I guess you could say, 'We knew them when.'

Well, not really... These guys (Jeffrey Steele, Bob DiPiero, Tony Mullins and Craig Wisemen) wouldn't be able to pick Jim & I out in a crowd or anything. I guess we just feel like we knew them way back when... before they were 'famous'.

Which really isn't fair to say either, because these guys were Rockin' & Rollin' and singin' the Blues looonnng before our first time seeing them perform together as a group at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville.

We've actually seen each of them performing individually (or sometimes, or with one or another of The Hitmen) several times at various places in and around Nashville and Franklin, Tennessee.

And thanks to GAC, you probably have a better appreciation for these guys and their music, too. (Not to mention their amazing -- and offbeat -- sense of humor!)

I was just searching around the Net for their schedule. I was hoping we might be able to catch them performing as The Hitmen of Music Row somewhere soon.

Then I figured that I may as well share all of the cool sites and information I found with everyone here...

Here's fair warning... today's post is a kinda heavy.

It started out good -- about music even -- but the songs that I refer to happen to be a couple of fairly deep songs, and this post happens to be about why such songs remind me keep an open mind.

I know. Pretty deep for the FUN times guide. Hopefully I can redeem myself in the end.

So, for what it's worth, here's my take on why you never really know...

The funniest quote from last night's Academy of Country Music Awards show in Las Vegas was from songwriter, Craig Wiseman.

Craig and co-writer Tim Nichols had just arrived up on stage with Tim McGraw to accept the award for Song of the Year (for "Live Like You Were Dyin"), when Craig grabbed the mic and said:

Following is a collection of Craig Wiseman photographs we've taken at places like Puckett's Grocery (in Leiper's Fork), the Bluebird Cafe, and a few other locations in and around Nashville.

First, some Craig Wiseman facts:

• With nearly 200 of his songs recorded by County Music artists to date, Craig Wiseman is one of the hottest songwriters around. Craig has penned hits for Tim McGraw, Brooks & Dunn, Montgomery Gentry, Trace Adkins, Phil Vassar, Lonestar, Kenny Chesney, Brooks & Dunn, Travis Tritt, Toby Keith, Faith Hill, Aaron Tippin, Lari White, Diamond Rio, Tracy Lawrence, Van Zant, Patty Lovelace, John Michael Montgomery, Joe Diffee, LeAnn Rimes, Billy Ray Cyrus, and many MANY others.
• More than 60 of his songs have hit the music charts, with a dozen (and counting!) making it into the No. 1 position.

After a 5-month hiatus from songwriter nights (for no reason), we went to the Bluebird Cafe for an "in the round" line-up of songwriters that we could not pass up:

I consider myself fairly out of touch when it comes to modern music these days (though I could Name That Songwriter in 4 notes for most tunes)... However, I thoroughly enjoyed last night's Grammy Award Show!

I didn't know many of the nominees. Nor was I familiar with most of the performers. But I've come to realize that you don't NEED to know them in order to appreciate them! Case in point: My recent fascination with Twista, Snoop Dogg, and Eminem.

There was some good stuff on the Grammy's last night!

The highlights for me included:

This is "the year of Craig Wiseman"... in terms of songwriting, that is.

It seems every song he pens these days becomes a mega-hit by some popular superstar, like Tim McGraw ("Live Like You Were Dying", "Where the Green Grass Grows", "The Cowboy in Me"), Kenny Chesney ("The Good Stuff", "Just Another Day in Paradise", "Young"), or Phil Vassar ("Just Another Day In Paradise", "American Child").

I long for the day that it becomes commonplace to see and hear the name of the songwriter, in addition to the singer on all music radio and video channels!

Country Music video channels -- like CMT and GAC -- currently include the name of the songwriter next to the singer for every video played. But other video channels -- like MTV and VH1 -- have yet to follow suit. And there isn't ONE radio station around that gives props to the songwriter when their song is played.

Maybe it's because I'm from Nashville and I "know" a lot of the songwriters who pen many of today's hits (mostly Country; some Pop)... but I find myself getting more and more frustrated with "the system" each time I hear a new tune on the radio, and I'm left wondering who might have written that particular song. Much to my dismay, the DJ usually zips right into another song -- OFTEN times mentioning the singer, but NEVER mentioning the writer!

When it comes to music, we're all across the board. But one thing's for sure: We're always looking for new singers and songwriters to become acquainted with!

Here's an eclectic listing of the concerts we've been to, our favorite singers and songwriters, and the reasons we're glad to live in Nashville - Music City USA.