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3/05/2021 - "In the House" at The Grinder House - Nicholas Edward Williams
Williams was injected with a bohemian lifestyle during a nomadic childhood. By the time he was twelve years of age, his family of four had already moved across four states and nearly ten houses from the west to the east coast. He had no idea that he was being unconsciously groomed to live the Kerouac condition one day; destined to ramble, tell stories of nature, moral ground, and singing about the great people and the multiple levels of the human experience in travel.
"My Grandparents took my sister and I from California to Hershey, PA and back a few times through the summer, and we took different routes each time to see various landmarks and plenty of gravestones of people I’d never met. Needless to say, I the desire to move around is in my blood."
Williams began living a life on the road full-time in 2012 to pursue his music. First in a Honda Element, and later a self-converted Sprinter Van, carrying everything he owned inside a 20 foot vessel with his wife for three years. The simplistic lifestyle of spending ample amounts of time in nature and meeting various characters enabled Williams to focus his writing on the evolving self and observations of his surroundings, as opposed to the over-saturated topic of love and heartbreak that have dominated airwaves for decades.
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"In the House" at the Grinder House is broadcast live on WFMC Jams every Friday from 6-8pm central.
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"In the House" at the Grinder House is broadcast live on WFMC Jams every Friday from 6-8pm central.
A writer and a musician, a boatbuilder and carpenter, deckhand and dishwasher, Trapper Haskins has earned his keep in myriad ways since leaving school and his hometown of Memphis.
In 2000 he and his wife moved to Maine where Trapper undertook a two-year apprenticeship in traditional wooden boatbuilding at the Apprenticeshop of Rockland before taking one of the boats he built there, an historic replica, 2,300 miles down the Mississippi under oar.
Subsequent years found the two leading an itinerant life spanning six states and nearly a decade. Following work opportunities and his own fervent curiosity brought Trapper from North Carolina to New York and New Orleans where he worked as a cabinetmaker and street musician before returning to Tennessee. There he maintained a custom woodworking business while also leading the four-piece, Trapper Haskins & the Bitter Swill which released two albums and toured before dissolving in 2014. Haskins continues to write and record in Nashville.
A diabetes diagnosis at 36 prompted a strict refocusing on personal health and wellness, and recent years have seen him taking up the sport of triathlon as well as vintage base ball (the national pastime under 1860s rules). In 2013 he co-founded the Tennessee Association of Vintage Base Ball to promote the game in his home state and currently sits on the organization’s board as well as that of Tour de Cure- Nashville, a cycling event which raises funds to benefit the American Diabetes Association.
His writing has appeared in national publications including Sports Illustrated, WoodenBoat, and American Songwriter.
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"It’s the sound of a young man attempting to make peace with his past and coming to terms with the changes of his present — the realization that while he might not be where he was or even where he wants, that good things happen. There’s both celebration and solace in such a moment of clarity, and that Bigwood spins it into sonic gold is evidence of an artistic soul wise beyond the years of its mortal shell." - Steve Wildsmith of The Daily Times (Maryville, TN)
The Vinyl Show will be broadcast from the Family Music School in Manchester this month and streamed live from 11am to 7pm on Alabama Jams Online Radio and WFMC Jams. This month's theme will be songs about love in celebration of Valentines Day! Shows are also rebroadcast every Wednesday on Heat FM Radio
https://heatfmradio.com
https://www.alabamajams.com
https://www.wfmcjams.com
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The Vinyl Show is a live monthly show syndicated on WFMC Jams and Heat FM Radio featuring music spanning many decades and genres played from Vinyl Records. Each show brings a unique theme and variety of artists and songs that you will not find on mainstream radio today along with interesting history trivia, and sometimes even a blooper or a thousand! |
Melissa Ellis is an award winning singer-songwriter and a 2020 quarterfinalist of the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN where she shared the stage with over 100 rising solo/duo blues acts from all over the world.
Beginning her professional career as a singer/actress/dancer in theater at the age of 16, she performed in regional tours before moving on to study classical and jazz music at Tennessee Technological University as a vocalist while pursuing a singing career in Nashville.
In 2009, Melissa released her debut album Melissa Benjamin, lending her seasoned talent to the world of bluegrass & gospel. Her original single, “Crossville,” was adopted by her hometown as the official city song. While touring, she found new inspiration and started writing more original songs. With new songs came a new sound that evolved into a more soulful genre.
Melissa’s sophomore album, Just Me, was released in 2011 and as a multi-instrumentalist, the album showcased her musicianship on guitar and piano, as well as more of her original material.
Melissa’s latest musical journey brings out the raw emotional sounds of blues & her training in jazz. Her repertoire includes her original songs mixed with re-imaginings of familiar classics that are presented in fresh new ways. Melissa has landed opportunities that have placed her on world renowned stages, on radio, on television, and at high profile festivals, including Nashville’s acclaimed CMAfest where her soulful style was showcased among the sea of rising country twang.
Kayleigh’s love for music and singing started at the young age of three in Tucson, AZ. With musical influences such Reba McEntire, Vince Gil, The Eagles and Journey, she began to train professionally and performing live at the early age of five. As Kayleigh grew older her love of traditional country storytellers, such Ernest Tubb, Bill Monroe and Patsy Cline, inspired her to begin writing her own story through music.
By the age of fifteen, Kayleigh had written her first song which planted the seeds for her future life endeavors. At the age of twenty-two, she began honing her songwriting skills on stage in local country bars and clubs. With her ever-growing passion for singing, writing and performing her own music, she moved to Nashville in 2018. Kayleigh knew the only way to feed the hunger within was to come to the home of country music, honky tonks and, of course, the Grand Ole Opry!
Since moving to Nashville, Kayleigh has opened for artists on the world-famous Broadway honky tonks, sang the national anthem at Vanderbilt University and venues throughout Kentucky. One of the many highlights of her young career was when she won a vocal competition for a Gospel festival. Her prize for winning this competition was the honor of performing her rendition of “How Great Thou Art” at Storytellers Hideaway Farm and Museum, which belonged to country music legend Johnny Cash. In true Kayleigh fashion, she gave her version acapella highlighting the true beauty and power of not only the song but her voice!
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In the House at the GrinderHouse - 2/05/2021 - James Crowley and Allen Morrell
We are honored to host James here at the Grinder House with his second appearance.
One of six Grand Prize winners in the 2020 Tennessee Songwriter's Week Contest sponsored by The Bluebird Cafe and The Tennessee Tourism Board for my original song "Songwriter".
The July 2020 Bluebird Cafe Golden Pick Winner, co-sponsored by Taylor Guitars.
The opportunity to perform at some incredible venues such as The Grand Ole Opry House, The Ryman Auditorium, Bridgestone Arena, The Bluebird Cafe, Douglas Corner, Commodore Grille, The Walnut House Murfreesboro, Puckett's Franklin, Arrington Vineyards, GMA Seminar in the Rockies, and The Nashville Network.
Beyond fortunate to have co-written songs with some of my favorite songwriters of all time including Bobbie Cryner, Jimmy Yeary, John Scott Sherrill, Gary Nicholson, Cyndi Torres, Jeff Pearson, Michael Salacuse, Brittany Allyn, Thad Guerra, Craig Karp, Kim Parent, Shelly Rann, Don Goodman, Shirley Myers, Rod Nicholson, Rob Heath, Sheila Stephen....and many others along the way.
Being a part of the band Passenger in the early 2000's with treasured friends Barry Hackett, Mike and Kristy Rhode, Matt McGee, Mike Mahaffey, Mark Smith, and Joseph "Billy" Fulk.
Winner of several awards at the 2002 Academy of Gospel Music Arts competition (AGMA) 2002 including: Southern Gospel Song and Overall Song of 2002 for "Passenger", and Praise & Worship Song of 2002 for "If I Did Not Sing."
This week's guest on The Midnight Madness Show is Jonathan McQuay. Follow Jonathan on Facebook to catch new music and future shows.
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This week's guest on The Midnight Madness Show is Corey Layne Follow Corey on Facebook, Spotify, and Apple Music to catch new music and future shows.
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