Work What Your Mama Gave Ya

Interesting title for what you are about to read… We are taught very basic skills from birth:

1. Say please and thank you
2. Mind your manners, be polite
3. Always be on time
4. Respect your elders
5. Encourage your friends

These life skills and guiding principals, along with many others I am sure, are instilled in us as children.  However somewhere between childhood and “know-it-all adulthood” people forget the simple graces of social interaction and begin to think that these rules don’t apply and that they can do it better.

NashVEGAS Goes To Hollywood

Gwyneth singing "Coming Home" at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards

This year, Nashville songwriters were up for Best Original Song in a motion picture for their work in Country Strong. Nashville’s own Tom Douglas, Hillary Lindsey and Troy Verges were nominated for their song, “Coming Home.” Kudos to being in the running, but the award went to Randy Newman for his work in Toy Story 3 (20 times nominated, 2-time winner).  The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).

World's LARGEST Number 1 Party

Yesterday I had the chance to attend the WORLD’S LARGEST #1 PARTY hosted by Nashville Songwriters Association International.  Once a year Nashville’s music industry gathers together at NSAI under a big white tent, complete with food and drinks, to honor and celebrate the songwriters of the past year that have written a number one hit.  As we see the decline of cds and the increase of mp3s, we find people really have to write #1s to get cut by an  artist.  Well, these people have done it!