4 ANNOUNCEMENTS Details on the second quarter membership meeting to be held Tuesday, May 14 at 2:00 p.m. On the agenda: Reports from the president and secretarytreasurer, plus discussion of several important issues.
6 STATE OF THE LOCAL It’s only a few months into the new year, and things are already hopping. President Dave Pomeroy with a rundown on some of the biggest items on the agenda for this year.
7 IN THE POCKET Secretary-Treasurer Vince Santoro discusses Local 257 finances and remembers a musical mentor.
8
NEWS Downtown musicians are surveyed on club work conditions, news on the national negotiation front, an update on Make Music Nashville Day and more.
10 GRAPEVINE
The comings and goings of Local 257 members.
12 GALLERY We recognize member milestones as well as other events and honors.
16
COVER STORY: DEL MCCOURY Warren Denney talks to the bluegrass giant about where it all started, and how he’s helped provide an abundant future for the beloved genre with a little help from the boys in the band.
22 REVIEWS Groove master-violinist Tracy Silverman brings his unique style to a new teaching method, and a fabulous group of artists pay tribute to the eternal sounds of Muscle Shoals.
24 SYMPHONY NOTES The seemingly nonending rain of the past few months spurs Laura Ross to recall the catastrophic Nashville flood of 2010 and its impact on the symphony and Schermerhorn Hall.
25 JAZZ & BLUES A roundup of shows and other happenings in the jazz and blues community.
26 FINAL NOTES We bid farewell to Harold Bradley, Reggie Young, Guy Stevenson, John H. Sutton, Jr., James Lance Williamson, Carol Bass, David James Carr, and Francis “Frank” Wilburn Arnett.
31 MEMBER STATUS
34 DO NOT WORK FOR LIST
DEL MCCOURY
LIFE MEMBER PARTY 22
TRACY SILVERMAN
OFFICIAL
PUBLISHER EDITOR
MANAGING EDITOR
ASSISTANT EDITOR CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Dave Pomeroy
Vince Santoro
Kathy Osborne
Leslie Barr
Austin Bealmear
Warren Denney
Kathy Osborne
Dave Pomeroy
Vince Santoro
Laura Ross
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
Rick Diamond
Mickey Dobo
Tripp Dockerson
Donn Jones
Dave Pomeroy
Vince Santoro
ART DIRECTION WEB ADMINISTRATOR AD SALES
LOCAL 257 OFFICERS PRESIDENT SECRETARY-TREASURER
EXECUTIVE BOARD
Lisa Dunn Design
Kathy Osborne
Leslie Barr 615-244-9514
Dave Pomeroy
Vince Santoro
Jimmy Capps
Jonathan Yudkin
Laura Ross
Tom Wild
Jerry Kimbrough
Steve Hinson
Andre Reiss
HEARING BOARD
Michele Voan Capps
Tiger Fitzhugh
Teresa Hargrove
Kent Goodson
Dave Moody
Kathy Shepard
John Terrence
TRUSTEES
SERGEANT-AT-ARMS
NASHVILLE SYMPHONY STEWARD OFFICE MANAGER
ELECTRONIC MEDIA SERVICES DIRECTOR ASSISTANT RECORDING/ELECTRONIC MEDIA
DIRECTOR, LIVE/TOURING DEPT. AND PENSION ADMINISTRATOR
MEMBERSHIP AND MPTF COORDINATOR
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
Bruce Radek
Biff Watson
Steve Tveit
Laura Ross
Laura Birdwell
Steve Tveit
Christina Mitchell
Paige Conners
Teri Barnett
Leslie Barr
Sarah Weiss
James Hunt
Next General Membership Meeting Tuesday, May 14, 2019
The next Local 257 General Membership Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 14, 2019 at the local. Doors will open at 1:30 p.m. and the meeting will start promptly at 2 p.m. There are no bylaw amendments on the agenda, but there will be officer reports and discussion on a number of important issues. Please make plans to attend and get involved with the business of your local.
Nashville Musicians Association
AFM
Local 257, AFL-CIO
Minutes of the Executive Board Meeting Dec. 13, 2018
PRESENT: Vince Santoro(VS), Dave Pomeroy (DP), Andre Reiss (AR), Tom Wild (TW), Laura Ross (LR), Steve Hinson (SH), Jerry Kimbrough (JK), Jonathan Yudkin (JY), Jimmy Capps (JC).
ABSENT: None
President Pomeroy called the meeting to order at 9:15 a.m.
MINUTES: Minutes from Sep. 14, 2018 were distributed.
MSC to approve. LR, TW.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT: The following issues were discussed:
1. Pomeroy continues to speak with other locals about track use at live shows.
2. Still no response from Lamar Alexander concerning musician issues in Congress.
3. True healthcare group for Local 257 will continue to add to membership in 2019.
4. An influx of younger musicians joining is a positive development.
TREASURER’S REPORT: Santoro distributed financial reports and fund balances.
1. We experienced a roof leak in November. Don Kennedy’s crew repaired and asked if they could perform our yearly roof maintenance.
2. Our staff is facing a shake up for 2019. Office manager Anita Winstead and the recording department’s Teri Barnett are retiring.
3. We have taken on an intern, Savannah Ritchie, who will train for front desk reception under Sarah Bertolino. Savannah is a student at SAE and will receive credit at SAE for the work she puts in here.
BOARD ACTIONS: Board discussed proposed salaries for staff in 2019. Proposal was amended for office manager pay. Board discussed year-end bonuses to staff.
MSC to approve secretary-treasurer report. AR, JC.
MSC to approve 2019 salary proposal as amended. AR, JK. LR abstained.
MSC to approve year-end bonuses. JC, TW. LR abstained.
MSC to approve new member apps. SH, JY.
Motion to adjourn. LR, JY.
Meeting adjourned at 10:29 a.m.
Nashville Musicians Association
AFM Local 257, AFL-CIO
Minutes of the Membership Meeting Feb. 27, 2019
PRESENT: James West, Sam McClung, Seph Allen, Rich Eckhardt, Chuck Bradley, Lee Worden, Devin Malone, Bill Wiggins, Becky Hinson, Andrew Sovine, Bennett Burnside, Richard Wineland, Robert Stevens, David Balph, Tom Hurst, Paul Ross, Ric McClure, Matt Davich, Eli Bishop, James Hunt, Kyle Everson.
EXECUTIVE BOARD PRESENT: Steve Hinson, Andre Reiss, Tom Wild, Jonathan Yudkin, Jerry Kimbrough.
OFFICERS PRESENT: Vince Santoro, Dave Pomeroy, Steve Tveit.
President Pomeroy called the meeting to order at 2:09 p.m.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT:
1. RFD payment has been received.
2. Jim Owens final payment has been received.
3. Labels are taking responsibility for tracks on stage.
4. TV agreement is hung up on revenue streams.
5. We’ve established a Lower Broadway survey.
6. Musician/Songwriter Sessions is the new name for the “jam” that was run by John Mattick and will be run by Rusty Russell.
7. Local 257 is submitting a proposal to the AFM Convention that the Federation handle traveling work dues nationwide.
DO WE HAVE YOUR CURRENT EMAIL ADDRESS?
Notify the front desk of any changes to your contact information, including phone number, address and beneficiary. Call 615-244-9514 to make sure we have your correct information, or email kathyo@afm257.org
TREASURER’S REPORT:
1. Three interns have been taken on to help at the front desk and in recording. Since their semester terms will cause breaks in their Local 257 service, monitoring of replacements will be necessary.
2. Our CPA, Ron Stewart, has said that the $4200 withheld by CA will be finally returned.
3. The true healthcare group, established last year by a trust assembled by our healthcare advocate, RJ Stillwell, has been renewed for 2019.
4. In an effort to organize the rehearsal hall there are now milk crates labeled for cords. We ask those who use the hall to feel free to use the cords and then replace them at the conclusion of rehearsal.
MSC to approve Sec/Treas report. Jonathan Yudkin, Tiger Fitzhugh.
AGENDA:
Discussion of Miscellaneous And Steady Engagement Wage Scale and Price List.
Performance Rates
1A - passed by voice vote.
1B - passed by voice vote.
1C - skipped
1D – passed by voice vote.
Rehearsal Rates
2A - passed by voice vote.
2B - skipped
2C – passed by voice vote.
2D – passed by voice vote.
Cartage - passed by voice vote.
Travel Rates – passed by voice vote.
Writers Nights – passed by voice vote.
Appendix – passed by voice vote.
Road Scale – passed by voice vote.
Discussion of officers raises was conducted while officers left the room. Quorum passed a 12 percent raise to both President and Secretary/ Treasurer.
MSC to adjourn meeting. Sam McClung, Andre Reiss.
Meeting adjourned at 4 p.m.
BY DAVE POMEROY
Well, 2019 has gotten off to a quick start with a lot of things happening here in the “It City.” Here are some of the highlights:
Looking back
The passing of Reggie Young and Harold Bradley in quick succession early this year, followed by Fred Foster and Mac Wiseman, really had an impact on me, and I’m sure it did for many other people as well. Harold’s daughters asked me to speak at his memorial service, and I was honored to do so. It gave me an opportunity to look back and see how this unique place we know as Music City came to be. Harold, along with his older brother, keyboardist/arranger/ producer Owen Bradley, guitar icon Chet Atkins, and longtime Local 257 President George Cooper, helped create an unprecedented business model in Nashville, based on the ethical concept of respect for working musicians and paying them fairly. When RCA and Decca opened up offices here in the 1950s and hired Chet and Owen to run them, they were told in no uncertain terms by these Nashville pioneers that Local 257 musicians were to be paid under an AFM contract. They achieved that goal without intimidation or threats. They simply asked for these companies who were about to profit from the amazing talent pool of Nashville to do the right thing. The companies said yes, and because of this, the “A Team” of top-notch studio players came together, and Music Row began to develop into a world class creative center. It was not an accident that this ecosystem of respect between employers and musicians, artists, producers and songwriters thrived and what we now know as Music City was the result. This is why countless world class musicians such as Reggie Young moved here over the ensuing decades — to be paid properly and
Defending respect for working musicians is our mission.
be treated as professionals. That is what has set this community apart in an industry where exploitation is too often the norm. We should never forget that fact, and give credit where credit is due. Thanks to Harold, Owen, Chet, George, Reggie, and all those who built this business we are part of today.
Negotiations update
I flew to Los Angeles twice in the last month to participate in AFM film negotiations with the motion picture industry. This contract also covers episodic TV shows such as Nashville. After two rounds, it became clear that we were too far apart on the topic of streaming residuals for musicians for movies and tv shows to make a long-term deal, so we agreed on a six-month extension with a two-percent raise and we will resume negotiations in November. While I was out there, I became aware of a Lifetime movie about Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn’s friendship that was about to be scored with a nonunion soundtrack. I initiated the process of reaching out to Sony Pictures, who have never done anything on the card, except as Sony/Columbia Pictures, which they own. I wrote them a long letter explaining that both Patsy and Loretta were/are AFM members, and we have been able to get the musicians on their records paid many times for the use of their songs in movies, TV, and commercials. I made the point that Nashville’s recording community was built on a voluntary system of compliance and to put this movie on the card is simply the right thing to do. It would be very disrespectful to make this a non-union soundtrack, especially when they had already engaged the actors and stagehands under union contracts. AFM President Ray Hair followed up my letter with a phone call and lo and behold, we were able to get Sony Pictures to sign for this movie. This will be much better for everyone in the long run.
Live scale increases
At our last member meeting, we approved raises to some sections of our Miscellaneous Wage and Scale rates for live performances. We raised the 50-minute concert scale from $95 to $100 (+ 5.3 percent) for weekdays and the Friday-Sunday rates went up from $115 to $125 (+ 8.7 percent.) This will benefit everyone who plays the CMA Music Fest downtown shows this year. We raised the
Broadway show scales as well, but at the request of TPAC, our main employer under this agreement, those scales will not go up until August. The new rates are on our website. We also raised the Local 257 road scale significantly, as it had not been raised in quite a few years. These are not negotiated agreements, they are suggested minimums, and we are committed to raise these scales regularly over time. Thanks to everyone who participated in the process.
MMA follow-up
The passage of the Music Modernization Act in Congress last year was hailed as a major step forward in equalizing the various revenue streams for musicians and songwriters in the streaming world. However, just as the celebration was ending, Amazon and Spotify very quickly filed an appeal asking for a reduction in the new rates that had just been set. At the same time, they are trying to get Nashville to subsidize their move here. Metro Councilman Jeff Syracuse was one of the few who, as a matter of principle, stood up for musicians and voted against giving Amazon money to come here. Metro passed the incentives anyway and we will have to see how that plays out. Lost in the MMA shuffle was the fact that terrestrial (AM/FM) radio stations are still getting away with not paying musicians, artists and labels for radio play. The only other countries that don’t pay those royalties are China, Iran, Iraq, Rwanda and North Korea. What does that tell us? That the downside of capitalism is greed, and those who make extra money off musicians’ backs don’t want to pay them fairly. Sound familiar?
You can pretty well guarantee that the main reason some people and companies try to avoid union contracts is to avoid paying musicians what they deserve. In a right to work (for less) state like Tennessee, they can legally get away with it, but that doesn’t make it right. I will never stop fighting for musicians’ rights and hope that all of you and all of our creative community understand this is not about being a thug, it’s about standing up for the working musicians that made Nashville the incredible music center it is today. We are here to help you, but your involvement in our collective effort is essential if we are to continue to succeed in our quest for respect.
The overwhelming majority of members who make it their business to pay in a timely fashion are being done a disservice by those who don’t.
As
I write this column, the spring season is upon us and new growth abounds. There are also signs that our local is experiencing some new growth of its own.
2018 financial reports
I‘ve received the 2018 year-end financial reports from our CPA, Ron Stewart, who has been providing these and many other forms of professional accounting with Local 257 for many years. The financial statements can be found on pages 32 and 33. I urge you to look them over as I do, in search of trends and the like.
In comparing 2017 to 2018 we enjoyed a meaningful increase in both annual dues and work dues. Although there’s plenty more that can be accomplished with work dues, the local dues increase is a positive occurrence.
I’m not as pleased with our collection of nonmember service charges, though. Those have dropped by about $4500 as these folks, some of whom you may know, are much more comfortable thumbing their noses at our efforts on their behalf, behind the bizarre veil of right-to-work (for less) laws. Either that or they are conveniently ignorant of what we do for them.
On the expense side of the ledger our property taxes did go up but the real culprit this year — that which made an otherwise consistent expense report come up short — was our professional fees, which increased by $23,000 over what they were in 2017. An unforeseen loss, for the most part, but in our efforts to hold bad actors’ accountable we inevitably spend more on legal fees. If that one expense was more in line with 2017 legal fees, our balance sheet would read surprisingly identical to 2017.
Needless to say, our president, Dave Pomeroy, is constantly beating the pavement and holding musician employer feet to the fire on behalf of all of us. His efforts bring in the money that is due to those who’ve earned it. He continues vigilant focus on folks who either unknowingly break the rules, or knowingly do it in hopes that no one notices. The funds recovered in his diligence do help the bottom line, but the most problematic issue still remains our own members’ unpaid work dues and nonmembers unpaid service charges.
It would obviously be great to see that trend broken but until it is, I and this office will have to stay on point with this message: The overwhelming majority of members who make it their business to pay in a timely fashion are being done a disservice by those who don’t. It really is that simple, and all the great players who have been a part of this union would be proud to know we had our house in order.
Speaking of great players, we lost one recently, all too soon.
Losing a legend but keeping his spirit alive
On a personal note, I had the honor of playing with Reggie Young during my time with The Highwaymen — touring Australia, Southeast Asia and the U.S. over the course of a couple years. His passing earlier this year struck me particularly hard as I’m sure it has many others. Just being able to say I knew him gives me such great pleasure.
Through osmosis — just being around him — I learned about grace and respect, character traits that often go unheralded. I never saw him lose his temper or even raise his voice. His kindness and sense of humor
BY VINCE SANTORO
were always present and he made me feel accepted among our diverse group. Reggie was one of the most talented, accomplished guys I knew. He always remained humble, down to earth, and just “one of the guys.” The music he made with his guitar — vibrant bell tones and fiery, heartrending solos — you’d never imagine could come from this gentle, unassuming spirit who selflessly manned the background, eschewing the spotlight.
One day, while we were rehearsing for our Australian tour, I was suddenly floored by the uncanny riffs he was playing. I thought he must’ve practiced them quite a bit previously. I soon realized that these gems came to him like you and I breathe. Brilliance was natural and no struggle for Reggie.
Plenty has been and will continue to be said about his many memorable musical contributions. However, it’s his example, as a man, that I’ll carry in my heart for the rest of my life. I would like to somehow repay or pay forward what he unknowingly gave me. I want to emulate his generous persona, to encourage someone who may need my support, to be kinder. I hope to be a kindness conduit. This is how I’ll honor Reggie Young’s legacy.
2 p.m. May 14, 2019
Lower Broadway SURVEY
IN
February and March Local 257 conducted an extensive survey of musicians who work on Lower Broadway in order to rate the various clubs in terms of how they treat musicians. We rated 44 venues with a series of questions about topics that included pay, tip jar policy, etc., and a comment section. We are currently analyzing the data and are developing a strategy to raise both pay and working conditions in a business hub that is generating millions of dollars for club owners and associated industries — hotels, restaurants, retail outlets — not to mention huge amounts of revenue for the city of Nashville. When the analysis is complete, the downtown musician community will be notified and invited to a series of meetings to discuss the findings and plan a path forward. We hope to increase our membership through these initiatives and to also give downtown musicians the respect they deserve.
“Raising the bar for the long-suffering and grossly underpaid musicians working in the Lower Broadway area has been a mission of Local 257 for more than a decade. We have been involved with Metro in facilitating musician loading zones and dealing with load in-load out problems that include taxis behaving badly, street closures for big events, and other issues that have consistently placed the musicians who make the downtown scene possible at the bottom of the food chain. They work the hardest of anyone and end up with the smallest piece of the pie. With the help of the players on Lower Broadway, we hope to find — with Lower Broadway employers part of the process — a fair and mutually beneficial way to solve some of these issues. This will be a challenge, but it is long overdue, and is the right thing to do for all Nashville musicians,” said Dave Pomeroy, president of AFM Local 257.
Album of the Year
The prestigious Album of the Year award at this year’s Grammys went to Golden Hour, by Kacey Musgraves, coproduced by Local 257 members Ian Fitchuk and Daniel Tashian and recorded in Nashville. The critically acclaimed album also won a Grammy for Best Country Album of the Year.
Make Music Day
For Nashville’s celebration of the annual summer solstice festival Make Music Day, AFM Local 257 is partnering with Leadership Music and the Music Performance Trust Fund for a special event at the Adventure Science Center. Different artists and ensembles will perform throughout the venue and allow attendees to experience a world of genres in one location. Make Music Nashville is part of the global Make Music organization, and strives to create events that encourage attendee participation every June 21. Leadership Music is a networking organization that promotes interaction between different businesses that are all part of the music industry in various ways. If you have an idea for an audience-participation event, or would like to host a venue, use this link for registration: matchnashville.makemusicday.org
Progress in AFM film agreement
The recent AFM negotiations with film companies in Los Angeles resulted in the intermediary action of a 2-percent raise to current film and television soundtrack recording scales, and a pledge to return to the table with employers to hash out a new agreement later in 2019.
Final Jim Owens payments disbursed
The legal settlement achieved by Local 257 in a lawsuit against Jim Owens, the former owner of TNN in 2017, resulted in a total payment of $390,000 in three installments, the last of which was received and distributed to Local 257 musicians earlier this year. “This legal action was a last resort, after other attempts at direct negotiations for payment failed,” Local 257 President Dave Pomeroy said. “Once again, only the fact that this work was originally done under a signed agreement with an employer allowed us to pursue this reuse settlement. This is just one reason why doing business ‘on the card’ is so important to working musicians. Thank you to our staff and legal team for helping to make this happen,” Pomeroy said.
(l-r) Ian Fitchuk, Daniel Tashian, Kasey Musgraves
SOPHISTICATION meets PERFORMANCE
Liquidmetal® Red Dot Pins Titanium Truss Rod VTS Top
Carbon Fiber Bridge Plate
Gold Open-Gear Tuners
Pearl Inlaid Logo
Wood Binding
Gold Frets
JEANNIE C. RILEY AND RODNEY CROWELL
Local 257 life members Jeannie C. Riley and Rodney Crowell will join the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame at an Aug. 10 ceremony at the organization’s facility in Carthage, Texas.
Riley is best known for her 1968 hit “Harper Valley P.T.A.,” which made her the first woman to have a No. 1 record on the pop and country charts, nearly simultaneously. The song brought Riley an assortment of nominations; in 1968 she was awarded a Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance, and Single of the Year from the Country Music Association. Riley went on to additional chart success as a country artist, and became a gospel artist in the ‘70s. In 1980 she released an autobiography: From Harper Valley to the Mountaintop. Earlier this year the single “Harper Valley P.T.A.” was added to the Grammy Hall of Fame.
ALISON BROWN AND JOHN HARTFORD
Alison Brown and the late John Hartford will be inducted this year into the American Banjo Museum Hall of Fame on Sept. 6 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, as part of the organization’s Banjo Fest weekend.
Hartford will posthumously join the Hall of Fame in the Historical category. An internationally known multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter, Hartford wrote the eternal classic song “Gentle on My Mind” after watching the film Dr. Zhivago. His enduring cult classic LP Aereo-Plain was recorded in 1971 after his move to Nashville. Hartford was a regular guest on The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour as well as the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, and he continued to dance to his own drummer, enjoying both his passion for music and riverboating. Always musically adventurous, Hartford was known as a cofounder of the “newgrass” movement the late 1960s — which blended the upheaval and societal transitions of the era with traditional styles. He was an integral contributor, as narrator and musician, in the awardwinning film O Brother, Where Art Thou? Hartford passed away in 2001 at the age of 63 after a long battle with cancer.
Crowell was born into a musical family; his father and grandmother sang semi-professionally, one grandfather was a bluegrass banjo player and the other was a church choir leader. He began playing drums in his father’s band at 11, and formed his own band as a teenager. Crowell moved to Nashville in 1972 where he worked as a songwriter before releasing his first album as an artist — Ain’t Living Long Like This — in 1978. He has had five No. 1 singles and has won two Grammys — Best Country Song in 1990 for “After All this Time,” and Best Americana Album for Old Yellow Moon in 2014.
Brown is the inductee for Five-String Performance. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Brown began playing banjo at the age of 10. After winning the Canadian National Banjo Championship and appearing at the Grand Ole Opry, she attended Harvard University and in 1987 was asked to join the bluegrass band Union Station. Brown spent three years with Union Station and was named the International Bluegrass Music Association Banjo Player of the Year in 1991. She has released multiple solo albums in the inventive jazz-folk tradition of Béla Fleck and David Grisman.
KELSEA BALLERINI
Tennessee native Kelsea Ballerini became the newest and youngest member of the Grand Ole Opry April 16. Members of Little Big Town surprised the singer-songwriter with the invitation March 5 during an Opry performance by inserting the new lyric “Do you want to join the Opry?” into the band’s hit “Girl Crush.” Ballerini, whose No. 1 hits “Dibs,” “Peter Pan,” and “Legends” have catapulted her into stardom over the last few years, said she attended an Opry performance when she was 13, and knew then the importance of the 94-year-old country music “mother church.” “To be on this stage is the greatest gift in the world,” the singer told the crowd. “This is the home of country music, and I get to be a part of it.”
Rodney Crowell
Kelsea Ballerini (center) with members of Little Big Town
Alison Brown
John Hartford
Life Member Party
Tiger Fitzhugh (center, on banjo) put together a great Fat Tuesday dixieland band for the party, with Bill Huber (tuba) Joe Getsi (clarinet) and Creighton Miller (trombone). Sitting in were David Balph (trumpet) Penn Pennington (guitar), Kenny Malone (drums) and “Banjo” Bob Stevens.
1. Reed player JIM HORN and his wife Stephanie enjoy the food and festivities.
2. RICKY BURCH and his wife Nancy Ann listening to the music.
3. JOHN WADE , Fay Weaver, and JON WEAVER fellowshipping.
4. HARRY WILKINSON , BECKY HOBBS, MARGIE SINGLETON , and BRUCE DEES
2.
1. DON JACKSON and his wife Carole hanging with WALTER KING.
2. Longtime Local 257 Parliamentarian RON KELLER and his wife Ann.
3. Reed man SHELTON BISSELL and his wife Kathleen enjoy the festive Mardi Gras spirit.
4. BOB STEVENS sings a jazzy number for the party attendees.
2. Italian food and lots of Mardi Gras fellowship.
3. Drummers
and PAT MCINERNEY commiserate on all things rhythmic. 4. KATHY YATES soaks up the Dixieland grooves courtesy of the Fat Tuesday Band.
1. (L-R) MIKE STREETER , Barbara Streeter, TOM CAMPBELL , Mary Campbell, Celina Kramer, R.B. KRAMER
KENNY MALONE
1.
3.
2.
4.
4.
1. BRUCE ANDREWS has lots to smile about — including his brand new 25-year pin and his beautiful 1942 Martin D-18.
2. Fiddle player and Time Jumper KENNY SEARS displays his new life member pin.
3. Guitarist and Time Jumper ANDY REISS with his favorite axe and his new life member pin.
4. Multi-instrumentalist ROGER BALL and his wife Linda with his new life member pin.
The Grand Ole Opry renamed the musicians’ rehearsal room in honor of JIMMY CAPPS’ 60th anniversary as an Opry staff band member.
1. We had a bridal shower for our awesome member coordinator Sarah Bertolino (now Sarah Weiss.)
2. Amy Parker, VP of Marketing and Development for Special Olympics of Middle Tennessee, and Local 257 Executive Board member JERRY KIMBROUGH with a donated guitar signed by KATHY MATTEA , LUKE BRYAN , RODNEY CROWELL , VINCE GILL , and MARTY STUART
Musicians Hall of Fame members bassist BILLY COX and drummer CHRIS LAYTON lay down the groove at the Schermerhorn for the “Experience Hendrix” all-star tour.
BY WARREN DENNEY
FORGED IN THE HEART OF THE EVERYDAY AMERICA
DEL MCCOURY
Bluegrass heavy Del McCoury is an humble, laid back man, intent on letting his music lead. And, because he is that person, in this age of perpetual promotion and consumption, it might be easy to forget he is a giant in the world of American roots music. There are not many walking around today.
He is a throwback, in the sense that he learned and played at the feet of masters, and was raised on hard work on and off the stage.
Bluegrass is an art form forged in the heart of the everyday American — same as jazz, same as blues, same as rock & roll and country. It’s just that bluegrass has often gotten the short shrift, many times relegated to obscure corners of the national roots music conversation. continued on page 18
McCoury first heard his calling over the radio airwaves, growing up in Southeastern Pennsylvania, near the Maryland state line.
“My dad and my brother used to listen to the Grand Ole Opry every Saturday night,” he said recently, from his home outside Nashville. “That’s how I first heard country music. It was our Saturday night. We’d listen to the Grand Ole Opry, and I heard Bill Monroe — I heard of all of those guys.
“Then, my older brother borrowed some records, a Flatt & Scruggs record, Bill Monroe, and when I heard that — the three-finger roll that Earl was doing on that banjo. That's what really got me going. It’s what really got me started.”
McCoury’s father was a lumberman, and his mother sang and played guitar at home. He learned guitar from his brother.
“My brother was playing on the radio, WHVR in Hanover, Pennsylvania,” McCoury said. “He taught me. But, I really didn’t catch fire
about anything until I heard Earl. It was what set me. He was just so fast, and you know, kids like something fast.”
Born in 1939, McCoury came of age at a time when popular music was undergoing a great transition. Country music was moving out of old-time, trying to find itself, as it was being shaped by tremendous commercial forces. Bill Monroe was putting together a band that was in search of an unknown sound, almost oblivious to commercial forces. He and the Blue Grass Boys laid the foundation with their definitive Columbia recordings in the late-1940s. And, by the time McCoury was in high school, Elvis had landed, raising the specter of rock & roll. All of pop music was undergoing a generational, and philosophical shift.
“Things were changing,” McCoury said. “What people were listening to then was Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. I just didn't pay any attention to that. Later, I did. Later, I realized what great singers they
were. But, when I was in high school, Elvis was killing everybody. All the kids my age listened to was Elvis — not hillbilly or country.
“Elvis, and Jerry Lee and Carl Perkins — they were taking it over. I didn’t realize at the time, but in later years I came to understand how much all that music is related. That's it.
“With bluegrass, you just think these guys came along and sounded that way. You didn’t see the whole thing. I didn't know what they listened to when they were young. They didn’t listen to bluegrass, because there wasn’t any. They were listening to big bands and oldtime country. Hillbilly. Bill Monroe used to go down to New Orleans and listen to those horn players there.”
McCoury had the talent in his hands, and in his voice, though he didn’t know it early on. He began playing banjo with Jack Cooke’s Virginia Mountain Boys in Baltimore-area gigs, and in 1963 joined Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys. Monroe pressed him to sing, and he be-
“WITH BLUEGRASS, YOU JUST THINK THESE GUYS CAME ALONG AND SOUNDED THAT WAY. YOU DIDN’T SEE THE WHOLE THING. I
DIDN’T KNOW WHAT THEY LISTENED TO WHEN THEY WERE YOUNG. THEY DIDN’T LISTEN TO BLUEGRASS, BECAUSE THERE WASN’T ANY. THEY WERE LISTENING TO BIG BANDS AND OLD-TIME COUNTRY. HILLBILLY. BILL MONROE USED TO GO DOWN TO NEW ORLEANS AND LISTEN TO THOSE HORN PLAYERS THERE.”
came lead singer and guitarist, discovering his trademark tenor voice that would become the centerpiece of his sound for the rest of his life.
“I didn’t sing before then,” he said. “Although, we were raised Missionary Baptist, and I remember singing in church. I remember singing songs when I was growing up, but when I heard Earl Scruggs, I don’t know. He clouded my mind, and that’s all I was interested in doing. In every band I was in as a banjo player, they had me singing a part somewhere —and I wasn’t really interested in doing that.
“But Bill said, ‘No, no you gotta sing. You gotta sing a part.’ Well, I could sing any part, except if I had to sing bass, I couldn't get very low. I never thought I was intended to be a lead singer, until I went to work for him. I just sang parts in the choruses, and all of that. He wanted me to sing lead on all his songs, and I didn’t know the verses.”
McCoury needed to learn the songs, some reaching back to the time he first heard the band, when Lester Flatt and Scruggs were members.
“He'd sing with me on a chorus, a different part, but I had to know a lot of the songs he recorded back in those days. So, I really had to work at that — the hardest part. The singing was easy. The hardest part was the words, the lyrics. It really was. I was nervous, and there were many times when I rewrote a song on stage. I would forget the original verse.”
For all his nervousness and discomfort, McCoury worked hard to become the singer inside. One night in particular stands out.
“The one I really remember — it must have really impressed me — and scared me pretty much,” he said, laughing. “We’d been on the road, and on the way back in, Bill said he wanted me to sing ‘Wait a Little Longer, Please Jesus’ on the Opry the coming Saturday night. I want you to learn it.
“Well, we stayed in a hotel on Seventh Avenue, the Clarkson, right near the National Life & Accident Insurance Co. building. On one of the floors in that building, they had a library of all the Opry acts. They had all the records in this library, and you'd go in there, and you could listen to them, but you couldn't take them out. You could put on a phonograph and listen. I’d go there and find records I needed to learn and write down the words, and then I’d go back to the hotel room and work on them. I got that song worked out to where I could stand there, and sing without looking at them.
“So, I got on the Opry that night, and we started singing it, and on about the second verse, I got excited, and I forgot a line. I did a line from another verse, and once I did that, I didn’t know where I was at all. I just kept singing different things, but I never quit singing. I never quit. It was the last song of the segment and we came off stage as the curtain came down.”
Knowing Monroe, McCoury decided to face the music.
“I thought I better stay close to the chief and take my medicine,” he said. “The only thing he said was, ‘Del, I’ve never heard that song sung that way.’ I thought, man, I’m off the hook! He didn’t give me trouble over it — I think because I always worked hard. I got along good with him because I worked hard, and I didn’t quit singing.”
It was a life lesson in one moment.
With Monroe, McCoury traveled the country, rarely breaking. In 1964, McCoury moved to California and worked with the Golden State Boys, before returning to Pennsylvania where he formed the
Dixie Pals, which included his brother Jerry on bass.
“After I quit Bill, I moved to California because I had a job offer down there playing with the Golden State Boys, out there in the suburbs of L.A.,” he said. “We had a TV show, and I realized that those guys were working, too. They weren't just playing — they were all working at other jobs.
“So I had to go to work, too. We didn’t stay there that long. We moved back to Pennsylvania, and I started raising a family. I did everything. I worked construction, I never liked to go in a shop — I didn't like working inside. I was used to working outside on a farm all the time. So I worked construction, and also logging, the timber business. I didn’t quit playing. It affected my music some, but I didn’t quit.”
McCoury released his first record in 1968 on Arhoolie Records. He began playing the burgeoning bluegrass festival circuit, largely based on his connections made during his tenure with the Blue Grass Boys. “My band kind of started with the specials,” he said. “I played some of the very first ones. People would come to those specials and they’d go back home and start one themselves, on campgrounds, or property they might have. They just started springing up all over the country, and I got to play all that. It was great. My band started with that, but I was still working a day job.”
McCoury, attuned to making his own way in life, worked for his wife’s uncle in the timber business.
“He had a big logging operation,” McCoury said. “He needed a skidder operator. After a tree’s cut down, you need a machine to get them out. It’s got a wench and a blade on front. It’s got rubber tires. You drag a cable back to the logs, and pull them up to you. Then you can drag them out to the yard.”
Obviously, this is hard work, but what made the situation right for McCoury was his boss’s love for music.
“I told him I played music,” he said. “Of course, he’s a big music lover. He's from North Carolina — that’s where my people are all from, and my wife's people are from down in Western Carolina. He told me to take off when I needed to go play, and come to work when I got back. So, I was fortunate to be able to do that. I could play my music, and work too, raising a family.”
He put out records in the 1970s with the Dixie Pals on Rounder, Rebel, and Revonah, and the bluegrass festival circuit continued to provide him support. The band added his son Ronnie on mandolin in 1981, and after changing their name to The Del McCoury Band, added son Rob on banjo in 1989. Together, they became a rock-solid outfit, and McCoury won the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Male Vocalist of the year in 1990.
He moved the family to Nashville in 1992, where they brought on fiddler Jason Carter and bassist Mike Bub. McCoury also joined Local 257.
“When my kids all got out of high school, we moved down here,” he said. “I could see they weren't really interested in college — they were into music really deep, and they were like rock stars. Ronnie was in my band by the time he was 13 or 14. I quit my day job, and we came on down. We kept the old house up there, though, in York County.”
McCoury would go on to earn the IBMA’s Male Vocalist of the Year again in 1991, 1992, and 1996. This from the man who didn’t want
“I WAS USED TO WORKING OUTSIDE ON A FARM ALL THE TIME. SO I WORKED CONSTRUCTION, AND ALSO LOGGING, THE TIMBER BUSINESS. I DIDN’T QUIT PLAYING. IT AFFECTED MY MUSIC SOME, BUT I DIDN’T QUIT.”
David Grisman and Del McCoury
Ronnie McCoury, Vince Gill, Del McCoury, Alan Bartram
Del and family during “Grand Del Opry” celebration
to sing. The band has been named the IBMA’s Entertainer of the Year nine times, and has earned its top Instrumental Group award twice, in 1996 and 1997. Always known for stretching boundaries with material, the band worked with Steve Earle on El Corazon in 1997, and jointly put out The Mountain in 1999.
Del joined the Grand Ole Opry in 2003. Over the years, the lineup has remained relatively intact, and the family core has remained. Bassist Alan Bartram came on board in 2005.
In 2009, The Travelin’ McCourys was formed, featuring everyone but Del, and includes guitarist Cody Kilby. To him, The Travelin’ McCourys is legacy. The band earned a Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album with their 2018 selftitled record.
“I started getting up in years, and I got to thinking about my sons,” he said. “If something were to happen to me, I would want them to be able to continue. They’ve been depending on me for all these years. We wanted them to get their own name. It’s been several years now, and they’ve won a Grammy. They beat me! I’d say they’re going to be alright.”
In 2010, McCoury received a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, and in 2011 was elected to the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame. All told, The Del McCoury Band has recorded 15 albums, including the Grammy-winning The Company We Keep in 2006, and at 80 years old, McCoury shows few signs of slowing down. The Grand Ole Opry celebrated that 80th milestone in February this year, with a show dubbed the Grand Del Opry, featuring Marty Stuart, Vince Gill, Sam Bush, and others, confirming his ongoing popularity — and impact. He continues to run DelFest, a bluegrass festival he founded in 2008, in Cumberland, Maryland.
He believes the future of bluegrass to be in good hands.
“You don't think about kids today listening to bluegrass,” he said. “Of course, they’ve heard all styles of music. But, I think my style of music is challenging and I think when some kids hear it, they want the challenge. Those notes — you gotta get all those notes real clean and clear with your pick and your fingers.
“Kids like a challenge, and that’s what draws them to acoustic music. I know the majority of people either listen to, or play electric music. But, I think they’re out there — like me. Like I was. I was all hard up for it — music. Just music. That’s how I thought about it.”
RIG
GIG RIG FOR DEL MCCOURY BAND
DEL MCCOURY: 1947 MARTIN D28 GUITAR — WITH SHURE SM81
RONNIE MCCOURY: 1981 GILCHRIST MANDOLIN — WITH SHURE KSM137
ROB MCCOURY: 1936 TB 75 CONVERSION BANJO — WITH SHURE BETA 57
JASON CARTER: ERNST KRUESLER VIOLIN, OTTO A HOYER BOW
ALAN BARTRAM: 1939 AMERICAN STANDARD AND 2018 CHADWICK FOLDING BASS — RADIAL TONEBONE AC DRIVER
ALL INSTRUMENTS RUN THROUGH FISHMAN AURA SPECTRUM DI’S WITH PERSONAL IMAGES
Tracy Silverman: The Grooviest Guy In Nashville!
Tracy Silverman
The Strum Bowing Method: How to Groove on Strings Silverman Musical Enterprises
Isn’t it wonderful that we live in such a rich and musically diverse city? I’m happy to say that on any given night, you can hear live music of every genre in Nashville whether you like country, classical, jazz, rock, fusion, bluegrass, songwriters, musical theater, Americana, folk, Western swing, or metal.
I’m sure I’ve left out some, but you get the idea. Nashville is incredibly lucky to have such a wide variety of musicians contributing their craft to our city and to our economy. One of the most eclectic musical residents we’ve adopted in Nashville is Tracy Silverman. But don’t try to box him into a specific genre.
I’m convinced that his musical DNA is made up of all genres.
In addition to touring, conducting workshops, teaching and composing original works that are being performed all over the world, Silverman has written a book called The Strum Bowing Method: How to Groove on Strings This book is a concise and easy to follow guideline for making any stringed instrument sound like it “belongs” comfortably in any musical group, regardless of genre. Silverman sums up the book by saying, “Strum bowing is the secret to grooving on strings because it’s so simple. Just strum.” The book explains in detail exactly how he makes strumming and grooving look so effortless.
I feel fortunate to have grown up in a family of string players and to have married into a family of musicians. I was probably six or seven when I realized that not everyone played the violin! Having a classical background was essential for being a decent player, but I always felt an equal draw to more popular music. According to my dad, it was those darn Beatles. My sister Deidre played Rubber Soul over and over. I’m glad I was able to foster a love for all kinds of music. I started listening to Silverman’s CDs years ago after meeting him on a recording session. I felt drawn to the classical music underpinnings of his rock and jazz styles, but I wasn’t exactly sure why, until I read this book.
Initially, I was pleased to find six pages of testimonials by successful working violinists from every imaginable genre and background. These people are serious legends. I have many of their CDs, and I consider them icons of the violin world. Rachel Barton Pine said, “Tracy’s book will transform the world,” and that “non-grooving violinists will be as obsolete as the rotary telephone.” Elizabeth Small called this book a “ground-breaking pedagogical treatise.” I think
the funniest comment came from Alex DePue from Steve Vai’s band. He described it as “…a book so good it could ruin my career.”
The Strum Bowing Method: How to Groove on Strings explains in simple terms the vertical and horizontal grid upon which ALL music can be broken down. Music = math. As in math, the underlying subdivision of the beat is what makes the music have a certain feel, or groove. The book also takes you through step-by-step, the notes to play and the ones to leave out or “ghost.” In chapter five, Silverman talks about the “place-keeper” notes. These are the subdivided unheard notes that help you keep your place in the measure without rushing or dragging. He also says that bringing out the up-beats of the subdivision energizes the groove because it calls attention to its smallest particle, the “Groovon.” Let’s see, if I remember correctly there are protons, ions, electrons, anions and now groovons. (Oops, I think I left out onions.)
There is a companion book of exercises called 22 Groove Studies for Strings that I plan to order for my students. Both books are written for all stringed instruments, not just the violin. Hopefully there will be a companion DVD soon to accompany these books. A DVD shot from multiple angles would be helpful for visual learners. I also wish I could see the double groove-on filmed in an MRI machine with colors, and in slow motion. Now that would be groovy.
Silverman has a website, www.tracysilverman.com and The Strum Bowing Method has its own website, www.strumbowing.com. The book is available at strumbowing.com, www.sharmusic.com and www.jwpepper. com. I recommend this book highly to any and all string players, music educators, rhythm section players and anyone else reading this magazine with music in their DNA. Groove on, Tracy! – Toni Ferguson, violinist
Various
Artists
Muscle Shoals/ Small Town Big Sound
Dreamlined BMG
The liner notes for Muscle Shoals: Small Town Big Sound give a history of the people and events that brought the iconic Alabama locale to recording prominence. The spirit of this storied place is reflected with soulful authenticity on 16 tracks of great music.
Of the 88 artists and musicians listed in the credits, AFM Local 257 members figure prominently. Most of the players and singers are those you’d expect to be a part of such a cool project but there are a few surprises. Kid Rock digs deep with his bluesy vocals on “Snatching It Back,” playing off of the fabulous horn section that features Gene “Bowlegs” Miller, Aaron Varnell, Joe Arnold and Ronnie Eades from a basic track recorded in 1969 by Rick Hall with Roger Hawkins, David Hood, Barry Beckett, Jimmy Johnson and Albert Lowe, Jr. Wow. Mr. Rock must’ve been in heaven cutting this!
Alan Jackson brings his soulful best to the Stones’ ballad, “Wild Horses” and Michael McDonald predictably breaks your heart on “Cry Like A Rainy Day.” There’s some serious testifying throughout Dylan’s “Gotta Serve Somebody” by the unusual quartet of Jamey Johnson, Willie Nelson, Lee Ann Womack and Chris Stapleton. Another real highlight is Mike Farris singing-in-tongues on “Respect Yourself.” And who better to represent on “Giving It Up for Your Love” than blues god, Delbert McClinton — again! Stellar rhythm pairings, like Bob Wray and Mark Beckett, searing guitar work by Keb’ Mo’ and J.T. Corenflos, and B3 masters Clayton Ivey and Randy McCormick and too many gifted players to mention here, light up this exceptional collaboration.
Jim “Moose” Brown, Keith Stegall, Buddy Cannon and the other talented producers did a beautiful job staying true to their mission: To honor a cultural legacy that will never be forgotten. – Hank Moka
Of the 88 artists and musicians listed in the credits, AFM Local 257 members figure prominently. Most of the players and singers are those you’d expect to be a part of such a cool project but there are a few surprises.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix™ in Concert May 23 to 26
Carmina Burana May 31 to June 3
Brian Wilson presents Pet Sounds: The Final Performances June 20 & 21
Beauty & the Beast in Concert July 6 & 7
TNM
Drummer Mark Beckett and bassist Bob Wray
Coproducer Keith Stegall
BY LAURA ROSS
The weather in February and March — with unprecedented amounts of rainfall — brought back memories of the 2010 downpour that flooded the Schermerhorn Symphony Center (SSC) and kicked the Nashville Symphony’s orchestra and staff to the curb for eight months. As the administration scrambled to find temporary performance venues — which resulted in only a handful of cancelled concerts — attention was also focused on fixing the four-year-old building. This meant cleaning out the basement, removing and replacing floors, ventilation systems, electrical and other necessary equipment, and making improvements mandated in order to comply with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) requirement to assure that future flooding would have minimal impact on the hall. This last was a tall order.
The devil in the details
When NES shut down the power grid downtown on May 2, 2010, the SSC switched to an emergency diesel-powered generator that would last for one day. Unfortunately, the pumps were inadequate to the task as water poured into the hall at nearly a swimming pool-amount per minute. With water rising and inefficient pumps —using short-term emergency power — the entire basement was completely immersed. The cement floor beneath the concert hall where the chair carts are stored for flat-floor events, buckled and had to be removed and replaced.
Electrical panels, air ventilation ductwork, the organ blowers, kitchen equipment, chairs, tables, plates, instruments (including two Steinway pianos and an organ console), pumps—everything had to be replaced. And it was, with vastly improved materials and equipment. Today, the generator can run for days, the regular pumps that cycle every day are now twice as efficient, and new water pumps can empty three swimming pools per minute into an old tunnel beneath the city.
When the SSC was built, no one thought to include extended emergency power or to provide that power to the stage lift and chair carts; if they had, we would not have lost all those instruments when they shut down the power grid. Had the hall already been converted to a flat floor, we would have lost all the concert seats as well. Once rebuilt, there were new access doors, the chair carts had been added to the emergency back-up system, and portable kitchen equipment was purchased.
Understand though, the river really had nothing to do with the hall flooding. The SSC sits higher on the bank of the Cumberland, between Third and Fourth Avenues. When the river flowed out of its banks, the flooding was limited to First and Second Avenue and Lower Broadway. Flooding at the SSC was due first to the rising water table, then to the downtown buildings and a big giant hole in the ground — now the Music City Center— pumping water into the streets. Many may remember when Fourth Avenue and Demonbreun turned into “Lake Schermerhorn.” In 2010 there was a very short marble wall — actually, it was more like a curb — protecting the grating above the exterior basement access on the Fourth Avenue side of the hall. It was this water that topped the wall and poured through the grating into the basement, raising the water to within an inch or so of the concert hall floor.
Déjà vu all over again
These memories are with me every day as I drive back and forth to work, and they were especially present this year on the evening of Feb. 23, following a patch session for our latest recording of works by Aaron Jay Kernis. I live in East Nashville and drive through Shelby Park every day, but since mid-February Shelby Park has suddenly become home to two ponds. It’s been amusing to see how quickly the cranes, ducks and geese abandoned their home for the new pond that formed between the ballfields! On Feb. 23 the Cumberland River was about a foot or two from the road to my right; to my left, the original pond overflowed its banks to form a new pond covering ballfields, running paths and playground areas. Thankfully the main road through the park didn’t flood as I headed home at 11:30 that night.
In 2010, the Cumberland was just below 52-feet and the water table was at sidewalk level; this year the water table was just beneath the bottom of the basement floor, many feet below ground. We know now that when it rains, we are prepared. There is enough diesel fuel to run the emergency generator for eight days. And in 2010 as we were listening to the storm howling outside, we were certain we were in the safest building in Nashville – now we’re certain of it.
Lake Schermerhorn (viewed from Country Music Hall of Fame entrance) May 3, 2010
Time again for the summer festivals. I am sorry to report that yet again there is not as much jazz and blues among the area performances as there used to be. A couple of last year’s finds don’t seem to be happening this season, but they may release some publicity at the last minute. Whatever fits in the “roots” category is increasingly the main menu. But there’s a few snacks for jazz and blues lovers, and again, you may have to drive a bit for some of the choices.
Major festivals
The 4th annual Music City Jazz Festival takes place a little later this year — July 19-20 at Public Square Park in downtown Nashville. Featured artists have not yet been announced. For details on the event’s “smooth jazz” lineup, stay tuned to WFSK 88.1 FM, go to www.musiccityjazzfest.com or call (205) 705-3131. More smooth jazz can be heard in Memphis May 25 starting at 1 p.m. “Bluff City Jazz at the Shell” happens in Overton Park on Poplar Avenue, and you can get tickets online. Will Downing and Norman Brown are confirmed with more artists to come.
The popular Main Street Jazz Fest in Murfreesboro usually occupies the first weekend in May, with high school bands on Friday and the pro lineup on Saturday. Food vendors and a master class have always been included. For current info, go to www. downtownmurfreesboro.com/events.
The Jefferson Street Jazz and Blues Festival usually takes place in the middle of June with a block party downtown on Friday and the main lineup of artists at Bicentennial Mall on Saturday. To get an update, go to www.nashvillejazzandbluesfest.com.
A picturesque drive to Blue Ridge, Georgia will get you to this year’s Blue Ridge Mountains Wine & Jazz Festival Saturday, June 22 from 2:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. (EDT). The day will celebrate the musical, enological — science of wine and wine making — visual, and culinary arts, and will help raise money for student programs in jazz music and education. Visit www.blueridgewineandjazz.com.
Local wineries
Several local vineyards still include some jazz and blues in their summer-long wine on the lawn weekends. At the Arrington Vineyards in Arrington, Tennessee, “Music in the Vines” starts in April and runs through October on Saturdays and Sundays. Go to www. arringtonvineyards.com for more information.
In Clarksville, Tennessee, the Beachaven Winery offers a variety of music under the banner “Jazz on the Lawn” every other Saturday at 6:30 p.m., starting May 11. Performing artists should be listed soon at www.beachavewinery.com.
In Hampshire, Tennessee, (between Columbia and Hohenwald) the Amber Falls Winery will include some jazz and blues in its “Music on the Ridge” series, Saturdays and Sundays. Artists include Markey Blue, Le Jazz, and the Jim Fox Trio. Check out Gumbo Sundays 12:30-5:00 p.m. Other info at www.amberfallswinery.com.
Venues
Schermerhorn Symphony Center has rescheduled Grammy-winning saxophonist Branford Marsalis and his Quartet for Friday, June 7 at 8:00 p.m. Marsalis remains a vital force in jazz today, and with pianist Joey Calderazzo, his group is an innovative and forward-thinking ensemble. Blues and soul man Delbert McClinton is still going strong
BY AUSTIN BEALMEAR
after his 2014 health problems. His next date at the City Winery is July 7 at 8:00 p.m. The Ryman Auditorium presents blues legend Buddy Guy on Wednesday, May 1 at 7:30 p.m., and jazz/pop giant George Benson on Sunday, May 19 at 7:30 p.m.
The Franklin Theatre bundles some jazz and blues starting in May. The Beegie Adair Trio (with guest vocalist Monica Ramey) plays Saturday, May 18 at 8:00 p.m. Grammy-award winning bluesman Keb’ Mo’ comes in for three nights, but at press time tickets remained only for the Sunday, June 9 show at 8:00 p.m. Blues guitar slinger Jimmie Vaughan plays Thursday, June 20 at 8:00 p.m., and the Paul Thorn Band rocks on Friday and Saturday, June 21-22 at 8:00 p.m. www. franklintheatre.com
Nonprofits
The Nashville Jazz Workshop holds its Summer Jazz Camp at Blair School of Music June 24-28. Instruction includes training in vocal and instrumental arts, improvisation, theory, jam sessions and more. It’s a great way for pros to expand their kids’ musical education. Auditions are May 11. Go to www.nashvillejazz.org
A couple of years ago the popular radio documentary Jazz on the Side was a casualty of WMOT-FM’s switch to roots programming, but the show is still heard twice a week in Memphis at WUMR 91.7 FM The Jazz Lover. You can tune in via internet streaming at www.memphis.edu/wumr on Wednesdays at 3:00 p.m. and Sundays at 9:00 a.m.
See you out there.
Keb’ Mo’
Beegie Adair
Delbert McClinton
C
Harold Ray Bradley
Nov. 17, 1926 — Jan. 31, 2019
ountry Music Hall of Fame guitarist Harold Ray Bradley, 93, died Jan. 31, 2019. He was the vice president of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) for 11 years, and in 2010 became vice president emeritus. He held the position of Local 257 president for 18 years — from 1991 to 2009. His musical career had its genesis in the beginnings of Music Row itself; in 1954 he and his brother Owen built Bradley Film and Recording Studios, later known as the Quonset Hut Studio. It became the anchor business for a thriving recording industry in Nashville that continues to this day. Bradley played on an enormous number of country music classics as a member of the storied A-Team that recorded during the ‘50s and ‘60s with a list of artists that included practically every Nashville star of the era. He was a 71-year member of the Nashville Musicians Association and in fact held one of the longest — if not the longest — memberships of the local; he joined Nov. 17, 1942.
Bradley was born Jan. 2, 1926 in Nashville, Tennessee to Vernon and Letha Maie Owen Bradley, one of six children. As a child he played tenor banjo, but later was given a six-dollar guitar his father bought him in a junk store. His elder brother Owen advised him to switch to guitar, and by high school he was playing in Ernest Tubb’s band — the Texas Troubadours — and also in his brother’s dance band. He found a kin-
dred soul who shared Bradley’s love of jazz in the Troubadours — Billy Byrd. He became a mentor to Bradley and the two frequently jammed together. In 1944 Bradley joined the Navy and after his discharge he attended Peabody College, and also played with Eddy Arnold and Bradley Kincaid at the Grand Ole Opry. His first session was Pee Wee King’s “Tennessee Central No. 9,” recorded in Chicago, Illinois, in 1946.
In 1952 Bradley married Eleanor Allen, and the family grew to include two daughters. Over their 66-year marriage, Bradley always cherished family time, and said he would practice his guitar while his wife and children went to the grocery store to have time to spend with them when they returned.
Along with his guitar chops, he was known for his invention of a style called “tic-tac bass” played on a hybrid instrument — the six-string bass guitar. Local 257 President Dave Pomeroy talked about the new development Bradley brought to Nashville sessions. “As what became known as the ‘Nashville Sound’ was coming together, Harold invented a new style of playing. His percussive and melodic style of playing will forever be known as tic-tac bass. When someone asks, ‘What is tic-tac bass?’ I point them to Patsy Cline’s ‘Crazy.’ The combination of the attack of Harold’s muted picking and the sustain of Bob Moore’s string bass dancing with Buddy Harman’s drums is pure magic. Harold was a true professional in
the studio who led by example, and his calm, confident demeanor helped keep everyone around him focused and on top of their game,” Pomeroy said.
A small sampling of the 100s of top-selling records Bradley played on in addition to Cline’s “Crazy” include her hits “I Fall To Pieces” and “Sweet Dreams,” Tammy Wynette’s “Stand By Your Man,” Roy Orbison’s “Crying,” Brenda Lee’s “I’m Sorry,” “King of the Road” for Roger Miller, “Harper Valley P.T.A.” by Jeannie C. Riley, Conway Twitty’s “Hello Darlin’,” Jimmy Dean’s “Big Bad John,” and the Christmas classic “Jingle Bell Rock,” which opens with his distinctive guitar riff. He recorded three solo albums in the ‘60s for Columbia: Misty Guitar, Guitar for Lovers Only, and Bossa Nova Goes to Nashville
In 1978 Bradley helped organize a concert by Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty and Tom T. Hall at the White House to honor the Country Music Association. In 1999 he coproduced Mandy Barnett’s second album, I’ve Got a Right to Cry. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2006, and became a member of the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2007. In addition to his many years of service to the AFM and Local 257, Bradley became the first president of Nashville’s chapter of NARAS in 1965 and was honored with a special Grammy Trustees Award in 2010.
Guitarist Andy Reiss talked about Bradley’s role in the Nashville community as a mentor. “Harold Bradley was the epitome of a Southern gentleman, always kind, gracious, generous, and well presented. His role as one of the primary builders of Music Row, as one of the first Nashville session players, and as a leader of the Local 257 is well documented, but what may be less known is his love of teaching and mentoring. I was lucky enough to have been one of his mentorees. Mr. Bradley got me involved in many tours and recording sessions, giving me tips and setting me straight along the way! I for one will always be profoundly grateful for the impact he had on my career and my life,” Reiss said.
Bradley was an avid tennis player who was a founding member of the Music City Tennis Invitational in 1973, an event that benefited Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. His athletic prowess extended to other sports —
he was once offered a baseball contract by the Chicago Cubs, and held an expert rating as a water ski jumper and slalom skier. Bradley was known as a devoted husband and father, and in recent years enjoyed encouraging both the sports and musical pursuits of his grandchildren.
In addition to his parents he was preceded in death by four brothers, Leon Bradley, Owen Bradley, Charles D. Bradley, Bobby Gene Bradley; and one sister, Ruby Bradley Strange. Survivors included his wife of 66-plus years, Eleanor Allen Bradley; daughters, Beverly Ellen Bradley and Bari Bradley Brooks; one grandson; one granddaughter; and many nieces and nephews. Bradley’s wife Eleanor died Feb 18, 2019.
Funeral services were held Feb. 4 at the Madison Church of Christ. The family has established the Harold Bradley Endowed Scholarship at Belmont University to be awarded to outstanding students in the music business program with an emphasis on guitar. Memorial contributions can also be made to the AFM Local 257 Emergency Relief Fund or the Opry Trust Fund. The family would like to thank the nurses and staff at Vanderbilt University Medical Center for their many kindnesses.
Reggie Grimes Young, Jr.
Reggie Grimes Young, Jr., considered to be one of the most recorded guitarists in the world,died Jan. 17, 2019 at the age of 82. He was a life member of the AFM who joined Local 257 Oct. 6, 1972 and was previously a member of AFM locals in Paducah, Kentucky and Memphis, Tennessee.
He was born Dec. 12, 1936 in Caruthersville, Missouri, and raised in Osceola, Arkansas. His father, Reggie, was an accountant who played Hawaiian-style guitar and taught his son to play when he was 14. His mother, Thelma Mayes Young, was a homemaker. In 1956 he joined his first band — Eddie Bond & the Stompers, a rockabilly group from Memphis, Tennessee, that toured with Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Roy Orbison throughout the mid-’50s. By 1958, Young was with singer Johnny Horton, with whom he made several appearances on the Louisiana Hayride radio show in Shreveport, Louisiana. He was an original member of Bill Black’s Combo, which had several instrumental hits in the U.S. in 1959 and the early ‘60s, and opened for the Beatles on their 1964 U.S. tour. After the death of band leader Black — Elvis Presley’s original bass player — in October 1965, Young worked as a staff musician at Hi Recording Studio in Memphis. In 1967 he joined the staff at American Sound Studio at the request of producer Chips Moman.
While a part of the studio’s iconic house band, which would become known as the Memphis Boys, Young added his bluesy down-home licks to a host of hit records including “Son of a Preacher Man” by Dusty Springfield, “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond, “Suspicious Minds,” by Elvis Presley; he played sitar on “Hooked on a Feeling,” by B.J. Thomas and “Cry Like a Baby” by the Box Tops. He played the haunted echoes behind James Carr’s “The Dark End of the Street,” and the chickenscratch guitar lick on “Skinny Legs and All” by Joe Tex. Keyboardist for the Memphis Boys Bobby Wood worked on a multitude of sessions with Young. “What an honor and blessing for me in making lots of beautiful music with such an incredible talent. Reggie was not only a great musician but a great friend as well. Thank God for all the good times. See you on the other side, pal,” said Wood.
Young moved to Nashville in 1972 and quickly became part of the group of session players known as the Nashville Cats. He continued to contribute his soulful and succinct style to records like “Drift Away,” by Dobie Gray, “I Can Help,” by Billy Swan, Waylon Jennings’ “Luckenbach, Texas,” and “Always on My Mind,” by Willie Nelson. Young is said to have been a significant part of the “Southernization” of pop music in the ‘60s and ‘70s, a phenomenon that created a surge of artists to the area that included Paul Simon, Aretha Franklin, Herbie Mann and many more. He also played on Jimmy Buffet’s first three records.
In 1984 Young recorded with The Highwaymen, a super group formed between Nelson, Jennings, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson. He would later tour for five years with the group. Young also played many sessions and concerts with Waylon Jennings, including his final tours featuring the Waymore Blues Band before Jennings’ death in 2002. Young was among the first group of musicians inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2007, as a member of the Memphis Boys. “I’ve said it before, and I’m sure I’ll say it again, the most talented musicians I’ve ever met are usually also the nicest and Reggie was positively both of those,” Hall of Fame founder Joe Chambers said.
“What an honor and blessing for me in making lots of beautiful music with such an incredible talent. Reggie was not only a great musician but a great friend as well. Thank God for all the good times. See you on the other side, pal.”
— Memphis Boys keyboardist Bobby Wood
In 2008 the Country Music Hall of Fame recognized Young as a “Nashville Cat.” That same year he released his first solo album, Be Still, a collaboration with wife and cellist Jenny Lynn Young.
Gene Chrisman, drummer for the Memphis Boys, played in the studio and on the road with Young. “Reggie was a super guy, he came up with super licks, and you’d wonder how he came up with them. That [opening] lick on “Little Rock,” [recorded by Reba McEntire] … that knocked me out. He was just a great guy, no harsh words for anyone. The rascal could really play. He was a different kind of stylist. The things he would do — you would just never think of,” said Chrisman. Young released Forever Young in 2018. Session Guitar Star, a compilation album of 24 tracks from sessions on which Young played, including recordings by Merle Haggard, Jackie DeShannon and Bobby “Blue” Bland, was released in January 2019.
Young was preceded in death by his parents. Survivors include Young’s wife of 15 years, Jenny Lynn Young; one son, Reggie Young III; one daughter, Cindy Evans; five grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; one sister, Alice Wheatley; and fur baby J.R. (the cat).
A celebration of life was held Jan. 21 at the Franklin First United Methodist Church in Franklin, Tennessee. In lieu of flowers the family asked that donations be made to the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee.
John H. Sutton, Jr. May 3, 1938 — Dec. 20, 2018
Guy Stevenson Dec. 16, 1929 — Jan. 4, 2019
AFM life member Guy Stevenson, 89, died Jan. 4, 2019. He played upright bass and guitar, and was a member of Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys for a time in 1973, when he joined the Nashville Musicians Association.
He was born Dec. 16, 1929 in Vulcan, Missouri, to Thomas and Marie Charlton Stevenson. The oldest of 12 children, he was a self-taught musician who played locally at the Current River Opry in Eminence, Missouri, where he met Bill Monroe. He and Frank Ray, a fellow musician with whom he sometimes played, began to attend Monroe’s Bean Blossom Festival, and in 1973 Stevenson took leave from his state auditor job to play bass with Monroe.
During his time in the band he performed at the Grand Ole Opry, and the White House, and was recorded on the 1973 Bean Blossom album. As a part of the band he also played on the Dean Martin Show. After his stint with Monroe he worked with Dub Crouch, Norman Ford and the Bluegrass Rounders — where he was featured on two records, Traditional Bluegrass and Footprints in the Snow. Later in the ‘70s he recorded Cuttin’ the Bluegrass with Crouch. He was named Bass Player of the Year for the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America in 1975, ’76 and ’77. He started
playing more guitar and formed his own bluegrass gospel group in the late ‘70s — The Winning Team Band — which played a variety of venues including the Missouri Governor’s Mansion. In the ‘90s Stevenson was named a Kentucky Colonel by Kentucky Governor Paul Patton.
At a Blue Grass Boys reunion in 2010 Stevenson talked about Monroe’s famous band. “It’s just like you going to a family reunion. I mean, we’re all in the same family. We were all taught by the same teacher,” he said.
In addition to his talents as a player, Stevenson was also a recorded songwriter. He cowrote “Southern Flavor,” which was recorded by Becky Buller and named IBMA Recording Event of the Year in 2015. In 2016 he started his own one-day event in Vulcan, Missouri called Jam Session. In 2017 Stevenson was recognized by the Missouri Bluegrass Preservation Association as a Pioneer of Missouri Bluegrass.
Stevenson retired from the Missouri Department of Revenue, and also served two terms as the Iron County southern road commissioner. He served as sheriff of Piedmont, Missouri in the 1960s, and served for many years as deacon at the Vulcan Assembly of God Church.
John H. Sutton, Jr., 80, a life member of the Nashville Musicians Association, died Dec. 20, 2018. He was a drummer who joined Local 257 Sept. 25, 1965. Sutton was an alumnus of Montgomery Bell Academy and Peabody College, and retired from Builders FirstSource in 2013.
“We were fortunate to have John and Kay in attendance at some of our life member events, and during some of the party jam sessions John sat in on drums. A great guy with a great feel! We’ll miss him for sure,” said AFM Local 257 President Dave Pomeroy.
Survivors include his wife of 54 years, Kay B. Sutton. Visitation was held Dec. 27 at Mt. Olivet Funeral Home. Burial services were private.
Stevenson was preceded in death by his parents; one daughter, Ellen Marie Stevenson; one great-grandchild, Landen Allen; three brothers, Eugene, Dickie, and Lowell Stevenson; and one sister, Malba Clifford. Survivors include his wife of 68 years, Patricia (Patterson) Stevenson; one daughter, Beverly Stevenson; two grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; three brothers, Vernon, Jerry, and Gary Stevenson; four sisters, Patsy Potter, Shirley Caldwell, Charlotte McLain, and Carolyn Fulton; and a host of nieces and nephews.
Funeral services were held Jan. 8 at Vulcan Assembly of God Church. Pastor Daniel Tidmore ministered to the family. Burial was at Sutton Cemetery in Vulcan. Online condolences can be made at rueggfuneralhomes.com.
Guy Stevenson
James Lance Williamson
Feb. 28, 1936 — Aug. 4, 2018
Guitarist James Lance Williamson, 82, died Aug. 4, 2018. He was known professionally as Jim Lance, and was a 25-year member of Local 257; he was previously an AFM member in Steubenville and E. Liverpool, Ohio. He joined the Nashville Musicians Association April 6, 1989.
Lance was born in Steubenville, Ohio, Feb. 28, 1936 to John Newton Williamson and Nellie Hayes Williamson. He started to play at the age of five and was performing locally by the time he was a young adult. After moving to Nashville, he worked for many years with Eddy Arnold and Bill Anderson. Late in his life, when Eddy Arnold broke his hip, he was walking down his driveway with Lance, his son John Williamson said. In an odd twist, Demetria Kalodimos happened to drive by and was the person who called an ambulance for Arnold, Williamson said.
Lance played with Bill Anderson on the 1967 release The Po’ Boys Pick Again, and Anderson’s 2011 record The First 10 Years: 1956-1966. He played on Arnold’s Last of the Love Song Singers: Then & Now, released in 1993.
Survivors include one son, John Williamson; and one daughter, Janet Lorain Hunter.
David James Carr June 22, 1937 — Dec. 14, 2018
David James Carr, aka Dave “Boat” Carr, 81, died Dec. 14, 2018. He was a guitarist, singer and life member of the Nashville Musicians Association who joined the local Jan. 5, 1981. He was born June 22, 1937 in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, to the late Clarence and Mary Ann Fisher Carr. Prior to his retirement, he was a security guard and a veteran of the U.S. Air Force.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his brother, Art Carr. Survivors include his three brothers, Jack, Patrick, and Daniel Carr; one sister, Mary Ann Maiolo; and 16 nieces and nephews. A Mass of Christian Burial was held Dec. 18 in St. Agnes Church in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, with Msgr. Paul Fitzmaurice officiating. Interment followed in McKeesport-Versailles Cemetery. Donations may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project at woundedwarriorproject.org.
Carol Bass Feb. 2, 1933 — Jan. 9, 2019
Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Carol Bass, 85, died Jan. 9. 2019. She joined the Nashville Musicians Association Jan. 21, 1969, and was a life member of the local. She was born Feb. 2, 1933 in Tifton, Georgia, to the late William Granville and Lula Mae Dixon Brantley. Bass was a frequent performer on the Grand Ole Opry; she sang with Jim and Jesse [McReynolds] and the Virginia Boys.
Bass was preceded in death by her husband, Billy D. Bass; one daughter, Jane Burton; one sister, Nadine Bennett; and one grandson. Survivors include four daughters, Tracy Shafer, Joy Schmidt, Brenda Gray, and Rebecca Perkins; 13 grandchildren; 24 great-grandchildren; and three great-great-grandchildren.
Services were held Jan. 13 in the chapel of Family Heritage Funeral Home with Dallas Frazier officiating. Interment followed at Gallatin Cemetery.
Francis “Frank” Wilburn Arnett, 81, died Jan. 7, 2019. He was a steel guitarist and a life member of the Nashville Musicians Association who joined Local 257 Oct. 15, 1987.
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“I can say from the bottom of my heart, they don’t make them like Frank anymore”
– Marty Stuart
He was born Sept. 15, 1937 in Chicago, Illinois, to the late Henry and Ruby Foster Arnett. He served in the U.S. Air Force, and afterward followed a musical path from California and Nevada through Oklahoma — a path that included extensive touring, sessions, and live performances at a variety of venues. Arnett was part of the Wynne Stewart Nashville Nevada entertainers, which included Merle Haggard, Ralph Mooney, Hap Arnold and many more. He came to Nashville in the ‘80s to play with Marty Stuart, and also became a regular on recording sessions.
Stuart recently talked about how he came to work with Arnett. “On some of my early CBS recordings I had the great steel guitarist Ralph Mooney come and play. Moon put such a distinctive sound on those tracks. When it came time to go out and tour the record, I called Moon and asked if he could recommend someone that could play like him to cover the parts. He didn’t hesitate. ‘Frank Arnett can do it, and he can play like every other steel guitar player, but what he’s really good at is playing like Frank Arnett.’ Every word of what Moon said was right. Frank Arnett was a genius of a steel guitar player, producer, fixer of vintage radios, and all-around fountain of knowledge of classic country music. I send my love to the Arnett tribe, especially to Joanie, the lady who can tear your heart out when she sings ‘Paper Mansions.’ I can say from the bottom of my heart, they don’t make them like Frank anymore,” Stuart said.
Arnett was an avid ham radio enthusiast since his novice days in the ‘50s — his most recent call letters were AC4CH. He was
also a member of the Green Ridge Church of Christ in Greenbrier, Tennessee.
Friend and fellow steel guitarist Lynn Owsley said “Frank Arnett was a great steel guitarist, touring mostly in the west with Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Wynn Stewart, Rose Maddox....and many more of the west coast country music stars and bands of the day. His music and friendship will be greatly missed.”
Multi-instrumentalist Jim Hoke recalled working on sessions with Arnett. “Frank had his own style on Fender 8-string steel guitar, though it was informed by an encyclopedic knowledge of all the steel players past and present. He played with a bright, clear sound and liked to use hammer-on and pull-off techniques with open strings. He had an individualistic personality and wasn’t shy about voicing his opinion anywhere, to anybody,” Hoke said.
Survivors include his wife, Joan; four sons, Frank Dunn, James Dunn, Frankie Raymond Arnett, and Jonathan Glenn Arnett; six daughters, Debbie Roth, Carol Ann Arnett, Cristin Marie Arnett, Laura Jean Lankford, Megan Frances Case, and Jennifer Lynn Tanner; one brother, Henry Foster Arnett; one sister, Lena Marie Arnett; and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Funeral services were held Jan. 9 at Austin Bell Funeral Home in Greenbrier, Tennessee, with Bro. Jack Martin, Henry Arnett, Doug Miller and Jaxson Meadows officiating. Burial followed in Springfield Memorial Gardens. Honorary pallbearers were the membership of Local 257. Online condolences may be made at www.austinandbell.com.
IN MEMORIAM The officers, staff and members of Local 257 extend our deepest sympathies to the families and friends of our members who have recently passed away. You are in our thoughts, hearts and prayers.
NEW MEMBERS
Kenneth Wayne Anderson
Dale Armstrong
Cameron James Benoit
Brad Andreww Bietry
Jerry Bruno
Mary Somerlie Depasquale
Greylan James Egan
Robert M Etherington
James Lyle Hunt
Ronald J Jones
Garth E Justice
Matthew Adrian Lindsey
Jay Michael Lipschutz
Julia Elizabeth Murray
Scott Siman
Teresa Siman
Bryan Todd
Kristin Tschida
Alex Wright
REINSTATED
Peter Glen Abbott
Wayne Edgar Addleman
Roy Buell Agee
Timothy Wayne Akers
Kathy Smith Anderson
Robert P Angello
Gary Armstrong
Deidre Fominaya Bacco
Samuel David Bacco
Neil Barber Patrick
Rahsaan Jelani Barber
Roland Jabari Barber
Lloyd F Barry, Jr
William R Barrow
Eli Austin Beaird
Adam Beard
Tigar Lee Bell
Justin Bertoldie
Emelyne Marie Bingham
Alec Blazek
Larry L Borden
Troy Lee Boswell
Jimmy Bowen
Charles L. Bradley
Alison Hilary Brown
Dennis Ronald Bryon
Michael David Bub
Jay Buchanan
Dennis J Burnside
Victor Caldwell
James D Capps
Michele Voan Capps
Richard B Carter
Michael Casteel
Elton Christopher Charles
Tyler Chiarelli
James Alexander Cook
Philip Aaron Creamer
Robert Crowell
Renwick Smith Curry
Lance Dary
Gerald Bruce Dees
Richard Deroberts
Andrew James Dickson
Eric Joseph Dinenna
Joe L Diffie
Charles Kenneth Dixon
Scott A Ducaj
Stuart Ian Duncan
Carl Everett Dunlap
Michael M Durham
Phillip Brian Eads
Duane Eddy
Keven Eknes
Garry Elders
Andrew Carl Ellison
Jonathan Lewis Estes
Mark Lee Fain
Jason Daniel Fausset
Ian Fitchuk
David J Flint
Pamela Rose Gadd
Gilles Alelard Godard
Arnold Samuel Gottlieb
Quenton Keith Gattis
Earl J T Gray
Gerald Craig Greer
Robin Guidicy
Dean Hall
Thomas Jay Hambridge
Robert Patrick Hamrick
Michael Wayne Haun
Josh Todd Hawkins
Herbert Lee Hendricks
Chip Henderson
Steve B Herrman
Miles R Hession, II
Russell Hicks
Karl T Himmel
John Charles Hinchey
Daniel Glen Hochhalter
Anna Lisa Hoepfinger
Alison F.Gooding Hoffman
Brandon C Hood
Porter Carlton Howell
William P Huber
Joe G Hudson
James E Hurst
Thomas David Hurst
Evan Hutchings
Jim C Isbell
Peter Lynn Jeffrey
Yamil Jimenez
Damon Rogers Johnson
Jerry Ray Johnston
Mark F Johnson
Kieran F Kane
Shane Keister
Katelyn N Kelly
Donald W Kerce, Jr
Douglas J Kershaw
James B Kimball
Paul S Kim
Alexandra Kline
Randy Alan Kohrs
Warren Clay Krasner
Jennifer D Kummer
David D Labruyere
Mary Helen Law
Gregory T Lawson
Andy Ray Leftwich
Virginia Lee Levine
Christopher Marsh Lindsey
Keith A Little
Wesley Lee Little
Nick Augustin Lobel
Todd Vincent Lombardo
Todd Alexander London
Clifford Edward Long
Jonathan Alan Long
Gary Lee Lunn
Anna E Lynch
Jeffrey A Marino
James Emmanuel Mayer
John Leo McAndrew
Maureen C. McArdle
Randy Lyn McCormick
Robin Floyd McCoury
Mary Elizabeth McFarland
Eamon McLoughlin
Jesse Lester McReynolds
Clay B Mills
Mark Andrew Miller
Carl Edward Miner
Michael Derek Mixon
Carlton Laymond Moody
Anthony Morra
Mark A Moseley
Rick Murrell
Daniel R Needham
Jimmy M. Nichols
Chris J Nole
David M Northrup
Matthew B Nygren
James W Olander
Daniel Joseph O’Lannerghty
Bobby Van Osborne, II
Katlin Abbott Owen
John Mark Painter
Dolly Parton
Steve M Peffer
Karen J Pendley-Kuykendall
Colleen I Phelps
Philip Chandler Towns
Peter Michaelson Pisarczyk
Kathryn Crews Plummer
Daniel P Pratt
John E Prine
Duane Carlisle Propes
William W Pursell
Jovan Raynaldo Quallo
Wesley Knox Ramsay
Holly C Rang
Phil W Redmond
Joel Philip Reist
Gregory Lynn Ritchie
Christopher William Rodriguez
Norma Rogers
Jason Lee Roller
Amberly Rosen
Charles Lloyd Rose
David M Santos
David P Sartor
Justin Lance Schipper
Walter Scott
Damon Earl Seale
Kirby L Shelstad
Dann Kent Sherrill
Christina Simpson
Erin Slaver
Keith E Smith
Andrew Michael Sovine
Donna Kay Stallings
Phillip G Stegner
Christopher Alden Stokes
Peter Bruce Strickland
Johnathan Elmo Szetela
Daniel Keyes Tashian
Larry Taylor
Downs B Thompson
Mark F Thompson
George Tidwell
Terry Lee Townson
Jonathan Marc Trebing
Samuel C Tritico
Kerry Drew Tucker
Richard R Tunney
Christopher Tyrrell
Kenneth Weber Vaughan
Randy J Wachtler
William James Wallace
Craig Ryan Watson
Austin Edward Webb
Willie Weeks
Garry West
Donald Lloyd White
James Marshall White
William Monroe White, III
Brice Matthew Williams
Dana Keith Williams
Edward J Wilson
William Robert Wilson
Michael Adam Wolofsky
Cynthia Reynolds Wyatt
Xiao-Fan Zhang
EXPELLED
Justin M Amaral
David Baker
Denise Elaine Baker
Michael Anthony Baldwin
David H Baron
Stephen H Bassett
Nicholas D Bennett
Stuart Laurence Berk
Olivia Bey
Kristin Black
Alyssa B. Bonagura
Cremaine A Booker
Jaron Boyer
Richard Allen Boyer
Jeffrey Seth Brown
Lori Susan Burger
Bentley T Caldwell
Mark Thomas Caldwell
Zachary Eugene Casebolt
Steve Clay Chandler
David Allan Coe
Daniel Weston Cohen
Jeffrey Ross Collier
Chris Combest
Marc Copely
Thomas Michael Cordell
Justin Edward Cortelyou
Joshua M Cross
Rachael Davis
Kailey Holly Dickerson
John Robert Duke
Adam Michael Engelhardt
Charles J. English
Denny Fast
Donald Emry Fishel
Greg A Foresman
Steve Forrest
Douglas Lee Frasure
Richard Brian Free
Christopher Quinlan French
Edward H Friedland
Dan Myron Frizsell
Jason M Gantt
Katharina Maria Gauss
John Gavin
Joan Bell Hager
Larry Thomas Harden
Jaxon Thomas Hargrove
Isham A Harris, III
Pam Hawk
Bruce Hayes
Kevin Dale Haynie
Benjamin Keith Helson
Glenn A. Hill, II
Michael Bernard Hodge
W S Holland
Lonnie Joe Howell
Joseph R. Huffman
Rodney Cole Hull
Joel Hutsell
Michael Austin Ingber
Duff Clark Jackson
Charles L Jacobs
James Tyler Jaeger
Dina M Johnson
Gail Rudisill Johnson
Benjamin P Jordan
Enid Katahn
Martin Katahn
Glenn D Keener
Kyle Damon Knoth
Barbara Lamb
Carl Brandon Lay
Steve Porter Leslie
Earl L Lett
Stephen Lewis
Christian Anthony Licavoli
Jeffrey Allan Lockerman
Steve Anthony Mandile
Mark Thomas McClurg
Brenton Edward McCollough
Bryan Joshua P. McDowell
Michael Wayne McIntire
Garrett Keith McReynolds
Alejandro Medina
Manuel D Medina
Jeffrey A. Meloen
Joseph R Meyer
Jamie E Michael
Jason Miller
Cameron Jaymes Montgomery
Austin Louis Moore
Tammy McKinney Nicholls
Kenneth John Olson, III
John Harold Pennell
Marcus Petruska
James David Pfeffer
Stu Phillips
Betty G Polk
Hyram Lee Posey
Kevin M Post
Jerry D Powell
John Mathew Richardson
Louie E Roberts
Michael Anthony Rose
Jack Ruby
Michael Uri Samis
Thomas John Paul Samulak
Amanda Satcher
Jim Schneider
Robert S Sherrill
Stephen James Sinatra
Duane Allen Smith
Tristen C Smith
Robert Truman Steffens
Ben Merritt Stennis
John Steven Stubblefield, Jr
Barry Tamburin
John Henry Trinko
Harold Ryan Tyndell
James David Vancleve
Preston James Watkins
Lewis Bryant Wells
Margaret L Werner
Kevin Brent Williams
Shelton Hank Williams, III
Eddie H Woods
Michael Kent Wyatt
Shu Zheng Yang
Jeff F Zona
YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2018
NASHVILLE MUSICIANS ASSOCIATION
DECEMBER 31, 2018
THESE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS HAVE NOT BEEN AUDITED OR REVIEWED, AND NO CPA EXPRESSES AN OPINION OR A CONCLUSION NOR
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WHAT DO KEITH URBAN TAYLOR SWIFT
JIMMY BUFFETT
CHRIS STAPLETON
LARRY CARLTON DAN + SHAY
ALISON KRAUSS AND THE MUSICIANS OF THE NASHVILLE SYPHONY HAVE IN COMMON? THEY ARE ALL MEMBERS OF
Advertising in The Nashville Musician is a cost–effective way to reach professional musicians, high-profile artists and music business executives.
DO NOT WORK FOR
The “Do Not Work For” list exists to warn our members, other musicians and the general public about employers who, according to our records, owe players money and/or pension, have failed to sign the appropriate AFM signatory documents required to make the appropriate pension contribution, or are soliciting union members to do non-union work. When you work without the protection of an AFM contract, you are being denied all of your intellectual property right, as well as pension and health care contributions.
TOP OFFENDERS LIST
Nashville Music Scoring/Alan Umstead - solicitation and contracting non-union scoring sessions for TV, film and video games.
Electronic Arts/Steve Schnur - commissioning and promoting non-union videogame sessions
These are employers who owe musicians money and have thus far refused to fulfill their contractual and ethical obligations to Local 257 musicians.
Terry K. Johnson/ 1720 Entertainment (unpaid contracts/unauthorized sales - Jamie O’Neal project)
Ed Sampson (producer) & Patrick Sampson (artist) (multiple unpaid contracts/unauthorized sales)
Revelator/Gregg Brown (multiple bounced checks/unpaid contracts)
Beautiful Monkey/JAB Country/Josh Gracin
Eric Legg & Tracey Legg (multiple unpaid contracts)
Ray Vega/Casa Vega
Quarterback/G Force/Doug Anderson
Rust Records/Ken Cooper (unpaid contracts and pension)
HonkyTone Records – Debbie Randle (multiple unpaid contracts/pension)
Jeanette Porrazzo
UNPAID CONTRACTS AND PENSION
Knight Brothers/Harold, Dean, Danny & Curtis Knight River County Band/SVC Entertainment (unpaid demo conversion/pension)
UNPAID PENSION ONLY
Comsource Media/Tommy Holland
Conchita Leeflang/Chris Sevier
Ricky D. Cook
FJH Enterprises
Matthew Flinchum dba Resilient
Jeffrey Green/Cahernzcole House
Randy Hatchett
Missionary Music
Jason Morales (pension/demo signature)
OTB Publishing (pension/demo signature)
Tebey Ottoh
Ride N High Records
Jason Sturgeon Music
AFM NON-SIGNATORY
PHONO LIST
We do not have signatory paperwork from the following employers — pension may have been paid in some cases, but cannot be credited to the proper musicians without a signatory agreement in place. If you can provide us with current contact info for these people, we will make sure you get your proper pension contribution for your work.
