Hey Attention all songwriters and artists… weather you are dreaming about your very first big cut, have had cuts, hits, or even had big #1 parties thrown in your honor …I want to let you in on one of Nashville’s fun for the whole family, best kept secrets. It’s called a GUITARBQ! I know you’re probably thinking’ “a Guitar B what?” A GuitarBQ! This is where your very generous host Doak Turner owner of the Nashville Muse supplies 50 lbs. of really great Bar BQ meat and the entertainment is provided by YOU and folks just like you! The annual GuitarBQ which takes place in the Spring time usually has over 300 hungry individuals who are either songwriters, guitar players, people who like listening to guitar players, singers, people who like listening to singer’s and people who love a good old fashioned down home Back yard Bar BQ! This my friends… is where Folk’s come to enjoy, relax and socialize each month on the third Sunday at 3PM. Unless of course we are talking about the Mondo GuitarBQ which is only once a year and that.. is what I want to talk about right here and now! It’s a great big music party held at a house, no a party house no well kind of like Animal House only without the toga’s! (Doak your host probably wouldn’t mind if you wore one…he’s kewl like that!) The 4TH Annual GuitarBQ was a blast, it was held right after Tin Pan South on April 2nd 2006 at a rockin’ house in the West Meade Dist. Not too far from Nashville’s Music Row. Doak Turner the owner of Nashville Muse supplied 50 pounds of GuitarBQ, sponsored by Milos Sweet Tea who donated 200 bottles of their refreshing drink and everyone brought a dish to pass and some Folk’s brought “Brews n Tunes” It’s a Sunday party where folks get together and share music, live! A couple of very entertaining rounds included Larry Weiss singing his hit song, “Rhinestone Cowboy”, Gunner Nelson performing his dad’s big hit – “Garden Party”, Steven McClintock singing a Tiffany hit, “After All This Time” Marc-Alan Barnette “Too Much Blood in My Alcohol Level and Marc and I even performed a song that we co-wrote “That’s Still Me”, Other hit writers included Gary Hannan “Tequila Makes her Clothes Fall Off”, Joie Scott “Shoes“-Desperate Housewives soundtrack” artist Ray Scott “She Don’t Like My Kind of Music”. Gary Talley – guitar player for The Box Tops “The Letter” “Cry Like a Baby”, “Soul Deep”. Songwriter and host of the open mic at the Blue Bird Cafe Barbara Cloyd “Guess You Had to be There” Pat and Pete Luboff authors of the songwriting book “88 Songwriting Wrongs and How to Right Them and they also lead the Sounding Board Songwriting Think Tank in Nashville on Monday nights as well, Tirk Wilder “Theme from Walker Texas Ranger” Charlie Daniels Jr, Dan Harr from Music News Nashville and even Steven Stills daughter Jenn Stills were all in attendance. Songwriters from South Africa, England, Canada and all over the U.S.A. Everyone at the event just kicked back either inside or outside and had a good-ole time. The house is kind of like a maze almost every room in the house had some kind of rippin’ amazingly cool entertainment going on! The Mondo GuitarBQ is only held once a year…but you can still have fun throughout the year at Nashville Muse’s 3rd Sunday GuitarBQ’s which are held every 3rd Sunday of the Month! Check out www.nashvillemuse.com for more information and follow the link to see photos that my friend Kat took of all the happenings at this popular Sunday hot spot! Mark your calendars and you will soon be joining in on all the fun…and tote along your guitar a dish to pass and a song to share at Doak’s next Nashville Muse GuitarBQ!
www.nashvillemuse.com

review by KK Ryder

Tags: Add new tag, Barbara Cloyd, Charlie Daniels Jr, Dan Harr, Doak Turner, Gary Hannan, Gary Talley, GuitarBQ, Gunner Nelson, Jenn Stills, Joie Scott, K.K. Ryder, Larry Weiss, Marc-Alan Barnette, Milos Sweet Tea, Mondo, Nashville, Nashville Muse, Pete Luboff, Ray Scott, Steven McClintock, Steven Stills, Tirk Wilder

A Nashville review on the Mac Davis, Jeffrey Steele, Chuck Cannon and David Pack show. Whew hoo! What a party! Ok, ok I know that there were some great rounds to go to in Nashville, but the one that I choose to go to was brought to you by TIN PAN SOUTH’S own….NSAI (Nashville’s Songwriter’s Association International) at THIRD AND LINDSLEY. We were there to see the Mac Davis/Jeffrey Steele/Chuck Cannon/David Pack songwriters showcase. My new NSAI songwriting friends and I stood in the TPS pass line and we anxiously waited for the first show to clear out. Our line started moving and we were reminiscing about our favorite Mac Davis songs…just the fact that Jeffrey Steele,Chuck Cannon and David Pack from Ambrosia would be kickin’ out their hits too was a major buzz! Once inside… past all of the “reserved seats” for NSAI staffers, Gibson Guitars and friends we took a seat stage left, ordered our drinks, someone said something funny about a shirt I was wearing and all of us being songwriters at our table, before the start of the show were so inspired to start a 4-way co-write. A drink was spilled on our table and the bartender had givin me a stack of napkins and thus started a very unplanned review of one of the best “rounds” I have ever rocked out with… ever! The show rocked, rolled (once Chuck Cannon nearly rolled off his seat with laughter from a comment that Mac had made…ok well there was a lot of humorous banter going back and forth on stage…there were jokes jokes and more jokes that flailed around to all in the “hot seats“…ah but the music…not to sound cheesy, but yes Mac…”I Believe in Music” and for the filled to the capacity…standing room only THIRD and LINDSLEY crowd we were entertained and all believed in the music that provided the very electrifying night! Chuck Cannon kicked off the show with his Toby Keith hit “We were in love” and just to tell ya how cool Nashville is at TPS time Chuck’s co-writer on this song Allen Shamblin was down the road playing at another round. When Chuck got through with his song He let out a deep sigh “I think this is one of the coolest things ever…man and he called Mac his hero. Mac turned out a real “rib tickler” in true Mac Davis form he sang a song “like a bat outta hell… “Here I come back from the dead” He said if he ever needed to make a comeback that’s what the song would’ve been…I say, you can’t come back if you never really left Mac…You still rock! Then Jeffrey Steele erupted the crowd with one of his many Montgomery Gentry hits “Help Somebody” and then…it was David Pack’s turn of the harmonizing mystifying band from the 70’s “Ambrosia” fame he said he felt like the “black sheep of the family” cuz he was behind the keyboards and from the stage you heard one of the other players say “but we loved him tearin’ up the stage singing …and you’re the “Baaaaaaaaaaaaad Sheep!” He may of said he felt like the “black sheep” but he traded off songs in this round like nobody’s business…his voice is incredible! More jokes ensued as if you were watching “the Blue collar comedy team” only in musical format! Mac busted through with a slow cool ballad that touched the crowd and me…ok I‘ll admit it as a teen- ager in the 70‘s I would hole up in my room alone and sit amongst the pops and clicks of my Kenwood stereo listening to Mac Davis albums! Then Mr. Jeffrey Steele hit us with a freshly penned tongue n cheek groove about a Drunk Girl (he’s just such a lean mean writin’ machine these days!(oh whoops wasn’t that the title for the JS/co-writin’ Rascal Flats hit?) He’s everywhere…but on this particular night myself and a standing room only crowd were amongst the lucky in Nashville to experience this rare occurrence all of this under one very rockin’ roof located at the 3rd and Lindsley Bar and Grill. Mac even shared with us his very first song he ever wrote… which was a touching little song ”I Like You” then he made the crowd laugh and sing along on the chorus of that extremely “humbling” song from the 70’s “OOOOOOOOh Lord it’s hard to be humble…! Then Mr. JS unleashed his Larger than life Montgomery Gentry hit “Gone” crowd participation ensued! Then David Pack played us all a song on guitar that he was embarrassed to bring to his band…but what a smash hit it became…the whole crowd was singing along… the song…”How Much I Feel” Then Chuck shared a new song with us from his new cd. Mac’s turn…Lubbock In The Rearview Mirror ahhh, then JS takes us back to his younger years and let’s loose with his emotional story song “20 Years Ago“. I had to take a potty break and wait in line so I missed the last couple songs…then I heard a guy and girl outside of the bathroom door arguing over which version of Mac Davis’ “In the Ghetto” was better…Elvis’ or Mac’s! I came out grooved on some more songs… JS started to play a familiar Led Zepp tune and we heard a little voice from the audience stage right yell something out… and we were all treated to an impromtu duet of “Something in the Water” by the vocal stylings of a cute little blonde “firecracker” named Becka Bramlett (her daddy Delaney Bramlett and Mac Davis were stage sharing,song writing partners from “back in the day” and probably still are!) Then David Pack “raised the roof” with his Angelically Male falsetto voice when he reached the chorus of “Make a Wish Baby” Then Chuck kept the emotional train running with his Victoria Shaw co-written “I Love the Way You Love Me” recorded by John Michael Montgomery, to which Mac puts his hand under his shirt and pats his heart! Then Mac jokes about his T.V.show back in the 1970’s where he used to make up silly songs on the spot from the audience suggestions…and he played a few of his favorites….and then he hit us with “the Motherload” the song that put Mac over the top…the song that to this day still hooks us in and keeps us coming back for more….”Baby Don’t Get Hooked on Me” after he let us have it for old times sake with that one…the other players in the “show-down of songwriters” kinda just threw up their arms in defeat! Chuck Cannon picked up a yellow piece of paper with the set list on it and just started pickin’ songs for Mac to play! I still get chills thinking’ back on the whole evening, it was both inspirational for all of the songwriters in the room attending this very cool performance as well as just a fun time hangin’ out with Mad Mac and his Rockin’ rowdy Rebel friends! Thanx Ya’ll for the memories!

by KK Ryder

Tags: Allen Shamblin, Ambrosia, chuck cannon, David Pack, Jeffrey Steele, K.K. Ryder, Mac Davis, Montgomery Gentry, Nashville’s Songwriter’s Association International, NSAI, rocktheblues, Toby Keith

The Wailers…are not the same old LOUIE LOUIE Wailers, although Louie Louie will be a staple classic rock tune forever in our hearts!…Like fine wine that has aged to purrrfection…these “cool cats” are coming back out with a …”roar”!
I love this cd! As a matter of fact…it is my favorite cd these days!
The title cut CADILLAC TO MEXICO reminds me of the ever popular vocalist from the 80’s band INXS! Kent Morrill’s vocals are sexy and draw you in as if you were in his “Cadillac to Mexico” (close your eyes…think back to “Pulp Fiction” John Travolta could definitely get his “groove on” to this track) The first cut “RUN TO THE BORDER” is a fun upbeat song that by the third chorus you may catch yourself joining in! If you are a Jimmy Buffet/Roy Orbison fan you will really enjoy HEY SENORITA!
MOOD ELEVATOR has a great play on words that just may remind you of the reason why an ex is just that…your X! SWEET LITTLE DANCIN’ LADY transforms you right back to the days of poodle skirt wearing,bubble gum chewin’ saddle shoe’d cheerleaders!
LOOKIN’ FOR SOME RYTHEM AND BLUES was very slyly penned by Kent Morrill and the WAILER’S own late great Guitarist Rich Dangel about their love for R AN B they stay true to the sound of rhythm and blues on this track,Morrill’s vocals stand up to that of Little Richard…complete with WHOOOOOOS!
For those of you that just want some music to “chill to” there are also some great instrumental tracks on this cd! And if you like the saxy sounds of the “sax” Neil Rush and Kim Egger’s have a real treat for your ears! Major bonus for those of you who
may remember all of the words to…”It’s You Alone, BONUS You’re not alone… Morrill’s voice is soothing and smooth like buttah on this updated version.
When You run out to grab this cd…pick up two, one for the house cd player and for the
car…careful, you may just drive over to your local car dealership and groove to this cd in your own “CADILLAC TO MEXICO”

- review by KK Ryder

Tags: Blues, Cadillac to Mesico, Hey Senorita, K.K. Ryder, Kent Morrill, Louie Louie, Rebel Princess, Rock, rocktheblues, RUN TO THE BORDER, Senorita, The Fabulous Wailers, the whalers, Wailers

Let’s strip the name, the exotic Cherokee chiseled looks of his older brother (only with longer hair) and you can’t escape certain qualities in that voice coming through with conviction.With strong powerful messages coming straight from the love in his heart and an art for keeping life real through his own style of music Leon and his power drivin’ band are rockin’ stages from Seattle to Vegas! Continuing through music… the Hendrix Legacy rides on! On the CD KEEPER OF THE FLAME there is an unmistakable quality in the voice and this time around… That voice belongs to none other than Jimi’s baby brother….Leon Hendrix. The messages that Leon spells out as the KEEPER OF THE FLAME, reflect passion and the true honesty that ribbon through the Hendrix Legend! Throughout KEEPER OF THE FLAME Leon welcomes the listener to a little “pow-wow!” As you sit on the branches of his family tree, simply sway in the breeze and feel free to just rock out..as he reveals story upon story of his true feelings… you can almost feel older brother Jimi Hendrix rocking out with him in spirit! The touching BLUE SEPTEMBER is a “heart warmer” it’s almost as if you…the listener are eves dropping in on a one-sided conversation between the two Brother’s Hendrix, as Leon pours out questions to his big brother about what it will be like when the two see each other in Heaven. Now don’t get me wrong…KEEPER OF THE FLAME is not only Hendrix Legacy drivin’ Leon also shows his Patriotic American pride on the cut FLIGHT 93 which starts off with the haunting melodic keyboard played brilliantly by Neil Kirkland and then Leon speaks from his Patriotic heart about his dedication to all the heroe’s on that dreadful day… as the band rips into the song with metal “balls to the wall force!” if music is truley the sound track of our lives you can almost sense at which point in the music the Heroes became…well, Heroes of FLIGHT 93! My choice track on the cd, really has nothing to do with being “Hendrix” at all, except maybe the “Cajun Gypsy” feel in the music which flows deep in the Hendrix blood from Leon and Jimi’s Mama’s side of the gene pool, It’s a track called VOODOO RIVER …and once again history is made…in leon’s own right…Hendrix style! May the “KEEPER OF THE FLAME” Blaze on into a bright future!

CD review by KK Ryder

Tags: Blues, Gary Draper, Hendrix, Jimi, K.K. Ryder, Leon, Rock, rocktheblues.com

What do ya do if your Daddy is a Pentecostal preacher when you’re just a young boy in the church pew? You capture some of those Bible stories in your soul, listen to the Beatles and Johnny Cash turn to your rebel side…you grow up ,write songs for some pretty huge Country Stars, get awards and go in the studio to record your own CD’S co-written by yourself and your co-writing buddies! CHUCK CANNON LOVE AND MONEY is Chuck Cannon’s Follow up to GOD SHAPED HOLE which was a true to life brilliant creation in it’s own right, from the eye catching and thought provoking cover with the slightly tilted cross as if God Himself were scoping out what all His little Children were up to on this big blue marble called Earth, to the songs inside, that were also thought provoking and very truthful lyrics all rockin’ in their own special way. I highly recommend that CD and you will find more of my comments on itunes soon about GOD SHAPED HOLE, however, this review is about Cannon’s follow up, CHUCK CANNON LOVE AND MONEY appropriately titled. Cannon reveals both sides the Rebel and the God Lovin’ Soul searching songwriter with in him telling stories about…you guessed it LOVE AND MONEY!
A lot of this CD gave me those comforting goose bumps from the song choices to the detailed painting of the lyrics, not too mention every song relaxes nicely through and through with Cannon’s deep sexy and rich voice and shining, ribboning through are some pretty tasty backing vocals!
LOVE AND MONEY starts out with a short suspenseful instrumental that readies the listener for what is to come! Cannon makes sure to give it to you straight on two very different points of view songs about the Devil, and two of my very favorites were “swamp” rockers that immediately get your blood pumping called BET YO MAMA and the CHUCK JONES/CANNON co-write STRANGE (check out the you tube on STRANGE and you can read my comments and see Chuck rockin’ out acoustic style) the lyrics are tounge in cheek entertaining and the music is a great rocking match on both of them.
Cannon reveals a taste of his crooning sexier softer side on OUTTA THIS TOWN (co-written by MAC DAVIS and JEFFREY STEELE, LOVE ON YOU and also BEAUTIFUL GIRL which he penned with co-producer LARI WHITE. One song that you truly have to experience for yourself that made my goose bumps jump for joy was OH MY LORD and when you hear this song in its entirety you will understand why.
I love this CD and enjoy crusin down the road getting a little bit of life’s lesson’s along the way on LOVE AND MONEY CHUCK CANNON STYLE… way to go Chuck you have done it again two thumbs rockin way up high and a Ha-lay-lu ya to match here is the link to download these songs and read a bit more on CHUCK CANNON http://cdbaby.com/cd/chuckcannon2
cd review by KK Ryder http://kkryderentertainmentreviews.wordpress.com/

Tags: chuck cannon, chuck cannon kkryder rock the blues rocktheblues.com, K.K. Ryder, kkryder, Love and Money, Rock The Blues, rocktheblues.com, Ryder