Category Archives: Reflection

by | November 28, 2015 · 7:00 am

A Whole New World of Country

Four months ago, I was one of those girls that “true” country music fans hate. Most of my favorite country songs fell into the “bro-country” genre, and were from the likes of Luke Bryan, Chris Young, and Blake Shelton. I’m happy to say that the Rhetoric of Country Music class has opened my eyes to a whole new world of country music. This course has not only taught me extensively about the history of the genre, but has allowed me to better experience the country music scene here in Austin and beyond. Three of my favorite experiences are listed below:

1. Texas Music Magazine

I read the November 2014 issue of Texas Music Magazine to get a flashback to what was happening in the country Screen Shot 2015-11-19 at 6.23.21 PMmusic world a year ago. This issue features a variety of interesting, well-written content including: a discussion of Miranda Lambert at the CMA’s, a review of Glen Cambell’s documentary I’ll Be Me, an interview with James McMurty, a Q&A with Steve Young, and more! I was expecting to see a greater representation of genres, but the content in this issue makes it quite clear that country dominates the Texas music scene (yay!).

2. Sturgill Simpson @ ACL Weekend 1

IMG_2410In a sea of alternIMG_2422ative and rap artists, I found the time to catch Sturgill Simpson’s show on Saturday, October 3rd at the Austin City Limits music festival. My country-music-loving friend tagged along with me, and despite not knowing much of Sturgill Simpson’s music, we still had a great time listening and (making an attempt at) dancing. My favorite song he played was Railroad of Sin; all of the guitar solos were so much fun! Overall, it was definitely an older crowd and the atmosphere was a lot more calm than most of the other shows I went too. I didn’t get a chance to see Dwight Yoakam so I’m glad Sturgill Simpson was there to provide me with my country music fix!

3. Dallas (2012)

giphy (11)Despite being a radio-television-film major, I’m not a big television-watcher. In order to broaden my horizons a little bit, I decided to check out a few episodes of the show Dallas on Netflix. Unfortunately, this show reminded me exactly why I don’t enjoy TV dramas and soap operas (sorry Dallas fans!)–I found it to be painfully overdramatic and ridiculously corny. For those who haven’t seen the show or it’s 1978 CBS predecessor, Dallas follows a family who strike it rich drilling oil in the great state of Texas. Despite my distaste of the plot and acting, the first few episodes did include some great country songs–one of my personal favorites being Josh Turner’s “Your Man”. From what I gathered, the series provides a decent mix of country songs from different sub-genres and time periods. It also included many songs from different genres (alternative, rock, etc.).

Coming into this class this past fall, I was a little worried about not being as knowledgeable about the older artists and the history of the genre as some of my peers. Although this worry turned out to be true (I embarrassingly didn’t know who Merle Haggard, Conway Twitty, and Alan Jackson were four months ago…), I am so thankful to have gotten the opportunity to expand my country music horizons.

Whether it be through reading a magazine, seeing a live show, or watching a television series, this class has helped me enjoy the genre in a whole new way. I have gained a deeper understanding of country music’s progression throughout time, and grown to appreciate the genre and its impact. Listening to country will truly never be the same!

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Filed under Blog Post 5, Reflection

by | November 27, 2015 · 7:00 am

Austin= Country?

Here in Austin, country music is alive and well in so many different ways. Staying connected to your country roots and IMG_9052traditions I easily attainable. Whether you want to go out and enjoy live concerts, enjoy a nice meal at an authentic, southern-family style restaurant, or just stay inside your apartment/house and watch an awards ceremony. Austin is known for being weird but isn’t always thought of being country, instead being thought of more “hipster” due to the various celebrities and other events being held in the city.

IMG_2591The first experience I took advantage of was ACL, as I previously noted on one of my past blog posts, and I was able to attend Sturgill Simpson’s performance on Saturday of the first weekend of this music festival, as well as Dwight Yoakam’s performance.

Sturgill Simpson was outstanding and was one of my favorite performances of the weekend (and that’s saying a lot because I am also a huge fan of Drake and The Weeknd). While I didn’t see every second of most of the artists I was very pleased with my first time. It was a great way to see new country artists I wasn’t too familiar with as well as seeing other genres of music. It was so enjoyable it’s impossible to sum it up into such few words, so the video below is a small attempt just for you to get a sense of how great just ONE day was!

The next experience I chose to participate in was eating at an authentic historic site. I ate at the restaurant known as Threadgill’s. My family was in town for the weekend so we were looking for a place to eat right before they headed back to Dallas. I had the chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and the broccoli rice casserole and it was fantastic. The chicken fried steak i was told was the best in Austin so I had to try it and so far it has been the best in Austin!

Chicken-Fried-Steak-AustinThe atmosphere was great, the service was great, and the food was great. The music was enjoyable while at the same time, you could still have a conversation with your family. Next time I go, I want to try their Sunday brunch special. My brother went that route which included an all you can eat breakfast. For the special they had a “salad bar” like station set up with all kinds of fruit and breakfast foods which looked delicious!

The last experience I have enjoyed here in Austin is actually quite simple and most people say “You can do that anywhere though”. While it is true that you can watch the CMA awards anywhere, I enjoyed it more here than in previous years because this was the first time I heard about people getting together and having a “watch party”. While the biggest headline this year was that Justin Timberlake stole the show with Chris Stapleton, what I remember about that night was enjoying with some close friends and enjoying the country artists be recognized for a great year in country music.

When I first moved to Austin, I never thought the country industry would influence my life this much due to the many country events held or viewed here. That has been a pleasant surprise this Fall semester and I only hope that I will be able to continue enjoying more experiences like these!

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Filed under Blog Post 5, Reflection, Texas

by | November 26, 2015 · 7:00 am

Country Music Experiences & Reflection

This year I am living in my sorority house, and rooming with one of my good friends, Emma. Emma took this class last spring and she is the reason I decided to take the class, based off of her high recommendation. She loves country music as much as I do and we actually got to go to the iHeart Country Music Festival last May!

BP51It was an unspoken agreement that she and I would be watching the CMAs on November 4th. Of course, as you know, my sisters back home love all things country. The past couple years we have face-timed and texted to share our thoughts about the show and the different moments and performances. I promise we like and respect plenty more country artists than just Luke Bryan, but as I followed the various Twitter feeds during the show, I couldn’t help but send them a couple of my favorite pictures of him that were popping up, such a comical moment between Justin Timberlake helping Luke Bryan fix his tie on the red carpet.

I’ll admit, I didn’t know much about Chris Stapleton besides the fact that he wrote and sang on Luke’s “Drink A Beer”, but after quickly catching up on his biography and songs, it was wonderful to see that someone as talented as he is was being recognized, a sentiment that Luke Bryan later echoed during his Entertainer of the Year acceptance speech. Kenny Chesney is another artist that I really enjoy. His career is consistent and successful, and it is nice to see that he is still very active and performing on these award shows.

LouisNashville is not a show that I would normally watch, but I have recently had a good reason to watch a couple of episodes. My godfather and cousin, Louis Gusemano, is an actor and he landed the role of the detective this past season. Naturally, I watched his episode with some friends when it aired last spring, but I have occasionally kept up with it during the current season.

Overall it is not my favorite show, but the interpretations and depictions of life within the country music industry are fascinating. I recently found an article on Saving Country Music’s website that correlated the various characters with their real-life country star counterparts. I also appreciate that the show depicts aspects of country music that are unique to the genre, such as the overall closeness and openness of the artists as a whole.

Nashville1As I discussed in my Blog Post #4, my sisters and I got to see Luke Bryan on his Kick the Dust Up tour in October. In this post however, I want to focus more on his opening acts, which were so solid and exciting that I truly felt like we got to experience three different concerts during one night.

Randy Houser and Dustin Lynch both have naturally good voices, and seemed genuinely excited to be performing for such a big crowd. They also had longer sets than I anticipated- which was a great development! Their camaraderie with Luke later on during his set (Moscow Mules and George Strait!) raised the bar for any future concerts! Randy Houser’s vocals during “Like A Cowboy” were outstanding. I highly recommend finding a video on YouTube of him performing the song live- you won’t be disappointed!

randyTo understand the current trends and direction of country music, it is important to understand the past, as with any historical movement. In fact, Trisha Yearwood recently told reporters that based on her experience and knowledge of country music; she foresees a somewhat inevitable decline in “bro-country”, and a rise in more traditional “grassroots” and singer-songwriter artists. Chris Stapleton’s rise definitely supports her prediction.

Rhetoric of Country Music and these experiences have expanded my knowledge on the history of country music more so than I thought possible and made me start thinking more analytically about country music and the direction it is headed. I have also been introduced to certain performers from the past or who are up and coming that I might not have ever noticed before.

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Filed under Blog Post 5, Reflection

by | November 23, 2015 · 7:00 am

Giving Thanks: Top 5 Country Songs about Thanksgiving

As we gear into the holiday season, it is important for us to think about our blessings and giving thanks to our friends in family. Most people value the food and parties as the most important part of the holidays, but we should take a step back and focus on what really matters, our friends and family. Now, country music discusses many topics such as drinking, tailgating, heartache, and love but what does it have to say about being thankful, here is a countdown of what I believe to be the top 5 country songs about Thanksgiving.

5. Pat Green, “Lucky” (2004)

Pat Green hopes that we win a million dollars or date a supermodel, but he also gives us the story of a regular guy. He says that the biggest victory in life fall  “beneath this red, white and big blue sky/With your job, your car, your family, your friends/The love of a girl that you know will never end.” That is what we should truly be thankful for and what aspects of life we are lucky to have.

4. Willie Nelson, “I’m Alive” (2008)

Willie Nelson sings, “As for me, I’d like to thank my lucky stars / That I’m alive and well,” He wants us to focus on the most important and little things in life that most people take for granted. Being alive and well is something we should be very thankful for, and this hit by Willie Nelson reminds us of this.

3. Blake Shelton, “God Gave Me You” (2011)

At first listen, this song sounds like it is merely a love song, but digging deeper this song is more than a story of a hopeless romantic. The song can be applied to any important person in our life. It is a song to show us that we are never alone. It is ironic that this song, for Shelton, is about his ex-wife Miranda Lambert. I wonder if he now applies this song for new girlfriend and fellow Voice coach, Gwen Stefani. Either way, this song reminds us if what were truly thankful for, friends and family.

2. Travis Tritt, “It’s a Great Day to be Alive” (2000)

“And it’s a great day to be alive / I know the sun’s still shinin’ when I close my eyes / There’s some hard times in the neighborhood / But why can’t everyday be just this good.” The chorus of this song reminds us to be thankful for everyday. Tritt also tells us that even when we are having hard days to take a step back and look at all that we have to be thankful for.

1. Martina McBride, “Blessed” (2000)

This CMA nominated hit by Martina McBride is the #1 song about Thanksgiving because she explains the little things of life we are blessed to have. The chorus states that, “At the end of every day / I have been blessed / With so much more than I deserve / To be here with the ones that love me / To love them so much it hurts / I have been blessed.” This song discusses our blessings in a humble manner and reminds us to thank God for the gifts we have been given that are “so much more than I deserve.” Martina McBride truly encompasses all aspects of Thanksgiving in this beautifully written song.

Before you dive face first in the turkey, think about what you are thankful for. Hopefully this list gets you into the Holiday spirit and makes you realize how blessed we are. Happy Thanksgiving!

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Filed under Lists, Reflection, Song Analysis

by | November 22, 2015 · 7:00 am

My Summer at KOKE FM

KokeFMThis past summer, I had the amazing opportunity to intern at the radio station KOKE FM. For those of you who have never heard of the station, its a country alternative station – meaning they play every type of country from classic to outlaw to current. Not only did I learn a lot of rewarding career experience from the internship, but I also learned so much more about country music in general. For example, I had never heard of Chris Stapleton, knew the significance of Merle Haggard, or knew people still appreciated Willie Nelson’s music before this summer.

I interned for the 6am morning show, meaning I had to get up at 4am to make it to work by 5am every weekday morning – yes I went to work when most people were coming home from the bars. My boss was the man who owned the station and on-air talent Bob Cole. Bob was actually inducted in the Country Music On-Air Personality Hall of Fame in 2003, so my boss was pretty awesome. I actually really came to enjoy the early mornings because my job was fairly simple and everyday was something different. One day the guys bought 10 different vanilla ice cream brands to see which ones could [temporarily] replace Blue Bell. Random country singers would come on the show. Some days the guys even let us interns talk on-air.

IMG_1014There was one day in particular that I will probably remember most about working at the station. One day I was logging the show like I always do, and a short, older man with the whitest hair and tattoos covering his arms walked through the door. It took a long stare and at least 30 seconds of processing to realize that THE Dale Watson had just walked 3 feet away from me and flashed his Dale Watson smile while saying “good morning” in his deep Alabama accent. He just walked himself into the studio with Bob like he had been there a thousand times before. And there I was fangirling so hard when my other boss, Eric Raines, told me that Bob wanted to see me. As I pulled myself together, I walked into the studio and Bob introduced me to THE Dale Watson. And THE Dale Watson shook MY hand as he repeated my name, and I swear my heart stopped for a solid 5 seconds. Bob wanted me to go get Dale some coffee, and I happily did so while nervously overthinking how much cream and sugar THE Dale Watson wants in his coffee. As I gave the coffee to Mr. Watson, he thanked me and said my name AGAIN. So that is the day I met THE Dale Watson and fell in love with my job even more. I’m a dork.

IMG_0910All the guys I worked with knew so much and currently have standing relationships with so many different country artists. Honestly, working there makes me appreciate everything I’m learning in this class so much more because if I want to end up doing my own country radio show, learning the true history and meaning behind the genre is the best way to be successful at it. I can’t say enough how lucky I was to score that internship and be able to learn so much more about country music as well as producing a radio show. If you’re interested in radio and country music, I highly recommend interning at KOKE FM. But if you just like listening to country music, turn the radio to 98.5 every now and then to hear some of the best country music ever made deejayed by some of the coolest guys I’ve ever worked with.

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Filed under Blog Post 4, Classic Country, Live Music, New Country, Outlaw, Reflection