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2Attitude of GratitudeAttitude of GratitudeIn 1994, I joined a spiritual group of men and women that met weekly. Each week, there would bea different topic, more often spiritual than not. One of the topics that came up over and over againwas that of humility.

Ive never liked the topic. Quite honestly, I have found most humble people kind of boring, but thesepeople kept bringing it up. One evening, someone said that gratitude was a key to humility. Thisone guy had a lapel pin that had the words, Attitude of Gratitude.

Some weeks later, I was home early in the day and The Oprah Winfrey Show was on. The guestthat day was talking about gratitude, and he mentioned that he started each day writing down fivethings he was grateful for. He said he simply wrote down the first five things that came to his mind.He explained that he didnt focus on the five things he was most grateful for, necessarily - just thefirst five things that popped into his mind.

That was 1998, and I thought I would start doing that each morning. Most days since, I have donethat. I am grateful to be able to take a hot shower each day, to have a reliable car, to have a jobthat I enjoy, etc.

On June 7, 2007, my wife Sue died suddenly. Several days after that, I looked back at the journalfor what I had written down the morning of her death. Third on the list was that I was grateful forher. The night before, I was sitting in the back yard and watched her pace back and forth talking onthe phone with our third daughter, Carrie. She was laughing and enjoying the conversation. Shehad just turned 60, and I was grateful that I had a wife that I found even more attractive at 60 thanwhen we were first married. Before her on the list that morning, I had listed Carries dog Asia whowas staying with us that summer. Looking back, I kinda wished I had written Sues name down first,but I did say I wrote down each day the first five things that came to mind.

2007 was also the first year that we published the first iteration of Sports & EntertainmentNashville. Last year, we had enough sponsorship support to publish four issues. This year, we areset to publish three with an additional special topic magazine.

What I have learned over the years is to be thankful for the small things - things that I have takenfor granted most of my life.

I still dont think I know much about humility. Nobody has introduced me to oth-ers as a humble person, but I do know I am grateful.

With regards to Sports & Entertainment Nashville, I am grateful for an outstand-ing staff of writers, photographers, production workers and sales people. I amgrateful for you as a reader and grateful for those companies and organizationswho continue to support us with their marketing dollars.

Steve Brumfield

Publisher

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4Page 02 - Publishers Letter

Page 04 - Table of Contents

Page 06 - Editors Letter

Page 08 - Contributing Writers

Page 10 - Luke Bryan and the Team Behind the Fame

Page 14 - How Nashville Rock Started Rolling

Page 18 - Live in 3, 2, 1...SEC Network Set to Launch in August

Page 22 - Have Brush, Will Paint: The Cool Artistry of Muralist MIke Cooper

Page 26 - [Tyler] Beede Spurns the Money to Become the Next Great Commodore

Page 31 - The Crossroads of Contemporary Christian Music

Page 34 - Nashvilles Female Sportscasters: Always on their Game!

Page 38 - Women Can Talk Sports: Changing What it Means to Be a Female Fan

Page 40 - Anchors Away: Can Nashvilles TV News Professionals Tune out the World and Relax?

Page 44 - The Business of Music at Belmont College

Page 48 - Garth Brooks Returns

Page 51 - Sounds & Echoes: Nashvilles Baseball Ends an Era and Prepares to Slide Home Again to Sulphur Dell

Page 54 - The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the New Music City Centers First Year

Page 58 - St. Jude Country Music Marathon: Celebrates 15 Years of Personal Accomplishments and Making a Difference

Page 62 - The New Nashville Sound: Our Fusion of Musical Styles is Thriving!

Page 66 - Music Business 101 - The Publicist!

Page 68 - Sports Business 101- The Sports Information Director

Page 70 - Retired NFL Stars Call Nashville Home

Page 72 - Charlie Daniels and his CDB Band are Off the Grid

Page 76 - The OK Corral Comes to Town: Nashvilles Love Affair with All Things Rodeo

Page 78 - Nashville In The Round: How We Do Music!

Page 82 - Womens Collegiate Track & Field: Full of History and Leading the Way

Page 86 - Up, Up and Away: The Art of Hot Air Ballooning

Page 90 - Marty Stuart: Singer, Songwriter...Lifetime Photographer

Page 94 - Our Unwritten Rule: No Paparazzi! Will It Last?

Page 96 Nashvilles X-Factor

TABLE OFContents

PLEASE ACCEPT OUR THANKS!Special thanks to Luke Bryan, Kerri Edwards, Jeff Stevens and Jessie Schmidt for our cover story. We also wish to give special thanks to allwho helped make this issue of Sports & Entertainment Nashville possible.

Steve Absher, Pat Alger, Jim Arnold, Brown Bannister, Cristy Barber, Logan Bedford, Tyler Beede, Mark Bond, Paige Boze, Wesley A. Bulla, Gary Burr,Craig Campbell, Steve & Annie Chapman, Kay Clary, Mary Clippard, Regina & Gabby Conklin, Mike & Mickie Cooper, Derric Cotton, Tim Corbin, Pheobe& Callie Cryar, Don Cusic, Roger Dabbs, Melinda Dabbs, Rory Daigle, Charlie Daniels, Heather Darling, Larry Darling, Dawn Davenport Kok, DavidDawson, James I. Elliott, Bill Fitzgerald, David & Sumi Flagg, Mark Ford, Taryn Foshee, Charlie Garrabrant, Keith Gordon, Rollum Haas, George Hamilton V,Jovan Haye, Warner Hodges, Jamie Jenkins, Rhori Johnston, Bruno & Taylor Jones, Demetria Kalodimos, Velvet Kelm, Andy Krause, Jill Lauber, KenLevitan, Audra Martin, Brian Mason, Caitie Merz, Alex Mitchell, Gwen Moore, Bob Mueller, Roger Murrah, Erika Wollam Nichols, Robert K. Oermann,Farrell Owens, Matt Pelham, Gary Pigg, Jennifer Purdon-Turnbow, Greg Sage, Larry Schmittou, Thom Schuyler, Doug Scopel, Matt Scullion, Al Smith, Jennifer Storck, Marty Stuart, Brad Tammen, Ed Temple, Jake Thomas, Teresa Walker, Kirt Webster, Webb Wilder, and Phil Williams.

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6For many, the Super Bowl this year was a crushing blow. It was expected that the highly

revered Peyton Manning and his team would annihilate the Seahawks and send them home

with some nice parting gifts. But what a surprise we all got! Thus the unexpected post-game

comments uttered by the Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson after their dominating 43-8

victory over the Broncos: ...my dad had always said 'Why not you, Russ?,' and so I told the

team, 'Why not us?'

That very humble audible (pun intended) struck me as profound. Why not you? And the

reason it resonated with me is because I think its wired into almost all of us to try and create

reasons as to why were not living our dreams, or more so, why we, as mature adults, have

chosen not to do so. We say things about ourselves like, "I'm too old now," or "I've got kids

now," or "I shouldve done that years ago, but its too late now."

WHO SAYS its too late?

What do you really want to do that youve always dreamed of doing?

Why not you?

I believe we all start out with great dreams and great aspirations, and then, somewhere along

the way, we hear - and sadly listen to - the naysayers. And the worst thing that happens is that

we begin to believe them. We lose sight of our child-like imaginations because we havent

used them in quite a while. Were told from about the time were in our preteens that we need

to grow up. So whatever our dreams, if we talk to others about them who are NOT believers

in them we probably get negative feedback.

Granted, a lot of procrastination is fear-driven. If we never try to catch our dreams then we

never have to worry about being disappointed by not reaching them. But just as there is a say-

ing that says, ...Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all, there should

also be one that says, Better to have chased your dreams and cherished the journey than

never to have run after them at all.

Maybe its a fear of failure - maybe its fear that we would be outshining someone else, or

maybe weve just convinced ourselves that we dont want it anymore or that we couldnt do

it now.

But as we live in the Bible belt, Im going to ask you one more thing. Do you remember a

passage in the Bible about a lamp that doesnt put off much light if you hide it under a basket?

It goes something like this. "No one lights a lamp and then hides it or puts it under a basket.

Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where its light can be seen by all who enter the house.

And who could forget the passage that reminds us there is a time for EVERYTHING under

the sun...,"which I do believe would include a time for YOU to shine.

I hope you will give some thought to chasing your dreams,

to putting yourself out there, to letting your dream-light shine.

I think you deserve it.

Your friend and editor-in-chief,

Jessi Maness

Sports & EntertainmentNASHVILLE

President & Publisher

Steve Brumfield

Editor-in-chief

Jessi Maness

Executive Director

Chuck Blackburn

Managing Editor

Leigh Greenwood

Art Director

Karen S. Roof

Production Manager

Jessi Maness

Printing

Kingery Printing, Effingham, Ill

Staff Photographers

Bill Hobbs, Russ Corley

Photo Editor

Bill Hobbs

Contributing Writers:

Chris Lee, Steve Morley, Luke Maness, Matt Maxey, Bill Hobbs, Leigh Greenwood

& Jessi Maness

Circulation / DistributionChandler Camp, David Camp, Ben Camp,Hannah Sue Nelson, Hope Spring Nelson, Karis Deere Nelson, Harriett Brumfield

For sponsorship opportunities contact:

Steve Brumfield or Chuck Blackburn at Moss Rose Press (615) 712-7109

On the Cover:Capitol Records recording artist, Luke Bryan

PHOTO COURTESY OF SCHMIDT RELATIONS PHOTO BY KRISTIN BARLOWE

Luke Bryan is Academy of Country Musics 2013 Entertainer of the Year. Bryan will be headlining his own

Thats My Kind of Night Tour in 2014.

Tyler Beede #11 Pitcher for the Vanderbilt Baseball Team

PHOTO BY DANNY PARKERBeede was a 2013 first team All-American according to the NCBWA and

a second team All-American by Collegiate Baseball, also in 2013.

ESPN Sportscaster Dawn DavenportPHOTO COURTESY OF ESPN

WKRN Nashville News 2 This Morning co-host Dawn Davenport spentsix years covering sports for WKRN and just completed her first season

as a college football sideline reporter for ESPNU.

For further information visit

Sports & Entertainment Nashville online:

www.SportsAndEntertainmentNashville.com

Dear Reader,Why not you?...and I told the team, 'Why not us?'"

Russell WilsonP

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Tis better to have loved and lostthan never to have loved at all.

Alfred Lord Tennyson

Jessi Maness

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ContributorsMATTHEW W. MAXEY

Matthew W. Maxey is an agent forMitchell-Haynes Financial Services inAshland City. Before entering the fi-nance and insurance arena, he spent sixyears as the assistant sports informationdirector at The University of Tennesseeat Martin where he represented fourdifferent OVC championship teamsand a number of future professionalathletes. Maxey has also served in amedia-relations capacity with theAmerican Junior Golf Association andseveral political campaigns across Ten-nessee. Maxey is a regular contributorto Sports & Entertainment Nashvilleand has a long history of sports writing.

STEVE MORLEY

Steve Morley is a writer andpop music historian who haslived in the Nashville area since1987. He has written for andedited multiple music andmusic industry publications,and he is also a keyboardistwho has played professionallywith B.J. Thomas, The BellamyBrothers and legendary Nashvilleguitarist and songwriter MacGayden. He was the musiccritic/podcast host for UMC.org,the website of the UnitedMethodist Church, and he waswith Country Weekly magazinebefore becoming involved withSports & Entertainment Nash-ville.

BILL HOBBS

Bill Hobbs is a writer, photographerand media consultant who has writ-ten about everything from politicsand business to country music andsports business in his 23 years inNashville. He has interviewed Titansowner Bud Adams, Garth Brooks,Faith Hill and many other celebritiesand influential people in Nashville'ssports, entertainment and businesscommunities. In recent issues, Billhas also served as photo editor forSports & Entertainment Nashville.

LEIGH GREENWOOD

Leigh Greenwood is the managingeditor for Moss Rose Press publica-tions, which are dedicated to show-casing the very best of this city weknow and love. As well-respectedbusinessmen in Nashvilles financialindustries, Leighs father and grand-father served as her examples of of-fering dedicated support for the cityshe calls home. Leigh is an alumnaof Brentwood Academy andWheaton College. When not happilywriting and editing away, Leigh canbe found under a tree with a goodbook.

LUKE MANESS

Luke Maness is a freelancewriter/reporter for Sports & Enter-tainment Nashville. Luke is also aprofessional singer/songwriter andperforms regularly with his wife inNashville and across the South-east. Luke is an avid horseman andenjoys nature. This often blendsinto his writing, whether it is in anarticle, blog or song.

CHRIS LEE

Chris Lee is the founder andpublisher of VandySports.com,part of the Rivals and Yahoo!networks and also works forNashville Sports Radio (95.9FM, 560 AM), where he hostsVandySports.com Radio from9-10 on Saturday mornings andthe College Sports Report from2-3 on Mondays through Fri-days. He also blogs for Sports& Entertainment Nashvilleeach Monday, Wednesday andFriday. He lives in Franklinwith his wife, Kristin, theirdaughter, Isabella and their newson, David.

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LukeBryan...and the Team Behind the Fame!

by Jessi Maness

An interview with Luke Bryan and some of

his top brass who arent in the band!

Luke Bryanis the Academy of Coun-try Musics Entertainer of the Year for 2013, and

he garnered three nominations for this years ACM

awards. And for the second year in a row, Bryan

co-hosted the awards with his friend and fellow-

artist, Blake Shelton.

Though no one knew what to expect when the twowere paired last year, it appears there may be no

slowing the duo down. Having hosted for 2013

and 2014, they are now scheduled to host the

ACMs 50th anniversary show in 2015 from the

Dallas Cowboys home, the 80,000-seat AT&T

Stadium, in Arlington, Texas.

Speaking of not knowing what to expect, when I

spoke with Luke Bryan, I was surprised at the

depth of humility and warm regard that he exudes.

It was like talking casually with one of my own

brothers as I listened to him speak of how he loves

his music, how he appreciates his supporting crew

and fans, and how he loves and holds his own fam-

ily in very high regard.

Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton hosting the ACM Awards (2014)

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and the Team Behind the Fame!Bryan also talks about how he met his current man-ager, Kerri Edwards, and how he met his producer,co-writer and friend, Jeff Stevens.

But lets not get ahead of ourselves Lets start atthe beginning.

Even though Luke Bryan may make it look easy,a lot of commitment and hard work goes on behindthe shows, the schedules, the stage, the spotlightand the fame. But despite that workload, youwont hear Bryan or any of his crew complaining!The underlying theme that is consistently heardfrom Bryan and his crew is Grateful. They aregrateful to be where they are today and to be goingthrough this journey together.

Some of the folks who make up Bryans team in-clude Kerri Edwards, his aforementioned manager;Jeff Stevens, his producer; Jay Williams of theWilliam Morris Endeavor/Agency; Live NationsBrian OConnell (and his team) for concert pro-motion; Mike Dungan, chairman & CEO of Uni-versal Music Group (UMG); Cindy Mabe,UMGs senior VP of marketing; Dustin Eichten,UMGs senior director of marketing & artist de-velopment; and Jessie Schmidt of Schmidt Rela-tions, who is Bryans publicist.

This is certainly not the entire list! There are light-ing, tech and sound guys, musicians, songwriters,photographers, stylists, road hands (fondly knownas roadies), and the list goes on and on. And allthese people connect every day to back up the ca-reer of an artist.

Though we didnt have time to catch up withevery member of his crew, we thought we'd touchbase with the two people who have worked withhim the longest - his manager, Kerri Edwards andhis producer, Jeff Stevens.

Kerri Edwards hails from the small town of AlumCreek, W.Va. and graduated from Duval HighSchool. When it came time for college, Edwardsmoved to Nashville to attend Lipscomb University.Edwards had originally planned to intern at a TVstation as part of her college requirements, but shehappened to run into an Arista Records A&R per-son at an event. Once the two got talking, Edwardswas offered the opportunity to intern at Arista where she started out working in radio promotions.

Eventually, Edwards was hired full time in thelabels A&R department working with and over-seeing the artistic development of recording artistsand songwriters.

The basis of the first part of my career was all inthe creative, songwriting side of things, informsEdwards.

Meeting Luke Bryan

Edwards spent seven years at Arista Records be-fore Arista merged with Sony, which cost a lot ofpeople their jobs. Edwards left Arista and washired by Murrah Music as a song plugger, whichallowed her to continue working with songwriters.A song plugger, for those of you who may beunfamiliar with the term, describes a person whomarkets a songwriters songs to labels, artists orproducers who can get the song recorded.

One of the first songwriters she was assigned toplug songs for was Luke Bryan.

I knew Luke did the artist thing, but I was morefocused on trying to get his songs cut, relates Ed-wards. But I ended up going to Georgia withsome friends to see Luke perform, and when I sawhis performance, that changed everything forme! He was at a much higher level than I wouldveimagined. So then it just became a mission to fig-ure out how to help him.and with Roger Mur-rahs blessing, I just made my focus at that pointto work on Lukes songwriting and his songwritingpartners.

And Edwards had one particular person in mind whoshe thought would be perfect to write with Bryan.

I had been talking with Jeff Stevens about writingwith him, and when we finally got it worked out,they just connected immediately. The first songthey wrote ended up being recorded on Lukes firstrecord after he got his deal.

Lukes Producer, Jeff Stevens -A few years back, Jeff Stevens had a record dealof his own on Atlantic Records, which is where,Stevens says, he learned how to make a recordfrom the artists point of view. Stevens made threerecords for Atlantic, but he did not produce his ownmusic at that point. He had a producer doing forhim what he does now for Luke Bryan.

Luke Bryan with Manager Kerri Edwardsand Producer Jeff Stevens in the studio.

Luke Bryan with Producer Jeff Stevens in the studio

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From there, Stevens career took a natural path intobeing a full-time songwriter. Part of a songwritersduty is to produce his or her own demos, which iswhat Stevens did.

I spent a lot of time producing hundreds of demoson songs I sang, and I worked some occasionallywith other singers, relates Stevens. Regardless,I was exploring different sounds, rhythms andeverything all the time. But honestly, I wasnt re-ally that big into the production thing. It just didntappeal to me that much.

But then, Luke and I met on a songwriting sessionthat Kerri had set up, describes Stevens.

Shed asked me to write with Luke, and I told herId love to. But it took us a while to get together.Kerri is my cousin, by the way, but she had neverasked me to write with anyone before. I knew thisguy must be pretty good, because she was real ex-cited about him as an artist.

Says Luke

I was writing songs at Murrah Music, and Kerriwas hired and started as my song plugger rightaway. She knew I had said I was an artist, but shehad never seen me perform, Bryan recalls. Sheand some friends came to a show I did down inGeorgia and afterwards, Kerri was really excited.She just kind of by default - started handlingmy schedule and handling my songwriters andsongwriting meetings. She was just a real teamplayer for me, and she was persistent about want-ing to book me with Jeff, her cousin. And I thinkhe turned her down for about a year because hesaid he didnt really like to write with artists!Bryan relates with a laugh. But finally, she talkedhim into writing with me, and we hit it off rightaway. And as they say, the rest is history.

The first song Jeff and I officially wrote wasBabys On the Way, which I cut on my firstalbum too, but All My Friends Say was ourfourth or fifth one, recalls Bryan. It was a reallygreat start and really got my career going where itneeded to go.

The Record Deal

A year or so in, when Edwards felt that Bryan hadenough great songs under his belt, she started talk-ing with different label heads about consideringBryan as an artist.

They caught the ear of Larry Willoughby at CapitolRecords.

After hearing songs that Stevens and Bryan hadwritten and that Stevens had produced,Willoughby suggested the two stick with makingmusic together.

So thats how that came about! Edwards ex-claims. I hooked them up to write, but Larry is theone who suggested Luke and Jeff keep working to-gether. Jeff wasnt necessarily looking to producehim at that time, and the same for me. I wasnt nec-essarily looking to be his manager.

Stevens agrees. It just started from that co-writingarrangement that I ended up getting into producing,and Im really grateful that it worked out thatway! states Stevens matter-of-factly. Becauseworking with Luke, I really got into producing fullforce with everything I had. And Ive learned a lotsince then and were still learning every day!

Edwards adds, It just worked out that way be-cause we both believed in him and wanted to doall we could to help him.

The Journey

Help they did, but the decisions along the way havenot all been easy ones. There are decisions aboutsongs, scheduling and even whether or not to head-line a tour. Many thought Bryan shouldve beenheadlining a year or more ago, so why didnt he?

Luke Bryan at 2013CMA Fest on LPField stage

Luke Bryan performing on tour2013 to benefit the Luke Bryan

Farm Tour Scholarship Fund

Kerri Edwards, Red Light Management; Jeff Stevens, Producer; Luke Bryan and UMGNashville Chairman & CEO, Mike Dungan.

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We were real patient about the headlining situa-tion, relates Bryan. I had seen people jumpingout there and doing it too soon, and I didnt wantto do thatIt has to be the right time. So I had dugmy heels in on making it the right time. Betweenme, Jeff and Kerri - and everybodys advice - wealways try to make sure we make the right moves.We chose to hold back, and it turned out to be theright move.

Some might compare Bryan to Garth Brookswith the conscientious way he is pacing himself planning every detail, being very methodicaland well thought out when it comes to his career.

At the mention of Brooks, Bryan humbly responds,Ive not heard that comparison. But if I did, Id bevery complimented. Hes always been almost sa-vant about his career. Anytime you make it to alevel like that, talent can take you so far - beinglucky and being blessed - but then theres a wholeother level of picking the best people to be aroundyou and help you make the right decisions. Andfor me personally, I like the people around me tomake decisions. I trust them, and they know meand they know what I like and what I dont like. Idont mind them pulling the trigger on somethingwhen they know me that well. Im just grateful tohave those folks around me and to know they sup-port me the way they do.

Edwards agrees wholeheartedly. We always tryto talk things through, and theres a group of peoplewe surround ourselves with because we trust theiropinions. We all just try to be real and honest andstep back and look at everything. And, yes weprobably could have done it, and Luke could haveheadlined. But we had some great opportunitiesfor Luke to perform in front of some other stars andthought it wouldnt be a bad thing to get out thereand keep learning how they run things and howthey do things. And we wanted to keep building upthe songs.

Songs take a long time to get charted and moveup the chartsso it takes an artist a long time tobuild up enough songs to do their own show. Itssomething a lot of people dont think about, andits a lot of responsibility to take on a tour, Ed-wards comments.

We probably have 50 employees, and were re-sponsible for them and their families and keepingeverybody fed! Edwards says with a laugh. Youknow, its a lot!

2014 Thats My Kind of Night TourWell, there is little to worry about now! Were bet-ting everybody gets fed and has work for quite afew more years to come. Because Luke Bryans2014 Thats My Kind of Night Tour is set, andhe is indeed headlining!

Fans of Bryans live shows will fill stadiums andarenas in droves all over the country and will ex-perience his laidback personality, genuine characterand great country songs. Theyll also have an op-portunity to see another side of Bryan when hejumps right smack-dab into a rap just for fun!

I wouldnt say Im a rapper, Bryan confides witha laugh. Im a Georgia boy and grew up listeningto country. But somehow the Beastie Boys, RunDMC and some of those guys got mixed in. Prettymuch all forms of music were reaching me at anearly age. I think music is that way for everybodythese days.

No doubt many of the songs from the Crash MyParty album and hits from previous albums willbe performed on tour along the way, but there isone song that Bryan has dedicated to his latebrother and sister that has very special meaning forhim. Drink A Beer sums up his goal for everysong he puts out.

You want to put music out that really touches peo-ple. And its my goal to always do that. Drink ABeer does that, and in a way thats really subtle. Ithink so many people in their life have had some-one they have that connection with kind of acountry connection - where they just feel comfort-able sitting back and having a beer and going fish-ing or what not. I think a lot of people can relate tothat song. But the whole point in doing this - nomatter what the song - is to connect with peopleand give them something they can relate to. So Itry to do that with whatever we write or choose torecord.

The songs are ready, the buses are rolling and thestages are going up. The artist and his crew areworking hard, but the rewards are great!

On having the chance to perform to STADIUMSFULL of FANS?

Bryan says it is something hes dreamed about foryears.

His dream is coming true!

Three major stadiums have been booked on thetour - Pittsburgs Heinz Field on June 21, Philadel-phias Lincoln Financial Field on Aug. 15, andChicagos Soldier Field on Aug. 31. We have it ongood authority that Soldier Field sold out Bryansshow in 30 minutes! Though Nashvilles LP Fieldisnt on the schedule, there is some speculation thatmore tour dates could be added. Cross your fingers,Nashville!

Thats a Wrap!

You cant leave a conversation with an artist likeLuke Bryan and not ask how he keeps it all to-gether.

Well, I do feel blessed for sure, and Im in thiswith my family. We enjoy it, and we live it togetherand have fun with it. As long as we stay on thesame page about it, we stay fired up about it!

We live in Nashville. Its my home. The goodthing about Nashville is that you can ease aroundand no one bothers you much.Its about as normala life as we could get. So when we get down time,we try to spend it together. It keeps it all prettyreal.

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Luke Bryan - Spring Break 2013

Luke Bryan at2013 CMAFest on LPField stage

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HowNashvilleRock Got

RollingBy Steve Morley

Here, Jason & the Scorchers Warner Hodgesat Londons Marquee Club in 1985; Below left,Jason Ringenberg onstage at the Marquee

For further reading, we suggestRev. Keith A. Gordons ScorchedEarth: A Jason & the ScorchersScrapbook and The Other Side ofNashville, a virtual encyclopedia ofthe history of local rock (availablethrough excitablepress.com).

Nashville rock trailblazersJason & the Scorchers (fromleft): Jeff Johnson, Jason Rin-genberg, Perry Baggs andWarner Hodges

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In the current vernacular, at least, Nashville has

rocked for decades. In a strictly musical sense,though, it hasnt always been rocking, due to coun-try musics dominance and its traditionalist lean-

ings, which made Music City seem an unlikely

locale for straight-ahead rock n roll. Roots-

rocker Webb Wilder, a longtime Nashville fix-

ture who launched his career here during the

citys initial, mid-1980s emergence as a rec-

ognized rock music hotbed, sums it up: "The

larger non-country music world [once]

tended to look at Nashville as square de-

spite all the cool stuff, the great songwrit-

ers, showmen, and musicians who have

lived and passed through here for

decades. Now, he observes, the

music intelligentsia has put out the

word that Nashville is really cool, so

folks are pouring in here every day

to make the scene. Wilder, astutely

noting the citys peculiar mixture of

cool and conservative, says, Its

probably the rub of those two

things that makes it unique.

Wilder is well aware that he and

his 80s contemporaries helped

make inroads for local rock. They

had a harder row to hoe, he reckons, than Kings

of Leon, the band many consider the floodgate

openers for Nashvilles now-vibrant, internationally

respected rock scene.

Kings of Leon emerged from the area in the early

2000s to ultimately become one of the most suc-

cessful rock bands on the planet, with more than 15

million units sold to date. Franklins Paramore has

also established itself as a top-selling, world-class

rock act, while indie-rock avatar Jack White notably

established operations here several years ago, fol-

lowed by noted blues-rockers The Black Keys. In

many ways, though, todays rock explosion is the

result of a lengthy fuse lit more than 30 years ago.

Guitarist Warner Hodges remembers when West

End hangout Phranks n Steins outraged locals by

attracting a ragtag crew of punk-rock types (includ-

ing local legends The White Animals), but

he asserts that the

short-

lived venue was a

vital breeding ground for

young, inexperienced rockers such as

himself back in 1980. That was the only place in

town to play original music that I knew of, says

Hodges, who recalls a time when an underfunded,

pre-fame R.E.M. played the club and slept on the

floor. And then Phranks n Steins got closed

down [in November of 1980]. I think about it now;

there are 30 or 40 little gigs in East Nashville. There

just wasnt any of that, you know?

Indeed, there were the Exit/In and Cantrells, a

beloved if primitive club that would host notable

young up-and-comers. One such band was Jason

and the Nashville Scorchers, a proto-alternative-

country outfit that featured Hodges high-test guitar

antics alongside equally frenetic frontman Jason

Ringenberg. The Scorchers, long acclaimed by

music journalisms elite here and abroad, won crit-

ical raves with their debut EP, Reckless CountrySoul, released in 1982 by a tiny local indie label,Praxis International. The brainchild of music-ob-

sessed Vanderbilt student Jack Emerson, Praxis

evolved into a management company specializing

in rock acts along with partners Andy McLenon

and Kay Clary. Emersona highly regarded

business visionary who left a looming legacy

when he passed in 2003soon secured an EMI

Records deal for the Scorchers, who would

transmit an internationally heeded all-points

bulletin that Music City was more than it might

seem. Regrettably, they had to drop

Nashville from their name to allay EMIs

then-legitimate fears that theyd be misinter-

preted as a country act. Says Warner Hodges,

One of the stupidest things we ever did was

drop that name. We thought it might be a

deal-breaker.

Longtime Nashville en-

tertainment attorney/artist

manager Ken Levitan,

whose Vector Management

more recently played a big

role in launching Kings of

Leon, affirms that the

Scorchers and their counter-

parts, under Praxis savvy guid-

ance, broke down a lot of walls.

They made [industry] people real-

ize that Nashville wasnt just HeeHaw, says Levitan, who attended

Vanderbilt in the late 70s and

watched rock n roll take root in the

city. People were coming here [to

sign bands].

Praxiss breakthrough act, The Georgia

Satellites, was signed to Elektra as the re-

sult of a Nashville showcase the company

had arranged. The Atlanta-based group had

built a fervent Nashville following, thanks

in part to heavy airplay on Vanderbilts stu-

dent-run WRVU. Major-label A&R execs

pressed inside the dank, crowded Cantrells

for, as Praxis alum Clary recalls, a sold-out

show, people singing along . . . a moment to re-

member. Several offers were made, says Clary

of the 1986 showcase, adding that the Satellites

insouciantly rocking Keep Your Hands to Your-

self became a No. 2 pop hit later that year. That

was kind of an out-of-control, Clydesdale-horses-

racing-down-the-road [time], Clary says. Very

exciting, but all new to us.

Clary remembers that at one point, Praxis had six

or seven bands on six or seven labels. But it hadnt

been an easy ride. Perception of the city was so

skewed toward country music that it was kind of

hard to overcome, explains Clary of the teams

early efforts. But I think we used it as almost a ful-

crum, an asset. We were always cocky and confi-

dent about how cool it was to have a rock label out

of Nashville. And the fact that it was unique just

helped us stand out, she says, noting that the music

press in New York, L.A. and London were the first

to get it. They were familiar with what was cool

about Nashville, and all the great music that had

come out of the city.

COURTESY OF NASHVILLE SCENE

Praxis Internationals Kay Clary on a

1989 Nashville Scenecover.

Dick Clark with the Georgia Satellites in

1987. (Dan Baird on far right)

COURTESY OF

KAY CLARY

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Even after Music City

gained widespread respect for its rock con-

tingent (with the U.K. in particular providing

important media support and highly

receptive audiences for acts

still unproven

stateside),

a

degree of American

bias would continue to hamper the progress

of Nashville-based rock bands who followed. Matt

Pelham, frontman for The Features, recalls experi-

encing that bias in the 1990s, when the band was de-

terminedly building a career from nearby

Murfreesboro. In every interview I did, it was,

Isnt Nashville just country music? It was just that

stereotype on Nashville, Pelham says. [Nashville]

was just so heavy with country that no one wanted

to pay any attention to what was happening under-

neath that. The Features signed with

Murfreesboros Spongebath Records,

an indie-rock label that

helped the outlying

Nashville suburb to get

hailed by Billboard mag-azine as an emerging

music mecca in a 1997

cover story. The rock scene

that was happening in

Murfreesboro, with bands like

Self, The Katies, Glossary . . . I

think that a lot of what happened

in Nashville, the early stages of it,

Murfreesboro had a big hand in

that.

The bands Pelham mentions, as well as

his own, arent currently household

names, though all are, or were, respected

acts that helped keep greater Nashville on

the radar of tastemakers on both sides of the

Atlantic in the 90s. Glossary has since

brought its soulful Southern pop-rock to

NBCs Last Call With Carson Daly, while TheFeatures body of inventive modern rock includes

How It Starts, recently heard on a Ford Mustang

commercial. The now-21-year-old group happens

to be a favorite band of Kings of Leon, whose Ser-

pents & Snakes record label was reportedly created

for them. The company has since signed other local

and regional bands.

During the period that Ive been in a band, says

Pelham, I felt that it was really, really hard to come

from Nashville, or the South, and [Kings of Leon]

opened the door for all the bands that are coming

through now. And I think theyve helped the over-

all scene. Theyve tried to help the younger bands

in Nashville, Pelham says. Similarly, Jack White

and The Black Keys are producing, releasing

records on and otherwise championing local

acts, integrating themselves into the music com-

munity. Kay Clary is among those who feel that

Whites presence is especially notable. The

attention hes brought to the city has helped

bring a lot of bands to town, she says. It just

continues to snowball.

This rush of attention could leave a bitter-

sweet taste for local rock veterans, who had

no such high-profile advocates. Many,

though, remain active, including Webb Wilder and

Jason & the Scorchers, who reappear at intervals

with albums that potently revisit their first-wave al-

ternative-country pedigree. Scorchers guitarist

Warner Hodges and former Georgia Satellites front-

man Dan Baird invoke their former bands rootsy

and rocking Southern spirit in two bands: Home-

made Sin and The Bluefields, wholike the

Scorchersstill enjoy critical cachet in the U.S., the

U.K. and beyond.

While Nashville has heightened its profile as a rock

center, Hodges says, I dont think anythings dif-

ferentour little secret got out, man. People realized

Nashville is a great town, a wonderful place to work

out of. Youve got all the machinery of the business

here, he says. For years, the Donna Summers, the

Peter Framptons, the Steve Winwoods worked out

of here. And as Dan [Baird] says, its the only place

in the world where you can go to the bank, as a mu-

sician, and get a home loan. Try doing that in At-

lanta.

PHOTO BY DA

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Kings of Leon (from left): Nathan, Caleb, Matthew

and Jared Followill

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Warner Hodges (left) and Webb Wilder

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PHOTO BY JO McCAUGHEY

White Stripes co-founder and notable now-NashvillianJack White

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The Southeastern Conference,The Southeastern Conference, which is arguably the

biggest brand in all of college athletics, is preparing

to get bigger - much bigger. In August, the SEC will

officially launch the new SEC Network which will

change the landscape in which fans consume infor-

mation and watch their favorite Southern teams both

on television and online. It will also mean money, and

lots of it, for the conference and its member institu-

tions.

"The SEC Network will provide an unparalleled fan

experience of top quality SEC content presented

across the television network and its accompanying

digital platforms," stated SEC Commissioner Mike

Slive during a press conference to announce the net-

work. "We will increase exposure of SEC athletics

programs at all 14 member institutions, as we show-

case the incredible student-athletes in our league. The

agreement for a network streamlines and completes

an overall media rights package that will continue the

SEC's leadership for the foreseeable future."

The SEC, in partnership with ESPN, will launch a

24/7 broadcast network and online digital platform

that will feature more than 1,000 live sporting events

per year. Of those, 450 will be televised on the net-

work and 550 distributed digitally. Games that previ-

ously had been aired on regional networks like FOX

Sports South, CSS and even pay-per-view, will now

all be available on the SEC Network and its digital

platform.

Depending on which television provider fans sub-

scribed to, they may not have always had all of those

regional channels, or if they could access them, it of-

tentimes required the purchase of an additional

sports package from their television provider.

While still in final negotiations, both SEC and ESPN

representatives have said they want to make the SEC

Network available to fans in the same cable packages

as ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU, alleviating the need

for the purchase of an extra cable package.

Live in 3, 2, 1 SEC Network Set to Launch!

Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive

made the official announcement of the new SEC

Network at a press conference in Birmingham with

coaches, ESPN executives and the media.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ESPN

By Matthew W. Maxey

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A huge throng of media was assembled to hear

the details of the new SEC Network at a press

conference that also featured 32 SEC head

coaches, including every head football coach.

AT&T U-verse and DISH Network have already

signed on to carry the SEC Network to all of their

subscribers nationwide. All other carriers, especially

those with a large presence in the SECs 11-state

footprint are expected to sign on prior to the August

2014 launch date as well.

The network will originate from ESPN's Charlotte,

N.C. offices, where a full studio was already in exis-

tence, with additional staff located at ESPNs Bristol,

Conn., headquarters. ESPNs Justin Connolly, who

was formerly senior vice president of affiliate sales

and marketing, will oversee the network's day-to-day

operations.

I am thrilled to have this opportunity, Connolly

said. It is a great honor and a great responsibility to

be part of this initiative. Our aim is to bring the pas-

sion and the identity of the SEC onto the screen.

There is not another sense of conference pride in

America like the connection that lives among all 14

SEC schools and their fans.

There have been other networks for conferences like

the Big Ten and Pac-12 in recent years - and even

one for the University of Texas - that have been met

with mixed reviews and took some time to get off the

ground. Officials with the SEC Network and ESPN,

though, are both confident that they have the right

recipe for success: the most fervent fan base for col-

lege athletics in the country and loads of quality con-

tent, most notably of which are the live events.

ESPN President John Skipper summed it up, saying,

This is a unique opportunity and nothing like this

has been done before. The level of distribution we

will have at the beginning, along with the quality of

production and the games we will have, will take this

to an all new level.

In its first year alone, the SEC Network will carry 45

football games, including weekly triple-headers on

the network during the 13-week regular season. It

will also have a traveling pre-game show called

SEC Nation, which will air from an SEC campus

every week of the football season. The show will be

hosted by Joe Tessitore, who is a familiar voice to

many SEC fans from his years of calling games with

ESPN, along with commentators Paul Finebaum and

Heisman trophy winner Tim Tebow. Legendary

broadcaster Brent Musburger and former Florida

quarterback Jesse Palmer have also been announced

as the lead commentators for football games on the

leagues network.

Musburger, who recently signed a multi-year exten-

sion to stay with ESPN, said in a statement that, "I'm

delighted to be staying with ESPN, thrilled to be able

to call the best football conference in the nation every

week and am really looking forward to working with

Jesse, who I covered while he was at Florida. Jesse

has tremendous football knowledge, knows this

league very well and does his homework."

Palmer said of the opportunity to join the SEC Net-

work broadcast alongside Musburber that, "I am hon-

ored and humbled at the rare opportunity to help

launch a national network of this magnitude and to

do so alongside Brent, a legend within the sport and

the industry."

He added that, "Playing in the SEC represented four

of the greatest years of my life, and I feel incredibly

fortunate to now have the opportunity to cover this

great conference."

During the offseason, the SEC Network will also fea-

ture the leagues 14 spring football games plus sign-

ing day and pro days coverage. The network wont

focus solely on football, though. It will also carry

more than 100 mens basketball games, 60 womens

basketball games, 75 baseball games and 50 softball

games. Extensive event coverage from the SECs 21

different conference championships will also be

highlighted, including exclusive coverage of the SEC

Mens Basketball Tournaments first three round.

The network will additionally provide a variety of

studio shows and a simulcast of the popular Paul

Finebaum radio show. Hundreds of additional live

events from various sports will also be offered ex-

clusively on the digital platform.

While the live sporting events will be the primary

source of programming for the network, it will also

feature studio shows and original content such as the

SEC Storied series, which is similar to the popular

30 for 30 series on ESPN. The network and its dig-

ital platform will additionally connect with each SEC

institution and create opportunities for each school to

produce and develop content.

In the months leading up the launch of the network,

conference and ESPN officials have been visiting

every member institution to evaluate the production

quality of events produced on each campus. Steps are

being taken to bring every campus up to the mini-

pp.18-21_Layout 1 4/17/14 9:44 AM Page 2

mum standard set by ESPN so that every game fea-

tured on the SEC digital platform has the same qual-

ity broadcast as a nationally televised basketball or

football game. This has also included the construc-

tion of on-campus studios, where much of the content

produced for the network will originate.

In addition to the increased exposure for each mem-

ber institution and the conference that comes from a

24/7 network, many coaches and administrators also

see benefits for their individual teams. Speaking

about the construction of a new on-campus studio for

the SEC Network at the University of Tennessee

while at last years SEC coachs meetings, Vols head

football coach Butch Jones said, Obviously with all

the things that are going to have to be produced, it's

an opportunity to sell the Tennessee brand. Not just

in football but in every sport.

The benefits for each member-institution of the SEC

wont be limited to just an increase in exposure and

upgraded production facilities on campus. All 14 pro-

grams also stand to profit greatly from the network

financially as well. Prior to the network launching,

previous television revenue distributions to the 14

conference members in the 2012-13 season were

$289.4 million, or roughly $20.7 million per school.

Those figures included money generated by football

television, bowls, the SEC Football Championship,

basketball television, the SEC Mens Basketball

Tournament, NCAA Championships and supple-

mental distribution. With the SEC Network adding

almost 1,000 more games on television and online to

what will already be airing on ESPNs primary chan-

nels, and the still existing CBS contract for football,

that revenue number stands to increase substantially

in the coming years.

Also as part of the agreement creating the new net-

work, ESPN and the SEC agreed to extend their ex-

isting media rights agreement through 2034. In

addition, ESPN will now oversee the SECs official

Corporate Sponsor Program. These agreements will

keep ESPN partnered with the SEC for the next 20

years. For that time, ESPN will own 100 percent of

the network, while the SEC will own 100 percent of

the content, according to the Business Journal.

Fans wanting to make sure they have the SEC Net-

work when it launches in August can contact their

current service providers directly. The SEC has set

also up a website at www.getsecnetwork.com to help

fans find out if their local provider will carry the net-

work.

We at Sports & Entertainment Nashville are excitedabout the upcoming benefits the SEC Network will

bring to our students and to our local universities.

Stay tuned!

20

New traveling SEC Nation host Joe Tessitore (right) and analyst

Tim Tebow (left) first worked together at this years Rose Bowl.

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Tennessee guard Josh Richardson (1) celebrat-ing after an NCAA college basketball third-round tournament game against Mercer, March23, 2014, in Raleigh. Tennessee won 83-63.

PHOTOBYCHUCKBURTON /APIMAGES / PREFERRED

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It sounds like an opening to ajoke with a great forthcoming punch line, butthe President, the Pope and, yes, the legendaryrock band Aerosmith all have something a bitunusual in common. True, they all have someform of reigning power: the President over ourcountry, the Pope as head of the CatholicChurch, and of course, Aerosmith over thehearts of rock n rollers. More than that, how-ever, they all have one very unique thing in com-mon that places them as supporters of a businessright here in Tennessee. Theyve all chosen toride the same bus. Well, not the exact same busat the exact same time, but they have all spentmany an hour aboard a Hemphill Brothers tour-ing coach.

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Have Brush, Will Paint:

The Cool Artistry of Muralist Mike Cooper

by Leigh Greenwood

Visual art can be introspective, insightful and deeply per-

sonal. It can also be communal, public and overtly engag-

ing. We turn our attention in this article to the most public

of all forms of visual art the mural. One of the oldest

forms of artistic expression, murals have a lofty pedigree

Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel come instantly to

mind!

We spoke with local muralist Mike Cooper, who has been

designing and creating large-scale murals in the Middle

Tennessee region and beyond for decades. Nashvillians

are guaranteed to recognize his work around town. He is

the man responsible for such civic points of pride as Leg-

ends Corner, the Nashville Zoo underpass, Yazoo Brewery,

the Arts Company, the Arcade and Cumberland Transit.

Murals, unlike other forms of visual art, are pieces with a

specific commission in mind. Its probably one of the few

art forms that you dont have to go to the gallery to see. Its

out amongst the public, reflects Cooper as we spoke in his

studio. Its part of the fabric of your everyday life. In and

of itself, its not only public art and art in public places

its just right in front of you. I think it resonates more with

people.

Background shot:Coopers room of suppliesis a painters dream, over-flowing with his tools of thetrade, including these rowsand rows of brushes androllers.

Artist Mike Cooperworks at his draftingtable, a favorite relic ofhis commercial and in-terior design days.

PHOTO BY BILL HOBBS

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Resonate it does. Many Nashvillians will recalleven more of Coopers murals throughoutNashvilles history. Sadly, these murals are gonenow due to civic change and progress, but thesemurals we will always remember with pride theGreetings from Nashville mural near the newMusic City Center, as well as the Hard Rock Cafmural, which Cooper himself designed and cre-ated. I miss the Hard Rock mural. It was iconic.I miss the Greetings from Nashville that wasdowntown, muses Cooper.

Painting on buildings and walls brings with it anoccupational hazard that the surface may one daybe modified, demolished or otherwisechanged. Unlike painters who use the more con-ventional canvas and hang their work on a gallerywall, a muralists work is at the mercy of commer-

cial structures and industrial buildingmaterials. Luckily, very few of Coopers workshave met their fate at the hands of a bulldozer. Onesuch lucky iconic work is the mural of legendarymusical performers on full display in the windowof Legends Corner in downtown Nashville.

This mural contains the images of such icons asDolly Parton, Ray Charles and Patsy Cline, amongmany, many others. Its become such a favorite ofnatives and tourists alike that it can be a challengeto see it without others clustered around. Peoplewill come from out of town and stay with us. Oh,we want to see your murals! So well go down-town, and we point out different hot spots. Oh!Over there! Therell be people all in front of it tak-ing pictures with their family members in front ofit. Well say, That one! Behind those people!laughs Coopers wife Mickie.

Yet another example of Coopers remarkable abil-ity to mimic natural surroundings can be seen inhis murals for the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere. Thecolumns at the underpass on Nolensville Road im-mediately north of the zoo entrance are swathed inCoopers murals, with life-size animals and three-dimensional stone blocks painted to appearreal. Coopers painstaking process to ensure hismurals are exacting and precise to his subject is im-pressive. For the zoo, I said, What animals doyou have that can climb?, because I didnt wantsomething that didnt look like it wasnt supposedto be there. I went down there and got images andtalked to everyone. Thats just the way you do it!

Coopers sense of humor is interwoven throughouthis work, and it can be seen on giant display at oneof Nashvilles favorite local breweries. YazooBrewerys outdoor storage tanks, initially an un-exciting coat of plain white, have been transformedby Coopers ingenuity. There are three ofthem. The copper is supposed to oxidize a littlebit, because I didnt coat it. He wanted it to oxi-dize, explains Cooper of the tongue-in-cheek ap-plication to the outside of the giant storage tanks,

now painted in copper tones with giant, oversizedbeer taps painted on the exterior. Its become apopular place for people to take candid photo-graphs. We need to go out and put footprintswhere youre supposed to stand with the mug!laughs Mickie.

A proud Memphis native, Coopers educationalbackground and artistic experience lend them-selves well to the precise nature of his work. Ihave a degree in contract and commercial & inte-rior design. Its where I learned perspective andrendering and interiors, Cooper describes.

As part of the interior design program, I got todraw a lot. And I did a lot of that and then cameback to Memphis and did design work. Thats thesame drafting board I had back then. Ive had thatthing for, okay, a lot of years When I starteddoing murals, it was just a natural fit. Absolutelyperfect.

Coopers love of artistic expression did not simplystart in college with his choice of majors. Likemost artists of note, Cooper showed signs of an

artistic bent at an early age. I have literally beenpainting walls my entire life. Just for fun. Always.Whether as a kid for my parents - I rememberdoing stuff for my dads office. I did stuff for mykids rooms, for their churches and schools.

Cooper and his wife Mickie laugh as he recallsmemories of his childhood plans for his educa-tion. Id get in trouble at school for drawing onstuff when I wasnt supposed to be drawing onthem, recalls Cooper.

Mickie furthers the story. I had no idea that hecould paint! The kids and I left town for a weekendand came back and he says, I cant wait for youto see what Ive done! The hilarious retelling ofthe story includes wife Mickies realization thatCooper had a remarkable talent for creating visualart after she saw his life-size rendering of a favoriteCalvin & Hobbes cartoon. Youve got to under-stand. I didnt know that he knew which end ofthe paintbrush to hold!

Cooper laughs. Drawing on walls is the samething as drawing on a drafting board. Its just abigger board! Instead of a parallel bar and a trian-gle, I use a 4-foot level and a string. It works!

Describing more details of his intriguing process,Cooper continues. What I do is - I paint what I

Legends Corner is a perennially popularvenue, due in no small part to Coopers eye-catching murals of legendary performers.

Using photography as his guide, the attention todetail in Coopers murals is remarkably realistic.

Coopers murals for the Nashville Zoobring eye-catching detail to what other-wise were serviceable but dull concretepillars for the highway overpass.

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see. Literally, if Im going to do something, I wantgood reference materialIll take hundreds of pic-tures of stuff, all to get it at the right angles. Therewas something I needed a guitar in, and I wentdown to the guitar shop here in Franklin, and therewere specific guitars I wanted to use, explainsCooper. I had them at different angles, differentlighting. I went down there and talked to them and

told them what I wanted to do. I took tons of pho-tographs.

Coopers work is so well regarded that he has be-come an expert in his field. Featured on a DVDof instructional videos on mural painting, he andMickie also host weeklong seminars to instructstudents on the art of murals. We try to teach fourclasses a year, and when we do, people come fromall over, states Cooper.

Mickie continues by saying, Weve been con-tacted about mural classes in Italy andFrance. What a way to spend a working vacation,dont you think?

Weve been thinking about that, agrees Cooper.Usually, classes here are a week, and theyrejammed. Theres just a ton of information to workon in just a week. Im basic. I dont do any draftingor anything like that on the computer. Every-things by hand. I teach people how to draft, howto use an architectural scale, how to use a leadholder as opposed to a drafting pencil.

Cooper has even designed custom paintbrushes forthe mural-painting industry. We designed thesebrushes! When we were at a trade show sellingour DVDs, there was a guy that had a bunch ofbooths across from us, recalls Cooper.

I went over there and started talking to him.Turned out he owned the brush company! I said,

What about mural brushes?, and he says, Well,nobodys ever asked for mural brushes. I said,Let me bring you some of my brushes. Thesethings looked pretty historic! They were my ab-solute favorites! Id worn them out and gottenthem finally where they worked for what Im usingthem for. He looked at them, felt them, measuredthem. I swear I think he even tasted them!Cooper jokes.

We went back and forth, and we finally cameback with some brushes that are really pretty coolfor murals! If youre painting on a wall, theresnothing better!

Cooper and his effusive wife Mickie make the per-fect team. As Cooper himself teases, Mickie doeseverything but the painting! He turns serious fora brief moment after theyve regaled us with hu-morous anecdote after humorous anecdote.

It is so great to think that you can paint murals fora living and support a family and everything thatgoes along with it. I think, as an artist, to make aliving is remarkable. Even to use the term, I feelblessed, to be able to do it. Ill say it now. I could-nt do it alone. Ever.

For more information on Mike Coopers work andhis company Murals & More, LLC, please visitthem at www.muralsandmore.com.

The outdoor storage tanks at YazooBrewery are camouflaged to appearlike copper containers with oversizedbeer taps.

Even Nashvilles iconic Arcade has beenbrightened with Coopers remarkably detailed murals. Balconies, windows,

shadows? All paint!

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NASHVILLE

SPORTS&ENTERTAINMENT

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Next in line: Beede spurns the money to become the next great Commodore

Next in line: Beede spurns the money to become the next great Commodore by Chris Lee

The 18th year of our livesis challenging enough for any of us without acurveball thrown our way, and life threw TylerBeede a pretty big one just 13 days into his.

It was June 6, 2011 and Beede, a senior who had just graduated

from Auburn, Mass. boarding school Lawrence Academy, was

preparing to play baseball at Vanderbilt University. But that was

the night of Major League Baseballs annual First Year Player

Draft, and the Toronto Blue Jays had other ideas.

Unlike the case with the NBA and NFL drafts, high-schoolers

can be drafted. Those players may also be drafted and see how

much money an MLB franchise throws at them before deciding

whether to report to campus.

That turns the draft into a game within a game, where MLB teams

not only try to find the best talent but also the best talent most

likely to sign. The Blue Jays picked 21st in the first round that

year, and general manager Alex Anthopoulos, perhaps feeling he

needed to take a bit of a gamble thats understandable when

you compete in the same division with the Boston Red Sox and

New York Yankees did just that when he used that pick to se-

lect Beede, a 6-foot-4 right-handed pitcher with a 93 mile-per-

hour fastball.

Beede had made it clear before the draft that he was going to

Vandy. However, teams dont burn first-round picks on players

they dont think theyll sign. Fourteen other high schoolers would

be picked in that first round. All would turn pro. When the Jays

took Beede and offered a $2.4 million signing bonus, Vandy base-

ball coach Tim Corbin thought hed lost his future star.

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Vanderbilt right-hander Tyler Beede was a

first-team All-American in 2013, posting 14-1

record with a 2.32 ERA.

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We obviously didnt anticipate that he would behere when someone is drafted at that level and thatamount of money. You would say that its goingto be a done deal, Corbin said.

But when the dust settled on midnight of the Au-gust 15 signing deadline, Beede told Toronto hewas heading to Nashville, citing the relationshiphed built with Corbin and the opportunity to de-velop both personally and professionally as a Com-modore.

Its unique. It certainly is. I know a lot of peopleare passionate about fulfilling their dream of beinga professional baseball player and at the time, mydream was being a college baseball player andcoming here to play for Vanderbilt, Beede re-members two-and-a-half years later.

Vanderbilt fans were ecstatic about landing Beede.Toronto fans? Well... they werent quite as happy.On the Internet, they commented on how stupidhe was for passing on the money. Some even saidthey hoped hed suffer a serious injury.

Obviously when youre exposed on Twitter andsocial media and people can kind of reach you and

tweet at you, its always easy to say whatever youwant to say when youre behind the keys of a mes-sage board, said Beede, who saw much of whatwas written.

Six months later, when Beede was hit hard in hisfirst two collegiate starts against Stanford andFlorida, coming to school almost seemed like amistake. Corbins faith remained unshaken.Beedes fastball velocity soon climbed into to themid-90s and in a March 31 start against defendingnational champion South Carolina, Beede (six in-nings, one run, seven strikeouts) was dominant.

There would be some bumps along the road, butby the end of the year Beede had established him-self as a top-shelf Southeastern Conference pitcherand had no regrets.

Its why you come to college, why you come toVanderbilt to play in the SEC and go through thoseexperiences and pitch and play in those games, hesaid.

He took a big step the next year. With that fastball,a terrific change-up and a nice curve, hed becamenearly un-hittable literally. Many times, he car-ried a no-hitter into the middle innings of a game.For the 2013 campaign, batters hit a pitiful .187 off

Beede in 101 innings, including just three homersand 14 doubles.

Simply put, there was nobody who could beatBeede except Beede -- and that would become theproblem.

Beedes the rare pitcher who can just get the ballin the vicinity of where he needs it and still domi-nate. But Beede wanted to refine his command, tolocate pitches more towards the corners of theplate. As Beede tried to nibble corners, hitterswaited him out, knowing they didnt stand muchof a chance of getting a bat on the ball. It worked,and the walks started to pile up.

To that point, it still hadnt mattered; Beede wonhis first 14 decisions and had an ERA under 2 mostof the year. Hed become a first team All-Ameri-can and led the Commodores to a 26-3 mark inSoutheastern Conference play, the best conferencemark ever in what may historically be college base-balls best league. But the inability to control hispitches got into his head, and things would sooncome unraveled when it most mattered.

In his NCAA Tournament opener vs. Illinois,Beede couldnt get out of the fifth inning. TheDores survived to get to the next weekend against

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Beedes remarkable pitching

arm is caught in stop-motion

as he winds up and pitches

from the mound.

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Louisville anyway. That weekend, control strugglesforced Beede to leave the game in the third inning,and Vandy lost to the Cardinals just one step shortof the College World Series. After also strugglingfor Team USA in the summer, Beede took a two-month baseball hiatus.

I felt like I didnt keep my body in shape at the endof the year, and things kind of snowballed from thereas far as being too thoughtless and not being able tocontrol my thoughts, stuff along those lines. It wasgood to have those two months off and re-focus myattention on simplifying things on the mound and in

being back with the team, he said.

Still, Beede had great memories of 2013.

You can never expect to go 26-3 in the SEC, andthats more of an accomplishment that well be ableto look at five, 10 years down the road when no teamwill be able to beat the record. ... It will just bringmemories back to the team, back to the group ofguys and the legacy team that we had. Its somethingthat were all proud of, for sure, he says.

You dont get to where Beedes gotten in life with-out a healthy dose of self-confidence, and yet if hehas a big ego, its well-hidden. Beede, with his easysmile, is about as approachable and likeable a starathlete as youll ever meet.

Theres a video of Beede circulating on the Vander-bilt campus recently, asking his unsuspecting class-mates if they know who Tyler Beede is. While thebaseball world knows quite well who Beede is, itbecomes increasingly obvious that his classmatesdont, much less recognize that theyre speaking tohim. Instead of getting a bruised ego, Beede laughedabout it and uploaded it to YouTube.

That was the point of the video, just to kind of havesome fun with it, kinda see where the minds of theVanderbilt students were at. I dont try to take any-thing too seriously. Thats the way life should belived, having fun and not really thinking too muchabout what others think of you, says Beede.

But within Beede lies an edgier personality that heterms Young Beedah. Its the name under whichBeede has recorded eight rap tracks, an endeavorthat started when someone on Beedes hall in highschool let him borrow a microphone and a beat-making machine.

Hes kind of the voice in my head that wants to ex-press more of a different side of himself. I considermyself sort of an introvert and a shy kid, so when-ever I want to write things down or have anythingto write down, I just do it in rap and poetry, so thatsmy Young Beedah alter-ego, Beede says.

Thats the fun part of him. I think we all have thatside. It just depends what day it comes out in. ... Ithink hes Clark Kent on the mound and hes Super-man in that music studio, Corbin says with a grin.Its two different persons.

Beedah has gained some notoriety of his own. Atrack he wrote and performed, entitled BostonStrong, was written as a tribute to his hometownand its great athletes. Beede released it after theBoston Marathon bombings, and the Red Sox evenplayed it at Fenway Park.

Beede says that baseball need not worry about himquitting to be a rapper. In fact, that ability to discon-nect from baseball to temporarily delve into otherworlds seems to help him on the diamond. After thattwo-month break, Beede finished his two starts inthe teams annual Black-Gold series without walk-ing a single hitter. In his 2014 season debut vs. LongBeach State on Feb. 14, Beede walked just one hitterwhile striking out seven in a Commodore victory.

If that continues, nobody will be calling Beede stu-pid any more. He may be one of the first five play-ers drafted this June, and if thats the case, look fora signing bonus of at least a million more than hewas offered the first time around.

It wont be the first time thats happened at Vander-bilt. Major-Leaguers Sonny Gray (Oakland), MikeMinor (Atlanta) and David Price (Tampa Bay) areamong the Vandy pitchers who passed on the moneythe first time around but saw it pay bigger dividendsafter three years in Nashville.

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Beede should feel at home on a Major

League pitchers mound for years to

come. The baseball world will be

watching to see which team

picks Beede in this Junes

Major League Baseball

First-Year Player Draft.

Beede is expected to be

a first-round selection

for the second time.

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Corbin expects things to work outwell for both Beede and the teamthat picks him in June.

I think he can play baseball for along period of time. He loves it.Really, really loves being a base-ball player as much as he lovesbeing a pitcher. He loves the club-house part of it. He loves the prac-tice part of it. He loves thepreparation of the game itself.Hes just a sports guy. Hes im-mersed in sports and loves thecompetition. God willing, if hishealth stays good, I think he canplay for as long as he wants to, hesays.

But as Beede reminded me just be-fore the season started, his focusright now isnt on June. Its on agoal of winning a national title,which was something that he men-tioned several times to Corbin dur-ing the recruiting process. Thatwould be a first at Vandy, but ifBeede continues to pitch at thislevel, he and his teammates havethe talent to do it.

Thats really our focus at thispoint. Were all hungry to get backto the point where we were lastyear and then some, to get toOmaha. Thats obviously thelegacy we all want to leave on thisteam, Beede says.

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Batters hit just .187 off

Beede last year (and

.193 in SEC play), thanks

to a fastball that sits in

the low-to-mid-90s.

Vanderbilt started the

2014 season ranked 9th

in the nation by Collegiate

Baseball.

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Christianity, Creativity and Community:

TheCrossroads ofContemporary

ChristianMusicBy Steve Morley

Jesus freaks, out in the street, handing tickets out for God (from Tiny Dancer by Elton John, released in 1971)

In Nashville circa 1972,there was no shortage of music-making along 16th Avenue South,

the heart of Music Row. But another, presumably larger creative

force had begun to stir at the corner of 16th and Grand: Belmont

Church of Christ had become an anchoring regional location for

the youth-driven Jesus Movement that was aflame in various

pockets throughout the country. What set Nashville apart from

most other areas of spiritual activity during this unprecedented cul-

tural era was the significance of its role in helping to midwife a

full-blown, non-secular pop genre: CCM, short for contemporary

Christian music.

The nascent style, initially referred to as Jesus Music, had quietly

begun to blow eastward from the Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa,

Calif., where vocalist Gwen Moore was living at the time. Moore,

who recalls that kids by the hundreds were being baptized in the

Pacific Ocean, says, It was tough for us to relate to the old hymns

wed grown up on because of the significance our music had de-

veloped in our livesthe music of revolution and protest, the con-

fessional songs of singer/songwriter hippies. Soon after Moore

relocated to Nashville in 1974, she found the Koinonia Christian

Bookstore (and later, Bookstore and Coffeehouse) on 16th Avenue,

where Steve Chapman, Ron Elder and other local musicians were

playing sweet-spirited but lyrically penetrating original music

about their Christian faith, every Saturday night. Chapman, co-

founder of Koinonia regulars and pre-CCM recording artists Dog-

wood, says that our lyrics were Biblically based, but our melodies

bore the mark of the secular music of the times. We had no idea,

he says, that we were helping pioneer what became known as

contemporary Christian music. Koinonia was a gift from heaven.

It was a training ground for us.

Top: A packed house at Koinonia in the early 70s

Bottom: Koinonia Bookstore, before the coffeehouse was added in the mid-70s

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Koinonia was indeed reflective of a move of

God, offers Moore of the spiritually affecting

climate experienced at the concerts held in the

tiny building. It was a vital non-church venue

where young music lovers could hear artists

who were ministering in a more contempo-

rary style. The music gave us a place to come

together and experience something as a group.

WIthin a few years, Moore herself would fre-

quent the Koinonia stage as part of Word

Records vocal group Fireworks. Moore and

fellow Fireworks member Gary Pigg would

sing backup on Amy Grants 1977 debut

album, later reprising their roles onstage at

Vanderbilts Langford Auditorium in 1980,

when Grant (then a college junior and a rising

star) staged her first-ever concert with a full

band.

In the half-dozen or so years before Grant al-

most singlehandedly began to propel the fledg-

ling CCM format to broader mainstream

success, Koinonias weekly concert series was

drawing attention not only from young devo-

tees of Jesus, but also the hippies, hangers-on

and homeless who hovered in those days near

the corner where Belmont Churchs staff

sought to provide assistance and outreach. As

Grant, then a teenaged regular in the Koinonia

crowd, recalls it, There was a thriving bar right

across the street and a strip club nearby. I re-

member one night we heard this crash outside.

Two girls had crashed their car. We all ran out-

side, she says, and some Eagles song was just

blaring from the car. We'd all been inside

singing . . . it was everything, all at once. It was-

nt us and them, it was like, Come on in,

says Grant of the resounding collision of cul-

tures and music occurring at the intersection of

16th and Grand. This was not a pristine group

of people. It was ragtag, and nobody had it to-

Dogwood(from left) Steve Chapman, Annie Chapman andRon Elderat Koinonia; Inset: Steve and Annie Chapman today

DOGWOOD PHOTO BY STEVE BRUMFIELD; CHAPMANS COURTESY OF STEVE CHAPMAN

Lg photo: Amy Grant today;

Top inset: Grants 1977 debutalbum.

Bottom inset: A teenaged Amy Grantand friend Helen Finto (far right atarrow) at Koinonia circa 1973-74.

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gether, but everyone was captivated by this in-

credible experience of community that came

because of . . . this . . . spirit of God, I don't

know.

Human affairs, of course, were also at play.

While musical and cultural influences were in-

termingling, and top-flight studios and session

musicians were standing at the ready to add

professional polish to this emerging, home-

grown sound, Nashville was also attracting cre-

ative out-of-towners who aspired to music

careers. [New residents] would hear about this

community down on 16th Avenue, explains

Grant, and they would come down and just be

met by this eclectic group of very alive people.

There was a particular influx from Abilene

[Texas] Christian University, who, Grant says,

had been coming to the city to work on the nu-

merous shows at Opryland. Among the ACU

transplants was Brown Bannister, who later

would be pivotal in launching Grants career.

Bannister, who would go on to a production

and songwriting career that has since netted him

more than a dozen Grammys, began attending

Belmont Church and co-led a youth group.

Amy Grant was in Bannisters group, and he

recalls the first time he heard her sing her orig-

inal music, at a youth retreat. I remember

being struck by her personality, charisma and

her gift of engagementmaking you feel like

the only person in the roomsharing songs in

a totally conversational style.

Brian Mason, longtime local radio personality

and a frequent Koinonia attendee in those days,

remembers somewhat conversely that Grant

would sometimes be called up to the stage from

her spot on the elbow-to-elbow-packed floor,

and that her relative inexperience may initially

have clouded others recognition of her poten-

tial. Mason recreates the scene as he recalls it:

What? This is a kid from the youth group. . .. Oh, okay, cmon, Amy. Nobody had any idea

what was going to happen with her, Mason

says, laughing. Grants own expectations at the

time were evidently similar. I loved popping

up for a song or two . . . [but] there were so

many people whose talent far exceeded mine,

she says. I was just the girl who sits in the

crowd.

Koinonia was definitely what made me want

to start writing songs, Grant affirms, empha-

sizing that music was never the core reason for

the bookstore and local outreach. It was just a

gathering point. It was all just about serving that

community, being a part of that community.

That was the template for me, says Grant.

That was my first experience of music and

community.

Adds Brown Bannister, Koinonia was a place

where Amy was exposed to radical Christians

and artists who were actually beginning a genre

of musicwithout even knowing it. The im-

portant thing, says Bannister, is that it wasn't

about the music business, careers or money.

The bedrock motivation was to share the

gospel, to communicate the truth. I think that

being in that atmosphere was a key component

of development for her, both spiritually and cre-

atively. Of his and Grants role at the starting

line of mainstream contemporary Christian

music, Bannister says, We were right in the

beginning years of what became the CCM in-

dustry. I am sure there were probably smarter

people than me that could see it was about to

explode, but we were blissfully unaware of

what it would become, be-

cause the focus was on the

messagenot the genre.

Brian Mason, whose long-

running, eponymously

named Sunday morning

radio program faithfully

preserved the music and

memories of CCMs first

wave, remembers that

Koinonia wasnt about

mixing entertainment with

ministry. There was con-

stant attention to staying in

checkare we entertaining

or are we ministering?and making sure that

ministry had the priority. One thing that made

it so inviting, he adds, was intimacy. It was

like were all sitting in someones living room.

I mean, literally, youre on the floor. It was ex-

citing but unpredictable. Groups would come

from regions in every directionit was a fire

marshals nigh