Posted: March 25th, 2008 at 5:43 pm| By: Deb Barnes
Her latest album is titled Mockingbird, but Allison Moorer also has another bird in mind these days: her line of hand-embroidered shirts called 1 Turtle Dove.
“In this day and age, everything is so impersonal and mass-produced, and I’m always trying to find ways around that culture,” she says. “I also wanted to do something for my female fans, something that was a real piece of me and that embraced a ‘feminine art’ — embroidery.”
Moorer herself embroidered the shirts, which she sells on her Web site, with whimsical images of birds in a variety of colors. “There are only hand-embroidered T-shirts for sale, but no two are alike,” she says. “I came up with the designs organically. I would pick out a shirt and then decide what it needed. Inspiration came from everywhere — my front porch in Tennessee, bird drawings, my father-in-law, who was very knowledgeable about birds.”
While shopping in New York City, Moorer caught and set free a dove that had flown into a shop she was in. “As I left, I looked over to make sure the bird had flown away,” she recalls. “I spotted a sign for a shop called Camp and went in. I was wearing a top I had made, and the woman in the shop asked me where I got it. One thing led to another, and I got several handmade pieces of clothing into Camp and sold them. My clothing line was born. If it hadn’t been for the dove, I never would’ve noticed Camp, so I thought I would pay tribute to her.”
Moorer says embroidering is a respite from the rigors of life as a musician. “I like embroidering because it settles my mind,” she says. “It quiets me, and I get all sorts of things figured out. Plus I get the satisfaction of having made something pretty — and that’s always good for an artist.”
In the spirit of the season, I have done some spring cleaning on my desk. But before I clear out some of these CDs, I wanted to offer my own spring mix. (And I don’t mean the sack of salad at the grocery store, although I do love that stuff with balsamic vinaigrette.)
Most of these songs are new, but the Whiskeytown and Lynyrd Skynyrd selections are from the newly released Deluxe Editions. Folk and bluegrass fans will probably enjoy a lot of these songs, and I tell you, it sure is good to hear new music from Alan Jackson.
Posted: February 9th, 2008 at 9:37 am| By: Whitney Self
“I don’t want to be like fish,” my mom said. “After a while they get to stinkin’.”
My mother recently came down visit me from Illinois. She came to celebrate our birthdays together and to catch up on some much-needed girl time. She was worried that her stay of five nights would be too long and that she may wear out her welcome or interrupt my schedule. And for some, having their mother for this period of time would start to stink. Not for me.
We went out for dinner, we went shopping, you know, did most normal mother and daughter activities. But I have to say, my favorite memories of her trip will be our morning conversations over vanilla biscotti coffee as we sat in my little apartment with my kitty, Hank. Though in the middle of a city, I felt like I was back home again. When she left Monday morning and dropped me off at work, we both sadly said our goodbyes. I guess you could simply say the days weren’t long enough.
That morning she left, I began my work week by putting together Steve Earle and wife Allison Moorer’s Unplugged at Studio 330 page on CMT.com. I read about how the two are nominated for a 2008 Grammy for their country collaboration of song, “Days Aren’t Long Enough.” Before watching the performance, I thought to myself, “What a beautiful title.” I hadn’t heard the song before, but when I watched the video, I immediately thought it was an award winner as well as a song I needed to hear at that moment in time. “Days Aren’t Long Enough” was just how I was feeling.
Every time I watch this video, I feel like I’m a fly on the wall watching the couple at their home having some sort of personal and intimate conversation. You can’t fake this kind of raw emotion, and it’s obvious from the first note as they gaze into one another’s eyes. In Earle’s interview following the performance, he talks about how this duet differs with others he’s done in the past because, as he says, “It required no acting whatsoever.”
Though Earle and Moorer are singing of their relationship for one another as man and wife, this song can be perceived on several different levels. That morning I listened and watched this video, it was like a little gift that helped me put how I was feeling into words as well as perspective.
Yes, we all have those special people in our lives we look forward to seeing and spending time with. Whether a mother or father, brother or sister, friend or loved one, time is never quite long enough — no matter how much time we’re given. Like the song says, “Another year has come and gone/Another circle ‘round the sun” — and, I’m sure, more stinky situations for all of us to come. But with those special few (like my mother), “Days are never long enough.”
Posted: September 13th, 2007 at 10:28 am| By: Miranda Lambert
So, I just looked at the calendar and I can’t wait for Oct. 13th. We’re doing the Big State Festival in College Station, Texas, and I didn’t even realize what a great lineup they have for the two days. It’s really rare that we get such a great chance to check out other acts, especially such a diverse group.
I got to spend a little time with Robert Earl Keen when we played a festival in California earlier this year and I really want to catch his set. I’m also pumped that I get to see all my friends from the Dierks Bentley camp. We toured with them so much last winter that I really miss getting to hang with them. Of course, I’ll never miss a chance to see Willie Nelson. One of my first shows after Nashville Star was opening for him in Dallas. And I think I’ve said enough about my obsession with Jack Ingram to last a lifetime.
One of the bands I want to check out that I’ve never seen is the Drive By Truckers. I’ve heard their name a bunch and heard a couple songs on XM, but really want to see them live. I plan on watching Reckless Kelly and The Flatlanders too. When I was growing up, my Dad used to listen to Joe Ely records but I’ve never seen him live. It will be great to see him do his thing with The Flatlanders.
I’m probably most excited about Kelly Willis being at the festival. I’ve been a Kelly Willis fan for as long as I can remember and she’s one of the reasons I really got into being a songwriter (along with Jack, Allison Moorer, etc). I saw her at the CMA Awards in Nashville last year and had to pause for a quick photo op. I haven’t seen her live in a really long time and I’ll be as close to the stage as I can when she plays.
I’m just really glad that someone came up with the idea of having a festival with such a broad range of talent, and I’m excited that it’s happening in my home state of Texas. Everything’s bigger in Texas and this is gonna be a REALLY BIG show.
Posted: July 31st, 2007 at 2:12 pm| By: Sunny Sweeney
We were playing at a huge two-day festival in Ireland called the Midlands Music Festival and we were being shuttled over to the site from the hotel. This guy had on a pair of those atrociously ugly shoes called Crocs (yes, I have a pair) so we started talking about how ugly they were but soooo comfortable at the same time. Turns out we both live in Austin, so we talked about missing Mexican food. I have no idea who he is, but he says he’s a tour manager and says to the bus driver, “We’re all here but we need to wait a minute for Richard.” There are a lot of Richards in this world, so I think nothing of it. Anyway, a guy squeezed past me and gets on the bus. (Is this Richard?!?!) Then, I get in the bus and there are no seats. This nice man offers up his seat to me, and when I look, it’s Richard Thompson! My band was about to DIE! We were all like, “Uh, that’s Richard Thompson and he just offered up his seat for little ol’ me.” We got to talk to him about music and where we live and what kind of music we did, etc. We watched him play later in the day from backstage, and can I just say, he was so awesome.
There were so many unbelievable people on that same bill. I got a T-shirt just because my name was on the same shirt as all them, everyone from Steve Earle, Allison Moorer, Kris Kristofferson, Glen Campbell, the Be Good Tanyas, Blind Boys of Alabama, Gillian Welch (who is the sweetest thing ever!) and Ricky Skaggs. Jim Lauderdale was a hoot to hang out with. He surprised me and got up on stage during our set to sing the duet, “Lavender Blue,” that he sang with me on my CD. We got the whole performance on video and there’s a really funny part I can’t wait to put up on my Myspace page! Stay tuned! I hope they invite us back another time because we had such a great time!
We have one more festival in Sweden before we head home on Saturday. I will be sleeping the whole way home on the airplane, because I am so tired I can’t even see straight. But when we get home, I will have been playing music in five different countries for five weeks and nothing much can really compare to that!
When Levon Helm’s friends showed up Wednesday night (Sept. 17) in downtown Nashville for his concert at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, his admirers onstage included Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, John Hiatt, Sheryl Crow, Delbert McClinton, Billy Bob Thornton, Buddy Miller and Sam Bush. Oh, and two people from the audience — Steve Earle and Allison Moorer — also climbed onstage to help close the show. It was the kickoff for the Americana Music Festival and Conference that’s taking place here this week.
Her latest album is titled 
In the spirit of the season, I have done some spring cleaning on my desk. But before I clear out some of these CDs, I wanted to offer my own spring mix. (And I don’t mean the sack of salad at the grocery store, although I do love that stuff with balsamic vinaigrette.)
So, I just looked at the calendar and I can’t wait for Oct. 13th. We’re doing the 
We were playing at a huge two-day festival in Ireland called the 
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