Just heard about this on the radio… literally, just at this moment. I thought maybe I’d misunderstood. Double-checked by Googling the story. All true. How strange is it that I actually called him just yesterday with an idea I had, wanting his feedback. I left a voicemail on his home answering machine, not knowing [...]
Ageism is what it is. And I’m not talking about teenage-backlash or a twentysomething’s glib naïveté. Most of it comes from within; sabotaged by our own kind. Think about it. It’s not that we grown-ups ever lost interest in music. Music (as dictated by industry mafiosi, radio, media, etc.) lost interest in US. More…
As a winner of the the Mountain Stage NewSong Contest, one of the prizes Dave McCormick won was a full scholarship to the NewSong Academy. It was there that Kathy Mattea- one of the Academy’s faculty members that year - heard Dave’s original material and quickly advised, “You HAVE to come to Nashville.”
Well that was two year’s ago, and Dave has since packed up and moved from his native St. Albans, West Virginia and moved to Nash-Vegas.
As big fans and supporters of Dave (you won’t meet a gentler, nicer guy, ever), I’m thrilled to help spread the word that on June 20 Dave signed his first publishing deal with Sure Fire Music. And to top it off, he opened for Merle Haggard at the legendary Ryman Auditorium in Nashville last night.
Way to stick to your dreams, Dave. We’re inspired.
As an industry insider, whining, while overrated, is mandatory. So here goes: radio sucks, labels are greedy, people have no taste, musicians are short on talent, and yes, Ticketmaster is demonic. Wah [...]
When the June issue of Real Simple arrived, I tore through it, my inner (and hopefully hipper and better dressed) Martha Stewart unfettered by the wistful yet impractical thoughts that such magazines inspire: a busy girl CAN transform her backyard into a “Summer Oasis,” master “No-Cook Summer Meals,” AND institute “10 Smart Uses for Old Plastic Bags”. Eureka.
But when I read their list of “No. 1 Summer Hits From the Past 16 Years,” it seemed that it was RS in dire need of a musical makeover. More…
While the whole Music 2.0 blame-game bread-and butter has largely centered around the usual gundyguts (labels, radio, etc.) — barring McGuinness’ ISP/fan-as-thief bandwagon — it would seem as though the culprits are clear: the rich guys are the bad guys. Easy enough.However, there are also the little guys. And as much as I hate to say it, by little guys/girls, I mean the artists themselves.
Don’t get me wrong, I like sinking my teeth into a good industry-bully finger-wagging just as much as the next blogger. Lord knows, I WANT the underdog to win. And badly. I’m a Red Sox fan, for Christ’s sake. More…
Indelicately put but I can’t think of a better way to say it.
I was watching Gray’s Anatomy online this weekend (oh how I do love my mindless TV) and after the seventh or eighth cut of yet another meek and moaning fade-up — painstakingly cultivated by the supposed zeitgeist of Music Supervision 2.0 — I’m telling you, I wanted to rip my eyeballs out.
Has everyone lost their edge, lost their taste for edge? Is this even ROCK? More…
May 28, 2008- Columbus, Ohio - Columbus based singer-songwriter Rj Cowdery was selected as one of six winners of the prestigious 2008 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition. The other winners include Devon Sproule (longtime NewSong favorite; Charlottesville, VA), CJ Watson (Nashville, TN), Hans York (Seattle, WA), Robby Hecht (2007 NewSong Contest Southeast Regional Round Finalist; Nashville, TN) and BettySoo (Austin,TX).
The winners competed against more than 800 applicants nationwide and internationally for prizes and national recognition. Cowdery submitted two of her original songs from the recent independent CD release entitled “One More Door” and was one of just 32 applicants that made in into the final round. As a winner, she will perform both songs in Kerrville, Texas in front of 30,000 festival attendees on Sunday, June 1. To hear the songs she submitted, “One More Door” and “Now and Then,” go to
www.rjcowdery.com.
The Kerrville Folk Festival is the longest continuously running music festival of its kind in North America with more than 30,000 attendees annually. The festival is known internationally as a Mecca for singer songwriters of varying musical styles. More than 1,500 outstanding singer-songwriters
have been presented on the festival’s stages since it began in 1972. Kerrville offers music of many styles including traditional folk, bluegrass, acoustic rock, blues, country, jazz, and Americana. Major label artists such as Lyle Lovett, Willie Nelson, Michelle Shocked, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Robert Earl Keen, Lucinda Williams, and Nancy Griffith played Kerrville early in their careers. For more information go to www.kerrvillefolkfestival.com.
Local Columbus singer/songwriter Rj Cowdery has been singing and writing songs since she was a teenager. This labor of love — from playing open mics to opening for Mary Chapin Carpenter and Shawn Colvin at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival many years later — paid off when RJ won
the coveted Mountain Stage NewSong Contest in September, 2007.
The Mountain Stage NewSong Contest showcased 12 musicians who were finalists in an intensive summer-long competition made up of live regional rounds held across North America. Over a thousand aspiring singer-songwriters submitted their original songs. Columbus Ohio’s RJ Cowdery was one of five co-winners selected at the River to River Festival in New York City. To see the rest of the winners and hear their talent, visit www.newsong-music.com.
In 1995, Cowdery wrote and recorded ‘Bernie’s Daughter’ and developed a strong regional fan base. She also contributed a cut to the “ripe!” compilation made up of singer/songwriters from the Columbus area. Cowdery’s latest effort, ‘One More Door’ was released in February, 2008. ‘One More Door’ was recorded live in Parkersburg, West Virginia with Michael Lipton and Ammed Solomon from National Public Radio’s Mountain Stage Band and Don Dixon, legendary producer of R.E.M. and Marshall Crenshaw. West Virginia singer-songwriter icon Todd Burge produced the album.