Instant Phones

I'm gonna let you in on a little radio lingo.  There's a phrase or saying that radio programmers and DJ's use to describe a song that gets people's attention right away.  "Instant phones" is the saying.  It means that when we play a brand new song, the phones light up immediately with people asking "who sang that last song and what cd is it on?".  The saying describes a song so popular right out of the gate that we could play it every 20 minutes and it still wouldn't be enough.  When I think of "instant phones", I think of songs like "Redneck Woman", "Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning" and "Amazed".  Those are all songs that I would play and as soon as it was over, people would call and request it again so their brother or friend or spouse could hear it.  Last Thursday I had "instant phones" when I played Brad Paisley's new single "Old Alabama".  Before the song was even finished, the phones were going.  It's a really catchy, up-beat song that not only features the boys from Ft. Payne, it uses parts of the Alabama song "Mountain Music" and has a big jam at the end of the song.  The chorus goes:  "...listenin' to old Alabama, drivin' through Tennessee / Dixieland Delight at the right time of the night and she can't keep her hands off me".  For the last few years I have thought that Brad is the most creative person in country music.  Particularly as a songwriter.  He can write something goofy and off the wall like "Ticks" or "Online" and also have great touchy-feely songs like "Letter To Me" and "Anything Like Me".  And his live show is incredible as well.  I have seen him in concert three times and each show is better than the previous one.  Here's to hoping that his H2O tour hits our area.  Look for "Old Alabama" on Brad's new cd coming out on May 24th.  In addition to Brad's new one I'm also really liking Justin Moore's new one "If Heaven Wasn't So Far Away", David Nail's "Let It Rain", Toby Keith's "Somewhere Else" and Josh Thompson's "I Won't Be Lonely Long".

Just a couple other quick news & notes:  Dierks Bentley's new CD is coming out in August.  No title for the project yet, but the first single will be called "I'm The One".  Toby Keith will appear on Dancing With The Stars April 19th where he will be singing two songs.  Eric Church and his wife Katherine are expecting a baby in August.  Lady Gaga will release a country version of her song "Born This Way".  Don't look for it to be played on WXBM.  And finally, a few weeks ago Cher said she was going to record a country album but has changed her mind.  Got a couple new additions to the upcoming concerts and cd info below including the Jason Aldean, Chris Young and Thompson Square show which will be July 14th at the Wharf in Orange Beach.  It's a "win it before you can buy it" week on WXBM for some really gooooood seats all week.  Marty will have the details each day this week at 7:35am.  Tickets on sale Friday, April 1st through all ticketmaster locations.  Good luck on winning those tickets and thank you for listening to Your Country 102.7 WXBM!!

Sunday, April 3rd is WXBM's ACM award show party at Sam's Fun City.  It's an invitation-only event, so if you won an invitation you should have received it in the mail already or it will be coming later this week.  If you're coming and have never been to one of our parties, we'll have free dinner and soft drinks, the park will be open for the kids to ride the rides, dress is casual and we'll show the award show on Sam's HUGE theater screen.  We have some great prizes for you to win throughout the night as well.  Our thanks to Butler U-Pull-It, Dan's Satellites in Pace and Sam's Fun City for helping put this event on again this year.  If you have any other questions, just give us a call in the studio.

Upcoming CD's

April 5th

Craig Campbell - "Craig Campbell"

April 12th

Alison Krauss - "Paper Airplane"

May 24th
Brad Paisley - "This Is Country Music"

June 7th
Ronnie Dunn - "Ronnie Dunn"
Randy Travis - "Anniversary Celebration"
Ashton Shepherd - "Where Country Grows"

August
Dierks Bentley

TBD

Martina McBride

Sunny Sweeney (From A Table Away)

Lady Antebellum

Eric Church (cd expected in late June)
Justin Moore (If Heaven Wasn't So Far Away)
Chris Young (Neon)
Terri Clark (expected this summer or fall)

CD's Now Available
Jane Dear Girls - "Jane Dear Girls"

Thompson Square - "Thompson Square"

Joe Nichols - "Greatest Hits"

Sara Evans - "Stronger"

Josh Kelly - "Georgia Clay"

Upcoming Concerts

April 1st
Rodney Atkins - Hard Rock in Biloxi

April 8th
Loretta Lynn - IP Casino in Biloxi

April 9th
Josh Turner - Hard Rock in Biloxi

April 14th

Sugarland and Little Big Town - Pensacola Civic Center
White Sands Music Festival - Farmers Opry in Chumuckla http://www.farmersopry.com/

April 15th and 16th
White Sands Music Festival - Farmers Opry in Chumuckla

May 21st
Travis Tritt - Wind Creek in Atmore

June 5th
Willie Nelson, Jamey Johnson, Randy Houser, Lee Brice and Craig Campbell - Wharf in Orange Beach

June 16th
Keith Urban and Jake Owen - Mississippi Coast Colisseum in Biloxi

July 14th

Jason Aldean, Chris Young and Thompson Square - Wharf in Orange Beach

Ok y'all (or ya'll (or yawl)), let's settle this

About a year ago Lynn made a comment on our facebook page that started out "Hey y'all".  A few minutes later somebody made a really ugly remark about how it's "ya'll" not "y'all".  So then a few weeks later, I made a post that included "ya'll" and then somebody else absolutely chastised me for not knowing that it's supposed to be "y'all" instead of "ya'll".  He said that WXBM is a reputable radio station that really should know the difference, and we lose credibility by not knowing that "y'all" (as he spells it) is a common contraction between the words "you" and "all".  I was tempted to give the guy a piece of my mind, but I wrote him a simple, short, polite note and told he is getting bent out of shape about nothing.  Since then, I have come to find out that people really do care about this, and that it really is a big deal to some people.  Why?  I have no idea.  I thought it would be fun to look at both sides of the argument. 

I have seen three different ways to spell it.  Y'all seems to be the most common.  Ya'll is a close second, and I have even seen "yawl" every now and then.  We can all agree that the word we're talking about isn't a proper word or contraction in the English language, right?  Y'all is like "ain't".  It ain't a real word.  Since it's not a real word or contraction then you can pretty much do whatever you want with it, so I'll accept "y'all".  Now let's try to throw some logic at it and try a little "punctuation 101".  The guy I mentioned earlier who said it's a common contraction between "you" and "all" is wrong.  A contraction uses an apostrophe: '   to make two separate words into one word, right?  In most cases (if not all cases), it's the second of the two words that is shortened.   In almost every instance the entire first word remains in the contraction, and there's never more than two letters after the apostrophe.  Could+not=couldn't.  Did+not=didn't.  They+are=they're.  You+are=you're.  So if "y'all" really is a contraction of the words "you" and "all", it would be "you'll", right?  But that's the contraction for "you" and "will".  So now we're back to square one.  Using logic doesn't work here.  I have seen popular country artists who were born & raised in the south use "ya'll" in the liner notes of their cd's and on their facebook and twitter pages, so you have to lend some credibility to using it that way.  I can tell you one thing, whenever we use it on the WXBM facebook page (www.facebook.com/1027wxbm) we leave the apostrophe out.  It's yall on our page because it's not worth the headache!!!  Just out of curiosity, how do you spell it?  If you do "ya'll" and someone else does "y'all", does it get under your skin?  I guess it's a moot point since it's not a real word, but hey ya'll, it's an interesting debate ain't it?

A couple quick news items.  Trace Adkins has a small role in the new movie "Lincoln Lawyer" featuring Matthew McConaughey.  Trace plays the part of a biker and McConaughey is his lawyer.  That movie is in theaters now.  The rumored duet between Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood is official.  The song will be titled "Remind Me" and will be on Brad's new cd which comes out May 24th.  Shania Twain will release her autobiography May 3rd.  Sounds like she will talk about her difficult childhood, her rise to fame and even her recent divorce.  It will be titled "From This Moment On".  Also just added some stuff to the upcoming concerts & cd's below.

Thanks again for checking in on the "News & Notes" blog this week.  Feel free to (respectfully) share your thoughts.  Have a great week and thanks for listening to Your Country 102.7 WXBM!

Upcoming CD's

March 22nd
Josh Kelly - "Georgia Clay"

April 5th

Craig Campbell - "Craig Campbell"

April 12th

Alison Krauss - "Paper Airplane"

May 24th
Brad Paisley - "This Is Country Music"

June 7th
Ronnie Dunn - "Ronnie Dunn"

August
Dierks Bentley

TBD

Martina McBride

Sunny Sweeney (From A Table Away)

Lady Antebellum

Eric Church (cd expected in late June)
Justin Moore (If Heaven Wasn't So Far Away)
Chris Young (Neon)

CD's Now Available
Jane Dear Girls - "Jane Dear Girls"

Thompson Square - "Thompson Square"

Joe Nichols - "Greatest Hits"

Sara Evans - "Stronger"

Upcoming Concerts

April 1st
Rodney Atkins - Hard Rock in Biloxi

April 8th
Loretta Lynn - IP Casino in Biloxi

April 9th
Josh Turner - Hard Rock in Biloxi

April 14th

Sugarland and Little Big Town - Pensacola Civic Center
White Sands Music Festival - Farmers Opry in Chumuckla http://www.farmersopry.com/

April 15th and 16th
White Sands Music Festival - Farmers Opry in Chumuckla

May 21st
Travis Tritt - Wind Creek in Atmore

June 5th
Willie Nelson, Jamey Johnson, Randy Houser, Lee Brice and Craig Campbell - Wharf in Orange Beach

June 16th
Keith Urban and Jake Owen - Mississippi Coast Colisseum in Biloxi

The New Wave

Last week I established myself as a country music "traditionalist" and talked new country vs old.  Looking back at that post, I kinda of lumped all of today's artists into the "pop country" category which is unfair.  There is a new wave of artists that broke through in the last five years or so that really have a good country sound not only in the actual music, but he lyrics as well.  Artists like Eric Church, Josh Thompson, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Justin Moore and Jamey Johnson.  If somebody who knew absolutely nothing about country music was scanning through the radio dial and came to a station playing any one of those artists, they would immediately know they had found a country station.  In particular, I really like the first three artists:  Eric, Josh & Luke.  If all you know about those artist is what you hear on the radio, it's pretty safe to say you'll probably enjoy everything on their CD's. 

Eric's first CD "Sinners Like Me" came out in 2006 (we've been over this already) and I have had to buy it twice cause I wore it out.  His singles "How 'Bout You" and "Guys Like Me" were a couple of his first big hits, but I believe the best material on that record never hit the radio.  "These Boots" is probably my favorite, while "Livin' Part of Life", "Before She Does", "The Hard Way" and the title cut are all great song too.  He even has a song featuring Merle Haggard called "Pledge Allegiance to the Hag" that Merle fans would probably get a kick out of.  When I found out Eric was working on his next album "Carolina" in 2008, I was a little bummed out because I knew none of those other songs would ever get on the radio.

The CD I have been listening to the most lately is Josh Thompson's "Way Out Here".  Josh just released his third single called "Won't Be Lonely Long" which hasn't cracked the top 30 yet, but it's climbing.  "Blame It On Waylon" is one of my favorites from Josh.  It's an upbeat song that has a true Waylon sound and says:  "blame the cussin' on my daddy, good looks on my mama but as for my honky tonk ways I blame it on Waylon and all them other outlaws....."  Great song.  Other highlights on the album for me are "You Ain't Seen Country Yet", "Back Around", "Sinner" and "I Won't Go Crazy".  Any
one of them could be a hit on the radio.

What I was getting at last week, was that while people who like traditional country music typically frown on "pop country", the crossover artists like Taylor Swift, Rascal Flatts and Shania Twain are good for country music because they bring new fans in. 

BeulahFest turns 25 this Friday and Saturday!!  WXBM has been a proud sponsor for most, if not all BeulahFest events over the years.  This year look for a couple great days of food, arts & crafts, rides and entertainment.  I'll be doing my show live from the Equestrian Center from 2-7 Friday afternoon and we'll welcome Justin Moore (Small Town USA) and Jerrod Niemann (Lover Lover) to the stage that night.  Then Joe Diffie, Sammy Kershaw and John Michael Montgomery will play Saturday with lots of local bands in there too.  To get tickets in advance or get more general info, visit http://www.beulahfest.com/ 

As always, thanks for listening to Your Country 102.7 WXBM!!

Upcoming CD's

March 22nd
Josh Kelly - "Georgia Clay"

April 5th

Craig Campbell - "Craig Campbell"

April 12th

Alison Krauss - "Paper Airplane"

May 24th
Brad Paisley - "This Is Country Music"

TBD

Martina McBride

Ronnie Dunn (Bleed Red)

Sunny Sweeney (From A Table Away)

Lady Antebellum

Eric Church (cd expected in late June)
Justin Moore (If Heaven Wasn't So Far Away)
Chris Young (Neon)

CD's Now Available
Jane Dear Girls - "Jane Dear Girls"

Thompson Square - "Thompson Square"

Joe Nichols - "Greatest Hits"

Sara Evans - "Stronger"

Upcoming Concerts

March 18th

Zac Brown Band - Wharf in Orange Beach

Justin Moore and Jerrod Neimann - BeulahFest at the Escambia County Equestrian Center

March 19th

Joe Diffie, Sammy Kershaw and John Michael Montgomery - BeulahFest at the Escambia County Equestrian Center

April 1st
Rodney Atkins - Hard Rock in Biloxi

April 8th
Loretta Lynn - IP Casino in Biloxi

April 9th
Josh Turner - Hard Rock in Biloxi

April 14th

Sugarland and Little Big Town - Pensacola Civic Center

May 21st
Travis Tritt - Wind Creek in Atmore

June 5th
Willie Nelson, Jamey Johnson, Randy Houser, Lee Brice and Craig Campbell - Wharf in Orange Beach

June 16th
Keith Urban and Jake Owen - Mississippi Coast Colisseum in Biloxi

New vs. Old

On behalf of the children and staff at Sacred Heart Children's Hospital, thank you so much for all your support and donations during last week's radiothon. It's truly a privilege to be associated with such generous people. WXBM listeners donated nearly $70,000 to the kids and staff at SHCH. You should be extremely proud of your donations and know that all donations really make a big difference for the children and the staff. Thank you.

I read an article about two weeks ago that said Sugarland recently returned from a tour in the United Kingdom and they were so "enamored" by what they heard on UK pop radio that they are going to make a conscious shift in that direction musically. I don't know if that means they will totally abandon the country format, or if they will record a pop version and a country version of their singles like others have done. I'd like to know what their fans think of that. Reading that story made me think of the "traditional" country vs "new" country battle that has been going on for years. Traditionalists are usually seen as close-minded and unwilling to accept change. I believe that they truly love country music (and I mean real country music) and they feel that the music they love is getting watered down and phased out. Anyone remember what happened at the 1975 CMA's when Charlie Rich presented the Entertainer of the Year award? Charlie was a traditionalist and John Denver was seen at the time as more of a pop/country artist, and when Charlie opened the envelope and saw that John Denver won the award, he got a lighter out of his pocket and lit the envelope on fire. Later on, I think he admitted that he was a little "tipsy" or "over medicated" at the time, but no doubt, he was trying to send a message. My favorite era of country music is early 80's through mid 90's. Old George Strait, Dwight Yoakam, Joe Diffie, Travis Tritt and Randy Travis.  That's my stuff.  If I had to pick sides, I would side with the traditionalists. Unfortunately for us traditionalists, classic country is not a viable radio format by itself. It has failed to bring ratings in many markets including the Pensacola market. It's still out there in many markets, but radio is a business, and businesses have to make money to stay in operation. On the other hand, I have heard many, many people say that they hated country music until they heard Rascal Flatts, or Taylor Swift. And gradually through listening to them on country radio, they started to like Brad Paisley and Alan Jackson. And then they started liking Randy Travis and George Strait, and on & on back to Hank Jr and Waylon. So even though some of today's artists push the boundaries of the genre, they can be a gateway to the good stuff, and I can live with that.

In other news, Tim McGraw recently signed on to do a new movie called "Safe Room" with Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds. Sara Evan's new CD "Stronger" comes out this Tuesday the 8th, and John Conlee is coming to the Farmers Opry in Chumuckla this Friday and Saturday. Visit www.farmersopry.com for ticket info.

Have a great week and thanks for listening to Your Country 102.7 WXBM!  Here's the link to the Sugarland article I refered to above:  http://www.theboot.com/2011/02/23/sugarland-pop-country/

Upcoming CD's

March 8th

Sara Evans - "Stronger"

April 5th

Craig Campbell - "Craig Campbell"

April 12th

Alison Krauss - "Paper Airplane"

May 24th
Brad Paisley - "This Is Country Music"

TBD

Martina McBride

Ronnie Dunn (Bleed Red)

Sunny Sweeney (From A Table Away)

Lady Antebellum

Eric Church

CD's Now Available
Jane Dear Girls - "Jane Dear Girls"

Thompson Square - "Thompson Square"

Joe Nichols - "Greatest Hits"

Upcoming Concerts

March 11th
John Conlee - Farmers Opry in Chumuckla

March 12th

Colt Ford, Corey Smith and Matt Stillwell - Wharf in Orange Beach
John Conlee - Farmers Opry in Chumuckla

March 18th

Zac Brown Band - Wharf in Orange Beach

Justin Moore and Jerrod Neimann - BeulahFest at the Escambia County Equestrian Center

March 19th

Joe Diffie, Sammy Kershaw and John Michael Montgomery - BeulahFest at the Escambia County Equestrian Center

April 14th

Sugarland and Little Big Town - Pensacola Civic Center