Blog Archives
How to Thwart Music Equipment Theft
From rock stars to up-and-comers towing U-Haul trailers, too many artists and musicians have been victims of equipment theft. Whether it’s Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers losing five vintage guitars during a soundcheck to a sticky-fingered security guard, or Country newcomer JJ Lawhorn being ripped off for $4,000 worth of gear from his band’s van while checking into a hotel in Valdosta, Ga., no one is immune.
But everyone can more effectively deal with and prevent equipment loss.
Step One involves purchasing replacement value insurance or, at the very least, adding replacement value riders to homeowners insurance as a safeguard against theft. “All my gear is insured for replacement value,” said veteran guitarist, guitar builder and former Lonestar tech Ricky Dodson. “I have detailed descriptions of my gear and any upgrades that were made to them, as well as model and serial numbers, obviously. I take pictures and mark them, sometimes overtly and sometimes subtly, where the would-be thief might not think to look for it. Also, I don’t advertise on my car that I play, with bumper stickers of brands or anything like that. And I always leave my gear in the trunk if I can’t carry it with me.”
Martina McBride Rides Her Soul Train
Photo credit: Glynis Carpenter
Country Music headliner Martina McBride’s catalog overflows with powerfully communicative performances. The playful “I Love You,” the heartbroken ballad “Wrong Again,” and the empowering anthems “Independence Day,” “This One’s for the Girls” and “Wrong Baby Wrong” unfold along clear lines of melody, which the five-time CMA Award winner animated with her own distinctive phrasing and interpretive sense.
NEW ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Dallas Smith
Dallas Smith got into Country Music by Default. Default, of course, was the superstar band whose neo-grunge anthems shot them to the top of Canada’s indie-rock pile in the early ’00s. Their No. 2 smash in the U.S., “Wasting My Time,” exemplified their sound, particularly in Smith’s vocals: hurt, angry and ecstatic, all at the same time.
So here is Smith again, this time singing about moonshine, the Fourth of July, tan lines, Mountain Dew, Daisy Dukes and even “panties in your purse.” His angst has yielded to a more ebullient and exuberant approach. Somehow a little down-home drawl has softened his delivery, and even his song titles have started dropping their “g’s.”
Photo credit: Kristin Barlowe
And guess what? With the release of his EP Tippin’ Point, produced by Joey Moi, we may be meeting the real Dallas Smith for the first time. Raised in rural British Columbia, he grew up to the tune of his mother’s Country albums, with plenty of Garth Brooks, Brooks & Dunn and Alan Jackson on the playlist. To these influences, he added Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban and other Country connoisseurs of strong melodies and expressive vocals. From Default, he learned to project with deep emotion; from Country, he stirred in some humor and accessibility. And on the title track and first single, written by Florida Georgia Line’s Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley, with Jaren Johnston, he ties it together with a lip-tripping hook, like he was born to sing this way. By Bob Doerschuk
For more on Dallas Smith, visit www.CMACloseUp.com.
IN HIS OWN WORDS
Country Artists Invest in Custom Guitar Straps
Pistol Annies guitar straps, created by Terry Misner of Action Custom Straps.
Photo Credit: Courtesy Action Guitar Straps
A guitar strap is more than a means to support a piece of musical equipment. It’s also a canvas for personal expression and for helping audiences see exactly who you are.
Take Marty Roe. When the Diamond Rio guitarist wanted a strap with a prisoner-of-war theme for the video of “In God We Still Trust,” he called on Jeri Hart, founder of the St. Louis-based jeri designs. She fashioned a one-of-a-kind strap: thick but supple belt leather, painted blue, airbrushed with the words “You are not forgotten” and adorned on the front with a hand-cut kidskin POW logo.
NEW ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Jon Pardi
Saloon pianos clink, guitars crunch and fiddles, well, they fiddle throughout Write You a Song, Jon Pardi’s debut album on Capitol Records Nashville. And it fits together into a package that practically dares you not to get up and dance.
A lot of Pardi’s energy stems from days on the road and long nights on stages throughout his home state of California. He was already absorbing the spirit of real-world Country when he performed “Friends in Low Places” at age 7 for his father’s 30th birthday party. His first songs came at 12, his first band debuted two years later. The move to Nashville followed two restless years at Butte Junior College.
Justin Moore Straddles the Standard/Deluxe Line
Photo Credit: Kristin Barlowe
Justin Moore is a man who listens to his gut … and his gut was telling him that Off the Beaten Path, his third studio album on The Valory Music Co. label, was complete. In fact, he was sure that these 16 tracks would tell the story he wanted to tell, as an artist and a person, more clearly than anything he had recorded previously.
There was just one problem.
Bucky Covington Blazes a Path toward Fire Safety
Spectacular entrances are traditional at the CMA Awards along the Macy’s Walk of Stars, but it’s safe to say no one will soon top the 2012 arrival of Bucky Covington, who showed up aboard a vintage Nashville Fire Department truck as red flashers whirled.
Aside from fulfilling every kid’s fantasy, Covington chose this vehicle to inspire support for firefighters who lost their lives or suffered debilitating injuries while on the job.
Miranda Lambert Rides the Milk Wagon
Miranda Lambert joins the MilkPEP National Milk Mustache’s “got milk?” campaign. Photo: courtesy of MilkPEP
Country artists are hardly strangers to the National Milk Mustache “got milk?” campaign. Still, when Miranda Lambert chose the day before the 2012 CMA Awards to unveil her portrait as the latest in this long line of celebrities, athletes and even cartoon characters, media filled the CMA atrium to witness the occasion.
The image captures the CMA Female Vocalist of the Year on a weathered wood porch, a grassy field stretching toward trees and hills, with a glass of milk in her hand, a bowl of cereal on the ground and the inevitable white frost above her upper lip. Lambert looks as though she was at home on her Oklahoma farm, although the wall was a backdrop and the photo was taken in New Jersey, at a site scouted by photographer Annie Leibovitz and her staff.
Jason Aldean Rides His Night Train
Jason Aldean performs at the 2012 CMA Awards. Photo credit: Donn Jones/CMA
Jason Aldean’s My Kinda Party won CMA’s Album of the Year Award in 2011, amassing more sales than any other Country album in that calendar year. And if anyone still harbored doubts about his stature, the 2012 nominations list pretty much put them to rest. Aldean nabbed three nominations, including his second straight for Entertainer of the Year. But he also had a hand in the successes of some other acts that populated the finalists list.
“CMA Country Christmas” Celebrates the Holiday Season on ABC-TV
For Robert Deaton, Executive Producer of “The CMA Awards” and “CMA Country Christmas,” there’s a world of difference between the two ABC-TV specials. It ultimately comes down to one word.
“Tension,” he specified. “There’s a lot of tension in the room for the Awards show because there’s so much riding on who’s going to win and it’s a live broadcast. The Christmas show is very different. It’s warm and open. People are there to have a good time. “
