I'm Cooler Than I Thought!

I have been to so many shows in town this week!!! It has been a very musical week :)

One of the shows I went to was at 3rd and Lindsley - Eric Paslay (who I've written with), Rachel Loy (who I went to school with) and Dave Pahanish. Oh! And a surprise and stunning appearance by Miss Sarah Buxton, who was phenomenal.

Dave Pahanish is an awesome songwriter that emailed me on myspace a few years ago. I still remember when he was about to "make the move" down to Nashville and was asking us natives for advice on the real estate market. He has since done VERY well for himself. He has had songs cut by Tim McGraw, Keith Urban, Jimmy Wayne, Emily West, and Toby Keith!

I sang on some demos and played fiddle for him a couple of years ago (back when I was still in town a little more often) . And I didn't remember this... but I played fiddle on the demo for "This American Life" which you can hear on his myspace page:

http://www.myspace.com/davepahanish

Finding this out made me feel REALLY REALLY cool. Know why? "This American Life" is a song that Toby Keith cut... although you may know it as "American Ride." He wanted to change the "Life" to "Ride" and it became the title track for his latest album!!! I didn't know I was cool enough to have played on a demo that became a Toby Keith song! :)

Here's the ole Toby Keith video: Enjoy!!!


BTW: Dave, Eric, and Rachel put on a GREAT night of music! I saw friends I hadn't seen in a long time, and I enjoyed a true Nashville evening of outstanding songwriters and performances. If you get the chance to see ANY of those performers... GO!!

Peace. Love. FIDDLE!
~nat

Metro Spirit Article

Metro Spirit Article:

On the road
Natalie Stovall may not be a household name, but that may all change soon enough for this all-American girl

BY ALICE WYNN

AUGUSTA, GA – One wouldn’t think that winning the title of Silliest Kid in America would lead to bigger and better things. But for Natalie Stovall, that’s exactly what happened. Of course, she was no stranger to the stage.

“I started playing the violin when I was four and, when I was about 10, I auditioned for the Opryland Kids Club, which was a show out at the Opryland theme park, and I played my fiddle for them and they were like, ‘That’s great honey, but you have to sing in this show,’ and I sang ‘Happy Birthday’ for them and I got the job,” she said from the road en route to Pennsylvania.

Winning the Silliest Kid title, which she won by doing a “crazy ventriloquist baby crying thing that I had learned backstage at the Opryland show,” led to an appearance on Oprah, followed by other talk shows and radio spots, which prepared her for the road ahead.

“It was a really incredible experience to get as a child performer and only helped develop me and get me ready for doing it all the time now.”



During her second year at the Berklee College of Music, Stovall formed a band that would move to Nashville during the summer, staying at her parents’ house while touring around Tennessee. After graduation, Stovall and her drummer James, who last year became her husband, moved to Nashville and found some musicians to tour with. They have been at it ever since, and have spent the better part of the past two years on the road.

“It’s part of making it happen for myself as an independent artist,” she explained. “I don’t have any record label or anybody writing the checks for me, so I gotta go out and do it myself. It can be very hard and it can be very stressful, but it’s been pretty amazing to watch. I write a blog every day and the traffic keeps coming from doing it and really being on the road, and that’s what’s rewarding about it.”

A country girl at heart, Stovall cites Keith Urban, Shania Twain and Garth Brooks as some of her favorites.

“I always really love to watch the people that put on really amazing live shows,” she said.

“That’s kind of where I get going is watching people that really put a lot of time and energy into their live material. That’s where I draw a lot of inspiration from.”

Her shows, although rooted in country, mix things up a bit, with covers such as Prince’s “Purple Rain” and Guns n’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine.” And because she plays the fiddle, Charlie Daniels’ “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” is a given. In fact, she included the song on her upcoming EP, “Standing My Ground.”

“We put it on the record to give everybody a little something from our live show,” she said.

For her first record, “Late Night Conversations” released in 2006, she wrote all of the material. But the new record enlisted the help of co-writers, including Taylor Swift producer Nathan Chapman.

“It was a totally different venture for me, but the more that I started co-writing, the more I really, really liked that environment for writing because it allowed me to kind of take these ideas I always had and bounce them off someone else,” she said. “It was just fun because it gives a different perspective for the new record and I’m just really excited to release it.”

Natalie Stovall
The Country Club
Saturday, October 3
Doors, 7 p.m.; music, 9:30 p.m.
$5, guys; $3, girls
myspace.com/nataliestovall
augustacountry.com

Cinnamon Does NOT Like The Devil

While I was recording the "Devil's part" on "Devil Went Down To Georgia"... Cinnamon hopped up on James' shoulder and crouched as close to his face as possible. She was completely on alert and terrified.



So I guess I did my job. :)

I had to explain to her later that it wasn't really the Devil... it's only a song where I pretend to be the devil.

I love that dog.

Being in the studio is such a crazy world. It is so easy to get really REALLY nit-picky... listening to one note at a time to make things perfect. But that's not really the point, is it? Who wants to hear perfect? It's all about capturing the best performance possible.

Sometimes that's easier said than done. I have a tendency to pick apart every squeak, every time I "accidentally hit" another string... almost like I am getting a "lesson dot" in Suzuki. (That's when you had to play a song PERFECT before you could move on to get a lesson dot on the next song in the book) But the crazy squeak's and scratches are sometimes the character and charisma that makes a specific performance magical.

I'm a lot better at determining that when I am doing vocals. But I guess recording fiddle parts is a much newer venture for me. ESPECIALLY something as intense and crazy melodically as "Devil Went Down To Georgia". Recording a cover is difficult. There is an expectation there of how awesome it should be. Charlie Daniels wrote a real winner with that one. :) And so maybe there is a little added pressure trying to put that one down in recorded form. But it's been such a huge part of every show for me for so long that it was one of the more obvious choices. Now I just have to deliver, in a big way.

James, Ben, and I (and Cinnamon) were sitting outside on a break... discussing the whole "not making it TOO perfect" thing. Cause I was talking about how someone like Aubrey Haney, Tammy Rogers, or Rob Hajacos would play on a record. (Some of the fiddle players I LOVE). And Ben was saying... "well... yeah, but you wouldn't hire Jimi Hendrix to cut guitars on your record." He was saying there's a difference between a FIDDLE PLAYER and an artist who sings, writes, and plays the fiddle. So then I was using Keith Urban as an example. He is a monster guitar player. And I strive to beas great a fiddle player as Keith Urban is guitar player. I still have a ways to go, but touring and playing as much as possible is what's getting me there.

And then tonight I saw this article and it made me all aglow. Guess I am doing EXACTLY what I should be doing to reach that goal.
Keith Urban Grateful For Lessons From Bar

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

That Guy is So Nashville

It's funny what the term "Nashville" means.

As in - that guy is so "Nashville".

I hear people saying that more and more these days to describe someone. Typically it is used to say that someone who is extremely well dressed... probably networking you for something... has the talk down, the right hair cut, and looks like they could be playing with Rascal Flatts... You get the picture.

The funny thing about that is, most guys in town that are the REAL deal... the guys who've been on something like 40 million records or more... look a lot more like your neighbor... Or maybe the guy you would see behind you in Whole Foods. :)

True story: A few years ago James got the chance to go to lunch with one of his all time drumming idols, Greg Morrow. Greg has been one of, if not the most recorded drummer in Nashville for a while... Like probably 50 million+ records... Big time.

Well, James met Greg at a Captain D's fish place down on 8th Ave. Greg showed up in typical comfy studio clothes: Sweatpants... high-top Chucks... Cut-off Tshirt. They sat and chatted for a while. At some point in their conversation Greg trailed off and paused a second. He looked at James and asked, "Who is this on the radio right now?" "It's Carolyn Dawn Johnson" James replied... "Who played on this?" Greg asked. "Ummmmm. You did..." James said. "Oh good... I thought someone was trying to steal my stuff..."

Are you kidding me? How nutty is that?


It was Carolyn Dawn Johnson's "Complicated" which was #5 on the Billboard Charts at the time. :) RIDICULOUS.

What made me think of all this is that Dan Dugmore came in to put steel on my songs tonight. Before tonight I definitely knew OF Dugmore... but I had never had the privilege of meeting him. There couldn't be a nicer guy in the world. He has a farm. With horses. His wife has a Yorkie rescue. He's so soft spoken, but hilarious... He seems like a guy that would have a nice farm.

After he had completely floored me with his playing.... I sat in awe and tried to connect the mild-mannered man sitting in front of me with the stories of hanging out with Keith Richards and the night that "Jackson Browne" ended up driving him home after a Linda Ronstadt after party in the Hollywood hills. Yeah... ridiculous. His resume is astounding... everyone from Stevie Nicks and James Taylor to Keith Urban and Reba. Hmmm. And I got him on MY record! That's right!!! :)

Here he is in action:


I am so very fortunate to be able to hear my music realized in such a way.
Yeah. Recording is fun.

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Last Night in Nashville for 6 Weeks!

I had SUCH a long list of things I needed to do this week while I was at home.

I got the most important ones going.... you know... writing music!!! :) I am walking away with 3 songs finished and many more in the works. But ALL the other little things... :) they took a little back seat...

It's ok though!! I mean, really?? This week: Thursday I am opening for Josh Gracin in Mansfield PA. :) Friday I am singing for the Boston Celtics at a home game, and Sat I am playing at Cafe 939 in Boston - basically at Berklee. :) What a fun way to get this last leg of the tour rolling!!!!

Before I get back to doing laundry, packing, and realizing all the things I meant to do this week that never got done.... I have to give a shout-out to my good friend Mr. Charlie Hutto. We wrote yesterday and I finally got to catch up on all of his good news!!!

Just to remind everyone how I know Charlie: we met at Berklee, played a bunch together at school, and then when he moved to Nashville - he was in the band for a long time until we started going on the road full time.

Along with being an incredible songwriter, upcoming producer (he just produced another good friend, Jenn Bostic's record), and fantastic guitar player....
He is the Band leader and the "Riley" part of Williams Riley Band. :)
The Williams Riley Band just added their new single "I'm Still Me" to radio this week. And the video was added to CMT today!!!

Williams Riley Band   More CMT Music   More CMT Music Videos

They added the song on the same week as Keith Urban and Brad Paisley's new singles were added... that makes it even MORE difficult to get airplay as a new artist. But we can all help by requesting and spreading the word!!! :)

I'm just very happy for Charlie. They are having a blast on their radio tour right now - and we're gonna be zig-zagging along each other's paths up in the Northeast this week. :)

Hope to see y'all out on the road! We're driving to Rhode Island tomorrow. Well... getting a head start at least.

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie