Nashville, TN. Never been. However, I feel as though I have, since the entire city was supplanted to Las Vegas for the Academy of Country Music Awards show at the MGM Grand last weekend. By the time I got home, I was speaking with a distinctly Southern drawl and even tipping an imaginary hat to female passers by. In other words, I'm insane and should be under protective care. I digress...
I was fortunate enough to be invited by THE Lola Montgomery of 100.7 The Wolf fame to be her "plus one" at the awards show and associated events. I KNOW! I had the time of my life, rubbing elbows with established country stars and enthusiastic up-and-comers all weekend long. This included being a fly-on-the-wall at an interview session in the MGM Grand's Studio Ballroom. Artists would sit at a table, give an interview with a radio station, take a couple pics and then move on to the next table. Lola and I were allowed to sit with KBWF, our sister station in San Fran, as long as we agreed not to take pictures or do any interviewing. Naturally, I took a bunch of pictures and she interviewed several artists(on the down low). These artists included: Billy Ray Cyrus, Mily Cyrus, Carrie Underwood, Trailer Choir(coolest people), Kelli Pickler, Taylor Swift, Gloriana, Little Big Town, Joe Nichols, Zach Brown and Love and Theft. I was diggin' the whole experience, like a kid in a candy store, except this candy is good looking and sings top 40 country hits.
Later that evening, Lola was invited to attend a sushi dinner at Shibuya with up-n-comer Jimmy Wayne, and I tagged along. Jimmy was about as fun and lively as any professional musician I've met, and charmed the pants off the entire table, which included music directors from other parts of the country. Singing and smiling the whole time, Jimmy knew exactly how to market himself...By being himself! Based on his voice, looks and personality, I think Jimmy Wayne may just be a household name within a few years time.
On Saturday, Lola and I joined a group hosted by Showdog Entertainment at an Italian restaurant in Harrah's. We enjoyed wine, great food and great company. There were music directors from Salt Lake, Spokane and Las Vegas at the table and their dates. I had a blast. We headed from dinner to Toby Kieth's I Love This Bar and Grill just upstairs. That's when the party began. Thanks to Lisa and Gary with Showdog, we all got wristbands which gave us not only VIP access, but access into the EXTRA VIP room where Toby himself hung out for about 3 hours. Maybe 25 people were in the room with him, Lola and myself included. Very cool. Toby was a gracious host, giving time to a long line of admirers and picture takers. Trailer Choir performed on stage and did an awesome job. I had the chance to hang with Big Vinny Van Zant and learn more about his jobs, the industry in general and life in Nashville. That guy is definitely special and will find success in anything he chooses to do in life. It's now a goal to go to Nashville, hang with Vin and see the town from an insider's perspective. I can't wait. Trailer Choir performed their hit "Rockin' the beer gut", for which a slightly intoxicated, Bud Light-weilding Lola took the stage to "rock" hers. It was hilarious, to say the least. She can work a room, that's for sure. Here's a link to a video of the show.
Sunday was a day of rest and then off to the Academy of Country Music Awards Show! We couldn't go on the red carpet, but we were able to get a peak or two of stars all done up in their fancy duds. As before, no camera were allowed inside the auditorium, so I snuck mine in and managed to get several good shots, including Carrie giving her acceptance speech for Entertainer of the Year, with Dierks Bentley looking on. Lola stepped outside for a smoke before the end of the show and I basically didn't see her again for the rest of the trip. She was so tired from the long, long night before that her body demanded she rest up or officially die. So, I went to the ACM All Star Jam thanks to my boss Traci who scored me a ticket, expensive at that. It was a catered event and we had the Dr. Pepper connection, so we got free drinks all night. Nice. The entertainment was really thrown together, which was cool because I was ablt to see TONS of huge stars perform only 15 feet in front of me. Lineup included: Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood, Gloriana, Taylor Swift, Jason Aldean, Trace Adkins and a bunch more. John Rich of Big n' Rich comondeared the emcee position, and drunkenly called artist after artist on to the stage to do their thing. "Can I get a HELL YEAH?!?!" John yelled that about 275 times throughout the evening. I complied every time.
I ended up stumbling back to my room around 3am, and the vacation was pretty much over. I squeezed in about 30 minutes of sun before checking out the next day and before I knew it I was back in Seattle. I managed to take about 500 pictures in the three days we were there, and probably would've taken 500 more if I hadn't had to have snuck so many. Thanks again to Lola, for sharing a once-in-a-lifetime experience with a crazy kid she had just met. (that's me)
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