If you don’t understand the reference of my title, then you are WAY younger than I am!  And if you do, I know you were a true 80’s baby!

After making Monday night’s post, my husband pointed out that I did not open with a personal prologue.  Since I am the one actually writing this thing, I should probably do that going forward.

This blog has been getting some traction!  THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!  It is so nice to know that there are people actually reading it and enjoying it.  Stay tuned – I have a lot more great “stuff” to come!!

IT’S RISER FRIDAY!!!  Let’s kick it!

CELEBRITY NEWS:

In an interview with E! News, Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott mentioned that the band will be taking some time off after their current tour.  The hectic schedule that Scott and band members Dave Hayward and Charles Kelley have maintained since the release of their first album has not really allowed them much time off to spend with friends and family.   The break will allow the members an opportunity to regroup and write songs for their next project.  Although there is no set date for when the group will be back in action, Scott assures that it won’t be forever, “Knowing us, it will probably be a lot shorter than what we probably set out for it to be because we can’t ever really stop.”  Enjoy your much deserved (and needed) break, Lady A!

Kacey Musgraves has decided to add shoe designer to her resume.  The Texan songstress has teamed up with Texas boot maker Lucchese to create a small boot line.  The 4 style western-inspired collection called “Kacey for Lucchese” will be available in Lucchese stores before the 2015 holiday season and will be carried by other retail partners as well.  The boots are expected to retail between $300 – $450 US per pair.  The line, inspired by her life and career over the last few years, means a lot to Musgraves, “Every detail on each boot in this line represents sentiments and pieces of me and my career.”

Although Carrie Underwood is loving being a mother to son Isaiah, she admitted to WUSN/Chicago that it also adds a certain level of excitement to her life.  Last month Underwood’s family came to see them off at the airport.  Underwood got out of the car, closed the door and turned around to open the back door to retrieve the luggage.  Within an instant, her dogs Ace and Penny started to act up and one of the pooches stepped on the lock, locking them in the car with her infant child.  “Of course nobody had a spare set of keys.  It was my Inlaws’ car.  We were trying to jimmy the door open…”  They eventually had to break the window to enter the car.  Thankfully, everyone was alright.  It is safe to say that Ace and Penny will NOT be hearing the phrase “Wanna go for a car ride?” any time soon.

COUNTRY FASHION:

I would personally like to thank Eric Church for continually sporting Ray Ban Aviators because they are freaking awesome! I love mine and I love them on other people.  This classic style of sunglasses is by far my favorite.  Originally, the “Aviator” style was sold in 1936 by Bausch and Lomb.  The target market was pilots due to that fact that the purpose of the slightly convex lens was to cover as much of the human eye range as possible, thus protecting their eyes while flying.  There is also a style of aviator that was referred to as “The Outdoorsman” which featured a sweat bar across the top.  Although Bausch and Lomb was the originator of this classic, the style marketed by Ray Ban is the original Bausch and Lomb style.  It had a large following for many decades and could be seen on celebrities.  Everyone from Kim Novak to Bob Marley wore them.  In the 2000’s, Ray Ban released the “Never Hide” campaign, encouraging people to express their originality and to not fear judgement, causing a resurgence of the once highly coveted style. Now, they are “a thing” once again, with people from all walks of life (including myself) sporting this timeless piece.  Obviously there are other brands that have an aviator “style”, but if you want the real deal, Ray Ban is the way to go. Ranging from $120 – $250, Ray Ban offers bang for your buck!

COUNTRY MUSIC:

If you haven’t heard of Nashville transplant Bobby McClendon, I suspect that you soon will.  On a stormy day in Nashville, he took some time to have a chat with me.  Not only is he a fantastic performer, but he is a genuinely nice guy.

Bobby has been in Nashville now for 3 ½ years, leaving his job as a bank manager in Yuma, Arizona to pursue his dream. “I want to be 40 saying either I gave it a shot and was successful or being able to say I at least gave it a shot.”  Bobby went on to say, “You know, so when I get older I had success or at least be able to say I tried.”  He attributes his love of country music to how he grew up, “I grew up around rodeo.  In southwest Arizona there is a lot of rodeo.  So I love all that cowboy rodeo stuff.”

He started playing music 12 years prior to his arrival in Nashville, keeping it local in his home town and playing while he was in high school.  But a huge life-changing moment came for him when he was 16.  If you ask Bobby who his musical influences are, he would say his number one of all time is Chris LeDoux.  “When I was in high school back in Arizona I was in a show choir and we got to set up all the sound and lighting for concerts that came to my home town. A lot of the other artists that came to town would kick us out or ignore us.  The first thing I noticed about Chris LeDoux was that he changed his own guitar strings.  He showed me how to change them on his guitar and showed me how to play my first G chord.  He was just the most down to earth, awesome person. [He] talked to everybody, met us all on stage and asked us what song we wanted to hear. I was like ‘Oh – it can’t be a super popular one.  Why don’t you play Western Skies, you know because it wasn’t out heavily on the radio.”  Bobby remembers the moment fondly, “It was just really awesome and then he went out there and put on the best show I have ever seen in my life.  It was wonderful.  So he will always be number one for me.”

Aerosmith is another big influence for McClendon, “When it comes to ones where I kinda like what I saw and tried to tailor what I do live show wise, I am a huge Aerosmith fan. I’ve seen them 6 times and every time it was a different show and absolutely amazing.”

Bobby went quiet for a moment.  At first I thought the call dropped.  He chuckled “The alarm on my phone went off telling me it’s time to get ready for my show.”  I offered to wrap it up, but being the guy that he is he said, “We’ve got lots of time.”  With that as my cue, I continued my line of questioning.

Garth Brooks is an influence for many country artists, and Bobby is no different, “I grew up on country and Garth Brooks made a huge impression when it came to music and live stuff. When I was in high school it is what I tried to mimic before I grew up and kind of came in to my own.  It was Garth that I always wanted to be.”

I decided to take a path less travelled and ask a couple of questions that maybe weren’t conventional.  I was curious to find out what makes someone like this tick; someone who was willing to leave home, give up a regular job and take this kind of a risk.  When I asked what was something he had always wanted and if he had gotten it, McClendon responded, “Not yet…but we’re working on it. I’ve always wanted to be on a major tour.  I want to hear people singing my songs on the radio, people covering my songs in bars and things like that.  We are almost there.  We are having some successes with our single and people recognize me in places.  Hopefully that is going to lead to more people knowing my music, getting it out there more  and actually getting to play our own stuff rather than covering everywhere we go.”

One thing that is important to remember when dealing with the people in this industry, is that they also have a human side.  No matter how big they get or how hard they work, they still have lives outside of this business.  I asked Bobby what cheers him up when he isn’t feeling 100%.  “I’ve got a phone full of all of my pictures of my kids.  My kids live back in Arizona.  I’ve got videos and pictures that daily I am going through.  That’s always been the number one thing that cheers me up.”  Evidence supported this when I asked him what the last photo he took with his phone was. “The last photo I took with my phone (Bobby goes quiet to look through his phone)…” He came back on the line and said, “The last photo I took with my phone was of my son the day he got his first football gear 2 weeks ago.  He is 7 years-old.”  Bobby went quiet for a second, “The last picture I have is him in his full football uniform.”  It is obvious at this moment that not only is Bobby a nice guy but he is completely in love with his kids.

In closing, I asked, “You are sitting on the porch with your grandson.  How do you describe this time in your life to him?”

“This is the hardest I’ve ever worked in my life.  It has been the most rewarding when it comes to actual work.  If you work hard at anything you can accomplish whatever you’re doing.  We are doing great things just off of hard work.”

I agree 100%!  Please check out Bobby’s website at www.bobbymcclendon.com/, follow him on Twitter: @BobbyMcClendon2 and be sure to check out his single “She Rolls Outta Bed” on iTunes!

In the meantime, for your listening pleasure, here is “Gonna Happen Like This” by Bobby McClendon :