DAVE'S DIARY - 23/2/2015 - PREVIEW OF EPISODE 13 - SERIES 25

OCTOGENARIAN TEXAN SIBLINGS HEADLINE NU COUNTRY TV

Octogenarian Texan siblings Shotgun Willie Nelson and sister Bobbie headline Nu Country TV this Thursday February 26 at 10. 30 pm on Channel 31, Digital 44

Fellow singing actress Laura Bell Bundy also returns to the show repeated Monday 5.30 am and 2.30 pm, Thursday at 2.30 am and Saturday at 11.30 pm.

Host chef Mid Pacific Bob Olson pays homage to dual Grammy nominee Brandy Clark who performed on the Grammys with Kentucky singing actor Dwight Yoakam.

Expat South Australian bluegrass 2015 Golden Guitarist Kristy Cox also returns to the show filmed and edited by Laith Graham.

And Tennessean troubadour Will Hoge and fellow Oklahoma singer-songwriter Parker Milsap return.

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

SHOTGUN WILLIE AND BOBBIE NELSON

Willie's new autobiography It's A Long Story, My Life is out May 5 - five days after his 82 nd birthday. The 400-page collaboration with New York-based writer David Ritz is “unvarnished, complete story of Willie Nelson's life” that touches on time in Texas, Nashville and Hawaii, his legendary bus, drive to write music, women in his life, collaborations, and his biggest lows and highs-from his bankruptcy to founding of Farm Aid.

It also include stories from many of Willie's friends.

Willie and author Bud Shrake published Willie: An Autobiography through Simon and Schuster in 1988 - it was re-issued by Cooper Square press in paperback in 2000.

The 320-page book also included many stories from Willie Nelson's friends and family.

In 2008's author Joe Nick Patoski published Willie Nelson: An Epic Life - a massive 567-page biography.

And in 2012 Willie's 175-page Roll Me Up And Smoke Me When I Die, Musings From The Road was released through HarperCollins in loose conjunction with Willie's album Heroes , which included a song of the same name.

The new book boasts of being “the last word about his life-from the man himself.”

Willie's 30th Farm Aid concert that helps family farmers and raises awareness of locally grown organic foods returns on September 17.

The longest-running benefit concert in America is an all-day food and music festival.

“The first Farm Aid concert featured more than 50 artists on one stage,” Willie announce at the Grammy Foundation Legacy Concert on February 5.

“In 29 years since, hundreds more artists have given their time and talent to support family farmers. This year we would like to invite even more artists to join us onstage as we celebrate family farm agriculture.”

Nelson performed at the Legacy Concert.

Farm Aid was also honoured at event in recognition for its live performances from more than 400 artists over 29 years and received a $15,000 preservation grant from the Grammy Foundation Grant Program .

The grant will be used to develop a plan to digitize, preserve and archive legendary Farm Aid performances.

“The legacy of Farm Aid is twofold in change we've made in our farm and food system and in rich musical record of concerts held since 1985,” Farm Aid co-founder John Mellencamp added.

“The list of artists who have played on Farm Aid stage is who's who of best artists of our time.”

CLICK HERE for a Willie & Bobbie Nelson CD review in The Diary on January 21.

CLICK HERE to win a Willie CD on our membership page.

DUAL GRAMMY NOMINEE BRANDY PICKS UP WILLIE TORCH

Washington born singer-songwriter Brandy Clark has a solution for kitchen caged mothers - take the drudgery out of house work by having a joint like Willie. Get High is on her free range debut album 12 Stories after living in Nashville for 16 years. Brandy experienced a large sales spike after she performed Hold My Hand live on the Grammys with Kentucky born singing actor Dwight Yoakam.

She co-wrote Miranda Lambert's #1 hit Mama's Broken Heart , Band Perry chart-topper Better Dig Two and also landed songs on albums by artists as diverse as Gretchen Wilson, Ashton Shepherd, Reba McEntire, Sheryl Crow, Keith Urban and Darius Rucker.

Clark won 2014 CMA Award for Song of the Year for Texan Kacey Musgraves hit Follow Your Arrow and was a 2015 finalist for two Grammys for song-writing.

Brandy was reared in Morton , Washington - a logging town of only 900 people in the shadow of Mount St. Helens.

Her indie album features Vince Gill on background vocals and debuted at #28 on Billboard .

On January 6, 2014, Clark made her network CBS network TV debut with Stripes on The Late Show With David Letterman

Clark opened for Nettles on her 2014 tour and wrote satiric Songs About Trucks for Waco country singer Wade Bowen.

Further Info - http://brandyclarkmusic.com/

LAURA BELL BUNDY FINDS AN ANGEL

Kentucky singing actress Laura Bell Bundy finds solace in an angel - her mum - after the father decamps in her latest video. Her angels also included firemen and service women in That's What Angels Do on her fifth album Another Piece Of Me. At 33 Laura makes her Aussie debut at CMC Rocks Queensland at Ipswich in March.

Laura has been in more than 13 movies and 20 TV series - almost as many as Shotgun Willie.

She plays a doctor in TV show Anger Management with Charlie Sheen and has recurring roles in Hart Of Dixie .

The Hairspray and Wicked stage star was nominated for a Tony award for her lead role of Elle Woods in Legally Blonde .

Her movie roles began in The Adventures of Huck Finn in 1993 and include Life with Mikey Courtney, Strangers with Candy : Retardation , 2003 All Grown Up, Dirtbags, Surf School, Dreamgirls Sweetheart, The Drum Beats Twice, Hound Dogs, To the Mat, Watercolour Postcards and Dear Dumb Diary .

She also appears in recent movie Home Is Where The Heart Is starring Bailee Madison, Conrad Goode, Jonathan Banks and John C. McGinley.

CLICK HERE for a Laura CD review in The Diary on August 16, 2010.

WILL HOGE MIDDLE OF AMERICA IN A 1961 CHEVY IMPALA

Tennessean Will Hoge welcomed back a Gulf war veteran at Gallatin near Nashville in his video for Middle of America . The video, featuring a 1961 Chevy Impala , is on the 10 th album Small Town Dreams by Grammy finalist Hoge, 42 and born in Civil War town Franklin. The former history teacher and basketball coach sold 100,000 singles of Strong that he wrote with Zach Crowell and Ashley Gorley. It became a Chevy Silverado truck jingle and his biggest publishing earner after playing to millions of people during televised sporting events. It was a bonus track on ninth album Never Give In . Hoge earned more royalties when another client - the Texan Eli Young Band who toured here in March, 2014, with Toby Keith - recorded another of his songs, Even If It Breaks Your Heart .

Will emerged from shadows of being a cult songwriter to blaze his own trail as artist with more than a little horse power and five live albums.

Hoge co-wrote all 11 tracks on his new album featuring Vince Gill as guitarist - co-writers include Gary Allan, Chris Stapleton, Jessi Alexander and Hillary Lindsey.

"I've built a career in 15 years of trying to be an artist that has integrity," Hoge revealed.

But Hoge went to Songwriters Hall of Famer Don Schlitz for advice about having his song used as a truck commercial.

"He's a dear friend and mentor to me, like an uncle", Hoge said.

"I'm an independent artist starting my own label, and I had this opportunity to get a song heard at a mass level, and to have that song be one I'm really proud of," he said.

"Worst-case scenario, the ad campaign flops and I get a free truck out of the deal. As it turns out, the only thing it's done is bring a new audience that's never heard me before. We've sold more than 100,000 copies of that single and I would never have imagined that would be the case."

Hoge's ascendance is a miracle after a brush with death in August 2008 when he lost six pints of blood in East Nashville after his scooter collided with a van.

He was on en route buy milk for his family at Kroger after a recording session for aptly titled album The Wreckage.

Hoge suffered crushed lung, broken sternum, ribs, shoulder blades and collarbone and a swollen, bloody face and lost enough ivories to send the tooth fairy to the bank for a loan.

"It was the first time in my life when music got real unimportant, real fast," Hoge said.

"Almost lost my family. Learning to walk. It was interesting to put the music down for a while and to learn it has its own place. And then, when I was able to do it again, it became more of a gift."

More info - http://willhoge.com/wired

PARKER MILLSAP HOMELESS

Oklahoma singer-songwriter Parker Millsap dreams of a house, wife and children on his live version of his song Homeless.

He performed it with some mates in Norman - hometown of Vince Gill.

The Pentecostal Purcell born troubadour turns 22 next week

Parker is not homeless - he lives with his journalist partner Meg in Guthrie - a small dormitory town near Oklahoma City .

“Both sides of my family have been here for five generations,” revealed Millsap who performed his video live acoustic with his band at Blackwatch studios, Norman , in June.

“100 years ago, when my ancestors got to Oklahoma , it wasn't much more than some hard dirt, a few railroad stops, and a bunch of cattle. It's still about the same except you can add oil rigs in there too. The folks who moved here and survived had to be rugged, and they had to rely on each other, because the landscape sure as hell wasn't doing them any favours. I could go on about my Okie theories for days, but I think that there remains a sort of pioneer spirit here.”

Millsap performs an eclectic hybrid of roots music.

“To me, gospel singing and blues singing are the same thing, just one's about Jesus and the other is about women or the devil or something,” added Millsap who returned to the Grand Ole Opry on November 18.

“I did listen to a bunch of blues growing up, too. As far as developing a sound, I just try to sing like the people that I like hearing. My vocal idols are Tom Waits, Howlin' Wolf, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles and Freddie Mercury.”

Further info - http://parkermillsap.com/

KRISTY COX ENJOYS THIS

Expat South Australian Kristy Cox hails from South Australia and lives in Nashville when not touring here. She takes a photographic journey back to her Mt Barker home in her video for This from fourth album Living For The Moment produced by Jerry Salley in North Carolina. Kristy won the inaugural 2015 bluegrass Golden Guitar for One Heartbreak Away at the 43 rd Australian Country Music Awards. She also toured here and America last year with fellow South Australian Travis List. Kristy's Living For the Moment made the shortlist for International Bluegrass Music Awards in Female Vocal, Emerging Artist and Song of the Year for One Heartbreak Away.

Cox grew up at Mt Barker close to Beccy Cole's South Australian Blackwood roots and records for North Carolina label Pisgah Ridge.

Cox, like Catherine Britt, travelled to Nashville and cut third album Miles & Timezones and performed Music City showcases in an eight-week visit in 2013.

She wrote the title track - illustrated by video - with Bendigo bluegrass ace Lachie Davidson.

Lachie and brother Hamish, born at Yinnar in Gippsland, are frequent Nashville visitors when not on the road or delivering chiropractic treatment in their adoptive home city.

The song was a dual finalist in best new talent and alternative country album Golden Guitars at the 42 ND Australian Country Music Awards in January, 2014.

It followed her journeys to recording and performing in Nashville with prolific producer-writer Salley.

Salley - a frequent Tamworth visitor and co-writer with Australian artists - also produced Cox debut CD Breaking New Ground.

Expat Quorn born South Australian Kym Warner of Greencards fame plays on Cox's CDs.

Salley hired Music City bluegrass session serfs diverse as Bryan Sutton, Randy Kohrs, Andy Leftwich, Alecia Nugent, Cody Colby and Scott Vestal for her albums.

Further info - www.kristycox.com

HOW TO KEEP NU COUNTRY ON AIR

We need your support as we celebrate the 25th 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, Chris Young, Charley Pride, Slim Dusty, Kacey Jones, Rosanne Cash and more.

We also have DVDS by Lady Antebellum.

CLICK HERE for our Membership Page for full details.

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