8-22-11

LATEST NEWS  FROM NEIL HAISLOP'S NASHVILLE IQ

DIERKS BENTLEY ANSWERS HIS OWN QUESTION “AM I THE ONLY ONE” when “Am I The Only One” puts only Dierks Bentley’s name at #1 this week. While...

BRAD PAISLEY’s “Remind Me” leaps up 3 big notches to put him at #2 and....

LADY ANTEBELLUM’s “Just A Kiss” kissed #1 goodbye as it slips from #1 to #3....and

LUKE BRYAN’s “Country Girl” marks time at #4 this week...leaving...

JAKE OWEN’s “Barefoot Blue Jean Night” rising a couple to round out the Top 5 at #5

TAYLOR SWIFT LOVES FANS‟ PASSION FOR “SPARKS FLY”

Taylor Swift, always a prolific writer with a big catalog to pull from, says her latest single, “Sparks Fly,” is actually a song she wrote a few years ago, but it was the fans‟ enthusiasm and passion for the song that convinced her to re-work it a bit and put iton her Speak Now album. “‟Sparks Fly‟ is a song that I wrote a few years ago and played in concert. When we did the 13 hour meet and greet at CMA Fest, that was a comment that I kept getting over and over again, „so, what about „Sparks Fly‟, is it gonna be on the next record? What‟s going on with it?‟” recalls the superstar. “And I really appreciate it when you guys pay such close attention,” she continues, addressing her fans directly. “I mean, I played that song a tmaybe one or two shows and you guys just jumped on it and really made it something that I had to put on the album because you guys really showed interest in
it. And that‟s one of my favorite things about ya‟ll is that you really tell me what you like and what you‟re thinking and what you‟re feeling.” “Sparks Fly” is the opening song on her  Speak Now North American Tour, which kicks off a run of four sold-out shows this week at Los Angeles‟ STAPLES Center. The dress rehearsal benefit concert for the tour which Taylor opened to the public (and raised more than $750,000 for tornado victims) this spring was just honored with a  VH1 Do Something! award this week. Click here to watch Taylor‟s acceptance speech.

ACHMED THE DEAD TERRORIST TALKS ABOUT HIS SON

Comic genius and master ventriloquist, Jeff Dunham, got some important early exposure several years ago on a brief country music variety show on NBC. He’s gone on to become one of the world’s top international humorists and most successful ventriloquist around with great characters like Walter, Bubba J, Jose Jalapeno (a talking jalepeno on a stick) and Achmed the Dead Terrorist.

Jeff is in to process of mounting a  huge tour this fall, that will include some new characters including Achmed the Terrorists’ son, Achmed Jr. We chatted with Jeff recently and asked how a dead terrorist could have a son. So, Jeff turned the mic over Achmed to give us the exclusive story of his son.

ACHMED:  “Of course, okay...Well, we tell the joke in the Chistmas  special w how my son is not around anymore..and so, I’m telling the joke in the show where I say I am a bad parent and my son is not around anymore...and Jeff says, ‘What happened?...and I go, ‘Well I took my son to take your son-to-work-day...So, everyone assumed that my son is no longer around and that was the joke..Ha, Ha...!....AND THEN this Jeff guy comes along and thinks, ‘You know we should come up with Achmed actually having a son and the son is actually not dead...he’s kind of half-dead, half blown up...and so Jeff decided to make this half blown-up, idiot looking character who’s supposed to be my ugly son..and that’s him, Achmed Jr. “AJ” and that’s where he came from...thanks for asking the question, I love your audience, (thanks Achmed,) WHATEVER..I KILL YOU!”

Jeff tells us he is getting ready start a full slate of shows through March 2012 that offers his millions of fans brand new laughs and hilarious additions to his famed troupe of sidekicks. In the coming months, concertgoers will meet two new Dunham characters: the afore mentioned Achmed Junior, the not-as-equally skeletal son of Achmed the Dead Terrorist, and Little Jeff, a mini-version of the ringmaster himself. The fresh show from the arena-packing comedian will also have its global debut on September 25th as his fourth Comedy Central one-hour TV special, “Controlled Chaos,” bows in North America and makes an unprecedented simultaneous premiere in over a dozen territories worldwide.

“Controlled Chaos” also hits the home entertainment market on DVD on September 27th, and preorders are now open at Amazon.com, where it hit #2 in comedy sales two months out from its release. Dunham followers anxious for a taste of his all-new live show can catch a teaser and see clips at www.jeffdunham.com/controlled chaos.

The comic has taken his craft to unequalled heights of success in recent years. He currently boasts 7 million DVDs sold of his three previous specials and Comedy Central series, a New York Times Book Review bestseller list autobiography (“All By My Selves”), ratings records for his past TV shows, a briskly selling line of more than 100 items of merchandise, and a live show that fills top venues in North America, Europe, South Africa and Australia to rapturous receptions and standing ovations nightly.

Further information on Jeff Dunham is at: www.jeffdunham.com. His upcoming special has its own dedicated page at: www.jeffdunham.com/controlled chaos.

Jeff Dunham Controlled Chaos tour dates:

October 6    Loveland CO    Budweiser Events Center
October 7    Kearney NE    Viaero Center
October 8    Salina KS    Bicentennial Center
October 9    Brookings SD    Swiftel Center
October 12    Rockford IL    Metro Center
October 13    Bemidji MN    Sanford Center
October 20    Amherst MA    Mullins Center
October 21    Worcester MA    DCU Center
October 22    Kingston ON    K Rock Centre
October 23    Ottawa ON    Scotiabank Place
November 3    Binghamton NY    Broome County Arena
November 4    Lowell MA    Paul Tsongas Arena
November 5    Fairfax VA    Patriot Center
November 6    Norfolk VA    The Constant Center
November 9    Winston-Salem NC    Joel Coliseum
November 10    Charlottesville VA    John Paul Jones Arena
November 25    Nashville TN    Bridgestone Arena
November 26    Indianapolis IN    Conseco Fieldhouse
November 27    Toledo OH    Huntington Center
December 3    Las Vegas NV    Caesar's Palace
December 8    Glens Falls NY    Civic Center
December 9    Syracuse NY    The Oncenter
December 10    Trenton NJ    Sun National Bank Center
December 11    Roanoke VA    Civic Center
December 26    Columbus OH    Nationwide Arena
December 27    Reading PA    Sovereign Center
December 28    Baltimore MD    1st Mariner Arena
December 29    Hartford CT    XL Center
December 30    Buffalo NY    HSBC Arena
December 31    Pittsburgh PA    Consol Energy Center
January 12    Toronto ON, Canada    Air Canada Centre
January 13    University Park PA    Bryce Jordan Center
January 14    Providence RI    Dunkin' Donuts Center
January 15    Rochester NY    Blue Cross Arena
January 18    Halifax NS, Canada    Metro Centre
January 19    St. John NB, Canada    Harbor Station Arena
January 26    New Orleans LA    New Orleans Arena
January 27    Southaven MS    Desoto Civic Center
January 28    Atlanta GA    Phillips Arena
January 29    Knoxville TN    Knoxville Coliseum
February 1    Evansville IN    The New Evansville Arena
February 2    Kansas City MO    Sprint Center
February 4    Rancho Mirage CA    Rancho Mirage Casino
February 9    Pensacola FL    Civic Center
February 10    Jacksonville FL    Veterans Memorial Coliseum
February 11    Sunrise FL    Bank Atlantic Center
February 12    Daytona FL    Ocean Center
February 23    Corpus Christi TX    American Bank Center
February 24    Austin TX    Frank Erwin Center
February 25    Wichita KS    Intrust Arena
February 26    Tulsa OK    BOK Center
February 29    St. Louis MO    Family Arena
March 1    Shreveport LA    CenturyLink Center
March 8    Wichita Falls TX    Kay Yeager Coliseum
March 9    Little Rock AR    Verizon Arena
March 10    Springfield MO    JQH Arena
March 11    Des Moines IA    Wells Fargo Center
March 14    Rio Rancho NM    Santa Ana Star Center
March 15    Phoenix AZ    US Airways Center
March 22    Kelowna BC, Canada    Prospera Place
March 23    Abbottsford BC, Canada    Entertainment and Sports Centre
March 24    Tacoma WA    Tacoma Dome
March 25    Spokane WA    Spokane Arena
March 28    Stockton CA    Stockton Arena
March 29    Reno NV    Reno Events Center
March  31    Los Angeles CA    Nokia Theatre

RASCAL FLATTS AT BULLSEYE CALLOUT

The strength of "Easy" for Rascal Flatts is with Favorite scoring at Callout America ranking as the # 6 Favorite overall with Listeners 18+...CORE 35-44 year olds are at # 3 favorite as are adults 25-44..  Younger adults 25-34
are at # 9 in Favorite scoring..  Adults 35-54 rank Rascal Flatts as the #  7 Favorite. Rascal Flatts is testing as a TOP 10 Favorite song at Callout America with Listeners in Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Wichita, Charlotte, Mobile /
Pensacola, Nashville, Pittsburgh, Rochester, Colorado Springs, Houston, Modesto, Phoenix and Portland..  

TOP 10 Favorite in 65% of all Callout America Markets..

ON MPE & YOUR DESK NOW * IMPACT DATE 8-22
EDENS EDGE TOUR DATES WITH LADY ANTEBELLUM
11/25 Huntsville, Ala. Von Braun Civic Center
11/26 Florence, S.C. Florence Civic Center
11/27 Savannah, Ga. Savannah Civic Center
12/1 Colorado Springs, Colo. Colorado Springs Arena
12/2 Lubbock, Texas City Bank Coliseum
12/3 Wichita Falls, Texas Kay Yeager Coliseum
12/4 Belton, Texas Bell County Expo Center
12/8 La Crosse, Wis. La Crosse Center Arena
12/9 Sioux City, Iowa Tyson Center
12/10 Springfield, Mo. JQH Arena
12/11 Murray, Ky. CFSB Center
12/15 Amherst, Mass. The Mullins Center
12/16 Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Mohegan Sun Arena
12/17 Roanoke, Va. Roanoke Civic Center
12/18 Morgantown, W.Va. WVU Coliseum
JUST IN: STEEL MAGNOLIA TALK JEANS IN
DENIM CULTURE ADVERTORIAL ON AMAZON
Steel Magnolia‟s Joshua Scott Jones and Meghan
Linsey love their denim, and they spotlight favorites
here in this Amazon advertorial, complete with new
photo shoot!

MARTINA McBRIDE WAS RAISED TO BE A GIVER

Martina McBride‟s  music career keeps her plenty busy, but she always makes time to give back and she says, “I just think it's part of who I am.  I mean I don't really ever think about it in a conscious kind of way.  It just is something that … I mean I
grew up in a really small town where there's a huge sense of community.  It is about if somebody's having a hard time we all have to pull together and help.”  Martina has been heavily involved in organizations that try to prevent and raise awareness about domestic violence, including the National Domestic Violence Hotline, ChildHelp USA and the YWCA, plus she has done a lot of work with the Safe Haven family shelter in Nashville that allows displaced families to stay together in their time of need. Martina’s new single, “I’m Gonna Love You Through It,” is already touching lives and it will be on her new CD, Eleven, which will be in stores October 11th.


THE BAND PERRY EXCITED FOR FANS TO SEE ALL YOUR LIFE VIDEO

 The Band Perry  recently filmed the video for their new song, “All Your Life,” and they’re excited for fans to see it.  Neil Perry is proud of the video because he says, “Because we spent a lot more time planning this video everything just felt perfect, from the tiny little details inside the video, which some people will notice, some people won't.  But uh, the cast was perfect.  Had a lot of character to it.”  Another reason he really liked shooting the video is because for the first time he and his brother Reid had their own love interests in a video, which is something only Kimberly has had up to this point in the history of The Band Perry videos.  

Neil also works with a creepy co-star, a five-foot Cuban boa constrictor.  “And the colors are just gorgeous,” says Kimberly.  “There's almost like two videos going on at once, depending on the color treatment.  It's so interesting and really a piece of art.  I'm so excited.” The clip premiered this week on CMT.

 

ELI YOUNG BAND ENJOYS BEING SERENADED BY FANS

For any artist when a crowd sings their song back to them in concert it’s a pretty thrilling experience.  Now that Eli Young Band  has a hit on their hands with “Crazy Girl” the crowds are singing it every night, but Mike Eli recalls it was a gradual build to this point.  “I know that we've been playing that song for about a year and a half now and have kind of just started building and building.  And even before the album, or the song was even available on iTunes, people were watching it on YouTube and they started coming to the shows and it was kind of interspersed between the crowd, you know, like some people were singing it here and some people were singing it there.”  But he does recall the first time it really hit him that the entire crowd was singing along to their song.  “I think the first time I really noticed a big uproar for that song was when we played in Dallas-Fort Worth.  We played at Lonestar Park and that was the first time I really felt like the whole crowd knew all the words.”  “Crazy Girl” is the first single off of Eli Young Band’s new album,  Life At Best, in stores this week, and the guys have come up with a very PG-13 way for you to save enough money to buy the album.  Watch it here.



REBA HAS SURPRISING GOAL ON HER BUCKET LIST

Reba  has a successful music career, she’s done TV, movies and Broadway and she has her own line of clothing and household goods in Dillard’s, so some people might wonder, what’s left on her bucket list?  Reba says, “Well, the thing that I would like to do is travel more, and you might think that’s funny because we tour all the time, but I love to go to different place and see things that I haven’t seen before.”  A lot of times when she’s touring she’s in and out of cities and she doesn’t have time to explore or take in the scenery, which is why she loves taking trips like she did last year from Calgary, Canada over to Vancouver, Canada on the Rocky Mountaineer train.  “I wanted to do that forever and I got to do that,” says Reba, “and just little things like that just to see this beautiful country we live in, United States and Canada, beautiful scenery and you get to meet the most fascinating people.”  While she’ll be busy, Reba will be doing plenty of traveling when she kicks off the US leg of her All The Women I Am Tour on October 6
th in Moline, Illinois. [AUDIO]



JUSTIN MOORE STILL HAS NO FORMAL PRE-SHOW RITUAL

When Justin Moore first started touring he admitted he didn’t have any kind of pre-show ritual or warm-up he went through, except for maybe taking a shot of whiskey before he hit the stage and letting it fly, although he thought he should develop one.  “Yeah, well I say that, but I’m an idiot and don’t ever do it,” admits Justin.  Not much has changed.  

“No, pretty much just whiskey, still (laughs).  My mama’s so proud.”  At this point Justin would develop a pre-show routine, but he says, “No, I’ve been fortunate, we’ve been doing this for now four years at this level and I’ve been lucky to have my voice stay in good shape.  And I’m kinda of the opinion if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”  Justin’s latest single, “Bait A Hook,” has already landed in the top 40 after officially being at radio for only two weeks.

SUCCESS ISN’T ABOUT THE MONEY FOR BRANTLEY GILBERT

Brantley Gilbert  has seen some pretty good success as a songwriter, having written “Dirt Road Anthem” and “My Kinda Party” for Jason Aldean, plus his own single, “Country Must Be Country Wide,” which is doing quite well.  Thanks to those songs he’ll probably be seeing some nice songwriting royalty checks, but Brantley isn’t concerned about the money and it’s not how he measures success.  “I don’t need much.  I’m single.  I live in a one bedroom apartment and I’ve never been a big house guy and as far as money goes I don’t spend it.  I just don’t.”  To
Brantley success is about making sure the guys who work with him and the people he cares about are taken care of, but he doesn’t need much.  “I may buy a pack of cigarettes here and there, if I’m stressed out I’ll buy a few beers (laughs).  But if my clothes get as tired as they are right now, like these guys, I’ll go buy some more, but other than that I just don’t spend money.”  Look forBrantley’s new CD, Halfway to Heaven: Deluxe Edition in stores on September 13
th



 SUNNY SWEENEY’S NEW ALBUM IS SOLID AND HEAVY … LIKE CONCRETE

Sunny Sweeney’s new CD, Concrete, will be in stores on August 23rd.  If you look at the track listing there isn’t actually a song called Concrete, but Sunny explains, chose the title Concrete for my new record … for multiple reasons, but I wanted something that was sonically solid.  So like, you hear something called Concrete you think automatically, 'oh, it must be solid.'  And I think that musically the songs are solid and I think the lyrics are solid and I'm more proud of this than I've been of anything in my life.


RASCAL FLATTS SHARE THE STAGE WITH SARA EVANS THIS SUMMER

Rascal Flatts‟ latest single, “Easy,” is a duet they sing with Natasha Bedingfield, so when they were putting together their Flatts Fest Tour they had to figure out if they wanted to have Natasha on a video screen, or
maybe a female back-up singer cover her part, but instead they came up with a great treat for their fans, getting their opener, Sara Evans to sing Natasha‟s part every night.    “We asked her and she loves the song and was willing to stick around,” Jay explains.  And they realize what a big deal it is
for her to do that because, as Jay says, “It‟s hard, it‟s hard for somebody that‟s been off stage for an hour and a half to get pumped back up to come back out to do one song (laughs).  So we‟re very, very grateful that she decided to come out and do that with us each night.  And it is one of my favorite moments of the show, to be quite honest.”  Fans will be able to catch the Rascal Flatts/Sara Evans collaboration on “Easy” through the end of the Flatts Fest Tour, which wraps up on September 18th in San Diego, CA.


EDENS EDGE ENDURING THE HEAT WITH THE FANS THIS SUMMER: 

The nation has been enduring some record-breaking temperatures this summer, which can be challenging for people like Edens Edge  who are touring with Brad Paisley on his outdoor festival, the H2O II: Wetter & Wilder Tour, but Hannah, Cherill and Dean are more worried about their fans.  “I worry about the people that have been standing out there waiting to get in the gate and then waiting on our stage to start,” says Hannah, “because our stage is when it‟s obviously the hottest during the day for the concert.”  But they do try to take care of themselves as well.  Hannah says, “The number one thing that I have to worry about for sure is sunscreen, because I‟m literally the palest person in the world (laugh), so I‟m like two seconds in the sun I am reeeed.  So I wear lots of sunscreen.”  She‟s also given into the fact
that there is nothing they can do about the heat.  “You just sweat.  I mean you just have to accept the fact that „I‟m just gonna sweat a lot today.‟  And you drink lots of water.”  No matter how hot it gets Edens Edge is grateful for the fans.  “It‟s just amazing to me that people come out,” says Hannah.  

“They don‟t care.  They like wanna hear music and have a good time and they‟ll go in the most extreme heat to do it, it‟s awesome.”  Edens Edge will be out with Brad until September 25th, and then on October 6th they will join Reba for her All The Women I Am Tour.

ALSO...

EDENS EDGE TO JOIN LADY ANTEBELLUM TOUR

After selling out every city on the group's first-ever headlining
tour, multi-platinum group Lady Antebellum announced this
week that they will launch the first leg of their OWN THE
NIGHT 2011 TOUR on Nov. 11 in Knoxville, Tenn. The tour
will be supported by special guest Josh Kelley. Opening act
for the first leg will be Randy Montana, while rising stars
Edens Edge will join for the remainder of 2011. This trek will
follow runs on tours with Brad Paisley and Reba.


STEEL MAGNOLIA CAN INSPIRE SONGS FROM ONE ANOTHER

A lot of artists find songwriting to be very therapeutic and a good way to get their feelings out whether they’re happy, sad, had a fight with their significant other or just have a situation in their relationship that they‟re trying to deal with.  But what happens when the person you‟re writing the song about is the person you have to sing it with?  That‟s a situation that Josh and Meghan of Steel Magnolia have to face sometimes, since they‟re engaged.  Meghan says, “You know I think we‟re both … we‟re pretty communicative, if that‟s the word.  We’re pretty open in our relationship, so I think we probably know if a song was about us.”  And she admits, “We‟ve gotten in some arguments though and stuff in the past and you know, Josh likes to pull from that kind of stuff and write songs about it.  

So, I‟ve heard a few. (laughs)”  Their new song, “Bulletproof,” was written by
Lori McKenna and Chris Tompkins, and rest assured, the female break-up anthem is definitely not about Steel Magnolia‟s relationship.