Telluride Bluegrass Festival Alive 25 Telluride Bluegrass Festival: Alive 25 CD

MY SISTER THRIVED ON ELVIS WHILE MY MOTHER COULD SING LIKE PATSEY CLINE, MY FATHER LOVED JOHNNY CASH. LIKE MANY ARTISTS, I SANG IN MY LOCAL CHURCH FOR YEARS WHERE I LEARNED SO MUCH THAT I KNEW WOULD BENEFIT ME THROUGHOUT MY LIFE. I BEGAN SINGING WITH A BAND IN MY LOCAL TOWN TO INTRODUCE MYSELF TO STAGE PRESENCE, LEARNING TO WORK WITH OTHERS AS A TEAM, AND CREATE A FOLLOWING. THE TITLE OF OUR BAND WAS "SOUTHBOUND 75" AND WE SOON FOUND OUT THAT WE HAD A BIGGER FOLLOWING THAN WE EVER IMAGINED. I PLAYED IN THIS BAND FOR THREE AND A HALF YEARS, BUT ONE PHONE CALL TOOK MY MUSICAL CAREER IN A VERY DIFFERENT DIRECTION. IN THE YEAR 2005 I WAS ASKED TO PERFORM AN ORIGINAL SONG TITLED, "STAND UP AMERICA" AT THE LAST RALLY FOR THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. IT WAS A THRILL TO PERFORM A SONG THAT MEANS SO MUCH TO ME, AND I BELIEVED TOUCHED THE 21,000 LISTENERS THAT WERE IN ATTENDANCE THAT NIGHT. IT WAS A VERY MOVING EXPERIENCE THAT I WILL NEVER FORGET. THE SAME GRAND FUNK RAILROAD THAT MY BROTHERS LISTENED TO WHEN I WAS YOUNGER, WAS ALSO THE SAME MARK FARNER THAT ASKED ME TO OPEN FOR HIM IN CONCERT, AFTER HE HAD HEARD ME PERFORMIN HIS LOCAL CHURCH. IT WAS AMAZING TO MEET MARK FARNER AND HIS WONDERFUL FAMILY, AND DEVELOP A FREINDSHIP FOR LIFE. MY NEW PROJECT TITLED, "ZERO TO TEN" WAS A YEAR IN THE MAKING AND I AM SINGING A DUET WITH MARK FARNER ON CUT NO. ELEVEN TITLED, "LOVING YOU". THIS NEW PROJECT HAS ALLOWED ME TO WORK WITH SOME TALENTED MUSICIANS AND PRODUCERS, WHO TAUGHT ME TO MOVE OUTSIDE THE BOX AND TO BE WHO I WAS THROUGH THE MUSIC. AS A SONGWRITER AND A PERFORMING ARTIST, SOMETIMES IT IS A REAL EFFORT TO LET YOURSELF BECOME TEACHABLE TO THESUGGESTIONS OF THOSE AROUND YOU. WORKING IN A STUDIO ALLOWS AN ARTIST TO BE HER OR HIMSELFAND MOVE INTO THE VERY MUSIC THEY HAVE CREATED. PRODUCERS CAN BE GREAT GUIDANCE DIRECTORSFOR AN ARTIST DURING THE STUDIO PHASE AND I BELIEVE I HAVE WORKED WITH SOME OF THE BEST. MARSHALL BLOCK OF REAL II REEL PRODUCTIONS OUT OF FLINT MICHIGAN WHO WAS NOMINATED FOR A GRAMMY ON A CHILDRENS PIECE HE PRODUCED. BRENT BAXTER BARRETT WHO IS KNOWN FOR HIS AMAZING WORK WITH INDIA ARIE, AND HIS ABILITY TO PLAY ANY TYPE OF MUSIC, ALONG WITH HIS KNOWLEDGE OF OTHER INSTRUMENTS. RANDY LYNCH, WHO IS A WONDERFUL PRODUCER AND HAS WRITTEN MUSCIAL SCORES FOR MOVIES AND WORKED WITH SUCH STARS AS CELION DION. DICK WAGNER, WHO IS FAMOUS FOR HIS WORKS WITH MANY STARS AND HAD SUCH BEAUTIFUL HITS AS, "ONLY WOMEN BLEED", RECORDING AT THE SOUND KITCHEN IN FRANKLIN TENNESSEE WAS SUCH A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE. BEING ABLE TO WORK WITH, STEWART DUNCAN, ALEX DEPUE, AND DAN DUNSMORE LET ME SEE FIRST HANDHOW VERY TALENTED THESE PLAYERS ARE IN NASHVILLE. KNOWING SOME OF THIS PROJECT WAS CREATED AT THE DRAGONFLY EAST STUDIO ...

Well, this one nearly came true in 2006, when my in-laws called the Arkansas PO-leese on Christmas night. I didn't put my hands on anybody, but I offered--loudly--to do so if there were any takers. The title alone may throw sensitive souls into depression, or send them on a murder spree. "True, I caught these charges on my own/But life is seldom simply right or wrong." Damn, I wish I'D said that. Oh yeah, I did.2. Fallen. Credit for this one must be shared with our co-producer, Deb Letner, and her partner, Howard. Deb left me a voice mail one afternoon with the killer line that opens the chorus, "This is way more Karma than I bargained for." It took me weeks to figure out where to go with that, but gradually I started hearing this Fallen Angel, who found out his teachers and handlers were lying when they said what's most important in life is to "be yourself," be an original and surprising individual. Horseshit. Step off the beaten path and you're gonna be beaten. Nevertheless, what's there left to do at the Bottom of Despair but to dig in and see what's underneath? Join me, ye Fallen Ones, in celebrating Satanic glee.3. Goin Thru the Motions. You know that feeling, like you're just stumbling through your days and tumbling all night into the abyss? You start remembering you've got that old shotgun in your closet and feel it calling you? That's why I don't buy ammo. Keep the gun, but keep it empty. Really. Feel the pain. Then try to love again.4. The Flood of New Orleans, 2005. I grew up in SW Loozianna, and while watching Katrina coverage from SF, I could literally hear some old woman, fighting with her adult son, as the water creeps across the road and toward the house. At some point, the only way to move her is to pick her up (gently, of course) and put her ass in the boat.5. Love Can Handle the Pain. I wrote this one to answer for myself the age-old conundrum, "What's the difference between Love and Lust?" And I think it's that Love will put up with people's shit, while Lust, though excellent, can only survive the evening. Lust is a butterfly, come and gone in a brilliant flash. Love is a Phoenix, the legendary Bird of Paradise.6. Y.O.U. This is our Toby Keith song. I just thought it'd be a good line to try in a bar. "Hey Honey, I've been out of school for a while, but I'd love to enroll in Y.O.U." So far, most women have been amused, but no one's signed me up. Maybe I'm just not college material.7. You Can't ...

Those who've ...