The Phenomenon of Simplicity

(Today's word will be in red, and bold.)

Sometimes the simplest things get more attention than even the most extravagant, over-the-top things.  This is true of anything, including music.  A good example is Toby Keith's "Red Solo Cup".

A cute little ditty written by Brad and Brett Warren, along with Jim and Brett Beavers, "Red Solo Cup" , was recorded by Toby as an internet video, for fun; it wasn't initially meant to be a radio single for Keith.  The video sparked so much attention that the song went on to actually become a radio, and internet phenomenon.  It didn't matter what genre of music people liked, it seemed like EVERYONE had heard "Red Solo Cup".

Even while the song was still climbing the charts, the hit TV show "Glee" honored the tune on one of their episodes.

The internet, especially YouTube, has been inundated with covers and parodies of the song almost from the time people became aware of Toby's video.  As is the norm, some are good, some not so much.

Cledus T. Judd, country's version of Weird Al Yankovic, has put together a great parody; his version is called "Double D Cups".

While searching for video to use in this post, I ran across another great parody by someone on YouTube; I don't know the person's name, however, whoever it is, I love their "Big Sonic Cup".

Then there's the video that started me writing this post in the first place.  A hip-hop version by $ick$wag that my son showed me.

It's amazing how such a small, simple song has become not only an internet phenomenon, but a genre crossing one as well.

47th Annual ACM Awards

Watching the Academy of Country Music Awards Sunday, April 1, 2012 may have seemed like a bit of an April Fool's joke to some.

For one, there are actually 35 awards handed out, from awards to radio stations, and air personalities, to Entertainer of the Year. However, of these 35 awards, how many actually made it on to the three hour broadcast Sunday evening? Nine, yes, that's a single digit, nine; less then a third of the awards presented actually were broadcast on the air.

The rest of the broadcast was made up of performances, between artists at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and others at the "Fan Jam" at Mandalay Bay.

Granted, performances are definitely a large part of what draws viewers to these type of shows. I guess it's just me that feels, if it's an *awards* show, the awards should actually be what's featured the most.

Also, I won't deny that I love all genres of music, and I'm as big a KISS fan as anyone; but seriously, what was the point of them being at the ACM Awards? Had there been some legitimate reason given, (other than they're KISS), maybe I'd understand; there wasn't though, so I'm still left wondering. It was cool, but still...

Hosting duties were once again handled by Reba McEntire and Blake Shelton. Both did an excellent job as hosts, despite some of the lame jokes they were given to say.

Two performances that were hyped quite a bit were by Toby Keith and Rascal Flatts.

Toby's live performance of "Red Solo Cup" was touted as having "Las Vegas entertainers", joining the singer singing the song. While Toby wandered through the audience at the MGM Grand, singing his hit, the only entertainers I saw were Carrot Top, Wayne Newton, a show girl and towards the end of the song, the Warren Brothers.

Except for Wayne Newton, where were the "Las Vegas" entertainers? It's not like there aren't plenty of them! And as Earthquake Jake pointed out on KUPL this morning, it would have been really cool if Garth had been part of the performance; after all, he does perform in Vegas now.

Rascal Flatts' performance of their new single, "Banjo" was to feature comedian and grammy winner, Steve Martin, performing with the band. Well, Steve was there, and he played the banjo; but that was it. He stayed in the background, barely moved at all, and basically just blended in with the other musicians.

I would think, if you're going to plug Steve Martin as a guest performer, he'd have been given a bigger role. Especially since another banjo player with the band had a featured solo spot. Why wasn't Martin given that spot?

Both of these presentations were very lackluster in producing what had been promised.

On the other hand, one really cool presentation was when Martina McBride and Train's Pat Monahan sang "Marry Me" while a couple was actually being married on stage behind them. Not a way I'd want to be married, but for a Vegas wedding, it was pretty nice.

As far as the actual awards are concerned, for me, there were a couple nice surprises, along with some of the obvious winners for the night.

Though they were surprised with the award the night before the show, I was happy to hear that Thompson Square had won for "Vocal Duo of the Year".

Another pleasant surprise was the Eli Young Band winning, "Song of the Year", for "Crazy Girl". Love the song, and the band!

The 2012 ACM Awards actually added a new award to their list, the first new addition since the 1960's; "Songwriter of the Year".

Sounds prestigious, for sure, and you would think, being a new award, it would have been on the broadcast part of the show; not the case.

Not only was the award not broadcast, it was relegated to one of the awards that the winner is notified ahead of time, so they can be in Las Vegas, or not, if they didn't win.

Of this year's inaugural nominees: Rhett Akins, Ben Hayslip, Dallas Davidson, (the three are known collectively as "The Peach Pickers"), Luke Laird, and David Lee Murphy; Dallas Davidson walked away with the award.

One thing I did notice this year also was that, except for Thompson Square getting a brief mention for winning "Duo of the Year", the off camera awards weren't announced during the show.

In the past, though they're given out before the broadcast, artists, producers, radio stations, air personalities, etc., were all at least mentioned during the broadcast as having won.

Over all, the show was mostly entertaining. It had it's good moments, and it's not so good ones; and things I'd like to have seen done differently, for sure.

For those who missed the show Sunday evening, here's the complete list of winners, including those that weren't aired during the three hour broadcast:

Vocal Event of the Year: “Don’t You Wanna Stay” by Kelly Clarkson and Jason Aldean

Video of the Year: “Red Solo Cup” by Toby Keith

Songwriter of the Year: Dallas Davidson

Song of the Year: “Crazy Girl” by the Eli Young Band

Single Record of the Year: “Don’t You Wanna Stay” by Kelly Clarkson and Jason Aldean

Album of the Year: “Four the Record” by Miranda Lambert

New Artist of the Year: (American Idol winner) Scotty McCreery

Vocal Group of the Year: Lady Antebellum

Vocal Duo of the Year: Thompson Square

Female Vocalist of the Year: Miranda Lambert

Male Vocalist of the Year: Blake Shelton

Entertainer of the Year: Taylor Swift


Small Market Radio On-Air Personality of the Year: Bill Barrett, Tim Fox, and Tracy Berry from KKNU-FM in Eugene, OR

Medium Market Radio On-Air Personality of the Year: Roger, Tom, and Melissa on WPCV-FM in Lakeland, FL

Large Market Radio On-Air Personality of the Year: Big Dave and Chelsie from WUBE-FM in Cincinnati, OH

Major Market Radio On-Air Personality of the Year: Kelly Ford and Rider from KYGO-FM in Denver, CO

National Radio On-Air Personality of the Year: Lon Helton for the CMT Country Countdown USA

Small Market Radio Station of the Year: WUSY-FM in Chattanooga, TN

Medium Market Radio Station of the Year: KATM-FM in Stockton, CA

Large Market Radio Station of the Year: WQDR-FM in Raleigh, NC

Major Market Radio Station of the Year: WQYK-FM in St. Petersburg, FL

Specialty Instrumentalist of the Year: Aubrey Haynie

Steel Guitar Player of the Year: Paul Franklin

Piano and Keyboard Player of the Year: John Hobbs

Guitar Player of the Year: Kenny Greenberg

Fiddle Player of the Year: Stuart Duncan

Percussionist and Drummer of the Year: Shannon Forrest

Bass Player of the Year: Michael Rhodes

Audio Engineer of the Year: Justin Niebank

Producer of the Year: Frank Liddell

Promoter of the Year: Brian O’Connell from Live Nation

Talent Buyer of the Year: Jimmy Jay from Jayson Productions Inc.

Venue of the Year: Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN

Nightclub of the Year: Billy Bobb’s Texas in Ft. Worth, TX

Casino of the Year: Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV

Review--"Clancy's Tavern"--Toby Keith

(Today's word will be in ALL CAPS, BOLD, ITALIC, and STRIKETHROUGH.)


Toby Keith has had several hits over the course of his career. Some have been ballads, like the recent "Cryin' for Me". Quite a few have been rowdy and loud, like "How Do You Like Me Now" And of course there's Toby's patriotic contributions, for instance, "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue".

On Keith's latest release, "Clancy's Tavern", listeners will find all the song styling they've come to associate with Toby.

For patriotism, one need look no further than the first track on the CD to find Toby's latest hit, "Made In America". The song tells the story of a man who, while not being prejudice, only buys, wears, and uses items made in the U.S.A.

"South of You" and "I Won't Let You Down", lean more towards being ballads, one of love lost and the other about a lasting relationship.

And naturally, it wouldn't be a Toby Keith CD without at least one rowdy song. "Red Solo Cup" fills the gap well. The tune is a rocking party ode to red solo cups. It's hard to describe the song here; you'll just have to listen to it yourself to understand. Honestly, if the melody and words weren't so catchy, this could easily be a "throw away" song. It's just silly and hooky enough to grab one's attention though; especially the video for the song with it's dozens of cameo appearances by some of Toby's famous friends.

The title track, "Clancy's Tavern" is the real standout on this CD. It's a song about the true story of Keith's GRANDMOTHER, the tavern she ran, and the summers he would spend with her, helping out. Though not quite the same, the melody, and Keith's delivery of this song is reminiscent of Billy Joel's "Piano Man".

Over all, Toby Keith has provided his followers with another great CD that should have something for everyone to enjoy.

Toby Keith--"Red Solo Cup"

The first time I heard of Toby Keith's "Red Solo Cup", was when I saw a short article about the video having several big names making cameo appearances. I wanted to see how many people I could name, so I watched the video.

Sure enough, there are cameos by comedians, athletes, singers, and all types of entertainment. Though I didn't recognize everyone, the ones I did included Carrot Top, Jeff Dunham, the Warren Brothers, J.T. Hodges, Joe Nichols and Larry Bird.

The video is fun to watch because it's completely silly. I've posted the unedited version here, so I do suggest not having children around while you watch it.


As for the song itself, "Red Solo Cup" reminds me of the songs Toby had awhile back on an album. Those songs were his "bus" songs, (or something like that), that he and the band wrote/played while traveling on their tour bus.

"Red Solo Cup" could easily be seen as a "throw away" song, in the sense that it seems written just because it could be. That doesn't mean it's a bad song however. On the contrary, I really like the song a lot; the video just adds to the wackiness of the tune, especially the end of the video. I don't want to spoil it for anyone though; you'll just have to watch and listen to the video for yourself.

So raise up your CUPS and make a toast to what's sure to be another big hit for Toby Keith.

Ten Years Ago Today

Some things that happen in a person's life stay with them forever; whether they were directly involved, or not. That's the way I am about 9/11. Even though it's been 10 years, it still feels like it was yesterday. All the emotions, thoughts, everything are as raw now as ten years ago today.

I can't imagine what it's like for those who were directly, or even indirectly involved with the events that day. How raw the feelings and memories must be for them, even now.

The same question is asked every year, "where were you, and what were you doing,when the planes hit the towers"?

I was on my way to work, on the MAX, listening to KUPL. Just three days prior I learned that this really pretty glass building in Portland is the World Trade Center. For some reason I hadn't known that. I'd just always thought of it as the building with the merry-go-round in it.


Ironically, the song, "Only In America" by Brooks & Dunn, finished playing just as Amy King,(the newscaster for KUPL at the time), came on the air saying that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. At the same time, the MAX train I was on had just rounded the corner, and I could see down to where Portland's World Trade Center is. My first thought when I heard Amy say that, and looked toward the Trade Center was, "no it didn't, it looks fine". My naivety showed through at that moment, because I didn't get past Portland having a World Trade Center. I realize now that there are World Trade Centers everywhere.

On that day though, I was confused, because I didn't see any plane that had crashed into the Portland World Trade Center. I couldn't even fathom how it could have happened, since the building isn't that tall, compared to ones around it.

I kept listening to KUPL, with Lee Rogers, Jim E. Chonga, and Amy talking about what had happened. I heard them say it was New York, and finally understood. I also remember them emphasizing that there weren't a lot of clear details at that time, so they didn't want to say the plane crash was more than an accident. Then the second plane hit.

Even then, the Waking Crew stressed that despite what things appeared to be, until they had official word, they were cautioning listeners to not be overly alarmed. I kept thinking how good they were at their jobs, to stay so professional, in light of what was happening.

Throughout the day, I listened to the radio. KUPL had switched to, I think, CNN, and was broadcasting that live. For the most part, once the attacks were over, the broadcasters hashed, and rehashed all that had happened that morning. As new information came in, it was passed on to the public; but most of the day after awhile was just the same soundbites and interviews.

I kept my radio on all day, as there was no TV at work to see what was going on. For me, that was almost worse. As hard as the videos are to watch, hearing voices come out of the radio, talking about all the horrible things that had happened, and not having anything concrete to link them to was unnerving. Yet, I couldn't stop listening. For some reason, I felt that if I just kept listening, suddenly everything would make sense; it didn't, but I kept listening.

I also felt that, even though I wasn't there, I needed to hear someone on the radio say what I was thinking. There was a lot of talk about the buildings collapsing, all the paperwork, smoke, dust, everything filling the streets, etc.; yet no one was saying anything about the PEOPLE. I just kept thinking, "yes, this is REALLY bad, but they were just things, what about the people, why isn't anyone talking about the actual victims?

Finally, at some point during the day there was a soundbite of a woman who said EXACTLY what was going through my head, and how I was feeling. I have no idea who the woman was, she was just another disembodied soundbite, among the many that day; but she was MY soundbite. I latched on to it every time I heard it that day; for some reason it gave me comfort to know someone else out there felt the way I did.

Driving home from work that afternoon, I noticed something different about the traffic on I-205. At first I thought maybe I was imagining things, but eventually realized I really was seeing what I was seeing.

I-205 northbound can be a virtual parking lot most days. Add in a lot of merging traffic, and it can be hectic. On September 11, 2001 however, that wasn't happening. Instead of the usual, "try to cut someone off to get in front of them", and all, drivers were actually being courteous to each other. I remember seeing one car that I'd see almost every day on my way home. The person almost always cut someone off, just to be in front, didn't use their blinker, the whole nine yards. On that day though, this person actually not only used their blinker, they let people merge in front of them. The whole thing was kind of surreal, because so many people were actually being polite on the roadways.

Over the next few days I was either watching TV, or had my radio on, constantly searching for answers. Looking back, I don't know why I felt there had to be instant answers, I know life doesn't work that way; but I wanted them anyway. Ten years later I'm not really sure I have them even now.

I remember a couple days after the attacks, Aaron Tippin released a song, "Where the Stars and Stripes and Eagle Fly". Aaron said he'd had the song for awhile, and felt that it fit the current situation, so he released it. All proceeds from sales of the single went to help victims of the attacks.

In the grand scheme of things, I'm sure that fact is trivial; yet, it's one of the questions I still have in the back of my mind. Why, even though Aaron Tippin's song is still played on the radio, is it pretty much ignored in comparison to other 9/11 songs?

Granted, the three songs that come to mind, Alan Jackson's, "Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning"; Toby Keith's "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue"; and "Have You Forgotten", by Darryl Worley, are all powerful songs. All are deserving of recognition for their remembrance of 9/11.

Also, yes, Toby Keith, and I think Darryl Worley have gone overseas to play for the troops. However, in ten years I've never heard if any of the proceeds from these three songs has gone to help with the events of 9/11. Granted, they could have, and it didn't make the media; however, to me, I would like to know if any has.

Aaron Tippin has also made trips overseas, as well as contributing his song to 9/11; yet, as I stated earlier, his song goes pretty much unnoticed compared to Alan's, Toby's or Darryl's. I guess in the back of my mind there's this little part that's bothered by the fact that three people, even with all they've done good, are still making money off 9/11, from their songs. Yet, the one person who donated his song to the efforts is all but ignored.

I realize, this is a petty thing on my part; it is part of all the feelings I have about 9/11 though, so I'm sharing that as well.

Over all, people gather a lot of experiences during their lifetime; some good, some bad. What happened on 9/11 is something I hope no one ever has to experience again.

GUESS WHO?

In another blog I mentioned how I don’t like “cookie cutter” voices.  Those artists who are so generic you can’t tell one from the other.  They could be interchangeable on any song played on the radio, and I doubt anyone would know the difference.

I also said how I like voices that stand out. The minute you hear a song, even if you’ve never heard it before, you instantly know who’s singing.  To me, that makes the music on the radio much more interesting.  It adds flavor to what would otherwise be bland and boring.

Then there are the newer artists who’ve come on the scene lately.  It seems there are quite a few that sound like other, established artists.  The person most people think of first is Easton Corbin.

Easton has always been compared to George Strait; which he doesn’t like.  In some ways, I understand why he resents the comparison.  He’s a new artist who wants to make his career based on his own merits.  Yet, he keeps being compared to George Strait; those are big shoes to fill, especially as a new artist. 

On the other hand, in this case, I see it as a compliment to Easton also.  To me, George Strait seems to have a wide range of styles he plays off of.  So, if people are comparing Easton Corbin to George Strait, which style?  If it’s all of them, I see that as a good thing. It’s worked for George, why wouldn’t it work for Easton?  I’m not sure there will ever be another George Strait, but there are worse artists Easton Corbin could be compared to.

  Awhile back KUPL was playing a song, “If I Run”, by the Harters.  Until I looked the song up, I would have sworn it was Steel Magnolia.  Even though both acts are new to country music, Steel Magnolia is known a bit more than the Harters.  The nice exception to thinking the Harters and Steel Magnolia sound alike is, neither have that cookie cutter sound.

Then there’s Joey+Rory.  I’d heard music by them before, most notably, “Cheater, Cheater”.   They’re another duo without a generic sound.  However, the first few times I heard the song, “That’s Important to Me”, I thought the Judds had put out new music.  The song has the Judds “feel” to it, and Joey’s voice, (on this song at least), sounds like the Judds. I like that this song has that “familiar” sound to it; yet Joey+Rory still have their own style and sound.

On the subject of of acts sounding like others, but only on some songs, there’s the Dirt Drifters.  Every time I would hear “Something Better” on the radio, I thought it was Toby Keith.  I wondered why Toby had two songs out at the same time.  When I found out it was the Dirt Drifters, and that they were going to be in Portland, I HAD to see them.  I wanted to know firsthand whether all their songs sounded like Toby Keith, or just that one.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Dirt Drifters are a very talented band, with their own distinct sound.  They did say that others had thought their first single sounded like Toby Keith, and they were okay with that.  They took it as a compliment that people wanted to find out more about them, because of the comparison.

On a slightly different path of voice comparisons, there’s Glen Templeton.  This new country artist definitely has his own style and sound, and is great at what he does.  At one point in time though, Glen was the star in the traveling play about Conway Twitty’s life.  He had been personally chosen by Twitty’s family for the role, because he sounded so much like Conway.

 Right now, KUPL is playing a song by Bradley Gaskin called, “Mr. Bartender”.  The first time I heard it, I instantly thought of Travis Tritt in his early days.  Yet, while the song reminds me of Tritt, Gaskin actually does hold his own, with his own sound, on the song. 

And then there’s this year’s American Idol winner, Scotty McCreery.    McCreery definitely has his own style and voice, as evidenced by his single, “I Love You This Big”.  While on Idol though, his “signature” song was Josh Turner’s “Your Man”.  Scotty was a dead ringer for Josh Turner; which was especially noticeable when Turner showed up to sing the song with Scotty at McCreery’s homecoming concert for American Idol.

I think there will always be comparisons of groups and artists in all genres of music.  Whether it’s someone like Easton Corbin, who has that “voice” all the time; or it’s a band, like the Dirt Drifters, who just happen on one song to sound like another artist, the comparisons will always be there. 

Likewise, whether, like Corbin, artists resent the comparison, or like the Dirt Drifters, embrace it; there will always be both as long as there’s music in the world.

THE DIRT DRIFTERS

Since opening in August, 2010, the Bing Lounge has had several country acts pass through its doors.  The latest concert, hosted by KUPL on April 5, 2011, featured The Dirt Drifters.

The band consists of lead singer/guitarist Matt Fleener; vocalist/guitarist Ryan Fleener; vocalist/guitarist Jeff Middleton; bassist Jeremy Little and drummer Nick Diamond.

Though The Dirt Drifters have built a solid fan base over the years, it’s just recently that they’ve had their music played on the radio.  Their current single is, “Something Better”, a tune that tells of people always waiting for something better to come along.  It’s a catchy tune reminiscent of something Toby Keith would sing.

Despite, (or maybe because of), their diverse musical backgrounds, these five guys have meshed well, creating some amazing music.  During their performance at the Bing Lounge, it was obvious how passionate The Dirt Drifters are about what they do.  Whether a moving song about a blue collar dad working hard; a rowdy tune about men and motel rooms; or anything in between; the band delivered each song with depth and clarity, as well as beautiful rhythm and harmony.

If that weren’t enough, they told the stories behind the songs; about life on the road, traveling by van and RV; how their first RV burned; and gave everyone a glimpse of who these guys are aside from the music.  It was very personable and at times funny.

After their performance, the band stayed to sign autographs and have photos taken with anyone wanting one.  Just as they were onstage, all of the Dirt Drifters were very friendly with everyone, taking the time to talk with each person, and treating them as if they were the only one there.

The whole experience, beginning to end was, in one word, AWESOME!

In summary, if you ever have a chance to see The Dirt Drifters perform live, GO!  You won’t regret it!

If you're interested in learning more about the Dirt Drifters, their official website is: http://www.thedirtdrifters.com/.  You can also find them on Facebook.