Country Update

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Country Update

"UNITED WE STAND"

Country Update # 94

Jan 7, 2002

By now most of you probably have heard that Gaylord Productions is doing stupid things again. Now they are planning on turning WSM Radio from a country radio station to a SPORTS station. Check out the Sounding Off section for my comments on this one and be sure to sign the petition and call the toll free phone number and voice your concerns and opinions. Here is a letter I received from a friend in Nashville. This will give you an idea of what is going on if you don't already know.

Want to make sure you know about the fiasco with WSM-AM 650 in Nashville. We live here and Gaylord is really gonna screw up WSM, the Opry, and Classic Country. I've sent the petition site, email addresses for Gayord and WSM and now there is a toll free number to call to voice complaints and concerns. It's 1-877-457-0001. Get the word out. Clear Channel Communications would probably buy WSM-AM if Gaylord would sell. They'd keep it as it is, too. Thanks for all you do for Classic Country. If you ever get into Kansas City, check out WDAF which is AM 610. My husband monitors them and loves them. Thanks again! Della

There were only a couple of stories I was able to find this week. I guess everyone is still lying low starting off the New Year. Sad news concerning Waylon Jennings. Be sure to read the story.

There will be no Country Update radio shows until further notice. We are working on some new things and hopefully the show will be back up again soon.

I have made the picture section easier to view. I have made the direct link to the pictures so you no longer have to go through the Country Update piclink page unless you want to view older pictures. I have had several people tell me it takes too much time to go the old way so I hope everyone enjoys this new feature.

If you have not already done so please take a moment to sign the Country Update guestbook. I would love to hear from everyone out there. If you like something let me know and if there is something you don't like let me know that also.

PLEASE CHECK OUT THE "COUNTRY UPDATE" SEARCH ENGINE. IT IS THE PERFECT WAY TO FIND WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR. JUST GO TO THE COUNTRYUPDATE HOME PAGE AND YOU CAN ENTER A NAME OR PHRASE AND THE SEARCH ENGINE WILL DO THE WORK AND SEARCH THE ENTIRE COUNTRY UPDATE SITE AND GIVE YOU THE RESULTS.

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ROSE BOWL - 106 N Race St Urbana, Il (217-367-7031)

THE ROSE BOWL NOW HAS ROSE BOWL SHIRTS ON SALE AT THE CLUB! SEE YOUR BARTENDER FOR ALL THE COLORS AND STYLES THAT ARE AVAILABLE!!

Sun nights - Dusty Trails playing Western Swing and country FROM 8:00 - 12:00 PM CST - Dyke Corson, (guitar, pedal steel guitar, vocals), Chrissy Corson (piano, vocals), Gene Bray, (drums, vocals), Jake Tatar, (bass, vocals)

Tue nights - The Rose Bowl will be featuring different groups on Tuesday nights.

GENE BRAY NOW HAS A CD AVAILABLE AT THE CLUB ON SUN AND TUE NIGHTS. GENE DID THE CD AND HAD THE DUSTY TRAILS BAND PLAYING ON THE CD. IT IS AN EXCELLENT CD AND I AM PLAYING CUTS OFF OF IT ON THE COUNTRY UPDATE RADIO SHOW. YOU CAN SEE GENE ON SUN AND TUE NIGHTS TO PURCHASE THE CD.

*** Last Sun of each month Modern Cowboyz featuring Ron DeVore, Chrissy Corson, Dyke Corson and Jeff Gordon.

Wed and Thu nights 9-1 "Hot And Ready" band playing your requests and traditional country music. Wed night is "bandokee" night. Everyone is invited to come by and sit in with the house band. Just know the song you want to sing and the key you sing it in. Doug Rigsby is our Wed and Thu night drummer and Pat Richardson plays bass on Wed nights.

Fri and Sat nights 9-1 "Hot And Ready" house band playing traditional country, western swing and newer country music. "Hot And Ready" consists of Rich Mounce (lead guitar, vocals), Jimmy Willis (drums, vocals), Odie Fitchpatrick (electric bass, vocals) and Jerry "Muttonhead" Erickson (lead guitar, pedal steel guitar, vocals)

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ROSE BOWL NEWS:

Mon (Dec 31) Molly and Paula were behind the bar and Bonnie and Jennifer were our waitresses for the Rose Bowl New Year's Eve party. The club was packed and we had a really great time. It was great to see such a good turn out. Everyone had a good time and if you would like to see the pics you can go to the piclink below.

Wed (Jan 2) Paula was our mixologist and hosted our Wed night "Wild Turkey" promotion. We gave away t-shirts and mouse pads.

Thu (Jan 3) Molly was behind the bar and made sure everyone got their liquid refreshments.

Fri night (Jan 4) Paula was our bartender and Jennifer was our waitress.

Sat night (Jan 5) Meg and Molly were our bartenders for the evening and Jennifer did her usual great job as our waitress. It was good to see some fellow musicians stop by and say Hi. Greg Baker stopped in and later in the evening Bobby Watson stopped by and picked the last few minutes with us.

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THIS WEEK AT THE ROSE BOWL:

WED NIGHT JAN 9 PAULA WILL BE HOSTING A " ABSOLUT" PROMOTION. BE SURE TO STOP BY FOR ALL THE FUN.

SAT NIGHT JAN 12 WE WILL BE HAVING A "JIM BEAM BLACK" PROMOTION AT THE ROSE BOWL. BE SURE AND STOP BY FOR THE FUN.

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PICTURES ON THE COUNTRY UPDATE:

I have chosen a new site to store the pictures. It is called WEBSHOTS and I am really excited about this site. IT IS NOW MUCH EASIER TO VIEW THE PICTURES. THE LINK BELOW WILL TAKE YOU DIRECTLY TO THE WEBSHOT PAGE. The pictures on this site are from June 5, 2001 to present. You can click on each individual picture to enlarge the pic and the information concerning the picture. Let me know what you think of the new picture site.

I WAS ABLE TO GET SOME PICS FROM THE NEW YEARS EVE PARTY ON LINE THIS WEEK. I STILL DON'T HAVE A BATTERY FOR MY CAMERA BUT I MADE THE OLD ONE WORK FOR A FEW PICS. A FRIEND OF MINE ALSO TOOK SOME WITH A 35 MM CAMERA AND THEY HAVE BEEN SCANNED AND HAVE BEEN ADDED. YOU CAN GO TO THE LINK BELOW AND CHECK OUT ALL THE PICS THAT ARE ON LINE.

http://community.webshots.com/user/countryupdate

Pictures prior to June 5, 2001 can be viewed by visiting this link.

https://www.angelfire.com/country/countryupdate/piclink.html

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STEELRADIO.COM:

Steelradio.com is in the process of making MAJOR CHANGES. We will keep everyone informed here.

http://scottysmusic.com/

Steelradio.com now has its own section at the Steel Guitar Forum. You can read what people from all over the world are saying about Steelradio.com. You do not have to be a member to read in the forum but if you should wish to contribute your thoughts you can join the forum. It is a very interesting site. You can check out the Steel Guitar Forum by visiting this link.

http://steelguitarforum.com/

Steelradio.com is available to showcase your band's music if you have steel guitar in the group. You can read what we offer by checking this link.

http://wkrp.fm/showcase.html

We are also looking for advertisers for Steelradio.com. This is the perfect opportunity to get your product or service made available to listeners all over the world. For more information please check this link and feel free to contact any of the staff at Steelradio.com.

http://wkrp.fm/advertise.html

As you can see this is a major venture but we will be doing this as the station continues to grow. As always you can visit the link below and visit Steelradio.com and let us know what you think. BE SURE TO REFRESH OFTEN AS WE ARE MAKING CHANGES DAILY!

http://steelradio.com/

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SOUNDING OFF:

It can be you or me sounding off. Let everyone hear your comments on anything relating to country music. If you have something to contribute to the Sounding Off section please send it to me. I get tired of reading my own comments all the time. I thank those of you who have contributed your thoughts and ideas in the past.
Gaylord Productions has done it again. Whenever you think they can not sink any lower or become more SCUM they pull one of these. In their wisdom they are now planning on changing WSM am radio 650 from a Country Music format to TALK, NEWS, and SPORTS formats. Now don't get me wrong. I often listen to talk radio (WGN) but the thought of having the last true Country Music nationwide radio station changing formats sickens my stomach. Those of us who love real country music no longer have the opportunity to listen too much of it on commercial radio. That is why we have had to find the music we love at other venues. GAYLORD only cares about the bottom line. I can remember listening to WSM as a child and hearing the great country artists and music that I grew up with. I only hope that this petition and public outrage will make them take a step back and change their minds. Please take a moment and sign the petition if you have not already done so and PLEASE sent it to everyone you know who would also sign the petition and let GAYLORD and everyone else know what we think of their plan. Go to this link to join your fellow lovers of country music.

http://www.petitiononline.com/savewsm/petition.html

**wow...I SENT OUT THIS INFORMATION AND AT THE TIME THERE WERE 2873 SIGNATURES (COUNTING MINE). AT THIS TIME THERE ARE OVER 4000 AND GROWING AS YOU READ AND I AM SO GLAD TO SEE THAT MANY OF THE READERS OF THE COUNTRY UPDATE HAVE TAKEN THE TIME TO SIGN THE PETITION. I JUST HOPE IT HELPS! THERE IS ALSO A TOLL FREE NUMBER YOU CAN CALL AND LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS CONCERNING THIS ISSUE. I CALLED THE NUMBER AND THEY DO ASK FOR YOUR COMMENTS TO PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO SIGN THE PETITION AND CALL THIS NUMBER. 1-877-457-0001

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ARTICLES:

Articles about the country music scene of interest. I find these articles all over the Net or else a reader will send me an article.

Waylon Loses Foot to Diabetes
Waylon Jennings underwent surgery Dec. 19 in Phoenix to amputate his left foot, a spokeswoman announced Friday. Jennings, 64, continues to recuperate in a Phoenix hospital and could go home as early as next week. Infection in the foot, caused by diabetes, made the surgery necessary said his wife, country singer Jessi Colter. Jennings, who lives now in Phoenix, hopes to resume touring in the spring. In recent months he was seen in public in a wheel chair and using a walker. "I spent two years stumbling and now I can walk!" he said in a news release. When his son, Shooter, visited Jennings in the hospital, he found the famous country singer in his bed but wearing Armani sunglasses. Wishes for a speedy recovery can be sent to Jennings at 1117 17th Ave. S., Nashville, TN 37212.

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SoundScan Names Top 10 Country Sellers for 2001
The Top 10 country albums for 2001, according to SoundScan, were: O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, 3.5 million; Scarecrow, Garth Brooks, 2.3 million; Coyote Ugly soundtrack, 2 million; Set This Circus Down, Tim McGraw, 1.4 million; Greatest Hits, Tim McGraw, 1.3 million; Pull My Chain, Toby Keith, 1.3 million; I Hope You Dance, Lee Ann Womack, 1.2 million; Fly, Dixie Chicks, 1 million; Greatest Hits, Kenny Chesney, 1 million; Breathe, Faith Hill, 1 million. Only three -- Scarecrow, Set This Circus Down and Pull My Chain -- were actually released in 2001. SoundScan numbers for 2001 show country sales essentially flat for the year. A total of 67.1 million albums were sold, up 126,000 from 2000.

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COUNTRY LINKS:

Links of interest contributed by readers.

David Sanger plays drums with "Asleep At The Wheel" and also has a great mail order record site called TEXASMUSIC ROUND-UP. David lives in Austin, Tx and if you would like to check out his site please visit this link.

http://texasmusicroundup.com/

I found a great new site I think you would be interested in. This is Southland Records in Arlington, Tx. Please check out the site and if you are looking for some great traditional country music this is the place. Mike Hilton has lined up guest artists for the Country Update radio show and I appreciate it very much. I hope you will support his great site and mention you heard about it through the Country Update.

http://www.curtispotter.com/

Jimmy Stix has a great traditional country music site. Please check his NEW site out and drop him a note. I appreciate him adding WKRP.FM and Country Update to his pages.

http://www.jimstix.com/

Marty Martel has a new site and it looks great. Be sure to check out all the information Marty has on his page. Read his news section and also the Bulletin section for some news on some great shows that will be coming up in the future.

http://nashvillenewstoday.com/

The one and only Royce Elliott has a great site. Please go to Royce's website and check out what he and Bobby Mack have going. You can purchase Royce Elliott items at this site and also purchase a Bobby Mack CD of some of Bobby's most requested songs.

http://www.royceelliott.com/

See the latest Country Update and any of the previous Country Updates on line. You can also use the new SEARCH ENGINE from the homepage and search the entire site by keywords.

http://countryupdate.net/

or this link

https://www.angelfire.com/country/countryupdate/index.html

Here is the site for fun, fun, and more fun! For programming info please check out the site. Please listen in on Sun evenings from 5:00 - 7:00 PM CST for the Country Update radio show.

http://www.wkrp/

Do you want to know what is planned for this week's "Country Update" radio show? Go here for the schedule. You might even want to bookmark the site because I will be adding guests and interviews as the week goes by.

https://www.angelfire.com/country/countryupdate/radio.html

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UPCOMING CONCERT DATES:

Concert dates of traditional country artists Dec 23 through Jan 7, 2002. I am now adding dates in different parts of the country that I have been asked to include. If you are in an area and would like dates for your area to be added let me know and I will see if I can include them. If any traditional country/bluegrass bands out there wish to have their dates added please get the dates to me and I will include them. BE SURE TO CHECK DATES BEFORE TRAVELING LONG DISTANCES

Wed Jan 9 Hot And Ready Band Urbana, Il Rose Bowl 9:00 - 1:00

Wed Jan 9 Ray Price Sloan, Ia Winna Vegas Casino

Thu Jan 10 Hot And Ready Band Urbana, Il Rose Bowl 9:00 - 1:00

Thu Jan 10 Ray Price Del Rio, Tx To Be Announced

Fri Jan 11 Hot And Ready Band Urbana, Il Rose Bowl 9:00 - 1:00

Fri Jan 11 Ron Bratcher & Five Card Draw Pontiac, Il Scotty's 9:00 - 1:00

Sat Jan 12 Hot And Ready Band Urbana, Il Rose Bowl 9:00 - 1:00

Sat Jan 12 Ron Bratcher & Five Card Draw Wapella, Il Irish Circle 8:00 - 12:00

Wed Jan 16 Hot And Ready Band Urbana, Il Rose Bowl 9:00 - 1:00

Thu Jan 17 Hot And Ready Band Urbana, Il Rose Bowl 9:00 - 1:00

Fri Jan 18 Hot And Ready Band Urbana, Il Rose Bowl 9:00 - 1:00

Sat Jan 19 Hot And Ready Band Urbana, Il Rose Bowl 9:00 - 1:00

Sat Jan 19 Brad Paisley Civic Center Abilene, Tx

If you make it to any country shows/concerts drop me a line and let me know what you think and if you want I will use your comments in the Country Update....

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COMMENTS FROM READERS:

PAT JENKINS SENT ME THE FOLLOWING LETTER. I WOULD LOVE TO READ THE ARTICLE THE NEWSPAPER PRINTED. IF YOU CAN GET ME A COPY I WILL PUT IN THE UPDATE. THANKS PAT FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK!

Rich, I appreciate you jumping on this. I signed the petition yesterday. Then I sent an editorial to two of the Nashville Newspapers. One of them was printed. From what I understand, WSM has already signed the papers with ESPN. What a shame...Maybe enough groundswell could change their minds...Pat

I have decided to post a few of the comments that have been made on the WSM petition. These were not sent directly to me but I think you should have the chance to read some of the feelings of the people who love country music and WSM radio. THESE ARE JUST A SAMPLING. THERE ARE OVER 4,000 YOU CAN READ AT THE PETITION SITE.

I've signed the petition because I believe something must be done

Donald C. Malcolm

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Changing the format of such a historic radio station is ludicrous. You want sports, turn on the TV or change over one of the rap stations. WSM650 should always be "classic country". What is happening to Nashville? Why are we so ashamed of the one thing that made Nashville what it is? The Grand Ole Opry will be next. Why not go ahead and make it into a sports arena? We are digging the grave for Nashville tradition.

Jenn Smith

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Actually, I hope Gaylord will sell the station to someone who will appreciate it. It's no secret, Gaylord wants out of the music business, and wants out quickly. Decades of poor investments in the "new country" sound have left it with a bad taste in its mouth. The so-called "new country" or "hot, young country" is dead. Don't believe me? Ask any of the one hundred or so artists who have lost their record deal in the last 18 months. Long live Merle Haggard, Little Jimmy Dickens, and Eddie Stubbs.

Bob Younts

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Nashville is not the SPORTS CAPITOL of the world. It is the COUNTRY MUSIC CAPITOL OF THE WORLD. That should say something to all the "suits" who obviously are too stupid to leave well enough alone. While you're at it, why don't you bulldoze the Ryman and throw up a strip club! All the waitresses can dress up in pads and helmets! IDIOTS!

Scott Phillips

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It would be a crime to change WSM to a sports station. There are few things left in the USA that truly represent the roots this country was based on. Please think long and hard about what it is that you are doing and the long lasting effect it will have on WSM's long lasting audience.

Megan

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To replace WSM's voices and format with another sports station would be to throw away a viable archival source. Eddie Stubbs et al are walking historians on one of our most remarkable indigenous art forms. Please don't discard another national treasure.

Andrea Zonn

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The first thing I did when I moved to Nashville was to turn this radio station on and immerse myself in the history of country music. The best DJ's, all so gracious and knowledgeable, announcers I would want to have in my company for hours a day. A playlist that doesn't spin around the same top twenty week in and week out. This station is a treasure that has not forgotten where it came from.

Monty Lee Kimble

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I HOPE YOU ENJOYED READING THIS WEEKS EDITION OF THE COUNTRY UPDATE. AS ALWAYS IF YOU HAVE COMMENTS PLEASE DROP ME A LINE AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU LIKE AND ANYTHING THAT YOU DO NOT LIKE.

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