‘Dancing with the Stars’ hits the GEC

ABC’s Dancing with the Stars – like American Idol – has put together a road show, and it hits the Gaylord Entertainment Center Sun., Jan. 21.

Maybe by the then, the GEC will have the Brooks & Dunn New Year’s Eve bash cleaned up. I digress.

So who’s gonna be here?

Season one’s Joey McIntyre dances with season three’s Kym Johnson.

Season two champs Drew Lachey and Cheryl Burke, Lisa Rinna and Louis Van Amstel, season three’s Joey Lawrence and Edyta Sliwinska, Willa Ford and her possible beau Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Harry Hamlin with Karina Smirnoff will join them.

So Lisa Rinna and her hubby, Harry Hamlin, both will be on the tour but they won’t dance together? Hmmm….

Who’s gonna watch their kids? I digress again.

The GEC show will be two hours long, and they’re gonna try to turn the GEC into a nightclub. There’ll even be tables on the arena floor.

And yes, a live orchestra will accompany the dancers.

Tix go on sale through TicketMaster outlets Saturday.

The girl’s leavin’ Trick Pony

Tell ya what, I’ll just let Heidi Newfield of Trick Pony (Pour Me) tell you in her own words:

Dear Friends,

I have some exciting news to share with you! I will be leaving the band at the end of our December tour.

I’ve decided to branch out and try it on my own. It’s time for me to follow my heart and take my own path, I hope you’ll support me in this decision and stick by me as I start this wonderful new chapter in my career.

I want to extend a humble and heartfelt thank you to all of you that have been there for us through the years. I have many wonderful memories to carry with me on the this next leg of my journey.

As for Ira and Keith, I wish them all the happiness and success in the world and will always consider them among my dearest friends. I’m excited to see what they’ll do next, they are both incredibly talented.

The combination of excitement and anxiety I feel right now reminds me of when I first left the comforts of home in Northern California to chase my dreams in Nashville, Tennessee.

With a few hundred dollars in my pocket, a beat up Mercury and a passion for music… the good Lord helped me find my way…I know he’ll continue to guide my new path.

I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all of the people in the industry who have supported Trick Pony through the years and I look forward to sharing my solo projects with you in the near future.

God Bless and Much Love,

Heidi Newfield

‘People’: Ryan didn’t cheat on Reese

It’s a battle of celeb mags.

US Weekly reported yesterday that Ryan Phillippe cheated with 24-year-old Aussie actress Abbie Cornish while the two worked together on an indie movie in Austin, Tex.

And that, US Weekly added, is what split up Ryan with one-time Nashvillian Reese Witherspoon.

Not so, People magazine now reports on its Web site.

“Although the pair did go out to dinner in Austin, and they were seen dining out, the people we spoke with said nothing untoward happened,” People senior editor J.D. Heyman told TV’s Extra.

A memorial service has been set for Music Row stalwart Buddy Killen, the behind-the-scenes giant who pitched the song Heartbreak Hotel to Elvis Presley.

Buddy, 73, died of cancer yesterday.

The service happens at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Ryman Auditorium, and it’s open to the public.

“A joyous celebration of Killen’s exceptional life will be offered and his countless colleagues, friends,
and fans are all invited to attend,” his longtime friend and publicist, Betty Hofer, said in an e-mail.

HallowEast!

One of my readers, Kris, sent in this adorable picture (right) of her kids off to see the wizard!

While they were trick-or-treating, I crossed the Cumberland River to the East side for Halloween. There were thousands of spooks out at the HallowEast Pub Crawl. Here are a few of the pictures I snapped along my journey between the five hot spots.

This guy was so big, I don’t think he could fit in the bar. They said he was Robert Moog (inventor of the Moog synthesizer) can you see it?

Madonna was one of my favorites! The boom box jamming her hits was the perfect accessory!

Is that a real ape?

Steve Irwin and his stingray won the That’s Just Wrong contest.

Did you see any good costumes?

Click the link for more pictures!
(more…)

Red Carpet Pictures

Here are a few pictures I snapped on the red carpet at Broadway Meets Country. Come to think of it, there wasn’t a red carpet just the concrete floor. Anyway, it was an exciting show with some strong performers and others that may think twice before switching roles again.

Ben Vereen snagged the mic to confesss his love for Nashville in his fabulous Manuel jacket.

Peter Gallagher from The OC and While You Were Sleeping kept the ladies entertained as the co-host.

Trisha Yearwood was amazing on Somewhere from West Side Story and Laura Bell Bundy won the crown for being the cutest performer of the night!

Wariner’s gall bladder’s gone

Steve Wariner (Holes in the Floor of Heaven) has his gall bladder removed this morning at a Nashville hospital.

His wife, Caryn, says he’s resting comfortably and he’ll be released in a couple of days.

The total recovery period is a few weeks, and Steve is bummed that he’ll be missing several CMA Awards show week activities. (The big show is Monday right here on News 2.)

“And he’s really going to miss hosting the 50th Annual Lions Club Telethon of the Stars in Paducah next weekend, because he always has a great time meeting the kids that the telethon benefits,” Caryn said in statement.

Music Row powerhouse Killen dies

Very sad news for Music Row today. Longtime Nashville song publisher powerhouse Buddy Killen died early this morning from cancer.

Buddy, 73, did some bass playing and some performing in his career, but he mostly was known inside Nashville’s music community.

In 1951, Buddy co-founded Tree International publishing, which is now Sony/ATV publishing, arguably the most powerful song publishing house in Nashville. Publishing houses, by the way, gets songs from songwriters to artists.

Buddy signed folks like Dolly Parton and Roger Miller to be songwriters at his company, and it was Buddy who pitched Heartbreak Hotel to Elvis Presley.

Buddy also wrote a number of hits himself, including Conway Twitty smash I May Never Get to Heaven.

Here in town, though, most outside Music Row might’ve known buddy as the owner of the Stockyard steakhouse, a popular Music Row/politician hang in the ’80s.

Or they knew him from incredibly high profile fund-raisers he did for Easter Seals.

I’ll never forget meeting Burt Reynolds at one of these events at the Stockyard in the 1990s.

Buddy stayed relevant until he died. He sold his original publishing company more than 10 years ago, but he founded his own smaller publishing company.

So Buddy actually has co-publishing on most songs on the last album for hip-hop duo OutKast, and he has co-publishing on current Rascal Flatts hit Me and My Gang.

Those who met Buddy never forgot his quick smile and handshake or his ever-present tan. He truly was an ambassador for Music Row and a good guy to be around.

The current Sony/ATV chief, Troy Tomlinson, issued this statement today to News 2:

“With the passing of Buddy Killen, the Sony/ATV family has lost a mentor and friend and Music Row has lost a pioneering founder.

“I can’t imagine what Music City would look like today without the influence of Buddy. His touch extended to songwriters, artists and everyone else with whom he came in contact.

“His enthusiasm and positive attitude always reflected the fact that he truly enjoyed what he did and the people with whom he worked.

“Buddy was genuinely grateful for the opportunity to help others realize their dreams.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Buddy’s family.”

There’ll be a funeral at the Ryman, but no final details have been set yet.

Remembering Buddy Killen

It was just over a month ago that I went to publishing legend, Buddy Killens’ West End home for an Easter Seals Fundraisers. I actually wrote a blog about that night, but never finished it. Today he passed away at the age of 73.

Buddy seemed so healthy that night…smiling, laughing and mingling about his home with all of his friends and family. Things took a turn when he was recently diagnosed with liver and pancreatic cancer.

Buddy was not just a publishing legend, but a songwriter, a record producer and one that donated his time to good causes. His history in the music business covers the likes of Elvis Presley, Dottie West, Dolly Parton and several other greats. Most recently his company KMG, began publishing the multi-Platinum hip hop group OutKast so it was no surprise that Kevin Kendricks showed at the Easter Seals event.

Buddy is survived by his wife, two daughters, a stepson, two grandsons and five sisters.
A memorial service is planned at the Ryman Auditorium.

Another woman splits Reese/Ryan?

US Weekly magazine is telling any celeb news TV show that’ll listen that Ryan Phillippe cheated on Reese Witherspoon and that that’s what’s splitting them.

The magazine points the finger at 24-year-old Aussie actress Abbie Cornish, who has starred opposite Russell Crowe and Heath Ledger in movies that’ll be released later.

In fact, Ryan also shot a movie with Abbie, an independent film called Stop Loss. US Weekly said it was common knowledge around Austin, Tex., where the film was shot, that Ryan and Abbie were hooked up.

Abbie’s reps deny it.

No comment from Reese or Ryan’s peeps.

One night: Nashville rock-athon

Hail, hail, the gang’s all here.

There’s a fund-raiser show at the Ryman tonight that puts Felix Cavaliere of The Rascals, John Kay of Steppenwolf, Mark Farner of Grand Funk Railroad, B.J. Thomas (Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head) and the star of the night, Steve Cropper, who has co-written some huge pop/rock hits.

Steve lent his name to the show — Play It Steve! A 50-Year Musical Journey with Steve Cropper and Special Guests — as a way to raise money for T.J. Martell Foundation, which battles leukemia, cancer and AIDS. (Go to TicketMaster outlets if you wanna be there.)

Country guests include Trick Pony, John Anderson, Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel and Randy Owen of Alabama.

Oh, but that’s not all. The host will be Broadway/TV/movie star Peter Gallagher, the coma guy in While You Were Sleeping, or the dad on Fox’s The O.C.

Seems Peter made an album a year or so ago, and he wanted Steve, an original member of the Blues Brothers band, to play on the album. Steve agreed, and they’ve been close buddies ever since.

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