Recently, I auditioned for a new country artist and I got the gig. It was going to be a fairly steady paycheck with decent music. I worked my butt off, charting the songs and preparing for the gig. We went through a few days of rehearsals and everything was fine and professional. The first gigs were this past weekend.

We're riding to the first show and I start hearing a conversation of "n!gg@r this" and "n!gg@r that" going back and forth from two of the players up front. I turned to the guy next to me and said, "Did I just hear what I think I heard?" He said, "uuum yeah, you heard it and so did I."

So ok, maybe they were quoting something they heard or whatever. I figured I'd tuck it away and give the benefit of the doubt. But over the next two days I start hearing a bunch of ""n!gg@r" jokes, that make me sick to my stomach.

I told the manger, that this kind of atmosphere was unacceptable to me and I couldn't work in it. I hope they make changes in the organization. There were some other issues i was dealing with, but they were issues that could be worked out or dealt with. Like in baseball, you get three strikes. You can still work with one or two strikes. But to me, racism is an automatic ejection from the game.

I believe the management was offended by the racism and won't tolerate it, so i don't want to cast any disparagement towards them. I'm hoping these 2 guys were just bad apples and the vast majority people involved in Nashville music business aren't filled with this kind of hate.

if you think I over-reacted or you don't see the harm in a little playful racism, then go ahead and delete me from your friends list.

If you got angry or a sick feeling in your stomach from reading the veiled words I put in quotes, like I did from hearing them, then I hope this helps us all be a little more sensitive and compassionate to those who had to grow up in, and those who still live in, a racist environment.

If either of those two guys are reading this.... I sincerely hope you come to a realization of how hurtful that kind of conversation can be to people of any race. I hope you someday realize that such hatred is poisoning your own heart and soul.