Country Music Blog: Grammys

I know why Taylor Swift didn't win Best New Artist at the Grammys. It had to be those damn Jimmy Choos she was wearing. I'm not saying they were bad luck. They just weren't good luck -- the kind she would've had if she'd worn her signature Liberty Boots.

Swift may have been snubbed by fashion police for wearing cowboy boots on the red carpet, but when she wears those boots, good things happen. Have you seen them? The nice people up at Liberty took their Love & Peace boots and Taylorized them. And once she started wearing them with dresses, like some kind of glamorous bohemian cowgirl, she became known as much as a fashion icon as a teenage country sensation.

If it sounds like I'm obsessed with these boots, it's because I am. Not solely because of their looks, but because I believe in the power of adorable boots. I believe that something so out of the ordinary gives you confidence you wouldn't have with Uggs, Birkenstocks, or flip-flops. Everyone else has those. These, though, are rare for two reasons. One, they aren't available at stores everywhere (and there's no Isaac Mizrahi rip-offs of them at Target). And two, they are pricey. Some are in the three-digit range, some way beyond. You have to earn that 2" stacked heel, pointy toe, whip-stitching and hand-tooling.

As a member of the Future Liberty Boot Owners of America, I can tell you that saving for a pair is as easy as giving up Starbucks for a year. Make your own lattes at home and soon you'll be walking a little taller in your own pair of Libertys. That's my plan, anyway. When I start going to concerts in the Rose and Crown boots, the Tattoo You boots, or the 60s Cowgirl boots, I expect a little boot envy at first. But eventually, country fans will get used to these works of art on my legs -- because once I get them, I doubt I'll ever wear anything else.

I promised myself I wouldn't write about the Grammys, if only for the fact that there have already been several blogs about it. But how else I am going to boast about being at the greatest music award ceremony in the world? What a perfect way to impress upon thousands and thousands of people how incredibly important I am! I could talk all day about the incredible parties, the mango martinis made at a bar constructed of ice, the stroll down the red carpet.... In fact the only way to get me to shut up is to ask me who won - not us. Brad Paisley stole it from us. An obvious miscarriage of justice and I demand a recount!OK, I'm just kidding - I'm not nearly that bitter about it. I thought Brad was very gracious in his acceptance speech, dedicating his award to the late great John Hughey who used to play steel guitar with fellow nominees The Time Jumpers. It was a fantastic honour to get the nomination (in the category of best country instrumental) and we were all treated like winners during the whole affair.

And so, for The Greencards, life returns to normal. The telephone bill came this morning, I went out and bought a pint of milk, spent the afternoon booking the band's accommodation for a California gig in April and learned some new fiddle tunes in the evening. Attending the Grammys hasn't changed my life, but when you're sitting there watching Tom Hanks, Ringo Starr and Alecia Keys, it certainly feels that way. But it has given me a sense that lofty ambitions ARE attainable; the only thing standing between myself and the chance of being nominated again is a load of hard work. We've just started talking about making a new record, and though I'm not pressuring myself to gain another nomination, I am aware now that it CAN happen - the bar has been raised.

Time to start writing some new songs methinks...

What drives Dierks Bentley these days? A long list of heroes, a healthy dose of ambition, plus a really nice bus.

Dolly Parton's doctors have asked her to take it easy and rest her achin' back, so she's postponing her upcoming tour dates.

Rolling Stone recaps Bobby Brown's drunken mishaps from the last episode of Gone Country.

Chicago music critics and NPR hosts Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis will rehash the Grammys on tonight's Late Night with Conan O'Brien.Grammy lovers will love this. Now up for special auction are Joe Don Rooney's jeans, Brad Paisley's hat and a Brooks & Dunn guitar.

On Monday night in Nashville, I took a friend of mine from Wichita, Kansas, to the Station Inn to see the fantastic Time Jumpers -- or perhaps I should say the Grammy-nominated Time Jumpers! They are up for best country vocal performance, as well as best country instrumental performance, and it’s the latter that is of more interest to me. Not just because I’m a sucker for instrumentals (and the Time Jumpers are amazing), but also because my band, The Greencards, are also nominated in this category. So, sitting there at the show I was tempted to throw insults and spit bombs at them, but with unusual maturity I held back my rage!

Fronted by Kenny Sears, a great Texan fiddler and singer, the Time Jumpers are an 11-piece band including three fiddlers, accordion and until recently, the late great John Hughey. It’s always a night of great fiddling, and that’s why I brought my classical violin-playing friend to the gig. The funny part came just after they performed their Grammy-nominated track, “Fidoodlin’.” The accordion player, Jeff Taylor, pointed me out in the audience and remarked he was honored to be in the same category as The Greencards! Blushing a remarkable pinkish hue, I gave a quick wave and sighed relief as they went to their next song.

To my classical musician friend, this genuine comradeship was something that blew her mind -- she couldn’t believe how convivial and warm the atmosphere was between two supposed competitors. It really is amazing how country and folk musicians are very willing to share their knowledge and open the circle to those who have the desire. We’re all in this together. As I said hello to the other band members at halftime, it brought home to me that while we might be called rivals for this award, there is no sense of competition between us. May the best song win!

Here's a brief digest of reports circulating throughout the Internet:

• Faith Hill continues to recover from knee surgery.
• Reports in New Zealand claim that Nicole Kidman will enlist her parents for the delivery room.
• The Associated Press reports that Ike Turner died of a cocaine overdose.
• Entertainment Weekly says the Grammys -- threatened by the writers' strike -- may still go on.
• The building that houses Category 5 Records (label of Travis Tritt and Sammy Kershaw) is on the market for a cool $1,975,000. The property was formerly owned by Roy Orbison and Ronnie Milsap.
• People.com says that John Mayer is defending Jessica Simpson against P.O.'d Dallas Cowboys fans.