Over the past few years, the Tea Party movement has seen a dramatic rise in the number of conservative female activists across this country.  From local to State and National elections, we see more and more female names on ballots.  We see women leading many of the conservative social networking sites – large and small.  We see them writing conservative books, blogging, tweeting, facebooking (has Webster added those yet as actual verbs?).  We see them on TV providing spot-on punditry on the shenanigans in DC.  We see them holding voter registration drives.  We see them courageously and passionately speaking out at Town Hall meetings, Tea Parties, rallies, and conventions.  We also see them using their creative abilities (e.g. music, art, writing, acting, film making, etc.) to spread the message of freedom.  We see them boldly fighting for this country in many capacities, all the while brushing off (and many even relishing) the insults flung at them for simply being conservative and…gasp…FEMALE!  And they are HOT (as in…”mad as Hell and not going to take it any more”…yeah).

It appears one must “fight like a girl” to save this country.

Especially proud to be one of those lipstick warriors is country singer/songwriter, Sherry Marquelle, whose ancestors, the Apache people, due to their fierce independence, were the last of the Native Americans to be placed on reservations.  That strong will is alive today and stands ready for a good fight for freedom and that fighting spirit is very evident in Ms. Marquelle.

Sherry is not new to the entertainment industry.  She has shared the stage with Faron Young,  Mel McDaniel, and John Conley.  She has recorded songs from some of Nashville’s top songwriters, such as Harlan Howard (I Fall To Pieces, I Got A Tiger By The Tail, Somebody Should Leave), Hank Cochran (Make The World Go Away, The Chair, Ocean Front Property), and Angela Kaset (Independence Day).

Sherry says she is now using her singing and writing talents “to inspire fellow Americans to get involved in the efforts to stand up for our country and uphold the Constitution.” (more…)

If you scroll down just a few short inches, you’ll see a thoughtful review of Lady Gaga’s recently released album by Ezra Dulis. We’re sincerely grateful Mr. Dulis not only endured multiple-listens to the latest queen of pop’s faux-edgy anti-religious lyrics and canned Madonna-esque electronica, but he assessed it in a far more sophisticated way than either of the editors of this site could.

In the midst of a Lady Gaga media barrage that includes a piece in Forbes naming her the most powerful celebrity, it’s only fitting that the two finalists for “American Idol” season 10 have practically nothing in common with her. I have only watched “American Idol” sporadically since the first season, but I have long defended it as a very special show. It’s competition in as pure a form imaginable and the American people democratically choose who they want to win.  That’s a thing of beauty.

At this point we don’t know who will be tops this season, Lauren Alaina or Scotty McCreery, but one thing we know for sure is that the winner will be a country artist.

“Idol” finalists Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery

So while Lady Gaga continues to grab headlines with her cheap-trick glam-bisexual-protest-blasphemy pop, America is choosing between two aspiring country artists to be their “Idol” for this year.

I guess this is Middle America’s not-so-subtle way of reminding the coasts it might be a good idea to keep “flyover country” in mind when they’re producing entertainment for mass consumption.

From the New York Post:

Just a few months ago, the producers of “American Idol” declared that this would be the season they dragged the aging goliath into the future.

With ratings sagging over the past few years and its winners finding it increasingly difficult to sell records, “Idol” was in need of a dramatic reboot.

“Maybe it’s like a diva, maybe it’s more like Lady Gaga,” Randy Jackson mused about the type of star he hoped would emerge. “Maybe it’s Muse, Bono or Brandon Flowers of the Killers.”

Now, at the season’s end, with “Idol’s” first all-country finale on tap, the “c” word — for contemporary — is not much heard.

(more…)

As we were leaving the years with a 19 in them somewhere in the dust and going forward into a new century, there was a transition in country music.  While there were a number of artists and bands that were part of this seismic shift in Nashville, SHeDAISY was a leading crest of that first musical wave.  The CD, The Whole SHeBANG can be credited with a major assist in pulling bored country fans out of the “Achy Breaky”, big hat days of the industry.  Without them, fans may have turned their back on Nashville and turned, en masse, to bands like Skinny Puppy.  Nobody needs that.  The problem with being part of the lead wave is that you sometimes hit the rocks along the shore along with the occasional seagull.  Kristyn Osborn, the member responsible for most of SHeDAISY’s poignant and sometimes quirky writing, took time out of her busy schedule to discuss some of those rocks along with the overall success of the band.

Big Hollywood: 2010 was a rough year for SHeDAISY.  You split from your record label and your home was affected by the Nashville flood. 

Kristyn Osborn: Yes, the house was a problem, but I had it so much better than so many people in my fine community.  So it was a rough year for that, but I would say the worst part was our divorce from our record label, which I can go on record as saying that was worse than my “divorce” divorce.  So it was a rough year, not without its good moments, but it was a rough year for sure. 

Big Hollywood: So you had a CD on the launch pad, ready to go, and suddenly Lyric Street pulls to plug.  Can you tell us about that?

Kristyn Osborn: Well they didn’t completely pull the plug. This is a common process, I think, for a lot of artists.  In fact we thought we were immune to this, because it has never happened in all five of our albums.  You turn a record in and they say “Oh we love it”, and then they go “oh gosh, we just think we may need something more”.  So you go and record two or three more songs.  And then the initial reaction is “oh my gosh, we love it” and then there is something that happens, some internal meeting that happens, something that happens with the promotion staff.  Obviously we were not privy to that.  Then they come back and say, “Oh we don’t have it”.  This happened three times to us.  It was emotionally taxing.  We went through this process a number of times and that was when we kinda opened our eyes and said this is never going to happen.

(more…)

There are a lot of things in music that don’t make sense.  The popularity of Justin Bieber is one of them.  Why this carbon based Muppet is currently a media sensation is a good example of things in the music industry that just don’t add up.  Another inexplicably silly part of the current music culture comes from the “Area 51” section of today’s Pop scene.  It is the persistent speculation about what gender Lady Gaga really is.  The absurd question about whether or not the oversexed diva is actually a teamster named Larry has a number of gullible people scratching their heads.  Some of them, a good bit lower than that.  Personally, I wonder how The Who can still sing the line “Hope I Die Before I Get Old” with a straight face.  While all these are interesting in an “Access Hollywood”/”Jerry Springer” sort of way, there are some questions of substance out there in the music world.  One thing that doesn’t make sense is how the country trio, SheDaisy, is sitting out there in Nashville without a recording deal.

For those who are unfamiliar with this band, it is comprised of three sisters from Utah: Kristyn, Kelsi, and Kassidy Osborn.  Originally they were brought to Nashville by CBS records as the band The Osborn Sisters.  While the name was possibly structured in that manner to evoke such acts as the Andrews Sisters, the moniker didn’t stick.  They presumably got sick of questions about whether or not they would be biting the heads off of bats during their live shows, or how it was working with the late Randy Rhodes, so they changed their name to SheDaisy.  If She-Myth is to be believed, the word is Navajo for “my little sister.”  My Navajo is about as good as my German, so somebody could tell me the name means “hold the pickles” and I would have to give them the benefit of the doubt. (more…)

Many Country Music fans first real exposure to Sheryl Crow came with the release of “Picture,” a duet she sang with Kid Rock, in 2002. That was a strange pairing to say the least, because it put a self-proclaimed “Cowboy” who supported the then pending invasion of Iraq with an overt leftist who was anti-war and anti-Bush. But heartland America loved the song, thus Crow seemingly had an “in” with a crowd she probably lacked connections otherwise.

More recently, Crow purchased a home in Nashville, and has popped up at different events there, including last month’s Country Music Awards. To the curious onlooker, it appeared she was courting the Country Music audience, which is understandable because it’s a great group of people to have on your side.

But right in the middle of this apparent outreach to Country Music fans, Crow gave Katie Couric an interview for Glamour magazine, in which she lashed out at Tea Parties and other aspects of the Country Music crowd. As I read the interview, I could only imagine the Dixie Chicks’ former tour manager picking up a copy of Glamour and screaming – “Sheryl, didn’t you learn anything from Natalie Maines’ big mouth?!” (more…)

I did two things Sunday night I usually don’t do: I tuned into CBS and watched an awards program. They were actually the same thing, as I watched the CMA Awards on CBS. While I was told repeatedly the CMAs are a country music awards show, my question is, “Where were the country folks?”

Where was the modern Loretta Lynn? You know, a simple country girl who just loves to sing walking the stage in a homemade dress and an out-of-date hairstyle. Where were George Jones and Dolly Parton? Where were Willie, Hank Jr., and Merle? Why are the Country Music Awards being held in Las Vegas and not Nashville, Austin, or Branson? The problem is that in country music today, the last thing you want to be is “country.” It used to be “I was country when country wasn’t cool.”  But now, to paraphrase the great Mr. Jones, if you are country, that isn’t cool. (more…)

The left in this country has a problem.  Well, they have a lot of problems, many of which involve personal hygiene and anger management issues.  That is a column for another day though.  The left is losing the pop culture media war in this country, and it bothers them.  In 2008 Reuters reported that the top four radio formats in United States were news talk, country, contemporary Christian, and Christian teaching. 

 
Stripper Pole!

Liberals failed miserably when they tried to take over the talk radio industry with Air America.  It reminded me a lot of the time that Pearl Jam took on Ticketmaster, which in turn reminded me a lot of a bowl of jell-o taking on a herd of wildebeests.  The left can’t compete in the Christian market.  Let’s face it, the folks who declare Robert Mapplethorpe “art” simply have no credibility in that particular market.  With that said, Country is a family friendly format they still think they have a chance of corrupting, and Miley Cyrus may be their perky little Trojan horse into that industry. 

Music and American politics have become linked, with most of the genres in the “Hope and Change” category.  During the 2008 presidential campaign, a country artist I am acquainted with talked about the stress of that election and how her vote was putting her at odds with her family, friends, fans, and industry (three guesses who she voted for).  To change the very culture of that industry, you need to pave the way for the shrill Natalie Maines types with the seemingly harmless Miley types.  Ms. Cyrus is presented to us a fully Disneyfied young lady with a Christian background and the values to boot.  This is the sort of person that the Middle America country fans should love, right?  As with many things in the entertainment world, her image is a well manufactured myth and the truth is that this young lady brings an entire suitcase of San Francisco values with her as baggage when she eventually breaks into the country music scene.   (more…)

Larry Gatlin recalls learning about the story of Cynthia Ann Parker’s 1836 capture by Comanches during a hunting trip with fellow crooner Red Steagall.

“Being a Texan I had grown up knowing a little bit about it … not a lot and not enough,” Gatlin tells Big Hollywood. He got an earful that day from Steagall, and inspiration quickly struck.

“I told Red back then, ‘that’s a Broadway musical,’” says Gatlin, a solo country star and member of the Gatlin Brothers.

“Quanah,“ a musical based on the Parker story, is having a world premiere stage reading at Pace University  through Jan. 24 at Schaeberle Studio Theater.

Parker was kidnapped at the age of 9 by a band of Comanches. Typically, the kidnappers would do horrible things to young women, like use hot sticks to disfigure them so they were unsuitable as mates. But one of the young Comanches protected her and made sure she was raised by his family as one of their own. The two later became husband and wife. (more…)

Last night, I dreamed of Johnny Cash.  He was sitting at the edge of my bed with a guitar, strumming and humming no tune in particular.  Then he stopped, looked at me and said, “You got to play, son.”  I woke with a start.

I remember when Cash died in September, 2003.  It was strange that it hit me so hard.  He had, after all, been ill for quite some time.  I remember him being diagnosed with Shy-Drager Syndrome, a mysterious, degenerative nervous ailment.  That turned out to have been a misdiagnosis, though he was still plagued with diabetes, and bouts of pneumonia which hospitalized him for long stretches.  And, of course, the massive drug and alcohol abuse which characterized his early life had taken their toll as Johnny slid from middle into old age.

In the spring of 2003, his wife of over three decades, June Carter Cash (who wrote his most famous song, Ring Of Fire about their tempestuous romance) passed from the earth, leaving Johnny without his best friend and closest companion.  It is a cliched truism that, when one lifelong partner dies, the other often follows in rapid succession.  When two hearts beat together for so long, they can no longer beat independently, and so it proved for Mr. and Mrs. Cash.

I was raised in rural Colorado, with naught but country music to grace my ears through my early youth.  I detested it so, the sad sameness of it all, the poverty of its vision.  Country musicians made music seem so small.  Then I heard Johnny. (more…)