Thursday, May 31, 2012

The Scott Shelby Story Part 3

2:06 AM somewhere on a exit ramp in one of those “fly-over states” on our way to Music City, Scott pulls over and informs me that I have to drive, that he has been up and going since 4:00 AM and just needs a break…. I’m can’t believe he hasn’t wanted to switch-off before this, I would think I would have wanted all the sleep I could get if I was going to be in Nashville looking to become a star the next morning……
 
Sounds pretty far-fetched don’t ya think? …Kind of plum crazy…. We don’t know a single soul in Nashville; well there were some friends of a friend’s sort of a deal, but nothing concrete, and when I called a really good friend to get a telephone number for a someone who might have a contact who may help us…..

Well, he laughed his butt off at me,…us,… The whole trip….

I’ll be honest, and I bet Scott would agree… We both might have been thinking….”What are we doing?…How crazy is this?....Don’t know a soul, and we are one of literally tens of thousands of folks who show up in Nashville each year to a dream…. And maybe 1 out of 10,000 get a real chance to break out in the game.
Now we don’t dare say it, we know there is absolutely no place for even a hint of negativity …. Everything about this trip was and had to be positive, when you roll with our friend Matt you can't help but to stay positive !


Nashville is a town where the guy or gal who seats you at the restaurant maybe the next Faith Hill, or Keith Urban…. That the guy who is sitting next to you while at lunch might living off his song royalties of his top twenty hit for Clint Black from 1998 …

(last spring my girlfriend at the time & I was eating at Jimmy Buffets and I am pretty sure I was sitting next to Craig Morgan “Redneck Yacht Club”)

Everyone is just so crazy talented…. And here we are…. We are farm kids from no where Texas, Iowa, and Ohio…. And were going to Nashville to make Scott Shelby a STAR!

Really is funny, now that I think about it…. Hilarious…. I don’t blame my friend for laughing at me…. If the roles were reversed, I might have hung up thinking he was in need of medication and was delusional.

Now really we did not expect to have the mayor with the key to the city, nor a ticker tape parade welcoming us as we arrived, sure would have been nice however…

Perhaps the reason the trip was so successful is we didn’t know or pay any attention to the fact what we were dong was so far fetched.

Well as I was driving, I expected Scott to take a nap and get some rest…. NOT SO… This guy got more amped when I started driving… We talked about all the songs he has wrote, and he started playing some he had on recorded at his apartment on his guitar and his wall-mart laptop, and honestly the more songs he played the better the stuff got…. I mean I had heard him play about 10 times & guessed I had heard all the stuff that he had wrote that was any good…

WRONG… then He played me Rule #1 I would hope my excitement and my encouragement  for the song was part of the reason he recorded it…

Ok, if you know me, you can picture me bouncing like a kid waiting in line to see Ole’ St. Nick at the Ben Franklin on Black Friday…. I am up in his ear, tweaking,
“Scott, you just gotta do this song….. Ya gotta, please man, I love this song, you really just have to do it…Please do it… I love this song, ya gotta do this song.....

Scott may have chose that as one of his five songs to record so I would shut up but it is pretty easy my favorite song that he recorded in Nashville… I am so excited to hear the final mix when it hits on iTunes….

Just for the record…. I really expect that in about five years when he sits down to do his interview with Barbara Walters as one of 2017 most fascinating people, he says something like

“Well Miss Barbara, I really owe a lot to my dear friend Kevin Mears, he just stayed on me to cut Rule #1 which was the original name of - Fall in Love  - as a single…. That song stayed number one on the Billboard Country charts for a record 76 weeks…. and from that song came the concept for the movie that Channing Tatum stared in where he won his Oscar. Which let to the line of western clothing, the restaurant chain, fragrance line, The NASCAR team, the Friday Nite Varity show that airs weekly on Fox the and untimely enabled me to purchase the NFL franchise of the Dallas Cowboys.”

----Ok, that may be delusional but if your going to dream… DREAM BIG! ----

Matt and his fiancĂ© are pretty private folks, and I know really would rather me not talk much about them but…when Matt believes in something, he might be the most passionate and determined guy I have ever been around. Matt’s belief that you make your own luck in this world is proved in his own business, and as we traveled he muti-tasked between keeping five crews on the road with his semen company, brainstormed ideals with Scott and I, he networked with our web designer, and bonded with his fiancĂ©e’ Michele Thorpe, and talked about her new venture into fashion retail sales… again this group of farm kids have some pretty diverse interests.

I drove for a few hours, but it really only seemed like twenty minuets, listening to Scott talk about his past and music really is a very interesting story but I let CMT tell that story when the time comes.

I will continue the story with the inside scoop on how things transpired behind the scenes in Nashville in Scott Shelby Part 4


 Tonight the music video will post on youtube for Young and Invincible 


Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Scott Shelby Story Part 2



Ok for those of you who missed the video early when I posted it, let me shared it again... Now while most folks might think this is embarrassing, me. it may be the only time time I get to sing with a Hall of Fame country super star...


Now back to the Scott Shelby Story..... 

After about 20 or so Socials where Scott would perform cover tunes as well as some of his own original songs folks would ask if he had some stuff on iTunes where they could download it, and the great thing is it mattered not if there were five or fifty at the socials he treated it like the most important thing in the world, Scott is great with a crowd, very likable and can make up a song about anything at a seconds notice....

Folks started noticing his talent and requesting him to perform graduation parties and wedding receptions. 

Now last week when the rest of the world was waiting to see who the next American Idol would be
Scott, Matt, Matt's fiance' and myself were driving to Nashville to make our own American Idol!

I had been held up in a motel in Columbus, Neb. working on customers pictures and videos to ensure I would stay on target, and was thinking about where I would go the next few days to see some cattle and make impromptu stops and herd visits before I headed east for some booked appointments. 

The phone rings and Matts on the other end, 

Matt: "Mears, get to Adel, Iowa ASAP. We are going to Nashville leaving at 5:00PM, Whereare you anyhow?" 
Me: "Well, in a motel in Columbus, Ne." 
Matt: "Good thats a 3 hour drive, you'll have a hour to spare." 
Me: "Is this a joke?'
Matt: "No!" 
Me: "Do we have a plan?'
Matt: "We will make one on the way, see ya in a few hours......CLICK.......

To be honest, I really wasn't that surprised by the call. I don't know why I wasn't.... It was almost like I knew it was coming... I know it sounds strange, but so much about this trip, the way it came together, the contacts and folks we met in such a small amount of time seem so unlikely that anyone of faith would have to believe there was a much greater power at hand....

Ok, We gather in Des Moines, Iowa and pack way to much stuff in Matts very dirty SUV and head off to Music City....But wait, before we get to nashville we need to have a ScottShelby.com website working.... with one phone call our web designer was in for a UP ALL NIGHT task. How ever she needed needs some content, some nice pictures, maybe a video recording or two of Scott performing, she needs all this, AND we are driving to Nashville, it needs to happen overnight!!!! 

Before we ever get out of Des Moines we find a very small musical instrument shop in a out-of-the-way part of town that we were randomly driving though...We pull in and they just happened to have a  very small sound-proof teaching room that was going to be empty for about 10 minuets, which was just perfect for us to get video with acceptable audio to put on Scott's website... 

                                 

Next we need some high quality photos for Scott's Web sight, now while I download the recored video the other head off to find some rail-road tracks to get a few shots for the web-site.... all this happens in less than thirty minutes and we are back on the road again.....

TO BE CONTINUED...
STAY TUNED TO PART 3 ... THIS WHERE THINGS GET GOOD...

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Important information about SCOTT SHELBY

The Scott Shelby Story Part 2 will post tonight.

But before we get there let me share this now...and may I clarify, I in no way speak officially on Scotts behalf. 

Scott and I have joked that I could be the president of his fan club, if anyone votes for me......LOL.

I was honored to be asked, and be a part of what I'll call history in the making! I am a big fan of this young man and his talents.

With that said, I have had several text msgs, and Facebook msgs. asking if it would be ok to share my blog posts or his videos and the like. 
HELL YES!!!!!

I said in Scott Shelby Part 1, that Scott was going to be a big star but would need your help! 
By help I'll ask if you like any of this stuff share it, YouTube videos, Facebook posts, Tweets, please share it!!! 


He has a billboard in Nashville, Tennessee  no one is trying to keep his talent a secret.

In to todays social media driven world, one video post going viral to a million people and the next day your a household name....don't believe me? check out Rebecca Black and her "Friday" video that went viral. 

While I don't know anyone in the radio station game, I bet I l know some who does and if that person forwards Scotts story on and they that person likes his music and wants to give his music a try on the air, that might just be the break he needs. 

With all that said, please go to www.scottshelby.com and sign up for his fan page to keep up with the latest happenings and info about upcoming shows 



Monday, May 28, 2012

Why Scott Shelby Is going to be a STAR


Ok I'm gonna take a break for a few moments and share why I have such faith in this young man that I have only known for a very short time....

I could tell you about how all seems right with the universe when he sings, or how the stars seem to line up for him, I could tell you of the the struggles he has worked his way though to grow into the man he is today but all that is irrelevant when you hear him sing.....

The video below was of him warming up before his vocals were recored this past week in Nashville.... I'll be honest as he finished this song he smiled as I turned off the camera from recording as he asked if I liked it. I looked up with tears rolling down my face and could only say "yes".

When a person can evoke tears in man like myself, well thats a rare quality, If your honest you will admit there have been a song or two that you have cried when you heard it....

Alan Jackson - Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning 

Tim MaGraw - Live Like You Were Dying 
(after loosing my mother to Brest Cancer this song still kicks my ass)

Lee Greenwood - God bless the USA

Brad Paisley - When I Get Where I'm Going

Clay Walker - Where do I Fit In the Picture

Clay Walker - Chain of Love

Reba - If I Had Only Known

Reba - What Do You Say

Elvis - Kentucky Rain

Garth Brooks - The Dance


Ok, you get the point it takes the right song lyrics but its the vocal performance you can't forget... I could sing the songs above and you are gonna throw things at me, but with the right feel and texture in ones voice, it is truly as if heaven opens up and shines down on you. 

I know as humble as Scott is, he would have rather me not put him in the same article as these crazy talented people, but I know he has the same qualities in him as they have....Hopefully you will recognize it also. 

Now there is a good chance I have over-hyped Scotts performance on this video and you won't find is a emotional as I do but thats ok, I think you'll still enjoy it.

The Scott Shelby Story Part 2



Ok for those of you who missed the video early when I posted it, let me shared it again... Now while most folks might think this is embarrassing, me. it may be the only time time I get to sing with a Hall of Fame country super star...


Now back to the Scott Shelby Story..... 

After about 20 or so Socials where Scott would perform cover tunes as well as some of his own original songs folks would ask if he had some stuff on iTunes where they could download it, and the great thing is it mattered not if there were five or fifty at the socials he treated it like the most important thing in the world, Scott is great with a crowd, very likable and can make up a song about anything at a seconds notice....

Folks started noticing his talent and requesting him to perform graduation parties and wedding receptions. 

Now last week when the rest of the world was waiting to see who the next American Idol would be
Scott, Matt, Matt's fiance' and myself were driving to Nashville to make our own American Idol!

I had been held up in a motel in Columbus, Neb. working on customers pictures and videos to ensure I would stay on target, and was thinking about where I would go the next few days to see some cattle and make impromptu stops and herd visits before I headed east for some booked appointments. 

The phone rings and Matts on the other end, 

Matt: "Mears, get to Adel, Iowa ASAP. We are going to Nashville leaving at 5:00PM, Whereare you anyhow?" 
Me: "Well, in a motel in Columbus, Ne." 
Matt: "Good thats a 3 hour drive, you'll have a hour to spare." 
Me: "Is this a joke?'
Matt: "No!" 
Me: "Do we have a plan?'
Matt: "We will make one on the way, see ya in a few hours......CLICK.......

To be honest, I really wasn't that surprised by the call. I don't know why I wasn't.... It was almost like I knew it was coming... I know it sounds strange, but so much about this trip, the way it came together, the contacts and folks we met in such a small amount of time seem so unlikely that anyone of faith would have to believe there was a much greater power at hand....

Ok, We gather in Des Moines, Iowa and pack way to much stuff in Matts very dirty SUV and head off to Music City....But wait, before we get to nashville we need to have a ScottShelby.com website working.... with one phone call our web designer was in for a UP ALL NIGHT task. How ever she needed needs some content, some nice pictures, maybe a video recording or two of Scott performing, she needs all this, AND we are driving to Nashville, it needs to happen overnight!!!! 

Before we ever get out of Des Moines we find a very small musical instrument shop in a out-of-the-way part of town that we were randomly driving though...We pull in and they just happened to have a  very small sound-proof teaching room that was going to be empty for about 10 minuets, which was just perfect for us to get video with acceptable audio to put on Scott's website... 

                                 

Next we need some high quality photos for Scott's Web sight, now while I download the recored video the other head off to find some rail-road tracks to get a few shots for the web-site.... all this happens in less than thirty minutes and we are back on the road again.....

TO BE CONTINUED...
STAY TUNED TO PART 3 ... THIS WHERE THINGS GET GOOD...

Sunday, May 27, 2012

The Scott Shelby Story Part 1

Ok, I guess those of you who are friends with me on Facebook have noticed the last few days posts from or about Nashville..... 

Seems like my city friends really don't understand what I do...other than its something with cows and sometimes I do something with bull semen. So the last week has had folks really wondering about my recent Nashville connections 

Let me start by saying this.... 

I have a friend named Scott Shelby and he is going to be a star... but he is going to need your help.


In a nut shell let me share what I can as it pertains to this event.

Scott Shelby is a second year vet student who has been doing a spring/summer internship with Matt Lautner Cattle. MLC  is a customer and also has been a great asset as we bounce ideas to help our customers, off each other....

Matt Lautner has a great mind for marketing and customer service, let me share some back story with you. A year ago Matt started traveling around the country putting on "Socials" for his customers. Now Matt started his business of selling semen on some of the best show quality beef bulls in the country a few years back and each spring travels thousand upon thousands of miles delivering semen right to producers door steps.

Now back to these socials, but before you know more on that, you need to understand those in the cattle production part of agriculture have a grueling couple of months in February and March, during calving season. Farmers and Ranchers spend about 20 hours of a days' 24 hours in the calving barn, checking cows fixing to calve or that have just calved. Take it from me if you have not experienced this its wonderful but very tiresome. You eat, and sleep in the calving barn and sometimes you may go a few days between showers. Doesn't sound glamorous but its the truth, theres not much time to go and hang out at the coffee shop or the feed mill to catch up on the local news.....

This is where the "Social" comes into play, last year Matt thought what a great idea it would be in April and May, after calving season slowed down, to, as he was traveling across the country to offer his customers a night on the town. Nothing fancy, a nice meal some drinks and a chance for all his customers in a area to shake the dust off there boots and come to town, a great way to visit with other area cattlemen, and enjoy a nice meal and maybe a few beers.

Marketing is my career and this idea is genius, in my humble oppion and I can't believe it hadn't already happened.

Ok Fast forward a year to present time, Matt hires a intern to asset him selling semen and driving each spring and this year he found out about a young man who had full ride academic scholarships all they way at Texas A&M who was taking time off from vet school to earn some money to finish his education. After about a ten minute phone interview,  Scott was hired....

Scott is a singer and musician, and someone thought it would be fun if, during the socials he would pull out his guitar and play a little and sing a few songs......Now remember he was hired to sell semen and drive the truck......None of us knew just how gifted he was...


Little did anyone know where the road would lead us.........




Stay tuned for more tomorrow night....... with a never before seen video of a a performance by Scott Shelby that left this writer very emotional......







Memorial Day / Memorial Weekend


Memorial Day / Memorial Weekend

It hasn’t really been until the past six years that I had started taking part in the whole Americana experience that is this extended early summer party weekend.

I honestly never remember much ado about Memorial Day and all the festivities that go with it when I was younger… As a kid growing up on a working farm it was more time to work around the farm. Perhaps we may have taken some time to go and decorate a love ones grave.  At times over the years we could go enjoy a jackpot steer or pig show.

Families across the country make quite the ordeal out of this weekend, gathering for BBQ and fellowship…. I have at times went to, and got invited to these events, with a serious case of jitters thinking of all the work that could be getting done rather than sitting around eating, even years after production ceased at the home farm I would be at these functions thinking…. “If I was home I could be spreading manure” or “Today would be a good day to clean out that fence row we didn’t get to last fall.”

Perhaps is jealousy that all these people have the TIME to KILL…. Oh, I know that time with family is a great thing but what I am saying is shouldn’t we put more effort in to loved ones and family members EVERYDAY???? While there here on earth rather that covering there grave with flowers on Memorial Day or picking a few holidays to gather.

With that said shouldn’t everyday be Memorial Day, should we honor our love ones memory every day living our lives to the fullest, live a live filed with love and honor, and the greatest way to honor there memory; In service to others?

I see piles of folks out on motorcycles; I think bikers are the kings of the slackers… I know I will have at least one friend maybe two (Karen & Tom) who will give me grief over saying this but, I don’t get it…

I have a friend who, with some buddies just rode bikes all day, they will ride motorbikes all weekend, never going anywhere, not seeing really anything different than the last time they rode, just riding there motorcycles around. I see these folks and just want to ask….”Really? Don’t you have shit to do?” I guess it must be nice to be so simple minded that spending the summer holidays on a bike is all that it takes to curb or satisfy your minds desire. Some will say “Now B.S. Kevin, you just said you live your life to your fullest…. Didn’t you?”  Yes, I did say that but this looks more like a way to squander the precious time given to us, enough of my ranting.

As you enjoy your FREE day of fun and relaxation, please remember the reason behind it is to serve as time to give thanks to the Men & Women of the U.S. armed forces who gave their life in service to this country where you can squander a whole day… and your life if you chose.

Thank you for stopping by and God Bless

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Some Sights from the ROAD, Wyoming Vlog

I am so lucky and blessed that I have a career that allows me to travel, see interesting parts of the US and DO WHAT I LOVE....

However, being on the road and living out of a car and Holiday Inn's for almost three weeks does get really old and when, OR IF, I every have a family it will cease.....


Until then, I get to play cowboy everyday, well most days..... Now it may be out of a rental car with a cell phone....Not quite the Ole West cowboy days but... "Times they are a' changing"

Had to pull out the Flip camera the other day and get some footage of where I was at...Enjoy


Saturday, May 19, 2012

Brought tears to my eyes

Ok, I get to see some incredible things as I travel and most times I don't have the time to truly enjoy them but the other day I was with in 10 miles of this staple of AMERICANA and I had to stop!

Truly a sight to be hold, I will post more on this latter but had to share a quick pic....


Honestly, as I stood there thinking about the sacrifices those who have built this country has made, the young men & women who have died fighting for freedom around the world, the men who stood for what they believed in to build this democracy.... when you think about it, they did something never before done, there was no template on how to build and run a free society... so with all the problems our government has (and there is a LOT) when you think about what we, as Americans have achieved for not only our country but for other countries aournd the world it's pretty overwhelming.... As I thought about these things tears ran down my cheeks, we truly are blessed to live and work in the U.S.A.

Kevin sings .... Sort of...

How fun is this, about a month ago I posted a blog on music to our lives and featured the song Wagon Wheel... then a few weeks later I got to ..."help" out the talented song writer and recording artist Scott Shelby in this impromptu perfomace @ a customers ranch in Torrington, Wy.
In case you missed it on facebook I had to share again...