Hey guys,
What a night! You ever feel like you are just in the zone and hitting everything out of the park. That is kind of me right now. Tonight was getting into Gatlinburg, seeing some new people perform, getting around a LOT of hit writers, several of my former co-writers. It has been a blast and it is only the first night.
It culminated with a quiet show in a place I've played before. A really cool little resturant right beside a babbeling creek, the food is great and tonight the artists were really good. This was the 'bigger hit writers", Bobby Tomerline, (One Day More,for Diamond Rio) and several others. I am sitting at a table with a lot of new people to me when in walk eight people. They are all hit writers, record people, publishers, etc. Two of them are my favorites. Kim Willams and Doug Johnson, who wrote THREE WOODEN CROSSES.
There was a new artist on Curb, Mo Pickett, who is very good, then Bobby and then Kim and Doug. it was like hit writer after hit writer. They did "crosses, then Kim did (or tried to do) his Garth monsters, AIN'T GOING DOWN TILL THE SUN COMES UP and PAPA LOVED MAMA. Was really cool. Then it got really interesting. I had not planned on playing, but always have a guitar in my car, (I'm a lefty and you have to bring your own.) Bobby came over to me and said "you got a guitar man? " I didn't even know he knew me. But I said yeah, and he said "go get it."
So I did, and a few minutes later after a really sweet intro speech by the Festival orginizer, Cindy Montgomery Reeves, they brought me up. I did "My Girl's Hotter' a song I wrote with Frankie ballard and Walt Aldrich, who they all know and adore and they have all been trying to get cuts on Frankie. So that impressed them. Then I pulled out ALL ALONE AGAIN, a song I wrote with Kim. it is a big Broadway BALLAD! Yeah guys, the MABSTER was slinging out power ballads tonight and with great effect. Kim had not heard that song in about 15 years and was really fired up about it. Then I dropped the bomb with TABLES AND CHAIRS, which was the one that got the "ahhs" applause, and oohs on the "you don't choose music, music chooses you" lines.
They all grabbed me afterwards and we took some pictures. Doug's wife, who is one of the top publishers in town, with a number one out this week, hugged me and talked about how moved she was by Tables and Chairs. Even publishers feel like that sometimes.
So that was a pretty cool night. I kind of blew off the late night guitar pulls, because those will be going tomorrow and Saturday. Wish you all could be here.
The point is that is what all of this is like. Several of you are kind of getting past the walls, right now. Getting a lot of songs demoed, then trying to figure out what to do with them and worrying if you spent too much money. Life getting in the way and family, finding jobs, etc. all tend to take all your time. Or just plain getting worn out when things just don;t happen. That is the majority of times. You have to understand it, work through it and relish what opportunities come your way and be able to play up to those opportunities when they do. You have to use the time when you are not so busy to perfect your game and always be on top of it. It will swing the other way and a ton of things will be happening for you. Remember these times. Because they come back around.
Always treat everyone exactly the same. You see the same people on the way down you saw on the way up.
MAB