Tie-Dyed Brain Rays

Nashville Stars

Listen to my interviews with Nashville Star contestants Melissa Lawson and Coffey Anderson in the post continuation.

Get In The Groove

Late 19th century American Ingenuity meets early 21st century Japanese innovation in the latest got-to-have toy that comes, shall we say, full circle? I'm a huge buff of vintage recording technology. My favorite family heirlooms is a 1917 Edison cabinet phonograph and the dozens of 78's that go with it.

Now a Japanese company has come up with a kit that that lets you release your inner Edison by cutting your own cylinders-- not out of wax, but out of garden variety plastic cups available from any store.

How cool is that?  And at $34.95, it would make a great birthday, Christmas, Arbor Day, Thursday present.

Cactus Cuties Rockin' The Anthem

This one is for Toby and Bear and everybody else fighting the good fight in Iraq and Afghanistan. Just in case anybody needs a reminder of what they're fighting for, how about college basketball and little girls belting out the National Anthem? If this doesn't make you stand up and salute nothing will. The video was posted by the littlest girl's granddaddy.  We had the pleasure of talking to the Cactus Cuties and their mentor Cami on our show today. Listen to the interview in the post continuation.

Old School Audiophilia

In a previous post I gave you a link to a website where lots of old Christmas radio plays are archived. Now, here's a guy who's rounded up links to some great old Christmas wax-- and brother, do I mean wax!  You can't get more old school than some vintage wax cylinders (or at least the recordings preserved in MP3 format, which I guess is pretty new school.) of your favorite Christmas songs. Check out this post on "Paul's Ramblings."

Hot Coffey

Coffey Anderson makes music the way Emeril Lagasse makes gumbo-- first he mixes the finest blend of R&B, spiritual, pop, country and soul, then he BAM! takes it up a notch with his dynamic vocals and smooth acoustic guitar. Add a dash of Southern charm and a smile that would make Grandma weak in the knees and you've got a recipe for sweet musical success.

Coffey was a finalist on season 2 of American Idol and has since been recording and touring all over the country. His latest CD, "Southern Man" has made him the top independant seller of all time on Burnlounge.com. More importantly, this charismatic young man still remembers his small town roots and all the important things his mama taught him about how to represent as a gentleman from the South (as the lyrics of the song "Southern Man" point out.) He's also being filmed for a new reality series called, "Diary of A Southern Man," (more details as they become available.)

Coffey was in town the other day for a concert benefiting The Ark, a local domestic violence shelter. He sat down in the studio (camera crew in tow) with me and my co-host J.R. to talk about life since Idol, keeping it real and opossums in the Waffle House.

You can hear the full interview here.

Good Grooming

Those snappy dressers are me and my groomsmen on my wedding day. "Smilin' Jack" in the middle there is me. The guy on the left is my oldest pal. The guy on the right is my brother. We sort of look like the bouncers at Tony Soprano's New Year's Eve party, don't we?

Home For The Holidays

Behold the magic of Christmas as displayed by the Christmas tree that graces our front parlor.

As Sun sets on Winter's Eve, in a little chapel on a hill, I shall take Victoria Rose to be my wife. And as the Sun is born upon the morrow, so we too shall be, born into a new life together.

Talk about home for the holidays-- My first night in May Cottage was Halloween night. Since then we've celebrated Thanksgiving and my birthday in the little place. In just a flurry of days I'll be married, then comes Christmas, then New Year's. I think the New Year holds great things in store for me. As they say in France, "Ba Bak Bennu!"

Now listen, I'm the Ghost of Christmas Past, so take hold of my robe and I'll whisk you back, you miserable Scrooge, to a holiday classic from Tie-dyed Tehuti of yore. Just like Rudolph and Frosty and all those jerks-- we can trot out our perennial Christmas favorite from Tie-dyed Brain Rays 1.0. Please enjoy, "The Worst Christmas Song Ever."

Giving Thanks

Behind Late

Hey kids! Here's a little video of the Anthill Society in concert. It was shot on a Kodak CX7530 camera, not a proper video camera, so both video and sound are a bit low-end. The concert was from back in January at Back Roads here in the big city of Brownwood. And this is what... May? Uh.... Yeah... I guess I'm a little behind on a few of my projects. I'll save the excuses and explanations for another day.