The Brass Stables Ain't Your Average Honky-Tonk
Like a lot of country fans, I have (well, had) this fantasy image of Nashville in my head -- with artists, songwriters, producers and label folks out and about, talking about good country music and eating barbecue at Jack's on Lower Broadway and grabbing a Goo Goo Cluster before they head into the studio. Like it's all music, all the time.
Then I went to The Brass Stables. Fantasy shattered. Seeing a naked woman dance around a pole to Zac Brown Band's "Chicken Fried" has changed the way I will hear that song. Forever.
It was after the CMT Music Awards on Tuesday night (June 16), and the group I was hanging with decided to hit a couple of bars. Why not? When in Rome (and all that). So we visited some must-see tourist traps, like Coyote Ugly, before someone suggested Printers Alley. I'd heard that Printers Alley was a little strip with a lot of real hole-in-the-wall spots that might just hold some undiscovered musical talent. I think John Rich even found Gretchen Wilson in the Alley, singing at Lonnie's Western Room. Who could say no to that?
The bars themselves seemed a little seedy, but the street had a cobblestone thing going on, so I was fooled into thinking this might be kind of charming. We all went into the very first bar on the left. I was so glad to hear that ZBB song playing, knowing this was my kind of spot. Until I turned the corner and I saw her. It took my breath away. Not only because I've never been to a strip club before, but because THIS WOMAN WAS COMPLETELY NAKED. No tassels, no thong, and I think she'd even taken off her 6" heels, too.
I didn't stay long after getting text messages from co-workers to get out of there ASAP. But I was there long enough to learn a few important lessons: 1. Seedy spots in Nashville are within spitting distance of the much-classier Ryman Auditorium. 2. If the dancers take off all their clothes, you have to bring in your own beer. And 3. It's country music, not dance club beats, that fuel the strippers at this particular, um, legendary institution. And it's going to take a while for me to get that image of pudgy aging legs wrapped around a brass pole, backed by fiddle and steel, out of my head.
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Mike Mack says:
That’s pretty funny. Welcome to Nashville. In case you didn’t know, Nashville turned it’s back on country music a decade ago when it went from Music City to Titan Town. There is no real country music here anymore. I’m sorry you had such a bad experience but as far as “seedy” goes, Nashville is much better than it used to be, in that regard. There are a lot of things to do in this town, if you get away from tourist central, downtown. This city has a lot of history, an excellent symphony, nice parks, many sights and of course, football, hockey and baseball, if you’re into sports. However, if you are looking for real, not commercialized, cookie-cutter, pop music with a fiddle, what music row calls country music, you may need to look elsewhere.
Rita says:
Can I just say ewwwwwwwww. I was very lucky to get to go to Nashville about 11 years ago and am so glad I never saw that. I know its everywhere but it always puts a shadow over whatever it touches.
Sis says:
EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! to much info.
Kevin says:
I disagree with Mike Mack about there not being any good country music in Nashville anymore. I have recently been in many of the bars on Broadway in Nashville, and in each one there was a good variety of country music being performed, and I enjoyed all of it.
solongsowrong says:
Hey! Come on Alison! A few blogs ago, you said you were ready for some Bluegrass! You should have hit The Station Inn or The Bluebird Cafe.
Bluegrass Night at The Ryman is always a treat too, especially if you plan your trip on a night that Ricky Skaggs is in the House!
merlefan49 says:
Printers Alley is an alley not a strip.
Alison Bonaguro says:
SLSW: You are so right! And I should’ve stuck with my original intention of going to The Station Inn. Alas, I didn’t have a car so I was stuck with the places we could walk to and from. Hindsight is totally 20/20!
Redmaz says:
Obviously I take issue with the Mike Mack ridculous statement that there is no real country music in Nashville anymore, and would enjoy a debate on this, but I doubt he’ll be back, Just like nearly all I challenge on this lame blog site the facts seem to get the best of them. Although I hope he does return to debate/discuss this issue, because I am more than ready.
MiaT says:
OMG! Alison how funny! (Should have warned ya about that place) Chalk it up to a very interesting lesson. Made that mistake also with a trip to Nashville with my husband.
Nashville has something for everyone !!!! LOL LOL LOL LOL
Rick says:
You people decrying the “death of Country Music” or saying that there’s no Country Music on Broadway must be living living on the moon. At the very least, you’re living under a rock.
First, you don’t know what true Country Music is, because Country music has changed so drastically over the decades. When Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, etc. came out, they were called “NOT Country”, starting the Outlaw movement. When the “Nashville Sound” artists came out, they were called “NOT Country”. When drums, a piano and the electric guitar were finally allowed on the Opry stage, that music was called “NOT Country”. Even the Bristol Recordings are examples of a form of Country Music that’s evolved from its TRUE roots - old-country Celtic music.
So the next time you say that today’s Country music is a betrayal of “real” Country Music, I suggest you examine what you call “real” Country Music. Chances are you’re wrong.
Second: There’s no Country Music on Broadway? if you’re saying that, you’ve never been into a single Broadway Honkytonk. Period. ‘Enuf said.
merlefan49 says:
Actually before the Bristol sessions there wasn’t country music. The Bristol Sessions are know as the birth place of country music. You do know what the outlaw movement was about?
Search Job says:
I must say this is a great article i enjoyed reading it keep the good work