CMT Blog: Chris Cagle

In the midst of some last-minute vacation planning for various places I wish my family could go this summer, I keep getting hung up on songs about places. Faraway places, down-the-street places, beaches, dude ranches, lakes jam-packed with boat houses. Some are places we're considering, and others are just ones we dream about. With the kids out of school and already crying "bored," the world is my oyster, so to speak. So, close your eyes and go with me to:

"Ireland," Garth Brooks
"She's So California," Gary Allan
"Laredo," Chris Cagle
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Who remembers the Martina McBride YWCA auction where Chris Cagle literally sold the shirt off his back and the shoes off his feet and walked out shirtless and barefoot? That's why you shouldn't miss this year's auction. You just never know what kinds of crazy stuff will happen with the artists. This year's auction starts at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday (June 13) at the Hall of Fame Park in downtown Nashville. McBride will be hosting and will be auctioning off cowboys hats signed by Kenny Chesney and Trace Adkins, guitars signed by Dolly Parton and Brad Paisley, a gold fiddle signed by Charlie Daniels, a quilt made entirely of McBride's tour T-shirts and so much more. The proceeds help women get a solid education, get good jobs and get away from the cycle of domestic violence.

With all the year-end lists floating around, I was glad to see a real list of the top country songs of 2008 in Country Aircheck magazine. I only live in one market, so it's not feasible for me to know what's being played on the other country stations throughout the nation. But on the MediaBase list, which monitors airplay on country radio stations, the usual chart hogs like Brad Paisley and Kenny Chesney made room for newcomers like James Otto and Lady Antebellum. Otto actually topped the list with his over-the-top sexy "Just Got Started Loving You." That has to give him all kinds of bragging rights at holiday parties.

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Is it too early to start thinking about Stagecoach? Or as I like to call it, Spring Break Country-Style? Chesney, Paisley, McEntire, Lambert, Rucker, Cagle, Kid Rock, Little Big Town and Lady Antebellum don't think so. They're already booked for this late April country festival in Indio, Calif. (just a couple of hours east of Los Angeles). And with all the recent fest cancellations, Stagecoach may be our last chance to see country music in such abundance outside of the CMA Music Festival in Nashville. My gut tells me that with the economy the way it is, fans will be less likely to spend hundreds of dollars on two-day passes for events like this, making promoters less likely to book top tier talent. So I say, get it while you can. Tickets go on sale next week.

Wait. I'm confused. Chris Cagle's about to release a new single called "Never Ever Gone." Wasn't that his last single? Oh, no. That was "What Kinda Gone." But what kinda artist releases two songs in a row that have such similar titles? With all the songs out there competing for radio air time, won't this be crazy confusing for country fans? But maybe that's part of some brilliant Music Row strategy. Like, if the first single off the new album climbed the charts with "gone" in the title, maybe this one will follow suit? Who knows. Maybe all his future songs will follow the same theme.

You win some, you lose some. That's the rock and the hard place that Chris Cagle is between right now. He was cleared of domestic abuse charges after a fight with his girlfriend. But he still has to stand trial for a fight with a man at one of his shows in Tucson. The good news is that whatever the outcome of that case, he will have some seriously good fodder for new songs. Done-me-wrong songs sound so much better coming from an artist who has survived troubled times, don't they?

A demanding career as an entertainer would be exciting enough for most people, but not for Chris Cagle. In addition to his music, Cagle owns his own horse breeding operation. "My dad kind of makes fun of me," says Cagle. "He's like, 'You couldn't just get a guitar for your birthday and play it around the house, you had to go be a star. And you can't just get a horse and ride around in your backyard, you have to go have a performance athlete and start a breeding program and this and that.' It's just kind of the way I'm made."

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Every few days, Dierks Bentley spends $6,000 on fuel to bring his music to his fans. The Tennessean looks into how rising gasoline and diesel prices could impact the summer concert season.

The Tennessee set of the Miley Cyrus movie was the scene of an unscripted Ferris wheel accident. Several extras were injured and taken to area hospitals.

Chris Cagle issues a sobering statement about the night of his most recent arrest.

Members only. Carrie Underwood's fan clubbers were the only ones allowed into her special performance at the Grand Ole Opry House.

What's shaped like a treble clef and is one of the world's most distinctive icons of architecture? Nashville's very own Country Music Hall of Fame.

Every Wednesday, the New York Times devotes its book blog to an author's playlist. This week, it's all country.

Talk about a scheduling snafu. Chris Cagle's next court appearance is the same day as his fan club party.

$20 million just doesn't buy what it used to. That's why Nicole Kidman is selling her Australian estate in favor of one with a bigger lawn.

Alison Krauss and Robert Plant can do no wrong, as evidenced by this stellar review of their recent show in London.

Country music's nothing but the white man's blues, James Otto tells the Dallas Morning News.

If you're a pickup man, they don't come any better than this. Fully loaded, with 103 autographs from country stars. Bidding ends Saturday.

Only in Brooklyn could you find a near-transsexual pedal steel guitar player.

If there's one thing Chris Cagle enjoys as much as a hit single, it's an excellent meal -- especially one he makes himself. "I like anything new that I'm making up and trying," he says. "The other night I made this thing I called plato blanco -- white plate. I seared sea bass and finished it in the oven. Then I took a little peeler and shaved down some white asparagus and tossed them in a little vinaigrette. I made this sauce with a celery seed base, topped the fish with the sauce and plopped the white asparagus vinaigrette salad on top of it on a classic white plate. It was really tasty."

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