by | March 14, 2015 · 8:00 am

Religion is a Country Music Trope.

Tuesday March 3rd, 2015 was a monumental day for Carrie Underwood. Carrie and husband Mike Fisher gave birth to a baby boy, Isaiah Michael Fisher. Carrie could be said to be the most popular female country artist of the decade. Underwood started with a solid fan base after winning American Idol. This is possibly why she was so successful on the Billboard Top 100 in addition to country music charts. Carrie is one of my favorite artists but not solely because of her music. She has great style, values, and holds herself with grace. I may not know her personally but I think she just has just a wonderful presence that surrounds her. Now in class there has been discussion about whether or not religion is a trope of country music. I believe that in Underwood’s case it is a very big part of her and her music. Her newest single “Something in the Water” has to do with how a person’s life changes after they have been baptized. The song also includes lyrics from “Amazing Grace”. Another attribute of the song is that it is not only on the Top Charts for the Billboard Top 100 but also is on the Hot Christian Songs Chart.

In addition to “Something in the Water”, a good portion of Underwood’s older songs also contains some references of religion. Another example would be “Jesus Take the Wheel”. “Jesus Take the Wheel” was released on Underwood’s debut album Some Hearts in 2005. This was Underwood’s first Christian-Country crossover hit and could be said to be her most successful single thus far. “Jesus Take the Wheel” won numerous awards, including two Grammy’s and an Academy of Country Music.

Others like “Inside Your Heaven” and “Just a Dream” are two other songs that religion is a theme. Both Underwood and the runner-up of American Idol, Bo Bice, released “Inside Your Heaven”. Underwood’s version of the song excelled with approximately double the amount of copies sold than Bice’s. “Just a Dream” is a song about loss and heartbreak. This song is sad in depressing but it clearly illustrates the emotion of denial after one finds out a love one has passed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyRlMaCauSs

Religion does not take place in all of Underwood’s songs though. But seeing as how a number of her songs have religion in it, you can tell it is something she values. Also, if we look back at the birth of her son this past week we can tell she values religion in her life. Underwood and Fisher named their son Isaiah, which is a biblical name.

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Filed under Country Pop, Music Videos, Song Analysis, USA, Women

by | March 13, 2015 · 8:00 am

Crawfish and Country Music

Thanks to cold temperatures, rain, and “ice”, the last few weeks in Austin have felt more like Seattle than Texas. Because of this, the 60-degree forecast full of sun and devoid of precipitation for this past Saturday had me excited. While the weather alone could have brightened my mood, my enthusiasm was heightened because Mother Nature was cooperating for my favorite party of the year.

turnpike-truEvery March, my fraternity puts on our “Ranch” party. Good friends, crawfish, and most importantly live country music highlight the event. While past years have boasted big name artists such as Pat Green, I was ecstatic when I heard this year’s party would be featuring one of my favorite country artists, Turnpike Troubadours. While they are still a relatively small group, they have gained momentum in the last several years, even playing the ACL Music Festival this past October. Regardless of this being the third time I would be seeing them perform in the last year, I was still looking forward to the concert.

As people flocked to the crawfish tables, Shane Smith & the Saints took the stage as the warm-up act. Although I was not familiar with their music, I was quickly impressed by their sound. Lead vocalist Shane Smith had a great voice and was accompanied by a classic Texas country sound featuring a fiddle, guitar, drums, and bass. The band recently released their first album, a feat that was over two years in the making. The album, Coast, reflects the relationships and memories made while on the road in the years leading up to the release. They have a great sound and the album is definitely worth checking out.

While I was impressed with Shane Smith & the Saints, Turnpike Troubadours finally took the stage and stole the show like they have done every time I have seen them perform. All hailing from southeastern Oklahoma, the members of Turnpike Troubadours clearly enjoy performing. Lead vocalist Evan Felker truly knows how to take over a stage and engage an audience. He writes almost all of their songs and his passion is clearly evident when he performs. Aside from turning the microphone to the crowd or joking around with other band members on stage, they sounded just like they do in recordings and delivered a great show.

FullSizeRender (1)I chose their most recent album Goodbye Normal Street as my album to analyze for the current class project. My research really allowed me to see their performance in a new light compared to past shows. While songs like “Good Lord Lorrie” and “Gin, Smoke, Lies” have been some of my favorites since they were released in 2012, my research allowed me to listen to them differently this time. For example, I read in an interview with Felker that he writes almost all of his songs about authentic life experiences and real people that have crossed his path. Knowing that Lorrie is a real person with a real story helps explain the passion Felker sings with when performing the song.

Whether at historic Gruene Hall singing on the same stage as many of country music’s biggest names, at Zilker Park for ACL, or in the front yard of a college party, every time I have heard Turnpike Troubadours perform they have delivered the same genuine and authentic performance. They are bonded by their rural roots and sincerely enjoy performing their life experiences to a crowd, regardless of who it might be.

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Filed under Americana, Austin, Live Music, Texas

by | March 12, 2015 · 8:00 am

Country Radio Needs to Change

Gary Overton, Sony CEO

Gary Overton, Sony CEO

As I worked on my album analysis for Aaron Watson’s album The Underdog, which grabbed the No. 1 spot on the US Country Billboard Chart, I came across an interesting article, “Sony Nashville CEO talks importance of country radio.” Gary Overton, Sony CEO, said in the interview that he can be quoted several times a day saying, “If you’re not on country radio, you don’t exist.” This statement angered many people including independent country fans and artists. Many independent artists have much support from fans, but find themselves ignored by mainstream country radio.

Country radio is not capable of embracing individual country artists. Individual country artists are unique and have an authenticity that cannot be found with the current mainstream artists. I can tell that country fans want something different and country radio should adapt – playing both mainstream and independent artists.

the underdog

Aaron Watson’s No. 1 Album, “The Underdog”

Aaron Watson is an independent Texas Country artist who has been in the industry for 15 years, has produced 12 albums and performed over 2,000 shows. However, he has been rejected by mainstream radio despite having the No. 1 US Billboard Country album. His response to Overton’s comment was, “My name is Aaron Watson. I am not played on country radio. And I have the #1 record in country music this week. I do exist.”

Charlie Robinson, a Nashville artist turned independent, also offered his opinion on the matter, stating “I have a job today but as soon as Florida Georgia Line goes out of style, and believe me they will, you [Gary Overton] will not exist.” Of course, Florida Georgia Line felt compelled to comment on Twitter that they have lost all respect for Charlie Robinson.

Many factors contribute to the success of artists, but radio play is not the most important. In fact, Overton’s own artist Garth Brooks had to deal with the issue of mainstream radio when they rejected his comeback single “People Loving People” and its follow up “Mom.” However, due to his loyal fan base, Garth Brooks has experienced no difficulty in selling out shows. Dedication and perseverance are two important qualities that country fans look for in artists. Independent artists certainly contain those characteristics.

There is no denying that radio play contributes to the commercial success of an artist, but it doesn’t determine whether they exist or their level of talent. I’m sure that many independent artists would benefit greatly if the mainstream radio stations accepted them. However, I don’t base an artist’s success or talent on how much airplay they get. I base it on the music and what I think about their songs after they end.

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Filed under News, Reflection, Texas

by | March 11, 2015 · 8:00 am

A Quick Trip With Willie

Last week, my parents came to Austin to visit for the weekend. They were extremely excited to leave the bitter cold in Chicago and come down to one of their favorite cities (even though it would only be just a bit warmer than back home). They have been coming to visit once a semester for the past three years and each time they come and spend some time in Austin, they love it more and more. We have done all kinds of tourist-y things in Austin, but one thing we had not done was educate ourselves on some good ‘ole country music.

My mom and I visiting the Willie Nelson statue

My mom and I visiting the Willie Nelson statue

And so, this time when they visited I made sure to tell them, as well as show them, all about Willie Nelson. We all agreed that Willie Nelson had to have been a big deal in the music industry to deserve a statue in the middle of the downtown area of the state capital and the live music city of world.  We paid the statue a visit, and then became more curious about him as an artist as well as a person.

And so, we gave ourselves a little bit of a history lesson. My parents had no idea that Willie Nelson had moved from Nashville to Austin where he became a key figure in the “Outlaw Country” scene (I had already learned this fun fact, so hah!). He made his transition from the clean-shaven songwriter in Nashville, to the long-hair-don’t-care outlaw that started here in Austin, and is how he remains today.  The city of Austin played a huge role in his transformation, and in turn he had a large impact on the city of Austin.  Another interesting fact we learned was that Willie Nelson was raised by his grandparents, who had studied at a music school in Chicago. It gave us a little more of a connection to Willie, and that was exciting.

After our history lesson was over, we proceeded to listen to some of Willie’s songs. One song that we happened to like was “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.”  It was a song I had never heard before but quickly took a liking to for it’s mellow tone and somber message of love and sadness.

My mother and father always knew that Austin had a huge live music scene, but I do not think they realized just how large of a scene it is and how far back that went. Thanks to our quick trip with Willie, my parents and I got to see a whole new side of Austin and the variety of things it has to offer.

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Filed under Uncategorized

by | March 10, 2015 · 8:00 am

Eric Church v. Concert Experience

What an experience! I bared the cold to go to the Eric Church concert on Wednesday at the Frank Erwin Center. Although I knew who Eric Church was, I didn’t know very many of his songs and was honestly not sure if I was going to enjoy myself at the concert. Now thinking back it’s really hard to differentiate between liking the artist and enjoying the concert. In my opinion, the concert was okay, but I really liked Eric Church and have a new found interest in him as an artist. Confusing, right? Not really once you start to think about all of the things that can affect a concert experience.

The openers, Drive-By Truckers, were a rocky start. The guitar drowned out the vocalist to the point that I really didn’t understand what he was saying the entire time. Their stage presence was so-so; they seemed more involved with what was happening on stage and not the audience, at some points completely turning away from the audience. Watching from high above (in a seat where even the jumbo viewing screens were blocked), it was obvious that the crowd was not feeling them either. The general admission floor was practically at a complete stand still. Because I am more attuned to really active floor audiences that come with other genres of music, this was really surprising, but as it continued, it became more and more obvious that it wasn’t just because this was a country music concert. Continuing to scan the audience, I noticed that nearly everyone around me had their phone out and was scrolling through Facebook and Twitter feeds. If people don’t even want to put their phone down to listen to you, you are doing something wrong! When a high pitched squeal rang out in the Frank Erwin Center, a guy behind me summed up there entire performance perfectly, “That was the best thing I have heard all night!”.

Already frustrated with the night, my friend and I decided to snag some seats down closer to the stage. Once we sat down, crossing our fingers to not have an awkward encounter with someone saying “Umm.. That’s my seat”, the view of the stage was epic. We waited for Eric Church anxiously. As he began with a few of his more well-known songs, it became obvious that the people we were sitting by were ready to party, and party hard. The couple immediately next to us proceeded to make-out, grind on each other (at one point the guy picked the girl up in a very intimate position to say the least) and scream the entire night. When Church played “Smoke a Little Smoke”, a few brave souls decided it was the perfect time to light up a smoke, not the legal kind. The smell surrounded us, and the crazy woman next to us was intent on finding out who she “needs to be friends with” to have a little fun of her own.

Now don’t get me wrong; Eric Church was phenomenal! His stage presence and audience interaction was incredible; from playing fan favorites to telling stories to signing boots that were thrown on stage, Eric did it all and gave us more than we could have ever imagined for a Wednesday night concert. No matter how fantastic an artist’s performance is, a concert experience can be hindered by anything from openers to the people around you. With this in mind, in the future, I would like to ward you against intertwining the two. Eric Church was awesome! My experiences at the concert were not quite as good, but that does not mean I think poorly of the artist.

How was your experience? Has a bad experience at a concert made you think differently of an artist in the past?

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Filed under Austin, Live Music, Reflection, Reviews