Just for the title of this article, I feel like Andy Rooney of 60 minutes. I grew up watching it with my grandmother, even though it looks the same as it did when I was 3 years. So last night, when I turned the TV and he was there, I thought I would see my grandmother bring me closer. Low and behold, he started talking about packaging and marketing of products, and how companies, including software companies, with more hype then product. And judging from Fan Fair, I would have to agree with him. This was my first Fan Fair, so maybe I should give it a few years, but has the pace of the status of Fan Fair attendees other 鈥 檚, the tried and true dedicated fans of Fan Fair. So let me start at the beginning. Being a novice participant Fan Fair, I did everything wrong. Do not make reservations 鈥 檛 me, and I 鈥 檛 Do not buy tickets in advance. When I got to the airport, a woman waiting for me with a sign that had my name on it. (One of the advantages of being part of Fan Fair, I suppose, but trust me, one of the few! And I'm smiling at that!) I came to my dear friend 鈥 檚 home and began unpacking. The next day would be a busy day with the game of baseball and some interviews. When next day came, Nashville was hit by lightning and the lightning storm main and calling to rent a car, there were none available. My first lesson in the Fan Fair, book a car! So be stuck hitch rides with friends or rely on a taxi 鈥 檚 which are very cost prohibitive! The problem was we could not reach the 鈥 檛 baseball game. All taxis 鈥 檚 were taking forever and had to be called many times and still did not appear. The only person who was kind enough to come for us Do not 鈥 檛 want to go in that direction due to the storm. Well, then I head to the Indian festival had already begun. When I arrived at the Indie Fest I met some friends from my last trip to Europe and saw Jack Green and Ernie Ashworth, Grand Ole Opry stars and real stars are. You really should go check out the Grand Ole Opry when they are in! I knew that Ernie's tour last year. The Indian 鈥? Played with all your heart, Sean O'Brien is one of the best I've seen in a long time. What is a singer, and a person whose sample is to see if you play in your city! You won 鈥 檛 be disappointed! And women 鈥 檚 a doll! But keep your lips to scream when he sings alone, because he is married to a beautiful woman and sweet. The Indian 鈥 were supported by some of Nashville finest musicians 鈥 檚 Bess Travers, who played the bass was incredible! 鈥 鈥 淭 Nashville players? There were incredible. Then someone told me on the freelance festival there, the Grand Ole Opry star, which is supposed to play at the Indie Fest, all 22 of them were told they could not play there. I won 鈥 檛 enter the reason 鈥 檚 why, but when people found out, were disappointed! Stella Parton graced the stage Indie Fest, and Bobby G. Rice. After the show, a group of us headed to the famous restaurant, Houston 鈥 檚. While the prices were expensive, it was worth every bite! The food was fabulous and would recommend it to anyone visiting Nashville to give it a try! While waiting, I met Jamie O 鈥 橬 eil and Neil McCoy (a true cowboy at heart). Neil was very informal and friendly. I thought wow, this is the beginning of what I expected at Fan Fair, the fan, compliance with the stars and Fan Fair hadn 鈥 檛 actually begun! After Houston 鈥 檚, we went to Broadway, and for those of you who are not familiar with the Nashville, this is where you'll find it all. The Ryman is less than a block from Broadway 陆, world famous Tootsies on Broadway and, of course, must be seen and there are legends next to Tootsies just to name a few. All bars had no cover charge and some of the best music I've heard in a long time. We danced all night and landed home around 4 AM. The next day he had arrived at Riverfest cheap ticket all day $ 10.00. The first 2 hours are acts signed with major independent labels, and let me tell you, some of the acts could not sing on key. That was not just my 鈥 鈥 檛 musicians? Heard that it was set, I looked around and people will shrug too! But then acts as T Graham Brown, Joe Stampley and The Great Divide and spices ignited the crowd, giving new hope to the audience. They were complacent and caps crowd of people and everyone loved them. In between, a DJ from a radio station in Nashville asked the audience how they liked the new venue. The crowd roared a great 鈥 渂 oooo, I hate it!鈥? The DJ actually seemed overwhelmed and surprised by the reaction. I decided to ask one of the people sitting next to me why he and his wife did not like the new site. They said they had bought tickets for the Adelphia platinum, where all the posts in the Fan Fair and concerts were held, and sat during the concerts so far, that the stars looked like ants. I decided to do some research. I turned to the crowd asking the same question, 鈥 凄 or you like the new format of Fan Fair. Why or why not?鈥? It was always the same answer. Too many people. The excess of the companies, not enough stars and the few stars who actually showed up for something other then the concerts there only for a short time. Very hard to find parking and excessive traffic. My friend took the brochure Fan Fair and had only 26 seats signing real stars of the 100 some odd jobs in the Adelphia building. WOW! Wait a minute. I thought this was Fan Fair, not fair Gizmo and latest gadgets. According to Fan Fair attendees before 鈥 檚, Fan Fair used to be held at the fairgrounds. There were plenty of stars and star booths, concerts, and everything was in one place. No jumping, trying to find parking and try to come up with something that already happened before his arrival. Another complaint was that the great place it used to be during the week and was longer, and now took place during rush hour, the weekend was shorter. I have not heard a single positive comment from fans about the new format. But 鈥 檚 back to my experience in the Fan Fair, the Riverfest stage. Sherrie Austin came out, and men went mad. She sang a storm and it sounded as good live as it does on the CD. After completion, a group of us decided to go grab something to eat before the next round saw people on stage. We went to Broadway and began searching. I went to a shop called Cotton Joes Peas nice to get a bag to carry some things in his hand. Nice store small, low cost, with plenty of tourist-type items for those looking for that sort of thing. As we walked down the street one of the girls told me she wanted some french fries and I wanted to go to Hooters to get them. I said, 鈥 楢 re crazy? Never been to a Hooters in my life and I 鈥 檛 want to start now.鈥? For those of you who have seen me Live 鈥 檚 not a threat to me, but I feel it 鈥 檚 鈥 檚 degrading to women. Of course, none of the men in our group opposed 鈥 OL! Like they would. Giggles. So we left at Hooters, and my friends were pushing me, saying I should get a job there. NO! Okay, so I was wrong, it was not 鈥 檛 in everything I expected it to be. In place of women in bikinis who had seen the ads, wearing shirts that 鈥 檛 Do not offend me while I was eating. Our plans were crushed, as we sat eating our lunch at Hooters (just the name is offensive to me, sorry guys!), Like the pouring rain from a thunderstorm and large-scale strike from the beautiful city of Nashville. It rained all day, so our plans to return to Riverfest to see some of the most popular artists of the week, were frustrated. In the afternoon, the rain had stopped and headed for Nashville Palace with some friends. The kitchen leaves much to be desired. None of us liked the food or drink, but the entertainment was great. Vern Gosdin appeared, improved considerably after his stroke a few years ago and sang some songs, to the delight of the audience. What is a legend! The house band was awesome and I began to realize that feels ordinary among the big talent that is everywhere, in every corner! What surprised me was that the bands were playing cover most of Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and Willie Nelson songs to name a few of the legends and the crowd roared for more . Is heard, and want more 鈥 榃 Merle 鈥? 鈥 鈥 楶 put another Dolly song? 鈥 鈥 业 want another Waylon tune? And these requests continued throughout the night. Rarely hears a song of Shania Twain or Faith Hill, and never a song of Jessica Andrews. What I found very interesting was, if people in the crowd were 25, 72, 43 or 14 (and had a few in the group of teenagers in all), everyone knew that every word of old standards and wanted to hear more. I even heard some teenagers, when one of the most recent songs played screaming, and don 鈥 榃 鈥 檛 want to hear that! We Merle!鈥? So record companies tend to let 鈥 鈥 涣 ld? Gov can not be what the public wants, who knows, maybe that's why country music is dying and record labels are going out of business. Could it be that aren 鈥 檛 listen to what people want, and just see the demographics of what they consider the purchase of the main population? Is there a place for ld 鈥 鈥 涣? With 鈥 鈥 渘 ew? Could it be that this industry and others who are doing the same thing has thrown the traditions, because anyone over 40 is too old? That 鈥 檚 sad. Apparently, those responsible have been responsible for allowing us to think, feel and see. Somehow, in the Americanized part of the world, anyone over 25 years has become outdated and too old and forget it if you are 40 years or more. I do not know about 鈥 檛 the rest of you, but I love my grandma more than anything. I think it higher, then anyone who has ever known. And above all else, is a virtual library of information. She is beautiful and interesting and fun. Nobody will tell me that because she is older, she is not of value! Recently, when I was watching a popular site radio station, I saw a statement and list read as follows: 鈥 鈥 淎 rtists play? 鈥 淎 rtists respect, but don 鈥 鈥 檛 play? All older more established artists and legends were on the list of spectacular 鈥 鈥 榬? and all p 鈥 涡 and newcomers 鈥? were in the playlist and 鈥 鈥 榳? He called me and asked the program director and asked why a certain artist, I thought it was 鈥 鈥 渘 ewer? Because he had a number one hit last year, was in the 鈥 榬 viewer, but did not play 鈥? List. I already suspected why the others were in there, but I disagree. They said that while it respects the greatest artists, the artist also referred because she was too old just turned 40, and Did not play 鈥 檛 women beyond the age of 40 years in their season. What surprised me was that he had the guts to tell me this. There aren 鈥 檛 age and sex discrimination laws? He said his younger demographic just liked to listen to the artists. How I wish he had been in Nashville for the night! What opened his eyes that the declaration was for me! My answer was for him, 鈥 渌 kay, so I 鈥 檙 and says Cher, Ella Fitzgerald and Kenny Rogers have lost their voices and sing and we can not put the pastor now? Very good!鈥? I hung up. Cher and Kenny Rogers have had two big hits in recent years and we all know that are over 40! Well, enough of my ranting. Back to Fan Fair and the original point. In most bars, the old rules were the most popular, especially Merle Haggard, and that was what people wanted to hear. The next day we tried to sing at the Blue Bird Café 茅, which was a huge thrill for me. I had never been to the Blue Bird. Rehearsed, hung by the pool, and then went to the Blue Bird. There was some great talent there. Wonderful singers 鈥 檛 I can name them all! For those of you who have never been to Nashville, please be sure to click the Blue Bird Café 茅. It is very small, so arrive early or there 鈥 檛 won a seat for you. If you can 鈥 檛 do it there or in Nashville, to be broadcast live over the Internet so you can hear the talent there. We did the concert with Joanne and the people came to us saying that we loved, and we were a breath of fresh air. That was good. We headed back to downtown and back to Broadway to see the events there. Daryle Singletary was presented at Tootsies and sang his hits from a year ago. It was amazing. What is a velvety voice. What I would like to know is why he was fired from his contract, and why isn 鈥 檛 signed back yet?! The crowd went crazy for him, women were cooing (I also hooo baby 鈥 鈥 a sweet hat!), And men loved him! Someone has to take it, or you need to start his own label. This was the last night of Fan Fair, and my last night in Nashville, so we had to get the better of him. We almost all the strip bars, learning new dances, listening to the talent, seeing old friends and breathing in the last home country feel, or at least better than you can get in a big city. My last stop was at the Grand Ole Opry Hotel, a real touristy thing to do and it was near midnight, but what a great last stop. It is the world's largest hotel, with about 2000 rooms and a wonderful tropical setting right in the middle of its enormous atrium. What a show and the beautiful. There was a fabulous light show happened to the water just after we arrived and we spent 3 hours walking around and looking at the beautiful architecture. There was not much more to the trip, but, unfortunately, just not enough 鈥 檛 room My general opinion of the Fan Fair is that I would not go again. There were not enough stars for fans in general and was not 鈥 檛 in all that had been built to be. I would go to Nashville and again and again. I love this city! It 鈥 檚 a great place, great atmosphere, with lots of fun things to do, and a plethora of talent that is amazing! If I were doing a little Andy Rooney Fan Fair, I would say, no air both in this great package, and once you put a hole in the box and let all the air, there was almost no product. Most of the fun I had in Nashville, I could have had if Fan Fair was there or not. Although they have never been part of previous Fan Fairs, my vote is a vote for the headquarters of age for stars back home! Jaci Rae 鈥?鈥 淭 Rae of Hope TM 鈥? Copyright 2006 Jaci Rae is the # 1 nationally bestselling author of 鈥 淭 that independent guide to music, marketing and money 鈥? ISBN 978-0-9746229-4-1 and 鈥 淲 entry points with the woman in your life a touchdown at a time.鈥? Jaci also hosts the popular 鈥 浙 aci Rae Show, 鈥? Listen live worldwide. With executives of major music artists to share internal information such as: Thom King (former VP of Clear Channel who now tells it like it is and working to get sponsors for artists), Mike Corbet (former A & R Mariah Carey, et.) Pedro Visvardis former Director of A & R for Sony Records, Harvey Cooper former VP of RCA Records, Jordan Keller legal counsel for the Backstreet Boys, etc. To get valuable professional advice, tune in every Thursday at 8 pm Pacific time, through: www.jacirae.com and click on the weekly show link to find out who 鈥 檚 in and how to tune in Customers can send your questions live. Dubbed by the media as "Racy Jaci" because of his quick wit and "The Rae of Hope" for its powerful vision, please make sure your output at: http://www.jacirae. com for a better day in every way ~ Jaci Rae Rae 鈥 鈥 淭 of hope? Jaci Rae is the # 1 nationally bestselling author of 鈥 淭 that independent music guide, marketing and money 鈥? And 鈥 淲 entry points with the woman in your life a touchdown at a time. Host of the Jaci Rae. To hear Jaci 鈥 檚 popular show, with top music moguls, go to: ww.jacirae.com Related articles - articles, fresh articles, articles of interest, Fan Fair, country music, indie, DIY, country, big country stars, country singers, Grand Ole Opry, counting, Email this article to a friend! Receive Articles like this directly to your email box! Subscribe for free today!
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