Shinybass journal entry 11-20-11

How is your world spinning?

Hopefully the right way on this unseasonably warm Sunday morning.  That’s here in Nashville.  You could be in Canada where you already have 3 feet of snow on the ground.  Some days I must remember there is a great big world out there, and forgo my hermit ways.  Of course, with the rain outside, I will probably stay in, which can be good or bad.  Today, I have decided to make it a good thing.  With no Steeler football this week, I am forced into getting things done at the house, but I am OK with that, too.  My first order of business was to get you all up to speed.

First of all, we have a show tomorrow night here in Nashville at the Ryman auditorium.  It is part of Charlie Daniels’ 10th annual Christmas for Kids event, and I am honored to be part of the whole thing.  I’ll see some old friends, and I have been told I’ll be able to meet Charlie, which is kind of weird, because I am not usually starstruck.  I was starting my musical journey when Charlie was HUGE.  Meeting someone that made an early impression is a ‘full-circle’ moment, even though I don’t own one of his records or songs.  It’s just one of those odd things.  The rest of the ‘List’ of people I would like to have dinner with: Members of the Police, Bill Mazeroski, Jack Hannah, President Obama, Sir Paul McCartney, Don Rickles,  and Steven Spielberg.  Or even better, how about all of them at once.  That would make for an interesting round table discussion, I would think.

And speaking of interesting, I seemed to have jumped into some areas of entertainment that I wasn’t entirely expecting.  It seems now I am shooting and directing videos.  Well, I won’t say ‘now’ because I have been doing it for a while, but things have moved into a fun direction for me as of late.  One of the first videos I put together was for Trent Tomlinson while we were on tour.  The label didn’t want to make a video for his Top-20 song, so I did.  Sue me.  It made it on GAC.com and CMT.com.  Not bad for the first one.  The second one I put together was for ‘Ol’ Kentuck’ by Bucky Covington.  Again, it was a ‘slice-of-life’ video, shot over a four month period.  It was pretty exhausting to edit, but I made it happen.  I like it because it takes me back to the Dierks Bentley tour, where we really had a good time.

So that one got out there as well, I think on GAC.com. I am not sure. Either way, it was all right. So I have been putting together videos for Phil (as well as for Trent and Bucky) all this time, and recently, some friends of mine said ‘Steve, can you help out with some video stuff?’ Well, sure I can. The first was a wedding video that was only shown at the reception, but now is on youtube. It has been getting some numbers of hits because it involves Billy Ray and Miley Cyrus.

So THEN by buddy George hits me up and says he has some footage from NYC he wants me to put together. So 400 edits and 9 versions later, here is the final video for ‘Santa’s Wearin’ Blue This Year’, which is a great song, and I really liked working with the colors and feel. It was a challenge, but again, I think it all came together OK. And it looks like we’re doing more, so look out…

Which always brings me back around to the saying ‘If you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans’. The future is unwritten, and yours for the taking. I didn’t mean to start editing video (well, I guess I did), and I am not saying I am really any good at it, but if people want to watch, then I will continue to produce. And produce I will. I am already figuring out the best way to shoot my own video. Why is it that your own creations are sometimes the hardest to make ‘right’? Too attached to the project, I suppose. Either way, I now have a bunch of new projects on my plate, which should keep me off the streets for some time.

Hopefully I will get some great footage from the show tomorrow night, and you can see me and Charlie talk of memories past. Until then, enjoy this Sunday full of video I have heaped upon you. Let me know what you think. Comment on the videos, drop me a line, subscribe to my channel. It’s all fun stuff, and if nothing else, it will keep your mind off that reality TV for a few minutes. This is the real reality tv. No scripts, no producers, just me. And a lot of free time.

See you on the road!