Monthly Archives: February 2008

Backstage with Dierks Bentley, Bucky Covington, and Luke Bryan

Friday night we were treated to something few have experienced but everyone should try to do it once in their lives. Being part of the whole HillBilly experience, I have had the priveledge of getting backstage a time or two, sometimes legitimately, sometimes not, but it is far cooler to be invited backstage than to sneak in or to bribe a security dude with a hat or t-shirt. This past Friday night we were invited to the after party for the Dierks Bentley, Bucky Covington, and Luke Bryan concert at the Pompano Beach Amphitheater. It was one of the coolest experiences I have had yet. Believe it or not it was up there with the private taping of a Brooks and Dunn video because we got to actually interact with the stars. One thing I can say about country music stars is that they are more like talking to your neighbors than talking to celebrities. They do not seem to forget their roots, which with all the attention they get might be easy to do.

We met Bucky Covington before the show. I am not sure what I expected, but he was not even close. On one hand he’s already had more time on primetime television than most country artists will have in their career because of American Idol and on the other, he was not the winner. I guess I expected him to be arrogant or at least a little bit snobby. I mean afterall, he is a house hold name (even my aunt knew who he was and she doesn’t know a thing about country music). He was the complete opposite. Not only was he nice in meeting us, but took the time on several occassions throughout the night to come over and talk with us. By the end of the night you would have thought we’d grown up with Bucky and gone to the same High School.

While we were speaking with Bucky, Dierks Bentley was standing right behind us chatting with some fans. He was right there. We didn’t have to stand in some autograph line or hang out hoping he would have a few minutes to speak with us. We started talking to him like he was hanging out at a party and was ready to move on to the next conversation. It was that easy. He is a super nice guy. He’s one of those stars who likes to get out in the crowd and was telling us how he likes to get into his jeep before the show and go tailgate with some of the fans. He said often the fans do not realize who he is until he tells them (he goes out with a ball cap on, which I have to say makes him look like he would belong in any crowd, its like a Clark Kent disguise). He makes his fans feel very special and takes the time to keep in touch with reality.

We didn’t really get to talk much with Luke Bryan, but I can tell you from what we saw back stage, he likes to have fun…a lot of fun!!!! He’s that crazy guy at the party that always elevates it to the next level. He also fit in like a hand to a glove, cracking jokes and basically hanging out like everyone else.

 Any one of these guys would fit in at your Sunday football party or your Friday night happy hours and they all seemed like they would actually show up if you asked them. Anyway, it was one hell of a time and I hope we get to do it all again real soon.

 I would like to thank Steve, the bass player for Bucky Covington for inviting us and helping us to get our name out there. Steve is by far one of the best bass players on the country music circuit and one hell of a nice guy. I can see us doing a lot with Steve going forward so you will very like see his name pop into these postings.

Shy Blakeman

I know I am starting to sound like a total Shy Blakeman stalker, but the more time we spend with Shy, the more incredible he becomes and I think you all would agree with me. First of all, I keep wondering if there is an end to his talent. This past weekend at the Okeechobee Mudfest, Shy Blakeman and the Bad Jesus Brown Band came out and played a concert in front of our tent for us. They were short a drummer, but you couldn’t even tell, they still totally rocked. I can promise Shy that he gained some fans this weekend. After the concert Shy MC’d our Wet T-Shirt Contest. Shy will never be homeless as long as there is something that can be used as a stage around him, even if it is a flatbed trailer. Shy is a total natural on stage regardless of what he is doing. A true professional performer in every respect. We’d like to send a big shout out to Shy and the Bad Jesus Brown Band and we encourge all of you to either come see him at M.A.F.I.A. Tuesdays or buy his album today.

Damien Horne

You really have to hand it to the Muzik Mafia. I am not sure eclectic is a strong enough term to describe the range of talent associated with the Muzik Mafia. Certainly incredible isn’t a strong enough term to describe the talent associated with the Muzik Mafia. Last night at M.A.F.I.A. Tuesdays at Boston’s on the Beach in Delray Beach, FL (sponsored by WIRK 107.9, Boston’s on the Beach, HillBillyBrand.com, Budweiser, and the Muzik Mafia), Damien Horne (A.K.A. Mista D) was the special guest. I listened to his music on his MySpace page the night before and I was very curious to how Damien was going to fit into the mix of Amber Leigh’s pop and traditional country and Shy Blakeman’s Southern Rock sounds. Damien’s MySpace page describes his musical style as Rock/R&B/Soul. Not exactly a good blend with Amber & Shy. Boy was I wrong. First of all Damien knows how to engage an audience. From the story of how he got started (Damien was homeless when he was discovered by John Rich) to selecting songs that kept the audience listening. My only complaint about Damien’s performance which ranges from acoustic solos to freestyling rap was that it was way too short. Damien is clearly a star, but he does not act like a star, he was very cordial and took the time to talk to everyone and anyone who approached him. He hung out in the audience and even jumped in on one of Shy’s songs. I can’t really say how he did it, but he managed to work Boston’s on the Beach, Delray Beach, and HillBilly all into his freestyle. Needless to say Mr. Horne gained at least one (if not more) fan last night. Hopefully we will be hosting Damien Horne in Nashville for an autograph session in our booth at the CMA Music Festival in June.