Historic Guitars Come Out To Play at Nashville's Country Music Hall Of Fame & Museum
During BIG NIGHT (At the Museum)—an unprecedented musical celebration, and a much-needed fundraiser for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum—a cast of modern music masters will play timeless songs on some of country music's most treasured instruments, inside the building that preserves and protects this uniquely American story.
Premiering at 8:00 PM CT October 28 exclusively here on the Museum's YouTube channel, BIG NIGHT (At the Museum) is hosted by Marty Stuart, with audio supervision from Dave Cobb, and performances from Alison Brown, Kane Brown, Carlene Carter, Rodney Crowell, Emmylou Harris, Miranda Lambert, Ashley McBryde, Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw, Keb' Mo', Brad Paisley, Ricky Skaggs, Dan Tyminski, The War and Treaty, and Lucinda Williams.
The event is free to view, and donations to support the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's mission are welcomed.
Subscribe by clicking the button to your right, and ring the bell to get alerts about Museum content. Then tune in at 8:00 PM CT on October 28 to witness history being honored, and made.
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AGN News: June 21st is "Make Music Day"
AGN News: June 21st is "Make Music Day"....For most of us, June 21st this year is Father’s Day, but it’s also the date for this year's lesser known, Make Music Day. Make Music Day was first launched in 1982 in France as the Fête de la Musique, when the country’s Ministry of Culture conceived an idea for a day where free, live music would be everywhere throughout the country and now nearly 40 years later, it's not only a national holiday in France, but it's celebrated in more than 120 countries around the world. Make Music Day is presented in the U.S. by the NAMM Foundation and is quote, “open to anyone who wants to take part. Every kind of musician – young and old, amateur and professional, of every musical persuasion – pours onto streets, parks, plazas, and porches to share their music with friends, neighbors, and strangers. All of it is free and open to the public.”
June 21, the summer solstice, was chosen as the date for the event, and last year, more than 1,000 cities around the world threw citywide music celebrations to make the occasion.
To find out about Make Music events in your city and how to get involved, click the INFO button and check out makemusicday.org.
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Interview with founding member of The Ventures, Don Wilson at the Grammy Museum
I caught up with founding member of The Ventures, Don Wilson at the Grammy Museum last week at the opening of this great new exhibition, "Walk, Don't Run", 60 Years Of The Ventures. Don is the only surviving member of the original line-up and his influence on guitarists all over the world is immeasurable. If you are a guitar player you must see this exhibit.
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AGN News: The (very real) Story Of Richard Jewell, from the guitar player who was onstage when the bomb went off
AGN News: The (very real) Story Of Richard Jewell, from the guitar player who was onstage when the bomb went off. Here's a review of the album by Mike O’Cull
Jack Mack & The Heart Attack’s new live album, Live From Centennial Park – Atlanta 1996, documents the most famous/infamous set the high-energy soul band has ever played in its 40 year history. Released December 6th, 2019 on SSR Free Roll Records, the record brings to life the 11-song set Jack Mack played at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia that was cut short by the explosion of a pipe bomb in an act of domestic terrorism captured on live TV.
The album is released in conjunction with the new film Richard Jewell from director Clint Eastwood and producer Leonardo DiCaprio via Warner Brothers about the wrongly-accused suspect in the crime, released December 13, 2019 in the USA. The film features two of the band’s performances, the Staples Singers’ “I’ll Take You There” and the band’s original song, “I Walked Alone.”
Often called “The Hardest Working Band in Soul Business,” Jack Mack & The Heart Attack have become known as one of the greatest dance/party bands in the world and lay down an epic R&B sound in the Stax/Volt, Motown, and Muscle Shoals traditions. These tracks are all about soul-drenched vocals, a tight rhythm section, Hammond organ licks, and a hot-to-the-touch horn crew that has raised roofs all over the planet. Vocalist TC Moses is an outstanding frontman who can instantly get any audience up and moving and he and the band were at the top of their form that humid July night in Atlanta. No one could have predicted what was about to happen as The Heart Attack rocked almost 40,000 concert goers and one of the greatest parties ever was quickly transformed into a grimly significant moment in American history.
The set goes hard from the jump and opens with the ultra-funky “(We Got) More Soul,” a brief-but-strong track that serves notice to all within earshot that the fun has begun. The groove engine of drummer Alvino Bennett, bassist Tim Scott, guitarist Andrew Kastner, and keyboardist John Paruolo flexes hard while The Heart Attack Horns soar over the top. The live context shows just how powerful this band is and the audience is clearly fully engaged with their performance.
“Breakin’ Down The Walls” keeps the funk flowing and delivers the socially relevant message that “given love, every child will grow strong.” Just hearing this band play live is an experience in rhythmic bliss and it’s easy to get lost in its deep pockets and dance yourself into a tizzy. The band’s extended version of The Staples Singers’ immortal “I’ll Take You There” is transcendent and is one of two Jack Mack cuts featured in the Richard Jewell film.
The Heart Attack continues to blaze through its show, taking those assembled to school, church, and back home again with a mix of originals and covers. They drop what must be the only version of James Brown’s “Sex Machine” to incorporate the Olympic Games theme, take off with their own “Livin’ It Up,” get down on Reverend Al Green’s anthem ‘Take Me To The River,” and deliver a 12-minute medley of Sly and the Family Stone classics including “Simple Song,” “Stand,” “I Want To Thank You,” and “I Want To Take You Higher” that is simply brilliant.
The band’s final song is the sweet R&B original “I Walked Alone” that’ll also be in the Richard Jewell film. They just finish the song and the crowd’s applause is washing over the stage when the recording is abruptly cut off by the blast of the bomb. That’s where the record ends and the terror begins. We don’t get to hear anything past that point and that’s just as well. The news footage is out there online if anyone who didn’t see it as it unfolded wants to view it. Live From Centennial Park – Atlanta 1996 lets us hear and recall the best moments of that fateful night, the moments that were life-affirming and soul-stirring right up to the point where everything came undone. Jack Mack & The Heart Attack should be proud to put this recording out into the universe and let people hear the amazing show that preceded this tragic event.
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Fab's Music Café: Fab interviews Blues guitar legend, Josh Smith
In this episode, Fab interviews Blues guitar legend, Josh Smith. Blues rock guitar virtuoso, singer-songwriter and producer, Josh Smith, is hailed the world over as a master guitarist with raw talent and power to spare. Blending his signature mix of blues, rock and jazz into dynamic original songs, Smith is known for his incendiary live performances, whether at the Grammy Awards or the Kennedy Center Honors with Mick Jagger, Raphael Saadiq and others.
Born in 1979, Josh started playing guitar at age six. Praised as a blues prodigy by the time he was 12 years old, he began playing at professional blues jams in South Florida, sitting in with such greats as Jimmy Thackery, Tinsley Ellis, Kenny Neal, Lucky Peterson, Matt “Guitar” Murphy, Johnny “Clyde” Copeland, Double Trouble, Joanna Connor and Kim Simmonds, among others. Jimmy Thackery said of the 14-year-old, “Josh is three heartbreaks away from being a true blues guitar genius.”
That insight from Jimmy Thackery proved true as Josh began releasing CDs at age 14. His first national tour with his power trio, Josh Smith and the Frost, featured Josh as bandleader, vocalist as well as guitarist. The legendary producer Jim Gaines (Santana, SRV, Luther Allison, Steve Miller, Jimmy Thackery) produced Josh’s third CD, Too Damn Cold and Woman. By 1998, he had completed four national tours with his band. Josh was then asked to support the great B.B. King on a number of shows.
Opening for B.B. King was just the beginning for this in-demand artist and lead guitarist for artists such as Taylor Hicks, Ricky Fante (Virgin Records), Raphael Saadiq, actress Taryn Manning, Universal Music Group hip-hop artists Benny Cassette and Tara Ellis, and more. He has the distinction of inducting Neil Diamond into the Kennedy Center Honors with Raphael Saadiq’s band and honoring Solomon Burke at the Grammys with Mick Jagger.
Within a year of moving to L.A. in 2002, Josh was retained by Virgin recording artist Ricky Fante and performed nationally and internationally with Ricky for the next two years. In 2006, Josh recorded his fifth CD, Deep Roots and continued to play with a variety of artists such as actress Taryn Manning, Universal Music hip-hop artists Benny Cassette and Tara Ellis, to name a few. In 2007, Josh was hired by 2006 American Idol winner Taylor Hicks to be his lead guitarist. They completed two national tours before Josh was hired as lead guitarist by Grammy Award winner Raphael Saadiq. Josh continues to tour with Saadiq.
In 2009, Josh released his 6th studio CD, Inception and in 2010 he was signed to Crosscut Records based in Germany. Crosscut re-released Josh’s breakout album, Deep Roots as I’m Gonna Be Ready. In 2013, Josh’s CD Don’t Give Up On Me was also released in Germany, followed by Over Your Head in 2014. In 2016, Josh’s jazz album, Still was released to critical acclaim as was Burn To Grow in 2018.
Along with touring the world, recording and performing with renowned artists such as Joe Bonamassa, Eric Johnson, Andy Timmons, Kirk Fletcher and others, Smith is also a producer and owns Flat V Studios in Los Angeles. He has produced artists Reese Wynans (Joe Bonamassa), Artur Menezes (winner of the Eric Clapton 2019 Crossroads Festival) Seth Rosenbloom, Jamey Arent and many more.
Josh’s latest and 11th album, Live At The Spud, was released January 8, 2020 on Flat V Music, and features Smith and his power trio recorded live over two nights at the legendary Baked Potato in Los Angeles. The new album features Smith on guitar and vocals, Gary Novak on drums and Trevor Carlton on bass. The goal was to present an unedited look at a normal night at the Baked Potato. Compelling, improvisational and explosive. Josh is currently touring worldwide in support of the live album.
Josh lives in Los Angeles with his wife and son.
