Podcasts about left of nashville

I’ve had an Open Records Request document for months. But I haven’t filed it yet. In the Tara Grinstead case in Oscilla, GA, podcaster Payne Lindsey from Up And Vanished talked at great length about trying to get official records. He even talked about some blowback that anyone who files one of these might receive. But he eventually filed one, only to learn that Georgia law is very much on the side of keeping police records sealed. He got nothing. But every state is different, and this is Tennessee. So I wanted to see what we were facing here in the Volunteer State before I filed one. I reached out to my music attorney friend, Sarah Ruth Schuberth in Nashville, to see if she could make sense of this. Sarah was featured in an episode of my music podcast Left Of Nashville, where she explained last year’s DOJ ruling concerning songwriters.

Support SFG by purchasing the Left Of Nashville EP on Amazon and iTunes! Amazon iTunes

Support SFG by purchasing the Left Of Nashville EP. Amazon iTunes

Please support SFG by purchasing the Left Of Nashville EP on Amazon and iTunes. Amazon iTunes

Support SFG by purchasing the Left Of Nashville EP. Amazon.com iTunes

Show your support of Searching For Ghosts by purchasing the Left Of Nashville EP. Amazon.com iTunes   Trying to figure out what to air in this podcast is a constant tightrope walk. I have to sift through the myriad of rumors to find the truth. I don’t want this to be the audio equivalent of a Topix discussion board. But sometimes you have to put unsubstantiated stories out there to get people to come out with the truth.   I am constantly having to keep law enforcement’s best interest in mind. Which is a guessing game because I am not in communication with them. The last thing I want to do is be a hinderance to the investigation of the disappearance of Cayce McDaniel.   And then there is the family. These are real people, and here I am putting things out in a public forum that sometimes, are not the most flattering. I gain no pleasure whatsoever in talking about people’s private lives. But in order to find answers, this is a necessary evil.   And after the Mr. X episode, I thought it was time to give the family a chance to talk. Cindy has had an open invitation to speak her mind, unedited. I’ve gotten word to her that I will just hit record and she can say whatever she wants. But I also wanted to give others in the family the opportunity to have a say.   And Cayce’s aunt and cousin took me up on this offer. Pam and her son Lucas met with me in Jackson, Tennessee. I had no questions prepared. I just came in, set up my recording equipment and told them that they had the floor. If something came up that spawned a question, I would ask. But otherwise, this was their time.   And they came prepared. Pam brought in a file folder overflowing with twenty-one years of paperwork documenting all the starts and stops.   I’m Brandon Barnett. This is Cayce’s family. And this is Searching For Ghosts.   I’ve almost dropped this project countless times for a number of different reasons. Lucas helped remind me as to why I started this thing to begin with.   Pam talked about how close Cindy was with Billy Hale, from The National Missing Children’s Locate Center. I also saw firsthand the documents where Cindy was asking for help, with one letter addressed to then Tennessee Governor Don Sundquist. And our interview momentarily turned into a research session.     Then, we got back on track.   And then Pam wanted to address the Mr. X theory.   There is some hope as far as Pam is concerned with the people on the case currently.   It is critical that people come forward who have valid information concerning Cayce’s disappearance. Eliminating questions is just as important as finding answers. We have to cut through the fog.   And you know never know what kind of valuable information will come up when you least expect it.

began working on Searching For Ghosts in the fall of last year. I started by scouring the internet, trying to find anything I could on this case. As far as official reports, the information on the web was pretty much that initial story of how Cindy , , Cayce’s mother, found the house that night. There were a few stories done by WMCTV Channel 5 out of Memphis covering vigils that were held on the anniversary of Cayce’s disappearance, but that was pretty much it. Some of the sites that I found looked like they hadn’t been updated since 1996. Remember how the internet used to look? With the awful graphics and cheesy font? Yeah, this was my main source in the beginning in which to make a podcast.   Then I decided to reach out to The Milan-Mirror Exchange, Milan’s local newspaper. Back in 2005, I was a reporter for one of the papers owned by the same guy who owns the Mirror Exchange . So I had an in.   The editor of the paper, Victor Parkins, was very helpful. He gave me two names of people to contact that he felt sure would talk to me. He even let me use audio from a video interview done a few years back of Cayce’s best friend, Amber, who has been the main person to keep Cayce’s memory alive over the years. It’s her voice that you hear in the Searching For Ghosts teaser. She was one of the two names that he gave me.   I knew that I had a hard row to hoe ahead of me. I’m not from Milan. Strike One. I’m not an investigative journalist. Strike Two. I’m a musician. Strike Three.   So I tried reaching out to Amber through social media.  And I waited. I think she even deleted my friend request. So I contacted a friend of mine who had gone to high school with her. I asked him to reach out to Amber and grease the skids for me. And that’s what he did. He vouched for me and explained that the past two years of my life had been documented in Left Of Nashville, so if she wanted to know what I was about, there was basically an audio diary of mine online. I got Nothing.   This among other things caused me to shelve the project. I felt that if I couldn’t get Cayce’s best friend to talk, a friend who was with her the night she disappeared, then I had no shot of getting anyone in the family to talk. And with hardly any information about the case available to the public, I knew I didn’t have a podcast without friends and family.   But this case kept gnawing at me. I couldn’t let it go entirely. Especially after stumbling on a podcast by Payne Lindsey called ‘Up And Vanished.’ Lindsey is a filmmaker in Atlanta and his podcast is about the eleven year-old missing persons case of Tara Grinstead in Ocilla, Ga.    Like me, Lindsey wasn’t an investigative reporter. He wasn’t even a podcaster. And Ocilla, Ga is about half the size of Milan, Tn, so he was having even more trouble getting people to talk. But he went ahead with the podcast anyway. And just a few weeks ago, the GBI made two arrests in the cold case, no doubt, in large part due to Up and Vanished. I had no excuse at this point.   So i decided to go ahead and launch this thing. I put together the introductory episode and wrote a press release. I sent it out.  And within two hours, the daily paper  in Jackson Tn, The Jackson Sun, had it up on their website and the following day, it was on the front page of the paper, above the fold.    And THAT’S when Amber contacted me. She apologized for not responding earlier and explained to me why she had reservations. She then followed up with an offer to help in any way possible.    So this is Cayce Lynn McDaniel’s best friend and her first hand recollections of August 16th and 17th of 1996.   I’m Brandon Barnett. And this is Searching For Ghosts.   According to Amber, she remembers that it was initially  handled as a runaway case, which is understandable, especially since it involved a teenager. But Amber never believed that Cayce was a runaway.   The story of how Cayce’s mother found the house that night is attached to every news report that can be found about this case. It is THE STORY. And the thing that jumps out to almost everyone who hears it and the question that I have been asked the most since airing the teaser last fall is “Who waits ten hours to call someone?   I thought that there might be an explanation after Amber described the dynamics of their friendship. We’ll discuss this in more detail at the end of this episode.   So if Cayce did tell her mother she was spending the night at Amber’s, wouldn’t this more in line with a runaway situation than an abduction? Amber still doesn’t buy it.   I asked Amber if she could remember Cindy’s demeanor as they were riding around looking for Cayce.   Which leads us back to the story. You know, THE STORY.   While Cayce spending the night at Amber’s might explain Cindy’s calm demeanor the following day and possibly why she waited ten hours to call anyone, it still doesn’t mesh with the story of how the scene looked at the house.   There is even one news report where a relative states that Cayce’s favorite brand new pair of shoes were found in her room. There is no evidence that she left that house dressed to go out.     Searching For Ghosts Website     Brandon Barnett-Behind The Scenes (iTunes)   Brandon Barnett-Behind The Scenes (Amazon)     Brandon Barnett-Man Who Tries (iTunes)   Brandon Barnett-Man Who Tries (Amazon)

In 1996, the internet was still in its infancy with an estimated 10 million users. The first flip phone was introduced with a price tag of a whopping $1,000. To give a little more perspective, this was three years before the Columbine Massacre and five years before 9/11. In the summer of 1996, we didn’t even know the name Jon Benet Ramsey. Her murder was still four month away. One could argue that we hadn’t yet lost our innocence.   I was twenty two years old at the the time. I remember seeing one of those huge “Have You Seen Me?” billboards on the by-pass in my hometown of Jackson, Tennessee. Jackson sits on Interstate 40 about halfway between Memphis and Nashville. The billboard was for a missing fourteen year old girl from Milan, Tennessee, a small town of 8,000 people that is located some twenty five miles north of Jackson.   In 1996, we weren’t as connected as we are today. There was no texting or social media. Sure, most residents of Milan would drive to Jackson to work, but most of my friends at the time had never even been to Milan…there was just no reason to go there. So, when the news broke of Cayce Lynn McDaniel’s disappearance, many of us in the largest city in West Tennessee outside of Memphis were left scratching our heads. What the hell was going on in this neighboring town that we had always heard mention of but knew very little about.   In the twenty years since, I’ve been to Milan countless times when i ran a delivery route. I’ve made friends there and have learned a lot about the town during this time.   Milan is unique in West Tennessee in the fact that it is romanticized by its residents, especially when it comes to its high school football team. It reminds me of something you would see in rural Texas. Think Friday Night Lights. When fall rolls around, the town becomes a sea of purple and white (the colors of the Milan Bulldogs. It is also a pastime for residents to bash every surrounding town (including Jackson) as inferior. Especially, other towns in Gibson County. Humboldt, Tn is referred to as Scumboldt by residents of Milan.   Back in the day, it wasn’t uncommon to hear Milan residents who worked in Jackson brag about how they wouldn’t be caught dead living in Jackson…the crime was just too bad there. It became a running joke with a lot of my friends about how we had been oblivious for so long that God’s utopian garden spot on Planet Earth was just twenty-five miles north of Jackson, Tn. Who knew?   While this hometown pride always rubbed many of us the wrong way back then, there is something endearing about it. There is a sense of community there that is lacking in a lot of the country. There is no need to convince people to shop local there. If a shop in Milan has what residents need, that’s where they'll get it.   So last December, seemingly every television network was airing specials on the 20th anniversary of the murder of Jon Benet Ramsey. Then I saw a small blurb about the case of Cayce Lynn McDaniel. I understand why the Ramsey case captivated the world, but I couldn’t help but feel anger over the lack of coverage of Cayce’s case. If it weren’t for a local news report, I wouldn’t have known that it has been twenty years. It just isn’t on the radar anymore.   I remember thinking, if Cayce was a blonde haired, blue eyed beauty pageant contestant from a well to do family, maybe she would be getting more attention on the 20th anniversary. I actually thought to myself, “Someone should do a podcast on this.” Well, sometimes if you want something done, you have to do it yourself.   That’s where I come in. I’m a singer-songwriter who left my career in 2013 to pursue music full-time. And two years ago, I started a documentary podcast called Left Of Nashville to chronicle all the struggles that come along with this.   I have written for some local papers over the years, but I don’t consider myself a journalist. But I am a storyteller. And after two years of podcasting, I fell in love with the medium.  So I decided to be the change I want to see.   in the next episode, we will begin at the beginning. August 16, 1996. This is the story of the disappearance of Cayce Lynn McDaniel. I’m Brandon Barnett. And this is Searching For Ghosts.   Tennessee Bureau Of Investigation   Milan Police Department   National Center For Missing And Exploited Children   Searching For Ghosts Facebook Page   Searching For Ghosts on Instagram     Featured Music:   Brandon Barnett: Behind The Scenes (iTunes)   Brandon Barnett-Behind The Scenes (Amazon)

Sometimes, we have to do other things to pay the bills until our dreams become a reality. If we have enough self-awareness, we might be able to make some "get by" money implementing the skills we have learned as we move toward our end goal.   Here is my first (paid) voice over project that I did for a customer in Luxembourg! I created the music as well as doing the voice work.  Even though this wasn't my intention, I was growing my skill set when I started Left Of Nashville.  The moral of this story is to keep working hard. You just never know what opportunities will show up at your door.   Oh, and by the way, if you need anything like this done, hit me up at leftofnashville@gmail.com  

Aubrey Preston is a musician,philanthropist, business man and developer from Leiper's Fork. You may know him best as the man who saved RCA Studio A in the eleventh hour. He has brought back the town of Leiper's Fork and made it a destination for musicians and music lovers. He also played a vital role in saving the Franklin Theater. But his latest endeavor is why he was the keynote speaker in Downtown Jackson for the monthly First Friday Forum. This latest project is the Americana Music Triangle. The Triangle is a website that maps out the points of interest in the American South where the best music in the world was created. Nine genres got their start in this patch of land that forms a nice little triangle on the map.  Jackson, TN (home of Left Of Nashville) is a destination on the triangle, and Preston was in town to impress on the city that it is up to us to capitalize on our rich musical heritage. USA Today Article on AMT Nashville Scene Article on AMT Deep South Magazine Article on AMT   Carl Perkins Sonny Boy Williamson Eddy Arnold Tina Turner Jackson, Tn

Sarah Schuberth, Esq. (Music Law Chick)   Jonathan Singleton-The Getaway   Brandon Barnett-Your Everloving Arms   Department Of Justice Contact Page     Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the United States Constitution reads as follows: “To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries."   I’ve decided to fire up the podcast in between seasons. You know why? Because I can. See, that’s what’s so liberating about creating something yourself. You can do with it whatever you want. There are no special committees or board members to vote on whether or not you can move forward. If I want to walk away from this podcast thing right now, I can. If I want to put out two episodes a day, that’s my prerogative.   Creative control is a beautiful thing. And the concept of intellectual property rights is just downright gorgeous. I can create something out of thin air and own it just like you own your automobile or your puppy dog. No one person or government can just come in and take that away from me, legally. That’s what the framers of the U.S. Constitution thought anyway.   But on June 30th, just two days before the Independence Day weekend, the United States Department Of Justice not only refused to change outdated consent decrees concerning Performing Rights Organizations (or PROs) that have been in place since the second world war, it also issued new regulations that would make 100% licensing with one PRO mandatory on co-written songs.   So what the hell does all this mean? Well, by refusing to update the existing consent decrees, songwriters do not have the right to pull their songs from streaming services if they so choose. The government sets the rate and songwriters have to live with it. And that rate is fractions of a penny on the dollar.   But evidently that wasn’t enough for the DOJ. The new ruling concerning 100% licensing is an entirely different can of worms, that evidently, no one saw coming.   Long-time listeners of Left Of Nashville will be familiar with Jonathan Singleton.  Jonathan is a hit songwriter out of Nashville. Some of his hits include “Watching Airplanes” by Gary Allan, “Red Light and Let It Rain” both by David Nail, “A Guy Walks Into A Bar” by Tyler Farr and the GRAMMY nominated “Diamond Rings and Old Barstools” by Tim McGraw. Here’s his explanation of the new ruling:       Speaking of lawyers, Sarah Ruth Schuberth, esq. is an attorney as well as a songwriter. Why you slacking Sarah? Why not a doctor too? Oh yeah, that’s what she was studying before music law caught her eye. Sarah is going to serve as Left Of Nashville’s in house counsel for this series. You can see what she’s about at facebook.com/musiclawchick. I’ll have it linked up in the show notes.   I must admit, I’m somewhat surprised at the lack of outrage coming from the music community about this ruling. I believe that one reason many are not speaking out is because of a lack of empathy for those “millionaire” songwriters whining about their gravy train being derailed.     But I believe by and large the reason more are not speaking out is because they are artists. It’s the nature of the beast. Either they don’t know what is happening or they don’t want to know. Most figure that someone else will take care of this. And because we have an artist’s heart, we are easy pickings. Sarah Schuberth esq     And the ones who do know what is going on are having trouble concentrating on anything else.     We have one year before this new ruling goes into effect. And this podcast series isn’t just going to ring the bell on the problems. We are going to look for solutions.    Like I said earlier, we have a year before this ruling takes effect. But we can’t rely on others to fight this. We as songwriters, musicians, podcasters, bloggers and anyone who cares about music and the rule of law must unite. You might think that this doesn’t  even affect you. Hell, the two licensing deals I currently have in L.A. are solo writes. I wrote the State I’m In with Jonathan and we are both ASCAP writers. So technically, this doesn’t even affect me…YET. Well, not that I know of. But this decision will have a ripple effect that will impact everyone. It is my feeling that even if you could get every songwriter to move to the same PRO to bypass this logistical nightmare, there will be even more anti-trust legislation put in place. That was the whole reason for the consent decrees in the first place back when ASCAP was the only game in town.    This will impact the entire music industry and then spread to others. What do you think will happen to Nashville’s booming real estate and tourism markets over the long term? What will happen to the quality and quantity of songs when writers who have that magic are no longer able to write together because of junk regulations?   So I’m asking you to join the fight. Share this podcast series with anyone who will listen. Leave a review in iTunes to help make it more visible. I want to have people in the industry on this show who have the power to stop this thing dead in its tracks and reverse the regulations put in place over seventy years ago.     

Special episode with outtakes of the birth of Left Of Nashville. Including never heard footage of the co-write with Jonathan Singleton where we almost made the chorus the verse.   Left Of Nashville

Here's a bonus episode featuring my latest recording, 'Make Believe.' Enjoy!   Left Of Nashville

As creative entrepreneurs, we are blessed with many ideas. We have project ideas pop into our heads while we are in the shower or mowing the yard. This can be a beautiful thing. But it is also a double edged sword.   Sometimes, we get “shiny object syndrome” and start chasing so many things that we don’t get anything accomplished. Or we at least don’t live up to our full potential in one area. Our blessing then becomes a curse.   I still completely stand by my theory of trying to have multiple income streams and not putting all of my eggs in one basket. But I realize where I’ve gone wrong with this. While it is necessary to have a backup for my backup, i need to focus on one thing at a time and reach minimum viable income before moving on to the next thing. Minimum viable income is simply the amount of money one needs   to make in order to support yourself.—emphasis on minimum.   And it’s quite possible that I would be at my minimum viable income level with my music if one or both of the two publishing companies that I've signed with had gotten my songs placed. But that hasn’t happened. Not yet anyway.   So let me tell you what I WAS going to announce in this season finale episode. I was planning on starting a podcast network. I was going to launch another podcast this summer that was to be a documentary on music that was birthed in and around my hometown. For those of you who are not familiar with all of the game changers that were spawned from this patch of land between Memphis and Nashville, the names would astound you.    But this thing was going to be a money pit if I couldn’t secure funding for it. The music licensing alone was going to wear me out. I mean, Paul McCartney has the publishing on some of the music that I needed to use, for crying out loud. But for a couple of weeks, I had convinced myself that I could pull this thing off and still work on my music career.   But then, one morning I woke up and asked myself, “What the hell am I doing?” This is the same damn thing that I did at the end of Season One. Why do I keep chasing all these things?   And after a couple of days of real soul searching, it hit me: I don’t have enough faith. I still don’t think that I’m good enough to make music for a living. I mean, I say that I am but what else would explain me getting so close, then, jumping onto some new project. I think it’s fear of both failure and success.   So I’m getting back to basics. I’m going back to 2014 before I even thought about doing a podcast. Hell, I’m even going back further than that to when I wasn’t even considering Nashville as a possibility.   The writing is on the wall and it has been since I signed that first licensing deal last summer. My music is taylor made for sync licensing. That’s what I do naturally. Jonathan Singleton has even told me that. And I’ve got two legal documents with my signature on them that back him up. The writing has been on the wall for some time now and I've just refused to read it.   With sync, I can write and record my stripped down songs myself. And I already have an open door to submit my music anytime I want. There was a time that I would KILL  for that opportunity ALONE and I realize that I've been taking it for granted. I’m also going to reach out to music supervisors with my music. This is something that I should have been doing all along.   And there is no that wonder that nothing is happening for me in Nashville. I mean, I’ve only set foot in that town once in a year’s time. I’ve half-assed it the whole way. And to be honest, I could’ve found a way to make more happen there, even as broke as I’ve been. But my heart’s just not in it. Where my heart lies is in creating these quirky acoustic based songs from scratch and having total control of how they sound. I love the limitations that I have because of the lack of help and money.    But I believe that everything happens for a reason. i have learned so much with all the dabbling that I’ve done. The biggest takeaway that I’ve received from my flirtations with Nashville is to be able to write, whether the muse shows up or not. I believe that this is essential. And the song a week experiment was a test to take that Nashville model of writing songs on a schedule and apply it to my singer-songwriter tunes. And for the most part, it worked. This experiment helped push me to the point where I realized that I need to have a Music Row writer’s work ethic then write and produce as many songs as possible for sync licensing.   So instead of trying to do both L.A. and Nashville, I am taking what I have learned from Nashville and going 100% in on sync. So, in one way, I’m glad that I was so scattered, because without doing this and spreading myself too thin, I wouldn’t have had this epiphany.   And if something happens in the meantime with “The State I’m In” that causes doors to open in Nashville, you can bet I will walk through them. And I do eventually want to develop a podcast network. But first things first. I need to walk through the doors that have been opened for me in L.A. with my music and double down on that.   So where does this leave Left Of Nashville? Well, there will be a Season 3. But we won’t be doing the season featuring LOLO as once planned. I have to put all my attention on my career at this point and season 3 will document what happens after attacking sync licensing with my full focus. I am not going to close the door behind me, I want to share everything that I learn that may help you guys. That was the promise I made when I started this thing to begin with.   Somewhere along the way, this thing got flipped on its head. I found myself in a position where I was writing songs in order to put out an episode of the podcast instead of making an episode to document all the music I was making. And that may sound like I am splitting hairs here, I mean, at least I was writing songs, right? Who cares about the motivation?   But I wasn’t being to true to who I really am. Look, I love making this podcast. This is so much fun. But I am a singer-songwriter first. Without the songs, I have no reason to make Left Of Nashville. We have to become what we are.   So, I want to thank you guys for coming along with me for this season, I’ve had a blast. And I hope you come back for Season 3. There are a few thoughts that I want to leave you with: The path to doing what we are meant to do isn’t going to be a straight line. There are going to be some dead ends along the way.   But the most important thing is to try things. Always be sending up trial balloons. But just as important as doing this, is being self-aware enough to realize what works  and what doesn’t.   The whole damn thing really is a learning experience and you will gain knowledge from these so called “failures” that will lead you to success. I truly believe this. So get out there and move things around. Then hone in and put a dent in the universe.  

It’s been about four weeks since I last released an episode of Left Of Nashville. So What happened? Well, the short answer is Everything and nothing. I had to get my taxes done. I live on nine acres and it’s mowing season again. I finally got a phone with the internet at my fingertips. And I was writing an upbeat song, which for me, is a struggle. I guess you could say that life happened.   But I still could've found a way to make it all work. But I made excuses. It takes a full day to mow my yard, so there was a day off work that I didn’t spend writing. I got caught up with friends on my phone. I stayed on social media. Basically, I procrastinated.   Then I hit the resistance. This is what Steven Pressfield calls the thing that causes writers to procrastinate. Read his book “The War Of Art” for his brilliant take on the resistance.   And procrastination breeds more procrastination. And then self-doubt shows up. It didn't matter that I’ve churned out nineteen episodes, I suddenly lost faith in my ability to write songs and put out a compelling podcast. I was in another dip.    I lost my mojo and felt like a failure. But a funny thing happened: I kept working. Little by little. I gave myself a little grace. I remembered what I read in a business book once about stretch goals. Setting stretch goals is a way to force yourself to get out of your comfort zone. If you set a lofty goal, such as writing and recording a song a week, say, you will achieve more than you would otherwise even if you do not meet your goal.   So I sat my ass down in the chair and wrote. A little here, and a little there. It was a slog. I hated it. But I was making progress. And after week seven of my experiment, I have three new songs. Granted it’s not seven new songs, but it isn’t zero new songs either. It’s three more songs than I had written in the PREVIOUS seven weeks before starting this experiment, so I’m satisfied. I didn’t fail. Not at all.       Hey guys, I am about to attempt another project that I will explain in detail in an upcoming episode of Left Of Nashville. So I need you guys to do me a favor. For those of you who listen on iTunes, would you be so kind as to leave a review? This is something that I have neglected to ask people to do, but it is very important.   It helps this podcast rise in the rankings, which makes it visible to more people. I need this to happen in order to help launch this other project. It would mean the world to me. Thanks guys!   Steven Pressfield-The War Of Art   Ben Rector   Ben Kweller   Maddy And The Groove Spots

For my next collection of songs, I wanted them to be even more stripped down than the Left Of Nashville EP if that’s even possible. Simplicity is beautiful. And honesty is simple. But that doesn’t mean that honesty is easy. Boiling a point down to its bare essentials isn’t easy, whether that’s musically or lyrically.    I envision this next batch of songs as early Elliott Smith in outer space. I want to blend acoustic music with dreamy soundscapes. I want a desert night drive kind of feel to these songs. And in order to do that, less is more.   'Any Other Way’ was written in July in almost one sitting. My girlfriend had just broken up with me and this was an open letter to her. This was one of those rare occasions where it just fell out of the sky. The guitar part, lyrics and melody happened simultaneously. The sentence, “I can’t do it any other way” just came out. And it just went on from there. I wasn’t thinking about song craft at all.    As much as I love clever wordsmiths such as Conor Oberst or Adam Duritz, that’s not where I am. Dabbling in country music has effected the way I write my personal songs. And I have an affinity for conversational lyrics.    I knew this was going to be a short and simple song. Like I said, this was an open letter, so this was no time to use flowery words and imagery. I just wanted to get my point across.   “I can’t do it any other way” was my way of saying that “this is who I am.” "Music is what I do.” To have someone go from being my biggest cheerleader to turning on a dime and basically saying that they didn’t believe in me, left me more shocked than angry. So this isn’t an angry song. And I think it does a good job of expressing both my confusion as well as my resolve to seeing this thing music thing through.     This is probably one of the most honest and vulnerable songs I have ever written. And it almost wrote itself. The chorus was the only thing that I really had to work on. Initially, it didn’t hook enough. But I had enough of the song that I liked to record a rough video on my computer and throw it on Facebook. I just had to get it off my chest and put it out there, somewhere, anywhere.   A little hack that I have learned to make simple lyrics not boring is to use internal rhymes. Not only will they make a lyric more interesting, they also make for writing better melodies.      

Let me start out this one by giving you a little bit of an inside look at the production side of Left Of Nashville.    When I begin a season, I try to have some episodes banked to relieve some of the pressure of only having a week to produce an episode. In the first season, I only had three episodes in the can before I launched. This season, I had six.   But it always catches up with me. As you know, trying to have a career in music is ever fluctuating. There are times when so much is going on, that I have trouble keeping up with everything that is happening. I have more than enough content to last me for weeks of episodes. Then, it’s like a ghost town. I find myself waiting on a song to get placed or hoping that something happens in Nashville.   That’s when I cover tactical subjects. And it works out, because it adds variety to the show while still having the main thread of the show in tact.    So when I start a season, I know how it is going to begin, but I have no clue how it is going to end. It can be pretty stressful. In the first season, this was another reason  I ended it when I did. But this season, I’ve learned to trust myself a little more, knowing that I will find a way to get an episode out without missing a week. I’ve finally found my groove with this thing.   And I think that an unforeseen benefit for you as a listener when I run through the runway that I’ve given myself with banked episodes is that the shows are more current. Starting with episode 8 of this season, I would produce it the same week it aired.   My original plan with Season 2 was to have twenty episodes, then take a month off at most before launching the third season featuring LOLO. Well, here we are at 17. After ep.16, I didn’t know what I was going to do for the final four episodes. I was hoping that I would have a song placed by now. I mean, I really wanted to go out with a bang. And I’m also having so much fun this season that I’m not ready to end it yet.   I realize that I’ve been resting on my laurels. I’m waiting to be picked. I’m waiting on Any Day to get placed or ’The State I’m In’ to take off. I’m talking a lot about making music in the podcast but I’m not making any. I need to get back to the ‘doing things’ side of the ‘do things and tell people’ equation.   So I’ve decided for the third act of this season of Left Of Nashville, to write and record a collection of new songs and take you along with me for the ride. I have a handful songs of various stages of completion that you’ve heard bits and pieces of already.   So taking a page out of Jordan Woods-Robinson book of his ‘Songs On Sunday’ project, I am going to write and record a song a week. I won’t have the final mix done in that time but I think I can have a mix good enough to release for the podcast.   This will allow me to build my body of work and have you keep me accountable. By announcing this on the podcast and having you with me week to week, it puts a ton of pressure on me to get it done. One of the fears that I’ve always had of writing for Nashville was whether or not I could write multiple songs on a schedule. So this will be a nice exercise to test out whether or not I can write under pressure.    Left Of Nashville   Brandon Barnett-Left Of Nashville EP      

  This topic will tie a nice little bow on some of the things I have covered in previous episodes such as networking, finding our tribe, having multiple things going, doing things/telling people and picking yourself.   In order to be able to live our dream and make music for a living, we will have to get out of our warm and cozy confines and go out into the big bad world with our art. And this is scary. Whether it’s talking to decision makers at publishing companies, self-releasing our music or even just admitting to others that "yeah, I’m a songwriter." We have to stick our necks out.   And we often forget that the world isn’t waiting with baited breath for us to release our latest masterpiece. Most people don’t care. I don’t think that we realize how much convincing that we are going to have to do for others to take us seriously. People can be flaky. And people in the music industry…even flakier. A lot of people don’t have follow-through. People say one thing and do another. Or don’t do anything at all.   We know that we have to put in the work and build things. Then, we have to tell people about it. But no one is going to give you a gold star because you tried something, because you wrote some songs and put them into the world. A lot of people write songs and put them into the world. And a lot of them are terrible or mediocre. First, we have to get good. We have to hone our craft.   Okay, let’s assume that we’ve done that. Then, we start telling people about our work. Some people will get behind us, others will not. Not everyone likes Left Of Nashville. Not everyone likes “Your Everloving Arms.” And that’s okay. If enough people start to give us positive feedback and after a period of time, we still like what we’ve produced, then we can assume that it’s pretty much up to snuff. Or at least close.   So then we start looking for channels through which to promote. It might be calling on publishers or getting friends in the industry to introduce us to people. It might be blogging about it, starting a podcast, or using social media. We go to meet ups or writer’s nights to get the word out.   Okay, so now we’ve got our craft down and we are promoting it. This is when we start meeting people and building our network. We are looking for ways to add value to the people we come in contact with and things are starting to roll. With all these new connections, opportunities start to become available. Revisit the episodes of this season with Lauren Pritchard and Jordan Woods-Robinson in particular to watch these relationships evolve. I mention these two specifically because the podcast documents these relationships in their beginning stages.   So now, we have a small body of work that we can be proud of, people are starting to become aware of us and we are building relationships through which opportunities arise.   But here’s the thing. On Left Of Nashville, you are only aware of the people who said “yes.” I only showcase the people with whom I’ve built relationships. But there are just as many or more people that I have reached out to that either didn’t respond or told me that they would do certain things and then didn’t follow through.               And it’s the same thing with songwriting. I’ve been turned down or ignored numerous times when I would reach out to write with people. The key to handling rejection with grace (at least in my situation) is to be able to pivot when things don’t go your way. My publisher at one of the newspapers I worked for used to tell us reporters, “Have a backup for your backup."   Remember what Brent Baxter said about how to get a good publishing deal? “Insert Quote”  Having options is a beautiful thing in this business. And you are going to have to get creative with it. Think about what you will do if one thing falls through. What are you doing to do next? Because believe me, things are going to fall through. But if you have other options, you will not waste valuable time getting upset when someone inevitably fails to follow through on a promise. And if you keep your cool, sometimes those people come back around and want to help.   Sometimes, they just didn’t manage their time properly and it fell through the cracks. But the main thing is for you to have a backup so that you don’t run the risk of burning a bridge. Just don’t take it personally. It’s easier said than done, but that’s why I suggest having many options. It is a terrific hack that I have discovered to keep my emotions in check. I’m so busy executing on my plan B that I’m not even studying those people anymore.     But as our body of work grows, our reputation will start to precede us. And that’s when the tide will start to turn. We will get more yes’s than no’s. People will want to work with us.   So I hope this episode illustrates how the many tactics we have talked about throughout Left Of Nashville culminates into a hack to keep our emotions in check when dealing with rejection. So to recap:   1)Put in the work-hone your craft. Get good. 2)Get the word out about it-Tell people 3)Build relationships-Opportunites will come out of that 4)Have many things going on to give yourself options If a thing falls through-don’t get upset and burn bridges…pivot and work your plan b or c.   Left Of Nashville   Brandon Barnett: Left Of Nashville EP   Jordan Woods-Robinson   LOLO (Lauren Pritchard)   Man Vs. Row (Brent Baxter)  

In this episode of Left Of Nashville, I talk about the struggles of dating when you're a musician on the come up.  I’m six months out of my previous relationship and I’ve been out and about. And I’ve met some women in this time…women who seemed genuinely interested…that is until they find out about my financial situation.    And look I get it, you can’t expect to attract a quality woman when you’re in the doldrums, when you’re at rock bottom. But my situation has improved markedly since Episode One of this season. I’m no Rockefeller here, but I’m getting back on my feet with my current financial situation and my dreams are becoming even closer to being a reality: The podcast is taking off, things are moving with my music in L.A. and Nashville, not to mention all the people that I have been working with of late. Life is starting to get good on the planet for me. BUT, I’m still in this weird limbo place with everything.   But being a broke musician on the come up still doesn’t carry the same weight as say, a broke pre-med student. The broke musician thing is the kiss of death. It doesn’t seem to matter how much you are hustling, or how much progress you are making, it’s not enough.   So if I were a 40 year-old wanna be musician with no hustle, with no progress being made, no licensing deals in the queue who was just bumming around getting stoned and drunk all the time, I wouldn’t date me either. I’ve already mentioned in the Crabs In The Bucket episode that I won’t even associate with THOSE dudes.    I’m not that guy. I’m building a business here. But you’ve got to scratch the surface to find out those things about me. I’m not going to bend over backwards to try to assure every woman that I meet, that I’m not THAT guy. I’m not going to start blabbing about all the things that I have going on. Because that comes off as bragging.   I stumbled upon an article in Digital Music News written by Gaetano, a singer, songwriter, producer and guitarist based in New York, who oddly enough, has been documenting his music industry experiences in his blog. Sound familiar? I’ll link it up in the show notes. The article was entitled:   Why Dating As A Musician Is So Hard   So I have recently come to some conclusions about my situation.  I talk a lot about not raising your hand asking for people to pick you in your music career. I rail against the idea that I can’t make a living from my music unless some suit picks me. But no man is an island. The reality is that whether we are after a publishing deal, trying to gain 1,000 True Fans, or building an audience for our podcast, we DO need people to PICK US. But there is a mindset shift when we “PICK OURSELVES.” We put our art into the world and the rest be damned. Sure, we want an audience, but when we come from an abundance mindset rather than a scarcity mindset, everything changes. We have a confidence that is attractive. And while this is something that I have been working on professionally, I realized that in my personal life, that I am still looking for someone to pick me.   Being a struggling musician on the come up may actually be a blessing in disguise. Being broke is actually a great litmus test to see who I want to invest my time in. When the topic eventually comes up about what I do and my financial situation with women that I meet, I immediately bring up the podcast. I tell them that if they really want to know what I’m about—and all the things that I’m doing to better myself, that they should listen to the podcast. I give them a certain episode to start with. I’ve even subscribed them to the podcast on their phones.   Because I know that if I were really interested in a woman, and she had her life documented online, I would jump at the chance to get to know her better without investing a ton of time. Hell, I wish all the women I meet had a documentary podcast. That would be way better than investing a year’s worth of my life before finding out someone isn’t right for me.   So if a woman can’t at least invest twenty minutes to listen to one episode, then I know that I’m not willing to spend my valuable time getting to know her. So Left Of Nashville has become this dating tool for me to weed out the undesirables.   So I’ve decided to “PICK ME” in my personal life as well. I won’t always be broke and as hard as the last two years have been, I’ve got a pretty fun and interesting life. I’ve achieved a lot of things and I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. And I need to respect myself enough to not just let anyone into my weird little world.   Why Dating As A Musician Is So Hard   Digital Music News   Left Of Nashville   Brandon Barnett: Left Of Nashville EP   How To Get Noticed In The Music Industry When You're A Nobody (Like Me): An Ebook      

In the last episode of Left Of Nashville, I talked about Kevin Kelly’s blog '1,000 True Fans.’ It’s basically the theory that an artist can make a pretty nice living from 1,000 fans who will purchase everything that they produce.   But how do we go about this? Well for starters, we should do things and tell people. This will not only help you to reach 1,000 true fans, it will also increase your chances of bringing serendipity or luck into your life.    If you remember Episode 6 from the first season of LON, I talked about connecting the dots and how seemingly meaningless things would later connect to game changing events. It’s all about putting pins on the map. Do things, tell people.   Aaron Francis has done things and told people. He is the creator of the Music Makers Podcast. I featured an episode of The Music Makers in the Crabs In A Bucket episode.   I found Aaron’s podcast when it was on New and Noteworthy in iTunes and I became a fan. After the 1,000 True Fans episode, it became evident that I needed to talk about how one might acquire true fans as well as get noticed by movers and shakers. Then I remembered two episodes of The Music Makers, episode 1, entitled “Do Things, Tell People” and a companion episode called Luck Surface Area.   And this is where things get really meta, I mean talk about serendipity. I reached out to Aaron about featuring these two episodes in this episode. I just think that it helps if you hear other people besides me having these theories. Later that day, I listened to the newest episode of The Music Makers, where Aaron announced that that day’s episode would be his final one, at least for now.    So I decided that I would use this occasion to pay tribute to one of my favorite podcasts, while explaining how to increase your fanbase and your luck. These episodes stuck in my mind after all these months, and I decided to reference them here, all because Aaron did things and told people. This is the perfect example of how to get your art to make an impression on people. Like I said, this is pretty meta and trippy.   Not to mention the irony of using a podcast called The Music Makers (which isn’t about music at all) in my MUSIC DOCUMENTARY podcast to help me make a point.   The Music Makers   Left Of Nashville   Brandon Barnett--Left Of Nashville EP   How To Get Noticed In The Music Industry When You're A Nobody (Like Me): An Ebook

In the last episode of Left Of Nashville, Brent Baxter talked about how everything has changed in this age of Spotify as it pertains to publishing deals in Nashville. Songwriters are either hugely successful or they don’t make enough to live on. There is no middle ground. The internet has fragmented everything. It is easier than ever to get our music produced and out to the world. And that means there is more music than ever available for consumption. AND that means people’s attention spans are even shorter. This is an on-demand economy. If people want psychedelic polka music in today’s world, they can find it.    The market has changed. It just has. And outside of getting hits on country artists or having a slash in your title, I don’t have a solution for the Nashville-only songwriter. So this episode is for the independent artists who want to put their music out themselves.   In 2008, Kevin Kelly of Wired Magazine posted a blog entitled ‘1,000 True Fans’ that went viral. It is still quoted today and in my opinion was the catalyst that empowered tons of people (myself included) to become creative entrepreneurs.   A True Fan is a fan who will purchase everything you produce. If you could get 1,000 fans who would spend $100.00 per year with you, that's a $100,000 yearly income.   So here are some things to consider if you want to go this route: 1) Aloof, brooding, pretentious singer-songwriters need not apply. You must interact with your fans. Be a human being. I know that there has been a marketing strategy for years from record labels that artists should distance themselves from their fans to add mystique, but I believe those days are over. People want to connect. And now that connecting is just a “reply” button away, ignoring your supporters is the fastest way to become a douche nozzle in their eyes. Authenticity is the name of the game.   2) You are going to have to put out content for your audience to spend $100.00 a year with you. You are going to have to produce music and merchandise to make this work. This is what I have been working on starting with the Left Of Nashville EP. But I’m going to have to produce more than four songs to get to 100.00. I want T-shirts for the podcasts, stickers, music. But this takes time and work. Lots of work.   3) You have to build a fanbase in the first place. And this will take time. And again, you will have to release content to start building a fanbase. So, put stuff out as often as you can. You can’t wait until you have a $100.00 worth of product to deliver if you have no one to deliver it to. So this will be a slow build of releasing content and getting the word out. Then do it again. And again. Eventually, the snowball will grow and you will have both an impressive body of work and enough people that will want to consume it. That’s my theory anyway. And that’s exactly what I’m in the middle of doing right now.    1,000 True Fans-Kevin Kelly   Left Of Nashville   Brandon Barnett: Left Of Nashville EP   How To Get Noticed In The Music Industry When You're A Nobody (Like Me): An Ebook

In this episode, Brandon discusses the difference between networking and using people. Thanks to this internet age of instant connectivity, the culture of networking has changed. With it being easier to contact complete and total strangers, successful people have their guards up now more than ever. So how do we get the opportunity to move up the ladder and still be a decent human being? Jordan Woods-Robinson is the "Founder & Head Honcho" of SOSstudio, which provides a community for songwriters, a recording and music distribution service for indie artists and SOSstudio Sessions, a podcast that is a great resource for blending music and business. SOSstudio is putting together a demo for Brandon and will be featured in an upcoming episode of LON. Jordan equates networking to being in a marriage, where ideally you put the other person first and they, in turn, do the same thing for you. Brandon then lays out four steps that he has found that will help you do networking the right way and not fall prey to being a user. Resources: The Art Of Charm: A podcast that helps you become a better person. Search for networking in the archives. This is an invaluable resource on how to network. The Music Makers: The podcast that I featured in Episode 6 (Crabs In A Bucket) of Left Of Nashville. A brilliant podcast that will inspire, entertain and inform. Left Of Nashville: My junt. Brandon Barnett-Left Of Nashville EP  

In probably one of the most revealing episodes of Left Of Nashville to date, Brandon talks with Lauren Pritchard (LOLO) about users and trash talkers.  After word got out that Lauren was going to be featured in Season 3 of LON, trash talk ing around Jackson, Tn became a hobby. As Lauren left town to work on her Off Broadway musical, Songbird, and to go on a national tour, Brandon was left to field a number of assaults on the two of them. As he struggled with telling Lauren, he finally caved after losing an eight year friendship because of his new "successful" friends. He finally confided in Lauren to get advice. This episode is full of warts and real-world talk.  It also has some real pearls of wisdom from Lauren, who has been dealing with this for years.  Songbird LOLO Wikipedia page LOLO Website LOLO Comeback Queen Left Of Nashville EP Left Of Nashville How To Get Noticed In The Music Industry When You're A Nobody (LIke Me) An Ebook

  Part 2 of a series, where Brandon continues to find a way to tie Americana Music Triangle to the burgeoning music scene happening now. Brandon eats a healthy dose of crow, going to the Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce. It turns out to be a gold mine of information and support. He also meets with Frank McMeen, whose Miss Ollie's establishment is offered as the home for the Left Of Nashville movement. Frank even offers his building as a site for a mural by Artist Brian Tull. Brandon soon figures out that having a plan is good, but not to live or die by it. Americana Music Triangle Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce  Miss Ollie's Artist Brian Tull     Brandon Barnett-Your Everloving Arms-LON intro music Brandon Barnett-Man Who Tries-LON outro music

Brandon takes another long shot, this time, trying to secure gigs in his hometown of Jackson, Tn. He is wanting to use Left Of Nashville to help promote Americana Music Triangle, which he hopes will shine on a light some of the town's most hidden treasures. This is a grassroots campaign, bypassing formal channels, to revitalize Jackson tourism. Hear some really cool music from John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson, and Michael King. Resources: Americana Music Triangle   Music Sonny Boy Williamson Vol.1   Best Of Eddy Arnold Carl Perkins-The Legendary Sun Classics Brandon Barnett-Your Everloving Arms (Intro Music Left Of Nashville) Brandon Barnett-Man Who Tries (Outro Music Left Of Nashville)

In the episode, Brandon retraces his steps to illustrate how little decisions can turn into big opportunities. Brandon used being an Uber driver to his advantage, getting a music video shot, and getting 'The State I'm In' over to Sony Music Nashville. Resources: Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Address: On connecting the dots.   The Instigator's Compass by Srinivas Rao: A beautifully illustrated, butt-kicking and inspiring guide to creating your own way.   The BackPorch With Jay and Brandon: Music podcast that I was a guest on that was the final dot in my podcast launch. Brandon Barnett--'Man Who Tries' video: Video of my latest single that was shot partially from Uber passengers. Jonathan Singleton-The Getaway Brandon Barnett--'Your Everloving Arms':Intro music for Left Of Nashville Brandon Barnett--'Man Who Tries':New single and outro music for Left Of Nashville

In Episode 3, go behind the scenes into the writing room with hit Nashville songwriter, Jonathan Singleton (Gary Allan, David Nail, Tim McGraw), and learn how Brandon got the opportunity to write with him.   Resources: Water Liars: http://www.waterliarsmusic.com/ , https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/water-liars/id779642997   Jonathan Singleton: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-getaway/id726420805   Brandon Barnett, Theme Song for Left Of Nashville: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/your-everloving-arms-single/id938358059

A documentary-style podcast that showcases the ups and downs of trying to make a living in music from the left of Nashville. Hosted by Brandon Barnett. In the debut episode of Left Of Nashville, Brandon takes you on a journey of deciding to leave his career at the age of 38 to pursue music full-time. Get an inside look at the like-minded creatives who are supportive, and the ones who are not as generous. You will see how Brandon approaches his art like a business, not unlike a start-up. He is equal parts creative and entrepreneur. Resources: SonicBids http://www.sonicbids.com Brandon Barnett 'Your Everloving Arms' https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/your-everloving-arms-single/id938358059