DAVE'S DIARY - 15 MAY 2017 - PREVIEW OF EPISODE 16 - SERIES 32
GOLDEN GUITARIST JOHN K AND WILLIE NELSON HEADLINE NU COUNTRY TV WITH EULOGIES
Nundle Golden Guitarist-singer-songwriter John Krsulja and Shotgun Willie Nelson headline Nu Country TV this Saturday May 20 at 9 p m on Channel 31/Digital 44 with eulogies to recently deceased peers Karl Broadie and Merle Haggard.
Fellow Golden Guitarist and Hunter Valley singer-songwriter Kirsty Lee Akers also returns to the show repeated Sunday 1 am and Monday 8 am.
Sydney singer Katie Brianna debuts on the program hosted by Mid Pacific Bob Olson and filmed and edited by Laith Graham.
Louisiana hit writer Tony Stampley debuts with pure country - a staple of the Stampley family song trove begun by his dad Joe of Moe & Joe fame.
English duo The Shires , fresh from a Melbourne concert with Tamworth troubadour Aleyce Simmonds, also return.
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/series/487
Viewers can access new and previous Nu Country TV shows at the same link.
JOHN KRSULJA HONORS EXPAT SCOT KARL BROADIE
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Nundle singer-songwriter John Krsulja honours recently deceased expat Scot neighbour and songwriting partner Karl Broadie with a song they wrote together.
John performs Billy live at the historic Peel Inn at hometown Nundle near Tamworth with help from Hayley Wilson.
Karl also lived in Nundle before he died aged, just 44, from cancer on April 19 last year
Billy is the fourth single from John K's debut album Travelling, produced by Broadie in 2015.
It was written in 1992 by Krsulja before prolific producer Broadie helped rewrite the chorus and appeared on backing vocals with Hayley.
Travelling was an album of the year finalist at the 2016 Australian Roots Music Awards
John K and Cronulla school teacher-singer songwriter Luke O'Shea won the 2017 Heritage Golden Guitar award at the 44 th Australian Country Music Awards in Tamworth in January for their song The Old Man's Shed from O'Shea's sixth album Caught Up In The Dreaming .
It was the seventh Golden Guitar for O'Shea, 47 and father of three.
John's version of The Old Man's Shed was a finalist in the 2016 International Songwriting Competition performance category competing with Paul Kelly and Troy Cassar-Daley.
John K, wife Belinda and two young daughters Brooke and Jade, own and operate DAG Sheep Station at Nundle that hosts Country At The DAG in January and the annual Singer Songwriters Retreat in July.
The 2017 Retreat features Shane Nicholson, O'Shea, Kevin Bennett, Felicity Urquhart, Aleyce Simmonds & Jeremy Edwards.
CLICK HERE for a John K feature in The Diary on November 23, 2015.
WILLIE TRIBUTE TO MERLE
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Singing Texan actor Willie Nelson returns with his tribute to recording and singing partner Merle Haggard who died on his 79th birthday on April 6 last year.
Willie, now 84, was one of many stars to honour Californian Merle at his tribute concert in Nashville at the famed Ryman Auditorium - former home of the Grand Ol Opry - on April 6.
It would have been Merle's 80th birthday.
Willie's Merle tribute He Won't Ever Be Gone is on the Red Headed Stranger's new album God's Problem Child.
It was released on the eve of his 84th birthday on April 29 and debuted at #1 on Billboard .
Willie has already released five videos from God's Problem Child including Still Not Dead - a spoof of his death hoaxes - and featuring footage of him on his tour bus and performing onstage with his band.
It opens with Nelson waking up in a Smoke Weed Every Day sweater pouring himself a cup of coffee and laughing at internet reports he had died.
The video also includes Willie performing Still Not Dead in a studio and shots of him playing poker and dancing.
Willie also performs Dianne Warren song, To Get Here , in advance of the release of Dog Years - the new film in which it appears.
Burt Reynolds plays an aging movie star who is being driven around Tennessee by a young woman (played by Ariel Winter) while trying to figure things out in his life.
Willie also hosts his 44th July 4 picnic in Austin with little mates including his family band, Kacey Musgraves, Jamey Johnson, Steve Earle, Margo Price, Asleep at the Wheel, Turnpike Troubadours , Hayes Carll, Sheryl Crow, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Johnny Bush, Billy Joe Shaver, David Allan Coe, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, Insects vs. Robots , Raelyn Nelson Band and Folk Uke .
KIRSTY LEE AKERS AIN'T THAT KINDA GIRL
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Hunter Valley export Kirsty Lee Akers is in big demand in Nashville with her prolific songwriting and touring - she returns to our show with Ain't That Kinda Girl from fourth album Burn, Baby, Burn.
Kirsty, now 29, increased her following south of the Murray Dixon line when she toured Victoria with Texan troubadour Hayes Carll in 2012.
Her album also includes I Will written for husband Jesse Anderson whom she wed at Pokolbin near the former CMC Rocks The Hunter festival site in the winery belt on April 4, 2014.
“I never wrote a song about him before even though we've been together 11 years,” Akers revealed of her love ballad about her husband whom she met two decades ago in kindergarten and dated from high school.
“I thought it was about time.”
Akers explored eternal love and explained their choice of wedding date.
“Four is my lucky number and we had also been engaged for four years, so this seemed like the obvious date for us,” Akers said at the time.
Kirsty and Jesse commute between Nashville - where she writes and performs with diverse peers - and their Hunter Valley home.
“Jesse has been with me through it all and he fits right in in Nashville,” Akers confessed.
“He's very down to earth and he doesn't like the spotlight, which is great for me because he keeps me grounded. I don't think I could be with another musician.”
Jesse has been with Akers since she released her first EP at 16, debut album The Little Things in 2007 and became only act to win the trifecta - Toyota Star Maker, Telstra Road to Discovery and a Golden Guitar .
CLICK HERE for a Kirsty Lee feature in The Diary on June 4, 2016.
THE SHIRES PRAISE DADDY'S LITTLE GIRL
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English duo The Shires return with their song Daddy's Little Girl from their second album My Universe. They toured Melbourne in March with Aleyce Simmonds after the 10th CMC Rocks Queensland festival at Ipswich. The Shires - Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes - hail from Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. Crissie wrote Daddy's Little Girl with Cohen, Victoria Banks and Canadian country artist Livy Jeanne Richardson. |
“The three of them all had their dads in their lives, but I didn't tell them that mine wasn't still here,” Crissie confessed.
“It's just a very personal song and a tribute to my dad, and how special he made me feel. Playing it at our showcase, apparently there were tears in the audience, so it feels like daughters and dads and everyone will be able to relate to it.”
The duo debuted on Nu Country with Nashville Grey Skies from My Universe that exceeded the 100,000 sales of 2015 debut disc Brave.
They visited Australia last year on a promo tour after signing with U.S. Big Machine label and recorded at Sound Stage Studios in Nashville after artists diverse as Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw and Lady Antebellum.
Ben joined Nashville writers Brian White, Jeff Cohen and Kip Moore, who toured here in March, for songs on the album.
His solo composition Everything You Never Gave is poignant.
“It's basically about an absent father, because my dad was never there,” Ben explained.
“It's really important to bear your soul like that, because there'll be loads of people who relate to it, and to Crissie's song, and go ‘Wow, that's me.' Even if it's painful, it's cathartic.”
That lyric hits hard because Ben recently became a father right before a gig - Glastonbury Festival.
Further info - http://www.theshiresmusic.com/about/
LOUISIANA MAN TONY STAMPLEY
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Louisiana man Tony Stampley fills a Biblical gap in show host Mid Pacific Bob Olson's recipes with his video for new single Daily Bread.
Tony took us on a scenic journey before his lead character sat at the dinner table with his family.
Stampley thanked an older man for being able to enjoy simple things in life and thanked God for those blessings in his belief that songs can change the world.
The prolific writer went on the road at 17 with dad Joe who had hits in the duo Moe and Joe with Moe Bandy.
Tony later wrote the Boy George parody Where's The Dress for Moe & Joe.
Daily Bread is on Tony's third album that followed Rebelution on Dreamworks in 2002 and When I Get On A Roll in 2014.
Tony learned the intricacies of road life while most of his friends were still finishing high school.
After moving to Nashville Hank Williams Jr. recorded three of the first five songs Tony wrote - he's now recorded a total of 17. As a writer Tony has had over 50 major cuts including George Jones, John Anderson, Randy Travis, Billy Currington, Moe & Joe, Mark Chesnutt, Confederate Railroad, The Moffatts and the late Lonnie Mack.
But he doesn't have a web page - check out his dad Joe below.
Further info - http://www.joestampley.com/
KATIE BRIANNA SALUTES A KING
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Sydney singer-songwriter Katie Brianna dropped out of school at 16 to pursue her music.
Now, a decade later, she lured actor Ethan Gibson to be her king for a night in her song King from her second album Victim Or Heroine produced by Shane Nicholson at his Copacabana studio on the NSW Central Coast.
“I'm really excited to share the film clip for my new single with you,” Brianna revealed.
“The song is called King, and it's perhaps a little departure from my last single in terms of the mood, but hey, we all have multiple personalities, don't we? It was again shot and directed by my good friend Lyn Taylor, and features budding actor Ethan Gibson playing the part of my boyfriend. I hope you like it, and feel free to share it with your friends.”
Katie was nominated for best new talent Golden Guitar at the 44 th Australian Country Music Awards in Tamworth in January for the album's first single Birmingham that she wrote on tour in the English city of the same name.
Brianna released her debut EP in 2005 and was plucked from obscurity by Paul Kelly to record vocals on Jindabyne Fair that appeared on Kelly's soundtrack to critically acclaimed 2006 Australian movie Jindabyne.
It earned her first Golden Guitar nomination in 2007.
The murder mystery movie starred Chris Haywood, Laura Linney, Tatea Reilly, Gabriel Byrne, Deborra-Lee Furness, John Howard, Eva Lazzaro, Max Cullen and Bud Tingwell.
Brianna released debut album, Dark Side of the Morning , in 2013 and has performed nationally and on shows in Nashville in 2013 and 2014.
Further info - http://www.katiebrianna.com
HOW TO KEEP NU COUNTRY ON AIR
We need your support as we celebrate Nu Country TV's 32 nd series with Australian record companies and artists teaming to ensure our survival.
We have Kasey Chambers 11th CD Dragonfly and Blake Shelton's 12th CD If I'm Honest from Karen Black and Tony Midolo at Warner Music.
We also have other CDS by major artists you can win by becoming a Nu Country TV member or renewing membership.
They include singing actor Tim McGraw, Ashley Monroe, Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Gary Allan, Dierks Bentley, Eric Church and more.