I can't believe it has been almost three months since I have posted a blog. It has been a slammed three months. I'm in L.A. again filming 20 new episodes of The Singing Bee for CMT. The first season was a huge success and it's the highest rated show on the network so now we are filming more shows. This time around, we are filming at the legendary KTLA Sunset Bronson Studios in Hollywood. We are filming on the Hannah Montana soundstage. I love Hollywood history and there's a lot of it at these studios. This was where the first talkie film was ever made, "The Jazz Singer" starring Al Jolson. This was Warner Brothers first studio so Bette Davis, John Barrymore, Olivia De Haviland and so many other Hollywood legends worked there. My buddy, Steve Dorff is back as musical director on The Singing Bee and so is our great band. Melissa Peterman returns as host and she does an amazing job. It's a blast to work with the other singers, Storm Lee, Kim Keyes, Kim Parent, Jared Johnson and Paula Mc Neil. The audience members have been great and have brought a lot of energy to the tapings. The new season will begin in January.
I recently finished my first C.D. The title is "Living In The Wild" and it will be released at the end of this month. My Opry buddy, Little Jimmy Dickens recorded an introduction for the project and also recorded a duet with me. Bill Anderson also came in and added his vocal to a song that he, Jim Martin and I co-wrote and Steve Wariner recorded a track of a song that he and I co-wrote. The CD also features songs that I co-wrote with Phil Everly of the Everly Brothers, Josh Turner, the late Porter Wagoner, Steve Dorff, Andrew Dorff, Mark Narmore, Robbie Wittkowski, Steven Dale Jones, Rivers Rutherford, Matt Jenkins, Paul Williams, Jeff Ross, Brandon Kinney and my wife, Candi Carpenter.
I want to say thanks to all of the myspace friends that have attended recent shows. Steve Dorff and I recently performed at the Country Music Hall of Fame in the Ford Theatre to a packed house. Steve, Eric Kaz and I recently shared the stage at the Bluebird and Candi and I performed at the First Annual Songwriters Festival in Pensacola, Fl.
Candi and I also had a lot of fun shooting some small scenes for the upcoming Pure Country 2 movie. It's being filmed in Nashville and directed by Chris Cain, who directed the first Pure Country movie. Chris also directed "Young Guns" and "The Karate Kid" plus many other films.
I'm going to close for now and get some rest before a long day of rehearsal before taping more Singing Bee episodes. Thanks so much for your support!