This celebration was created to bring together all artists, musicians, country music associations, websites, radio stations and country music fans all over the world, as well as to promote country music worldwide. Come celebrate with us!
Sixteen prominent international Country artists will convene in Music City to participate in a series of global Country Music events, beginning June 8 in downtown Nashville, Tennessee.
The event, hosted by Country artist Jace Everett, will feature a total of eight artists from Australia, Ireland, U.K., Canada and New Zealand, including Australia’s “Telstra Road to Tamworth” winner, Peter McWhirter.
The annual AristoMedia Global Showcase will be held Tuesday, June 9 at 3 p.m. at The Second Fiddle. Former Mavericks bassist and Digital Rodeo Director of Industry Relations Robert Reynolds will host the event.
“The chance for these artists to travel and perform here is not only an exciting opportunity for the artists, but for the city of Nashville and the entire international Country Music movement as well,” says AristoMedia President Jeff Walker.
Saturday, March 14, 2009, 20:30
Theater “Louiza”, Nea Elvetia, Vyronas
The show is dedicated to the outstanding performer Garth Brooks who succeeded to move New Country Music at the top.
His concerts have been always overbooked . The sales of his albums have reached the peak, this way
surpassing legendary, on international grounds, artists.
During this show we will follow Garth’s eminent course right from the beginning until today. This will be an audiovisual journey into the world of an artist who is still writing a history in music.
Special Guest: Nikos Georgas
NIKOS GARAVELAS PRESENTS CYPRUS
“ ELVIS PRESLEY !
THE VOICE OF 20th CENTURY”
APRIL 11 at the Amphitheater of St. Raphael in Limassol, Nikos Garavelas organizes a special presentation, a tribute to the “King” of Rock’n Roll, Elvis.
Nikos will show us, via a documentary video, the life, the brilliant presence, the seismic music course , the dramatic moments, the absolute loneliness of success and the end of Elvis Presley.
1ST COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL
July 17th, at the Garden Theater of the Municipality of Limassol and with the collaboration of the Municipality, Nikos organizes the 1st Country Music Festival in Limassol.
Performers: George Gakis & The Troublemakers
Andreas Gomozias & The Country Gentlemen
It was about time that an event like that would be presented to Cyprus. The audience will experience the unique feeling of the Country Music Festivals , a cultural event that for 7 consecutive years is acknowledged by the audience throughout Greece and Europe and which consist a “must” for the Greek cultural events.
GREECE
7th COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL
THE GRASCALS
In September 12th , fans of the institution of Country Music Festivals,
From all over Greece and Europe, set a date in Athens, Greece.
Nikos Garavelas presents , a country - bluegrass band THE GRASCALS!
The GRASCALS is one of the most famous bands of Country and Bluegrass Music. You will attend their show at the Theater of Vrahon Melina Merkouri during the 7th Country Music Festival organized by Nikos Garavelas.
Terry Eldredge-guitar, Jamie Johnson-guitar, Terry Smith-bass, Danny Roberts-mandolin, Kristin Scott Benson-banjo, Jeremy Abshire-fiddle. These are the GRASCALS.
The group recorded their first album in 2004. Their long collaboration with the “diva” of Country Music, Dolly Parton, gave their listeners the opportunity to acknowledge them. Then they collaborated with Brooks & Dunn, Dierks Bentley, Patty Loveless, Mac Wiseman, J.D. Crowe, Charlie Daniels, Kenny Rogers, Steve Wariner, Vince Gill, The Jordanaires and many others. They became well-known from the very beginning. In 2005 they were nominated from the International Bluegrass Music Association as Emerging Artist of the Year while all the following years they have won the most significant title for an artist “Entertainer of the Year”.
Their music style is unique and their presence on stage is excellent., thus justifying the bestowal of all the awards which they have gained till now, while they are considered as one of the most promising new groups. Their recent album “Keep on Walking” is no 1 in the charts of this month National Bluegrass Survey Top 15 Bluegrass Album Chart. At the same time the single “Sad Wind Sigh” is in #3 and “Choices” in #17 at the Top 30 Bluegrass Songs Chart.
This is the group, the unique Bluegrass artists, that Nikos Garavelas has chosen to present to the public in September the 12th . An outstanding musical event dedicated to the fans of Country Music Festivals!
Back in September 2008, the International Country Music Organization announced their first International Country Music Ambassadors, Judy Seale and Rodrigo Haddad. This announcement met with a warm welcome in the industry, the media, the fans, and numerous country music associations worldwide.
ICMDAY has the reputation of being a transnational organization, and therefore, the awards were presented in two different countries, Argentina and the United States. In late September, Brazilian singer Rodrigo Haddad was very surprised when he received his award on stage at the San Pedro Country Music Festival organized by one of our founding members, Gustavo Laurino, of Country2.com. Haddad was delighted and proud to receive an award that recognizes his important efforts in spreading country music internationally with a smile, a great deal of talent, and a gentlemanly cowboy attitude.
A complete clip of Haddad’s show at the San Pedro Country Music Festival, Argentina, organized by Gustavo Laurino (Country2.com)
Cowboy Anton, one of the finest and youngest classic country music experts in Nashville, and his fiancée and radio co-host, Cowgirl Erin, interviewed Judy Seale at the end of October on their radio show Music City USA on station WRVU Nashville. Seale has been an acclaimed international manager for many years and is well acquainted with the European and Asian country music markets. Seale was very surprised to receive an award that rewards the tenacity and the vision of a very special businesswoman who has devoted her life to bringing country music to fans and military troops overseas.
Judy Seale with her award and flanked by Cowboy Anton and Cowgirl Erin after the interview on WRVU Nashville’s “Music City USA.”
Judy proudly shows her International Country Music Ambassador award.
A few weeks later, Rodrigo Haddad was also interviewed on Music City USA, during his yearly visit to Nashville to attend the CMA Awards.
Rodrigo Haddad, talks about his award during an interview on the show “Inside Music Row,”
This year we will name our new International Country Music Ambassadors, but we will keep the names of Seale and Haddad in our hearts, as they become a part of our International Country Music Ambassadors Hall of Fame. Many thanks for promoting country music and making so many people happy with your excellent work!
Raúl Tejeiro is one of the most eminent journalists in the world of American Music in South America, an activity which he combines with his job as a language teacher and as an actor. Tejeiro is also a movie buff, a jazz expert, keen on film soundtracks, blues, rockabilly. Without any doubt, a complete and singular character indeed, whose biggest passion is, however, Country Music, being his record collection the most comprehensive one in Uruguay.
As one of the pioneers introducing this musical genre in South America, he is director and host of Top Country Hits, a radio show which is on the air on many radio stations in Uruguay and also in Mexico and which can be downloaded from http://www.topcountryhits.net/
In February 2005, Tejeiro cofounded the Country Music Association of Uruguay (Asociación de Musica Country de Uruguay . AMCU) and has been its president since then.
1st International Country Music Festival of Uruguay. On the stage: Honky Tonk Blues (a Honky Tonk & Rockabilly band)
Since AMCU is about to hold Uruguay’s second annual Country Music festival in December, ICMDAY interviewed Raúl Tejeiro recently.
ICMDAY: How did you first become interested in country music?
Raúl Tejeiro: It all started way back in the late 70s when I was a teenager and while all my friends were into disco music, I would listen to jazz and blues. I did like the Bee Gees and ABBA, but what I really loved was Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzerald. Until one day I heard on the radio some songs that changed my life. I thought they were “cowboy songs”, or at least, the kind of music that you could hear in films like “Smokey & the Bandit”. Songs like “Coward of the County,” “Eastbound & Down” or “Thank God I’m a Country Boy”. They were so full of energy! I didn’t know what Country Music was, so I started reading, buying Lps, collecting newspaper clippings with all the info I could get.
ICMDAY: So this started a long time ago, but why didyou switch one day from being a fan to having your own Country Music radio show, Top Country Hits?
Raúl Tejeiro: The next goal I set myself was going to the USA, more specifically to Nashville, so I applied for a scholarship and there I went. I lived in the USA in 1991 and 1992 –perhaps some of the best years for Country Music- and I travelled around the US, visiting very rich cities, musically speaking, such as Memphis, Nashville, New Orleans, Chicago, New York and many others, getting more and more material and getting in contact with local artists. Eventually, when I came back to Uruguay, I went on teaching English –which is what I do for a living- and I also continued acting in theatre. When you are an actor, you work with your voice, your diction, your feelings. Some friends suggested that I should have a show on the radio because I knew a lot about the music and I had the material and the voice. I knocked on some doors and eventually, Top Country Hits saw the light of day.
Raúl Tejeiro
ICMDAY: What kind of music do you play on your show?
Raúl Tejeiro: Basically, music I like. I don’t play songs based on sales or rankings. I play everything from pure, raw, honky tonk music to country pop material. There are some artists that no matter how famous they are in the US, I don’t play their songs much, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, being two examples. They’re not exactly my cup of tea, too pop to my taste, but I have played their music anyway because I found something I liked. My heart belongs to good old honky tonk music and rockabilly.
ICMDAY: Do you think the music produced in Nashville at the moment is being accepted overseas?
Raúl Tejeiro: It all depends on how the music is marketed and labeled. In the 70s, artists like Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton were huge in places like Japan but they were marketed as “pop” or “easy listening” artists, not “country”. Country is the genre that most people associate the US with, and since that country is not very much liked around the world, this music also suffers this prejudice.
Also, Country Music has changed a lot: artists like Rascal Flatts or Urban wouldn’t have been considered country 30 years ago and now they top the charts. Creedence and the Eagles were not considered country in the past, and they are more country-sounding that many of today’s top artists.
ICMDAY: With the advent of new technology, Top Country Hits, made in Uruguay, can be listened to all over the world, especially in Spanish-speaking countries, on your website…
RAÚL TEJEIRO: Yes, that’s right and it’s amazing. That’s the good side of globalization. I receive requests from listeners from many countries and many artists who send me their music, then find it curious, different and even funny to hear information about them in Spanish. They don’t understand a word, only their names!
Hickory Wind. Bluegrass on the 1st International Country Music Festival of Uruguay, 2007
ICMDAY: You also write articles, many of which have very original titles (“Book me, Sargeant” or “Cowboy Freud?”). What do you want to convey in your articles?
RAÚL TEJEIRO: I want people to learn about Country Music, but I also want them to enjoy what they read. I could write very dense, detailed articles that only some scholars might enjoy, but the regular reader may find boring. I need to write articles which are interesting, informative and fun. I want people to say “hey! I’d like to listen to some of those artists!” after they have finished reading one of my articles.
ICMDAY: Would you like to write a book on Country Music? Have you got any plans?
RAÚL TEJEIRO: It has crossed my mind once or twice. I think Spanish speakers who like Country Music but don’t have a good command of English, still deserve a good book on Country Music, written in their mother tongue. There are some, but you may believe it not, they have included a lot of wrong information and mistakes. I can’t believe why anyone would go through the trouble of writing a book without taking the necessary time to check all the information included.
Raúl Tejeiro hosting Top Country Hits
ICMDAY: Is it difficult to have a Country Music Association miles away from the US? Why did you decide to do so?
RAÚL TEJEIRO: Quoting Charlie Daniels: “Nashville is Country and we’re Country. But we’re a whole lot more than Nashville”. The US is the home of Country Music, but this music now belongs to the rest of the world. There are artists who don’t speak English but sing in English anyway, and there are those who sing Country Music in their own language, from Spanish to Japanese. There are Country Music artists and fans all over the world. Check out the web and you’ll find lots of Country Music associations all over the world, but you won’t find many jazz, reggae or blues associations. There’s something about people who like Country Music which is kind of gregarious! We founded our association because we felt it would help the genre grow and become more popular. That’s our goal.
ICMDAY: And from creating an association you are now organising a festival, among other activities. Tell us more about that.
RAÚL TEJEIRO: Once I was in a park and there was a Celtic Music festival…and they only had three bands!! So I said “hey, we have more than three Country Music bands! We could also have our festival!” And that’s how the ball started rolling. We also sponsor other activies such as concerts, meetings, etc.and we have our website with information in Spanish.
Madera (Alt Country Group), playing at the International Country Music Festival of Uruguay, 2007.
ICMDAY: What are you planning for this year?
RAÚL TEJEIRO: We are having our 2nd International Country Music Festival in Uruguay in December in one our city’s most beautiful areas. We’re going to have Uruguayan bands playing everything from Western Swing to Honky Tonk, from Bluegrass to Rockabilly. And we also have some special guests from Argentina.
And then we’re going to kick off 2009 with a tribute concert remembering Elvis Presley. Top Country Hits is going to celebrate its 100th show on the web and our website is going to get better and better. We’re planning to visit schools to give talks –in Spanish and in English- on the History of Country Music and the Birth of Rock’n’Roll. And of course, we’re also going to have a special celebration on the International Country Music Day, with a tribute to the legendary Hank Williams.
ICMDAY: Tell us about the Country Music scene in Uruguay, please.
RAÚL TEJEIRO: Country Music used to be very popular in the 70s, thanks to country pop artists such as Kenny Rogers,John Denver, Anne Murray, Eddie Rabbitt,Juice Newton and many others. Their songs were constantly played on the radio. But then, when our country regained democracy after a long dictatorship. there was the need to be more patriotic, therefore there was an explosion of Uruguayan music in Spanish, which buried all the music in English played on the radio.
Now, our association is trying to help Country Music find its way back!
ICMDAY: And Latin or Hispanic Country Music in general?
RAÚL TEJEIRO: There are very good artists who play their own music, many of them in their own language and they also write their own songs. But there’s a large number of artists who only cover hit songs made famous in the US by US artists.
One of the AMCU events in Montevideo, Uruguay
ICMDAY: What are your future plans as an association?
RAÚL TEJEIRO: We want more Country Music on radio stations, more CM concerts. And we have started making contacts in order to have some kind of Latin Country Music Association which may include all the associations that already exist plus those about to be born.
ICMDAY: Which are your all-time favourite artists?
ICMDAY: The Internacional Country Music Day has been spreading the message all over the world in recent years. Which challenges are still around the corner?
RAÚL TEJEIRO: We need to show the US that the rest of the world –that’s us!- is a market that they have vaguely explored. Paraphrasing “Star Trek,” they need to boldly go where no Country Music artist has gone before!.” They need to invest money on promotion, marketing and all that jazz. If Kenny Rogers came to Uruguay, he would go back home with truckloads of money. Well, he actually doesn’t need it!
Country music has changed a great deal lately, but people still remember how it sounded not too long ago. For instance, Kenny Chesney’s early outings, based on a formula that combined catchy songs, touching love lyrics, and a sexy image, are good examples of that sound that is long gone.
Rodrigo Haddad brings to mind the powerful energy of Kenny Chesney. This is undoubtedly the best way to describe his music. Haddad was born and grew up in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Just think of this: being a country music fan outside of the United States is difficult enough because there are no country TV networks and there are very few concerts and radio shows. With this state of affairs, then, being a country performer becomes a labor of love that acquires heroic proportions.
So when I first heard about Rodrigo Haddad, he caught my attention immediately. He is the most prominent figure of country music in Brazil and South America, always cheered by the crowds that gather every year at Argentina’s San Pedro Country Music Festival, the most important in those latitudes. Haddad is one of the most promising names in international country music, a man who never tires of promoting the genre. For this reason, the International Country Music Day Organization has named him the International Country Music Ambassador of 2008.
Rodrigo Haddad received its Award in the last San Pedro Country Music Festival, Argentina.
We really hope that this award earns Haddad international recognition, which he duly deserves because he is a talented songwriter and performer. His latest album, From Brazil to TN, showcases Haddad’s gift as a singer, songwriter, and producer. It was recorded a few months ago both in Brazil and Nashville: Haddad had taped some demos in his native country, and then he brought them to the Music City, where he recorded full-blown versions of the songs. The Nashville sessions were held at Paul Scholten’s Country Q studios, and singer-songwriters Tom Shepard and Billy Yates helped put them together.
The result is an extremely lively, vibrant work, a brilliant sample of his talent. Haddad has written eleven of the songs, fantastic stuff for any Nashville star who wanted to record high-quality contemporary country. His friend Thiago Farah, wrote two of the tracks (“Windy Skies” and “Goodbye,” the latter one of my favourite songs), and the album also includes a unique, fun cover of Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl.” This is undoubtedly one of the best-known entries in the songbook of the Irish rock star, a man who also flirted with country music in his 2006 album Pay The Devil.
Most of Haddad´s songs are either autobiographical or they tell stories about the people that surround him. His lyrics touch upon the subjects of love, loneliness, searching, traveling, and country music, his deepest musical love. The song that opens the album, “From Brazil to TN,” is the perfect example of this. It is a very special song full of soft Brazilian echoes, and it means a lot to Haddad because he is indeed a man who lives between two worlds: on the one hand, the glamorous city lights of Nashville and the noise of Sao Paulo, and on the other hand, the natural paradise of Brazil.
Brazil is a huge country, only fifty thousand square miles smaller than the United States, and that means that Rodrigo is used to traveling many miles across his homeland to offer his country music wherever it is demanded. His songwriting also reflects his love of traveling, as shown by beautiful tunes such as “Me and the City of New Orleans” and “Up in Texas.”
Rodrigo was interviewed by ICMDAY members, Cowboy Antón and Cowgirl Erin (Music City USA), during his recent visit to Nashville, TN.
Haddad´s new album is not overly pop-sounding. But pop is not needed because the record features some great country production that oozes with good ideas and modern-sounding tracks such as “Someone Like You” and “Single Man.” Is Haddad simply a hardcore country singer, then? Not at all; rather, he is a country singer who can please everyone, like Alan Jackson or George Strait, his all-time favorite, because of his fine voice and the fun Latin echoes of his music, Haddad is the kind of performer that you would always like to hear at your local honky tonk or at 5 o´clock somewhere.
Haddad ventures into different styles, such as the Dixieland-flavored “Singin´ a Country Song,” the sweet Hispanic touch of “On the Border,” and the rodeo-styled “Good Ol’ Cowboy,” a song that can be compared to any of the best tunes by Brent Hill, one of my favorite cowboy poets. The song is definitely engaging, complete with fine guitar work and echoes of the wide-open spaces, rodeos, and long country roads.
Haddad was born to sing—to sing his beloved country music: “I can tell you everywhere in the world that I was born to sing, like Haggard, Strait and Jones… ask Johnny, Willie and Waylon…”
On the whole, Rodrigo Haddad is an artist that has what it takes to be successful in country music: talent, will power, and faith in the genre. We wish luck to this Brazilian cowboy with a big, smiling heart and a brand-new album, From Brazil to TN.
Hermann Lammers Meyer is the most famous country singer, musician, DJ, producer, and tour manager in Germany. A genuine pioneer, Hermann boasts one of the most prolific careers in European country music, with innumerable gigs and a great deal of airplay in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, England, Scandinavia, the United States, and of course, the German-speaking countries.
Lammers Meyer was born on December 7, 1952. It was the postwar era. Germany was being exposed to American culture by way of the Armed Forces radio and old western movies. Lammers Meyer became fascinated by country music and the steel guitar, an instrument with a sad, yearning sound. It was love at first sight.
Little by little, his record collection and his interest in country music were growing, and Lammers Meyer was gradually developing into what he is today: a real country music fan. It was not too long before he got his first guitar.
His friends quickly learned that he had his own instrument. Some of them were also interested in music, and so they soon formed a band and began playing the school auditorium, some nightclubs, and local festivals. Because they lived in the plains of Emsland, they decided to call themselves the Emsland Hillbillies. Their repertoire was mostly made out of country music songs: they played American standards and songs from the American country charts, introducing the sounds of country music to Germany.
In 1977, Achim Reichel, a popular German artist, was looking for a steel guitarist to play on his “Shanty” album. Lammers Meyer got the job, which also gave him a chance to get acquainted with the producer team Reichel / Dostal in Hamburg. This connection proved to be very productive: Lammers Meyer released his first record, “Endlich” (“At Last”) on Metronome. Although the single was praised by music critics, it did not make the charts. The German audience was not ready for this kind of music yet. At that time, the sounds of the fiddle and the steel guitar were too exotic for German ears.
Lammers Meyer released his album “Bauer Barnes Mühle” (“Pawn Barnes Mill”) on Teldec in 1980, and that same year, he and the Emsland Hillbillies appeared at the International Country Music Festival in Frankfurt. Sharing the stage with established country stars such as Bobby Bare, Charlie Rich, Emmylou Harris, and the Bellamy Brothers, this festival is undoubtedly one of the highlights of his career.
The early 1980s was a time of great activity in the German pop music scene. A new wave of music appeared in West Germany and its bordering countries. Newcomers such as Nena and Trio scored hit after hit, and this new wave of music caused interest in country music to decrease in Germany. Therefore, producers and promoters embraced the new music and were no longer interested in country music.
These were hard times for everyone in the German country music scene. Many bands that had started out playing country music followed this new trend. Not Hermann Lammers Meyer, though. He stayed true to the roots of the genre, and the support of his many fans helped him see through the hard times. Of course, Lammers Meyer and his Emsland Hillbillies were not playing as many dates as they had before, but they stayed true to their own idea about how their music should sound.
In 1985, when this so-called New German Wave was already fizzling, German audiences became interested in down-home music once again. Lammers Meyer’s date book filled up again: now country music had more exposure in Germany, and the band could reach more new fans.
The 1990s were very successful and productive for Hermann Lammers Meyer. He combined a solo career with appearances with the Emsland Hillbillies and the Honky Tonk Hearts, and many of his albums were cut in Nashville with the best session musicians in town. In 1999, he recorded Willie Nelson’s “I Just Don’t Understand” as a duet with Billy Walker in the Music City.
Hermann Lammers Meyer has received many awards in Germany and Europe during his fruitful, four-decade career.
Raúl Tejeiro, President of the Country Music Association of Uruguay (AMCU), interviewed Lammers Meyer recently for http://www.amcuruguay.com/.
Raúl Tejeiro:When and why did you start listening to Country Music?
Hermann Lamers Meyer:It was around 1960, when I discovered the sound of the steel guitar, and the vocal artistry of Jim Reeves, Hank Williams, Hank Snow, and many others.
R.T.: How and when did it occur to you that you could pursue a career in Country Music?
H.L.M.:It was just an experiment back in 1972, when I played my guitar for friends, and we had a school party playing Buck Owens and Johnny Cash music… we loved it, the audience did not run off… so they enjoyed it… and we kept on doing that. Through the years we had a lot of changes in the personal, though… that was 35 years ago. (He smiles)
R.T.: Have you ever considered recording any other musical genre?
H.L.M.:No, it was just country, the fiddle-and-steel kind, with good lyrics and simple chord changes, that I loved. Well, I loved the Bee Gees and the Kinks, but I never thought of going rock or something else personally.
R.T.: Have you ever recorded Country Music in German?
H.L.M.:Yes, my early producer told me to record country music with German lyrics, which went well for a while. But I have always preferred the English lyrics because they are more authentic. I recorded 3 LPs in German, though.
R.T.: Who are your favourite artists, past and present?
H.L.M.:Willie Nelson is one of my big heroes, still. I also love Johnny Bush, Merle,Cash, Buck Owens, and all the great classic singers… Nowadays I like Alan Jackson, George Strait and a few more. To be honest, there are not so many… (Big smile)
R.T.: Is country music popular in Germany?
H.L.M.:Pretty much it was in the ’70s and ’80s. Then it went down a bit; they had quite a few big trucker festivals back then, and that kept it going. But it’s still okay to survive.. I have quite a few followers and lots of gigs to play.
R.T.: You have recorded music with some great artists. Who do you keep the fondest memory of?
H.L.M.:My recording of 2 songs with Willie in his studio near Austin. That was a wonderful, everlasting moment, and my recordings with Jimmy Day and Buddy Emmons on steel guitars on the song “They Stole My Steel Guitar” at the Starday Studio in Nashville. It was our first time together on duelling steel. I loved it.
Hermann Lammers-Meyer with Buddy Emmons - “They Stole My Steelguitar”
WSM, Midnight Jamboree from Ernest Tubb Record Shop Nashville
R.T.: Apart from being a recording artist, you are also an acclaimed disc jockey? How do the two activities complement each other?
H.L.M.:They go together really well. I am always informed of what is going on in music world—all around the world.
R.T.: Many DJs listen to some good music at home, but because of commercial reasons, they play more commercial records on the radio. Do you play the same music that you like listening to at home?
H.L.M.:Yes, if I could not do that, if I would not play my music taste, and I would not do the job. Although I also play some of the modern music for radio listeners, to keep them happy.
R.T.: Would you advise young, aspiring artists to start a career in Country Music?
H.L.M.:You cannot make real money the big way with our kind of music. A young artist has to realize that. But if he loves what he does, he just has to do whatever he thinks he wants to do, and live his dream of a music life. DO IT, if you think you are kind of special…
R.T.: Do you have the same opportunities in Germany that you have in the USA?
H.L.M.:No. It’s hard. I guess it’s hard everywhere these days. Read my last answer again, artist! (smile).
R.T.: Can you name your five all-time favourite country songs?
R.T.: Steve Goodman once sang that the perfect country song should mention “momma, trains, trucks, a prison or getting drunk.” Do you consider all these elements essential to make a perfect country song? Which one is, in your opinion, the perfect country song?
H.L.M.:Steve Goodman was right: that was the perfect country song, and he even added some more elements in a later version of that great novelty song. For me, “Stand by your man” is perfect.
R.T.: What do you think about celebrating an International Country Music Day?
H.L.M.:That´s wonderful… (big smile), I’ll bring my guitar, maybe my pedal steel too, and a lot of almost perfect country songs in my head….
Hermann Lammers Meyer´s special in SAT 1, a german satellite TV
Argentina is the motherland of tango, a beautiful dance for two, a kind of music born in the arrabal (the outskirts of the city), a popular moan that expresses the sadness of love, the loneliness of the immigrant, broken hopes, and shattered dreams. Although tango might be more related to the blues, country music has an undeniably bluesy side, too. Argentina also has the Pampa, a vast extension of land that reaches the end of our world. There, in the great plain, the gauchos (Argentina’s own brand of cowboys) were the rulers, riding proud and free, working, fighting, and conquering a new world. Does it sound familiar to a country & western fan?
And now, in Argentina, the north meets the south. Country music meets the heart of a people that have a similar way of life, which is perhaps why country music is going through a sweet moment in Argentina.
Gustavo Laurino: Many hours working at the computer
One of the names responsible for the rise of country music in Argentina is Gustavo Laurino, the director of Country2.com since 2002. This website has brought together all Argentinean country music fans. Laurino is also the director of the San Pedro Country Music Festival, the biggest country event in South America, together with the famous Barretos country & western Festival of Brazil.
His story began in 1983, when Laurino was the host and producer of several radio shows in San Pedro. In 1988, he helped found San Pedro FM, the first FM radio station in that city. There, he directed “Signs of Life,” a show in which he started to broadcast country music. Between 1997 and 2006, Laurino was the production chief of 92.3 Radio. He introduced country music into virtually every program on the station (“Music,” “Gone with the Day”), playing country tunes alongside news broadcasts, popular hits, musical rarities, etc. He eventually became one the foremost specialists on country music in Argentina with several collaborations in different networks.
Then, in 2002, Laurino took to his own project aimed at popularizing country music even further. He founded the website Country2.com, where he also is responsible for the artistic and journalistic contents. And within a year, Laurino and his wife, Mariana Piola, organized the first San Pedro Country Music Festival, which combines live music, radio, TV, and Internet, making it a multimedia experience that has already known five installments. And a new one is on the way.
Night show at the San Pedro Country Music Festival
Since 2005, Laurino also conducts country2radio, a weekly hour of country music carried by over sixty radio stations in Argentina and other Spanish-speaking countries. In November 2007, he turned country2radio into a 24-hour Internet radio station.
Laurino’s website, Country2.com, organizes national shows like the Sudamerycowboys tour and has managed the visits of Sourdough Slim and Wylie and the Wild West (December 2006) and Wyoming Pals (August 2007) to Argentina. The later event was organized in collaboration with the US Embassy in Argentina.
Wylie and the Wild West playing live for country2.com radio (2006)
Gustavo Laurino combines his activities in country music with his job as the director of “Doble Comunicación,” a consulting agency specializing in public relations campaigns, press promotion, show organization, polling, the creation of corporate image, web developments, etc.
ICMDAY had the chance to chat with Laurino just a few days before the beginning of the sixth installment of the San Pedro Country Music Festival.
ICMDAY: Nowadays there are three countries that lead the country music scene in South America: Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina. But the rise of country music in Argentina seems to be a miracle. What are the factors that have contributed to this swift development?
Gustavo:In my opinion, more than a miracle, it is the confirmation of a phenomenon that we previously supposed existed but couldn’t actually prove. It would be unfair not to recognize that since the late 1980s, several bands were showing the influence of American music, and that came at a moment when the musical climate in Argentina was allowing that kind of musical expression. Max and Sunrise were the “main attractions” and played many sold-out dates, but that moment of high interest in American music passed. What’s more, since the Internet didn’t exist back then, only those who could do individual tours stayed on the road because of their talent and perseverance.
The appearance of www.country2.com and the organization of the San Pedro Festival every year are related. I think that when the conditions are optimal for bringing a lot of artists together at the same time and in the same place, the audience responds and there’s no doubt that there are more people enjoying country music in Argentina now than ever. However, it’s obviously a smaller number of people than in other countries.
Rodrigo Haddad, 2008 International Country Music Ambassador and one of the stars of the San Pedro Country Music Festival, by popular demand
ICMDAY: How has the San Pedro Country Music Festival evolved over the years?
Gustavo:It was born the same year as ICMDAY, and it has evolved as much as the social and economic situation of Argentina has allowed. I mean, over here there is quite a controversy about everything that has a link with the US. But we are getting over that prejudice, and we are approaching the festival simply as a party. This city is not as “contaminated” as the big cities in Argentina, and the artistic evolution of the festival has been very interesting. We have come to define our festival as the “Big Music and Family Party,” and we are more interested in that than in talking about this or that band. The important thing about the festival is the festival itself, and of course, there are artists that should always be included. Nevertheless, the public is divided between the people who come to a particular show and the people who come to discover the genre from popular songs, exploring the repertoire of the artists and groups.
Press conference for the San Pedro Country Music Festival. Left to right: Mayor of San Pedro Municipality, Prof. Mario Barbieri, Gustavo Laurino, and Martín Blebel, the front man of the Argentinean group Wanted.
ICMDAY. And what is more surprising: admission is free. How is this possible?
Gustavo: The festival is free because the artists don’t get paid; they offer their services for free. Because of this, www.country2.com promotes them and carries their news and concert dates, and reviews their releases 365 days a year. In exchange, we ask them for some minutes of their talent. We try to cover most of the accommodation expenses with local sponsors and the expenses for sound, lighting, and security are covered by the San Pedro Municipality, which appreciates the festival because of its singularity and because it´s a tourist attraction. This year, we have had a contribution from the US Embassy in Buenos Aires, and for that reason, www.country2.com has done some production work with American artists that have visited Argentina.
ICMDAY: In the wake of the San Pedro Country Music Festival, there have appeared countless bands that seek their own niche in the Argentinean country music scene. Could you tell us a little about them?
Gustavo: Mentioning just one or two would be unfair. There are bands that already existed before the inception of the festival, and there are bands that sprang up around the time that the festival started. If you go to the “artists” section of www.country2.com, you will find a list by countries, and there you will find the story of each band.
Brandon Pruitt, live in San Pedro Country Music Festival (2008)
ICMDAY: What is new and what are the surprises of this year’s event?
Gustavo: Many of the artists that have appeared at the festival since 2003 have matured a great deal, and that is one of the reasons not to miss the festival this year. In addition, the presence of artists from the US, such as Brandon Pruitt and Mack Stevens, gives a different flair to the festival. We will have an English artist with a very interesting folk show. Rodrigo Haddad, the new International Country Music Ambassador, will present his new record for the very first time, and there will be some classics like Yulie Ruth and Max. Also, there will be some great country guests like the best neo-swing orchestra in Argentina, the Rock & Rule Swing Band, and the only gospel choir of our country, the Córdoba Gospel Choir. This year, the same group that is going to open the festival on Saturday is going to close it on Sunday.
ICMDAY: There is no doubt that Country2.com is the most important website on country music in Argentina: a site that features a wealth of information, news, collaborations, even a radio show. Please tell us a little about your radio program.
Gustavo:The podcast radio show that we upload every week has brought country music to cities of the interior in Argentina and to other Spanish-speaking countries. In addition, hundreds of listeners download it to their I-pods or to their computers. We feature the same country music as other radio stations, but with a special focus that combines country sung by Hispanic artists and some live shows taped at the San Pedro Festival.
Sourdough Slim, Gustavo Laurino and Wylie, of Wylie and the Wild West (2006)
ICMDAY: In your opinion, what factor has contributed the most to the rise of country music in Argentina? Has it been the country music of Country2.com? Or the likeness of the culture of the gauchos and that of the Old West? Or maybe country dancing? The San Pedro Country Music Festival? Or perhaps the combination of it all?
Gustavo: Without a doubt, it has been the combination of it all, together with the audience’s need to find new alternatives with a message that is different from the ones that they can find in other styles.
ICMDAY: We could say you are the spokesman of the Argentinean country music movement. How do you face this responsibility?
Gustavo:No, I don’t think I am the spokesman. This project is shared with my wife, and it has come to life because of my love of country music. We never wanted that responsability, and I think that the true spokespersons are the artists. Even if some of them know that they can’t play country music for a living, they perform just because they love it, just for pleasure, and also for the audiences that follow them all year round. It’s a combination of factors, efforts, and passions.
After a long year of preparing for the festival, it is time to enjoy the music!
ICMDAY: Throughout your life, what personal sacrifices have you made for country music?
Gustavo: Most of all, in order to organize the festival and take care of the website, I had to change my job. I was the manager of a very important media network, and I worked there for twelve years until the festival became so big that it was taking too much of my time. Another important aspect of it all was time, because there were many weekends that I had to spend exchanging e-mails with the artists and promoting the festival, trying to persuade everyone that such an event could become a reality.
ICMDAY:In the last ten years, many things have happened in the realm of international country music. In virtually every country, people are performing country music whose quality is not far from that of the kind of country coming from Nashville or Texas. Could we truly say that international country music has come of age?
Gustavo: I’d like to say yes, but I think we’re not quite there yet. I don’t really know whether that will really happen or not, because there are too many constraints, both in and out of the United States. I’d be satisfied if in each country those that enjoy this style can get together and enjoy listening to it in appropriate places. It would be great if the groups that pick on banjos or get up on a stage with boots and cowboy hats could simply worry about playing true country music, if they are respectful of a genre that has so much history.
ICMDAY: What is your assessment of present-day Argentinean country music?
Gustavo: The country music in Spanish produced in Argentina has excellent performers and is heading in the right direction. The Argentinean cover bands are also of a consistently high musical quality.
The audience keeps on growing every year
ICMDAY: Could you tell us a little about the future of the festival and of Country2.com?
Gustavo: Our idea is that the festival will keep on growing, and we’d love to make it more international every year. If possible, we’d like to tour other cities throughout the world that hold similar festivals and bring along Argentinean bands to share in this very enriching experience. Country2.com will remain active and very much alive. More than a project, what we have is the wish to maintain our website as a space that can serve as a meeting point for friends.
ICMDAY: Country2.com is an associate co-founder of the International Country Music Day. Why did you want to invest in this project since its very inception?
Gustavo: Because I think that it was launched as a serious and sensible initiative, with a global outlook that is well suited to the promotion of country music. In light of the work that ICMDAY has carried out, I have no doubt that we made the right choice, and we will continue to offer all our support to help ICMDAY keep on growing.
ICMDAY: In the last ten years, many things have happened in the realm of international country music. In virtually every country, people are performing country music whose quality is not far from that of the kind of country coming from Nashville or Texas. Could we truly say that international country music has come of age?
Gustavo: I’d like to say yes, but I think we’re not quite there yet. I don’t really know whether that will really happen or not, because there are too many constraints, both in and out of the United States. I’d be satisfied if in each country those that enjoy this style can get together and enjoy listening to it in appropriate places. It would be great if the groups that pick on banjos or get up on a stage with boots and cowboy hats could simply worry about playing true country music, if they are respectful of a genre that has so much history.
Final jam at the San Pedro Country Music Festival
ICMDAY: What is your assessment of present-day Argentinean country music? Gustavo: The country music in Spanish produced in Argentina has excellent performers and is heading in the right direction. The Argentinean cover bands are also of a consistently high musical quality.
ICMDAY: Could you tell us a little about the future of the festival and of Country2.com?
Gustavo:Our idea is that the festival will keep on growing, and we’d love to make it more international every year. If possible, we’d like to tour other cities throughout the world that hold similar festivals and bring along Argentinean bands to share in this very enriching experience. Country2.com will remain active and very much alive. More than a project, what we have is the wish to maintain our website as a space that can serve as a meeting point for friends.
ICMDAY: Country2.com is an associate co-founder of the International Country Music Day. Why did you want to invest in this project since its very inception?
Gustavo: Because I think that it was launched as a serious and sensible initiative, with a global outlook that is well suited to the promotion of country music. In light of the work that ICMDAY has carried out, I have no doubt that we made the right choice, and we will continue to offer all our support to help ICMDAY keep on growing.
By Cowboy Anton Garcia
Host of Music City USA
WRVU Nashville 91.1 FM
It was 1961, and country music was undergoing major changes. Its sound was being altered:
gone were the fiddles and steel guitars; in came the sweet violin arrangements and the background choirs. It would become known as the Nashville Sound, but it did not happen overnight, and the Music City was not the only milieu responsible for it. It was already there in the pop-sounding cowboy songs of Gene Autry and the rest of the silver-screen cowboys, it was already there in the slick swing strains of Spade Cooley, and it was also there in some of Elvis’s early recordings. Yet it achieved its perfection on a Decca record that was released that year. The singer, Patsy Cline. The producer, Owen Bradley. The songwriter, Willie Nelson. And the title of the song, yearningly whispered by Patsy as the needle starts piercing the
vinyl, was “Crazy.”
1.
2.
1. Crazy, the Decca single, included in her studio album Showcase with the Jordanaires.
2. Showcase, the original album cover from 1961.
It was 1961, and Willie Nelson was not known as a performer yet. He did not even look like
Willie Nelson yet. He was honing his craft as one of the most innovative songwriters in the
world capital of country music. He was still a few years away from superstardom, still a few years away from revolutionizing country music as a longhaired, self-proclaimed outlaw, yet he was already helping usher in some of the changes for which he would be hailed in the following decade. And some of those changes can already be spotted by taking a closer look at “Crazy.”
It was 1961, and Patsy Cline was treading on ground already explored by the likes of Patsy Montana and Kitty Wells. She was not just one of those “girl singers,” as female performers were known back then, trying to find their place within the male-dominated world of country music—she was also trying to find her own voice, and very few voices were as troubled, complex, and unique as Patsy’s. It does not matter that she did not like the song when she first heard it. It does not matter that the records that she really liked to make were more country-sounding tunes like “Lovin’ in Vain” or “Lovesick Blues.” Willie Nelson had written the perfect song for her, oozing with heartache and the grim acceptance of the illogical nature
of love—and its title was “Crazy.”
It was 1961, and Owen Bradley produced one of the most compelling country records to ever come out of Nashville. He was aided by a slew of the best musicians in town, an all-star section of session pickers that included Floyd Cramer, Harold Bradley, the recently deceased Buddy Harman, and the ever-present Jordanaires. All of them back Patsy’s voice as it goes through the different emotions conveyed by the lyrics: a whisper here, a gasp there, a plea here, a moan there. “I’m crazy for crying,” she avows at the end of the journey, “I’m crazy for trying,” she wearily cries out. And then she finishes on a note of resignation, in total awareness of the fact that sometimes love is neither fair nor rational, “and I’m crazy for loving you!” The song is ended but the pain lingers on. In the words of music critic David Cantwell, “every element of ‘Crazy’ is essential to the whole, yet each is an endlessly compelling hook in its own right.” The same could be said of Willie Nelson’s concept albums of the 1970s. “Crazy,” then, is more than a song—it is a concept song, it is poetry.
It was 1961, and now, forty-seven years later, “Crazy” is chosen as the Official Song of the International Country Music Day. It certainly could not have been a better choice. Not just because of its worldwide popularity, not just because over the years it has acquired the status of a standard, not just because it is a timeless work of art. But rather, because it represents the struggles between the old and the new, it represents the constant changes and evolution of country music as an art form. And it does so by bringing to the fore thevery thing that characterizes the best creations of the genre—the complexity of deep emotions recorded in a seemingly simple way.
The readers of www.icmday.com have chosen the popular Willie Nelson´s song “Crazy” as their favourite tune to become oficially the International Country Music Song in 2008. This tune brings together country music artists and fans all over the world, as well as representing the values that our music stands for during the International Country Music Day, which is held every year on September 17, commemorating the birth of Hank Williams, one of the foremost legends of country music.
The international poll was launched by ICMDAY.org to celebrate the 75th birthday of Willie Nelson, and to honor this way the legend of the Texas country superstar.
Judy Seale and Rodrigo Haddad -new International Country Music Ambassadors-
Together with the election of the best Willie Nelson´s song, this year, for the first time and celebrating their fifth anniversay, the ICMDAY.org has appointed the first International Country Music Ambassadors: Judy Seale – manager and founder of Judy Seal International based in Nasville- and Rodrigo Haddad –brazilian country music singer-. These awards represent the recognition of an extensive career and a unique prestige earned and consolidated by promoting country music internationally.
Both of them have been interviewed exclusively for the web of ICMDAY.org
Judy Seale interviewed. The world in her hands.
Charlie Daniels & Judy Seale
Andoni Urkiaga –ICMDAY.org Coordinator- interviewed Judy Seale, just when she was finishing her 6 weeks trip across Europe bringing the best country music acts to the european summer festivals. “Fortunately, all my festivals have had record attendance this year. Considering that there are no country video channels and very few country radio programs [in Europe], that’s an amazing accomplishment”, said Judy.
She has the ability to transform an exigent job into a exciting life. Judy tells us how: “I think that anyone working in this business has to love their job, and I most definitely do. Sometimes, I really don’t want to be away from home for two months at a time, but in all honesty, I can’t think of anything else that I could do that would bring me so much happiness and fulfillment. I return to so many of the same cities each year that the buyers and people I meet there are my friends, and I consider them my extended family. I am so very, very lucky to live this wild and crazy, truly exciting life.”
Stars For Stripes : Judy Seale and Aaron Tippin
Judy is also involved in the activities of “Stars for Stripes”, her own non-profit organization that provides quality entertainment to internationally deployed U.S. military forces: “I chartered ‘Stars for Stripes, because I wanted to do more for our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. I donate my time, as do all the celebrities who participate in the tours. These tours are where my passion lies — they fill up my heart and inspire me to do even more.”.
Interview with Rodrigo Haddad: “From Brazil to TN”
Photo: Country2.com
The new of his last international award has reached Rodrigo Haddad in one of his sweetest moments of his career. He has just recorded his new album, “From Brazil to TN”, and is ready to be one of the big stars of the next San Pedro Country Music Festival, the largest country music festival in South America. Raúl Tejeiro, President of the Country Music Association of Uruguay, interviewed him about this special moment and his new work:“My new album means a lot to me. It’s a dream come true! I’m so happy about the result of the tracks, and I can’t wait for country music fans to listen to it. The experience is unique when you record an album in Nashville. I’m really proud of it and, for sure, it’s a big step in my career”.
Rodrigo has played in many different countries and venues and talk us about that experience: “I’ve been traveling a lot since I started thirteen years ago. Brazil is really huge, and there’s so much more to see. I’ve been going to Argentina for the past six years, and Nashville is another place where I’m always playing my music, too. It doesn’t matter where you are if you are playing for a country music audience. The details only make any differences better”.
Photo: Country2.com
As one of the biggest rising latin country music singers he dares to make a prediction: “I think positive about the future of latin country music! If it is good music, there’s always a place for it. We’ve seen a lot of things happening in country music, and trends come and go. The distances become really shorter with all this technology. Our music has better chances to cross the Equator faster than years ago”.
Judy Seale has never had a number-one hit on the charts, has never sung on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry, has never recorded a duet with any famous country superstar. She is just an anonymous face for country music audiences, but her work has probably given as much to country music as Alan Jackson’s or George Strait’s.
And now, because of her long, remarkable career bringing the best country music to the world, the International Country Music Day organization has honored Judy Seale, a Nashville-based international manager, as one of its first International Country Music Ambassadors.
The Beginnings: From Alabama to Asia and Europe.
Judy Seale is the President and CEO of Judy Seale International. She first entered the music industry as one of the original producers of two of the largest fund-raising events in Alabama: the George Lindsay Celebrity Golf Tournament and the Concert for Special Children. Having raised over one million dollars for the Alabama Special Olympics program during her tenure, Seale later moved to Tulsa to work with Roy Clark’s benefit golf tournament and the Concert for the Children’s Medical Center. After that, she joined the Jim Halsey Music & Entertainment Consulting Company in Tulsa and eventually relocated to Nashville. Her competence, capabilities and dependability with the Jim Halsey Company earned her the title of Executive Vice-President in charge of day-to-day operations and international touring.
Judy remembers those times: “Jim was a visionary when it came to promoting country music internationally. My first tour was for two and a half weeks to Japan with Brenda Lee. We were in a different city every night, and I was amazed by the sold-out venues and the true fans of her music. That was in 1987. In 1988, I was on a similar tour with Pat Boone. That year, I met a Japanese country music singer, Charlie Nagatani, who wanted to start producing the first country music festival in Japan. This October, we will celebrate the 20th anniversary of that event and it is still one of the best ones I coordinate”.
This long experience has made Judy one the foremost experts on international country music in Europe and Asia, and her opinions about these markets are always the result of direct observation and reflection: “It is much harder to promote country music in Asia. Europe really has more of a “country lifestyle” than Asia. My big European festivals are usually camping events where families spend three days camping and enjoying the music. Many of my European festivals are partnered with a classic-car convention, a trucker convention, or a Harley convention. I know that Asia loves the country look and likes to dress in jeans and boots and cowboy hats, but I have very few events in Asia compared to the hundreds in Europe.”
After years and years of success, Seale currently coordinates the international tours of the Bellamy Brothers, as well as numerous festivals throughout Europe and Asia. Her many international tour achievements include production of the first country events in Japan, Hong Kong, Brazil, Thailand, Argentina, and Manila. Since 1987, she has produced more than 200 international tours and festivals featuring country music artists.
The World in Her Hands.
News of the International Country Music Ambassador Award reached Seale while she was touring with different artists across Europe. 2008 is another fruitful year for Judy: “Fortunately, all my festivals have had record attendance this year. Considering that there are no country video channels and very few country radio programs [in Europe], that’s an amazing accomplishment. I chat with the audience, and they tell me that they listen to country music via the Internet and download their music from those sites. I think there is a very exciting future for country music in Europe because the Internet has made the world a very small place and country music so much more accessible. It was always disappointing that the record labels did not make sure that the product was available in the stores overseas. Most of the product that was available in the past was via an importer. Now the world has an opportunity to download the music from the Internet or to order directly from websites.”
Traveling and meeting people from so many different countries and cultures could be considered a fabulous adventure, but it is an experience that can take an emotional toll. It does not seem to be the case with Seale, who thinks of it as something more than a business: ”It is a lot of work and very, very long hours. With the new airline regulations, there are definitely a lot more stressful situations than in years past. I think that anyone working in this business has to love their job, and I most definitely do. Sometimes, I really don’t want to be away from home for two months at a time, but in all honesty, I can’t think of anything else that I could do that would bring me so much happiness and fulfillment. I return to so many of the same cities each year that the buyers and people I meet there are my friends, and I consider them my extended family. I am so very, very lucky to live this wild and crazy, truly exciting life.”
Her worldwide travels allow Seale the privilege of listening to many local artists and previewing the new country music trends as they appear: “South America is the next step for country music. Nowadays, [Brazilian musician] Rodrigo Haddad, another of this year’s International Country Music Ambassadors, is spreading country music from Brazil to the world, but the first one was a Brazilian duo named Chitaozinho and Xororo. They were the Brooks and Dunn of Brazil and even came to America and recorded an album. Billy Ray Cyrus sang a duet with them when his career was hot with “Achy Breaky Heart”. Another legend is a German band called Truck Stop. Jill Johnson is probably the top country music artist in Sweden and regularly comes to Nashville to record her albums. I meet so many wonderful country music artists around the world because all my festivals include performances by European country music artists. It has been quite an education for me.”
A Visionary Way of Thinking.
Seale has worked hard to make the American country music market known in other countries, but should the United States be as open as Europe is to new international artists? Judy believes so: “Absolutely. I think they should but I do not believe they will. It’s embarrassing to me that the U.S. does not reciprocate by touring really great [foreign] country artists in our country. It has long been a source of frustration for me. We expect other countries to welcome our country music artists to their countries and pay good money to perform there. Yet, we do not offer that to really good country music artists from other countries.” Perhaps America should know that country music has become an international style just like jazz, rock, or blues.
But Judy Seale even goes further: she has long believed that there is space for other kinds of country in the United States: “Consider for a moment the country music stars of yesterday and today. Country is still the only genre of music that has not embraced the Latino/Hispanic/Tejano style of music. Not since Charley Pride has country music had a real big African-American star.”
But instead, the American country music industry has a hard time embracing the minorities and has overlooked the international markets. The markets overseas seem to have developed their own tastes: “The festivals and buyers that I work with want what is called ´true traditional country music.´ That doesn’t mean they aren’t interested in the new up-and-coming Nashville artists in country music today. However, their interest in those new artists is with the ones who sing traditional-style country music. The legends in country music can and do still tour regularly for me overseas. Gene Watson, Asleep At The Wheel,Charlie Daniels… The Bellamy Brothers, who I represent exclusively in the international marketplace, tour more than any other country artist because when they had their first hit in 1976, ‘Let You Love Flow,’ they went to Europe and then continued to go back every year, building that marketplace.”
Nonetheless, Seale still thinks that American country music has a central role in the development of country music internationally: “From the U.S. perspective, we need more country music artists who are willing to tour overseas. I get requests from overseas buyers regularly for artists who simply will not consider performing overseas for any amount of money. The U.S. artists also need to realize that they need to keep their fees reasonable until they develop their international marketplace. From the European standpoint, yes — better coordination of tours is needed primarily because air-fare prices are outrageous. If we can link several events together and share in the air-fare costs, it makes it more economically feasible for the buyers and for the artists”.
Stars For Stripes: Seale’s Long-Time Dream.
Judy Seale also has a charitable side, and her endeavors include getting artists to perform for U.S. military bases throughout the world. These military tours have provided entertainment for troops serving in Haiti, Bosnia, Macedonia, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Qatar and Kosovo, as well as Christmas tours for troops away from family and friends while based in remote locations during the holidays. Since the conflict in the Balkans began in 1996, Seale has brought artists to that war-torn part of the world several times. In the past decade, she participated in more than 60 tours devoted to entertaining U.S. troops stationed overseas: “I do not come from a military family. Over New Year’s in 1991, I went on a USO tour to Iceland with the country music group The Forester Sisters. It opened my eyes to troops that we have deployed around the world to remote areas and the need to say ‘Thank you’ to them for their service. I began donating my time to assist with USO tours whenever possible and eventually began working directly with various military bases throughout the world, organizing tours for them.”
Judy Seale in a U.S. military base
Five years ago, Judy Seale fulfilled a long-time dream with the launch of a new venture: “Stars for Stripes” (http://www.starsforstripes.com/). The non-profit organization provides quality entertainment to internationally deployed U.S. military forces, promotes patriotism and civic pride among the troops, and educates the general public regarding various aspects of American military history: “ I chartered ‘Stars for Stripes,’ my own non-profit organization, because I wanted to do more for our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. I donate my time, as do all the celebrities who participate in the tours. Since I do this in my spare time, I am limited on the number of tours I can coordinate each year. However, these tours are where my passion lies — they fill up my heart and inspire me to do even more. Until you participate in one, it’s impossible to explain the personal fulfillment and life-changing experiences we always encounter on each trip”.
Judy Seale has lived through many unforgettable moments abroad bringing a touch of home to the troops: “We go on these tours to say ‘thank you’ to the men and women serving not only our country, but people from other countries around the world. It’s embarrassing that they thank us for our visit because what we are doing seems so insignificant compared to their sacrifices. I always make a point to find out if there are NATO troops deployed to the areas we are visiting. When I see a man or woman in a uniform other than from the U.S., I introduce myself and find out where they are from, how long they will be there, personal information about their lives, and always, always invite them to our shows. We’ve had Koreans and Afghanis on stage singing ‘Friends in Low Places’ with us!”.
Seale’s Awards and Recognitions.
The American Country Music Association recognized Seale in 1998 when she was awarded the prestigious Jo Walker-Meador International Achievement Award, and then again in 2003 when she was presented with the CMA International Talent Buyer/Promoter of the Year Award. Seale served as a member of the Executive Committee for the Hook, Line, and Singer Tournament, which benefited the Memphis-based St. Jude Children’s Hospital. She currently works with the Country Music Association’s Global Markets Task Force and Advisory Group, and is President/CEO of Stars for Stripes.
In the words of Charlie Daniels, “Judy Seale has made it possible for country music to cross all borders of this planet. She really has become an ambassador to the world, and the country music industry (and the music industry as a whole) could have no better spokesperson. We have logged many miles with Judy, performing at her international festivals and look forward to many more. On behalf of myself and The Charlie Daniels Band, we congratulate Judy on being honored by your organization.”
(*) Judy Seale was interviewed by Andoni Urkiaga -Coordinator of the International Country Music Day-. Photos: courtesy of Jude Seale.
