Michael Symon is the chef and owner of critically acclaimed Lola and Lolita restaurants in Cleveland, but he’s best known as one of Food Network’s Iron Chefs and host of the network’s show Dinner: Impossible. It’s the latter job that paired him with country star James Otto. Yesterday, James told his side of the adventure. This is Chef Symon’s take on cooking with James.
I never know what I’m getting into for each episode of Dinner: Impossible, and this trip to Nashville was no different.
Posted: August 18th, 2008 at 5:34 pm| By: Chris Parton
First he broke out in a big way with “Just Got Started Loving You.” Now James Otto offers up his second single from Sunset Man. “For You” is the soft spoken counterpoint to “Just Got Started” and really lets Otto show off his vocal range. It also gives an interesting look into the daily life of a budding star. Wake up to the sound of your own voice on the radio, sign some autographs, do an interview, more autographs, hair/makeup/wardrobe (has got to be tough for a man to get used to), publicity photos and the concert — all the while longing for simpler times with your girl. He does an awesome job of fixing that situation though. One well-timed and creatively worded note and all is well again. I knew I should have learned to sing.
Posted: August 15th, 2008 at 3:30 pm| By: Chet Flippo
A bright, shiny six-pack of new videos was served up to the CMT video evaluation team this week. And they were all as different as could be from each other. There was a little bit of everything: an island mini-sermon, a white trash ho, a barroom descent straight to jail, A Star Is Born variation and more. Let’s talk videos.
Artist: Kenny Chesney
Video: “Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven”
Director: Shaun Silva
Dierks Bentley and Gretchen Wilson hit Nashville’s 12th & Porter club Tuesday night to help support yet another one of John Rich’s talent contests.
It’s a big idea from one of country’s biggest stars, James Otto. You can send in your pictures of Otto and he’ll put them in his new “For You” video.
After songwriting phenom Jeffrey Steele’s 13-year-old son was killed in an ATV accident in 2007, he started an annual skate festival to raise money for a scholarship fund. This year’s event takes place Sunday (June 29).
“We do a motorcycle ride that ends with a concert,” says Bentley. “It’s a really fun ride. We’ve had anywhere from 1500 to 3000-plus bike riders in the past. It ends with a down-home concert where you hear stars in a setting that you’ll never get a chance to see them in again … just jam sessions. Last year, we played with Shooter Jennings and Marty Stuart — all three of us up there on stage. Big Kenny came out, and Jason Aldean and James Otto. The fans really dig it because they get to see people play in the most intimate settings.”
Usually I can persuade a few of my friends to join me for the nightly concerts at the CMA Music Festival, so I don’t have to sit there by myself all night, taking notes. This year, for the first time, I had several friends ask if they could tag along. Well, sure! Seeing the event through the eyes of a first-timer always makes it a lot more fun. When Rascal Flatts suddenly appeared as the surprise guest that first night, you could definitely sense the excitement in the crowd - stuff like this just doesn’t happen outside of Nashville.
In an age when Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley and I all wear the same size jeans, it feels good to see Keith Anderson and James Otto so comfortable in their own bigness. It’s tempting to get into all kinds of “size matters” and “live large” clichés, but I won’t.
I will say, though, that I think these two guys have found the key to a woman’s heart: the bigger you are, the more petite she’ll feel. At least, that’s my takeaway from their new videos.
Posted: April 28th, 2008 at 5:01 pm| By: Jay Frank
In Nashville, the conventional wisdom has been that radio is most important. It’s so pervasive that I’ve never seen more artists thank radio at awards shows than I do in country music. As important as radio is, I do believe that history books will likely show that April 2008 may be the epicenter of when that equation changed for country artists. Notable events include:
James Otto debuting Top 5 across all genres, with the most noticeable awareness spike occurring right when online marketing went into high gear.
Michael Symon is the chef and owner of critically acclaimed Lola and Lolita restaurants in Cleveland, but he’s best known as one of Food Network’s Iron Chefs and host of the network’s show Dinner: Impossible. It’s the latter job that paired him with country star James Otto. Yesterday, James told his side of the adventure. This is Chef Symon’s take on cooking with James.
In Nashville, the conventional wisdom has been that radio is most important. It’s so pervasive that I’ve never seen more artists thank radio at awards shows than I do in country music. As important as radio is, I do believe that history books will likely show that April 2008 may be the epicenter of when that equation changed for country artists. Notable events include:
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