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NOTE: this message is the product of much thought, much reflection, and way too much caffeine. You might want to have a few cups of coffee on hand yourself.

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Well, it's been a quiet week in Lake Wob--...er, I mean, it's been quite awhile since my last collection of greetings, news, and rambling thoughts, and since I've sensed from many (at least one) of you that you actually enjoy hearing about my adventures in the land of high hopes, broken hearts, shattered dreams, fractured notes, nullified contracts, and the never-ending dance of temptation by Lady Fame and Master Fortune....what was I saying? Oh, here's what's up:

You might have received a message I sent out on behalf of a new acquaintance, Bethany Dick. Very talented fiddler (TN state champ), and nice person. Go see her if you can! Make my publicity skills look good; could lead to yet another underpaid occupation.

MEMORIES...COLLEGE
I just received the latest newsletter from the Baptist Collegiate Ministry (formerly Baptist Student Union) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (http://web.utk.edu/~bsu/). I was tickled to find in it a reprint of an article I wrote in college about the "then and still" director. The article was originally published in our state Baptist newspaper (in "nineteen-eighty-something"). You can find it on my website on the Communications page. I can't say enough good things about that organization, the people, the place, the experiences; without BSU, what would my collegiate life have been...and where and who would I be now? I know the name has changed, but I'll always think of it in the same old way, especially considering those classic words of wisdom that even now almost bring a tear to my eye..."Never let the BSU...b.s....you." Snif.

SNOW
The sun came out Monday here in Nashville...didn't look familiar after such a long period of rain and snow, but that's what everybody said it was, so I guess that was it. Snow has been slightly less rare here than when I was in Chattanooga, but not by much, except of course for the big snowstorm in mid-January that dumped seven inches on us Southerners, making us panic like a bunch of cockroaches when someone flips a light on and sending us scurrying to our homes in the middle of a weekday, all at the same time. That would be bad enough anytime, but given our relative ineptitude in combing wheels, ice, forward motion, and clear intent, the results were extended periods of time for lots of people to get to know the inside of their cars. My trip home was 5 1/2 hours long. I tried to take a "road less traveled" but it ended up being blocked by an accident....then as I got close to the major road that would lead me very close to home, it was also blocked by another accident, sending me the long way around. I was thankful to have a full tank and an empty bladder (no direct connection there, don't worry), and my patience had been built up over the past several weeks of commuting 35-40 minutes each way in a route that takes about 15 minutes without all those people to get in my way. When I got home that day, I was thankful not to be one of those poor folks that were stuck on the highway for hours after that...and for front-wheel drive. Thankfulness is a choice, no doubt!

THE OPRY
The snow we had a couple of Saturdays ago was just enough to make that much more an adventure out of my first night to attend the Grand Ole Opry show, in the historic Ryman Auditorium. Even my old friend (don't ask how old) Bob McCoy, also a first-time attender, wasn't intimidated by the weather, which was significant (having no chance of refund on tickets might have been an emboldening factor). I was tour guide, and he was the one who knew all the standard players (and, in some cases, the jokes), since he's been listening his whole life. It was a great show. Blake Shelton ("Austin," "Baby") prit' near peeled the paint off the walls with his powerful voice, and comic/musician/host Mike Snider had us howling with laughter.

I've been working occasionally as "Facility Host" (usher) at the Grand Ole Opry House, which is where the show moved in the 70's and is performed now except during winter months, but I haven't worked any Opry shows yet (follow me?). We had the Rockettes Christmas show there in December; I thought I'd be tired of it by the fourth or fifth performance, but somehow that wasn't the case. If the Titans football team would recruit a few of those gals, they could go to an all-kicking offense. Plus think of the boost to ticket sales! Just an idea. I worked one day of Wheel of Fortune shoots (they shot five shows per day for three days), and brought home enough leftover gift Hershey kisses to last until NEXT Valentine's Day. Or not.

THE JOB
My day job as a data-entry person has gone from temporary to "permanent," though there's really no such thing as the latter in my experience (hey, we all quit, retire or die eventually, you know?). I think of it as the Chandler Bing job ("I'd better get to work, because if I'm not there to enter that data...it...won't...make that much difference!"). But it's really not bad, all things considered...pretty laid back people, nice surroundings, an hour for lunch, pays American (and overtime, lately). It's one of those things where we have to trust that there is more to the picture than we can see.

THE MUSIC
I'm finally feeling some forward motion music-wise. I've loaned my digital multitrack recorder to a friend here (Dann Gunn--met him in college, roomed with his brother at the BSU) who has agreed to swap engineering and whip-cracking duties on my efforts in return for the use of the unit in recording his own stuff. Also, this month I had a blast at a newly-initiated monthly potluck "family dinner" at the home of another former NSAI coordinator who has made the move here recently, Doak Turner. It's about enjoying each other's company, food, and songs, maybe in that order (?). Doak shares a house and hosting duties with Gary Talley, guitar player/teacher extraordinaire whose original (but not only) claim to fame is his place with The Box Tops ("The Letter," "Cry Like a Baby"). See www.garytalley.com/ for more info. So cool to play with someone who can play or play along with pretty much ANYthing, including songs he's never heard.

I got the thrill of playing at another regular "gathering" at the home of a very congenial song enthusiast who's been hosting a "picking party" for years. Six or so songwriters, some pros and some not yet (i.e., some get royalty checks, some write bad checks) take turns for two hours of some of the best songs you'll probably never hear on commercial radio. The host was celebrating his 50th birthday for the tenth year in a row by opening up the floor to whomever happened to be there. I got a great reception to "Whatchamacallit," one song I don't have to worry about ever being stolen...who would? And why? But this group was into it, and the evening reaffirmed my purpose for being here (OK, ego gratification is only one of my purposes, but you get the idea).

WHEN IN THE VOLUNTEER STATE...
Another perk of being here is the opportunity to volunteer my way into some of the best events, and getting more out of it than I would as a paying attendee. I did the Nashville New Music Conference (http://www.2nmc.com/ )back in September which I probably covered in a past note. If not, it was similar to the following, except I worked the door for a showcase at an urban club for this one, and the hairstyles were definitely different....

More recently, I volunteered at the annual convention of the Folk Alliance and part of the series of tributes to Woody Guthrie here, the latter of which culminated in a concert featuring some top names in folk and bluegrass (i.e., they're famous, but not like Madonna, got it?).

For the Woody Guthrie events, I helped one of the main organizers with some publicity-related work and ran an errand or two, and then worked backstage at the Ryman for the main concert on an "as-needed" basis. The latter involved pretending to be--I mean, acting as security at the production office door for a thankfully short time, and so forth. The rest of the time I enjoyed the show, which featured Woody Guthrie's son Arlo (known for "Alice's Restaurant," "The City Of New Orleans"), Janis Ian (known for "Seventeen"), bluegrass greats Peter Rowan and Tim O'Brien, Ellis Paul, and a variety of other musicians. The bass player in a string band called The Old Crow Medicine Show overheard me mention Chattanooga, and it turns out he's from there as well. I heard them a couple of weeks later on the radio, performing in the Prairie Home Companion show that was broadcast to the nation from the Opry House (I couldn't get into that one, unfortunately). Here's the archive page for that PHC show, in case you're curious:
http://www.prairiehomecompanion.com/performances/20030215/index.shtml

The Folk Alliance convention was cool (folk is more than old Peter, Paul & Mary tunes, y'know)! I spent a few hours helping stuff an untold number of "goodie bags" full of the flyers and other free items you get handed at the door at every convention, and was able to wander in and out of all kinds of musical performances going on in the convention center meeting rooms, in the main ballroom, in the lobby of the hotel, and in several floors of rooms in the hotel until the wee hours. I also attended some informative seminars, such as one on a new system of collecting performance royalties for artists whose music is used in the digital domain (including satellite TV). Not directly useful to me yet, but.... I was in good company; two major publishers, including one from Sony, sat behind me in one seminar, and they seemed excited about the whole thing. So they're not ALL jaded and disinterested in what's going on in the real world, right?

There was so much to enjoy and so many people to meet at the conference...to quote a former pastor who shall remain Wayne Barber, it was like drinkin' from a firehose! At one point, (before a Compass Records showcase with Pierce Pettis), after getting off the escalator behind Brooks Williams, I looked around and saw Bill Mallonee, Alison Brown and her husband Garry West (co-owners of Compass Records, and jazz/bluegrass musicians in their own right), and Ellis Paul all standing around chatting (though not with each other at the time). And those are just the ones I happen to be familiar with (though I know you may not be; trust me, they're famous). Then there were the hotel room showcases and all the other folks playing in the lobby spaces. I imagine other visitors in the hotel must have thought Nashville is like this all the time. "Them musicians is ever-whar, Ethel! You seen Garth or Shania yit?"

MORE MEMORIES...HIGH SCHOOL
I recently posted something I put together for my high school reunion last year (in case you needed further proof that I have entirely too much time on my hands). I "borrowed" an idea from Conan O'Brien (that's on TV for those of you who sleep at night) and applied it to some of our superlatives. No one has sued me (yet) so I guess it went over OK. Go to http://www.markmusicmatters.com/Reunion/Photos.htm and click on the link to the "If They Had Wed" series (give each page extra time to load).

THANK GOODNESS HE'S FINALLY SHUTTING UP...
Well, before I regress any further into my murky childhood, I'll say so long for now. Thanks to all who, when I see you, ask "so, are you famous yet, or what?" You're such a big part of why I'm here...to get away from that kind of silliness. People here are concerned with more important questions, like "So, am I famous yet, or what?" and "Why DID Dolly record "Stairway To Heaven," anyway?"


Grace & Peace,

Mark