SWISS NATIONAL BANK SNB collapses - in real time - In Walks BRICS??

SWISS NATIONAL BANK SNB collapses - in real time - In Walks BRICS??

Who is Billy Joe Shaver ?

We have a resident country music expert here at NPR: our national political correspondent Don Gonyea. He was telling me recently about a musician named Billy Joe Shaver, whom he'd discovered about 20 years ago in Austin, Texas.

"I didn't know who he was," Gonyea says. "And he started to sing, and I like country music. I like real-deal country music. And these songs go places. They are about his life and, in some ways, a lot of people's lives."

Shaver, 75, isn't a household name himself, but he's among the most respected living writers of country music. His good friend Willie Nelson texts Shaver all the time.

"Yeah, we're the only ones over 70 that text," Shaver says. "The rest don't want to."

Shaver sent me a text while he was here in Washington, D.C., for a concert. He said to meet him the next morning at a Quality Inn — where, in the parking lot outside, there was a pancake house and the songwriter's beat-up white van.

Dressed all in denim, Shaver brought us into his room and sat down on his unmade bed. The cowboy hat that usually covers his flowing white hair was sitting on a suitcase on his luggage cart. He was telling us about his new album, Long in the Tooth, which features a duet ("Hard to Be an Outlaw") with his texting buddy, Willie Nelson.

If you look back a few years, it doesn't seem unlikely for Shaver to be an outlaw. In 2007, the songwriter was involved in an incident, a bar argument with another man, that led to a parking-lot shootout.

"Yeah, well, that happened because he was such a bully," he says. "He just kept on and on and on."

So they took it outside and shots were fired.

"I hit him right between a mother and a f- - - - -," Shaver says. "That was the end of that. He dropped his weapons and said, 'I'm sorry.' And I said, 'Well, if you had said that inside, there would have been no problem.' "

In fact, much of Billy Joe Shaver's life feels like he's living a country song, which he says he was born to write. He's done so since he was 8.

Shaver grew up a poor country boy in Corsicana, Texas, filling the moments in between songwriting with picking cotton and baling hay. His mom, who worked in honky-tonks, abandoned him for a time; as the song "Georgia on a Fast Train" says, he was raised by his grandmother.

Shaver worked in a sawmill as a boy. It was a job that would start him on the path to becoming a musician, but not after taking something first: He lost the better part of two fingers on his right hand — his guitar-picking hand — at the mill.

"I had to put my feet against it and pull my fingers off to get out of it," he says. "It didn't hurt, partly 'cause I shot a quick prayer up to God and said, 'If you let me out, I'll do what I'm supposed to do: play music and sing.'"

Shaver got a break in his early 30s, when country star Waylon Jennings heard him strumming at a gathering of musicians in Texas.

"Waylon said, 'Whose song's that?' and I said, 'Well, that's mine.' And he said, 'You got any more of them songs? Meet me up in Nashville and I'll record a whole album of them things,' " Shaver says.

He took Jennings seriously. You might even say he stalked him, all around Nashville, for six months. While Jennings did his best to avoid the upstart songwriter, Shaver did finally track down the star at a recording studio.

"He got wind that I was down there, 'cause he come out of the booth and he had two bikers on each side of him," Shaver says. "He says, 'What do you want, hoss?' and I said, 'I tell you what I want. I just want you to at least listen to these songs. And if you don't, I'm gonna kick your ass right here in front of God and everybody.'"

Jennings gave Shaver a chance, and liked what he heard. He went on to make an album almost exclusively using Shaver's music, Honky Tonk Heroes, still considered one of the first and best so-called "outlaw" country albums, bringing the roughness back to country music.

"It actually put Nashville on the map real good, because sequin suits and things wasn't working out. The cheatin' songs and stuff," Shaver says. "These songs were fresh, and they were different from what was going on."

The songwriter also learned something about his role in country music: He would never be as big as the stars who sang his songs.

"The songs were so big, they were too big for me," he says. "I couldn't possibly get them across the way [Jennings] could."

Other stars sang Shaver songs, as well, like Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, even Elvis Presley. The writer also performs his songs, and has churned out a number of albums over the years, all while still living the life of a country song. He got married three times and divorced twice — all with the same woman.

"The divorces just didn't seem to work out," he says, laughing.

Shaver has lost one aspect of the country-song life: drinking. He's gotten extremely religious, and you can tell he spends a lot of time thinking about his son, Eddy, who was his guitarist and best friend when he died of a heroin overdose before a New Year's Eve concert in 2000.

At Shaver's performances, it's like Eddy's there. Shaver will walk over to his new guitarist on stage and, during a song, spread both his arms out and look up. Sometimes, he finishes a song by saying, simply, "I love you, Eddy." The most powerful moment at a concert is when Shaver sings "Live Forever," which he wrote with his son before his death.

"He actually gave me that melody, and I carried it around for nearly a year. It was such a great melody," he says. "His spirit's still with me. I do believe that when people pass away, the goodness, the good things they did, it seems like they melt into your likeness. They melt into your likeness, and you become a better person for it."

Then Shaver loaded his beat-up van and hit the road for his next gig. [Copyright 2014 NPR]

Image Credit: Courtesy of the artist

CBC – TOP 10 Hunt for #Canada ‘s Top 10 Artist

VOTE FOR CHELSEA CRITES: http://m.music.cbc.ca/artists/Chelsea-Crites
CBC Music and CBC Radio One are looking for Canada’s best new artist, and we want your help. Searchlight is a competition that connects artists with fans in their community and across the country. Vote for your favourite bands in your region and across the country. You can vote for 10 acts per region per day, to decide which acts make it to the regional finals. It’s all leading to a grand prize, including $20,000 worth of music equipment from Yamaha Canada Music, a professional recording with CBC Music, and a spot on the bill with Tegan and Sara, and Spoon at the CBCMusic.ca Festival in Vancouver.
Vote now, and come back to explore more music and vote for your favourites every day! Voting makes you eligible for your own prizes from Yamaha Canada Music.
For details on the voting rounds and everything else, check out the rules and regulations.
VOTE FOR CHELSEA CRITES: http://m.music.cbc.ca/artists/Chelsea-Crites

INTERVIEW with CHRIS ANDRES Latino host Amber Star

CELEBRITY TALENT Latin Host and star of Amber Star Tour!  Will be conducting a very special interview on Chris Andres March 26th 10pm est. or 7pm pst. What a mix, Outlaw rock&roll with a Latino host on a Country Station.

Amber star
Cottonmouth Jones was the brainchild of Chris Jones back in 2005.  It was originally just a song writing vehicle but Chris started to feel that this new batch of songs was something special,so he set about the arborous task of trying to recruit the right players for this project.

With in a few months he had a decent line up together and started to fine tune this band into a Outlaw rock&roll machine!Well after seven years and hundreds of shows,three albums and a few member changes later,Chris is still at the helm of this runaway train.

In 2012 Cottonmouth Jones finally had a line up that Chris feels is the best line up so far! Terry Jones has been playing droms in CMJ from the beginning as his aggresive drum style is the engine that drives this band live!Micket “Bullbucker”Jones is the newest member and has been playing bass for the band for a little over a year and his flowing bass style adds the right amount of melody to keep people moving all night!These guys draw upon influences such as Johnny Csh,Steve Earle,Social Distortion as well as all the Outlaws out there trying to keep it real!!!CMJ.
FIND CHRIS ON:
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/chrisandresband
FACEBOOK:  https://www.facebook.com/chris.andres1
VIDEO:  http://video214.com/play/JE4LPm0W1yFmJYaDVO1Lfg/s/dark

Willie Nelson is back in the lime light

Seeing Willie Nelson perform in Texas is like a country music fan’s pilgrimage to Mecca. But seeing the Red Headed Stranger perform on his own property in Texas is even more of a religious experience.

Last night, as part of the South by Southwest Music Festival, Willie wowed an invitation-only crowd with a special “surprise” performance at his Luck, Texas, Ranch, about 40 minutes outside of Austin. Billed as the Heartbreaker Banquet, the event featured a diverse roster of music acts during the afternoon, including foot-stomping folkies the Felice Brothers, Americana darlings Shovels & Rope, Nashville chanteuse Nikki Lane and Country Weekly On the Edge act Hurray for the Riff Raff.

Willie’s sons Lukas Nelson and Micah Nelson also performed with their bands, the Promise of the Real and Insects vs. Robots, respectively.

All of the artists were exceptional and drew cheers from the dusty crowd, but the true “chills moment” came when Willie took the stage at 10 p.m. Bundled against the clear Texas sky cold in a hooded jacket and baseball hat, Willie and his Family Band opened with requisite “Whiskey River,” drawing whoops with its familiar opening chords.

With the moon high in the sky, Willie wrapped up the set with “I’ll Fly Away” and “Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die,” drawing other artists—including fellow Texas outlaw Billy Joe Shaver—onto the stage for one last singalong.Willie’s underrated anthem “Still Is Still Moving to Me” followed, along with tributes to Waylon Jennings in “Good Hearted Woman” and Hank Williams with “Hey Good Lookin’.” The emotional highlight, however, came during an interpretation of the bluesy “Texas Flood,” with Lukas Nelson singing and playing lead and Micah Nelson on a simple snare drum, both of them trading looks and smiles with their legendary father.

Willie is set to perform again Saturday night with Keith Urban during the iTunes Festival at SXSW. Most amazingly? He turns 81 next month.

NOW AT 4700 SHARED YouTube - Eighteen Wheels and Jesus

Tony Justice was born in Visalia, California and moved to L.A. until the age of three. In the fall of 1974, his parents moved his family to Pikeville, Kentucky where his love of racing began.  Tony finally ended up in East Tennessee in July of 1983, playing the bass and singing in gospel groups. 

    At age 23, Tony was living out a childhood dream of becoming a race car driver. Then his mom talked him into selling his race car and trailer and pursuing his music. She told him if it didn’t pay off within five years, she would buy it all back. Well, that was 18 years ago….

   

The most special things in his life are God, his family, music, fishing and racing. Today, he is he is married to Misty Justice and together are raising his wonderful children. In doing so, he is driving his Peterbilt truck over the road, a trade handed down to him by his father. Tony takes a lot of pride in being a second generation driver. One of the benefits to driving over the road is the endless hours to write, and the highway provides endless inspirations to write about. 

    In 2002, Tony was endorsed by NASCAR Legend Rusty Wallace, Roger Penske and Miller beer to record his second album titled, “Rockin’ Rusty”. He performed pre-race concerts to promote the popular album at tracks such as Daytona International Speedway, Lowes Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, and the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Tony also appeared on the John Boy and Billy Show, Rick and Bubba Show, Good Morning Las Vegas, Dollar Bill and Patti show, at the BULL in Birmingham, AL., where he also headlined their listener appreciation show and The Evening Ride show with his cowboy pal Gunner on the radio station, W.I.V.K, based in Knoxville, TN.

   

Tony has just completed his third album titled “On the Road”, written by Kenny Chesney, Kim Williams, and Randy Bodreaux. He feels honored and extremely fortunate to have recorded a song written by three of the best writers in Nashville. Pilot/Flying J travel Centers will be distributing and promoting the much anticipated album in their stores Nationwide. 

    Tony is currently on the road hauling freight to cities all over the country and excited about the release of the “On the Road Album”. 

Find Tony at:

 Web Site:  http://www.tonyjusticemusic.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/tony.justice3

WATCH TONY'S VIDEO HERE: PLEASE GIVE IT A LIKE.

Another hot country singer CHELSEA CRITES

CHELSEA CRITES - Country singer

Talented country singer Chelsea Crites has already achieved so much. She is currently signed with Shoreline Records and has been the sensation of multiple newspapers from several Canadian cities such as Brampton, St. Catharines, Toronto and Guelph and also from Nashville TN in the U.S. , Hamilton Spectator , Guelph Mercury , CBC.ca , HECFI.ca just to name a few . For a girl from the small town of Port Colborne, Ontario, she has been amazing fans from the Niagara region and beyond since she was seven years old. Chelsea dreamed of being a country singer since she was a little girl, and now her dreams are coming true. Spokesperson for Oscar’s Roadhouse Lisette Stauch said the following of Chelsea Crites “She’s this amazing country singer and she’s been all over the place, and now we are thrilled to have her at Oscar’s.” It is Chelsea’s growing reputation from amazing performances that enables venue owners speak so highly of her.

 

In 2009 Chelsea was nominated for Niagara Rising Star. She has been gigging weekly with her talented band since 2010. In 2011 Chelsea was showcased throughout Hamilton and the CCMA’s and was the house singer at Tootsies in Nashville TN. She has performed the Tailgate parties (prestigious pre-show concerts at Hamilton’s very own Copps Coliseum) for acts such as Alan Jackson, Ryan Laird , Johnny Reid, Carolynn Dawn John , Rascal Flatts, Little Big Town , Eli Young , Colt Ford and Eric Church. She has also opened for Canada’s own Crystal Shawanda in Chatham Ontario , She has also opened up for Jason McCoy Canadian Singer/Songwriter on 3 dates of his The Perfect Gift Tour . Also Chelsea Crites has opened up for world known actor William Shatner , and shared the stage with MANY Canadian household names such as Dallas Smith , Bobby Wills , Deric Ruttan the 2013 Annual Ciderfest , Tim Hicks , Gil Grand , Marshall Dane and Doc Walker .

 

Chelsea has been featured in many festivals and fairs, has appeared on Country radio/Hamilton stations 820 Cham and KX94.7 New Country, radio INDI 101.5, radio CFRZ 98.3 , Knight Rider Radio in Kentucky , Conversations Live with Cyrus Webb based in Mississippi , In The Country with Dave Woods and appeared on the local television shows The Joe Show and , REMIC tv/Entertainment Extra & CHCH all in 2012. Chelsea has also appeared in several indie movie roles in 2011/12 and has recently shot her first music video for her single ‘If Your Hearts Not In It.” Aside from playing exciting shows all over Niagara and beyond, acting and gaining fans, Chelsea has been busy songwriting with musical legends like John Ellison who wrote the hit song ‘Some Kind of Wonderful’. Be sure to watch for her first EP available in 2014 which has quite abit of Nashville influences with songs written by Nashville songwriters and tracks also written by Chelsea Crites herself and hit Canadian songwriters as well . Chelsea had the pleasure of working with a top notch producer in Nashville along with guitarist for the stars John Willis who has played on the albums of Luke Bryan , Shania Twain , Lee Ann Rimes , Alabama , Kenny Chesney , Taylor Swift , Faith Hill , Tim McGraw , Willie Nelson ,Brian McKnight , Florida Georgia Line ,Blake Shelton , Josh Thompson , Toby Keith , Jewel , Lionel Richie , Reba , Lonestar , Joe Diffie , Lee Brice , Cowboy Troy , Locash Cowboy . Just to name a few .

 

Chelsea has been using her talents to help those in need by showcasing for the Autism Fundraiser, Cancer Awareness fundraiser , Adults with Disabilities and loves to help where she can. Be sure to keep an eye on Chelsea Crites as this is just the beginning of a promising multidimensional performance career. On May 4th Chelsea performed at Hamilton Place for her own headlining concert which was a nearly sold out show with many impressive humble reviews. Chelsea draws a very impressive crowd in the Niagara and GTA area and Internationally . Chelsea’s fan page has sky rocketed in the last few months as she is quickly rising in her career approaching nearly 10 000 + active dedicated fans and tourists that follow her performances.

FIND CHELSEA CRITES:

 THANK YOU FAYE ROCK AND BLAME MY PARENTS FOR MAKING AND SENDING HER THE TEE SHIRT. YOUR AWESOME! 

FACEBOOK:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chelsea-Crites/161944493828703
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/ChelseaCrites

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An INTERVIEW WITH CHELSEA: