technology is a blessing, but it will run and even ruin our lives if we let it. Facebook and Twitter are great ways to connect but can lead to narcissism . . . . helping others is the best way to fight our selfish inclinations.”

David M. (Dave) Carew is 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.

Lynda Lucas records 13-track demo in Dublin

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

************

Middle Tennessee was devastated in May by flooding from which it will take months—in some cases years—to recover. Please join the recovery effort by contacting Hands on Nashville at Hon.org or by calling (in Nashville) 211. Otherwise, please call 800-318-9355. You can also support The Salvation Army’s relief efforts by going to Salarmy-Nashville.com of calling 800-725-2769.  Thank you.

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Lynda Lucas records 13-track demo in Dublin

By Dave Carew

It’s not every day I receive a package from Dublin, Ireland, but that’s exactly what happened a few days ago.  When I opened it, I discovered, to my delight, it was the new 13-song demo CD from Lynda Lucas, the Irish singer-songwriter who dazzled at last year’s Gram Parsons Tribute Concert in Nashville. Lynda was kind enough to include me on the mailing list to receive her new work.

To me, the mark of a truly great singer is someone whose voice is so completely compelling it doesn’t NEED much instrumental backing . . . so compelling you’re barely AWARE there is no band supporting the vocal. That’s exactly the experience you have when you listen to Lynda’s newly recorded covers and original tunes.

I’ll have lots of additional thoughts about Lynda’s new demo next week in “Underground Nashville.”  Until then, do yourself a favor and go to YouTube, then enter “Lynda Lucas — Image of Me” in the search engine. “Image of Me” was written by Gram Parsons and was featured on Burrito Deluxe, the last of The Flying Burrito Brothers albums featuring Gram.  This version by Lynda Lucas is, to me, the finest, most heart-felt version of this song ever recorded.

David M. (Dave) Carew is 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.