July Birthdays

A Celebration For Frankie 'T' Thatcher
(Reprinted with kind permission of Country Capital News

A recent gathering of country music artists celebrated the contribution of popular radio personality Frankie “T” Thatcher.

A great day was had by all who were able to attend a big “thank you” for a man who has been instrumental in the lives of so many country music artists here in Australia.

Most people know Frankie “T” as the loveable presenter of country music on Campbelltown's 2MCR, the very first community radio station in Australia.

However most don’t know is that Frankie “T” has been a great supporter for charities like the Fred Hollows Foundation, and is an ambassador for research into prostate cancer - a condition that threatens his own life and the life of many men every day.

Jane Kellaway, singer/songwriter, presenter on todayscountry94one and fellow presenter on 2MCR, along with her husband Fred, decided to celebrate the life of this unique individual.

Jane was amazed by how many artists responded to the invitation with the words “it would be an honour and a privilege to be there- thanks for inviting me”.

It was an emotional event for Frankie as each artist sang some of their most memorable songs for a man who was instrumental in their careers.

One of the highlights of the afternoon was enjoying a song penned by Connie Kis Andersen. Although Connie was unable to be present on the day, she sent along the song that she wrote as a tribute to Frankie's life. The song will be featured on her new album.

Please note: Radio personnel and programmers can request a complimentary, broadcast quality mp3 copy of the song: 'My Time Again ' by emailing KM Publicity: at kmpublicity@iinet.net.au

KM Publicity
E: kmpublicity@iinet.net.au
Ph: (08) 9467 7885

Allan Webster - Part Time Dreamer

Allan has recently released a new album - new to me anyway. Gee this really is a listenable album, real "foot tapping stuff".

Mostly covers but all good songs & sung well, so it's another one for your collection of "real" country. I know I will have it in the car for quite some time.

Tracks include

Joy

Declan Burke - Just One More

Another great album for your "real country" collection. Sixteen tracks in all, with 3 of the tracks having been written by well known Irish Songwriter Walter Cunningham, these tracks are Counterfit Cowboy, Where Time Has Stood Still, Who Could Ask For Anything More. These sit in nicely with the rest of the selection.

Naomi McClean joins Declan on track 11 Picture and sounds just great.

The list for this album is

Joy

Lex K - My First Song

Apart from one track these songs are all self penned, with one co-write. Mostly Bush Ballads, some bringing back old memories. As usual Lindsay "Waddo" Waddington has shown his great talent with this recording.

Lex K has been around for sometime now and it's good to see him with some of his recordings.

The list of tracks on this album are as follows

01 Sequel To The Judas Bullocks 02 Boundary Rider Troy 03 My Heartach Just Started Up Again 04 Ripped Off 05 Rolling Down The Road 06 My First Song 07 Kidman Jillaroos

08 The Only Man To Come Betwen Us 09 Old Train Tracks 10 Good Friends 11 To Remember It All 12 Just Another Show 13 Tribute To A Writer - Ernie Constance

Joy

We Won't Forget Ya Mate - Vol 2

This is volume 2 of the Lights On The Hill compilation album where all artists have volunteered their services to help raise money for the Lights On The Hill Memorial Project in Gatton Queensland.

About the Memorial

Lights on the Hill Truck & Coach Drivers Memorial is a Memorial wall for truck and coach drivers who passed away in a truck accident or by other means, and for passengers who have passed away in an accident. These people have contributed substantially to the transport industry.

Founder, Kathy White, has worked tirelessly to bring this wall to those families with deceased relatives, and for fellow drivers to have a place to go to remember their relatives and mates who are no longer with them.

The names only go on the Memorial once a year, where a service is held to remember the drivers who have passed away. Invitations are sent to everyone who registers to have a loved one's name added to the wall, and we ask those people to let their families and friends know about the service. Anyone is welcome to come to this moving event. We also encourage people to bring their trucks along as they are part of the service as you will see in some of the photos in this site. Please keep an eye on this site for the dates of any functions we hold.

It's very important for the public to realise that we all need truck drivers, and how necessary every trip is that delivers the goods we rely on every day. Without them the country would come to a complete stand still. So please support these drivers - after all they are doing a job just like you, and just like you have to feed and clothe themselves and their families and pay their bills. The strangest thing that has been said to me is "You know, truck drivers are just like us, hard working good blokes. How true that is. Sadly, their job is not without risk, and the number of names are on the wall is testament to just how many drivers are lost in their line of work. Please appreciate the truck drivers they are a team of men and women working 24/7 to keep our country moving.

The name originated from the famous Slim Dusty trucking song "Lights On The Hill". Before the late Slim Dusty passed away, he and his wife Joy agreed to our use of the name "Lights On The Hill" and to be patrons of the memorial, along with John "The Ferret" Moran. The wall has a main section for drivers who have lost their lives while working, a section for drivers who have died by other means, and also a section for sponsors who have assisted in the walls completion.

List of tracks

Kathy Sunners

Marie Hodson

Good Afternoon to all Radio DJs of Fine Country Music

NFS _142__ will be arriving at your radio station in the next few days.
Marie Hodson presents her second single to radio with Track 4 – “Cowboys Love Texas” from her acclaimed album “Read Between The Lies”.

We greatly appreciated your air play support of her first radio single, ‘One Too Many’ released on NFS 137, which  achieved an outstanding   level of Chart success with Hot Country Queensland No 17 and Mildura Hot Fm No 22 ,Through your continued support of Marie and her music with “Cowboys Love Texas” we are hopeful of achieving National Top 30 Chart success to follow on from the European Country Music Chart impact of achieving NO; 6 in the combined Massive European market.

Marie would love to be part of your radio program with an on air interview to let your listeners know about the song and the development of her career in Country Music. We will contact you after you have been able to listen to her song or just call Peter Izod – Manager on
02 67 666601 to arrange an interview at your convenience.

Regards
Peter Izod

The Brothers 3 - Mudgee Maestros

The fertile plains of Carcalgong near Mudgee are known for wine, wheat, sheep and cattle.
But now the three young sons of former Simon Townsend Wonder World reporter Alita Fahey blaze their trail as actors, musicians and singers.

Brothers 3 - Tayzin, 12, Makirum 11 and Shardyn 13 when they filmed their video - have won acclaim way beyond their farm locale for Road To Carcalgong.

The trio prove proficient on nine instruments as well as being handy with farm chores in their Ross Wood directed video.

It's on debut album Where the Eagles Fly that showcases 10 original songs they wrote on the farm.

Their filial musicality includes proficiency on guitar, keyboards, banjo, trumpet and clarinet.

And like the brothers Gibb their vocal talents are magnified by fraternal harmonies - their music has scored airplay here and in the U.S.

A quick check of their thespian track record is a salient signpost to their talent.

Shardyn played the young Peter Allen in the Hugh Jackman tour of The Boy from Oz.

The trio appeared in films and TV series diverse as Son of the Mask, Hell has Harbour Views, Cavalaria Rosticana/Pagliacci, Quambatook, Black Balloon, Happy Feet, Farscape, Home and Away and My Place.

It's fitting the siblings recorded their album at the Sydney studio of an older trio - The Robertson Brothers.

Ben Robertson engineered the disc, distributed by Hardrush Music

David Dawson

Lawrie Minson - Peel Street To Wall Street

Multi-instrumentalist Lawrie Minson preceded Brothers 3 onto stages and studios as a pre-pubescent prodigy under tutelage of syndicated radio host and musician father John in hometown Tamworth.

Minson poured earnings from sessions and touring with Lee Kernaghan, Ross Wilson, James Blundell, Matt Scullion and Davidson Brothers into solo projects.

This week the quadruple Tamworth Golden Guitar winner ventures north from Peel St to Wall St in Jason Archer directed video for Too Far Gone from second solo album Love's Journey.

The singer, who occasionally bared his chest on Kernaghan tours, lets the animation do the talking here.

Minson branched out when he produced Indian singer Bobby Cash - long marketed as "one in a billion."

The affable hired hand emulated sentiments of Love's Journey to marry his soul mate Shelley Watts.

David Dawson

Melinda Schneider - Dancing With The Stars

The Lees - 'Remember To Breathe'

Raechel Lee, the eldest sibling who fronts the country/folk band, The Lees plans to visit you in your town very soon. She is busy making plans and scheduling dates for a publicity tour that will kick off in August.

In response to the success of their first hit single, It Ain't Me Babe, Raechel hopes this tour will be about meeting the people who support the band and country music, connect with fans and spread the word on The Lees.

"We always planned to do a tour with the whole band to promote this new album, Welcome Road, now is a good time to start", says Raechel.
Promoting the album and the latest single to radio, Remember To Breathe the tour will incorporate local media, visits to local radio stations, meeting broadcasters and personalities, lining up live broadcasts, interviews and promotional prizes. Raechel will also be teaming up with WJO and MGM distribution companies to visit local music retail stores to sing a few songs and meet with fans. Raechel also plans to arrange performances at the increasingly popular 'House Concert', and says if anyone is interested in The Lees playing at their house and getting all of their friends and family around, feel free to let them know!

"Now this may not be possible for everyone as I can't drive from Sydney to Perth, so if everyone who is interested emails me then I can start putting together a schedule and make this happen, I am really keen to do this so I hope that I hear back from you all very soon"!

If you would like to have Raechel Lee visit you, want to arrange an interview or to organise house concert, contact her directly at: raechel@thelees.com.au or phone her on 0421 805 777

 Thanks for supporting The Lees and more importantly, thanks for playing country music!

"it's an organic, raw and incredibly appealing collection of songs... hillbilly-flavoured vocal style, but they are distinctively their own, and the harmonies are an absolute delight"  Susan Jarvis Capital News

Remember To Breathe is playing on radio now.
Amanda O'Bryan

Lorrie Morgan
Awesome Success For Our Lady Of The Lake
Fundraiser Night

One word that comes to mind when someone is trying to put into words how great something is-AWESOME.  That is exactly the word for Lorrie Morgan and her band last night at Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church, here in Hendersonville, TN for a fundraiser.  I had front row seats, thanks to her booking agent, my friend, and fellow Catholic, Bobby Roberts.  What a super performance Lorrie gave for this fundraiser for our new chapel to be built.  There were over 600 people treated to one of greatest performance I have seen Lorrie give.  She was beautiful, her vocals were true to every note, she was funny, she was

devoted, she was the ultimate performer, but she was herself at all times.  Her son Jesse Keith Whitley did a super job and he was impressive.  His Mom was so proud of him, and the audience let him know that he was appreciated, not because his Mom was Lorrie Morgan only, but that he great potential in our music industry.  The thoroughbred bloodline of Morgan, starts with Lorrie’s dad, Grand Ole Opry Legend, George Morgan, and she did pay tribute to her dad last night, by singing Candy Kisses which was his biggest hit record, and she does that song in all of her performances.

I am going to miss something in this editorial because I was mesmerized by Lorrie’s performance, and that being because I just had her on a show in PA with Mel Tillis and John Anderson, and she was great there, with full production behind her, all of her band, great lighting and a 45 minute show, but last night she was as awesome as I have ever seen and heard.  She held the audience in the palm of her hand from the moment she entered the room and stood beneath the raised statue of Jesus Christ.  He surely must have touched her for her performance last night, because near the end of her show, she dedicated to her Mom, Father Eric our pastor, and Sister Maria, “Ave Maria,” and that is when I sat in complete awe of her performance of this song, which she does have on a CD, and I was not aware of that.  She gave such a performance of the song because of the heart and soul she put into this song.  Now what I am going to say will probably make you think, well your just saying that because you are Lorrie’s friend and you are both Catholic’s-and that is true, but I have heard Pavarotti and other opera singers and also many others in other genres’ of music sing Ave Maria, but nothing like I heard last night from Lorrie Morgan.  The audience was hushed as silent as I have ever heard, and when she finished the song, they stood up immediately for a long standing ovation, one of several in a 60 minute set.  She gave a devout performance of the song.  Now don’t go thinking I am waving my rosary in the air to let you know I am a Catholic, I just want you to know that it touched all of our minds and hearts with the feeling that came from her “awesome performance” of a difficult song.  All of the songs she sang were super, but she made my evening with her tremendous performance of Ave Maria.

When the Chapel is completed, I know that there will be a special feeling of Lorrie Morgan inside, and she will be a part of this beautiful Chapel for all to enjoy. 

She brought three of her band members with her and what a superb backing they gave with a limited amount of production, but you would have to be in the music industry to realize that.  Her bandleader Mark Oliverius, also a member of OLOL, her guitarist Todd Woolsey (Super player-I mean super with a gut string), and her background vocalist who is such as great singer in her own right, Marcia Ware.  Let me not forget her super production and sound engineer, Jeff Hawkins.  I tip my hat to her band on a job as awesome as I have heard in a long, long time.  No complaining, no stoppage in the show, just straight ahead professionals doing their job with a little extra zing to make the show as awesome as it was.  Now that being said, they knew that they were being watched from above, and that they had better be awesome, and they were. (That is a little funny I am making-You would have to be there to understand my little pun.)

Lorrie as everyone could see was as giving after the show, as she was when she was on stage.  I wish I could put into words how great she was, but I finally have come to a point in writing articles, where I am not sure if I can project how great Lorrie’s performance was.  She acknowledged all of her family, her special friends, and everyone in attendance.  I hope you can get the points of what I enjoyed so much last night.

The evening started at 6:30 in the social hall, which incidentally was put together by the Concert Committee, and the refreshments were also awesome.  Great food, a little wine with my friends Ed & Irene Bruchas, wonderful fellowship, and the meeting of new faces and old friends.  Those who had the misfortune of missing this evening, you will get reports for many days and months to come, and when you walk into the Chapel at its completion, know that July 6, 2010 was the greatest start for a fundraiser, and God Bless Lorrie Morgan and group for giving of their time and talents.  So the word for an evening of entertainment with Lorrie Morgan is….

AWESOME!!!!!

Thank you Lorrie for making it possible for the new Chapel to have a great start, and thanks to the Parishioners, Staff, Volunteers and the Knights of Columbus of Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church, for one of best evenings I have ever spent enjoying special entertainment for a special cause with special people. 

Marty Matell

New Song Highlights The National Park
Single by singer Patty Parker

The cover for the ‘Song of the Grand Canyon’ CD, featuring a painting by Williams resident Val Jesse.

Southwestern singer Patty Parker, pictured above, has recently released a single about the Grand Canyon. Called Song of the

GRAND CANYON, Ariz. - Southwestern singer Patty Parker knows a thing or two about music. She's been singing since age 5 and went to school for music as well. In one form or another, singing has always been a part of her life.

Her latest project has brought her to northern Arizona and the South Rim. She's recently produced a single, Song of the Grand Canyon, which she is making available to anyone who wishes to use it. Produced from lyrics written by her husband Frank Fara, Parker said the song was created out of a love for the area.

"We recorded it, for one, because we've lived in Arizona a lot of our lives and love a lot of the things around here. And the Grand Canyon, of course, is the wonder of the world most people associate with Arizona. We just really had an inspiration, by visiting it many times ourselves. Frank got inspired to write the song and I produced it and sang it in Nashville," Parker said.

The single was released roughly a month ago. Fara said he hoped the song would be something area businesses and organizations would want to use to promote the area.

"Our real goal is that we want to share this song, give it as a gift, to the chambers of commerce, to local, area museums, and any business that could use it to further tourism in the state. It's a great song for websites," Fara said, adding that the songs have been being played in other countries as well.

"Also, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, we've written a song for them, which their Chamber uses," Fara said. "It's actually a Christmas song, set in old Santa Fe."

A song Parker produced for Sedona, called Sedona Serenade, has been used the Sedona Chamber of Commerce.

Artwork on the Grand Canyon CD was produced by Williams artist Val Jesse.

"Instead of having a CD with a picture on the cover of the singer, so to speak, we wanted it to be a depiction of the Grand Canyon and of the era around the time when the Grand Canyon became a national park," Parker said. "We asked Val Jesse, an artist who lives in Williams, who we have known for years. She's done a number of things with us through the years. She sketched some things out and we kind of tweaked around on it, and then painted it, which is the cover of the CD. The CD itself is just the one song, 'Song of the Grand Canyon,' which is kind of like a singing postcard."

Parker said she hopes the song could one day become one of the definitive songs of the Canyon.

"Not only does it inspire us every time we see it, but we see all these thousands of people, who see it for the first time and it's just overwhelming to see something like that, so we wanted the song to just be something that, as they listen to it, it's a memory of what they saw or, if they haven't seen it, it would inspire them to want to go see it," Parker said.

The CD is available at iTunes, Amazon.com and other online locations, as well as www.grandcanyonsong.com More information on the CD and her other projects can be found online at www.pattyparker.com as well.

"We would like to see it in Williams and at the Grand Canyon," Parker said. 

Her CD 'Southwestern Serenade,' is also currently available.

"It just expands on the theme. From the album we've got a song about the saguaro cactus, and then we've got one called the 'Sedona Serenade' which the town of Sedona uses for a lot of their promotional things, and it's about the red rocks of Sedona," Parker said.

Parker has been singing since she was five-years-old. She eventually became a music major and taught music for a number of years. She didn't begin in earnest until she met her husband.

"When Frank and I met in California a number of years ago, we used to tour as our own country band and I did a lot of singing on the road for a number of years. Then I started producing other artists from around the world in Nashvilles. I've been in music, one way or another, all my life. I love it," Parker said.

Through the years, the couple decided to record various songs pertaining to the southwest.

"He happens to be able to write songs that suit my voice to sing them," Parker said. "I take great pleasure in getting them recorded and being able to sing them."

Comstock Records Ltd

Bill Porter Has Passed Away

It is with great sadness that we learned of Bill Porter's death yesterday. Porter was born Billy Rhodes Porter in St. Louis, Missouri on June 15, 1931.

Porter recorded nearly all of Elvis' number one hits upon his return from Army duty in 1960.Instead of the usual microphones used by RCA, Porter chose to use a Telefunken U-47 on Elvis' voice, recording several songs through the night of March 20–21, 1960, including "Stuck On You" which was released three days later and immediately returned Presley to the number one chart position. Porter engineered "Are You

Lonesome Tonight", "It's Now or Never", and other early 1960s Elvis hits.

In October 1966, Porter moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, to manage United Recording of Nevada for Bill Putnam of United Western Recorders in Los Angeles. Elvis was one of his recording clients, working on "Suspicious Minds" in August 1969. Presley's producer Felton Jarvis brought the master tape into United Recording so that Porter could help him with the song's unusual fade out and back in three-quarters of the way through. Also in 1969, Porter founded Porter Industries, as a basis for his freelance engineering assignments.

In January 1970, Elvis was performing in Las Vegas, and his live sound engineer was unable to appear at one of his shows. Jarvis called Porter as a replacement, and the resulting show was better than usual—the mix sounded "just like the album". Porter ended up mixing Presley's live concerts from then on, leaving United Recording in 1972. Presley paid Porter well for a touring sound engineer; a 1974 contract for nearly two weeks of touring during September–October netted Porter $2,600, an amount equivalent to $11,500 in current value. Porter recorded several of these shows in the mid-1970s, released as albums, and witnessed firsthand Presley's physical decline from drug abuse. In 1975, Presley's doctors advised him to exercise more, so he had a racquetball court built at his mansion Graceland. Porter designed and supervised the installation of a powerful hi-fidelity Electro-Voice loudspeaker sound system for the racquetball court and an adjoining lounge. In August 1977, Porter was changing planes in Boston to fly to Portland, Maine to mix a Presley concert when he heard that the singer had died.He attended Presley's heavily guarded funeral ceremony at Graceland. Between Presley appearances, Porter had also been handling sound duties for Ann-Margaret in Las Vegas and on the road, under the business name Captain Audio Productions. He consulted on television specials for Ann-Margaret and for Bob Hope in 1972–1973.

Most recently, Bill had sold many of personal Elvis related items at auction. Follow the links below to read more about the auctions.
Elvis Unlimited sends our deepest condolences to Bill's family and friends!

Marty Matell

Lee Brice Scores His First Ever Top 10 Single
“Love Like Crazy” Still Climbing The Charts

Curb recording artist Lee Brice has scored his first ever Top 10 single with “Love Like Crazy,” the title track to his just released debut CD. While the recording artist is no stranger to hit songs from a songwriter’s perspective (he penned Garth Brooks’ “More Than a Memory,” a song that actually entered the charts at #1, as well as Tim McGraw’s hit “Still”), Brice says it’s an entirely different feeling when you hit that section of the charts as a recording artist.

“When this song hit Top 20, I remember thinking, it just can't get any better than this,” Brice said. “But it did. To have a song break through the Top 10 is just an incredible feeling. I hope I get to experience what a Top 5 feels like!"

While Brice may be a newcomer to the Top 10, he is certainly no stranger to the thousands of fans who have seen his live performances.  A self-described road dog, Brice has spent most of the past three years on the road, performing in everything from the smallest club to larger arenas, all the while developing a strong and passionate following.

“I’ve always loved the live aspect of what I do for a living,” Brice said. “It gives you the most immediate satisfaction, not to mention pure adrenalin rush. Watching this song climb the charts is sort of like that rush I feel when I perform it live. It’s that gratification that someone out there is digging what I do, and it just doesn’t get better than that.”

Love Like Crazy in stores now through Sony Music Entertainment

Emma Smith

Tommy And Phil Emmanuel Reunited
For Their 50th Anniversary Concert Tour

Less than a month after being honoured with the award of a Member of the Order of Australia, guitar maestro Tommy Emmanuel has announced plans to return to his home country this December/January - for a series of special concerts with his brother Phil.

Fans who have witnessed the incredible chemistry and intuitive energy of their live performances have been clamouring for the two to reunite and now they will get their wish. To celebrate 50 years of professional performance together, Tommy and Phil will be hitting the road with the TE All Star band.

This is a rare opportunity for fans to catch Tommy flexing both his electric and acoustic guitar muscles - and only the second time the brothers have toured together in 15 years. This is the complete Emmanuel experience! Singer-songwriter, and Phil’s daughter, Jesse Emmanuel will join the tour as special guest, making it a real family affair.

Recognised internationally as two of the world’s finest guitar pickers, Tommy and Phil have been performing live since the early 60s, when they were just young kids, honing their chops in the Emmanuel Family Band. They’ve gone on to enjoy huge success independently, their careers occasionally intersecting with collaborations on the 1995 album ‘Terra Firma’ and an exemplary performance at the 2000 Sydney Olympics Closing Ceremony.

The iconic fingerpicker, Chet Atkins, called Tommy “one of the all-time greatest guitarists on the planet”. Rock historian Glenn A. Baker said of Phil that “[his] musical prowess is so astonishing that there are times when the man becomes the guitar and the guitar becomes the man.”

“There’s a magic that happens when Phil and I play together”, says Tommy. “It’s like the two of us together makes a third player who’s better than both of us. After 50 years, we can still surprise each other on stage”.

Tickets on sale Monday July 19; Stay tuned for special Red Carpet presale.’

Red Carpet Club

Selling Fast, Get In Early To Avoid Disappointment.

Oz Country Music Festival
Be part of
Fiji’s First Country Music Festival

Featuring
John Williamson, Bill Chambers, Felicity Urquhart & Glen Hannah, Jonah’s Road, Ashleigh Dallas Band and more to be announced.

August 1st – 7th 2010
Cost from $2299.00 per person

Twin Share includes:
Return Airfares from Sydney
Return transfers, 7 nights at a 4 Star Resort in Fiji
All Meals, Country Music Festival Tickets
Nightly entertainment, Firewalking Show
Welcome cocktail party
Canapes every afternoon during happy hour
Free Scuba Lesson, Free Snorkel Hire and more.

For more details call Country Music Holidays 1300 799 987

Michelle Costigan & Jenny Haslem

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