It Won't Be Like This For Long - Darius Rucker

LisaBeth Weber

Music composing, performing and recording is the second stream in LisaBeth Weber's creative flow. Her mom taught her three chords when she was 13, she says, and she took it from there.

Now she plays an acoustic steel- string guitar, "a little mandolin," and piano (though "not yet on stage"). Her new "record" "Fire Tower Sessions" -- just came out. Although it's a CD, Weber's trying to keep the word "record" alive, ar guing that all four of her CDs are in fact "recordings of her music." And this is her third record to be called a "session" another word she likes to use because of its old-time suggestiveness.

With Maggie Marshall, her "best friend and singing partner," Weber traveled to Nashville so Grammy- winning engineer-producer Bil VornDick could do the job. Weber had lucked into meeting him years ago, when he gave her a lift from Nashville to a music conference in Memphis. Although they spent four hours together in his car, it was years before she asked if he would produce her latest record.

The fire tower of the title was lo cated near VornDick's home, and the music on the record is Weber's usual mix of allusions to life all around her, especially relationships and some politics.



During the last few years, she has been involved with the Sundance and Philadelphia film festivals. She credits the movie, "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" for tak ing her song-writing style in an old- timey direction. But it didn't end there: Weber and Marshall recently opened at the Sellersville Theater for none other than Ralph Stanley, whose "Man of Constant Sorrow" was a film standout.

Two of her songs have been played on NPR's "Car Talk" program. One could have been selected based on title alone: "Get Back in Your RV, Harvey." However, Weber's ultimate music dream is expressed in the name of one of her Web sites (silverscreen songs.com).

Those who wear many hats often produce a resume for each different skill set. That's true for Li saBeth Weber's Web sites. This woman of many pins among her art and music pursuits has designed a core site with many entrances -- but all roads lead to the same artistic source.

Read the entire article in NJ.com.
Written by Pay Summers

Josh Rouse- Former Valet at the Opryland Hotel

I worked at the Opryland Hotel in the 1990's as a Bell Captain and one of the guys who parked cars for us was Josh Rouse. He worked there for only a few months but I remember him talking about trying to make it in music and not country music either.



I hoped he would but never gave it much thought until a few years ago when I saw the name and his picture and realized they I used to work with him and it is hard to imagine it is the same guy. Gotta love it!


Here is a story from NPR about Josh:
Josh Rouse was close to giving up his professional music dreams when his first album came out eight years ago. A Nebraska native, Rouse had settled in Nashville after travelling extensively.

A couple of years later, he had a record label deal and an acclaimed debut album, Dressed Up Like Nebraska. Two years after that, he was able to give up his day job as a hotel valet parking attendant.

Visit NPR for the entire story.

Restaurateurs join authors for a 'Road Food' feast

By SCOTT WYLIE
Co-owner of Firefly Southern Grill

The idea for the day was simple. We would visit eight restaurants or markets, have time to sample their specialties, then get back on the bus and talk about the food and hospitality.

What made the trip special was that it was led by Jane and Michael Stern, two of the best-known food and travel writers in the United States. They are heard weekly on National Public Radio and write monthly for Gourmet magazine, and their "Road Food" books have been best sellers for 30 years. They have a lot of fans throughout the country, and each year they offer those fans a chance to join them on a one-day culinary tour. This year's trip was in and around Nashville, Tenn.

Such food tours have become increasingly popular, and the Sterns' "Road Food" books are organized by geographical region so that planning your own tour is easy. In fact, the Sterns' most recent books feature a number of Tri-state establishments that lend themselves to a local tour.

When we indicated we were from Evansville, Michael Stern immediately immediately said, "Oh, you are near the Bon Ton in Henderson which has the world's best fried chicken." He is right about that.

The prospect of spending an entire day with the Sterns, discovering unique Southern restaurants and food items in nearby Nashville, was a no-brainer. It was great for gaining menu ideas to bring to Evansville and fun at the same time.

I also assumed that we would win the "traveled farthest" award. To arrive in time, we left Evansville at 5:15 a.m., hopped in our road-trip-perfect 1994 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham, and headed to meet the bus at the famous Loveless Cafe, southwest of Nashville.


Read the rest of the story in the Evansville Courier and Press