Category Archives: nashville-flood

music industry, nashville, nashville-flood, road-stories

Show Stories — Grand Ole Opry

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OpryLast night, the Grand Ole Opry returned home to the Opry house after the May floods.I watched the show on GAC along with thousands of other Country Music fans. My heart literally swelled with joy to see that stage and the circle and all those Opry greats on stage together for one huge homecoming night.

I can not wait to get to go and see all the changes and work that was done to bring it back home myself.

[Start rant.]

First off — I have to say this. I felt a deep anger when on my twitter feed I saw a hand full of people complain that its just a big tourist trap. Non-country fans even said during the flood that they were glad to see the Opry “go.”

Statements like that are ones that fall under, “If you don’t understand it… just shut up.” (TM – Me) Its up there with people who give me crap about being an Aggie. Some things are deeply personal. The Opry is deeply personal and revered by country music fans, artists and musicians. You don’t have to like it or understand it, but you need to respect that it means a LOT to people. A. LOT. And statements like those, are hurtful, spiteful, uncalled for and simply show an ignorance. So again. Just… shut up.

[End rant. ]

It’s been amazing to see the Opry  not miss a single performance post-flood. Thanks to the many venues around town that hosted the show the last five months, music fans could still see this wonderful show that brings the past, present and future of country music together in one place.

I remember the first time I got to go backstage at the Opry. I was in awe. I’d toured it with a tour group previously, but there is a different electricity in the air during the show.

I found a strange irony when I realized I was wearing the high heels I’d bought to wear to my senior prom, and they clicked on the asphalt parking long, down the sidewalk and then into the building. Ever since then, any time I’ve had the opportunity it go to the Opry (be it at the Opry House or the Ryman), I still go with a hushed respect for the history the Opry carries.

Joe Diffie on the OpryI’ve had the honor of meeting so many country greats that I know my parents and even my grandparents followed back in the day. I sometimes have to remind myself not to go all “fan girl” on them!

You can almost feel the ghosts of Hank Williams, Patsy Cline and Porter Wagner walking those halls along side you. You can see the excitement and nervousness of those getting ready to take the stage.You can see the awe in the eyes of the new artists taking the stage for the very first time.

Ironically, a week or two before the flood, my husband played the Opry. We stood outside the bus and watched the sky churn grey to black to green with spring storms. We prayed there were no tornadoes in the area, all the while clueless to the fact that in a few short days, the area where we stood would be deep under water.

The footage of the Opry underwater made so many people just sick to their stomachs. Tears were shed over it. The people who say things like  I  mentioned in my rant above could never understand what that stage means to so many. There’s a respect and love that comes from the Grand Ole Opry. There are no words created to accurately describe the feelings people have for it.

It was those same feelings that brought such joy last night as those curtains parted and the show began. The circle of wood from the Ryman floor back in its place. Country greats standing on that stage singing, “Will the Circle Be Unbroken.” Because amazingly enough… the circle was never broken. The show went on to eventually come back home.

Welcome home, Opry. Welcome home.

nashville-flood, random musings

Interests: Music…

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Whenever I look around sites like Facebook or MySpace, I am often struck by the irony that a vast majority of the time, the very first item listed under interests is “Music.” These aren’t just musicians that write this. Its seen just as prevalent on the profiles of music fans. Fans of all types of music.

I think everyone has a soundtrack to their life. Songs that touched a person, or it meant something to them at a key time in their life. I know I do! Songs that will throw me back to a certain place or time. Songs that dragged me through a tough time, or that helped me celebrate a joy.

Then there are those songs that just make you appreciate them for the work of art that they are. Be it killer lyrics, or a solo that makes you take notice — even if you couldn’t find your way through a song with a map and metronome!

A musicians gear is their paintbrush they use to create pieces of art
A musician's gear is their paintbrush they use to create pieces of art

Music is art. And a musician’s gear is like a painter’s paintbrush, as the guitar or drum or piano paints notes across space to evoke emotions or convey a message. Some pieces of gear have painted masterpieces in pop culture.

When I read the blog today, “Musician’s Hall of Fame future uncertain, instruments damaged in flood,” it was the music lover in me whose heart ached.

Watching friends pull their own personal gear from Soundcheck made the friend and “Musician’s Widow” in me feel sick. It’s not hard to put myself in their shoes, imagining how it would cripple my husband (and me) if his gear had been among the thousands of pieces lost. So when I see photos from friends, or I hear their stories, I will feel physically ill.

But to hear of such wonderful pieces of gear that hold a major place in music history, such as the bass Lightning Chance used for Hank Williams’ final recording sessions, the music fan in me buckles.

Any time I go to the Grand Ole Opry, or I walk through the alley behind the Ryman, I find myself stilled in my soul, to realize what great talents have walked those same steps in the past. And when I watch the video in that blog, I think about the talented hands that cradled those guitars. The way those guitars were possibly hand picked precisely for their tone or feel. They hold a place in music history. And after this flood, they are ruined. (Not to mention the guitars that never had a chance to find their way into the hall of fame, but would undoubtedly been in there in time!)

Sidebar: Don’t EVEN get me started on the Musician’s Hall of Fame being closed to be moved. I didn’t like how it was handled from the beginning, and now I really don’t like it.

We hold tight to our recordings of the songs these priceless pieces of music history made happen, and we are thankful to always have that. The musicians who lost all their gear last weekend will get new gear. Key pieces of their collections could never be replaced, but the music WILL continue to play. History will continue to be made. History will never be forgotten. But for now, we mourn the loss of tangible pieces of history…

A history that so many say they have an interest in… music.