DAVE'S DIARY - 25/1/2016 - PREVIEW OF EPISODE 9 - SERIES 29
DOLLY AND JEWEL HEADLINE NU COUNTRY TV
Singing actors Dolly Parton and Jewel headline Nu Country TV this Saturday January 30 on Channel 31/ Digital 44 at 9.30 pm with a trip back to Alaska.
Illinois singer-songwriter Mo Pitney celebrates his engagement to a bluegrass belle in a song from his debut album on the show repeated Monday 2.30 pm, Wednesday 7.30 am and Thursday 3 am.
Mississippi minstrel William Michael Morgan debuts on the program filmed and edited by Laith Graham.
Californian chanteuse Cam also appears on the eve of her first Australian tour and Fawkner fraulein Jasmine Rae returns after appearing in Tamworth.
North Carolina string band Mipso joins Jewel and Dolly live in Behind Bars in a paternal song double shot.
Nu Country TV is a highlight of C 31 streaming list on Digital 44.
Just follow this link on your computer or mobile phone -
http://www.c31.org.au/program/view/program/nu-country-tv
JEWEL RETURNS TO ALASKA
 |
Jewel honours her dad with help from fellow singing actor Dolly Parton in their latest video.
She took us on an evocative trip back to her Alaska childhood in the Pilcher family log cabin as she relived rural bliss in the snow at Homer with siblings, pets and livestock.
My Father's Daughter is on her 12th album Picking up The Pieces .
Jewel, 41, played June Carter Cash in the Ring Of Fire movie long after debuting in 1999 film Ride With The Devil .
The singer, born Jewel Kilcher, boomeranged after a knife-wielding bandit was charged with stalking her on September 21, 2009 at the 2,200-acre Stephenville ranch she shared with former husband - retired rodeo champion Ty Murray.
She split with Ty in 2014 after a six year marriage.
Jewel also quit Dancing With The Stars because of debilitating knee injuries - fractured tibia in both legs.
A bus carrying Jewel's band crashed after a show in Virginia Beach on Sunday August 31, 2008, when the driver passed out.
Her career began as a struggling, homeless coffeehouse performer before she landed a major label deal in 1994.
Debut 1995 album Pieces of You , propelled by radio smashes Who Will Save Your Soul and You Were Meant For Me, was one of the biggest debuts of all time selling 12 million copies.
But after meeting John Rich of Big & Rich she branched out into country with the album Perfectly Clear.
Further info - http://www.jeweljk.com/
SEPTUAGENARIAN DOLLY
 |
Dolly, a movie veteran at 70, recently recorded duets with Texan born Eagles co-founder Don Henley on his fifth solo album Cass County. The Tennessee superstar last toured here in 2014 to promote her 42nd album Blue Smoke that features duets with Texans Shotgun Willie Nelson and Kenny Rogers. The singer showcased many music styles on her tour - also 50th anniversary of meeting asphalter husband Carl Dean at the Wishy Washy Laundromat in Nashville. Dolly has since cleaned up in movies and music that crosses all boundaries. CLICK HERE for a feature on Dolly and Blue Smoke in The Diary on February 8, 2014. CLICK HERE for a Dolly CD review in the Diary on August 27, 2008. |
CLICK HERE for an older Dolly CD review in the Diary on November 11, 2003.
MO PITNEY'S BLUEGRASS BELLE
 |
New traditionalist Mo Pitney celebrates his engagement to bluegrass belle Emily Bankester with his video for Boy & Girl Thing from his self-titled debut disc.
Mo proposed to Emily on September 10 and shared a photo on Instagram of his bride-to-be sporting a sparkly new gem on her ring finger, with the scripture Proverbs 18:22 - "He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favour from the Lord."
Emily sings and plays fiddle and banjo in Bluegrass/Americana family band The Bankesters who released second album Love Has Wheels on September 24.
Mo, 22, previously appeared with Country - a song he wrote with veteran singer-songwriter Whispering Bill Anderson and Bobby Tomberlin.
Mo was raised on bluegrass in Cherry County, Illinois, and followed Country with I Met Merle Haggard Today and Boy & Girl Thing .
Further info - http://www.mopitney.com/
WILLIAM MICHAEL MORGAN MET A GIRL
 |
William Michael Morgan, also 22, debuts I Met A Girl - written by Sam Hunt, Shane McAnally and Trevor Rosen of Old Dominion .
It's the first Top 40 hit by the singer from Vicksburg, Mississippi, who escaped unharmed after a New Year's Day car accident.
“Angels were watching me tonight,” Morgan revealed.
“Thank you good lord. Thank you. Thanks everyone for you sweet messages last night. I'm going now to get all of my stuff out of the Jeep. Only thing wrong is it's hard to walk on my left knee, but I think time will heal that. All is well. Thank you Jesus.”
Baritone Morgan debuted with the song - a throwback to the more traditional sound missing from country radio - on the Grand Ole Opry in October.
The song has progressive elements but Morgan's performance is reminiscent of a young George Strait.
His parents enjoyed classic country music, and aged six, Morgan was a Marty Robbins fan.
By the age of nine, Morgan had his first guitar, and taught himself songs by Keith Whitley and Mark Chesnutt, checking out instructional videos online when he had trouble figuring out licks.
When Morgan was 12, inspired by a Dierks Bentley concert, he formed a band with local pickers - most old enough to be his father - that performed in Vicksburg and nearby on weekends.
In 2006 Morgan, 13, and his band released indie album, Always Country , and he worked part-time to help finance musical projects.
Morgan was 16 when he visited Nashville for song-writing sessions, and at 18 moved there to follow his dreams.
At 19 Morgan landed publishing and recording deals with Warner/Chappell Music .
Further info - http://www.williammichaelmorgan.com/
CAM DREAMS OF A BURNING HOUSE
 |
Californian chanteuse Cam debuts on the eve of her Australian tour with the graphic video for Burning House from her second album Untamed .
The singer, who grew up at Lafayette in San Francisco, is a prolific writer.
Cam, now 31, released debut album Heartforward under maiden name Camaron Ochs
She plays CMC Rocks Queensland at Ipswich in March with Jason Aldean, Florida Georgia Line, Lee Brice and many more.
CLICK HERE for her CD review in The Diary.
JASMINE RAE WEDDING ANTHEM
Fawkner filly Jasmine Rae may have grown up in the northern Melbourne suburb known for its large cemetery.
But the singer, now 27, returns to our show with the video for her wedding anthem When I Found You from fourth album Heartbeat .
Jasmine wrote the song for her best friend Amber and sang it at her wedding.
 |
“You know how you have that one friend that you've been friends with for as long as you can remember?” Rae explained. “She's that friend for me. We met when we were four years old and so I always imagined, when I was like five, that I'd sing at her wedding and it would be a song that I'd written. I just can't believe that that's actually the case! Myself and my piano player, who plays in my band, and his song writing partner, we wrote it the week before. We were getting to the point where it was like, 'Jasmine, if you're going to write a song you have to write it now' and I think sometimes when you're under pressure and you've definitely got a deadline, some of the best work happens. Hopefully. So it was cool. It was something I've always wanted to do but there was no pressure from her. She had no idea, actually. She didn't know I was doing it. She knew I was gonna sing something, but it was a surprise for her and she cried all her expensive make up off at the time! Even in my album booklet, it says that it's dedicated to Amber and Nathan, so that's definitely their song. She thinks it's cool.” |
The single is now fast becoming a true love anthem.
“I've been told by many fans that they have played When I Found You at their weddings in recent months, which is a huge thrill and the ultimate compliment as a songwriter,” Jasmine revealed.
CLICK HERE for a Jasmine CD Review in the Diary on August 31, 2015.
MIPSO STRINGS IN FATHER'S HOUSE
 |
North Carolina string band Mipso keep the paternal theme flowing in Behind Bars with their live version of My Father's House.
The quartet found a light on the porch in its third album Old Time Reverie.
Mipso features mandolinist Jacob Sharp, guitarist Joseph Terrell, fiddler Libby Rodenbough and double bassist Wood Robinson.
They wandered off the path blazed by Earl Scruggs and Doc Watson to find a new clearing for their southern string band.
“This is a highly guarded secret,” Mipso guitarist Terrell says of the band's name.
“There's a phrase in Japan, it means something familiar, but there's something a little bit off. And it roughly translates, or at least we were told, to ‘a little pee in the miso.' And so we put a little P in the miso: Mipso .”
The quartet is based in and around Carrboro, North Carolina, but don't spend much time there while touring.
Old Time Reverie on Chapel Hill-based Robust Records features 11 songs.
First album, Long, Long Gone , was “us learning how to write songs and play together,” mandolinist Sharp says.
He described follow-up Dark Holler Pop as a lesson on what it takes to make a record their own way, with their own musical peers, including members of North Carolina bands Chatham County Line, Mandolin Orange and Town Mountain .
“This one,” Sharp says, “felt like it was the first time we made really a Mipso record, because in two years of touring we found what is our natural, home sound.”
Terrell adds: “We've learned better how to sound like us.”
Part of their sound is fiddle playing and vocals from Rodenbough who joined after graduating from University of North Carolina.
“We're all lovers of bluegrass and fans of bluegrass,” says Terrell, “but one difference this record showcases is that Libby's more a student of old time music. She's studied old time around here in North Carolina, and she actually took a semester off school to study Celtic fiddle in Ireland. And so rather than bringing the flavour of a bluegrass fiddle player to the band, she's really helped us rethink the way that an old time fiddle fits into a string-band context. I think this record showcases that.”
Further info - http://www.mipsomusic.com/
HOW TO KEEP NU COUNTRY ON AIR
We need your support as we celebrate the 29th series of Nu Country TV with Australian record companies and artists who teamed to ensure our survival.
Sony has given us the latest CD and DVD by Georgian star Jason Aldean on the eve of his debut Australian tour in March.
We also have Angels And Alcohol - 20th album by fellow Georgian superstar Alan Jackson and Adam Harvey's 12th album Harvey's Bar - The Backyard Sessions .
Also new CDS by major artists you can win by becoming a Nu Country TV member or renewing membership.
They include singing actors Willie Nelson, Tim McGraw and Toby Keith, Ashley Monroe, Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Gary Allan, Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, Charley Pride and more.