Helloooo Doc Possom, CJ Watson, and The Songwriter's Cafe!
Doc Possom asked me to write you all a little ditty about my trip to Nashville TN, so here it goes: Nashville, TN. Where the streets are paved in legends & broken dreams. (How's that for melodrama? I've been practicing!)
Every few months, my buddy Stella & I leave the kids, pack the car, and hit I65, headed toward the bright lights of Nashville. We were gone from May 18th-23rd. This trip, I had a spot at the Bluebird Cafe, and we were featured at the French Quarter Cafe, the Commodore, and the Broken Spoke's Songwriters Cafe.
Our trips are always incredible, but this trip was a little different...you see, I'm in my last few weeks of pregnancy with baby #2. That made the trip down a little longer due to frequent bathroom breaks, the singing and picking a little harder with being so big and all, But this trip was different mostly because I had no choice but to behave myself.....and while we were pretty well behaved, we still got pulled over by one of those bicycle cops. (that's another story. I'll write it if you all want to hear it.)
Now, the everyday normal human being goes to Nashville to walk down Broadway, bask in the rhinestone glory of Opry Land & eat at the Hard Rock Cafe, and if you mentioned any of the clubs in the paragraph above, they would look at you with a confused and lost look in their eyes. But we're different. We hear voices in our heads. We are songwriters.
Places like the Broken Spoke just make us feel like we're finally home & among people who "get it". It is within those walls that we bear our souls, and listen to others do the same.
We walked into the Broken Spoke on Saturday night and were greeted by C.J. Watson, the evening's host & a fabulous spirit. It was around 7pm, and we weren't scheduled until 9, so we just found a seat, ordered up some food, and listened to round after round of brilliant writers. Nearly every song had a space for a lovely lead, and C.J. was behind the soundboard adding lovely guitar solo's and the occasional back up vocal. It really was beautiful.
I recognized many of the writers as the bar staff from other clubs. It seems the Broken Spoke feels like home to them as well. Stella & I went up for our round, and immediately after, C.J. took the stage with Nita Velo, Jennifer Williams, and Jeff Gilkenson. Jeff played the cello & they all played along with each other as if they had known each other forever. But i think that is just the way at the Spoke. By the end of the night, everyone felt like they HAD known each other forever, & I put the Spoke at the top of my list.
The next day Stella went to NSAI's (Nashville Songwriters Association International) "Song Camp 201". I didn't attend this one, but was really impressed with the songwriters who were teaching the seminar. (Craig Carothers, Don Henry, Hugh Prestwood, Rick Beresford, and Ralph Murphy.)
I didn't sign up for Song Camp because I really didn't think that I had it in me to be busy all day, and sing all night, So i spent the day looking for an ice cream shop within walking distance and resting up for my spot at the Bluebird Cafe. If you've never been to the Bluebird, it's the kinda place where everyone pays attention....in fact, i think the host tells them that they have to!
Greats such as Faith Hill, Garth Brooks, Dwight Yochum, and Gillian Welch are among the many legends who have passed through those doors on the way to their destinies.
I had a Sunday Night Writers spot (my second), which I earned by sitting in the cold February rain for an audition a little over a year ago. Over 90 people auditioned the morning that I did, and they hold auditions 2-3 times a year. I was allowed 3 songs, and my buddy Stella joined me on guitar & back up vocals.
The talent was so good that I was just a little nervous when I walked up to the mike, BUT the crowd was squirrely & ready for a good time, and a tatooed & pregnant woman with a mandolin seemed to peak their interest. It was a great experiance & I'm looking forward to going back again.
We did another writers round at the Commodore on Tuesday night before we left town, and on Monday night, we attended a writers round at Douglas Corner featuring all the Song Camp teachers. Their names became real to me as i heard them play thier original songs and recognized Hugh Prestwood's "Ghost in this House".
I realized that these weren't just songwriters, these guys had written songs that could arguably be called some of the greatest songs in modern country music.
That's a lesson to learn about Nashville. You could be sitting at the Bluebird, or the Broken Spoke, or in your hotel lobby, and strike up a conversation with
the stranger next to you, only to find that they wrote the greatest song of all time.
So, other than a run-in with a bicycle cop, we did all right for ourselves. In a few months, I'm sure we'll leave the kids, pack the car, and hit I65 South once again to find more adventures & bring back new stories.
Thanks to Doc Possom, C.J. Watson, the Broken Spoke, my super team of baby sitters, super-daddy husband, & everyone at Indy Folk News for checking in with me.
:)
All my best.
Bobbie Lancaster
myspace.com/bobbielancaster
www.stellaandjane.com
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Wow. Songs aren't all you write Bobbie! And do we want to hear about the bicycle cop??? I do!
Doc Possom
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