I know it’s been FOREVER since I blogged… but geez, sometimes it’s impossible to stay on top of everything!!   This summer my focus has been on getting my band out nationally, and we just returned from an amazing Midwest run.  I met some of those amazing people from all walks of life, gained some new fans, and made a lot of contacts for future shows.  I wanna tell you all about it!  Check out the pics I posted on my page too!

BEFORE I GET STARTED – search for my FACEBOOK FAN PAGE page and become a fan… PLEASE!!  I check in on this page regularly and update my status.

ON TO THE TOUR…

We started our journey at  11 pm Friday, July 31^st from Nashville all the way to North Platte, Nebraska.  It took 15 hours to get there, and we drove all though the night and most of the next day.  My husband (and manager, photographer, roadie, and driver) rode in the captain’s chair, and got us there safely.  I took a different band than I usually use because my regular guys were all booked up.  The guys I brought were all Belmont graduates – Josh Ingram on electric, Chris Dunn on bass, and McCoy Gibbs on drums.  They all sang harmony and really played well.    I was nervous not having the band I’m used to, but they went out of their way to do a good job for me.

We arrived in North Platte around 4pm, did a quick sound check, and then headed to the hotel for 45 minutes.  After a lightening fast shower, we headed back for the show with Kansas City artist, Tate Stevens.  We couldn’t help but laugh because we played in the demolition derby track behind a chicken wire fence.  It was like being in the movie, Roadhouse!  The crowd was small, but we found out that they hadn’t had live entertainment at the fair in over 15 years.  The funniest moment was when I called some kids on stage, and one of them happened to have the same name as the daughter of a good friend of ours.  It turns out that he is actually friends with her on FB and had talked to her on there!  It’s such a world.  Anyway, the entire fair board, firemen and women, Sherrif’s officers, and the town folks were so nice to us, and we joined them in the beer garden after the show.

After a short night of rest, we hit the road to Des Moines, IA.  I ‘d never been to that city and was blown away by how progressive the downtown area felt.  There were so many new restaurants and bars, and the venue we played was nicer than any I’ve seen lately.  We played a club called People’s Court where they have a small stage and a main stage.  Because we are just building our fan base in Des Moines, the small stage was better for us.  A group named Douglas Acres opened for us, and brought lots of friends to help support us.  We had a nice crowd and I even had a myspace fan named Paul drive from out of town to see the show with his wife.  The club owner liked our show so much that he invited us back the next night for a second show.  We were thrilled to oblige and are looking forward to returning to Des Moines.

After two nights in Des Moines, it was on to Kansas City.  This was such a nice, short 3 hour drive, finally! We took our time getting to our KC band mom, Norma’s house.  When we got to Norma’s, she had prepared homemade egg noodles and chicken with a fresh garden salad.  Her home-cooking came right on time!  We had the night off, so we ventured to Wal-mart and the boys played cards.  I crashed out on the air mattress.  The next day I went to the KC Royals stadium to sound check for the anthem.  Everyone there was extremely nice and complimentary.  I was nervous as heck to sing the anthem, especially with my mug on the world’s largest jumbo-tron.  But, everything went off without a hitch and it was very flattering to have the Royals players tell me “good job” on the way off the field.  My hostess was quick to tell me that they don’t do that for everyone.  J  I had to go straight from the game to play a show at a club called “Infused.”  We had a nice turnout, and I was really excited that one of the KC disc jockeys came out to see the show.   Thanks to TJ, a new fan, for plastering her car all week with flyers!

The next morning we left for National, Iowa for the Clayton County fair.  This is a SMALL town with a LOT of corn.  In fact, I’ve never seen more corn in my life than I did on this tour!  The fair board members were so kind, and they toured me through the livestock areas, and even showed me how to milk a cow.  I was amazed at how hard the kids work to show their animals, and it broke my heart to see them have to say goodbye after the auctions.  That takes a lot of heart!   Before the show, we had a delicious meal at Brainerd’s Country Change, and met a neat lady named Brenda whose grandson has a tumor at age three.  We decided to help out by donating a portion of our merch sales to her cause, and announcing an upcoming benefit at the show.   The show itself was a blast. I had a great time singing my new song, Talkin Bout the Truth, to a local couple named Gary and Dixie.  They were a lot of fun, and Gary hugged me so tight after I could hardly breathe!  I was so happy to have my longtime pal, Meng-Long, and his son, drive up for the show as well as our two cousins.  After the show, we went back to Brainerd’s and had a couple beers with the locals and even did an impromptu acoustic show on top of the bar.  Bottom line, a lot of good-hearted peeps in Clayton County!

Early in the morning, we hit the road for Greenwood, NE and the I-80 Speedway to perform a Make-a-Wish benefit concert.   I was able to get a guitar donated by Samick Guitars and signed by James Otto for the event, and we were so happy to help bring some exposure to this great foundation.   Donnie from the speedway treated us wonderfully, and everyone who came was very kind and welcoming.  A local band named Badland opened up for us, and we all had a great evening.  Kind of sad that we didn’t get to take a ride in one of the two-seaters though!  Next time…

Our last stop was Mitchell, NE for the Scott’s Bluff County Fair to open for the LoCash Cowboys.   I really can’t say enough about the people in Mitchell.  They were so accepting and loving, and were so happy to have us there.  Just like in Clayton County, the fair board president toured me around the entire fair, and made me feel like a celebrity.  As we watched over thousand people make their way to the grandstand  we were pumped for showtime.  And then… it happened.  Five minutes before we hit the stage, buckets of rain poured down with continuous lightening.  After an hour, it didn’t let up so they cancelled the concert.  My husband literally carried me over to the LoCash bus to take cover.  Inside, the boys and I lamented about how disappointed we were.  We decided that we would play SOMEWHERE.  It took two hours and a lot of folks helping, but we managed to find a covered area, set up a small sound system and move the show across the fairgrounds.  The radio stations even made an announcement for everyone to come back.  About 500 folks stuck through the storm and cheered us on for an acoustic show.  It ended up being a big party, and the highlight of the whole tour.  We can’t wait to go back to Mitchell.

The biggest thing I’m taking away from this tour is that there are some of the hardest working, kindest people living deep in the heartland of this country.  I really got to see firsthand how Mid-westerners live, and I know it’s going to help me make my song-writing more relatable. I got to see what they care about, and what makes them tick.

Thank you so much to everyone who made this tour special, all the radio stations who played our music, and all the fans who came out to support us.   We will be back on the road real soon!!

Love y’all!!

Xo Jaime

2009.  Wow, time really flies.  Back in the early nineties when I was riding around in my Delta 88 Oldsmobile listening to Snoop Dogg and thinking I was so cool, 2009 seemed like a lifetime way.  Now, we're all staring down the next decade of the Y2K.  It's amazing how time slips away in the blink of an eye.   I don't feel a whole lot older than I did back in my Snoop Dogg days.  The fact, though, that at this very moment, I'm thinking of how nice it would be to have a pair of reading glasses tells me that, alas, things have changed.

I have been thinking a lot about what it means to be accomplished.  Too often I think we believe we have not accomplished anything until someone else tells us we have.  I remember when I first moved to Nashville back in 1999, and I was working at Ruth's Chris' Steakhouse as a server assistant.  One evening I was pouring water and I overheard a trio of men talking to some executives from William Morris.  The men were having a celebratory dinner after signing their first deal with the renowned booking agency.   I struck up conversation, and the men introduced themselves to me as a new up-and-coming band called "Rascal Flatts."  I held back a laugh, privately wondering how in the world they expected to go anywhere with a band name like that.  Fast forward to the year 2005 when I was still waiting tables at another swanky Nashville restaurant called Radius 10.  Seated at my table, once again, were members of Rascal Flatts.  I reminded them of our conversation six years earlier and remarked that they sure had come a lot further than I had in those years.   All at once, I let myself feel anything but accomplished.

If I had a dollar for every time someone asks me, "When are you gonna make it?'," I'd have "made" it (at least financially) a long time ago.  While I know that no one means any harm by asking, the very question makes me cringe.  When am I gonna make it to what?  My life has been amazing thus far.  I have graduated from high school and college, competed in the Miss America Pageant, picked up and moved to Nashville and built a life there on my own, survived a marriage and a divorce and landed on two feet, put out two CDs on my own, got a publishing deal, have been writing articles for Country Weekly magazine, have been performing nationally and internationally, have wonderful friends, a loving family, a roof over my head, and I'm about to marry a wonderful man who loves me. 

Now, I'm not saying all that to brag, so don't read it that way.  I am totally envious of you out there that are settled in to nice homes, have beautiful children, steady jobs, waaaaay more money than I do, etc. etc.  Accomplishments are all relative to how we view them.  Heck, I could look at all that I've "accomplished" and refute each point.  I only graduated with 3.0.  I didn't make the Top 10 at Miss America. Yes, I moved to Nashville, but I didn't get anything going musically until just the last three years.  I got a freakin' divorce.  I have put two CDs out, but haven't gotten a record deal.  I have a publishing deal now, but for how long? I haven't had any major song cuts.  Blah, blah, blah, blah.

 Are you kidding me? 

As I told a friend recently, some days, getting out of bed is an accomplishment.

Folks, I'm begging you.  In 2009, find the joy in all the things that you ARE doing, and stop tearing yourself apart for all things that you aren't doing.  Maybe you aren't in perfect shape, but you are the best damn mother that you can be.  Focus on that!  Maybe you haven't gotten the best grades this past semester, but between the two jobs you are working to pay for school, you are doing the best you can do.  At least you aren't sitting on your behind wasting your life away!!  I guarantee you that when you start giving yourself a little credit, you will find yourself improving in areas that need improvement.  

Life is a series of accomplishments.  If you have a second, I want you to comment below with three things that you accomplished in 2008, and then stare at those words and let them soak in.  I hope you feel proud of yourself.

Cause baby… we're ALL "makin' it."

God bless.

Hey y'all...

Yes, yes, yes... I know that I've been promising a newly designed myspace page and my new single for ages now... but, dang, these things take time!  But, hallelujah!  It's all a go!

I'm extremely excited about the upcoming year... it means new music, a new album, a LOT more touring, and inevitably, exciting things to come.  I'm working hard on the new project.  I just recorded five songs with Eric Kinny producing, and the songs are currently in mixing stage.  Stacy Hogan produced my first single, The Heart of Me, which so far has been met with nothing less than wonderful reception.

As "Phase Two" of Jaime Fox Music begins, special thanks goes out to...

Thanks to the hard work of  Joe "FotoJo" Hardwick for supporting me 100% in all of my goals, and putting up with all my crazy musical obsessions.  He is responsible for all the beautiful images you see on the page, and of course for the amazing video for "The Heart of Me."  He also keeps me sane. Everything this man has done for me has been nothing short of a miracle. 

My friend, Noelle Hoth, down in Texas, for designing my myspace page and getting it up and running.  There may be a few kinks in the different browsers (if so, send me a message!) but from what we've seen, it looks awesome so far.  If you are interested in having Noelle design your page, email me.  She is incredibly talented!

Lori Brown, for all the times she's commented 1000 pages, helped me with friend requests, edited a video,ran an errand, walked my dog or lifted a speaker (the list goes on and on)... we can't do everything without help and Lori is always there!  Check out Danielle Peck's page to see all the webisodes that  Lori has edited for her!

MY PARENTS AND MY BROTHER... I won't even start with everything they do for me.  I  miss you!!!!

Jenny Lang, for the great HTML comments and support, Ashley Summer for keeping the fan site going, all the great musicians who have my back, Eric Kinny, Stacy Hogan, Rick Hall, Suzanne Bolton and the FAME gang, my co-writers and Ted, Scott, Patrice, Nancy, Norma, and Brenda (ok, I gotta stop somewhere - LOL) for their endless support. 

I literally could go on with about a hundred other names, but I think everyone knows how much I love them. I have a great friends and fans, and I hope to make you all proud!

SO, GO CHECK OUT THE PAGE!

My single, The Heart of Me, which I co-wrote with Scott Sean White has been uploaded to my player.  Add this song to your page!

And, drum roll please.... the full length version of my brand spankin' new video for "The Heart of Me," directed and produced by Joe "FotoJo" Hardwick is at the top of my page.  Add this to your page also!

I also have a video filmed and edited by Lori Brown capturing a behind the scenes look at the photoshoot at FotoJo's studio in Nashville.  Joe Hardwick did an absolutely amazing job with my photographs and I hope you think so too!

I will be changing out the videos, the fan of the month, and blogging a lot more often now.... tried to make the tour schedule easier to access (though I'm a little slow right now to work on album 2) and we also made a new banner for you to put on your pages!

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??? CHECK IT OUT!!

See you soon on the road armed with a new album!
Love y'all!
xo Jaime