CATCHING UP!

Wow! Has it been almost 4 months since I posted an entry on here? That's not good, I'll do better.

I suppose the most interesting things I've done since then is go to Nashville twice. On December 30, Andrew Joyce and I traveled to Music City to broadcast and attend the Music City Bowl. We knew that there would be tons of people in town to go to the game, and we knew that downtown Nashville would be Wildcat blue. Our headquarters was the famous Wildhorse Saloon, and we were right, downtown was Wildcat Heaven. It didn't take long to start bumping into home folk and we enjoyed the experience immensely.

(above) My friend, Rebecca Lynn Howard came by the Wildhorse to say hello.

(above) A couple of Andrew's fans stopped to say hello ( Tennessee Titans cheerleaders). Lord, I hope Becky doesn't read this.

COUNTRY RADIO SEMINAR

The Country Radio Seminar (CRS) is a once a year gathering in Nashville hosted and organized by the Country Radio Broadcasters Association. It gives us the opportunity to attend sessions designed to learn all that is new and updated in the industry and to meet and greet a lot of the established country stars, as well as the newer ones on the horizon. It was in a hallway of the Nashville Convention Center a few years ago at CRS that my buddy, Russ Ocker (KMGO-FM Centerville, Iowa), and I started talking to a kid who was just coming on to the country scene. He was very down to earth and a very nice young man, and when he played the Expo Center a few months ago he remembered the meeting; Dierks Bentley. The record labels all have suites in the Renaissance Hotel where we are invited to various showcases by their artists. A few years ago, while visiting one of these suites and waiting on my friend Rebecca Lynn Howard to arrive, I sat on a couch with a group of people enjoying a ...uh...huh...refreshment. An extremely nice young man came over and sat down and we discussed everything from the weather to music to the radio industry. I remember thinking that as nice as he is, and as young and good looking as he is, he should have a shot at this music deal. It was Billy Currington.

You just never know who you will sit down at a table with or who you'll bump into in a hallway. The entire seminar is all about country radio, so the artists are there en masse to shake hands and say thank you. I was fortunate enough to see a full band performance by Garth Brooks this year. We also saw shows and showcases by James Otto, Lady Antebellum, Emily West (don't worry, if you don't know who she is, you will), Taylor Swift, Keith Anderson, Katie Armiger, The Roys, Rodney Atkins, Ashley Gearing, Montgomery Gentry, Luke Bryan, Jason Michael Carroll, Bucky Covington, Jake Owen...well, you get the picture.

One of the most amazing experiences was being invited to an invitation only showcase by James Otto. My long time buddy, Johnny Mitchell, who now works for Warner Brothers Records, managed to get me and my friend, Russ, an invitation to the showcase at a fancy Nashville restaurant, Sambucca's. Not only was the food amazing, the company was as well. John Rich sat across the room and Gator Michael, the main man at Warner Brothers came around and greeted everyone. The performance by James Otto was accompanied by Shannon Lawson (a member of the Musik Mafia and a Kentucky boy), and as James explained it, "his brother-in-law whom he invted to play bass at the last minute", Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts.

(above) me, Jay DeMarcus and Russ Ocker


I suppose what I'll do now is just share a few pictures. I'm like the aggravating neighbor that wants to show you all 10,00 vacation pictures.

(above) Amanda Henkel, Miss Hawaiian Tropic International '04 & '05. She's my good friend, Cody McCarver's girlfriend. I got to spend a lot of time with Cody and Amanda, they are great down-to-earth people.

(above) me and Jewel.

(above) Johnny Mitchell, Warner Brothers Records, me, James Otto, Russ Ocker.

(above) me and Robert Reynolds formerly of the Mavericks (psst, Trisha Yearwood's first husband).

(above) Rebecca Lynn Howard happened to be perfroming at the Grand Ole Opry on the Friday night of CRS and invited me to tag along. Here we are in the dressing room before the show.

That's about it for now. I'll bore you with more after Hillbilly Days.

Stay tuned

Randy