DAVE'S DIARY - 24/8/2020 - PREVIEW OF EPISODE 1 - SERIES 45
CHARLEY CROCKETT AND HARDY HEADLINE NU COUNTRY TV SERIES #45 PREMIERE
Texan Charley Crockett and Mississippi hit writer Michael Hardy headline Nu Country TV Series #45 premiere on Saturday August 29 at 9.30 pm on Channel 31/Digital 44.
Tennessean bluegrass artists Daryl Mosley and Jerry Salley also appear on the show repeated Tuesday 4.30 am, Wednesday 10.30 pm and Friday 1 am.
Canadian Tim Hicks and Blackjack Billy and former South London busker Mark Lucas & His Dead Setters boomerang to the program filmed and edited by Laith Graham.
Nu Country TV is a highlight of C 31 streaming list on Digital 44.
Further info - https://www.c31.org.au/
CHARLEY CROCKETT REMEMBERS THE ALAMO
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Charley Crockett lives up to his famed family name on his Nu Country debut.
The Texan troubadour released eight albums on his indie Son of Davy label.
Charley, 36, and his two siblings were raised by their single mother in a trailer park in Los Fresnos.
This week the San Benito born singer mounted a horse and raced a train in Sierra Nevada.
Crockett failed to outrun trains but found his phone at the finale of his Run Horse Run video from eighth album Welcome To Hard Times that was released on July 31.
It was one of multiple videos Crockett shot in the Sierra Nevada with co-director Bobby Cochran with two constants - an alarm clock and a canary yellow rotary phone.
Producer Mark Neill knew Crockett's vision for his album had visual vitality.
“Mark understood where I wanted to take the music,” Crockett revealed.
“He heard what I had written and he said: ‘This is a movie. We have to tell this story.'”
Charley says the inspiration behind Run Horse Run is as an underdog, you have to work extra hard to achieve what others might have land right in their lap.
You have to come from the back of the field and hope to surprise everyone at the finish line.
Crockett recorded Welcome to Hard Times , in Valdosta , Georgia , and wrote new single Don't Cry with Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys.
Charley has drawn from reality rooted family trauma in his songs - he lost a sister to addiction and nearly died from a rare heart condition.
“I've gotten more than my fair share of raw deals in my thirty six years. But I don't let hard luck own me,” Crockett explained.
The twice-convicted felon sang on the Grand Ole Opry and his mixed ancestry is topical.
“I don't like labels but if that ain't country I don't know what is,” Crockett says.
“Though I've benefited greatly from my whiteness, I have never fully identified with any race. So I've lived as an outcast at war with myself in a society that I both love and hate at the same time. My music tells this story. If you don't know how race or class affects experience, it's the first sign of privilege.
“My entering country music has been controversial to say the least but I believe country fans have more eclectic tastes than they are given credit for.
“My country music is inspired by what I played in the subway car so I could eat, in the French Quarter in ragtag bands. I sat in pastures on farms across this country putting it all together into my own sound.”
Further info - http://www.charleycrockett.com/
MICHAEL HARDY BEER CHASER
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Prolific hit writer Michael Hardy is joined by peers Devin Dawson and Laura Alaina on his return.
They illustrate a fiery rescue with pregnant pauses in vibrant video One Beer - the first of our liquid double shot entrée.
Hardy's local tours included appearances at CMC Rocks Queensland festivals and east coasts capital cities.
Michael, now 32, has penned hits for artists diverse as Blake Shelton, Morgan Wallen and Florida Georgia Line.
He also wrote hits with Jacob Dawson - twin brother of Devin - who played the CMA showcase at The Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne with Brandy Clark, Lindsay Ell, Tenille Townes and Lachlan Bryan on March 23, 2019.
One Beer is on Hardy's Hixtape Volume 1 and debut album A Rock that is out on September 4 and follows other EPS This Ole Boy and Where To Find Me.
He wrote all 12 songs on A Rock, produced by ACM Producer of the Year nominee Joey Moi and co-produced by Derek Wells.
His co-writers include Hillary Lindsey, Jessie Jo Dillon, Ashley Gorley, Hunter Phelps, Jake Mitchell, David Garcia, Ben Johnson, Andy Albert, Zach Abend, Smith Ahnquist and Nick Donley.
He also appeared on Nu Country with Where To Find Me and Sober You .
Further info - http://hardyofficial.com/
DARYL MOSLEY TIME TRAVEL
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Tennessean bluegrass ace Daryl Mosley takes a trip back in time on his Behind Bars debut.
Mosley, 55, took rustic roads in his video that featured historic mentors and band mates.
Daryl arose from The Farm Hands, New Tradition and the Osborne Brothers to his solo career.
It began at 15 at the Loretta Lynn Dude Ranch in Hurricane Mills, south of music city Nashville .
A Few Years Ago is one of 11 songs he wrote on his debut solo album The Secret of Life.
Further info - https://darylmosley.com/
JERRY SALLEY BUILDS BRIDGES
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Prolific Ohio born singer-songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Jerry Salley showcases some bridge building on his Nu Country debut.
Salley had had more than 300 of his songs cut by peers in his royalties-rich career.
His many hits include former Steel Drivers co-founder and solo chart topper Chris Stapleton's Outlaw State Of Mind.
Jerry has also written with diverse Australians including Novocastrian Catherine Britt and many of her peers.
Let Me Be The Bridge is on his ninth album Bridges And Backroads .
Further info - https://jerrysalley.com/
TIM HICKS AND BLACKJACK BILLY
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Canadian Tim Hicks and Nashville band Blackjack Billy return with their collaborative video for a drinking anthem.
Hicks turned 41 last Saturday and hails from Niagara Falls in Ontario and released five albums since 2013.
He toured here in 2016 with Florida Georgia Line and Jason Aldean after he debuted his video Young, Alive And In Love.
His previous releases included She Don't Drink Whiskey Anymore - a duet with Madeline Merlo - and A Little Drinkalong featuring producer Jeff Coplan's band Blackjack Billy.
Blackjack Billy have an historic drinking diet - their debut album Rebel Child featured Blood, Sweat & Beer and Booze Cruise.
This week they perform Drinking All Weekend - maybe a feat they learned at Deni Ute Musters.
Blackjack Billy went offshore on their previous Booze Cruise video filmed in Panama City.
They played St Kilda Palais with The Mavericks and Gary Allan on October 1, 2014.
Blackjack Billy features Noll Billings, Rob Blackledge, Jeff Coplan and Brad Cummings.
CLICK HERE for our exclusive interview in the Diary on May 18, 2014.
Further info - http://timhicksmusic.com/
MARK LUCAS AND DEAD SETTERS LIVE IN DREAMS
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Sydney singer-songwriter Mark Lucas rose long ago from South London busking to sin city gigs.
This week Lucas and his Dead Setters revive a song from out-takes of 2010 album Putting On The Dog.
She Lives In Dreams was on one of his 10 albums cut after his 1981 Sydney arrival and filmed during the pandemic
Lucas previously appeared with his live video Shopping Town from his 10th album Prisoners Of The Heart.
He also showcased The Ghost of Lost Creek Road, inspired when he was stuck in a traffic jam with his young family on Pacific Highway south of Bellingen after a truckie crashed into a gully.
Lucas released his new album after overseas jaunts in Southern California and concerts in San Francisco , Dublin and UK.
Mark recorded with the Parwills and Dead Setters and was entertainment booker for Petersham Bowling Club from 2008.
It was where he opened for fellow expat Englishman Albert Lee - guitarist in Emmylou Harris's famed Hot Band - who toured here in the eighties in a duo with Oklahoma born star Vince Gill.
He also supported legendary Danny O'Keefe - writer of Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues and songs covered by artists diverse as Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Willie Nelson, Mel Tormé, Dwight Yoakam, Jerry Lee Lewis, Cab Calloway, Leon Russell and Waylon Jennings.
CLICK HERE for a Lucas interview in The Diary on August 14, 2016.
HOW TO KEEP NU COUNTRY ON AIR
We need your support in Nu Country TV's 45th series with Australian record companies and major artists teaming to ensure our survival.
Singing Texan crime novelist Kinky Friedman has donated his 18th album Resurrection that features Willie Nelson.
You can join Watling & Bates as members and win their 13 track CD Small Town Tales and Kip Moore's third album Slowheart.
We also have other CDS by major artists you can win by becoming a Nu Country TV member or renewing your membership.
They include Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Gary Allan, Eric Church and late larrikin legend A.P. Johnson.
CLICK HERE for our Membership Page for details.