The Bible Belt's Country Outlaw

Anyone who has an appreciation for country music owes it to themselves to check out the work of Travis Tritt. He incorporates his many influences from three genres to craft a unique sound. He has admired the work of folk type artists like James Taylor and John Denver, classic country greats like George Jones and Merle Haggard, and southern rock groups like The Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Travis always begins his concerts with one of his early hits "Put Some Drive in Your Country." A line in this song says "I made myself a promise, when I was just a kid, I'd mix southern rock and country, and that's just what I did." Another lyric of his says "Man I miss Duane Allman, I wish he was still around". He has replaced this name in the song with Stevie Ray Vaughn and Waylon Jennings over the years, to pay tribute to other heroes of his who are gone. Tritt grew up in Marietta Georgia and started playing guitar at age 8. He wrote his first song at age 14. In 1988 he signed a deal with Warner Brothers records and released his first album, "Country Club" a year later. The release was a huge hit, showcasing Travis' songwriting skills and he was declared top new male artist in 1990 by Billboard magazine. In 1992 he was humbled with the great honor of becoming a member of the Grand Ole Opry. The early 1990s was a time of growth for country music and other artists from Tritt's era included Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, Joe Diffie and Vince Gill. All of these performers were also inducted into the Opry. Curiously, some great artists who are not Opry members are George Strait, Brooks and Dunn and Alabama, as well as many others. Opry members must perform 20 times per year at the venue, so maybe those like Strait were offered the chance to join, but turned it down due to time commitments. Travis Tritt was instrumental in reuniting The Eagles, and he recorded his own rendition of "Take it Easy". I have seen Travis in concert 4 times, and would see him again in a heartbeat. He is someone who gives 110% at every performance, and he is a magnetic entertainer who seems to love playing for his audiences. He will even perform cover tunes of some of his favorite songs. The last time I saw him he played songs by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Waylon Jennings and even "Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi.

Here is a discography of Tritt's albums from oldest to newest. My favorites are his early recordings, from Country Club through Ten Feet Tall and Bulletproof.

Country Club
It's all about to Change
A Travis Tritt Christmas/Loving Time of Year
T-R-O-U-B-L-E
Ten Feet Tall and Bulletproof
Greatest Hits-from the Beginning
The Restless Kind
No More Looking Over my Shoulder
Down the Road I Go
Strong Enough
My Honky Tonk History

Goodbye Diamond Dave, hello O&A!

After disastrous ratings, CBS radio has dismissed Howard Stern's replacement, former Van Halen frontman, David Lee Roth. When Stern left for Sirius satellite radio earlier this year, Roth went on the air in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Dallas and other cities as his replacement. Other Stern affiliates were turned over to TV and radio veteran Adam Carolla, formerly of The Man Show and Loveline. It seemed odd that CBS radio would hire Roth, a man with no radio experience, to host a show which would air in the biggest markets in the nation. Their move has backfired, and it looks like he will be replaced by XM's Opie and Anthony. O&A were fired by CBS radio 4 years ago and currently air on XM's High Voltage channel 202 along with fellow New York radio hosts Ron and Fez. Greg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia will be on XM 5 hours per day, and 3 hours of that will be on broadcast stations. Upon hearing the news, Howard Stern appeared bitter, stating that this shows that O&A have failed on satellite radio. I think that this move will only help O&A and XM, convincing people to pay for the service to hear the whole program. Only 10% of Stern's audience has followed him to satellite radio. XM shares are around $25 per share, while Sirius is around $5. Some thought that Sirius stock would soar after Stern's arrival in January, but just the opposite has happened. Sirius has put all their eggs in one basket with Stern, which was a mistake. XM concentrates on improving many aspects of their programming, from sports, talk, comedy, and music. XM is a multi faceted service, which will come out the winner in the long run. On a personal note, I like a lot of O&A's material, but some of it crosses the line, and is too mean spirited. Their sidekick Jim Norton, is an aquired taste, whom not all listeners will appreciate. About 70% of the time I like O&A, but the other 30% I just turn off. I prefer Ron and Fez, since they are funny and edgy, but yet they do not feature the cringe humor which is rampant on O&A. I'd like to see more shows added to XM 202, perhaps the Indianapolis team of Bob and Tom.

The ever-changing world of audio and video technology

Remember vinyl records? If you're 25 or under, probably not. I recall listening to my brother's 45 rpm records in my room in the 1970s. They liked artists such as Chicago, the Beatles, the Jackson 5, and Stevie Wonder. Some of the first records I bought were "Disco Inferno" by the Tramps and "I Just Want to be your Everything" by Andy Gibb. I endured endless razzing by my older siblings when I purchased a Barry Manilow record. I remember buying the "Out of the Blue" 33 rpm album by ELO which was a double album that unfolded to reveal a cool spaceship photo.

Anyway, the explosion of mp3s and i Pods got me thinking about all the audio formats we have seen over time. Before my time, my parent's generation listened to big band music on 78 rpm records. Then we saw 33 rpm and 45 rpm vinyl. Next were the 8 track tapes from the 1970s. Cassettes ruled in the 80s, and in the 90s we advanced into the digital age with CDs. Some people liked mini discs in the 90s but that format didn't seem to catch on. Just try to find records or cassettes in a retail outlet today. It's not easy. The record labels probably love the different formats since most people don't have albums or cassettes anymore and they have to buy their favorite tunes on CD or mp3. I wonder what format will be the next big thing?

It's the same story with video formats. Do you own mostly DVDs or VHS tapes? Most video stores have just a few VHS tapes, if any. In the 1980s I had heard that Beta format tapes would be the next big thing. My parents asked me if we should buy a VHS or a Beta machine. I said Beta--oops! If you know anything about broadcast television, the Sony Betacam SP and SX are commonly used tape formats, but for home use the public embraced the VHS machines. I remember VHS machines in the 80s would set you back $500 at least. No you can get one for $50. After VHS tapes, some may recall the video disc format, which featured large platter like digital discs the size of 33 rpm records. The smaller DVD format proved to be much more successful. These days it seems like more and more are using the digital hard drive recorders such as Tivo. These require no tapes and they can store more recorded footage than VHS tapes. Also you don't need to worry about dirty tape heads, tracking problems, or the tapes getting creased or worn out.

We're in the age of high definition TV. The FCC has said that by 2009 all stations must be broadcasting in HDTV and people will need high definition sets, or puchase a digital converter. The date of conversion has been pushed back many times and I wouldn't doubt it if it was pushed back further. It seems unfair that all will be forced to switch to the new format. It should be voluntary like the switch from black and white to color TV. I have compared high definition to standard definition and often times the difference is not noticeable.

Entertainment Extra Access Insider! Who cares!?!?

Shows like ET, Extra, Access Hollywood and the Insider seem to thrive on making the most meaningless stories sound like important breaking news. ET and the Insider, which are basically carbon copies of one another, are the most annoying. These 2 are shot in neighboring studios on the Paramount lot. Both shows share the always annoying fashion guru Steven "Cojo" Cojucaro. Pat O'Brien worked as a sports commentator for many years before working as an anchor for Access Hollywood. In fall of 2004, he launched The Insider with co-host Lara Spencer, who had hosted the PBS show Antiques Roadshow. Often the same exact footage will air on ET and The Insider. One will say they have an exclusive story, and then the other will do the same story claiming it's exclusive. The Insider will air a story, and then a few weeks later the same exact packaged story will air! The other entertainment shows don't do this. The Insider seems to have trouble filling their half hour with celebrity footage. They will do stories on botched plastic surgery or home video of wedding bloopers. They will often do stories that have nothing to do with Hollywood, like the glorification of sisters who look like walking skeletons at death's door, calling them the anorexic twins. The thing that's ironic is that these type of shows probably do more damage than any other source when it comes to contributing to the prevalence of eating disorders in America. The never ending images of size zero actresses who still think they are fat is an epidemic. The bone thin entertainers showed on these shows achieve their look through personal trainers, chefs, liposuction, plastic surgery, and eating disorders. They set up unrealistic expectations and give people the impression that looks are all that matter in life.

Leeza Gibbons, John Tesh, Bob Goen, Julie Moran and Maria Menounos have left ET. Were they fired, did they quit, or did they get tired of covering all the meaningless stories day after day? One has to wonder. The stories on these entertainment shows always leave me asking the same question--who cares? Does it really matter where Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were last sighted? Is it really earth shaking news to hear about Lindsay Lohan's latest car accident? I like learning about celebrities, I write this blog about them after all, but these shows are obsessive about the stars. They talk about how intrusive the paparazzi are and how they need to give celebrities their space. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! ET, Insider and the rest are part of the problem as much as magazine photographers.

Entertainment Odds and Ends for February

Not surprisingly, the #1 show ratings-wise for the first week of February was the Super Bowl. This annual advertising cash cow was on ABC and was watched by a whopping 90.7 million viewers! This was the highest rating in 10 years. The postgame coverage was #2 for the week garnering 59.8 million viewers. Following the postgame, the ratings dropped to 37.9 million viewers for the 3rd rated show for the week, ABC's Grey's Anatomy. Inexplicably, the alphabet network's Dancing with the Stars has been a big hit, finishing in 10th and 12th place. Fox's American Idol continues to be a rating juggernaut, attracting 30 million viewers on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. CBS's dramas continue to do well, including CSI, CSI:Miami, CSI:NY, Without a Trace, Numbers, Close to Home and Criminal Minds. The new Jenna Elfman comedy, Courting Alex has done well, finishing in 17th place. Successful sitcoms seem to be so rare these days.

CBS must be desperate for programming. On Valentine's Day they aired The Price is Right in primetime followed by a Dr. Phil special that was basically a one hour infomercial for his new book. How does someone like him have time to be so prolific with his books? One has to wonder if he has a ghost writer to help him out.

Perhaps due to the advent of Tivo, and people skipping over commercials, there seems to be more product placement these days. The worst offender I have seen has to be Yes Dear, Wednesday nights on CBS. During a recent episode, I tallied five verbal and/or visual incidents of brand name mentions. It's like the story is written around the products, and the show has gone downhill quickly. I prefer the show which is on before it, Still Standing, which stars Jamie Gertz. When I see her, I still think of her role in the great 1980s film Less Than Zero, which was based on a Bret Easton Ellis novel. It also starred Robert Downey Jr. as a spoiled kid who gets caught up in the world of drug addiction. Talk about life imitating art! Ellis also did American Psycho, which was made into a brilliant but disturbing movie with Christian Bale. Maybe Yes Dear will get cancelled to make room for a new sitcom being promoted on CBS. It's called The New Adventures of Old Christine. It starts in March and it stars Julia Louis Dreyfuss, an SNL alum best known for playing Elaine on Seinfeld. Since Seinfeld, she tried a sitcom on NBC called Watching Ellie, which was a disappointment. She has appeared a few times on Curb Your Enthusiasm, the HBO comedy created by and starring Seifeld creator Larry David. Some say there is a Seinfeld curse since the characters from that show have not been able to duplicate their sitcom success. Michael Richards (Kramer), tried a sitcom which was ultimately cancelled. Jason Alexander (George) had tried shows on ABC (Bob Patterson) and CBS (Listen Up) that were taken off the air. Jerry Seinfeld has returned to his roots of stand up comedy since leaving television. He documented his return to stand up in the movie Comedian. I'm sure that none of the Seinfeld alumni are hurting for money, due to residuals from reruns, but nevertheless, I'm sure they would like to have hit shows once again.

Many celebrities write autobiographies, especially in their later years, and some can be quite lucrative. Jerry Lewis put out a book called "Dean and Me, a Love Story" which I reviewed in an earlier blog entry. That tome has sold 90,000 copies. Another one I enjoyed was "Between You and Me", by 60 Minutes icon Mike Wallace. That book has sold 64,000 copies. Alan Alda has written a book called "Never Have Your Dog Stuffed" which has sold 116,000 copies. Even more successful has been "700 Sundays", written by Billy Crystal. This has sold 174,000 copies, and the story about Billy and his father has been made into a Broadway show starring the comedian and perennial Oscar host.

*Source information for some material:Entertainment Weekly magazine