CMT Blog: The Lost Trailers

I was always a big fan of Julie Roberts, right from the get-go. She was cute, sweet and likeable. But she also had a badass edge to her voice that gave her music a little less perk and a lot more depth. Like on "Break Down Here." What a song that was: "Everything I own's in the back in a Hefty bag/I'm out of cigarettes and I'm down to my last drag." Sounds pretty desperate coming from her. But it sounds just as haunting coming from the tall drink of water that is Trace Adkins.

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Two things happened last week that altered the course of my listening habits this week: I interviewed Joe Don Rooney of Rascal Flatts and I saw a Lady Antebellum show. Both events made me think all about bands and how much I love the range of music that comes with hearing a group. Whether they're singing harmony or not, I just like to take a break from frontmen and revel in the band dynamic.

"Here Comes Goodbye," Rascal Flatts
"Long Gone," Lady Antebellum
"Song of the South," Alabama Read more...

One week from today, I would normally be loading up my car with notepads, pens, camera lens, cell phone batteries, rain ponchos and about 50 ounces of really strong sunblock. Then I'd strap on my media credentials and enter the Country Thunder grounds in Twin Lakes, Wis.

I'm not going this year, for a list of reasons too long to blog about. But that hasn't stopped me from crying a river over it to anyone who will listen. There is so much I'll miss, from the fresh air and henna tattoos to the corn dogs and people-watching. I might even kind of miss the muddy parking lot. But obviously, when there are four days of country happening practically right in my backyard, what I will really miss this year is the non-stop music.

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Four wildly different new music are among the latest to hit the screening room for the CMT New Video Evaluation Team. Keith Urban walks an urban dreamscape, Reba hits the sheets, Megan Mullins hits the road and Cledus T. Judd weeps for Garth in a karaoke bar.

Artist: Keith Urban
Video: "Kiss a Girl"
Director: Chris Hicky

Keith Urban's newest video begins with stylized animated bird shapes flying above a stylized cartoon cityscape. He and his band perform the song on a rooftop looking out on the city.

Panelist's Comments: "Hot shot or what?" "Cool. A very happy video." "I love the animation, but the band scenes look like they just put a film over the scene."

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Seven new music videos hit the screening room for the CMT New Video Evaluation Team this week. We see some different sides of Joey & Rory, Billy Currington as barroom philosopher, Darryl Worley as counselor for a troubled marriage, Heidi Newfield kicking up her heels, Love and Theft debuting their talent, the Lost Trailers in the desert and Matt Gary tracing adolescence. One discovery: Most music videos these days feature solar flares. You know, where the camera is turned toward the sun or a very bright light and a flare obscures everything. Watch for them.

Artist: Billy Currington
Video: "People Are Crazy"
Director: The Brads

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The Lost Trailers' latest video, "How 'Bout You Don't," centers on a relationship on the rocks. The couple argues early on, quite convincingly I might add, but when his girl decides to leave, singer Ryder Lee just can't let her go. Then, after a surprising twist in the video's plot, things seem to go from bad to worse. At least the argument ends well. We're left to wonder what will happen to the couple, which I think is very fitting for this open-ended song.

It's one thing to package your CDs in recycled cardboard and maybe set aside a batch of tickets for financially-challenged fans. It's quite another to commit to a tour that's all about giving back to the community. That's what the Lost Trailers are up to these days, even going so far as naming their roadwork the Lean, Clean and Local tour. They're leaving their usual tour staff at home and opting for local crews at each stop instead. So if you're a stagehand, lighting director, merchandise seller or audio technician, you could be in luck. They're also leaving the buses at home and flying commercially so they can cut their fuel consumption, pollution and carbon emissions. And that ain't all. The Keep America Beautiful folks will come to the LT shows to do the right thing with all those empties at the end of the night. It's like the message in their song, "Gravy," about growing marijuana to save the family farm: When times are tough, you do what you have to do.

Every summer, like clockwork, I go to the Country Thunder Music Festival in Twin Lakes, Wis. But I've never been to the one in Florence, Ariz. It's right between Tucson and Phoenix, and the fun begins next weekend. And when I scroll through the lineup, it's killing me that I won't be there. Even Tim McGraw, who has never played this Arizona stage, will be there, and it's his only concert until June. So may I live vicariously through you if you're going? Report back here if you catch biggies like McGraw on Friday (April 3) or Alan Jackson on Saturday (April 4). I even want to hear all about the openers like rookies Zac Brown Band, Jake Owen and The Lost Trailers. So go, enjoy, have a funnel cake, and then come back here to share your reviews.

In years past, the lineup at country music festivals was pretty predictable. A couple of headliners who are household names, a handful of hot newcomers and some locals acts most folks have never heard of. But this year's Country Thunder is a mixed bag of the good, the we'll-see and the oh-my-God-they're-still-around? Tim McGraw, Alan Jackson, Taylor Swift, Kellie Pickler, Phil Vassar, Jake Owen, Jack Ingram, Rodney Atkins, the Lost Trailers, Diamond Rio, Tracy Lawrence, the Bellamy Brothers, Terri Clark, Mark Chesnutt, Restless Heart, Heidi Newfield, Joey & Rory, Colt Ford, Burns and Poe and Shawn Hammonds will be turning the fields of Twin Lakes, Wis., into one big ol' honky-tonk from July 15-18. Tickets are on sale now.

I was pleasantly surprised to hear the Randy Rogers Band receive an ACM nomination this morning (Feb. 11) for vocal group of the year. Their tough competition will be against Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, the Lost Trailers and reigning vocal group, Rascal Flatts. Their current self-titled album has spent 10 weeks on Billboard's country charts peaking at No. 3 and generating a little buzz with their latest single, "In My Arms Instead." Though the song was by no means a chart-topper, I'm happy to see this talented, rough-around-the-edges, rowdy group gaining headway in country music. "The goal setting, we do it every year," lead vocalist Randy Rogers told me last year. "We look back on it and see how far we've come. Our goals I don't think are anything different than they were the last record. I think it's just to tour and hopefully radio will turn its ear to us. I don't think we sound like anything out there and I think we're really proud of that."