Jim Gaines & Sandy Carroll on "The Highway"

We were honored recently to meet Jim Gaines and Sandy Carroll. Sandy is a great blues artist that has appeared on Beale Street for years and Jim is a Grammy-Award winning producer/engineer that has worked with some of the biggest names in rock & roll. First, we had Sandy on the show and Jim made the mistake of driving her here to Jackson to do so.

Of course, after meeting Jim and learning of his very successful career we just had to have him come on as a guest at a later time. A couple of weeks later, because we wouldn't take no for an answer, they came back and was with us while Jim was on the show.

It was two excellent rides down the music highway with these super guys and we learned immediately they are genuine people that love their work and appreciate the opportunity to do what they do.

Sandy has toured extensively and released several recordings. Her latest is entitled, "Rhythm of the Rivers". RHYTHM OF THE RIVERS is a personal snapshot in music and words of the area between the Tennessee and the Mississippi rivers. Although a departure from the more blues oriented recordings of the past, this CD is a tribute to Sandy’s roots and the love she has for a place she can finally call “home”.

Jim has worked with artists like Stevie Ray Vaughn, Steve Miller, Carlos Santana, and many others for many years and has produced some of Rock's biggest mega-hits and albums ever while doing so.

The day we interviewed Jim our good friend Kirk Newcom from ABC-7 TV brought a television crew and videotaped the interview to air on his show, In Good Company, that airs on WBBJ-TV Sunday mornings. Watch for the show that features Music Highway and Jim Gaines' interview. It has yet to air and Kirk tells me it will be on soon.

Be sure to check out Jim & Sandy's website at: http://www.bessieblues.com/. There is a lot of information on the couple there, music samples, pictures, and the like.

Thanks, Jim & Sandy! You were great guests on the Music Highway, and we look forward to having you back real soon! Thank you for all the contributions you have made over the years, and you both are always welcome to take a ride down the Music Highway!

2007 Blues Festival Show with Michael Baker

An old saying goes, "Spring...when a young man's fancy turns to love". While that may be true, Spring is when my fancy turns to Blues, as in The Shannon Street Blues & Heritage Festival in downtown Jackson, Tennessee each June.

This year, once again, Wes and I welcomed Michael Baker to Music Highway (air date May 27, 2007) to fill us in on all the acts he has booked for this year's festival that takes place Friday and Saturday, June 1-2 at the Farmer's Market downtown on historic Shannon Street.

Michael, who has booked the acts for the festival since the beginning over 16 years ago, told us one reason Shannon Street is significant when it comes to blues history.

Famous blues artist, and harmonica player John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson, who was from Jackson, Tennessee, mentioned Shannon Street and Jackson in at least one of his songs during his brief, but noteworthy career.

"Bluebird Blues", according to Michael, was written by Sonny Boy and inspired by one of the subsidiary record labels, Bluebird Records, owned in those days by RCA.

Another bit of blues history buffs will appreciate, if you don't already know, is that the blues classic Good Mornin' Little School Girl, written by Sonny Boy as well, was about a young girl Sonny Boy was enamored with in the Blair's Chapel community here in Madison County. Her father wasn't thrilled with Sonny Boy as a suitor for his little girl so the song came to be and is about love that never would be.

I always love hearing the stories about blues artists and their careers and how they affected the history of the genre and other styles of music that were influenced by them as well.

Michael is well versed and knowledgeable on such matters and always is a tremendously interesting guest on Music Highway whenever he stops by.

This year's Shannon Street Blues & Heritage Festival is the 16th annual event that actually started as part of the Forked Deer Festival in 1990. The Forked Deer Festival (named after a river that runs through our area) folded shortly thereafter and The Shannon Street Festival was born.

If you have never attended the festival make plans to do so this weekend. If you are from out of town, come spend the entire weekend in Jackson. Attend the festival on Friday and Saturday and Sunday get out and see some of the sights that are related to blues history (hint: look Michael Baker up at the festival and pick his brain about some interesting historical blues sights to see).

The festival kicks off on Friday night with a super lineup of fine blues artists and bands such as Terry "Harmonica" Bean, FlashBack, The Joseph McKinney Project, The Daddy Mack Blues Band and Magi, featuring Fulton Childress, the nephew of Sonny Boy Williamson.

My band, FlashBack, is honored to be making our third appearance at the festival this year and look forward to working with all the other artists on the bill.

Our own, Wes Henley, along with Russ Kirkland will be mixing sound again this year and always does a great job of making sure no one misses a note of the great blues you will hear both nights. This year's Shannon Street Blues & Heritage Festival promises to be the best yet, so make plans to mosey on over to Jackson and relax with a great weekend of blues, bar-b-que and all the other events that are taking place.

For more information check out the official web site of the festival here.

On Sunday, June 10th, our Music Highway broadcast on Rock 92.3FM at 9:00pm will feature interviews and music from some of the artists that are set to play this year's festival, so mark your calendar and be with us for this very special show.

Scott Myatt Retunes to Music Highway

It was a pleasure having our buddy Scott Myatt back with us on The Budweiser Music Highway this week (the show with Scott will air on Sunday, April 22, 9pm-10pm on Rock 92.3 FM). Scott was with us several months ago and it is always good to have him back.

Since his last guest appearance on the show Scott has released his new CD (some of which you will hear on the upcoming show he is on on April 22)and continues to perform at more and more places around the area. If you have never caught his performance you really need to do so. Scott has been influenced by a number of artists, he says, and you can hear a strong James Taylor influence in his music as well. I think JT would be right proud to hear the boy do his material. He does it about as well as JT does, or at least as close as anyone else I have ever heard.

Scott calls his music "mellow friendly" music and rightfully so, but the raw blues influence in his tunes is apparent as well. You can catch Scott around town at Red Bones Grill & Bar, The Old English Inn, and at a new place called The Daily Grind coffeehouse across from Shoney's on North Highland.

Call these venues and see when Scott will be performing there again. You'll be glad you did, believe me.

Also, you can visit Scott's web site at www.scottmyatt.com. Check out this great talent. He represents the "talent pool" of West Tennessee very well and makes us all proud to know and experience his music.

Back After An Extended Absence!

Though it has been months since the last post (my fault for getting busy with other projects) I will try to get the BLOG back up and running and maybe this time even promote the fact that it is here!!!

The Budweiser Music Highway is alive and well and still on the radio every week over Rock 92.3/ WYNU-FM each Sunday night from 9:00p.m.-10:00p.m.. Since our last post we have welcomed many talented guests to the show and it continues to "move along" down the strip we refer to as the music highway.

We still have plans to "syndicate" the show as soon as we can make that happen. This would put the show on more than one radio station. Rock 92.3 is a great station run by a cool company called Forever Communications, Inc., but we see a need to expand the show to other markets. This may even be something we will discuss with FCI since they have tons of other stations in many markets here in the U.S.

As I explained in a past post here, Wes and I want to promote artists, songwriters, and others involved in creating music on a more widespread basis. We feel the combination of radio airwaves and the Internet are the perfect mediums to accomplish this.

Over the months (soon to mark our 2nd anniversary of the show) we have hosted some tremendously talented guests, artists, bands, and songwriters on the show and want to do our part toward helping them reach a broader audience for their music.

That is the objective we started out with and continue to hold today. Good music and gifted artists need to be shared with the world and that is why we do the Budweiser Music Highway every week.

We support the show, purchase airtime, and pay the bills we incur by signing up our own sponsors who advertise their products and services on the show each week. Almost from the beginning Budweiser has been onboard as our marquee sponsor. They caught the vision months ago and initially came on for a 13 week period. At the end of the first three months they told us to put them on permanently and we greatly appreciate their continued support as our namesake sponsor.

Other sponsors that have stepped up to the plate, so to speak, and faithfully supported us include Oreck Vacuums of Jackson and Corky's Bar-B-Que. Both these sponsors mean a lot to us and to all we are wanting to accomplish in promoting and showcasing the great talent that calls West Tennessee and the Mid-South home.

Thanks, sponsors! We literally couldn't do it without you.

The next bit of news to share may be a little premature but here goes anyway. I have finally found some time to work on our Budweiser Music Highway official web site. It is far from complete at this time, but there is at least "something" there you can check out.

Over the coming weeks I will be adding more to it (if you go there and some links don't work just yet just realize it is in a state of construction for now and that you are being given a chance to watch it all happen as it does). We plan to put up some audio of actual shows, some of the "live" performances we have aired, and tons of other goodies I think you will find informative.

The address is: http://www.musichighwayshow.com so buzz over there and check it out.

Thanks for stopping by, and check back often to this blog and the website.

John Kilzer Returns to Music Highway

Way back in September of 2005 when Music Highway was just an infant we booked Jackson native John Kilzer, former Geffen Records artist, on the pilot show that aired a week or so later in October on Rock 92.3 FM.

This past Sunday night, July 2, John made a return appearance on the show and had some very nice things to say about where the show has come in just the past nine months or so. John is always a most gracious individual and certainly one of the most talented artists of his era. As a matter of fact, John continues to re-create himself and his musical endeavors (which can be the true mark of an artist, in my book).

He currently works in youth ministry at a local Methodist church here in Jackson and his people in that church speak very highly of the man as well.

Back in the 90's and involved in other projects, I had never really been introduced to John's music until the first appearance he made on Music Highway back on our pilot show nine months ago. Needless to say, I became not only an instant fan but immediately knew we was a very special artist, and particularly, a songwriter.

Having written my share of songs over the past several decades I know the job of a writer is not an easy one. There are many songwriters out there but not near as many true poets in the truest sense of the word. John Kilzer is a true poet.

What is the difference? A songwriter takes rhyming words and phrases and puts them together to construct interesting, clever, and even meaningful lyrics that are matched to a melody that compliments the words that are written therein.

Not to say that a songwriter is not inspired or anything, but a true poet sees things differently than the masses do. A poet comes from a perspective that ultimately paints a picture so vivid the listener wonders how he or she ever missed such an obvious and complete explanation of the topic being written about.

There are other elements that differentiates poets from a mere songwriter, but perhaps the explanation above (that, mind you, is simply my personal observation) will suffice to express the major difference as I see it.

Again, John Kilzer is a true poet. His lyrics paint a vivid picture of what he is writing about. You can touch it, see it, taste it, and most of all, experience what he is saying with his songs. That is the way I like to see a songwriter write. Songs are more than just musical stories that sound good, make us want to dance, smile, cry or whatever. Songs are an expression of our very existence on this earth, at the risk of sounding too philosophical.

Songs are a musical piece of our lives that live in our memories once we hear, learn and experience them. They become a vital part of our personage and in some ways help to define who we ourselves are.

The songs a person holds dear say a lot about the person who cherishes it. I have many songs that have enriched my life and so do you, if you are normal.

John Kilzer brings songs such as this to life. He births them and shares them with the rest of us. What a gift. What a treasure. Thanks, John for providing some of the soundtracks that accompany our lives and help us understand who we are and what we are all about.

John Kilzer is a poet. A very talented, observant, honest and sensitive poet. I am glad to have come to know this wonderfully gifted man on a personal level and appreciate his heart for creating songs all of us can adopt into our lives as we travel on our way.

Dr. Jay & Miss Diana Guests on Music Highway

Although it was by unusual circumstances (their van broke down on I-40 during a recent trip to West Tennessee) we were thrilled to once again have Jay & Diana Allen (a.k.a. Dr. Jay & Miss Diana) stop by for a visit with us on Music Highway. The "dynamic" duo have a new CD out and graced us with a few selections from the new release.

We were able to catch up with all that has been going on with Jay & Diana since our last meeting back in December when they made their first appearance on the show.

We always look forward to spending time with these wacky folks as they always shake things up a bit on the show and everyone has a great time laughing and generally having a good time recording another installment of Music Highway. You certainly never know what to expect from Jay and Diana rounds out the team with great conversation and fabulous songs.

Jay & Diana are staff writers for a publisher in Nashville and frequently visit West Tennessee to "get away" for some solitude to write songs. Over the past year or so they have appeared in person at a selection of Jackson nightspots and venues and are scheduled to be back in town performing at T.J. Mulligan's on Friday night July 7th.

If you get a chance get out and see them when they come to town. They are wonderfully talented and gifted songwriters/performers and always deliver a great performance wherever they appear. July 7th will be a good opportunity for West Tennessseans to catch their show since mostly they work clubs, songwriter nights, and other venues mostly in Nashville.

One thing for sure, if you are looking for something different check out Dr. Jay and Miss Diana "LIVE". You are certain to become instant fans.

Here are some online locations where you can learn more about and even hear the music of Dr. Jay & Miss Diana:
http://www.nashvilleim.com/artistPage_musicStuff.php?member_id=ARNA100109

http://www.drjaymissdiana.com

Blues Legend Guitar Shorty Guests on Music Highway

One of the real payoffs for producing a radio show like Music Highway is having the extreme privilege of meeting some truly great artists from time to time. Earlier today Wes & I recorded a Music Highway show with blues legend Guitar Shorty who recently headlined the 15th Annual Shannon Street Blues & Heritage Festival here in Jackson, TN on June 3.

Shorty's set on Saturday night of the festival rocked the huge audience gathered there for a whoppin' two and a half hours. And, they loved every note of it!

This guy is an entertainer like few before him and even still occasionally spices up his act, he tells us, by turning a complete flip while playing the guitar (the story about the origin of this acrobatic on-stage endeavor will have you rolling in the floor as you listen to the actual broadcast of the upcoming Music Highway where Shorty appears).

To the casual music fan, and even some blues fans, Guitar Shorty may not be a name that is readily recognized right at first. But, when you begin to hear this man's story and where all his long career has found him you realize very quickly you are in the presence of Blues Royalty.

Shorty has played with some of the most notable names and legends in the business including a stint with fellow legendary R&B artist Ray Charles. Shorty was just 16 years old when "Uncle Ray", as he affectionately refers to him, sent his personal manager to check Shorty out. Upon hearing Shorty play for second time Ray's manager introduced himself and began a process of gaining Shorty's parents permission to hire the young virtuoso to play on the road in Charles' band.

Shorty also worked with other blues legends including Guitar Slim and others. One of his most notable claims to fame came because rock legend Jimi Hendrix used to go AWOL from the military to come out and sit at the feet of Shorty in concert and watch every move he made. Shorty was actually Hendrix's brother-in-law for a while while the elder musicians was married to Jimi's sister.

Listen close to Shorty's intense guitar licks, stylings, and musical inflections and you will swear you are listening to early Hendrix music. Shorty's influence ran through Hendrix's music for the remainder of Jimi's career until his untimely death a few years later.

The show we recorded with Shorty will air on Rock 92.3FM in the West Tennessee market on Sunday, June 11, from 9 till 10pm. This is one you just might want to roll the recorders on as this super talented gracious gentleman graced Wes and I for a solid hour with some of the most memorable and hilarious stories you will ever hear a musician relate. The show also includes a good sampling of Shorty's recordings that are guaranteed to mesmerize you as you listen to this guitar master work his magic.

If you have friends or aquaintenances that love the blues and enjoy the history of the genre by all means remind them of the upcoming broadcast on Sunday night June 11. It will certainly be more than worth it.