NSN Eli "Paperboy" Reed; Green River Ordinance 3-15-09

Tonight we had two emerging acts that made for both a soulful and rockin' night! First up, from Boston, was Eli "Paperboy" Reed. He may be white and he may be from Boston, but make no mistake, Eli is a soul man! The reputation for firey live shows with his band The True Loves is well-deserved. The set:

Intro
Ooo Wee Baby
Stake Your Claim
Getcha Back
Easier
Break Every Heart*
Time Will Tell (new, unreleased song)
Satisfier
Love Of A Man (new, unreleased song)
Foolin' Myself
Take My Love With You

Our headliner, Green River Ordinance is a "new" band that's just beginning to break out nationally, even though they've been together for a long time and are fairly famous in Ft. Worth, Texas. This group got started when they were literally just kids, and for a long time, they played clubs they couldn't legally get into! All grown up now, they're signed to Virgin Records, their new CD "Out Of My Hands" is out and we've been playing the song "Come On" from it on Lightning 100. It was one of the highlights of their rockin' set:

Getting Older
Out Of My Hands
Sleep It Off
Goodbye L.A.
Learning
Come On*
Outside
Here We Are
Endlessly
On Your Own

Monday morning, the two Josh's from GRO, guitarist and lead vocalist Josh Jenkins and guitarist Joshua Wilkerson, got up early and came down for a bonus "in-studio" performance on our morning show with Mary Brace. The rest of the band is Jamey Ice on guitar, Geoff Ice on bass, (yes, they are brothers), and Denton Hunker on drums. Nice guys all, they were hoping to head home for a couple days off before heading to the South By Southwest Festival in Austin.

NSN Keaton Simons; Tyrone Wells 3-8-09

A couple of west-coasters were our guests tonight. First up was multi-talented Keaton Simons, who grew up in L.A., has been singing and playing since he was a kid, and decided to make music his career by the time he was 14. Keaton had an album ready to release in 2004. You may remember us playing "Currently" from it on Lightning 100 back then, but the label folded before the retail release, so it never made it into record stores. It wasn't until last year that the way was clear for him to release a new CD. Appropriately, he named it "Can You Hear Me?" Keaton's set:

Misfits
Without Your Skin
Nobody Knows
Currently*
Masterpiece
Unstoppable
Mama Song
Radioactive
Good Things Get Better*


Our headliner, Tyrone Wells, was paying us a return visit, two years after first appearing on NSN as an opener. That was when his first major-label release "Hold On" was out. We played a song called "What Are We Fighting For" from it on Lightning 100. Keaton's new album is called "Remain" and you're hearing the song "More" from it on Lightning 100. Tyrone's set:

Need
Sink or Swim
Falling
Baby Don't (with Keaton Simons on guitar)
Looking At Her Face (solo, and by request)
Ain't No Sunshine (solo)
Hate Song (solo)*
Wondering Where You Are
Remain
Sea Breeze
More / All Is Said & Done*

Spotted in the audience: Local Lightning artists Josh Hoge and Curtis Peoples, who both wound up on stage before the night was over. Josh was just on NSN 3 weeks ago, and he also played "Ain't No Sunshine" that night. When Tyrone launched into it, Josh leaned over to me and joked "What? Is this becoming a Nashville Sunday Night standard now?"

NSN Mando Saenz; Jedd Hughes 3-1-09

This week we had a couple of guys who started life in other countries and have wound up in Nashville making music. First up was Mando Saenz, born in Mexico, raised in Texas, and a guitar player since he was 11 years old. Since relocating from Houston to Nashville, he's co-written with Will Kimbrough, Kim Richey and other of Nashville's finest songwriters. Mando's set:

Road Unwound
Wrong Guy
Pocket Of Red
In The Back Of Your Mind
Breakaway Speed
Seven Dollars
All Grown Up
Colorado
Pittsburgh

Then it was time for Jedd Hughes, who grew up in Australia, and also found his way to Nashville by way of Texas. Jedd's another one who's been playing since he was very young. Pretty quickly after moving to Nashville, he landed a gig playing guitar for Patty Loveless. Jedd's set:

I Want You
When You're Close
Big Blue Sky
Hollywood
Hold On (Tom Waits cover)
Scatter Brain*
I Only Ever Tried To Make You Smile
Baby Don't Do It
I Wish You Were Here
Pass You By*
Lay Lady Lay
Kill My Blues

Spotted in the audience: old pal and former Warner Brothers promotion man Gene Dries, who ironically was the guest on tonight's lead-in show on Music Business Radio. It was wild to be listening to him on the radio driving in to the show and then running into him at 3rd & Lindsley! Gene's a big fan of Jedd. Also spotted: Local Lightning artist Beau Stapleton (ex-Blue Merle), who's no stranger to NSN, and was also a guest a few weeks ago on Music Business Radio.