DAVE'S DIARY - 4/1/2016 - PREVIEW OF EPISODE 6 - SERIES 29
STEVE MARTIN AND EDIE BRICKELL HEADLINE NU COUNTRY TV
Acclaimed comedian-actor-author and banjo maestro Steve Martin and duet partner Edie Brickell headline Nu Country TV this Saturday January 9 on Channel 31/ Digital 44 at 9.30 pm.
Fellow awards winners Earls Of Leicester also perform in our Behind Bars bluegrass double shot on the show repeated Monday 2.30 pm, Wednesday 7.30 am and Thursday 3 am.
Luke O'Shea and Amber Lawrence debut their new duet that raises awareness of post-traumatic stress suffered by our servicemen and women.
South Carolina singer-songwriter Lee Brice returns on the eve of his return for the CMC Rocks Queensland festival at Ipswich in March.
Grafton born festival guest Adam Eckersley also performs on the program hosted by Mid-Pacific Bob Olson and filmed and edited by Laith Graham.
Nu Country TV is a highlight of C 31 streaming list on Digital 44.
Just follow this link on your computer or mobile phone –
http://www.c31.org.au/program/view/program/nu-country-tv
STEVE AND EDIE FILL A LIFT WITH BLUEGRASS MUSICIANS
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Steve Martin and Edie Brickell answer an age old question - how many bluegrass musicians can you fit into a lift with instruments? Well, 12, including a double bass playing cop in their video for I Won't Go Back from Steve and Edie's second duo album So Familiar. The album topped American bluegrass charts on debut last year and is still top 5. |
Waco born Steve, 70, has won five Grammys solo - including one with Edie, singing spouse of Paul Simon.
The duo front revered bluegrass band The Steep Canyon Rangers.
Martin has appeared in 52 movies, more than 100 TV shows and writes screenplays and books when not on the road with his band.
In 1978 and 1979 he won comedy Grammys with albums Let's Get Small and A Wild and Crazy Guy and in 2001 best country instrumental with an all-star rendition of Foggy Mountain Breakdown.
Banjo virtuoso Steve shared it with musical icon, Earl Scruggs, Scruggs' sons and Jerry Douglas, Vince Gill and more A-list collaborators.
Martin's The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo won 2009 award for best bluegrass recording.
This year he's the voice of Captain Smek in new inter galactic movie Home .
Steve joined Ang Lee-directed Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk movie with Joe Alwyn and Garrett Hedlund who was also in Tim McGraw-Gwyneth Paltrow film Country Strong .
In the new movie 19-year-old Private Billy Lynn survives a harrowing Iraq battle that is captured by news cameras.
Further info - www.stevemartin.com
EARLS OF LEICESTER
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Fellow bluegrass legends The Earls Of Leicester visited their church of choice in the video for On My Mind from their Grammy award winning self-titled debut album.
Earls Of Leicester won four major gongs at the 26th U.S. bluegrass awards in October.
The band's name honours bluegrass pioneers Ear1 Scruggs and Lester Flatt - 13 time Grammy winner Jerry Douglas and band co-founder was inspired to play Dobro because of legendary Flatt & Scruggs dobroist Josh Graves.
Johnny Warren, the Earls' fiddle player is the son of long-time Foggy Mountain Boys fiddler Paul Warren.
“This record is something I've been waiting my whole life to do,” veteran Douglas says of this album.
Other band members are prolific singer-songwriter Shawn Camp, Barry Bales, Charlie Cushman and West Virginian singer-songwriter-multi-instrumentalist Tim O'Brien.
O'Brien performed the 2011 Port Fairy folk festival with his band Oceans Two.
When Tim recorded 13th album Traveller in 2003 he used research from a 1987 Australian tour.
O'Brien and his band Hot Rize and alter ago Red Knuckles & The Trail Blazers played a Mittagong bluegrass festival and Sydney gigs.
Douglas recently released a solo album that also shares the name Traveller - his first solo release since 2009 Christmas album Jerry Christmas !
It features special guest vocals from Eric Clapton, Mumford & Sons , Paul Simon, Keb Mo , Marc Cohn and Alison Krauss and Union Station .
Douglas and Bales have been members of Krauss's band Union Station .
Jerry also scored the Get Low movie starring Robert Duvall, Bill Murray and Sissy Spacek and wrote additional music for the film.
CLICK HERE for a Tim O'Brien feature in the Diary on January 1, 2015.
Further info - http://www.jerrydouglas.com/
LUKE O'SHEA AND AMBER LAWRENCE
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Sydney singer-songwriters Luke O'Shea and Amber Lawrence perform their social comment video Catch You from O'Shea's fifth album Caught Up In The Dreaming , released this month.
They wrote it to raise awareness for victims of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
The video featured Damien Thomlinson - a veteran of the Afghanistan war.
“Along with Damien and Luke, I'm a proud ambassador for Defence Care , an organisation that helps current and ex-serving members of the Australian Defence Force and their families in times of injury, illness or crisis,” Amber revealed.
“I really hope that you are touched by the powerful video shot by Duncan Toombs - and if so please share it far & wide.”
O'Shea six-time Golden Guitarist and father of three daughters, has been a High School teacher for 25 years and proudly supports regional Australia .
Luke has written powerful Australian Defence Force anthems such as Ragged Bloody Heroes .
This song features The Ode read by Luke's father in-law Tom Stone - a decorated WWII veteran and is endorsed by the Department of Veteran Affairs in Canberra .
Luke's ANZAC tribute - hard hitting Three Brothers (The Great War ) won APRA Song of the Year and his third consecutive Heritage Song of the Year.
Only other Australian artist to do this was the late Slim Dusty during the 80's.
The song is written to remind all Australians ANZAC Day is a day of sombre commemoration - not celebration, highlighting the sacrifice and ongoing damage of war.
Luke's father Charles (Rick) spent five years in the CMF Army Reserve and his uncle, William (Bill) O'Shea, after initially serving his national service, enlisted in the regular army to become a career soldier until retirement at 65.
Luke works closely with organisations supporting drought affected and struggling regional communities; he is an ambassador for and speaks on behalf of Our Land Our Water Our Future at educational forums across the country.
“I am both proud and humbled to be a Defence Care Ambassador,” Luke says.
“As a husband and father of three I can fully appreciate the pressures and anxieties facing many working parents; but to combine these with the horrors and stresses experienced whilst serving abroad; I am determined to support - and if needed, to be that ear that simply listens - so that these remarkable Australians never feel abandoned or alone.”
CLICK HERE for a Luke feature in the Diary on June 1, 2014.
AMBER LAWRENCE HONEYSUCKLE RIVER
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Former Qantas accountant Amber Lawrence, now 37, also reaches back to when she was 17 in her video for Honeysuckle from her fourth album Superheroes.
The Mascot minstrel was joined by musical mates on a river for a sweet taste of music and mirth.
Amber won best female vocalist Golden Guitar at 43rd Australian Country Music Awards at Tamworth in 2015.
Her song The Lifesaver was based on her parents - the video and song tell the story of life saver dad who died at 52 of leukaemia in 2008.
He was orphaned at 10, left home at 15 and was homeless before he met her mum - Miss Maroubra Beach - at the famous surfing locale.
The Lifesaver is also on Superheroes that she promotes at Snowy Mountains Country festival at Thredbo from March 4-6 with Kip Moore, Kelsea Ballerini, Adam Eckersley, Morgan Evans, Deep Creek Road , The Weeping Willows and Little Georgia .
She also plays Motor City Music festival in Geelong on Sunday March 13 with Shane Nicholson, Wolfe Brothers , Brooke Chivell Band , Christie Lamb, Aleyce Simmonds and Jared Porter.
CLICK HERE for a CD review of Superheroes in The Diary on November 10, 2014.
LEE BRICE IPSWICH BOUND
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Prolific hit writer Lee Brice returns with his video for That Don't Sound Like You from his third album I Don't Dance.
The album produced two #1 hits Drinking Class and the title track Lee wrote as first dance for his 2013 wedding to Sara Nanette Reeveley.
They have two sons and she is featured on See About a Girl on his second album Hard 2 Love.
The 36-year-old has written hits for CMC Rocks Queensland festival peers Jason Aldean and Tyler Farr and major artists Garth Brooks , Tim McGraw and Blake Shelton.
Brice landed his original songs in movies and also penned songs with expat Port Douglas singer Kylie Sackley.
"I dated a girl for a couple of years who is from there," Brice confessed.
"She's a great songwriter here in town in Nashville . We then dated for a couple of years. I came down for about 12 days, was above Port Douglas where she was from."
Sackley decamped to Nashville to chase her dreams after her triumph at 18 in the 2001 Tamworth Starmaker quest.
The singer-songwriter penned LeAnn Rimes Top 5 hit Nothing 'Bout Love Makes Sense with ex- Pure Prairie League singer Gary Burr and Joel Feeney, for Rimes 12th album This Time that sold 100,000 copies in its first week.
CLICK HERE for a Brice interview in The Diary on May 30, 2010.
ADAM ECKERSLEY BEACH BALLAD
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Grafton born Adam Eckersley took his band out for a day at the beach in his video of For You from his new CD with a memorable title - The Second Album.
He wrote For You with his wife Brooke McClymont in Nashville.
The marital mates also wrote his previous single Wheels.
The 31-year-old father of two first toured Victoria as guitarist with The McClymonts before his band shared billing with them on their Here's To You & I album tour.
That was after an extended break while Adam recuperated from a spinal operation – the six week hiatus was his longest period between shows since he started touring at 17.
Adam's band also toured the U.S. with The McClymonts in 2011.
They toured here with The Mavericks , Californian surfing cowboy Gary Allan and Blackjack Billy.
His band plays the Snowy Mountains Country festival at Thredbo from March 4-6 and CMC Rocks Queensland at Ipswich from March 11-13.
CLICK HERE for Adam's CD feature in The Diary on September 21, 2015.
HOW TO KEEP NU COUNTRY ON AIR
We need your support as we celebrate the 29th series of Nu Country TV.
Australian record companies and artists joined forces to ensure our survival.
We're pleased to announce Sony has given us the latest CD and DVD by Georgian star Jason Aldean on the eve of his debut Australian tour in March.
We also have Angels And Alcohol - the 20th album by fellow Georgian superstar Alan Jackson and Adam Harvey's 12th album Harvey's Bar - The Backyard Sessions .
Also new CDS by major artists you can win by becoming a Nu Country TV member or renewing your membership.
They include singing actors Willie Nelson, Tim McGraw and Toby Keith, Voice judge Blake Shelton, Ashley Monroe, Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Gary Allan, Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, Charley Pride and more.
We also have a Lady Antebellum DVD.