Howdy Cowpokes…
Hope you are all doing well and have enjoyed Part One and hope you’re up for this second installment of THE ROAD TO NASHVILLE. Actually this is basically the first part of this second chapter due to the length of the text.
I had a surge of new members signing-up over the past few weeks asking how they can read THE ROAD TO NASHVILLE. Well…you can access any past newsletter in the WHISKEY HUT section at the following link http://ericmichaelhawks.com/the-whiskey-hut at any time. I strongly suggest you read Part 1 before venturing ahead.
Drum Roll…..last time we talked I said I would reveal the name of the album and I’m a man of my word. The name chosen is taken from the closing track from the album, called WHISKEY HIGHWAY. You guys will get to see the album cover first, a little later.
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Now kick back, relax and enjoy THE ROAD TO NASHVILLE: Part two – Music Row:
THE ROAD TO NASHVILLE: Part 2 –
Music row
Day 2:
I woke up early in the morning, partly due to the fact that the condo I was staying in was built a stone throw away from an active railroad line along the Cumberland River. Still oblivious to what exactly the day had in store for me, I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, got ready and walk out to a waiting taxi. The first order of the day was instructing the driver to find me the nearest take-out joint for coffee and to wolf down a breakfast sandwich while we are on the road.
“Now where to mister”? the driver asks. “Take me to 3100 Belmont Boulevard to the Sound Emporium Studio“ I instructed.
On what seemed to be the longest drive ever, the full impact of reality started to set in my mind, and I got anxious and kind of restless in the back seat. A million things were scrambling around in my head. Nashville is a familiar town to me as I’ve been here on multiple occasions to “play tourist”. But now it was different, I wasn’t here as a sightseeing outsider, I was here to work. That feeling energized me prior to our arrival to music row. We drove past the RCA Studio “B” where Elvis Presley, Waylon, Dolly, Chet Atkins and so many more came to record what are now country standards. Next was the old Quonset Hut where Owen Bradley recorded singers like Patsy Cline, Brenda Lee and Johnny Cash. Music Row is the life blood of country music. This is the sector where you will find most of the recording studios, agents, record companies, booking agencies, artist offices, publishing companies, etc…
Upon arriving in a quiet part of town, I couldn’t believe I was finally at the recording studio where so many of my musical heroes had come to do what I was here doing now at The Sound Emporium. Browse their website at http://www.soundemporiumstudios.com/ to see the actual history and the legends that have recorded here. Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler” and the soundtrack to “Smokey and the bandit” were recorded here to name but a few.
Once inside, the kind receptionist greeted me and directed me to Studio “B” where my producer, Dave Bechtel was setting things up for our arrival. This was my first meeting with Dave and he wasted no time to put me at ease that we were on schedule and the musicians would arrive momentarily. We touched on how the day would unfold and looking forward to actually work together. He joked about how I must be someone special because the studio had converted an old closet into a vocal booth prior to my arrival. His sense of humor was refreshing and helped put me at ease.
Slowly the musicians started rolling in and introductions soon followed. Each looking enthusiastic about our session. I could tell by the way they all carried themselves that this wasn’t their first rodeo. Each one of them conducted himself in a professional manner and any ego was checked at the door. Again, this helped me to loosen up a little more. These musicians are J.T. Corenflos on electric guitar, Blair Masters on piano, organ and squeeze box, Matt Pierson on bass, Steve Brewster on percussions and Chris Rodriguez on acoustic guitar (and later would add back-up vocals along with Kim Keyes). Between the whole bunch of them, these guys played on sessions of Garth Brooks, George Jones, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Merle Haggard, Bob Seger and so many more.
Once everyone was present, we all congregated inside the control room to talk about the game plan. Dave Bechtel asked me to address the musicians. I introduced myself and spoke about my goals for the day. My “speech” was brief but to the point. “Walking down the hall this morning I noticed a lot of hit records on the walls. I’m not here to duplicate any of them, I have my own thing going. I’m a lot more Waylon and David Allan Coe than I am Blake Shelton or Jason Alden (Respectively)”. When I was done one of them piped up “This is gonna be fun”. Next Matt Pierson handed us the charts for the first song that he had prepared for today.
Dave cues my demo. We all listen to the song I had recorded in my home studio while we compare notes and study those charts.
“Ok guys, I think we’re ready to cut the first track”, says Dave. The musicians exit the control room and take their places in the studio including myself inside the vocal booth. Steve Brewster on drums counts in the song …………..and we are off.
**I wanted to talk more about each single person mentioned in the story but I feel it would’ve made it way too long. But here are the links and please take the time to browse. These guys are very important in the development of the music.
Dave Bechtel (Producer)
http://davebechtel.com/
J.T. Corenflos (electric guitar)
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/jt-corenflos-mn0000194800/credits/
Matt Pierson (Bass)
http://www.discogs.com/artist/1616830-Matt-Pierson-2/
Chris Rodriguez (acoustic guitar and background vocals)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Rodriguez/
Steve Brewster (drums)
http://brewbeat.wix.com/brewbeat/
Blair Masters (piano, organ, accordion)
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/blair-masters-mn0000043131/credits/
Michael Douchette (pedal steel guitar, dobro)
http://www.thesessionplayers.com/douchette.html/
Stuart Duncan
http://www.stuart-duncan.com/
Kim Keyes
http://kimkeyes.com/
YOU MADE IT! That wasn’t too hard was it? Alright next time I will finish up on the SOUND EMPORIUM and talk about our second day in the studio with another amazing musician, Michael Douchette.
Keep On The Sunny Side
~Eric