Coffee at Noshville with Jerry Vandiver
Nashville Redux
The next step up from Song Camp 101 is, well… Song Camp 102. Another long weekend at the Holiday Inn Vanderbilt and even deeper immersion into one-on-one critique sessions with hit writers, lots of networking, and the opportunity to climb on stage and showcase a couple of tunes.
I was lucky to get to schmooze with my friend from Song Camp 101, Jerry Vandiver, who is one of Nashville’s greatest ambassadors. I first met Jerry at a TAXI convention in Los Angeles and it was great to reconnect.
Had my one-on-one critique session with hit writer Craig Carothers, who was very kind, supportive, and encouraging with this song camper. I came away feeling very validated that I can put together a great song, and I learned more about the craft at the intensive workshops and breakout sessions.
After all the hard work of absorbing all that information, it was time for some fun. I was very lucky that my visit coincided with two big-deal events at the Ryman, the Americana Music Awards showcase and the farewell concert from newgrass superstars Nickel Creek, who were wrapping up their tour before moving on to new horizons as solo acts.
So in one weekend I got to see:
Nickel Creek
Vince Gill
Delbert McClinton
Marty Stuart
Rodney Crowell
Rosanne Cash
Sam Bush
Jim Lauderdale
Buddy Miller
Allen Toussaint
Elvis Costello
James McMurtry
Once again, Nashville… Mind. Blown.
I made one last visit in 2007. It was June, which means tornado season. Fun! Recorded a couple of demos with an amazing band at Beaird Music Group, which was a front row seat to how things get done in Music City. This was my first time recording songs with male vocals, and I found two of the best, Paul Pace and Sean McGraw.
Spent most of the rest of the week dealing with weather migraines and lung congestion that laid me up with borderline pneumonia (I think I’m allergic to air conditioning…), but I did manage a trip to the Warner Nature Center and spent a couple of hours cloud-gazing from a rocking chair on the big verandah at the field house.
Also made a visit to the famous Parthenon and discovered Ted’s Montana Grill, which is your basic carnivore heaven. During my rambles I came across Loretta Lynn’s bus, and some of that magic road dust made it into my Hatch Show Print journal that day, for luck…. a girl can always dream!
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