a magazine created by Karen Cotton
Tim Montana gave a personal interview about his music, family life, band and songwriting. The story is coming soon.
For now catch Tim Montana and the Shrednecks as they open for ZZ Top on tour! Tonight they will be in Butte, Montana and they are performing in Tacoma, Washington on Sunday. On Wednesday April 13, they will perform in Colorado Springs, Colorado at the Pikes Peak Center. Check back for the interview soon!! For ticket info go to Tim Montana’s websitehttp://www.timmontana.com
Grayson Erhard – courtesy image
Official website where you can buy merchandise and guitar tablature: www.graysonerhard.com
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/GraysnE
Grayson Erhard performs at Fridays in the Hynds
Where: 1602 Capitol Avenue, Cheyenne, Wyoming
How much: $5 at the door.
When is this happening? Friday, April 1 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
More info: go to Facebook and search for Fridays in the Hynds
Or Grayson Erhard’s website: www.graysonerhard.com
By Karen Cotton
If you are a fan of Andy McKee, Michael Hedges or Jon Gomm, then you should see Grayson Erhard live this Friday, April first.
Erhard is going to play some new music and some of his fan favorites at Fridays in the Hynds.
A quote on the Fridays in the Hynds’ Facebook page said, “You’ve got to see Grayson Erhard’s guitar skills in person –he’ll melt your face.”
Del Norte, Colorado, is Erhard’s hometown, but he lives in Denver. His sound is original. He sings and uses alternative techniques on a guitar, or tap/slap guitar playing. You can hear his music on the radio, but for the most part he said he’s an indie artist.
He did a few solo tours on the West Coast, but he also plays in two bands; Aspen Hourglass and Pandas and People. The band Pandas and People will be headed out to the East Coast, and they also will perform in Bible Belt area in July.
The 24-year-old singer/songwriter said the inspiration for his songs come from being a part of the millennial generation.
“The inspiration comes from being in a situation where you want to make money, but the Baby Boomers aren’t retiring,” Erhard said. “So, you wonder, am I going to try and climb up the corporate ladder, or make money on my own? It’s a life journal of mine I guess in an audible way. It can also sometimes come from relationships, but I try not to write about relationships that much because of the nature of those.”
He said he’s going to play all of the best of his songs at Fridays in the Hynds.
“I’ll play my songs, Ate and Tapestry, and I’ll play some new ones, too,” Erhard said.
His song Tapestry is about his frustration with Pop music.
“When I was younger that I used to think about playing a lot of notes in a song was the cool thing to do – creating virtuosity and intervals,” he said. “I was upset about how modern pop music was homogenized and sounded like the same thing over and over.”
Over the years, though Erhard said he has been listening to a bunch of music.
“I’ve been growing as a musician and I’ve realized that less is more, which is a contradiction now,” he said. “I used to think why settle for mediocrity, or simplicity? But my views have changed on simplicity.”
Erhard said now he believes less is more and simplicity is actually incredibly powerful.
“I do like pop music now,” he said. “But, if like this was the 18-year old-me, I would have laughed and gone, ‘No way.’”
He said he even chose to cover a Sam Smith song on one of his new EPs that will be released later this fall.
As far as who he would like to open for someday he answered, “Boston is playing Fiddlers Green Amphitheater in Denver. I want to meet Tom Scholz. He and my dad are the reason why I started playing guitar.”
County rockers Tim Montana and the Shrednecks are currently on tour with ZZ Top. They have two Rocky Mountain tour stops. They will be performing in Colorado Springs, Colorado this April and in Sheridan, Wyoming this summer. An interview with Tim Montana is coming up!
Tim Montana’s official website: http://www.timmontana.com
Click on the link: Tim Montana and the Shrednecks on iTunes
Grayson Erhard interview coming soon!!!!!!
Grayson’s official website: Grayson Erhard
Grayson Erhard pictured below will perform at Fridays in the Hynds in Cheyenne, Wyoming this Friday , April 1 at 7 p.m. /
Courtesy image
Here is a link to C.J. Box’s March appearances: http://www.cjbox.net/appearances?view=calendar&month=March-2016
Here is a link to his official website: http://www.cjbox.net
pictured above author C.J. Box
C.J. Box, who is a New York Times Best-Selling author of a series of books about Game Warden Joe Pickett, as well as stand alone thrillers, talked about his latest Pickett book, “Off the Grid.”
The Wyoming based author will be doing a book signing tonight at 7 p.m. at the Laramie County Library. He was kind enough to do a question and answer session about his latest book for Life is as Sweet as Cotton Candy.
According to his official website “Off the Grid” is about Nate Romanowski, who is off the grid, recuperating from wounds and trying to deal with past crimes, when he suddenly is confronted by a small team of elite professional special operators. They’re not here to threaten him, but to make a deal. They need help destroying a domestic terror cell in the Red Desert, and in return, they’ll make Nate’s criminal record disappear.
But they are not what they seem, as Joe Pickett discovers. They have a much different plan in min and it just may be something that takes them all down, including Nate and Joe. And if there is other collateral damage? That’s just the fortunes of war.
Here is Box’s Q and A session:
Q: Did you spend a lot of time in the Red Desert in order to do research for your new book?
Box: “I’ve been to the Red Desert several times over the years so I’m familiar with it (although by no means an expert). I once witnessed a herd of wild horses running across the desert and we spotted desert elk as well. It’s a fascinating and very remote location.”
Q: When you created Joe Pickett for your first book did you ever imagine that he would be such a great character that helped create such a long standing series of books for you? How does that feel?
Box: “Nope — when I wrote OPEN SEASON I thought I was writing a stand-alone that I hoped would be published and appreciated by people in Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain region. I didn’t have a series in mind at the time but I’m glad it worked out that way. When the last book, ENDANGERED DEBUTED AT #2 New York Times bestseller list I was thrilled. I never expected the books to do as well.”
Q: What do you like the most about writing?
Box: “Portraying the modern west and the issues that dominate it.”
Q: Any interesting news about movies or TV shows about your books?
Box: “Nothing to announce yet although there are some really exciting prospects out there.”
According to a press release from PFA Media, Kirby Maurier, an R & B artist, hard rocker band American Bombshell, and Adley Stump, who was a Blake Shelton team member on season two of The Voice, are all winners of this year’s Hyundai and the Recording Academy’s fourth annual Grammy Amplifier Program.
These winners were chosen from 4,000 entrants and they won one of three prize packages, a studio recording session with a Recording Academy producer, a live performance showcase series opening for a noted artist, or the filming of a music video with a celebrated director.
Maurier, American Bombshell and Stump were named winners by Big Sean , Lzzy Hale and Sam Hunt on February 22.
American Bombshell is hailed from Indiana and they recently released a music video for their song, “No Regrets.”
“Winning Grammy Amplifier is an incredible honor for us. It’s allowing American Bombshell … five dudes from Greenwood, Indiana, an opportunity to spread our pure, unfiltered unadulterated brand of in your face rock and roll, far and wide. We look forward to kicking in every new door presented to us,” the band stated in a press release.
Maurier started with the music business at a young age. She is a founder of the Miami Music Museum, which preserves the music history of Miami. “Doing the Most” is her first album and it was the highest selling indie album in the South Atlantic Region for last year.
“I’m so overcome with excitement!” Maurier said in a press release. “Having this opportunity to not only increase my exposure, but to gain what is essential for my development as an artist, my goal is to use my gift to express myself and make music to which everyone can relate. This platform will undoubtedly enable me to reach a broader audience and connect with music lovers across the country, who may not know who I am. With the support of the Grammys and Hyundai I fell so much closer to achieving those goals.”
If it wasn’t for a dare, Stump, wouldn’t have auditioned for season two of The Voice. She can be proud of her Top 40 iTunes Country Chart spot, for a couple of her releases. She is recording an album now and was also a contributor to the book “How They Sell Music.”
“What an immeasurable honor,” she was quoted as saying in a press release. “I’m so thankful to the Grammy’s for front-running this initiative that recognizes and fosters independent talent. I couldn’t be more humbled to have been acknowledged, there is no better organization from which to learn and grow, not only as an artist, but as a person and member of the creative community I love so much.”
Johnson: “It’s kind of like having a house-plant for seven years and suddenly it starts talking, were but wonderful. The deal I got from Warner Brothers was a package deal in which I got to meet the producers, directors and writers, which gave me an opportunity to gauge their interest in the material. They were really great folks who were really knowledgeable of the books and characters and had track records of how they’d gotten things done. That’s generally the problem with being optioned by Hollywood, you never know if the people you’re dealing with will ever get anything made. I’m a Cowboy author from a town of 25 in northern Wyoming, so for me it will always be about visibility for the books. Our producers were responsible for shows like The Closer and Nip/Tuck so I felt relatively confident—as confident as you can feel in Hollywood.
The author of the Walt Longmire book series ,Craig Johnson, talks about what he likes best about book signings and what’s coming up in the future.
Check it out tomorrow !
Life is as sweet 🍬 as cotton candy 🍬 is back on and I will be writing entertainment articles like I used to do at the newspaper.
I have story ideas or want to be mentioned please let me know.
Writer’s block I’ve discovered is a real thing unlike other lucky authors that I’ve interviewed on this blog before: C.J. Box and Craig Johnson who dont ever get writer’s block.
Look for updates..karencottonwriter@gmail.com email for article submissions!
Karen Cotton yay!!!!🎆 so excited
Well, awesome news about my Vedauwoo: Hidden Faces in Mysterious Places book!
I have sold enough copies of my book to pay off a student loan! Yes, my Christmas sales were pretty amazing.
My book is now available at these fine locations: http://www.sierratradingpost.com, (search for Vedauwoo), http://www.barnesandnoble.com, http://www.amazon.com.
My book is also available in stores at Sierra Trading Post, Barnes and Noble Booksellers in Cheyenne, Wyoming, City Newsstand and Pipe Shop in Cheyenne, Wyoming, the Wyoming State Museum store, the University of Wyoming Bookstore in Laramie, Wyoming, and Hastings in Rock Springs, Wyoming.
Please be sure to check it out. Reviewers let me know if you would like a review copy.
Thanks!
Karen Cotton
Life is as Sweet as Cotton Candy 