DAVE'S DIARY - 6 MARCH 2017 - PREVIEW OF EPISODE 6 - SERIES 32
TROY CASSAR-DALEY HEADLINES NU COUNTRY TV
Grafton raised country star Troy Cassar-Daley returns to his hometown as he headlines Nu Country TV at 9 pm on Saturday March 11 on Channel 31/Digital 44.
Singing pilot Dierks Bentley is joined by wife Cassidy in their new video shot in Iceland on the show filmed and edited by Laith Graham.
Hester Fraser, grand-daughter of late former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, also returns with a song that raised funds and awareness for drought stricken farmers.
Sydney trio The April Family pay tribute to the late Patsy Cline in a song from their debut album.
And Thomas Rhett, son of Georgian hit writer Rhett Akins, debuts on the program also featuring fellow Georgian Brent Cobb.
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.
TROY TIMBER CUTTING IN HALF MILE CREEK
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Troy Cassar-Daley vividly illustrates his youth as a timber cutter with revered mentors in hometown Grafton. Troy revealed the challenges of working with a chain saw, nine pound hammer and resultant splinters in the video for Halfway Creek Timber Cutting Man from his 10th album Things I Carry Around . He recalls rural blood and sweat that turned bush boys into men. “I loved my time cutting fence posts with Tony Wall, it was hard work but Tony made it bearable because he was great company,” Troy recalled. |
“We could talk about anything and we did, I think I solved a lot yarning with Tony without even knowing. I'm glad he kept me off the chainsaw as I was always pretty shitty with it around home and I still have all my fingers! Halfway Creek is a very special place to me and a lot of people, parts of me still swim the Orara on the back road, fish for elated catfish and hunt for wallaby. Halfway Creek will always be part of me.”
Troy , 47 & father of two, won his 35 th Golden Guitar for album of the year for Things I Carry Around and was inducted into the Roll of Renown during the 2017 Tamworth music festival.
He also released his auto-biography Things I Carry Around.
CLICK HERE for a Troy CD feature and interview in The Diary on September 9, 2016.
DIERKS BENTLEY BLACK AND BLUE IN ICELAND
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Dierks Bentley ensured authenticity of his video to illustrate the title track of 10th album Black that shares nomenclature with wife Cassidy's family name.
Cassidy plays the female lead in the video filmed in Iceland during a storm.
The derelict plane filmed on the desolate surface was not one of Dierks' small aircraft.
“It's no secret that this record is named after my wife Cassidy, and she was both brave and generous to let me write about our relationship as the foundation of a lot of these songs,” Bentley, 41, revealed.
“I've talked about how Black explores some of the darker corners and edges of the heart, what happens in the black of night, and this song was really central to forming the rest of the project.”
Long-time collaborator Wes Edwards directed the video outside of Reykjavik , Iceland , and depicts stark beauty of the island landscape (arctic waves, snow-covered mountains and the Northern Lights) with sensual clips of Bentley with his wife.
Cassidy's appearance almost didn't happen.
“The most ambitious part of the whole deal was convincing my wife to be in the video,” Bentley confessed.
“The fact she was in the video, that's a story in and of itself.”
When Bentley and Edwards were casting they didn't consider Cassidy at first because she is camera shy.
But when Bentley couldn't decide on a female lead he realised the only person for the role was his wife.
So, while on tour in Kentucky , Bentley texted her at home in Nashville .
“I was in the kitchen, when he sent me this text: ‘I need you to be in this video. It doesn't make sense to me if you're not in it,'” Cassidy recalled.
Although she was hesitant her husband's desire to have her in the clip eventually won her over.
“We've been married for 11 years and have three kids. It's really nice that he wants me to be in it. It's lovely.”
Edwards recalled the four-day music video shoot in the middle of a “once-a-year storm,” that Bentley and Cassidy filmed in below-freezing temperatures and gusting winds.
Beyond Black's sexy scenes, Cassidy says its symbolism meant the most to her.
Throughout the video, Bentley is in constant pursuit of his wife, following her across scenic terrain, always a few steps behind.
“When I think about intimacy, you do go through these landscapes together that are totally foreign that you've never been in,” Cassidy says.
“You have to take turns leading and following each other to stay together.”
Arizona born Bentley owns and flies his Cirrus SR 22 to some U.S. concerts after it featured in his hilarious video for Drunk On A Plane but not on his 2102 tour here with Lee Kernaghan.
CLICK HERE for a Dierks feature in the Diary on July 25, 2016.
CLICK HERE to win a Dierks CD on our membership page.
THOMAS RHETT TANGLED UP
Thomas Rhett, just 26, created a vivid video for Die A Happy Man - his fifth consecutive #1 hit from second album Tangled Up.
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Rhett revealed a simple recipe to die a happy man - beaches, boats, horses, forests, a dog and faithful female. Thomas wrote Die a Happy Man with Sean Douglas and Joe Spargur. While on the road he wanted to pen a love song for wife Lauren and quickly came up with the romantic track. “We were on a bus in Little Rock , Arkansas , and I was just starting to get into my last, final stages of writing for the Tangled Up album,” Rhett recalled. “Even though Die a Happy Man and that song sound nothing alike, the sentiment is the same. I looked back and was like, ‘I've never just written a song about my wife or for my wife.” |
“The two other guys who wrote it, one of them has a girlfriend, and the other is married. So we took collaborative ideas and came up with the song Die a Happy Man . I think the reason it translated so much is because every single line in the song is directly personal to our relationship and our marriage. I think my fans looked at that and saw it as very genuine, which it was, and I think that's the reason it was so successful. It was one of the most fun songs I ever got to write.”
Rhett and his dad wrote his most recent hit Star Of The Show .
"I was in Houston for the Super Bowl when I got the news," Rhett revealed.
"It made for a really fun start to the game, even though my Falcons didn't pull through in the end! I've always known this song needed to have its moment, so it's really sweet to be able to celebrate it now and with Lauren and my dad."
" Star of the Show is one of those songs that I have lived with for a while and kept coming up as a song we needed to record and get to the fans," explained Rhett.
"I wrote it with my dad right after I got married, and it was the first song I ever wrote about Lauren. It was a staple in our set before we had any hits and fans still request it to this day."
Further info – http://www.thomasrhett.com/home
BRENT COBB DOWN HOME IN GEORGIA
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South Georgian Brent Cobb had a credible source for his video for his song Down Home. He wrote it about his hometown Ellaville - population 1,609. Brent performed live in the video with his band and the studio with his cousin Dave. Down Home is on Dave Cobb's Southern Family compilation CD. Dave also produced Brent's second album Shine On Rainy Day . Cobb's career rocketed after the August 2006 release of debut album No Place Left to Leave and a self-titled indie EP. Brent moved to Nashville in 2008 and wrote hits for Miranda Lambert, Kenny Chesney, Luke Bryan, David Nail, Little Big Town , Kellie Pickler, Frankie Ballard and Eli Young Band. Brent, 29, and his wife have a 2-year-old daughter, Lyla. |
“It has been the best two years of my life,” Cobb said.
“I hadn't cut my hair since before Lyla was born at all. I haven't even trimmed it. I should do something with it.
“I wanted to do a record that for whatever crazy reason if I died - hopefully that won't happen - but I wanted to make a record that if that was the only thing that was left, Lyla would know me.”
“Everybody talks about the secret to success, and I still don't know. It seems like the secret is to not stop. I've had a handful of friends who have moved here to do music and they're gone now. You know? Sticking it out is the hardest thing.”
Further info - http://www.brentcobbmusic.com
HESTER IN GOLDHEIST DROUGHT RELIEF
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Hester Fraser performs in her video for Dust that raised funds and attention to drought stricken farmers
Hester performs as Goldheist and wrote it about drought at her family's 1050 hectare Arran cattle farm near Armidale.
“I knew the drought was bad but it was overwhelming when you realise the scale of what it means to live through it,” Hester revealed at the time.
“The manual labour that goes into keeping stock alive. I hadn't understood the financial cost.
“I wanted to write about the issues but I also wanted to create a message of support.”
Hester said she was inspired by the work of volunteer group Aussie Helpers who deliver hay and visit farmers in need.
“The most powerful thing Aussie Helpers do is help farmers realise they're not forgotten,” she said.
The plight of farmers hit home to Hester when her dad, Hugh, sent her photos of family farm Arran .
The family previously owned woollen clothing business Frasers of Arran .
“Mum decided she didn't want to design another cardigan and they were looking forward to just working on the property again and taking a back seat for a while but then they got hit with the drought,” Hester said.
“When dad sent us photos of the place it was just so unbelievably bad. When we went through drought in the ‘90s, I was pretty little and don't remember much but dad had to make some tough decisions.”
During this drought the family sold half their cattle and offloaded more before winter.
Hester attended Presbyterian Ladies' College and attended Sydney Conservatorium but returned home to make the video for Dust at an old school friend's property at Armidale.
“My friend has a horse stud just outside of Armidale and it was bone dry. There was just dust as you walk across the paddocks,” she said.
Goldheist , comprising Hester and drummer Mark Spiteri, staged a drought relief concert in Armidale to support farmers.
Further info - http://www.goldheistmusic.com
APRIL FAMILY HONOR PATSY CLINE
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Sydney trio The April Family perform their video for Patsy Cline Times 2 from their album What We Know How , fittingly out in April.
Kylie Whitney, Casey Atkins and Michael Carpenter - a prolific singer-songwriter, producer and video director - formed The April Family in 2015.
We featured their previous videos for You're Someone That I Never Knew and 1943.
Whitney worked at Carpenter's Love Hz Studios as an assistant and became a popular backing vocalist.
They worked on Whitney's debut album Something About Ghosts , released in early 2015.
Carpenter joined Atkins in many bands for almost 15 years and played on shows supporting Whitney's album release.
Carpenter also recorded with The Cuban Heels and has released solo discs including The Big Radio.
He and Blue Mountains singer Allan Caswell wrote Back When I Was Older three months ago as a result of their regular song-writing sessions.
Further info - http://www.mcarp.com
HOW TO KEEP NU COUNTRY ON AIR
We need your support as we celebrate Nu Country TV's 32nd 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 actors Tim McGraw and Toby Keith, Ashley Monroe, Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Gary Allan, Dierks Bentley, Eric Church and more.
CLICK HERE for our Membership Page for full details.