DAVE'S DIARY - 25/2/2019 - PREVIEW OF EPISODE 2 - SERIES 39
WILL HOGE TRUMP PARODY HEADLINES NU COUNTRY TV
Tennessean singer-songwriter Will Hoge headlines Nu Country TV on Saturday March 2 at 9.30 pm on Channel 31/ Digital 44 with a strident satire of Donald Trump, fake news and pastors.
South Carolina singing actor Josh Turner returns with true gospel in Behind Bars on the show repeated Monday 7:30 am and Thursday 12 am.
Americana awards winner Jason Isbell and expat Australian Tommy Emmanuel also appear on the program filmed and edited by Laith Graham.
Bluegrass veteran Robbie Fulks and Jerry Lee Lewis's sister Linda Gail return to the show that features Georgian Cole Swindell and Kentuckian Dawn Landes.
Nu Country TV is a highlight of C 31 streaming list on Digital 44.
Further info - https://www.c31.org.au/
HOGE BREAKS DOWN GILDED WALLS
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Tennessean Will Hoge proves humour is the best form of satire - especially for dodgy politicians.
Hoge lampoons fake news and faux pastors with a Trump impersonator and other cornball clones in his vitriolic video for Gilded Walls from his 17th album My American Dream .
The Trump chump gooses a woman and steals from a hapless charity collector at a Hoge concert in front of Bridgestone Arena in Nashville .
Hoge uses music to parody political corruption, anti-intellectualism, poverty, gun control, broken education system and nationwide suffering on My American Dream .
"Those things kept me up at night and this record was less expensive than therapy," Hoge revealed.
"Silence couldn't be a part of my deal anymore. My kids and their future, that's the biggest thing for me. My boys are 11 and 7, they're happy and healthy kids, and I feel lucky for that every day."
Hoge's wife teaches at the same Nashville school their sons.
"Every morning at 7 o'clock everything I care about in the world goes to one building, explained Hoge, also a former teacher and basketball coach.
It takes one knucklehead with a gun going into that one building to ruin all that for me.
Will, 47, also survived a serious bike accident in 2008 and named one of his albums Wreckage.
Further info - https://www.willhoge.com/
JOSH TURNER SERVES HIS SAVIOUR
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South Carolina singing actor Josh Turner backs his religious beliefs with his live gospel tribute I Serve A Saviour - title track of his 10th album - at Gaither Studio in Indiana.
Josh, 41, played George Beverly Shea in 2008 film Billy: The Early Years.
The movie was about evangelist Billy Graham who also attracted in his trip to the real Deep South - Australia.
Josh and wife Jennifer live on their South Carolina farm with a log cabin where they retreat and write songs and record.
Turner has regularly recorded faith-based music on his albums including The Answer, For The Love of God , and Me and God - a collaboration with Ralph Stanley - midst his country hits.
His new album features Sonya Isaacs whose harmonies ignite classics I Saw The Light and How Great Thou Art and Bobby Osborne on I Pray My Way Out Of Trouble.
Another new song The River of Happiness was penned by his wife and oldest son, Hampton.
All four Turner children - Hampton, Colby, Marion and Samuel - sing on the track.
CLICK HERE for a Turner CD review from the Diary on December 11, 2007
JASON ISBELL AND TOMMY EMMANUEL DEEP RIVER BLUES
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Four-time Grammy winner Jason Isbell won three major 2018 Americana awards after topping charts with 10 th album The Nashville Sound with his 400 Unit band.
This week Jason and expat Australian guitarist Tommy Emmanuel perform Doc Watson's classic Deep River Blues from Tommy's 28 th album Accomplice One.
It features artists diverse as Mark Knopfler, Rodney Crowell, Jerry Douglas, Ricky Skaggs, David Grisman, Bryan Sutton, Suzy Bogguss and Isbell's wife Amanda Shires.
I wanted to record an album of duets that could showcase my love of many styles, the challenge of rearranging some classic songs, and share the fun of total improvisation with players who do it on a level that we all marvel at, Tommy, 63, revealed.
I also wanted the chance to sing with some of my favorite voices too,
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Tommy released albums with late brother Phil and legendary guitarist-record label boss Chet Atkins.
His career began with three siblings - guitarist Phil, drummer Chris and Virginia on slide guitar - from the age of four in family groups.
Emmanuel Quartet, Midget Safaris and Trailblazers toured from birthplace Muswellbrook and latter-day home Gunnedah and way beyond.
Tommy and Phil also strutted their stuff with artists diverse as Tex Morton, Slim Dusty and Buddy Williams.
Isbell, 40, has released live albums in a career that began in Drive By Truckers in 2001 before he went solo in 2007.
The singer also appears in new movie Deadwood.
When Jason toured here in April, 2014, he had two glamorous belles in his posse.
Texan born singer-songwriter Tift Merritt joined him on a dynamic double bill that also featured his singing spouse-fiddler Amanda Shires.
CLICK HERE for an Isbell interview in The Diary on March 12, 2014.
CLICK HERE for a Tommy Emmanuel interview in The Diary on September 4, 2004.
ROBBIE FULKS AND LINDA GAIL LEWIS
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Robbie Fulks played the 2017 Out On The Weekend festival at Seaworks in Williamstown and is joined this week by Linda Gail Lewis - sister of The Killer Jerry Lee.
Louisiana born Linda, 71, has released 26 albums including one with Van Morrison.
They perform I Just Lived A Country Song from their duet album Wild, Wild, Wild live at Paste Studio in New York City.
I love singing with Robbie, Linda Gail revealed.
It reminds of singing with my brother, Jerry Lee. The duets we did were so much fun.
Robbie, 55, was born in York , Pennsylvania , raised in the Blue Ridge Mountains and has released 13 solo albums.
Fulks and actress wife Donna Jay Fulks have three sons.
CLICK HERE for a Fulks Out On The Weekend review in our Concert section on October 14, 2017.
DAWN LANDES DRIVES SOUTH
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Kentuckian Dawn Landes drives her pick-up truck south from New York to New Orleans in her debut.
She found a vintage car rally en route at the Loveless Motel in Travelling on her fifth album Meet Me At The River.
Dawn, 38, was once married to singer-songwriter Josh Ritter and is now wife of Creighton Irons - also a songwriter.
Landes songs featured in popular films and TV shows including The Good Wife, Bored to Death, Skins, House, Gossip Girl, Winter Passing, United States of Tara , Californication and Underbelly.
She composed original scores for feature films Blackbird and Familiar Strangers and wrote the end credit song for Savage Grace starring Julianne Moore.
Further info - https://www.dawnlandes.com/
COLE SWINDELL ESCAPES
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Georgian star Cole Swindell escaped from the alley and kitchen to the beach and back to love by the fire in the video for All Of It - title track of his third Top 10 album.
"All of It is the title of a song that I actually got to go back into the studio and record after we were done with the album," Swindell, 35, revealed.
"I'd never had the opportunity to do that before. Usually, when we're done, we're done but I just happened to hear this song.
"I told my team, 'I have to have this song! What are we gonna do?' We went back in and recorded it, and here it is, the album title."
Cole has written hits for Aussie tourists Luke Bryan and Thomas Rhett.
He honoured his dad William, who died in a freak accident at 65 in 2013, in the video for the title track of his second album You Should Be Here.
Cole included footage of the final phone call to his dad before his career took off.
He explained his dad endorsed his desire for a music career but died shortly after he was signed to major label Warner .
"He supported me and was so proud, Swindell recalled.
CLICK HERE for a Swindell feature in The Diary on July 25, 2016.
HOW TO KEEP NU COUNTRY ON AIR
We need your support as we celebrate Nu Country TV's 39th series with Australian record companies and artists teaming to ensure our survival.
You can win Kip Moore's third album Slowheart , thanks to EMI promotions chief Dave Parker, 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 Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Gary Allan, Dierks Bentley, Eric Church and late larrikin legend A.P. Johnson.
CLICK HERE for our Membership Page for full details.