"CMT Loaded": Taking Aim at Artists and Labels Seeking An Alternate Music Venue
By Crystal Caviness

© 2007 CMA Close Up News Service / Country Music Association, Inc.

Lewis Bogach wants to create water cooler moments.

As the Vice President of Programming and Production at CMT and the chief of its recently-launched broadband channel video initiative, CMT Loaded, Bogach observed that linear channels (a.k.a. cable or network television) offer finite programming opportunities, a boundary Bogach and others working with online content don't have.

"It's an infinite medium," Bogach said of the Internet, particularly as he views it in regard to what he and his team can offer CMT fans. "To me, it's the Wild West, it's open, it's freedom," Bogach said. "You're finding stuff there that you can't get anywhere else and it sparks people to go seek it out. Linear channels really don't do that anymore. The water cooler moments are all now happening online. Things that don't quite fit on the linear channels are things that fit on the Internet."

Country Music Remains Steady In 2006

NASHVILLE - Country Music remained steady in 2006 with a modest 0.5% drop in album sales from 2005, according to figures released Jan. 4, 2007, by Nielsen SoundScan. Total all-genre album sales (CD, CS, LP, Digital Albums) for the entire music industry were down 4.9% from 2005.

"2006 was a year that really showcased the depth of Country Music's diversity across all areas of our business, from record sales to tours, movies to books and outstanding media coverage," said Tammy Genovese, CMA Chief Operating Officer.

Guy Clark with Rodney Crowell: Talking Shop
By Peter Cronin

© 2006 CMA Close Up News Service / Country Music Association, Inc.

"Sure, I'll do that." - Rodney Crowell


Rodney Crowell didn't hesitate for a second when CMA Close Up approached him about sitting down to interview his old friend Guy Clark. As friends, collaborators and creative rabble-rousers, Crowell and Clark go way back. Both Texas born-and-raised, they've continually shared that indefinable and quirky something that seems to distinguish singer/songwriters from that particular planet. Whatever the reason, the enduring friendship and creative energy between these two musical iconoclasts has constantly been special and still runs deep.



They both hit Nashville in the early '70s, part of a new wave of free-thinking, deep-digging writers following in the formidable wake of Mickey Newbury, Jerry Jeff Walker and especially Townes Van Zandt, who drifted in and out of the scene like a ghost. In the decades since, Crowell and Clark have each found their own kind of success. Crowell flirted with Country stardom in the late '80s before veering to the left to become the consistent hit songwriter and premier Americana artist he is today. And Clark? Well, he's just kept right on being Guy Clark - painting pictures, building world-class guitars, writing songs and releasing albums at his own pace (12 collections of new material throughout the last 31 years).

Carrie Underwood's Wild Ride

In the year since she beat out blue-eyed soul shouter Bo Bice to emerge victorious as the 2005 American Idol, Carrie Underwood hasn't had a whole lot of time to savor her victory. As demanding and life-changing as the "Idol" experience was for Underwood, it was only a small taste of what was to come as her life became an endless series of press interviews, TV appearances, photo shoots, awards shows, concerts and coast-to-coast travel. And then she made a record. Released in November 2005 and propelled by its chart-topping leadoff single, "Jesus, Take the Wheel" (six weeks at No. 1), Underwood's debut album, Some Hearts, quickly became the fastest triple-Platinum female Country debut in history, spending a phenomenal 15 weeks at the top of Billboard's Top Country Albums chart. No doubt about it: for this 23-year-old singer from Checotah, Okla., the past 12 months have been one wild ride.

"I think the only word that I can say is, Wow!" Underwood enthused at a recent triple-Platinum celebration thrown by her label, 19 Recordings/Arista Nashville. There's a lot to celebrate. Underwood's is the kind of out-of-the-box success that hits Music Row every once in awhile, boosting percentages and providing the Country format with a much-needed shot in the arm. In other words, everybody's talking about Underwood. They may be debating her pop leanings or her reality-TV beginnings, but there's one thing they all say: This girl can really sing. That is made crystal clear with every one of Underwood's incredibly poised and pitch-perfect live performances. While she's glad her contest days are behind her, Underwood is quick to give some of the credit for her "overnight" success to the sink-or-swim ethic of "American Idol."

Win a Heartland Prize Pack!

To celebrate the release of Heartland's album "I Loved Her First" AngryCountry is giving away three prize packs featuring the album and an autographed 8x10 of the guys. To enter, simply send an email to win@angrycountry.com with the subject "Heartland."
Contest ends October 31st at midnight Eastern Time. Three winners will be chosen at random, and will be contacted by email for their mailing address. Open to Us and Canadian residents 14 and older. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited.

Good Luck to all, but don't risk not getting to hear this great album, pre-order your copy now, and if you win share the CD with a friend and keep the autographed photo for yourself. Pre-order at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000I8OOO2/ecnadmedia-20

PETE SCHLEGEL SAVES DRUMMER'S LIFE

While preparing for a show in Hagerstown, Maryland, Pete Schlegel saved his drummer's, Rich Lininger’s, life using the Heimlich Maneuver. After completing sound check, Schlegel, his band, and crew had dinner at a local restaurant. As Lininger laughed at a comment from the table, Schlegel recalls, “He sucked [a piece of steak] down his throat. The piece of meat became lodged in the airway...I was on the opposite end of the table. I looked down and saw my drummer stand up and [he] started bending over.” Schlegel recognized Lininger’s life was in danger.” Keyboard player, Jeff King, attempted the Heimlich maneuver but failed. Within seconds Schlegel was at his drummer’s side saying, “Let me try.” Schlegel delivered the famed life saving upward thrust just above the diaphragm causing the lodged piece of meat to catapult out of the victim’s airway. Schlegel recalls, “It just shot out and ironically he [Lininger] extended his hand and caught it.” Schlegel’s extensive Emergency Medical Services (EMS) experience as an EMS helicopter pilot and Ohio state trooper training saved the day for drummer, Rich Lininger. Further details of the story can be found at www.SALF.org

Country Music Veteran Sherwin Linton Celebrates 50 Years in Entertainment on November 4 & 5, 2006 at Medina Entertainment Center in Minnesota

Country music icon Sherwin Linton kicked off his career in 1956 as a talented teenager with a love for performing. The singer, guitarist, consummate entertainer and national hitmaker celebrates 50 years in music with a weekend of events at the Medina Entertainment Center on November 4 & 5, 2006. The events include a dinner and roast honoring Sherwin, and the 50th Year Reunion Show featuring Sherwin and Pam Linton with the Cotton Kings, including many of the entertainers and musicians who have worked with Sherwin over the past half-century. The Medina Entertainment Center is located at 500 Highway 55, Medina, MN 55340. For more information or tickets, call (763) 478-6661 or visit medinaentertainment.com. More information is also available at www.sherwinlinton.com

Bill Anderson Fans support the Opry

Whisperin' Bill Anderson has always said "I may not have the most fans, but I know I have the BEST". And that core of caring folks recently showed their staunch support for Anderson by donating $2,000 to the Opry Trust Fund in honor of his 45th Anniversary as an Opry member.

Prior to that, club members also honored the Hall of Famer by donating $1,450 to the HOF'S "All for the Hall" fund.

GETTING TO KNOW RUSTY WALKER
By Gary Voorhies

Radio remains king when it comes to reaching Country Music fans. The business is competitive, with more than 2,000 radio stations in the United States playing Country Music. Many stations turn to independent radio consultants to gain an edge. The consultants help develop listener-friendly play lists, personalities, promotions and programs.

Rusty Walker, President/Owner of Rusty Walker Programming Consultant, Inc., is one of the leading consultants in Country radio. He has helped shape more than 500 stations since 1983. And he does it all from the rural Mississippi town of Luka, 22 miles from Corinth, where he first hosted a radio shift when he was 16 years old.

How did a small town boy become a leader in his field, one so prominent that he was named Billboard magazine's "Country radio Consultant of the Year" for seven consecutive years?

“The One” isn’t even a close third.

ABC’s The One promised it would be different than American Idol, and they kept their word. The most obvious difference: Where American Idol is searching for a star, ‘One’ was clearly cast to be a reality show. Eleven moderately talented people - chosen more for their looks and attitude than their ability to hold a note – struggled through relatively easy songs, and cringed at scenes from their own lives as seen through the lenses following them around their Real World style digs labeled “The One Academy.”

Of the eleven hopefuls only one strikes me as having the talent to really be a star, Memphis Tennessee’s Austin Carroll who labels himself as eccentric, but stands out most clearly when he sings and plays the piano. They should just sign this guy now and leave the crappy teen reality shows to MTV.