Vince Gill + Me + a porn shop

SH*T KICKIN’ IN NASHVILLE

you all know Nashville is my favorite city ever.  i’m here for 2 weeks.  I had a show–which it turns out was my first show in 5 years in Nashville…which is crazy to me–at a club called The Basement.  I love playing there.  It’s almost like a black box theater–just without the theater seating and with the addition of a bar.  actually that comparison is shitty–the walls are painted black, which is the only similarity. It was a blast.

I played some new songs including my new live version of ‘i want your sex’.  I made it up the day before the show and build the whole song by looping my vocals then singing over them.  It’s a lot of fun to perform and people really dug it.  i’m gonna put the live version on my EP too for fun.  so there.  i’m lucky that a video was taken of the performance (below) so go check that out!

I’d like to send a very special (and great big) thank you to Trina Irby (@xoxo_trina) and Brittaney Feltman (@brittfelt) for roadtripping from Alabama to see my show.  They tweeted me about their scheme and carried it out like champs.  that’s what happens when you’re bad ass and talk to me on twitter (@iamchrismann….dooooo iiiiiitttttt).  love y’all.  so fun hanging out and HAPPY BDAY!

So my friend Ashley Monroe, who is a ridiculous country singer, came to my show at The Basement.  She’s had a big ole’ career as an artist and songwriter in Nashville for years.  Well she’s got some new songs that she’s written with, and for, Vince Gill.  I regard Vince as one of the best singers of all time and is a huge hero to me.  So I was really excited when Ashley asked me to come over to Vince’s home studio with her while she recorded her harmonies with Vince on their song.  I went.  I’ll tell you about that in a sec…but until then, and on a different note, here’s my earliest Vince Gill memory:

VINCE GILL + ME + A PORN SHOP

When i was growing up in Kansas and was starting to realize i wanted to try to be a recording artist i looked in the phone book to see what studios there were in Wichita.  I found one.  (side note–remember when you actually looked in the phone book and not google?).  I called and set up an appointment.  I was, probably, 15 years old.  I asked my parents about it and they didn’t want me to go cause it was pretty shady looking, but i went anyway.  (i’m trying to remember how i got there–joy riding, perhaps?)

I show up to this dumpy-ass studio, somewhere near downtown, and was greeted by cigarette smoke, ashes and trash everywhere.  Some dirty dude takes me to some dirty room where i found the *tape player* to put in my *cassette tape*– a track of Vince Gill’s “If you ever have forever in mind”.  Such an incredibly beautiful song.  here’s the youtube link to hear.

So my tape starts to play and i, nervously, start singing along.  Then i start looking around the room and notice it is FILLED with porn–magazines, videos et all.  Keep in mind that i’m 15 and the only porn i’ve seen was in my friend’s basement where his dad’s 70′s Playboys were boxed up.  This was creepy–a porn filled room with studio fatties smoking cigarettes listening to a 15 year old white kid sing Vince Gill songs.  Years later, i’m pretty positive that this ‘recording studio’ was a ‘porn studio’.  My first ‘industry audition’–classy.

Fast forward many years and i’m in Vince Gill’s Nashville studio hanging with him and listening to his amazing voice.  He sounds better than ever!  His brand new, gorgeous studio felt like a beautiful plantation home with walls made of (hundreds of) guitars.  I felt, truly, honored to be there.  He is one of the nicest guys i’ve ever met and he was very welcoming.  at the end of the session we listened to my song ‘beautiful life’ from my upcoming record.  Understand how cool i was trying to be–casually playing one of my songs for Vince Gill and sitting back in the chair like it ain’t no thing?!  i was shivering, dry mouthed and peeing myself.  It was insanely nerve-wracking to watch vince gill listen to you sing.  But he liked it (so he said) so I left happy and am taking his word for it.

I thanked him for letting me be a fly on the wall and then proceeded to try to find my car in his driveway among, literally, 15 other cars.  i found it.  it was the shitty one.

After Ashley and i left Vince’s we headed out to Franklin, TN to go watch Miranda Lambert (another big country singer) film her new CMT special ‘Invitation Only.’  She can sing her ass off–and did.  I’m a big country music fan so i was pumped to hear her sing her big hits.  we sat with her (extremely) Texas parents, which is always fun.  I did catch a pretty amazing moment–Miranda was singing her current #1 single and her mom was crying proud tears of joy during the song.  It was awesome.  Even when your baby is already super famous and successful….she’s still your baby up there singing her heart out.  It made it all seem so real.  all the hard work it takes to get to the top.  all the sacrifice the Lambert’s made to help Miranda get there.  They still feel it.

After Miranda’s show we were supposed to go see Kelly Clarkson do a secret show at Cummin’s Station but we were tired (and had had too much wine) and bailed.  I wish we had toughed it out though–Vince Gill, Miranda Lambert and Kelly Clarkson all in one night?  That’s Nashville for ya.

ALL ABOUT MUSIC FESTIVAL – NASHVILLE

The main reason i came to Nashville was to play the All About Music festival which is a set of shows that the people who place songs in TV and film come to to hear new music.  It was a blast and i got to meet and play with some amazing artists like Eli “Paperboy” Reed, News Boys, SixPence None the Richer, Joel and Luke, House of Heroes, Gareth Dunlop, The Afters, among many many others.  It was a great way to meet and hear some other artsits.  I always blown away by how much talent is out there.

It was 3 days of schmooze-fest craziness and i’m still recovering.  The last night was the craziest which is why my facebook status on Saturday read “phone….where are you?”  Luckily for me the cleaning lady at the hotel found it and turned it in, God bless her.  I felt like i was without a limb!

MATTHEW MORRISON RECORD

for the rest of the week i’m in Nashville helping write songs for Matt Morrison’s new record.  you know, Mr. Shu on Glee.

I love me some writing so hopefully i come up with something he’ll like.

Hope you’re staying cool out there!  it’s so freakin’ humid and hot here!  how i’ve gotten use to the LA weather.  so lame.

Have a great week!