Nashville Song Plugger Swings Dead Cat, Hits Bachelorette

Nashville song plugger Larry Weathers has been charged with assault and is also being investigated for possible animal cruelty after he struck and injured bride-to-be Brayley Lynn Smith with a deceased feline on Thursday evening. 

Weathers was trying to make a point to Jenny Lindsay, a young songwriter and recent Nashville arrival, when the incident occurred. "I don't even know where he got the cat; it was just suddenly in his hand and he was twirling it," said Lindsay. "It was pretty wild." 

Smith suffered a contusion to her left elbow and lacerations about her face and hands from falling off the pedal tavern. "It was the damnedest thing," mused Smith. "I was so drunk I didn’t think it was really happening, but I think I got some fur in my mouth.” 

Weathers, who maintains that the animal was already deceased when he swung it, explained: "I was trying to illustrate to (Jenny Lindsay) the amount of competition she's up against in this town. You know… 'you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a songwriter in this town'… I assumed I'd just graze an Erik Dylan or an Ashley Gorley to show her how many great writers there are here. I didn't mean for this to happen." 

Ironically, the bachelorette has offered to drop all charges against Mr. Weathers if he can get a couple of songs Smith wrote pitched to Luke Combs.

By Trailer - Origin version posted on Country California January 17, 2009 (updated)

Country TwitterWINs: July '18

Top 25 Songs of 2018 First Half Report

It was hard to narrow this down to 25. There have been some truly great and memorable songs released in 2018, and we're just halfway through. These are in no particular order. 

*not a combined contributors' list - just Trailer's*

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Ashley McBryde - Tired of Being Happy

Lucero - To My Dearest Wife

YOB - Our Raw Heart

Willie Nelson - Something You Get Through

Caitlyn Smith - This Town is Killing Me

Kacey Musgraves - Happy & Sad

Brent Cobb - Mornin's Gonna Come

Kelly Willis - Back Being Blue

Buffalo Gospel - When Lonesome Comes Callin'

Joshua Hedley - Weird Thought Thinker

Lori McKenna - People Get Old

Dallas Moore - Somewhere Between Bridges

Trixie Mattel - Soldier

Blackberry Smoke w/Robert Randolph - I'll Keep Ramblin'

Manchester Orchestra - No Hard Feelings

Pusha T - The Games We Play

Caleb Caudle - NYC in the Rain

Old Crow Medicine Show - Look Away

Erik Dylan - Funerals and Football Games

Brandi Carlile - Sugartooth

Leon III - Alberta 

Tami Neilson - Good Man

Whiskey Wolves of the West - Alexandria

Ruby Boots - Break My Heart Twice

Anderson East - House is a Building

Album Review: Erik Dylan - Heart of a Flatland Boy

A review by Trailer

If you're like me, one of the first things you'll notice about Erik Dylan is his vocal similarity to 1990's Steve Earle. It's undeniable. There's also some Chris Knight, some Guy Clark, and some John Mellencamp in there.

Don't let that dissuade you though; this guy's no cheap imitation, and he's got "it." "It," as in songwriting chops, a singular point of view, and an indefinable gravity. He's even got a blessing of sorts from the Earle family by way of Steve's niece providing backing vocals on lead single "Pink Flamingos."

Dylan's written songs for or with Nashville acts like Thompson Square, Eric Paslay, and Kip Moore, but his own music hardly fits the mold for radio airplay. Not to say radio isn't moving his direction, but Dylan's sound would still be considered edgy by Top 40 standards. It's not squarely in the realm of Americana either - there's a clear commercial bent to the sound - he resides somewhere in the middle ground.

And the writing… the writing is pure heartland. Downtrodden blue collar souls, broken hearts, and small town dreamers populate his songs with a depth that's detailed enough to carry a songwriters' night, but a universal appeal to grab more commercially-oriented souls.

All that said and I haven't even mentioned the album yet. Heart of a Flatland Boy is out Friday, and if the first four paragraphs perked your ears, you need to click play or download on this record.

The aforementioned "Pink Flamingos" is "Feel Alright" (Earle) meets "Goodbye Earl" (Dixie Chicks) and if that ain't the formula for a killer tune, I don't know what is. It's a backroads justice tune with a little dark humor and a lot of devil-may-care attitude.

"Astronaut" is a dreamer's anthem. It's a little fanciful and a lot of fun. A working man dreams of getting out, whether by rocket ship or lottery windfall, but he's stuck in a map dot town with a "Copenhagen habit and a GED." And that line there is the hook that will stick in your head long after the album is over, whether you want it to or not.

The album's most moving song is "Fishing Alone." It's a recounting of regrets after losing a close family member that touches the heart and sets the most important things in life in proper order. Give it a listen and then go call your dad.

Heart of a Flatland Boy is a bold debut, full of stories and emotions. It deals less in platitudes than it does in reality, more in grit than gloss, but there's still more than enough catchiness to appeal to even the most passive listener. Dylan is a promising talent who's landed with an album that already surpasses many artists' potentials. It's well worth your time.

RIYL: Steve Earle, Chris Knight, John Mellencamp, Reckless Kelly.



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Heart of a Flatland Boy is available on iTunes, Amazon, etc.

New(ish) Video: Erik Dylan - Pink Flamingos

Erik's debut album, Heart of a Flatland Boy, is out this Friday.