Normal Nashville

Hell or Nashville?

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)

Americanafest 2019 BINGO!

Thanks to Trigger from Saving Country Music for some of the ideas!

Top 10 Signs You’re a Basic A** Country Girl

10. The bartender at a Nashville pedal tavern has cut you off before

9. You don’t remember what songs Kane Brown sang in concert, but he’s your favorite singer because he’s “sooo hot!”

8. You own more pairs of cut-offs than there are Presidents you can name

7. You missed work/class to cry and drink wine the day you found out Dustin Lynch has a girlfriend

6. The above concoction seems like the best thing ever

5. You’ve ever said “Y’all I’m literally dead”

4. There’s just something about a community college dropout in a lifted Raptor running a stoplight while cranking Florida-Georgia Line that makes you fall in love every time

3. You own 3 pair of boots with crosses on them and ain’t been to church in years

2. Your Jeep with a Yeti sticker and a deer decal has never left the pavement of Davidson county

1. You will gladly stand in line upwards of 3 hours to have your photo taken in front of some wings painted on a wall

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Inspired by this tweet from Country Hodge Podge:

Nashville During the NFL Draft

Thanks to Jeff S. for sending this in!

Giant Novelty Check Printer Shutdown Slows Country Singer Charitable Donations

Country singer charitable donations have slowed to a dribble in Nashville, possibly due to the closure of Progressive Printing. The company, who specialized in oversize novelty checks mounted on corrugated plastic or cardboard, was bought out by Exacraft Mail and Print Solutions in Brentwood and will be combined into that location in a few weeks. 

In the meantime, hospitals, homeless shelters, and other funds have seen sizable drops in their contributions. Charles Jones of "Toothbrushes for Arkansas" told us he expects donations to be down by 34% when figures come out in August. "It's the damnest thing," said Jones. "I can't for the life of me figure out the connection between our drop-off and the lack of photo-op-ready, comically large, not actually cashable checks."

Usually, somewhere between $900,000 and $3 million dollars are collected and given to nonprofit organizations by country music superstars during the months of June-August. Charity softball games, bake sales, and charity-specific concerts have been non-existent this summer. Some say the shortage of the showy, symbolic checks is to blame. 

"I've seen some social media posts saying that country singers won't give a dime to a relief center if there's not a camera on them," related Cherry Givens of "Kane Brown Fans Literacy Fund." "But I'm not that cynical… can you imagine?"

John Reynolds, COO of "Guns for the Incarcerated" suggests country singers order their preposterously gigantic, camera-friendly checks from Amazon until Exacraft's check printing service is up and running. 

Music City Memes is Hilarious

Check out Music City Memes on Instagram for some great country music humor. It's mostly "inside baseball" jokes about pro songwriting circles and the business, but a lot of it overlaps with what we do here. Witty and insightful stuff.

Reginald Spears on the Eclipse

Top 15 Things Rarer Than a Solar Eclipse in Nashville

 Top 15 Things Rarer Than a Solar Eclipse in Nashville

by Jeremy Harris and Trailer

15. An open mic night without "Wagon Wheel"


14. Shooter Jennings walking down Music Row in shorts

13. A Stanley Cup hockey championship


12. A country exec with any 2 of the following: brains, balls, integrity

11. Thomas Rhett singing in key


10. A Kane Brown fan who won't have retinal damage after today

9. 20 square feet of sidewalk without a douchebag on it


8. A local eating at FGL house


7. Colt Ford and Gary Levox eating salads

6. A sober bridesmaid

5. A songwriting session with less than 5 people in attendance


4. Luke Bryan shopping for relaxed fit jeans

3. An irreplaceable landmark some developer wouldn't happily bulldoze 

to put up another apartment building …or carwash


2. A woman on the country charts who isn't counted against the quota

1. A departed country legend not rolling in his/her grave daily

The SoBro Scavenger Hunt and Drinking Game

This is a Music Stash Contest Entry from Robert Groves.

The SoBro Scavenger Hunt and Drinking Game

Good luck, and may God have mercy on your souls.

Rules.
1. There are 15 items on this list. You will have between the hours of 10 pm and Midnight on any given Saturday night in downtown Nashville to find and photograph each item on the list.

2. For every item remaining on the list after midnight, you must take a shot of fireball. The survival of your liver and dignity rely on your speed.

3. If at any time during the 2 hours you hear "Wagon Wheel" in any form, you must drink a tall can of PBR and start the list over.

The list:
1. More than 4 faddish modes of transportation lined up at a traffic light. 

(Pedal taverns, golf carts, hay rides, etc).

2. A shirtless homeless person.

3. A SoBro crab. (A person so intoxicated that they are no longer capable of walking forward and can only stagger sideways.)

4. A non-flat billed baseball cap

5. A street performer that looks like, or possibly is, Sturgill Simpson.

6. Someone throwing up out of an Uber or Lyft car.

7. A bachelorette foursome weighing less than 500 lbs.

8. The "trumpet guy" playing something other than When the Saints Go Marching In.

9. A bar bouncer without visible tattoos.

10. Any reference to Joe Diffie that isn't a horrible song by Thomas Rhett/Jason Aldean.

11. A "honky tonk bar band" playing a hip hop song.

12. Any Johnny Cash song besides "Ring of Fire" or "Folsom Prison".

13. A telephone pole or piece of construction equipment being used as a stripper pole.

14. A rhinestone cowboy hat...on a guy.

15. Inappropriate cleavage (front or back) visible on a passing pedal tavern.

Ain't Much Country (In That Town)

I wrote this lyric 12 years ago (!) but the complaints are still pretty much all the same now. 

Ain't Much Country (In That Town) I ran off to Nashville with a guitar and a smile Barlights in my eyes, I planned to pluck around awhile Folks back home all told me that I had that Nashville sound But soon as I hit Music Row, to my dismay I found Ain't much country in that town Ain’t much heart, it's all been sold Ain't no cowboys 'neath the hats And no true stories to be told It's love songs by the numbers With no twangin’ hangin’ round Ol' Hank's left the building Ain't much country in that town I played a writer’s night, chose a cheatin’ song or two A pretty boy pulled me aside, said ‘Boy what’s wrong with you?” Don’t you know they want to hear the happy side of things And you might wanna cut that accent next time that you sing I thought he was kidding, till I checked the radio All I heard were rock songs with some fiddles played real low Every song was happy, every singer was in love And suddenly I realized I wasn’t fake enough (Repeat Chorus) I came back from Nashville with a headache and a debt Feet back on the ground, I left that town with no regret Folks around all told me I should give it one more try But I just shook my head and laughed, and gladly told ‘em why (Repeat Chorus) Bridge A couple of George’s might drop by and Alan Jackson still lingers Takin’ up those token spots as the last real country singers (Repeat Chorus) ---------------- Optional last verse: I came back from Nashville with a habit and a frown Bottle in my hand, I planned to let it let me down Folks back home all told me that I had to try again I’d as soon bash in my head while pissin’ in the wind ‘Cause... (Chorus) ©2002 Corey Parkman

Chris Carmack (ABC's Nashville): Honest Radio Promo Ad

Hayden Panettiere (of ABC's Nashville) Meme

Thanks to @ohbuffalo for this submission.

Country Day October '12 Part 2: Parody Album Covers