Twitter and Country Music

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

I imagine if you are reading blogs, like mine, you are somewhat tech-savy enough to at least know what Twitter is, or at least heard of it. If you have used it, you have probably 3 responses: 1) I love it and addicted/almost addicted to it. 2) I check it now and then. 3) I don't understand it nor understand what is useful about it.

Well, for people that know what is and fall into either of the above mentioned categories... has the thought of following country music crossed your mind? Maybe, maybe not. Well, I believe it is one of the best ways to keep up with artists. It touches at one of the core-traits of country music fans: that special connection between the artist and the fan.

There a lot of news/information outlets on Twitter such as this blog/website and many others out there. go to my twitter account: cntryalive and look at the list that I follow and you will find many of those resources. CMT, GAC, all the websites, and even the CMA uses Twitter... and even post often.

Now, the artists. There 2 types of users I have noticed on Twitter as far as country music artists. 1)They use it soley as a promotional tool (catch "this artist" on this show, my new CD is coming out, etc.) or 2) Some promotion, but mostly using it like everyone else would with an added perk of sharing their day-to-day experiences of touring, recording, etc.)

Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton, Lee Ann Womack, Taylor Swift, are good examples of artists that really use Twitter like anyone else would. It isn't just your new artists either; you will find Willie Nelson, George Jones, and Bill Anderson for example. Its really cool to get a glimpse into their true daily lives... The artist on occasion will even reference replies in their postings directly from the people that follow them. Brad Paisley and Blake Shelton do this often.

Now, I could go on and ask if this is a good or bad thing from an artist point of view and all that thing, but, no, thats for other sites and another time. My point is this: If you use Twitter, want to use Twitter, or been looking for that reason to try it out, this is a good reason.

Some artists are more active than others, some post (very) regularly... Be cautious of who you follow; Do a search for your favorite artist and read some posts. You will figure out quickly if it is actually them or not. Some of the "bigger" stars will have a blue colored icon on their page that says "verified account." You can trust that is the actual profile of the artist/celebrity.

Below, you will find a list of Twitter accounts that are of country music artists: (There more out there, leave a comment with others if you wish!)

aarontippin
billengvall
billycurrington

billyraycyrus
blakeshelton
ChrisYoungMusic
ClayWalker
cmorganmusic
cunderwood83
dariusrucker
davidnail
DierksBentley
FaithHill
GaryAllan
GitRDoneLarry
gjpossum
glorianatheband
jason_meadows
JayDeMarcus
jessicaharp

joedemessina
JoeNichols
johnrich
joshgracin
KeithUrban
kennychesney
ladyantebellum
LAWSOCIALCLUB
martinamcbride
Miranda_Lambert
oakridgeboys
paisleyofficial
rascalflatts
reba
RodneyAtkins
taylorswift13
TerriClarkMusic
therealpickler
TimMcGrawArtist
TraceAdkins
tracybyrd
TrailerChoirTN
TYcom
vincegill
WhisperinBill
willienelson
zacbrownband

Farm Aid October 4th Live on Web and Directv

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Farm Aid today announced that country star Gretchen Wilson will perform at its all-day music and food festival on Sunday, October 4 at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Maryland Heights, Mo.

Grethen Wilson will join Farm Aid Board Members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews who will perform with Tim Reynolds, along with Jason Mraz, Wilco, Jamey Johnson, Phosphorescent, Billy Joe Shaver, Will Dailey, Ernie Isley & the Jam Band, Ryan Bingham & the Dead Horses, The Blackwood Quartet, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, and Titty Bingo on the Farm Aid Stage.

For fans at home, DIRECTV will exclusively broadcast Farm Aid 2009 live and in HD on The 101 Network beginning at 5:00 pm ET. DIRECTV has pledged to match all of its customer donations up to $50,000 made between September 1 and October 31, 2009.

Farm Aid 2009 Presented by Horizon Organic will also be webcast and will stream live at www.farmaid.org beginning at 5:00 pm ET. Concertgoers and people watching Farm Aid 2009 Presented by Horizon Organic at home can text FARMER to 90999 to donate $5 to help Farm Aid keep family farmers on their land.

There are a limited number of tickets for Farm Aid 2009 Presented by Horizon Organic available exclusively at www.livenation.com, the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater Box Office, by calling (877) 598-8703, or at participating Blockbuster stores (visit www.livenation.com for list of locations).

For updates about this year’s events in St. Louis, see www.farmaid.org/events and follow Farm Aid at www.twitter.com/farmaid.

New Website Launches October 1st !!

Monday, September 28, 2009

Just in time for Country Music Month, Country Music Alive's re-designed website will launch October 1, 2009! The new site is more streamlined and has a brand new look.

The website features the basics of the old website:

• New release information
• album reviews
• Message board
• Special features

The website will include a few new features:

• Concert date information
• Updated country music news
• Country Music Q&A feature
  

The Q&A feature will allow you to send your general country music question for a personalize answer and if I am online, you can chat directly with me to get your answer. The first special feature on the new site will be my annual CMA Award viewer's guide, that will be available immediately upon the launch of the new website.

The website has a totally new look, using a more up-to-date design look. Some of the content that used to be on the website about country music history and other general content will appear on a new website that should be launched sometime next year.

The new design of the website will be available around 4:30pm EST on October 1. The website is http://www.countrymusicalive.com

Brad Paisley, Vince Gill, and Emmylou Harris on Jay Leno This Week

Catch a few country music artists this week on The Jay Leno Show at 10pm EST on NBC. Brad Paisley will be on tonight (Monday) and then Wednesday night Vince Gill and Emmylou Harris will join Leno. Gill and Harris will be on the West Coast for an "All for the Hall" Benefit concert on
October 1 in Los Angeles, CA.

"All for the Hall" started with a group of artists who agreed to donate the proceeds of a concert to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum to help preserve the legacy of country music. Proceeds will go to help preserve and expand the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, which is planning for a $40 million expansion that will double the size of the building.

For more information and to be come a member of the Hall of Fame, visit:
http://www.countrymusichalloffame.com/site/support-join.aspx

“American Saturday Night” Brad Paisley

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Brad Paisley’s newest release “American Saturday Night” is his 8th album as he is celebrating 10 years of recording country music. I believe his one of the best of today’s contemporary country music artists. Paisley’s strength has come through experience and his own unique creativity that he brings to the music both lyrically and musical delivery. From the first album, he has remained a strong artist.

This most recent release includes great songs including the title track, “Welcome to the Future”, “The Pants, and “Water” that all fulfill Paisley’s excellence in light-hearted fun tunes… and “Then,” and “She’s Her Own Woman” fulfills Paisley’s talent for slower/ballad songs. This shows that Paisley still has his creative mind flowing with the best he can produce, making for an entertaining listen throughout.

With the good about this album mentioned, there is something missing. Well, it’s a lot of something missing. The previous albums included two things; an instrumental and a gospel tune. Most of the previous albums included Little Jimmy Dickens and other Opry legends. None of the three aspects of Paisley appear here. Sure, the 15 tracks are excellent, and yes, there plenty of hits from the album already and waiting to become chart-toppers, but there with the 3 aspects of this album not there, it is a bit disappointing.

The album does still show off Paisley’s excellent guitar talent, his great vocals, and lyrically a fairly strong release, with focus on retrospective themes. If you have never heard a Paisley album before, then you will find this one a good listen…if you have his other albums, then you will be somewhat disappointed in what you hear, and don’t.

Overall Grade: B

New Website Completed, Coming Soon....

Just in the last few minutes, I have completed the design of the new website! There is a bit of testing that needs to be done before launch, if you would like to test the website out, please e-mail me at countrymusicalive at gmail dotcom to help out!

George Jones: "A Collection Of My Best Recollection"

Monday, September 14, 2009

Cracker Barrel is at it again, another addition to their stellar series of exclusive CDs. This time is one of our greatest living legends... George Jones.
"A Collection Of My Best Recollection" includes twelve tracks, ten of his most greatest hits and two brand new songs. The track listing includes singles from all over George Jones' career. From his mid-90s hit "Finally Friday," and 80s hit "He Stopped Loving Her Today" that is always considered one of country music's all time greatest songs, to the 1959 hit "White Lightnin"are all included on this CD.

Now, I did mention two new songs. These are true country, well written, incredible singles. These alone are worth picking up this CD. "Really Dont Want To Know" is a classic George Jones vocal presentation with a country-to-the-bone lyrics, a song about not wanting to know about being cheating on. Don't get any better. Well, if we have a cheatin' song, guess we better include a leavin' song.. "Long Gone Daddy" is just that, and a great one. "I'm a long gone daddy.. I don't need you anyhow" or how about "I'm taking everything but my ball and chain..." I think sums it up quiet nicely. Not only is it a great song, by vocally it is a masterpiece; those Jones signature vocals just sing out low and high.

This album is a part of the continually growing exclusive Cracker Barrel collection and can be purchased at any Cracker Barrel Old Country Store or on their website that includes 2 audio clips from the album:
http://www.crackerbarrel.com/

Track Listing:
1. The Race Is On
2. The Love In Your Eyes
3. Finally Friday
4. I Don't Want to Know (previously unreleased)
5. I’m A Long Gone Daddy (previously unreleased)
6. The Window Up Above
7. I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair
8. Achin', Breakin' Heart
9. Why Baby Why
10. You're Still on My Mind
11. White Lightnin'
12. He Stopped Lovin' Her Today

Taylor Swift Reaction From 2009 VMA Incident

CMA Ommitted Nominee For Musical Event

Friday, September 11, 2009

CMA Press Release:

Subsequent to the CMA Awards nomination announcements on “Good Morning America,” CMT’s “Insider Special Edition: 2009 CMA Awards Nominations,” and Premiere Radio Networks, it was discovered that Brad Paisley and Keith Urban were inadvertently omitted from the list of final nominees for CMA Musical Event of the Year for “Start A Band.”

The omission occurred when transferring information from the online ballot to the list of final nominees.

“We take the integrity of the CMA Awards balloting very seriously,” said Tammy Genovese, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “And when an oversight like this occurs we commit ourselves to a thorough review, thoughtful and immediate correction, and complete disclosure and accountability to the artists and our industry.

“I can assure CMA’s valued constituents that we have examined every detail of the ballot for other discrepancies and all other categories were correct as announced.”

“Start A Band” will be added to the list of nominees for the final ballot and all previously announced nominees will remain on the list.

“All of the nominees for Musical Event of the Year are deserving and in the interest of fairness will remain on the ballot for the final vote by our membership,” Genovese said.

“We sincerely regret the omission of these two deserving artists from the list of nominees and apologize to Brad and Keith, and their representatives, for any confusion,” Genovese said.

The additional nomination gives Paisley a total of seven nominations – the most of any artist nominated for the 2009 CMA Awards. Urban’s nomination count jumps from four to five. Zac Brown, Jamey Johnson, George Strait, and Taylor Swift each received four CMA Awards nominations.

Taylor Swift CMA Nomination Video & Nomination Recap

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Take a watch at the video above of Taylor Swift watching the announcements of the 2009 CMA Award Nominations. Really cool, just had to share it. Enjoy!

To re-cap today's announcement... Brad Paisley leads with seven nominations. Keith Urban with five nominations, then Jamey Johnson, George Strait, Taylor Swift, and Zac Brown each received four nominations.

The last time a solo female artist was nominated for Entertainer of the Year was Faith Hill in 2000. Shania Twain was the last female artist to claim the trophy in 1999.

Predictions, show presenter information, and very much more will be upcoming in the very near future on Country Music Alive!

CMA Awards 2009 Nominations

Musician of the Year
Eddie Payers
Paul Franklin
Dann Huff
Brent Mason
Mac McAnally

Single of the Year
“Chicken Fried”- Zac Brown Band
“I Run To You”- Lady Antebellum
“In Color”- Jamey Johnson
“People Are Crazy”- Billy Currington
“Then”- Brad Paisley

Song of the Year
“Chicken Fried”- Zac Brown/Wyatt Durette
“I Told You So”- Randy Travis
“In Color”- Jamey Johnson, Lee Thomas Miller, James Otto
“People Are Crazy”- Bobby Braddock, Troy Jones
“Then”- Brad Paisley, Chris Debois, Ahsley Gorley

Vocal Group of the Year
Eagles
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
Rascal Flatts
Zac Brown Band

Vocal Duo of the Year
Big & Rich
Brooks & Dunn
Joey & Rory
Montgomery Gentry
Sugarland

Music Video of the Year
“Boots On”- Randy Houser
“Love Story”- Taylor Swift
“People Are Crazy”- Billy Currington
“Start A Band”- Brad Paisley (duet with Keith Urban)
“Troubadour”- George Strait

Album of the Year
American Saturday Night- Brad Paisley
Defying Gravity- Keith Urban
Fearless- Taylor Swift
Love On The Inside- Sugarland
That Lonesome Song- Jamey Johnson

Musical Event of the Year
“Cowgirl’s Don’t Cry” Brooks & Dunn w/ Reba McEntire
“Down The Road”- Kenny Chesney w/ Mac McAnally
“Everything But Quits”- Lee Ann Womack w/ George Strait
“I Told You So”- Carrie Underwood w/ Randy Travis
“Old Enough”- The Raconteurs w/ Ricky Skaggs & Ashley Monroe
"Start A Band"- Brad Paisley w/ Keith Urban

New Artist Of The Year
Randy Houser
Jamey Johnson
Jake Owen
Darius Rucker
Zac Brown Band

Female Vocalist of the Year
Miranda Lambert
Martina McBride
Reba McEntire
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

Male Vocalist of the Year
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
Darius Rucker
George Strait
Keith Urban

Entertainer of the Year
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
George Strait
Taylor Swift
Keith Urban

Taylor Swift "Fearless" Deluxe Edition

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Taylor Swift is at it again. Well... "Fearless" is being re-released. Yep, just like her debut album. A deluxe edition. I'm guessing that 10 million Fearless albums isn't enough. I just don't get it. The "deluxe" version of this album will include 6 new songs and bonus content.

The record label apparently doesn't think as a fan. I mean look at it. The fan has already shelled out money (10 million times) for the 13 tracks. Now, they are going to have to spend another $10 for the same 13 songs to get another 6 songs. So... why not wait just a little longer and come up with another 6 songs or so and release a new album. New artwork, totally new songs, a nice new project.

Anyway, the new 6 songs and bonus content appears to be hitting stores October 27, 2009 but can't confirm that date officially.

"The Highway Patrol" XM/Sirius Listener Survey

Are you an XM or Sirius subscriber? Well, you know about The Highway XM 16/ SIRIUS 60, then, its the top 40 country station basically. Those of us that enjoy it, know its more than that. Anyway, I want to be sure you all know about a new feature available on the website. You may have heard promotional spots for it. Its the "Highway Patrol."

The Highway Patrol is a way listeners can rate the songs that we and like, and don't... also if you are tired of hearing the particular song. The survery is a bit long, but you don't have to listen to the full clip in order to choose your answer, which is nice.

So, if you are a XM/Sirius listener, take the time to join. It will be interesting to see if the information they collect is truly used in the decisions of programming the station.

Amazon's Daily Deal: John Fogerty

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

**Above you can sample the songs, by clicking the play button. Then click on the album name (directly to the left of the buy MP3 button) to download the album at the $3.99 special price in the widget. If you select a song, it will be .99 a song.**

I've told you before about some of the great deals Amazon has on music. On particular has caught my eye and definitely my ear listening to the clips.

The deal is on John Fogerty's new country album out this week titled "The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again." The full 12-track album is $3.99 to download. Pretty cool at 33 cents a song huh? I've been told this is a one week deal, so you may want to get it now. Keep in mind this is for the download version and is on the full album only, not individual selections.

I believe I will download this one for sure, and I expect you will want to as well. If you do, drop me a line and let me know what you think of this new album.

Above you can sample the songs, then click on the album name for the $3.99 special price in the widget. If you select a song, it will be .99 a song. Get the whole album, you'll thank me.