DAVE'S DIARY - 13/10/2014 - PREVIEW OF EPISODE 7 - SERIES 24
WILLIAMSTOWN FESTIVAL STARS HEADLINE NU COUNTRY TV
Oscar winning singer-songwriter Ryan Bingham and Gippsland touring partner Harry Hookey headline Nu Country TV on Thursday October 17 at 10.30 p m on Channel 31 on the eve of their appearance at a major Williamstown festival.
The duo are among a vast cast appearing at Seaworks on Saturday at the Out For The Weekend festival.
Florida born Sam Riggs also debuts on the show repeated Monday 5.30 am and Thursday 2.30 am.
Houston born John Slaughter makes his Behind Bars debut with a whiskey warning on the program filmed and edited by Laith Graham.
Former Marine Scooter Brown and Oklahoma raised singer Jon Wolfe continue the whiskey soaked honky tonk theme of this week's episode.
Nu Country TV is a highlight of 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
RYAN BINGHAM LIVE FROM THE OLDEST DANCE HALL IN TEXAS
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New Mexico born-West Texas raised Ryan Bingham expanded his music career to movies when his song The Weary Kind won an Oscar, Grammy and Golden Globe in 2009 Jeff Bridges movie Crazy Heart .
This week we feature Ryan performing Hallelujah live at Gruene Hall - the oldest dance hall in Texas
Bingham has a new film project A Country Called Home.
Ryan is producing the soundtrack and score - the directorial and screenwriting debut of writer-director Anna Axster, his real life wife.
A Country Called Home is first of several original songs he is writing for the project.
“I'm imagining a fairly acoustic score that underlines the journey of the characters,” Bingham, 33, revealed recently.
“I think it should be, the songs should play more of an integral part in the film, and not just be background music. So it's something where I really want to sit down and make sure the songs really have a reason to be there.”
“I always try to leave songs open for people to interpret in their own ways. I think this film is the same way - everybody has their own story, and they tell them in different ways, but somehow we can all share ideas and things that we all go through. We all connect to that stuff, and that's kinda how the song is, as well. It's not necessarily open-ended, but people will be able to relate to it in their own way, I hope.”
In 2012 Bingham split with his band The Dead Horses and Lost Highway Records to release fifth album Tomorrowland on his Axster Bingham Records .
Ryan wrote Never Far Behind for Tomorrowland about his mother who died from alcoholism and father who suicided by gun.
Bingham also wrote and recorded Until I'm One With You - theme song for FX TV drama series The Bridge .
He previously toured here with Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson in 2008.
Meanwhile Bridges has released a live album with his Abiders band from shows in California , Texas and Las Vegas .
His love for music was reignited after his Oscar-winning role as Bad Blake in Crazy Heart .
Bridges album includes songs from Crazy Heart , his previous self-titled solo album and Be Here Soon.
The live album includes covers of Byrds hit So You Want To Be A Rock & Roll Star and Townes Van Zandt's To Live is To Fly and Lookin' Out My Back Door by Creedence Clearwater Revival that was in his movie The Big Lebowski .
Bridges has enough material written for a new studio album but doesn't have plans to go into studio soon.
“I've been playing music since I was a kid so there's a good back catalogue,” he said.
CLICK HERE for a Bingham feature in the Diary on July 11, 2008.
HARRY HOOKEY - AUDREY'S SONG
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Gippsland singer Harry Hookey performs the video for Audrey's Song from his debut album Misdiagnosed . But it's not about Van Diemen's Land expat Audrey Auld who recorded an album with Bill Chambers who also plays on Harry's album. Nash Chambers produced Harry's 12 track disc that also features his brothers Sam on piano, keyboards, accordion, banjo and bass and another brother Jack on electric, 12 string, resonator, bass and mandolin. |
You can catch Cowarr raised Harry with Ryan Bingham at Northcote Social Club on Tuesday October 21 after they recover from the Out For The Weekend Festival at Williamstown.
CLICK HERE for our Harry Hookey CD review in The Diary on September 29.
JON WOLFE HONKY TONK HAPPENINGS
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Jon Wolfe performs the video for the title track of second album It All Happened in a Honky Tonk - 2010 sequel to 2005 debut disc Almost Gone . He released latest single What Are You Doin' Right Now on July 15 from new album Natural Man. Wolfe performed it on October 17 at the Drunken Mule Saloon in Commerce, Texas . He gave up his career as a British Petroleum commodities trader to be a professional singer in Houston in 2003. "I was rooming with Hayes Carll for a while and I definitely had the bug to sing and try to write songs," Wolfe revealed. |
"They took me in with open arms at Kay's bar and it was a pretty non-threatening environment to learn in. That's where I met John Evans, who produced my first album."
He became a regular at Tulsa 's historic Cain's Ballroom and moved to Nashville 's Music Row writing scene.
"I wrote with some greats like Tim Johnson, who wrote Mark Chesnutt's big hit Thank God for Believers ,” Wolfe recalled.
“Mickey Newbury, one of the greatest writers ever, brought Tim to Nashville . I made some great friendships in Nashville , and now I have a little team I can count on as far as song-writing and recording goes."
Jon was raised in a traditional and religious home in small Oklahoma town Miami on church music and classic pop vocalists Frank Sinatra and Harry Connick, Jr.
He graduated to country as a teenager when his stepfather played bass in the house band at Oklahoma 's Grand Lake Opry.
Also in the band was a friend from a nearby rival high school - Joe Don Rooney, now a member of Rascal Flatts .
Wolfe lives in Austin - same city former roommate Carll now calls home.
Further info - www.jonwolfecountry.com/
SCOOTER BROWN BAND WHISKEY TALKING
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The Scooter Brown Band debut on Behind Bars with Whiskey Talking - a tale about the perils of hard liquor
It's is a collage from their live shows in Texas and Colorado .
Scott Brown formed the group after a four year stint in the Marines that included an Iraq tour of duty in 1999.
Scott and best friend Brandon Robelia returned home to Texas , guitars in hand.
Scott had never picked up a guitar and Brandon only knew a few chords so Scott headed to Brandon 's barracks room and stole his guitar until he bought his own.
The first paying gig was a smoky sports bar in Spring Texas - Big Daddy's .
Bassist Mark Hernandez joined the band after working in a South Texas Tejano band.
Drummer Matt Bledsoe - a former US Army Soldier who had played with numerous rock and punk bands across Northern Texas and Oklahoma - also joined.
They are touring to promote their album Between Hell And Texas .
Further Info - http://scooterbrownband.net/
SAM RIGGS WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT
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Florida born Sam Riggs now calls Austin home so he's well qualified to perform the video for When The Lights go Out from his 2013 album Outrun The Run. But he credits his success to Oklahoma born, latter day Texan Ray Wylie Hubbard. “He opened my eyes to song-writing, and I could see the idiot I had been and the idiot I was going to be, and he helped me to navigate that,” Riggs revealed. “He taught me what it really is to be a songwriter.” Riggs' relocated in 2007 from his Florida home to Austin , Texas , after friends brought him a CD by Texas band Reckless Kelly. |
“The only thing that matters is how you interpret this life. I wanted this to be reflection of my intent and an echo of my soul as songwriter and artist.”
Sam Riggs & The Night People's Outrun The Sun followed 2012 EP, Lighthouse, on Vision Entertainment .
The band spread its fame opening for Chris Knight, Joe Diffie, Kevin Fowler, Pat Green, Eli Young Band, Randy Rogers Band and Hubbard.
“Your audience is like a dreamer, and the last thing you want to do is wake a dreamer,” says Riggs.
“We try to draw them in with our music and keep them entranced in that dream.”
Further info - http://www.samriggsandthenightpeople.com/
JOHN SLAUGHTER WHISKEY WARNING
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Houston singer John Slaughter debuts with a message song equally relevant to fellow Texan Billy Joe Shaver who shot a man outside a Waco honky tonk after he stirred his whiskey with a rusty knife.
The singer, now 33, graduated from Sam Houston state university in Huntsville and performs Don't Drink My Whiskey from new album Stay A While.
Slaughter played violin, mandolin, guitar and sang harmonies for the Roger Creager Band for four years.
John played on Creager's Live Across Texas disc and wrote two #1 songs on Texas Music Charts - I Love Being Lonesome by Creager and Pray for Rain by Cody Johnson.
Slaughter recently released new single Horseshoes & Hand Grenades from latest album Meet In The Middle , out this month.
Further info - http://johnslaughtermusic.com/
HOW TO KEEP NU COUNTRY ON AIR
We need your support as we celebrate the 24th 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, Kacey Jones, 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.