Radio Romance Talks About Winning Nash Next 2017, Honing Their Sound on Lower Broadway, Musical Inspirations & More

Radio Romance Talks About Winning Nash Next 2017, Honing Their Sound on Lower Broadway, Musical Inspirations & More

Posted on November 2, 2017

Jim Casey talks with Radio Romance about:

  • winning Nash Next 2017
  • celebrating their win with family and friends
  • forming the band
  • naming the band after an Eddie Rabbitt album
  • being inspired by ’90s country and rock
  • writing songs
  • earning their stripes by playing Nashville’s Lower Broadway
  • managing their overly excited manager

Show Participants

  • Radio Romance: Sam Hayes (lead singer), Josh Gramling (lead guitar), Moises Padilla (drums), Adam Smithwick (bass)
  • Jim Casey, NCD editor in chief

Jimmy’s blog: Would Jon Gruden make a good college coach?

Jimmy’s blog: Would Jon Gruden make a good college coach?

Posted on November 2, 2017

By Jimmy Hyams

While Butch Jones remains Tennessee’s coach, many in the Vol Nation have moved on.

They even have a target: Jon Gruden.

We’ve seen this before. Tennessee fans clamored for Gruden in 2012, before Jones was hired.

Gruden was the sexy name then. He’s the sexy name now. He will continue to be a sexy name when it comes to coaching vacancies.

Five years ago, a member of the UT Board of Trustees told me Tennessee offered Gruden $5 million a year for six years – a $30 million guarantee. So much for the UT fans that think the administration goes on the cheap with very football hire – a bogus premise.

Gruden said no then for the same reasons he would say no now, if approached: The 20-hour rule, NCAA recruiting restrictions, NCAA rules in general, booster involvement, and the headaches that come with the job.

College coaches work 100 hours a week.

How much does Gruden have work during the fall: 20 hours? 30? He might watch film incessantly, but his hours obligation to ESPN doesn’t compare to those of a coach.

Remember this: Gruden is undefeated since he was fired by Tampa Bay in 2009.

Remember this: Gruden makes $6.5 million a year for ESPN and a few million more for commercial endorsements.

Remember this: Gruden hasn’t coached in college since 1989 when he was an assistant for Walt Harris at Pacific. The extent of his college coaching (counting his graduate assistant stint at Tennessee): four years.

And while I like Gruden personally and professionally, there is no guarantee he would be a winner in college.

His NFL resume is good but not great. He won a Super Bowl with the Bucs in 2002, but his overall record as a head coach: 100-85.

Dan Wolken, columnist for USA Today, isn’t sold on Gruden as a college coach, either.

“Would he even be a good college coach?’’ Wolken said when speaking earlier this week at the Knoxville Quarterback Club. “I don’t know.

“The thing about college football: It’s a developmental game. The NFL is scheme, chess pieces, Xs and Os. You move the pieces around. You try to outcoach people. Try to outscheme people.

“Obviously, it’s a players’ game. But it’s the best of the best.

“In college, you’ve got a guy from 18 years old to 21. A huge chunk of their football and personal development goes into that. That’s why college coaching is different.

“Would Gruden be good at that? I don’t know.’’

My thought: No. Gruden doesn’t have the patience for developing players. He wants ready-made stars, ready-made quarterbacks, ready-made receivers, etc.

But what if you hired Gruden?

“He’d be a great face of the program,’’ Wolken said. “He’d be great talking to the media. He’d bring all kinds of attention. But it’s a unique challenge. I’ve just never heard any indication that he really would do it.’’

So why doesn’t Gruden put to rest rumors he might be UT’s coach?

“I think Jon Gruden enjoys people talking about Jon Gruden,’’ Wolken said. “I think that is fairly well established over the years.

“Everyone’s got an ego in this business. Everyone likes it when they’re wanted. Everyone likes being the apply of somebody’s eye. Everybody likes to be a little bit unattainable or at least give that vibe.’’

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Everything You Need to Know About the 51st CMA Awards Show, Including Performers, Presenters, Nominees & More

Everything You Need to Know About the 51st CMA Awards Show, Including Performers, Presenters, Nominees & More

Posted on November 2, 2017

From nominations and notes to performers and presenters, here’s everything a country music fan needs to know about the 2017 CMA Awards.

Date: Wednesday, Nov. 8

Time: 8 p.m.–11 p.m. ET

Location: Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena

Television Station: ABC

Hosts: Carrie Underwood & Brad Paisley

Solo Performers: Garth Brooks, Brothers Osborne, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Old Dominion, Jon Pardi, Chris Stapleton, Keith Urban, Thomas Rhett, Pink, Carrie Underwood and Alan Jackson

Collaborative Performances: Kelsea Ballerini & Reba McEntire; Dierks Bentley & Rascal Flatts; Maren Morris & Niall Horan; Brad Paisley & Kane Brown; Tim McGraw & Faith Hill; Eric Church, Lady Antebellum, Darius Rucker & Keith Urban

Presenters: Dustin Lynch, Lauren Alaina, Luke Combs, Brett Young, Trisha Yearwood, Bobby Bones, Jimmie Johnson, Karlie Kloss, Lea Michele, Michelle Monaghan, Tyler Perry, Jason Ritter, JoAnna Garcia Swisher, Ruby Rose, Brittany Snow

Nominees:

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR (Award goes to the artist)

  • Garth Brooks
  • Luke Bryan
  • Eric Church
  • Chris Stapleton
  • Keith Urban

SINGLE OF THE YEAR (Award goes to the artist, producer, and mix engineer)

  • “Better Man” – Little Big Town; Producer: Jay Joyce; Mix Engineer: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce
  • “Blue Ain’t Your Color” – Keith Urban; Producer: Dann Huff, Keith Urban; Mix Engineer: Chris Lord-Alge
  • “Body Like A Back Road” – Sam Hunt; Producer: Zach Crowell; Mix Engineer: Zach Crowell
  • “Dirt On My Boots” – Jon Pardi; Producer: Bart Butler, Jon Pardi; Mix Engineer: Ryan Gore
  • “Tin Man” – Miranda Lambert; Producer: Frank Liddell, Eric Masse, Glenn Worf; Mix Engineer: Eric Masse

ALBUM OF THE YEAR (Award goes to the artist and producer)

  • The Breaker – Little Big Town; Producer: Jay Joyce
  • From A Room: Volume 1 – Chris Stapleton; Producer: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton
  • Heart Break – Lady Antebellum; Producer: busbee
  • The Nashville Sound – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit; Producer: Dave Cobb
  • The Weight of These Wings – Miranda Lambert; Producer: Frank Liddell, Glenn Worf, Eric Masse

SONG OF THE YEAR (Award goes to the songwriter)

  • “Better Man” — Songwriter: Taylor Swift
  • “Blue Ain’t Your Color” — Songwriter: Clint Lagerberg, Hillary Lindsey, Steven Olsen
  • “Body Like A Back Road” — Songwriter: Zach Crowell, Sam Hunt, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne
  • “Dirt On My Boots” — Songwriter: Rhett Akins, Jesse Frasure, Ashley Gorley
  • “Tin Man” — Songwriter: Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR (Award goes to the artist)

  • Kelsea Ballerini
  • Miranda Lambert
  • Reba McEntire
  • Maren Morris
  • Carrie Underwood

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR (Award goes to the artist)

  • Dierks Bentley
  • Eric Church
  • Thomas Rhett
  • Chris Stapleton
  • Keith Urban

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR (Award goes to the group)

  • Lady Antebellum
  • Little Big Town
  • Old Dominion
  • Rascal Flatts
  • Zac Brown Band

VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR (Award goes to the duo)

  • Dan + Shay
  • Florida Georgia Line
  • LOCASH
  • Maddie & Tae
  • Brothers Osborne

MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR (Award goes to each artist)

  • “Craving You” – Thomas Rhett (feat. Maren Morris)
  • “Funny How Time Slips Away” – Glen Campbell with Willie Nelson
  • “Kill a Word” – Eric Church (feat. Rhiannon Giddens)
  • “Setting the World on Fire” – Kenny Chesney (with P!nk)
  • “Speak to a Girl” – Tim McGraw & Faith Hill

MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR (Award goes to the musician)

  • Jerry Douglas (Dobro)
  • Paul Franklin (Steel Guitar)
  • Dann Huff (Guitar)
  • Mac McAnally (Guitar)
  • Derek Wells (Guitar)

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR (Award goes to the artist and director)

  • “Better Man” – Little Big Town; Director: Becky Fluke and Reid Long
  • “Blue Ain’t Your Color” – Keith Urban; Director: Carter Smith
  • “Craving You” – Thomas Rhett (feat. Maren Morris); Director: TK McKamy
  • “Vice” – Miranda Lambert; Director: Trey Fanjoy
  • “It Ain’t My Fault” – Brothers Osborne; Director: Wes Edwards and Ryan Silver

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR AWARD (Award goes to the artist)

  • Luke Combs
  • Old Dominion
  • Jon Pardi
  • Brett Young
  • Lauren Alaina
Kenny Chesney: “God Gave Me a Big Lemon . . . And We’re Still Squeezing”

Kenny Chesney: “God Gave Me a Big Lemon . . . And We’re Still Squeezing”

Posted on November 2, 2017

The juice is worth the squeeze, Kenny.

On Oct. 27, Kenny Chesney bottled up his energetic stadium shows into a new 30-song album, Live in No Shoes Nation. The live offering includes songs curated from the last 10 years of Kenny’s shows, and features A-list guest artists such as Eric Church, Taylor Swift, Grace Potter, Zac Brown Band, Dave Matthews and more.

The way Kenny tells Kix Brooks of American Country Countdown, corking up the sweet sounds of his new album started with God giving him “a big lemon.”

“[The album] spans a decade of my life,” says Kenny. “And, to be able to work with Zac [Brown] and with Eric Church . . . it’s just been the most beautiful, strange, fun journey you could think of, you know? I mean, it’s something that when you’re a kid, you don’t dream of having all those friendships, having that much fun, which is what music is supposed to be, and touring is supposed to be fun. And when we started this journey and started making this record, Live in No Shoes Nation, you know, and when I went on my first bus, I think God gave me a big lemon and said, ‘Okay, you squeeze all the juice out of it you want to,’ and we’re still squeezing every single drop out of that we possibly can.”

Keep squeezing, Kenny.

Kenny Chesney: Live in No Shoes Nation

  1. “Flora–Bama”
  2. “Summertime”
  3. “Big Star” (with Taylor Swift)
  4. “Boston”
  5. “When I See This Bar” (with Eric Church)
  6. “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems”
  7. “Anything But Mine”
  8. “Down the Road” (with Mac McAnally)
  9. “Guitars and Tiki Bars”
  10. “Hemingway’s Whiskey”
  11. “Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven” (with Zac Brown Band)
  12. “I’m Alive”
  13. “Save It for a Rainy Day” (with Old Dominion)
  14. “Pirate Flag”
  15. “Somewhere With You”
  16. “I Go Back”
  17. “One Step Up”
  18. “American Kids”
  19. “You And Tequila” (with Grace Potter)
  20. “Young”
  21. “There Goes My Life”
  22. “Out Last Night”
  23. “Dust on the Bottle” (with David Lee Murphy)
  24. “Coastal”
  25. “The Boys of Fall”
  26. “Noise”
  27. “Old Blue Chair”
  28. “The Joker” (with Dave Matthews)
  29. “Three Little Birds” (with Dave Matthews)
  30. “Happy on the Hey Now”
Blake Shelton Adds “Money” to His Bank of New Tunes [Listen]

Blake Shelton Adds “Money” to His Bank of New Tunes [Listen]

Posted on November 2, 2017

T minus one day until Blake Shelton drops his new studio album, Texoma Shore, on Nov. 3.

Blake has already given fans a taste of three songs from the new album: “I’ll Name the Dogs,” “At the House” and “Turnin’ Me On.”

Blake is keeping the partying going today (Nov. 2) with the release of the fun-loving tune, “Money,” which was penned by Craig Wiseman, James Bailey and Ryan Ogren.

“This is one of those songs that’s just fun,” said Blake. “It’s meant to be fun, it’s ridiculous and it’s Craig Wiseman at his best. This is one of those songs that I’m just thankful that, for whatever reason, Craig [sent to me]. He always sends me a gem over for each one of my albums, and this song I think is special. It has the potential to be remembered for a very, very long time.”

Listen to “Money” below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqMlRdHEZzU

photo by Jim Casey

Football Homecoming Game Preview: Tennessee vs. Southern Miss

Football Homecoming Game Preview: Tennessee vs. Southern Miss

Posted on November 2, 2017
UT vs. Southern Miss / Credit: UT Athletics

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee will play Southern Miss on Saturday at Neyland Stadium in the Vols’ 94th Homecoming game. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network.

Tom Hart (play-by-play) and Jordan Rodgers (analyst) will be in the booth and Cole Cubelic will report from the sidelines. Vol Network radio affiliates will have a live audio broadcast with Bob Kesling, Tim Priest and Brent Hubbs. Sirius Channel 134 and XM Channel 191 will also carry a live audio broadcast.

Tennessee (3-5, 0-5 SEC) is coming off 29-26 road loss to Kentucky on Oct. 28. True freshman running back Ty Chandler had a breakout game, rushing 22 times for 120 yards and two touchdowns and redshirt freshman Jarrett Guarantano had his best game to date, going 18-for-23 for 242 yards. The UT defense forced a season-high four fumbles in the loss, marking Tennessee’s most since forcing four fumbles against Southern Miss on Sept. 8, 2007.

Southern Miss (5-3, 3-2 Conference USA) took a 30-12 home loss against UAB last week. Quarterback Keon Howard led the Golden Eagles offensively, completing 14 of 25 passes for 207 yards and one touchdown. The Southern Miss defense could not stop UAB running back Spencer Brown, who ran for 209 yards and one touchdown on 33 carries.

Tennessee-Southern Miss History

Tennessee is 5-0 all-time against Southern Miss and all five of those games were played in Knoxville.

The teams last squared off on Sept. 8, 2007, when Erik Ainge threw for 276 yards and two touchdowns in a 39-19 UT win.

The Vols are 22-2 against current members of Conference USA. UT’s last contest against a C-USA team was also on Homecoming in 2015, when the Vols defeated North Texas, 24-0.

UT and Southern Miss have also produced two of the greatest NFL quarterbacks of all-time in VFL Peyton Manning and USM alum Brett Favre. Manning is the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yards (71,940), passing touchdowns (539) and ranks second all-time in pass completions (6,125). Favre holds the NFL’s career record for completions (6,300) and ranks second in passing yards (71,838) and passing touchdowns (508). Manning is also second all-time in career wins (regular season and postseason) by a starting quarterback (200) and Favre ranks third (199).

Tennessee Homecoming History

Tennessee is 71-19-3 all-time in Homecoming games. The Vols are 3-1 in homecoming games under head coach Butch Jones with wins in each of the last three years.

UT’s last three Homecoming games have been one-sided on the scoreboard. In 2014, the Vols took a 45-10 win over Chattanooga. In 2015, Tennessee enjoyed a 24-0 win over North Texas. Last season, UT took a 55-0 win over Tennessee Tech.

Eleven-Straight Non-Conference Wins

The Vols have won 11-straight games against non-conference opponents since a 31-24, double-overtime loss to No. 19 Oklahoma on Sept. 12, 2015. UT has averaged 37.4 points in those 11 games while holding opponents just 14.3 points.

Tennessee is 3-0 against non-conference foes in 2017 with wins against Georgia Tech, Indiana State and UMass.

Chandler Enjoys Breakout Performance

Chandler rushed for 120 yards and two touchdowns against Kentucky last week, becoming the first UT freshman to rush for 100 yards since Jalen Hurd rushed for 122 yards and two scores on 15 carries against Iowa on Jan. 2, 2015, in the TaxSlayer Bowl.

Chandler’s 120 rushing yards are the second-most by a SEC true freshman in a 2017 conference game, trailing only Florida rookie Malik Davis’ 124 yards against Vanderbilt on Sept. 30.

For the season, the Nashville native has 49 carries for 238 yards and two touchdowns, nine receptions for 101 yards and nine kickoff returns for 254 yards.

Daniel Making Case for Ray Guy Award

Redshirt senior punter Trevor Daniel is one of 78 final candidates for the Ray Guy Award, which is given to the nation’s top collegiate punter.

Through eight games this season, Daniel has 47 punts for 2,209 yards and a 47.0-yard average, which ranks second in the SEC and fourth in the nation. Daniel’s 19 punts inside opponents’ 20 and 21 punts of 50 or more yards lead the SEC. His 19 punts inside the 20 also rank fourth among Power Five schools.

His 45.6-yard average is the best in Tennessee history and ranks second among active NCAA punters, regardless of division.

-UT Athletics

 

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