Like riding out onto the field of a major baseball team in a covered golf cart and waving at the fans in the stands, or waking up at two in the morning on a tour bus in Tampa, Florida to eat a frisco melt with a country star at steak'n'shake. Or shooting two music videos (one of which has aired on national cable television) in two days on a beautiful farm in Virginia and being treated like family by someone I once saw on tv and never thought I would even meet. And all this while I still have a year of film school to go. It seems crazy, but I know how lucky I am to be doing this. The experiences I've had here in the near year that I've been working for BK have been varied and surprising and challenging and beyond fun. And I can't wait to see what the next year brings.
That said, I want to bring a couple of things to your attention.
First, the album, which you can buy on iTunes (click the link at the bottom of this post), is really good. Those of you that know me well know that I like my country music old school. It pretty much died for me in the early 90's, but I think it's worth noting that Kenny's album is about much more than country music. I'll say this about the man. He can write hit songs. I don't know how he does it, and it's something I think music fans take for granted a lot, but every song on this album sounds like a hit to me. I've been hearing these songs for almost a year straight and they still get stuck in my head because they're that catchy and memorable. One song, "Go Your Own Way" really struck me on a personal level and I didn't expect that at first. I was going through a pretty rough time and I had a chance to talk about it with Kenny on the bus. He gave me some insight that over time helped change my point of view a lot, and I thank him for it. Another cool thing is that being here at the studio so much, I've been in on several recording sessions and watched the album get made. Having grown up loving music, seeing that process work from behind the scenes was a very special thing for me. I was also given the chance to hang out with some very cool people, including Bob Ezrin, the man who produced Deftones' Saturday Night Wrist and Pink Floyd's The Wall, one of my favorite albums of all time. And of course, having my name in the liner notes of a major record is pretty awesome.
Second, I've done two more videos since Long After I'm Gone that you can now view online. CMT is hosting BK's entire album in video form for your streaming pleasure. I did the videos for Long After I'm Gone, Go Your Own Way, and most recently Be Back Home. Needless to say I'm pretty proud of the work I've done, and it would mean a lot to me if you moseyed over there and checked it out.
Finally, I'm stoked to say that tonight I'll be gettined gussied up and shooting video on the red carpet at the CMA awards. I'll be documenting BK's arrival in a decked out party bus, and then heading over to Cadillac Ranch to shoot him performing The Quiet Times of a Rock and Roll Farmboy in its entirety at the CMA afterparty. Again, I think it goes without saying that I'm pretty excited. And there will probably be moments where I have to once again ask myself, "How did I get here?". And I hope it doesn't sound like bragging when I say this, but I think I can safely say that it's my talent and my hard work that got me here, along with a pretty big dose of good luck, and that's something that I am truly thankful for.
Real quick I wanted to say a couple of things about BLOODHONEY. The first rough cut of the film is done and I'm pleased to tell you that it looks awesome. The visuals are almost exactly what I pictured in my head and the performances have been spot on so far. I can't wait for the screenings so that I can finally show all of you where my mind, heart and soul have been the last nine months. I'm going to try and put together a teaser trailer for Friday the 13th as well, so stay tuned for that.
I'm also pretty excited that my sister is coming down tonight for a visit. I haven't seen her in a while and we seem to get along a lot better now than we used to. I guess age does that to you. Anyway, looking forward to showing her some of the nice spots I've found around the city.
If you're in the Nashville area, come on down to the Ranch tonight and say "hi". It starts at 10pm and you can RSVP right here. I'm sure that once the show is over there will be much
See you at the rock show.
--Blake out.
Buy Big Kenny's solo album at the link below!
