Archive for the ‘Country Music Tattle Tale Exclusive’ Category

Rascal Flatts ARE “UNSTOPPABLE”

Oh My Gosh! Oh My Gosh! Oh My Gosh! Oh My Gosh! Oh My Gosh! Oh My Gosh!

Those are the ONLY words that I have after the night I had tonight.   The cheesy grin on my face in this picture should say it all!  : )

I won a trip to see a private Rascal Flatts dress rehersal show with only 40 other contest winners at the Verizon Center in St. Louis tonight. We had the entire place to ourselves.  Just 40 new friends and Rascal Flatts.  It was the the most AMAZING thing that I have ever done in my LIFE.

Rascal Flatts are by far the BEST entertainers that I have ever seen and tonight proved it for me (and the other 39 people that were there).

Rascal Flatts are bringing their A game and will NOT disappoint their fans on their “Unstoppable” tour this year. It is the same high energy show that fans always know they can expect with a few REALLY great surprises.

From the time the show starts until the encore is over you will not be able to sit down.  Gary, Jay and Joe Don make sure to keep you entertained, clapping and dancing along with all of their favorite hits.  They are playing a longer set list that includes many of our new favorites from “Unstoppable”.

Seriously, head over to www.rascalflatts.com RIGHT NOW and find out when they will be in your city. 

To all of the Country Music Association members who sit in an office to decide Entertainer of the Year —- RASCAL FLATTS ARE ENTERTAINERS OF THE YEAR.  Take notice and listen to the fans.  They love what they do, they are AMAZING at it and we will always come back for more as long as they keep doing what they are doing.

St. Louis – watch out!  Tomorrow is going to be out of this world. 

Thank you to Rascal Flatts, Lyric Street records, The Big 98 (www.wsix.com) and JD Haas Entertainment (http://www.jdhe.com/) for a trip of a LIFETIME!  I will NEVER forget it.

If you are attending an upcoming Rascal Flatts show we want to hear from you.  Email us your reviews, pictures and stories from the “Rascal Flatts American Living Unstoppable Tour”.

UPDATED:  Check out all of the pictures from the show on our Flickr page by clicking here

John Rich Interview with CMTT

I was lucky enough to talk to John Rich this afternoon to get an idea of what fans can expect from the new Big & Rich tour that kicks off in Minnesota on June 12th.

I must admit that this was an intimidating interview for me. I have been a HUGE John Rich fan for a long time now and I know enough about him to know that if I wasn’t on top of my game for the interview that he would call me on it!   You can say what you want about John Rich but personally I LOVE him. He isn’t afraid to tell you how it is and he doesn’t apologize for who he is. During the interview he was very charming and is a professional who knows how to handle business.

Take a listen to the first half of our interview. You will find out what to expect from the upcoming Big & Rich tour, find out if John plans to tour solo for “Son of a Preacher Man” and find out how you can win a trip to Nashville to live a day in the life of John Rich and a special mentorship experience that is “fit for a king.”

Check back tomorrow for Part 2 of our interview with John.  It’s a really fun interview where he tells CMTT about his first kiss, we get a impromptu performance of a song John wrote called “If My Guitar Could Take I’d Be in Prison” and he tells us about future album and writing plans. 

Check out more about the Big & Rich tour at www.bigandrich.com or find out how you can get a copy of “Son of a Preacher Man” at www.johnrich.com

Email me at countrygirl@countrymusictattletale.com if you are having troubles getting the interview to play.

Walker Hayes: Exclusive CMTT Interview

Walker Hayes is one of the new faces of Capitol Nashville.  With his unique sound, obvious passion, and likable persona; CMTT thinks Walker Hayes is gonna be HUGE.  We were lucky to sit down with him this past week and see him perform. I had hoped to just post the audio for the interview, but it was very loud at Sol that night…so I’m gonna paraphrase.

So, who is Walker Hayes?  We asked him that very question; and he seemed taken-a-back…Almost like he didn’t think people would care.  But this down-home boy from Mobile, Alabama is more than just his sound.  Walker Hayes is a father of two, with one on the way.  Walker and his wife moved to Nashville five years ago, with hopes of  “making it” in country music.  Well, he’s well on his way and he’s having “a blast” doing what he loves. 

Walker describes his style as “country, soul-bluesy, youthful.”  He grew up listening to groups like the Doobie Brothers and Almond Brothers, and idolising Garth Brooks and Billy Ray Cyrus.  Walker also admits to enjoying Mariah Carey’s “Vision of Love” and being able to “hit all that stuff she could do” in his pre-pubescent boyhood.  Basically, Walker Hayes just enjoys music. 

After five years in Nashville, Autumn House heard Walker Hayes, and introduced him to Mike Dungan (Capitol Nashville President).  They invited him to be a part of the prestigious label.

We freaked out, as soon as they left the room; we all did a football tackle on the floor and freaked out…It was great…We were shocked.

Before moving to Nashville, Walker hadn’t ever written a song before. Now, he’s admittedly “in love with it.”  It’s hard for him to stop writing.  It’s easy to see how much he loves his craft.  When he’s talking about his music, there is a deep and passionate look on his face.  And, now that his dreams are coming true, Walker is allowing himself to become excited about what success will bring.

I’m excited about making money so my kids can go to college…I really am excited about making a living doing what I love…

But Walker is also excited to receive validation for all his hard work and efforts.

I’m excited to make an album…for sure….I’ve never had a….I’ve never walked into a store and said ‘wanna buy my album.’”   

He even admits he’ll be moved to tears when he first hears himself on the radio…

I’m gonna pull over and cry…I am…I swear to God…

The truth of the matter is…Walker Hayes is a husband, father, talented musician, songwriter, and just a guy who’s truly grateful for all that he’s been given the opportunity to do. 

You can learn more about Walker Hayes when you visit www.walkerhayes.com You can also download free mp3′s of some of his songs. 

Got some country music gossip and don’t wanna be a tattle tale?  Email me, Tawny Tucker, Tawny@countrymusictattletale.com

Monkeyville Members Win VIP Tickets to See Keith Urban in Daytona

Cathey, a reader and Monkeyville member, won VIP tickets to see Keith Urban peform at the pre-race show a the Daytona 500 yesterday.  She got some GREAT pictures.  Here is her review. 

yes mam i was on the front row! myself, jennifer and laken posted banners on different sites to win tickets to the race and vip tickets to see keith. we spent the night in orlando the night before and went out to celebrate jen’s birthday with a keith cake of course. then we left for daytona on about an hours sleep so we could be there when the parking lot opened. made our way to the fanzone frantically looking (in the rain) for the stage that keith would be performing on only to find out that we couldn’t get through yet ANOTHER gate until much later. so we stood around nervously awaiting the opening doing our warm ups so that we could run, push, shove or whatever it took to make sure WE would get to the front. we kept an eye on the stage (we were behind it looking through a fence) just in case we spotted our main monkey. lo and behold, a while later laken screams “i just saw chris!!” so we start looking and there is chris, then brad, then jerry…tension mounts lol. then at the front of the stage, he takes his jacket off and yep!!! it’s keith!!!!! woohooo houston we have a sighting! so we flatten ourselves against the fence cameras stuck through the holes and start clicking. everyone around us thinks we’ve lost it as we scream and sing along for the soundcheck that turned out to be five songs!!! we heard sweet thing, better life, days go by and somebody like you. a couple of them twice (i think this is when he sang for the press box). then we made our way to the gate that would let us onto the field toward our destination. there were a lot of people gathering by that time so our plan was ready, set, runnnnnn. gates open early and we’re off…..get right in front of the stage…no mam, you have to go this other way…what???? we go there….no mam, down there!!! are you kidding me!!! i do NOT run and i just galloped across the frickin daytona racetrack i will NOT be anywhere but in front of keith!!! nice lady got us to the right area and we reach the front…yep i could touch the stage!! there our wait lasted for another few hours, but who is counting when you are waiting for keith to be RIGHT THERE THISCLOSE! keith and the guys came out to screams of excited fans and then he ran right past us…lol. to a small stage in the back to do the first song (you know he has to make sure everyone has a good seat) on the way by a couple of the girls with me got a hand slap. then he returned to the stage and belted out sweet thing…he has so much fun when he sings this song…it’s just aussome. last song was better life and poof, he was gone it was too short of course but even if he plays three hours it’s too short for me. i did get a pick (yay) and so did my roommate deb. it was worth everything we went through to see him even for a short time. i love this man!!
and i want to say this, in these times of so many “monkeys” being upset with the fanclub over tickets, also understand they do many great things for us. i was able to go to daytona, share it with my daughter, meet people from the fanclub (love you jen, laken, anna) AND experience the daytona 500 because the street team gave us the chance to post some banners spreading the word that keith would be here. presales tickets are a perk but certainly not the only perk!! thanks fiona!!

I am glad you had such a great time Cathey, and thanks so much for the review and pictures.  I watched on tv and Keith looked and sounded great! 

Got some country gossip and don’t wanna be a tattle tale?  Email me, Tawny Tucker, Tawny@countrymusictattletale.com

Keith Urban Fans-Say Your Piece

I’ve been overwhelmed by the number of fans who are still emailing and commenting about the Keith Urban Fanclub Presale debacle.  I never, in a million years, thought so many fans shared my same thoughts.  I mean, Keith Urban fans go to the ends of the earth for Keith.  Many fans admit to selling stuff on ebay to purchase primo seats….Fans hang up thousands of fliers for a chance to win meet and greets.  I think he’s an amazing guitar player and a great entertainer. 

That being said, it was Keith himself who said “You’ve got a voice let it be heard….” So, we want to HEAR you, we want Keith to HEAR you….We’ve set up a Country Music Tattle Tale Youtube account and we want to post YOUR videos.  A couple faithful readers have already begun sending us videos and we’re posting them as quickly as we can.  So we want to hear what you want as a fan…how you feel about the presales…how you think it should be changed. 

We want Keith to know that we love him, but we want to feel the love in return.  Please email a short video of 1 minute or less to Tawny@countrymusictattletale.com

UPDATED:  I just thought that I would add this post from Keith Urbans message boards that a fan sent to me today.  Looks like the moderator was trying to explain why things happened the way they did and dug himself into a deeper ditch.

Hey gang…I just wanted to take a second to respond to all of the concerns raised about the presales in one post (because I cannot conceivably respond to each one individually).
Anyone who has been on the message board in the past few days has undoubtedly seen that many members were unhappy with the results of the presales, but many members are thrilled with their presale tickets.

I first want to echo what I‘ve mentioned before…tickets were held by Ticketmaster in every third row starting with the floor. There were more floor seats available this year than last because Keith will be having a smaller catwalk. The number of floor seats that were held did vary depending on the size of the venue. Large quantities of seats were held for Monkeyville members for every show that had a presale.

The disappointment that some of you experienced was a direct result of the sheer size of Monkeyville. Remember that thousands of members have a presale code to purchase the tickets that went on sale two days ago. That is an overwhelming number of people competing for what is, in comparison, a small number of tickets. We did hold a large number of seats for each show, but there were an even larger number of MV members trying to purchase those seats.

I know that many people expected floor seats from the Monkeyville presales, and many people’s expectations were met, but it is a matter of fact that there was an overwhelming demand for a small supply of tickets. In such a situation, there are always going to be people who are left disappointed with their results.

I have to remind you that the presale ticketing policy states that Monkeyville members are only guaranteed the opportunity to purchase presale tickets. Monkeyville does not guarantee that all of you receive the best seats in the house, just that all of you receive an opportunity to buy tickets before the general public.

I have also read your concerns that tickets have been available through scalpers and eBay and members of this message board have been attempting to sell tickets above the price they paid. I want you all to know that we take these reports very seriously and that Ticketmaster does everything in their power to prevent these instances from occurring. It is truly unfortunate that people take advantage of the system and even more unfortunate that they take advantage of your love of Keith Urban and his music. All we can do is try our best to keep the problem from happening.

Though the Will Call system seems like a logical solution, we cannot use it because of the sheer number of tickets we hold for all of you at each show make it impossible, as the Will Call would be overwhelmed with people waiting for their tickets.

It has been expressed by a few members that Monkeyville, management, and Keith’s team do not care about the problem and do not wish to fix it and I want to tell you now that is not the truth. We do pass on all of your suggestions and concerns and we do try to please as many people as possible with the resources available. We think this is the most unique and excellent community and we are all happy that we have been part of this experience.

On that note, I want to thank all of you who have shown support during these last hectic few days. You guys are what make Monkeyville such a special place. You all are what make this community more than just an opportunity to purchase tickets early, but a place where people can come together and celebrate an exceptional artist and his music. I hope that this board and the rest of Monkeyville continue to remain a positive and rewarding place to be as it has in the past.

If I were a Keith Urban fan club member and read this I would irrate! This truly shows you that the Keith Urban fan club doesn’t take care of their members when it comes to fan club concert tickets. I won’t even get started on how much better this could have been for fan club members.

So email your 1 minute or less videos to Tawny@countrymusictattletale.com She will get them posted ASAP and we will help get the word out to Keith and his Fan Club Management. Let’s make getting good concert tickets to Keith Urban concerts a MUST so that we can all celebrate Keith Urban and his remarkable music.

 

**UPDATE**  You can also sign a petition at http://www.monkeyissues.com/ .  This petition was started in 2007.  Thanks!

CMTT on the Radio – The Rooster with Broadway

We are hitting the airways every Monday night at 7:48 pm EST on 106.1 The Rooster with Broadway.   Tawny was on this Monday night – hear what she was dishing about.

 Click Here to Listen

CMTT on the Radio – The Rooster with Broadway

We are hitting the airways every Monday night at 7:48 pm EST on 106.1 The Rooster with Broadway.   Tawny was on this past Monday night – hear what she was dishing about.

 Click Here to Listen

CMTT on the Radio – The Rooster with Broadway

We are hitting the airways every Monday night at 7:48 pm EST on 106.1 The Rooster with Broadway.   Tawny was on this past Monday night – hear what she was dishing about.

  Click Here to Listen

CMTT Exclusive Ryan Laird Interview

Thanks to everyone who emailed us questions for Ryan Laird.  Here are your answers – enjoy and keep watching for upcoming projects from Ryan.  We are excited to see what 2009 brings for him.

  • Question from Riley – What age did you start playing guitar and writing music?
    My parents put me in classical piano lessons when I was 5 years old. I continued with the piano, but around age 7 discovered that it was “cooler” to play guitar, so I took lessons on and off to follow my “rock star” dreams..haha! My guitar training has come from a combination of lessons and just watching and learning the techniques from other players, mostly around Nashville. I started writing when I was 12…my first song was called “Me and Maria”…soooo bad! haha
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  • Question from Candace  – Can you cook? If so, what is your “specialty” and if not, what is your favorite take-out?
    haha..well I wouldn’t call me a chef, but I guess you could call me a very average cook. I’ve always loved eating healthy food that’s quick and easy to make! I love fruit and yogurt! I love Smoothie King too and I love Harvey’s veggie burgers (from Canada).  
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  • Question from Chrissy – Some people state that they can write their best songs while sitting on the toilet. Where do you write your songs?
    OK I don’t think I’ve ever been asked this question this way before. Honestly, I write my songs in a variety of places. Most often, I write them in a music publishing building in Nashville. But sometimes it happens in: the car; hotel rooms and lobbies; on napkins..haha..wherever I get an idea!
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  • Question from Char – Has spending his lifesavings on the billboard been worth it and what has been the most memorable part so far?
    Yes it has definitely been worth it! It’s given me a unique story as a new artist, which is really important. I’ve also made friends with so many new fans who have sent me messages on myspace which has been awesome! A lot of the music industry around Nashville know who I am now too. The most memorable part so far was the night a fan messaged me a link on myspace. I followed the link and watched wide-eyed as Taylor Swift talked about my music and the billboard. It was such a great feeling to see and hear her response, it actually brought tears to my eyes!
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  • Question from Sammy R. – I have a question about Ryan’s song “Luv Me”…where did the inspiration come from? What is the song “actually about”?
    I would have to say my song “Luv Me” has definitely become my most popular song so far! I actually just did an interview with KIXS 108 in Victoria Texas, and they liked the song so much that they decided to add it into rotation! That was SO cool!The song is basically a love story in progress…it’s kind of like a fairy tale romance before the happily ever after takes place. One thing I will tell you is that I wanted to write a song that Taylor Swift would like. I was just about to ask her to produce my album on a giant billboard, so I wanted my first song on myspace to really grab her attention! Turns out, she loved it!!

 

  • Question from Jess – I want to know what gave him the idea to put the billboard up in Nashville.
    The idea for the billboard came to me one morning as I was waking up. I knew I needed a really unique way to reach out to Taylor, because she is extremely busy, but I thought it would be awesome if she’d produce my CD. I had to convince myself that first day, because I knew it was kind of crazy and had never been done before, but I decided it was the way to go. You have to take risks sometimes to achieve success! So I went ahead and did it!
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  • Question from Ashley - how tall Ryan is? I heard he is really tall before..

    haha yeah, I’m pretty tall… I am 6’ 4”, so basically, as I mentioned on myspace, you may not want to be the unlucky person sitting behind me at the movies! ;)
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  • Question from Courtney - what songs do you think are the most played on your i-pod right now, and what songs will always be your favorite?
    
Fearless by Taylor Swift, Slow Dancing In A Burning Room by John Mayer, Sweet Thing by Keith Urban, The Cover Of The Rolling Stone by Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show because getting on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine someday would be the coolest thing ever!Father & Son by Cat Stevens is one of my all time favorites because in some ways it reminds me of my relationship with my dad.
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  • Question from Troy-Have you ever waited in line for a star’s autograph ? If so,who ….and what star (besides Taylor) would you like to meet?

    haha when I was a little kid I would sneak backstage at shows all the time. When the security guys would question me backstage, I’d say that my dad was ‘on the crew’ lol…it actually worked most of the time! I eventually started performing at a lot of the music festivals around Canada. I would be one of the ‘opening acts’ on an earlier time slot, but it usually gave us backstage passes so I was able to meet some of my musical heroes that way… but I still haven’t met Taylor yet so… lol…maybe my dad will get a tech job on her new tour?? haha!! umm….I would have loved to meet Stevie Ray Vaughan….he was an AMAZING guitar player.
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  • The question that everyone wants to know – did he meet Taylor Swift yet and will she let him open up for her summer tour?

    whoops my bad… I guess I accidentally answered this question in my previous answer! We have heard from Taylor’s record label who requested my music. They now have that. Taylor obviously saw the billboard and has gone on camera saying she “definitely wants to meet”… I know she’s really busy, but I’m really hoping that will happen sometime soon!!

Thanks for all the questions guys!!



Peace & Luv,
~Ryan

CMTT on the Radio – B93 with Broadway

We are hitting the airways every Monday night at 7:10 pm est with B93′s Electric Barnyard with Broadway.   Tawny was on this past Monday night – hear what she was dishing about.

Make sure to check out Broadway’s blog.

Introducing Josey Greenwell!

As you know, your pal Kitty is always on the look out for the latest and greatest country music talent. Well, about a 6 months ago, someone, (well actually a few someones) emailed me, alerting me to a relatively new talent who has been burning up the MySpace charts. So naturally, I checked him out. Then I checked him  out again. Then I checked him out again…. (What can I say? He isn’t exactly hard to look at!) Anyway, I realize that he is very new to the whole singing thing, but I LOVE him.

His name is Josey Greenwell. He writes his own songs, plays guitar and has talent to spare. I realize he is still a little green, but I’m thinking he has all the makings of a country music star. He has just recently moved here to Nashville, but he originally hails from Bardstown, Ky. Josey loves his family, gets along with his sisters, and plays sports. He has been singing since he was young, but he has only been writing and for a little over a year. He states his influences as being Keith Urban (of course, Tawny would never let me put this guy on here if he wasn’t), Rascal Flatts (again, ditto, but this time Country Girl),Jason Aldean, Carrie Underwood, and Taylor Swift to name a few.

So lets give him a big old Tattle Tale welcome, and let us know what you think.. We are looking forward to an exclusive interview and performance from him coming to you in February. (Hey, your Kitty is always here for you, so if it’s warm I will do my best to get him to do it shirtless… hee hee…) So be sure to check back often and always, and be sure to sign up for the Josey Greenwell You heard it here first!

Click here to listen to My Life on the Radio – Josey Greenwell

Got any good dirt? Got some Gossip to share? Email it to me, at KittyCobbler@live.com

CMTT On The Radio! B93 – Broadway

Our buddy Broadway over at B93 in Michigan has asked us to do a weekly recap on the latest in country music gossip.    We are excited about this! 

Tawny was on Monday night at 7:10pm est.  Take a listen!

She is talking about Keith, Taylor and lots more!  Make sure to listen every Monday night at 7:10 pm est.  You can listen live via the internet:  http://www.b93.com/

Last Day to Get Your Ryan Laird Questions to Us

If you have a burning question that you want Ryan Laird to answer make sure to email us or post a comment TODAY.  We will gather all of the questions and send them to Ryan tomorrow morning. 

Ryan is a really funny and interesting guy.  Now is the chance to find out what goes on inside that creative mind of his. 

You can email questions to countrymusictattletale@yahoo.com or post a comment in this thread.

CMTT’s Interview with Julianne Hough

I know I said this earlier today but Julianne Hough is GREAT!  I had so many troubles with getting set up to record our interview and on top of that I forgot about the time change! 

I am on central time here in Nashville and Julianne is on Eastern time in NY so I got my call from her while I was in my car driving in the rain!  How STUPID can I be? 

Then I hung up on her getting my recording all set up – luckily she called us back!  (When you hear me apologize at the beginning it was because I hung up on her!  )  What a trooper and good sport.  

So, this interview was done while I was parked in my car in the rain and an entire hour earlier than what I thought!  This was my first interview so I promise to Julianne and future artists that I talk to….I will learn from this and get better!  LOL

Click the link below to here the interview:

Julianne Hough Interview with Country Music Tattle Tale

Julianne Hough Interview

Can I just tell you that Julianne Hough is a HUGE sport.  We had so many “technical” issues on our end this morning with our interview.   We know that she is on a very tight schedule and she was actually able to call us back after we were disconnected.  I sound like a bumbling idiot in the interview because of the technical troubles I could barely think.  BUT I am working on getting it online for you to hear so check back a little bit later.

Have Questions for Julianne Hough? Send them to us!

Country Music Tattle Tale has been given a great opportunity to interview Julianne Hough on Monday.  We are so very excited to talk to her about all of things coming up for her in 2009. 

If you have any questions that you would like us to ask Julianne for you please email us at countrymusictattletale@yahoo.com or leave a comment.    Check back next week to hear the interview and get the answers to your questions.

  • WhiskeyChick: If you pause the video at 1:33 and play it scene b...
  • misty: I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS MAN!!! HE IS BY FAR THE BES...
  • jleonardmusic: Haha!! Good for Keith! He IS a class act! He perfo...
  • Shan: I think it was definitely a "shoo, get away", he d...
  • Danielle: He just shooed him away. The security at the front...