YouTube Gems: Austin Collins

From one of my favorite albums of the year so far, Wrong Control, here's Austin Collins (who I'm hoping to see this weekend along with Drew Kennedy and Josh Grider) with "Island."

Songs Illustrated #20

John Rich's Songwriting Tips #37

Everybody has a different standard for how and when they write. Some people say you should set aside a time to write every day, no matter what. Some people say you should only write when the inspiration strikes you. As you might expect, I do neither. To tell you the truth, half the time I don't remember even writing a song. I just kinda wake up and find it written down or recorded for me like some little f*ckin' fairies (the winged kind, not the switch hittin' kind) came in and did it for me. Once after a 4 day bender that involved at least 2 call girls and 3 cases of boxed wine, I came to and discovered a kickass song already on tape - with me friggin' singing it! I swear don't know how it got written or recorded, but 3 months later, Jason Aldean took that song to #2 on the charts. True story.

*Not actually written by John Rich.

Honest DVD Cover

Little Known Facts II

Cledus T. Judd is the name the parody singer was born with. The "T" stands for Tee.

The Pez company has announced plans to release dispensers in the likenesses of popular country singers. Justin Moore's will be to scale.

Willie Nelson has released more albums than Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Ozzy Osbourne, George Strait, Metallica and the Beatles combined. He just recorded one in the time it took you to read this.

Chuck Wicks once looked out over a sold out arena and remarked to his bassist "Thank God we're opening for Brad Paisley!"

In middle school, Jody of Fast Ryde placed 2nd in his age category at his county spelling bee.

Most walls in Wynonna's house were constructed sloping outwards to accommodate her face.

Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland once pummeled a critic unmercifully for referring to her vocal style as nasal. The critic dropped charges for front row seats on the side of the stage Kristian Bush would be playing on the least.

Taylor Swift's all time favorite song is "Eatin' Goober Peas"

John Rich's business cards are diamond cut prismatic card stock with a metallic gold J.R. in the center.