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When I turned 16, my dad gave me three CDs.

1. Eric Clapton: Timepieces

2. The Eagles: Live (Best of the Eagles pictured above)

3. The Doobie Brothers: The Best of

This was my introduction to “real” music, and the first of many birthdays of Dad giving me music from his generation.  To say that this gift would change my life would be an understatement.  This is when I fell in love with ’70s rock.  This is when I fell in love with the electric guitar.  This would be the soundtrack to my 2002 and my entire high school days.

To be honest, I still don’t believe it.  I still don’t believe that Glenn Frey is gone.  This is the first celebrity death that hits close to home.  Not only have I loved Glenn’s songwriting, guitar playing, and singing; he has been a special bond between my dad and me.  I have spent many nights in high school and college driving my 1995 Nissan Pathfinder with the windows down, blaring and singing along to “Hotel California.”

“Wasted Time”

“Life in the Fast Lane”

“Seven Bridges Road”

“Desperado”

The Eagles

These are the songs that are written on my heart.  These are the songs that I wish I could write.  These are the songs that live forever.

The Eagles started with Glenn Frey.  Glenn Frey was the Eagles; he was chief of the flock.

I wanted to see the Eagles in person, but I never could afford the ticket.  Now the best for which I can hope is to see the remaining members perform the songs that have meant so much to so many people.  That includes me.

Glenn, thank you for what you have meant to music, to songwriting, to guitar, to singing, and to me.  I hope, if you made it to heaven, that you’re no longer in pain and that you can sing to your heart’s content.  Peace, my brother.

We’ve been busy.

I guess that’s a good thing.  We started doing these online shows (StageIt.com) earlier this year, and we absolutely love them!  We set up our computer and sound equipment, and we broadcast as show live from our living room (or dining room, kitchen, library, wherever we please)!  It was a little weird at first – we had no applause when we finished our first song.  But then viewers started typing in their thoughts on the song, and they loved it!

Talk about interaction!  For the first time ever, we were able to interact with our fans DURING a show without pandemonium!

Then we started doing house shows.  We started with friends who would open up their home, invite their friends over for a get-togeter night, and we would supply music for about an hour.  Again, SO MUCH FUN!

We’ve thrown in a few weddings, writer’s nights, and random other events too.  Then, like any other hard-working couple, we took a vacation.

Now we’re back at it – hard at work preparing for a full week of online shows.  Then there are our day jobs.  That’s how it is for musicians trying to make a living out of making music.

Thank YOU for your support!

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”

Today, two things happened.  First, let’s talk about the good.

I’m an uncle!  I am beyond excited!  My brother-in-law and sister-in-law had their first child, and that makes me an uncle for the first time!  Little Finley was born this morning, and she weighed in at just over 7 pounds.  I can’t wait to meet her and watch her grow.

My wife was able to keep me updated on what was happening, even though I’m in Minneapolis, while she is home in Nashville, and the baby was born in Georgia.  Technology makes communication easier than ever (yet we, especially me, are becoming even worse at it).  Finley, welcome to the world.

As we welcomed Fin to life, we also watched as Mrs. Tripp said goodbye to this life.  Mrs. Tripp was my 6th grade English teacher.  Then she was my 7th grade English teacher.  She always said it was because she liked us so, and I can’t argue with that!

I last talked with Mrs. Tripp for a few minutes on Veteran’s Day, as I had made my way back to my old high school to hear a beloved coach tell his life story as an American veteran.  She greeted me like she had so many times during my years in middle and high school, “Mister Minnigan….”

I remember diagramming sentences.  I remember getting more because we acted up in class.  I remember giving the wrong answer and finding out that “alright” was “all wrong.”  I remember her nails on the whiteboard and her complaining that it didn’t have the same effect on students as nails on a chalkboard.  I remember she loved us.

I was lucky to come across many teachers that loved the students.  There was something about Mrs. Tripp that made all the students love her too.  Thank you, Mrs. Tripp, for showing me how to learn, how to live, and how to love.

I’ll part with these two images.  The first is Mrs. Tripp with one of my friends, Mason Graham.  I know she meant so much to Mason just like she meant so much to all of us.  The second is a happy birthday message from the faculty at school from just two weeks ago.  Some of the faculty were even once her pupils.  They were asked to sing softly so she could take it all in.  (Sorry for my dangling participle, Mrs. Tripp.)  I’m told she paused it many times and watched it over and over to see all the faces.  Thank you for loving the hooligans and shenanigans, Mrs. Tripp.



Happy Birthday, Cindy! from BA Communications on Vimeo.

I have a brother who is a very talented artist. He creates paintings that are very impressive, and he sells them for money. Cash. Benjamins. People see the work of art, and they know it took effort, energy, time, and talent to create it.

Music, on the other hand, is a different story.

Dave Grohl recently stated that musicians should give their music away and then play shows. For him, that makes sense. He can charge money for tickets, and he can sell those tickets by the thousands.

Not so for the beginning (starving) artist.

We work hard to create, just like my brother works hard to create. However, people are less willing to shell out $.99 for a song that cost time, money, effort, and talent.

For us, we have to do free shows in order to entice people to attend – not because the music isn’t good, but because it’s a risk. How good is this artist going to be? Will I enjoy the show? People aren’t willing to pay $10, $20, $50, $100, or more for an artist they don’t know.

So David, I’m glad you can afford to give away your music. Maybe it’s artists like you that are helping to cheapen RECORDED music. You’re not the only one, but artists like U2 who give their music away contribute to the idea that recorded music is disposable.

For the record, I like Dave’s music, and I LOVE U2. I just don’t necessarily agree with what they have said and done recently.

I’m trying to make a living creating music. People make a living painting art, taking pictures, building cars, delivering packages, and cooking food. Why can’t I make a living creating music?

There’s a movie by that name that I saw this summer. It asks the question, “If you were given all the time in the world, how would you spend it?”

The funny thing about time is that you can’t save it. You just can’t. I write this as I sit in an airport about to leave for a work trip. I have just come off a week where I spent time with my wife, brother, and dad at a Paul McCartney concert; an afternoon with my 84-year-old grandfather; and a day driving around with my wife looking for a used car. I’m grateful of all the time I spent on family this week. (Disclaimer: my mother and sister were at the beach, otherwise I would have spent time with them too.)

I’ve reached the point in life, earlier than some and later than others, where I’ve realized that I’d rather be home with my wife than go out and have a good time. I’d rather work a little late because I spent part of my day on the golf course with my Papa. I’d rather sit on a dock with my family than sit on a couch watching 16 football games.

It’s about time, and it’s about time I spend more time with family and the ones I love.

I always liked history, but I was never any good at dates and dead people. That is, I was never any good until History of American Recordings during my junior year at Belmont University.

Finally history was easier for me to understand. The music I knew gave context to the political and cultural things happening.

I think there are quite a few guitarists, and other musicians as well, that feel the same. There is something about honoring and treasuring, even preserving, the past.

As I write this from my phone, I want to keep it brief to save my thumbs. Simply put, a piece of music history in Nashville might be on the verge of being lost forever. A little place maintained by a friend – RCA Studio A.

Read Ben Folds’ open letter here to find out more. Then hop on Twitter and use #SaveStudioA to make noise. Call the Mayor’s office. Spread the word.

As someone who has been fortunate enough to step inside the studio, it’s one cool place we can’t afford to lose.

So my wife kicked off her Kickstarter campaign today.  The one where we try to raise lots of money so we can do this whole music thing.  I’m really excited.

I’m also pretty proud of myself, and here’s why.  We’ve designed a pretty cool – and SIMPLE – website for her.  It doesn’t need to be complicated.  Apple made an empire on simple.

So check it out.  JessieSmithMusic.com