August 12, 2001

Hellllooooo out there...

I've had some emails wondering if I had dropped off the planet as it's been awhile since I've posted here. Thanks for the concern.. truly. However.. it's just summertime and a busy one at that. Not so much playing live but more recording, songwriting and whatnot. The whatnot part tends to pay the mortgage as I've hired myself out a couple of times as a sideman as well as myself and studio for some other folks projects. Not glamorous but fun and .. well.. work. Lot's to fill in here so I'll begin...

The last time I updated here I was getting ready to play a live broadcast for WRLT in June. That gig was June 24th and a good time it was. The following week was a home recording and songwriting week. I got together with old friend and co-writer, Beth Nielsen Chapman, and we finished another new song that she thinks she'll give a shot at recording. She and I have a good track record there. I've already recorded one of our more recent songs, "Dancing With the Past", for my next album... I'm still unsure when I'll have that ready.. it's still.. being ..worked ..on.

The first week of July was some roadwork with another longtime pal, Kim Richey. If you don't know her music, please seek it out. She's been on the Mercury label for her three albums and getting ready to record her next for Lost Highway (same label as Lucinda Williams, Ryan Adams and others). I played electric guitar and sang harmony on a couple of shows with her in Dayton, Ohio and Richmond, Virginia. It turned out to be alot of travel.. two dates for five days out! Alot of time to spend in a van but alot of fun too. Of course the van broke down on the way back and I barely made it to Nashville for my Bluebird Cafe show on July 7th. It was a "songwriters in the round" with Henry Gross, Clive Gregson and Kami Lyle. I was so relieved to have made it home with only minutes to spare before the show. It's always good to show up to a gig sweating..

I also spent some time in July writing with friends who were in from out of town. Jesse Valenzuela, guitarist from The Gin Blossoms, and I have written a good bit over the last few years and we managed to write another while he was in town. Another productive writing session was with Mark Bryan from Hootie and the Blowfish. He and I actually finished off two songs. It (always) remains to be seen what will happen with these songs.. but there is that sense of accomplishment that goes with having written them .. and the hangtime is always good.

Speaking of songs.. Sara Evan's cut of "Four Thirty" that I co-wrote with Hillary Lindsay is now featured on the back of Kellogg's Raisin Bran. It's some kind of female-country sampler they're providing if you send in the boxtop. If you want to hear my song.. it's a good deal.. I'm still wondering how that happened.

A couple of weeks in July were spent recording demos on some other writers/artists at the bequest of their publishing companies. Of note, I really enjoyed working with Stacy Dean Campbell who used to record for CBS. I always liked his records and we had a good time doing some demos of his new material in my home studio.

One of the most celebrated cult pop bands that was never truly popular in their own day was Big Star from Memphis. Their three early to mid-70's albums, No. 1 Record ,Radio City and Thirds , were critically lauded but never sold. Like The Velvet Underground, Big Star were more influential on other like-minded musicians than anything else.. however the bands that waved their banner (The dB's, REM, The Replacements, The Lemonheads, Teenage Fanclub..etc..) all sold considerably more records. I count myself among the "influenced" so when Big Star played Nashville on July 25th, I was, most assuredly, there. Drummer, Jody Stephens, is a friend (he played on my Set to Pop album as well as sitting in with me at South by Southwest in '94) and I opened for Alex Chilton back in the mid-80's. The Big Star bill on the 25th also included Knoxville, TN. powerpoppers, Superdrag, and Swag. I sat in with Swag that evening singing and playing on "I'll Get By", the song I co-wrote from their album as well as a couple of other songs. That was really fun but I have to say that I got such a kick out of seeing Jody and Alex play together on those Big Star songs. Their sidemen were Jon and Ken from The Posies. They seldom do shows these days so it was kind of an event for all of us who love those records. The Nashville "pop" community was out in full force. I was surprised to find out that night Miles and Tony from Fastball are now Nashville transplants as well. Our pop community is gettting better all the time. At any rate.. this was a night I got to play AND be a fan.

July also brought a visit from my California pals, Randell Kirsch and Michael Campion. Randell is currently a sideman for California institutions, Jan and Dean, but he's a gifted songwriter and singer as well (check the link on my links page). He wrote Jane Wiedlen's "Blue Kiss" and was in the IRS late -'80's band, Show of Hands. He and Michael Campion are doing a duo thing these days. He knew the other two performers that were coming to Nashville, Robby and Tommy Vee, so we booked a songwriters night. The Vee's are the sons of '50's rocker, Bobby Vee and they do a cool retro rockabilly thing themselves. The Vee's flew in from Minneapolis and along with the California contingency, we did a Bluebird "songwriters in the round" on July 18th. I had never met the Vee's and they were great guys. It was a Wednesday night and not too crowded but we had a great time and among the folks that did make it down were friends of Robby and Tommy's dad. Our audience included Buddy Holly and The Cricket's drummer J.I. Allison, legendary sax-man Bobby Keys, James Griffin (ex-Bread) and famed songwriters Wayne Carson and Dickie Lee. No pressure. Because J.I was in attendance I sang one of the most Buddy Holly influenced songs I've ever written and gave him credit for the inspiration. It was from the third Foster and Lloyd album.. a song called "It's Over". Definitely the Cricket's gallup like on so many of Buddy's songs. Robby Vee pointed out after I finished that I should maybe share some publishing.. I did buy J.I. a bevvie.

That same week was the NAMM Convention. That's the one where all the musical instrument, amplifier, recording equipment manufacturers.. etc.. come to Nashville and every musician in town makes his or her way down there to try and score some kind of free gear as well as see what's the latest. Former Nashvillian, Al Kooper, always makes it back for that. He does a collumn for EQ Magazine. He has a career retrospective cd coming out on Sony/CBS before long which is really exciting for all of us Al fans. He's had an amazing career of being in the right place at the right time with the goods to back it up. Playing on essential records by Dylan, Rolling Stones, The Who.. ex-Beatles.. forming Blood, Sweat and Tears, producing Lynyrd Skynyrd.. a resume beyond compare. Not to mention his solo records and those "session" albums. Long story longer, he cut a track for an XTC Tribute record a few years back and it, somehow, didn't make the cut so it's included on this new compillation. Where is my all important self in this story? The "me" part is that I sang the harmony vocals. Good for me. Shut up now, Bill.

August the first I played another songwriter revue at a brand new Nashville venue called The Basement. Great little room with great sound and vibe. Impresario and drummer, Billy Block, books the room. Amy Rigby and Walter Egan joined me. The only drawback is that the club is brand new and a more than a little hard to find. What do they say? Location, location, location! Musician friends like Bill (Dash Riprock) and Kim Davis, Graham Elvis (The Elvis Brothers) and Warren Pash (Swag) did make it out to see us. Always fun to sing along with Walter on "Magnet and Steel" Amy had some great new songs too.

The Doobie Brothers came to Nashville's Ryman Auditorium on August 9th. Pat Simmons was an early member of The Sky Kings so we still keep in touch. We toured with The Doobies in '93. They put on a fine show at The Ryman and it was great seeing them again. At encore time, Pat called up Henry Gross, who had opened the show, John Cowan and me to play and sing along on "Listen to the Music". It felt odd to be playing music with Pat for the first time in several years onstage at the Ryman .. to a packed house no less. Great fun for sure. They made us take the bows with them too.. which is ludicrous but I didn't turn it down. They're sounding really great. Michael McDonald didn't join them for their Nashville date even though he now lives here. I'm guessing he was out of town because I know he still joins in from time to time. To their credit, they don't try and do his songs if he's not there. What an amazing career you have when you can leave out hits that big and still fill a show .. with hits.

I played Nashville's longest living rock club, The Exit In, on August 10th. I felt like Nashville's longest living adolescent. But that was the point. The band included Steve Allen (20/20), Hags (Joe Marc's Brother) on bass and Fenner Castner on drums. The rhythm section of Fenner and Hags. Sounds like an English breakfast. The Rayon City Quartet opened the show and were great. I have to say that we rocked loud and long and had a blast. Steve Allen has a solo album coming soon called In and Out of the Light. He and I co-wrote the title track and I got to play guitar on it. It doesn't sound much like 20/20 but it's really good classic rock sounding stuff.

Speaking of recording.. I did find time to do some recording for myself in the last month and a half. I finished up a track for a Stiff Records Tribute scheduled to come out on Groove Disque Records later this year. I did a version of Wreckless Eric's two-chord wonder, "Whole Wide World". Mathew Sweet , Amy Rigby and Pat Buchanan have all recorded tracks as well. The other tribute records I've mentioned here in previous updates that I've recorded tracks for are still in the works as far as I know (Ray Davies and Jeff Lynne tributes).

The rest of this month is full of more recording, songwriting and a couple more shows. One is a benefit on the 23rd at The Bluebird with Beth Nielsen Chapman, Annie Roboff and others. I'm also playing the Swallow in the Hollow in Roswell, GA. again on August 24-25. This time I'll be with Greg Trooper and Pat Terry doing the songwriter revue kinda' thang. September first brings another Bluebird show with Danny Flowers and Marhsall Chapman.

Just so it's not ONLY music here.. the summer has been full of baseball (the Nashville Sounds ..triple A), movies and forever mowing the grass. My son didn't have alot of camptime this year so he and I have taken some days to do some fun stuff when mom is working. Recommended kid movies include Spy Kids, Shrek and even the sappy Princess Diary .. which I liked anyway. Getting back to being an adult, the new Nick Hornby book, "How To Be Good", is great. He definitely hits my demographic. I saw an okay Clapton show that I really enjoyed despite being just okay and a Tom Petty / Jackson Browne double bill that was really good. I've never met George Harrison but I'm thinking positive thoughts for and about him in light of his fight with cancer. He's been a real inspiration. I finally did get the remastered "All Things Must Pass" and it sounds awesome.

All for now.. thanks for checking in. Good thoughts to you too.

Bill

October 1, 2001

Hi and thanks for dropping by.

Well, if you're checking in here then you very well may be looking for some kind of brief diversion from the recent tragedies. Talking about music and entertainment seems so trivial in light of these events, but as time goes on.. so must our lives. What brings joy can bring healing so I think it's a good thing to carry on with our own business.. whether it's music, baseball, banking or taking down dinner orders in a restaurant. I do appreciate you thinking to check out this site.

I watched it all unfold on that Tuesday morning on tv like so many... struck dumb by the senselessness of it all. I counted my own blessings quickly and felt fortunate knowing that my wife and son were safe and sound. I truly hope you didn't have to experience that kind of horror from too close a proximity.. but if you or your family or friends were caught in that madness, I offer my sincere condolences to you and yours. Here's to all of us staying strong and keeping clear heads during a confusing time..

After days of canceling most work related chores and commitments.. seemingly glued to the television... I was able to take part in a benefit for Nashville's Red Cross on Friday night , September 14th. While it had been only a few days since the terrorist attack and everyone was feeling raw, 12th and Porter's booking agent rallied some Nashville based talent to not only raise some money but to also provide a feeling of catharsis for all those who felt like a night out was needed. Marshall Crenshaw had been booked to play the club that evening and with airlines being shut down, was in New York with his family.. which was where he needed to be. Those who did make it out that Friday night found a full-blown musical review of Nashville's pop-rock scene. The lineup included King Crimson/Bears guitarist/songwriter, Adrian Belew; Swandive; Venus Hum; Tommy Womack; Tom Hambridge; The Thompson Brothers; Jetpack and myself. I played bass with Tommy on his knockout version of Springsteen's "Darkness On the Edge Of Town". The Thompson Brothers provided a backup band for me which was really nice of 'em.. and we gave rawk.. During their set, they pulled out the bside of The Beatles Abbey Road for fun and had guest vocalists and side players up to sing and play it .. in order .. straight through with no break. Speaking of cathartic moments.. playing THAT music and singing along with a club full of people who knew every line and were just aching to feel good practically brought tears my eyes. After days of what felt like closing ranks, it felt great to just BE in a crowd of people.

On Monday night, September 17th, I was in Tempe, Arizona on behalf of the First Amendment Center participating in another Freedom Sings event. Scheduled well in advance, the University of Arizona chose not to cancel it and I was happy to be back in that part of the world playing music that felt.. important. If you've read other updates I've done here over the last year or two, you'll know that The First Amendment Center stages events celebrating free speech. With their Freedom Sings program, the relationship between free speech and music is literally played out. On this particular event, I took up the first 40 minutes or so playing songs that had been banned and/or censored in some fashion and spoke about the when's and why's. It's a little like being a human jukebox since I wasn't playing my own music, but it's alot like being a lecturer more than a performer in this case. When I was finished playing excerpts of songs like "Good Rockin' Tonight", "White Rabbit", "Blowin' in the Wind" and "American Skin". the stage was turned over to Jill Sobule. Who doesn't know Jill? If you don't.. you should! A songwriter's songwriter.. a very funny and witty performer on-stage and on record.. TRULY talented and unfairly dismissed by those who have only heard her MTV hit , "I Kissed A Girl". Her latest album is a "best of" package but you really can't go wrong with Happy Town , Pink Pearl or any of her albums. Jill did a great job in Tempe working her music in with the First Amendment Center's backdrop and political awareness and fun went hand in hand again.

Jill Sobule and Bill
Photo by Jenny Atkinson ©2001

Being in the hometown of singer/songwriter/guitarist, Jesse Valenzuela (Gin Blossoms) led to a late night gig for me sitting in with Jesse and Darryl Icard at the infamous Long Wongs. I ended up playing along with their entire set on another guitar just adding what I could to their renditions of Jesse's own material (including one we co-wrote!) and cool covers by Charlie Rich, Van Morrison, The Beatles, etc.. Fun for sure. Getting home took longer than expected. It wasn't beefed up security that caused delays.. I'll support that any day.. but it's the cancellations. I do hope the airlines can pull through this hard time... looks like they're getting some help too. That can become a hot topic so I'll just say that I can see both sides!

I was not PLANNING to play in Memphis on Thursday night, September 27th.. but I did. I was happy to be a last minute addition to a songwriters showcase hosted by Keith Sykes at The Black Diamond on Beale Street that night. I was called late night Wednesday by good friend and occasional co-writer, Fred Knobloch, to join he and Jellyroll Johnson (and Keith Sykes of course..) and play the following evening in one of my favorite cities. Tony Arata, writer of the best Garth Brooks hit, The Dance, was due to round out the foursome but had the flu. His loss was my gain. Thanks Tony and I really do hope you're feeling better! Thanks also to friends from Mefiss who I was able to email that morning and visit with that evening!

Sunday night, September 30th, the Mars Music here in Nashville hosted a benefit for The United Way that I took part in by playing a couple of songs. I got to see some friends and visit a little but I didn't stick around to see many of the play as I had my son with me. His attention span is just about like mine when he wants me to watch cartoons with him. It's only fair I suppose. I have to say that I'm really proud of the way so many businesses and organizations are chipping in with the effort to raise money to help in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. This money was going towards helping the families of the firefighters in particular I was told.

I'm planning on a trip to Copenhagen, Denmark soon to help teach a week long class in the music biz at a music school. A lot of other Nashville based producers, singers, writers, etc.. are all scheduled as well. Looking forward to that!

I'd like to make another mention of a couple of records.. I mean cds (!) that are either out already or soon to be released that I'm included on.. The Ray Davies Tribute is due out any day now on the Praxis label. I've mentioned it here before and there's even a link to the web site a few updates back. And here it is again :

http://www.praxisrecordings.com/thekinks.html Fountains of Wayne went on the Conan show this last week and did a great version of the Kinks "Better Things" that they recorded for the tribute.. so please search it out. I recorded a duet with Tommy Womack of The Kinks, "Picture Book".

In Japan, I've leased another of my solo recordings for another compilation called What's Up Buttercup that is a mostly power pop affair.. and a really good one.

The Japanese label is called Lazy Cat and my song is called "Daylight Moon" Here's the graphic for the cover and the link for ordering : http://www.ask.ne.jp/~maki.cat

Here's wishing you and yours strength and courage during these trying times.

Bill

October 28, 2001

Hey there... Since my last update, the general mood seems to have relaxed somewhat despite the worrying state of affairs. I sincerely hope you and yours are doing well these days.

I mentioned that I would be going to Copenhagen, Denmark during October and it all happened as planned. What was unplanned was how rewarding an experience it would be. I felt lucky to be included in a group of Nashville based musicians, songwriters and producers all invited to teach for a week at the Danish Rhythmic Music Conservatory. As a government sponsored school, all of the music students we worked with all had to audition just to be accepted. I didn't run into anyone who wasn't bright or without talent. That'll keep you on your toes. After all .. it's the music biz. :) I'm guessing that the closest thing we have to their school in the U.S is Berklee School of Music in Boston.

Front row: Robert Reynolds, Dave Olney, Fats Kaplan, Chris Leuzinger, Paul Worley, Mike Poole, Bill Lloyd
Back row: Jamie Oldaker, Kevin Welch, Harry Stinson, Kevin Montgomery, Warren Pash, Pete Droge, Brad Jones, Al Perkins, Kim Richey

At any rate.. I got to work with two different groups of musicians and singers during my week there and, as I was one of the producers, helped them record and arrange material that we all decided to work on. With one of the groups, we even recorded a song that we co-wrote the first day I was there. There wasn't alot of time for sightseeing as the school kept us all busy with our lessons as well as student and teacher concerts. The last night we were there was especially fun with the teachers concert turning into a free-for-all on stage with many students dancing onstage while we played into the night. Not to say we didn't get to see some of Copenhagen.. we did and it's truly a beautiful city with friendly people everywhere. Most everyone spoke excellent English too.

The group that came over from Nashville were mostly friends and acquaintances I'd worked with during my years spent here so there was a family feeling from the very beginning. I'll try and run down a list here of teachers in no particular order : Paul Worley and Mike Poole (who work on everything from the mega-selling Dixie Chicks to alt-country rockers, BR549); Kieran Kane (formerly of The O'Kanes and current Dead Reckoner), Kevin Welch (former Warner Bros. recording artist now with Dead Reckoning); Kim Richey (Lost Highway/ Mercury act and longtime pal of mine); Robert Reynolds (The Mavericks/Swag); Kevin Montgomery (former A&M recording act); Dave Olney (amazing songwriter with albums on Rounder); Al Perkins (best known for his steel guitar work with Stephen Still's Manassass and Flying Burrito Brothers); Fats Kaplan (in demand Nashville sideman with ..well..everyone); Chris Leuzinger (session guitarist / producer); Brad Jones (another longtime pal who has produced Jill Sobule, Steve Forbert, Swag and many others); Harry Stinson (session singer, drummer, songwriter, producer and also a Dead Reckoner); Warren Pash (songwriter and current member of Swag); Jamie Oldaker (longtime drummer for Eric Clapton and former member of The Tractors) and.. last but not least.. the only non-Nashville member of the group.. Seattle-based Pete Droge (solo artist on American Records with the big hit "If You Don't Love Me, I'll Kill Myself"). It was an amazing group of folks to bond with.. rebond with in many cases! I could go on even longer how great it was but I'll just have to say that I hope I'm invited back to work again.

Upon returning home, I jumped back into co-writing. The current batch of co-writers include Bobby Bare Jr. (you should check out the two Bare Jr. cds) and Kelley Ryan from The Astropuppies. Kelly is really talented too.. she may be one of the few female auteurs in the post-punk pop world. She writes great, sings, plays lots of instruments, produces and engineers her own records. It's the kind of stuff you'd want to find if you were looking for a great Bangles or Go-Go's album. I highly recommended Kelly's records too. I also wrote with a fine singer/writer named Andy West. He's a Brit living in Nashville and has some great recordings already done and just looking for a label. I also, during that time, sat in with my friends Amy Rigby and Steve Allen as they shared a bill at 12th and Porter week before last. I've co-written with them both and guested on their most recent albums. Good loud fun sitting in.

This last week took me to both South and North Carolina. I wrote last Monday with Mark Bryan from Hootie and the Blowfish. It was good to see him (and some of the guys) again. The rest of the week was spent in Charlotte. N.C. where Jamie Hoover from The Spongetones and I started recording some songs we've co-written long distance the last several years. I don't know when we'll be done but the idea is to record a duo record.. a buddy record if you will. I'll let you know how it progresses. It's good to be back home again. I do have another gig coming up to mention.. November 16th at The Bluebird Cafe here in Nashville. It's another "songwriters in the round" this time featuring myself along with Kim Richey, Pete Droge and Jesse Valenzuela from The Gin Blossoms. Kim, Pete and I will no doubt get to reminisce about Copenhagen. Okay .. okay .. I'll stop about all of that!

One last upcoming thing that I'm really pumped about is another one-off Foster and Lloyd reunion on November 4th. It's not a public gig per se but very exciting. I'll tell you more after it happens since it's kind of a surprise event and I shouldn't say too much right now...

Sincere thanks for checking in.

Bill

December 8, 2001

As always, thanks for dropping by. Today is the sad anniversary of the passing of John Lennon. Last night, I took part in an annual tribute show here in Nashville where singers, songwriters, musicians and bands do Lennon/Beatles songs. It's always a fun event and I've been in the houseband for it six years running. It's a great houseband to boot. The" Imagine No Handguns" benefit was originally organized seven years ago by John Sieger (ex-Semi Twang) when he was still a Nashville resident.. He still comes to town to host. The guitar lineup of John, Steve Allen (20/20) and I has been constant for six years in a row now. The rhythm section we had last night of Brad Jones on bass and Fenner Castner on drums is one of my favorites and Michael Webb magnificently rounded out the band on keys. The show usually lasts about four hours and it was great fun as always. There were some especially good performances (Chuck Mead of BR549 doing "Tight A$" comes to mind..) but there are too many to make a list. If all this yak sounds good to you, please know that I'm organizing a show for January 5 here in Nashville at 12th and Porter as a tribute to George Harrison and the proceeds will go to Vanderbilt's Ingram Cancer Center.

My son's birthday was early in the week. Mine was this week too. Yikes. Nothing marks time like watching kids grow up and seeing your icons pass. The death of George Harrison is still on my mind. I was surprised how deeply I felt it. I'd heard that George's fight with cancer was very serious several months ago. Even knowing that it was soon to come didn't prepare me for the range of emotions and memories that it triggered. I never had the chance to personally meet George but, like so many, I did feel like I knew him. He was certainly a big influence on me. You too probably. It was especially amazing to see so many news programs give time and attention to talk of spiritual matters. Hearing pundits make references to the duality of nature instead of how many units were sold was a hoot .. and another gift from George. We managed to squeeze in a few George songs at last nights tribute as well.

I'd just gotten back from Denmark when I wrote here last (scroll down for details) and there's been a bunch of stuff going on so I'll get on to that. I mentioned my last update that Radney Foster and I were planning on doing something together. The reason I was so cryptic was that it had to do with NSAI's Songwriters' Hall of Fame Awards. Don and Phil Everly were inducted this year and no one was supposed to know the winner of this years honor in advance. As you may have guessed by now, Radney and I reunited our Foster and Lloyd duo to sing some Everly's songs at this black tie event. While it's true that many of the Everly Brothers biggest hits were written by Boudleaux and Felice Bryant, they have already been honored by NSAI's Songwriters Hall of Fame. On the night of November 4th, we sang a medley of some of the great songs that Don and Phil wrote.. either together or separately. Another cool part of it was that we were introduced by once upon a time Cricket and great songwriter, Sonny Curtis ("I Fought the Law," "Walk Right Back," etc..) We sang a short medley of eight songs: "Cathy's Clown" '"Til I Kissed You;" "I Wonder If I Care As Much;" "When Will I Be Loved;" "Girls Were Made To Love;" "I'm Not Angry;" "So Sad To Watch Good Love Go Bad;" and "The Price of Love." Don didn't attend, but Phil was there and was as gracious and nice a guy as you'd want to meet. We'd met him once many years before but didn't remind him :) The stage was set in the middle of a big banquet hall and Phil was sitting directly behind us.. slightly unnerving knowing one of your musical heroes (that you can't see but you know he's there) has to sit through you singing all those songs again... but it all worked out!

Radney Foster, Phil Everly, and Bill
Photo by Kay Williams, © 2001

On November 16th I was part of a great songwriters-in-the-round at Nashville's Bluebird Cafe with Kim Richey, Pete Droge and Will Kimbrough. Initially, Jesse Valenzuela was booked but couldn't fly in to Nashville that week due to sickness in the family (all is better now I'm happy to report.. ). We all had a great time. I think Pete enjoyed his Nashville visit as he and Kim wrote a couple of great songs together that they did that evening. Kim hosted a party at her house the following night for all of us who had gone to Copenhagen to teach in October. It was a fun reunion. Even though we're all in Nashville.. nobody gets to see each other that often. Hats off to Kieran Kane's guacamole and Paul Worley's garlic mashed potatoes. Now, those are the kind of details you're looking for.. right?!?

Thanksgiving was a good one with my wife's family in Birmingham, Alabama and then we all stayed in Roswell, Georgia the following weekend. I was a last minute booking onto a songwriter showcase gig at The Swallow in the Hollow. I've played there before.. it's kind of like The Bluebird with great barbeque. They definitely cater to songwriters and it's always fun. I was added onto a lineup with Danny Flowers and Russell Smith only the week before. Russell had to cancel last minute and I called Rusty Young to come down and play as he and I had played there together before. So it was the Danny, Rusty and Bill show that weekend and we had a great time.

I've gone on here in previous posts about the Ray Davies' Tribute cd that I thought was to be out by now. It IS happening but is taking longer than anticipated. It will come out via Rykodisc in the Spring. Having said that, Ray Davies was IN Nashville this last weekend and I was fortunate enough to get to hang out a little with him. This post must seem like the Bill-Gets-To-Meet-The-Icons update .. but so what .. it happened and it was great. He came in to check out Nashville studios and just get a feel for the place. Since more than a few of the artists on the tribute record are in this community, the producers of the cd thought an informal meet and greet was in order. It was Saturday night at The Slow Bar in East Nashville. Tommy Womack and I had guitars in the car in case anyone wanted live music. Josh Rouse was there. Duane Jarvis (who's not on the tribute but recorded "This Is Where I Belong" on his D.J.'s Front Porch cd at the same time I did on Set to Pop). Alex the Great studio owner and songwriter Robin Eaton was in the house. The word wasn't really out there that Ray was stopping by but there were at least fifteen of us all milling about, drinking and chatting. He made his way around the room meeting everyone.. very friendly. Mike Grimes,owner of The Slow Bar and former bis~Quits' bassist, suggested some live music and Ray seemed into hearing some. Tommy and I got up first and did George Harrison's Beatles classic "If I Needed Someone" as he was still on everyone's mind. We did a couple of our own songs (why did I pick "Cool and Gone"? I don't know.. it didn't apply) and then went into Ray's "Shagri-La" While forgetting the B flat chord in a couple of spots (ow!), he really seemed to love it singing the horn parts out loud. Duane did a couple and I ended up on my own doing Harrison's "Give Me Love, Give Me Peace On Earth" and finally, "This is Where I Belong" with Mike Grimes adding vocal harmony. At one point while Duane was onstage I asked Ray to play. He declined but I had to ask. It was a night I'll remember. Thanks to Jim Pitt, Jack Emerson and Andy McLennon for making it happen.

During a recent fund drive, PBS ran the Sun Records' documentary that I got to be a part of awhile back. I wrote about the experience here in a previous update. They used footage from both the Billy Lee Riley studio sessions at Jack Clement's studio that I played on as well as some stuff from the live show in Swifton, Arkansas with Sonny Burgess, Billy Lee, Jack Clement, Ace Cannon and others. It's nice being the young guy in a band. Everyone else was around 70... and rockin'.

I'm very proud to say that one of the songs that Janis Ian and I co-wrote has ended up on one of her cds. The song is called "If We Had Wings" and it's on her latest cd in her "Unreleased " series made up of demos and live recordings. She sells them over her website and at her gigs.. so it's not one of her "official" albums but I'll take it and feel honored. She's a wonderfully talented singer and writer and I've been a fan since I was a teenager myself. Check it out : http://www.janisian.com

I have another Bluebird in-the-round coming up on December 28th with Rusty Young, Kami Lyle and Sally Barris. You Nashvillians need something to do between Christmas and New Years. This is it.

I sincerely wish you all the very best of the holidays. Thanks for including me in your browse!

Best,

Bill