DAVE'S DIARY - 18 MAY 2014 - PREVIEW OF EPISODE 12 - SERIES 22
AARON WATSON HONORS LATE RODEO CHAMPION LANE FROST ON NU COUNTRY TV
Abilene country star Aaron Watson honours famous rodeo rider Lane Frost on Nu Country TV this Thursday May 22 at 10.30 pm on Channel 31, Digital 44 .
Gympie exports the Duke Wilde Band debut on the show repeated Monday at 5.30 am and 2.30 pm and Wednesday 2.30 am.
Benalla singer-songwriter Adam Toms returns with an evocative tale about his son.
Cowtown born Casey Donahew also exults his home state flag on the program filmed and edited by Laith Graham.
And Austin based Voice contestant Curtis Grimes and fellow Texan Josh Ward perform in our popular Behind Bars showcase.
Nu Country TV has been added to the 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
JULY IN CHEYENNE
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Aaron Watson performs an evocative tribute video to late rodeo champion Lane Frost who died after being high in the saddle on July 30, 1989, in Cheyenne , Wyoming .
The singer honoured Frost, just 25, who died in rain, mud and blood at the rodeo after being thrown from the Brahma bull - Taking Care Of Business.
July in Cheyenne is on Watson's 11th album Real Good Time .
Frost was born in La Junta, Colorado - his father Clyde was on the rodeo circuit as a saddle bronc and bareback rider.
Lane began rodeo riding full-time after graduating from high school in 1982 and in 1987 became World Champion Bull Rider at the age of 24.
That same year, the great bull Red Rock , owned by Growney Bros Rodeo Company, was voted Bucking Bull of the Year.
In 309 attempts, no one had ever ridden Red Rock.
But in 1988 at the Challenge of Champions, Frost rode Red Rock in seven exhibition matches and was successful in four out of seven tries.
Frost competed at the Winter Olympics in Calgary , Alberta , Canada .
But on July 30, 1989, at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo after completing a successful 91-point ride on Taking Care of Business , Frost landed in the dirt.
The bull turned and hit him in the side with his horn, breaking several of Frost's ribs.
Lane initially rose to his feet, yelling for help.
As Frost was running and signalling for help he fell to the ground causing the broken ribs to puncture his lungs and heart.
Amarillo born Watson, 37 and father of four, also recorded Raise The Bottle - a tribute to unsung war heroes including his late grandfather.
He returned from World War 2 in a wheel chair and walked with a cane.
Watson used the song to raise money and awareness for the Boot Campaign - a foundation that supports American troops upon their return home.
Asleep At The Wheel icon Ray Benson produced Watson's 2004 album The Honky Tonk Kid featuring guest cameo by Shotgun Willie Nelson.
Aaron and his band Orphans of the Brazos appear on his 2005 album, Live at the Texas Hall of Fame .
In 2006 his San Angelo release hit No 60 on Billboard .
Later that year Watson released a collection of gospel songs - Barbed Wire Halo - including readings by latter day veteran Waco singer-songwriter Billy Joe Shaver.
On April 1, 2008, Watson's eighth album Angels & Outlaws peaked at 28 and on the Billboard Top 200 all genre chart.
He has since released The Road And The Rodeo in 2010 and Real Good Time in 2012.
Further info - www.aaronwatson.com/
ADAM TOMS DOCCO DREAMS
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Benalla singer-songwriter Adam Toms returns to the show with an evocative song about one of his two children. I Wouldn't Change A Thing is on Adam's third album Rich Man. The Shepparton raised singer wrote it after young son Mitchell was diagnosed with autism. Toms documented his family struggles and life on the road with a documentary. Inspired by his son's everyday breakthroughs Toms has raised awareness and funds for Autism. |
With his youngest son Riley, three, also showing signs of Autism, Toms knows the importance of early diagnosis and intervention - one of the messages he wants to communicate.
He performed at the 2014 Aspect National Recognition Awards in Sydney on April 8.
All Toms' single download sales were donated to Autism Spectrum Australia and for the next six months Toms is donating $10 from all physical Rich Man album sales to the cause.
Adam hits the road again for the Broadbeach Country Music festival from June 20-22.
CLICK HERE for an Adam CD review in The Diary on July 23, 2013.
DUKE WILDE BAND ENJOY MOTEL MATCHES
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Gympie's Duke Wilde Band debuts on the show with a humorous video about a hotel chamber maid or two. They emulate the late Charlie Rich when they reveal what happened behind closed doors in Room 20. |
We won't spoil the climax but Hotel Chambermaid is on the band's 2011 self-titled album produced on the Gold Coast by Louie Shelton.
Famed for their songs Why Don't We Hear Old Waylon Anymore and Bring Back The Honky Tonk, they won the Coca-Cola Battle Of The Bands at Tamworth in January, 2010.
Singer Duke made his name with the Flaming Locos and also performs in Mick Hudson & The Benders .
The Duke Wilde Band played gigs at the famed Nashville Bluebird Cafe and Rockabilly Hall of Fame in 2001 and did a recording session in Sun Studios , Memphis where Elvis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Cowboy Jack Clement strutted their stuff in the fifties.
"We did so much in a short time," guitarist Nick Aitken recalled.
"When we flew in we pretty much had to run to record a Billy Block Show - that was streamed all over the world.
We recorded about five songs at Sun Studios , went to the Americana Awards and did two Aussie showcases - one at Bluebird and other at The Basement - with Catherine Britt, James Blundell and Troy Cassar-Daly."
A highlight of the tour was a trip to Knoxville to see a band that heavily influenced their music.
"We got to meet the guys from Blackberry Smoke and management. They offered us a gig in Georgia but we already had another one that we couldn't get away from," Nick added.
Wilde's new band Hudson Wilde recently enjoyed a Burpengary police raid while making a video for new song High On The Hog at Narangba on the Sunshine Coast .
Further info - http://www.dukewilde.com/
CASEY RAISES ONE STAR FLAG
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Texan singer-songwriter Casey Donahew and his band let the girls & boys do the bull roping in Cowtown - old Fort Worth - in their video for One Star Flag from their fourth album Double Wide Dream . Casey, 37, hails from Burleson - a suburb of Fort Worth - and started playing local bars in 2002 while working as a rodeo rider. Casey's band worked the Texas bar circuit and broke in 2009 when one of their self-released albums hit the Billboard Top 30 chart. |
They made their name at famed Cowtown club Billy Bob's and released the album Lost Days in 2005.
With guitarist Brent Wall, bassist Steve Stone, and drummer Taz, came 2006 album titled The Casey Donahew Band.
In 2008 they followed with live album, Live-Raw-Real in the Ville , and cracked Billboard with fourth album Moving On.
Donahew continues to work Texas bars including Billy Bob's.
Shotgun Willie Nelson, 81, hosts his 41st July 4 picnic near Billy Bob's - the largest cowboy bar in the western world with its own bull riding ring.
Willie has a new martial arts degree and album The Wall featuring nine originals and two penned by famed Texan honky tonk hero Billy Joe Shaver who now hangs his hat due south in Waco .
Further info - www.caseydonahewband.com
WARD SWEARS BY HARD WHISKEY
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Josh Ward celebrated his 34th birthday last week live with some Hard Whiskey in his favourite honky tonk. The Houston born singer-songwriter topped charts in 2013 with the song from his fourth album - sequel to 2012 album Promises . Acoustic guitar, fiddle and beer taps were a fitting backdrop in his memorable video clip. Ward's influences stretch back to founding fathers of country music Hank and Lefty to outlaws like Waylon and Willie. Josh was raised on country music but his first musical influence was old gospel hymns he sang at church. |
While riding the high school rodeo circuit, Josh polished his guitar and vocals skills while singing on the tailgate of pickups at local rodeos.
He joined his first band in early 2003 playing local honky-tonks and bars.
Promises first single Get Away reached #18 and second single Rainout Hangout #5 on Texas and Regional Radio charts.
Third single Sent Me You , a ballad written by Scott Brown of the Scooter Brown Band , gave Ward his first #1 - Promises was his 2 nd #1.
Hard Whiskey was released in November 2013 and reached #1 on the Texas Regional Radio Report and #3 on the Texas Music Chart.
Further info - http://joshwardmusic.com/
CURTIS CUTS LOOSE AT THE BLIND PIG
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Curtis Grimes, born in Gilmer and raised in Austin , performs the video for Irresponsible at the Blind Pig honky tonk and way beyond.
Grimes, 25, name checked veteran outlaw Ray Wylie Hubbard in the song on new album Doing My Time.
Curtis didn't get paid for one Texan gig but won fans on The Voice - featuring Oklahoma star Blake Shelton as judge-mentor - after opening for Kenny Chesney
Grimes was an academic scholar and athlete at Harmony High School where he was All-State pitcher and member of the 2003 state qualifying baseball team.
Following graduation he accepted academic and baseball scholarships to Centenary College in Shreveport , Louisiana .
After a break up with his then fiancée he started playing guitar and song-writing.
One day he went to a pawn shop, bought a used Dean guitar and taught himself to play.
Grimes then headed down I 35 with plans of finishing his degree at Texas State University in San Marcos .
In the summer of 2007 he played acoustic shows and met fiddle player Jerry Reynolds and won the Austin leg of Kenny Chesney's The Next Big Star contest.
He opened for Chesney in Austin on his Poets and Pirates tour and then shared stages with Lee Ann Rimes. Jack Ingram, Cory Morrow, Aaron Watson and Doug Stone.
In 2009 he hooked up with Eli Young, Casey Donahew, Wade Bowen, Bart Crow Band and Kevin Fowler.
Further info - www.curtisgrimes.com/
HOW TO KEEP NU COUNTRY ON AIR
need your support as we celebrate our 22nd series of Nu Country TV.
Australian record companies and artists have joined forces to ensure our survival.
We have 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 and Tim McGraw, Voice judge Blake Shelton, Ashley Monroe, Brad Paisley, Gary Allan, Toby Keith, Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, Carrie Underwood, Chris Young, Charley Pride, Slim Dusty, Eli Young Band, Rosanne Cash and more.
We also have the latest John Denver all-star tribute album and DVDS by Lady Antebellum.
CLICK HERE for our Membership Page for full details.