'He Himself and Him', the next dating anthem by Annie Vander

Annie Vander has recently released a song, He Himself and Him. This is Annie Vander's second single sent out for radio play! The first song, Falling into Nashville, had enough radio play to get her on the Music Row Country Breakout Chart. He Himself and Him was penned by songwriters David Norris and Cece DuBois and the lyrics are so relatable Annie couldn’t refuse it. The song is the story of a bad date with a self-centered man and all of what that entails. Every woman has had a dating experience where the guy has an ego so big that you may as well not even be in the room. Annie Vander sings it with a sassy, contagious energy making He Himself and Him a powerful anthem not to settle for an ego-filled man.

He Himself & Him cover art

I’ll sit and text act like I’m listening

Keep smiling so he thinks I’m tuned in

He might as well be talking to a wall

Y’see I checked out early this evening

About now I oughta be receiving

A prearranged emergency call

My girlfriends always take one for the team

They’d stop everything just to rescue me from

He himself and him

I’m so sick and tired of them

He always acts so proud

Every time that we go out

But who am I to pretend

It’s all about he himself and him

Annie Vander is an Illinois native who grew up loving to sing. Annie was active in the choir and played in the band in school. Annie put music aside and became a veterinarian tech and then owned her own pet care business until 2019. She had a health diagnosis to battle which forced her to change her career. She went into remission from her illness and Annie reached out to a vocal coach in Nashville and started on the journey to be a professional singer. Annie is writing and cowriting songs, keeping her focus on the ideas for songs that have some ‘real estate’ in the lyrics. The Nashville songwriting community has embraced her and she is traveling back and forth from her Illinois home to create more music with her producer and songwriting team in Nashville whenever possible. Annie's creativity sees the simplest things in a lyrical context and gets ideas for songs in random daily moments which makes her music quite relatable. Annie is booking shows locally in the Chicago area and the Midwest and will be starting back on a radio tour introducing herself and her music to radio stations.

Keep up with Annie Vander on her social media accounts by clicking the links in the article and the buttons below.

Instagram

Tik Tok

Facebook

It was nice to talk with you Annie Vander about well, everything In A Country Minute

Thanks so much, we will chat again soon.

Rose

Kent Blazy talks about his project - From the Beatles to the Bluebird

Kent Blazy - photo credit to Moments by Moser Photography

Kent Blazy is a decorated songwriter with credits on 7 number-one songs. With that being said, you can’t separate Kent from the artists who have cut his songs or the stories surrounding those songs. So we are digging into a bit of history before we can start talking about Kent’s latest project From The Beatles to the Bluebird. The explanation of the album title will unfold as we dig in. Kent Blazy began writing songs with Garth Brooks after they met in 1987. Garth Brooks was singing demos for Blazy and other songwriters as well but had been repeatedly turned down by music labels. Capitol Records representatives were at the Bluebird Cafe ready to listen to an artist that didn’t show up for their set and Garth was called to come and sing one song, Garth chose If Tomorrow Never Comes, written by Kent Blazy and Garth, which caught their attention. Capitol Records signed Garth to a record deal in June of 1988 and If Tomorrow Never Comes became Brooks and Blazy’s first hit song in 1989. Kent Blazy and Garth have written many songs together including Ain’t Goin’ Down (’Til The Sun Comes Up) and Somewhere Other Than the Night. Kent Blazy has written songs recorded by many other artists including Gary Morris, Diamond Rio, Patty Loveless, Chris Young, and Danny Gokey. Kent Blazy recently took a trip to Liverpool, England, and toured historical sites relating to The Beatles and their impact on music. Kent had a photo taken with the bronze statue of The Beatles while he wearing his Bluebird Cafe sweatshirt realizing that he was in a full circle moment. The ideas for this album and the title came flooding in and he went to work.

Steve Allen co-wrote February 9th,1964 and Deeper Into You which are the book-end songs on the From the Beatles to the Bluebird album. Kent Blazy wrote the remaining songs as a solo writer. The album serenades you through decades of Kent Blazy’s musical influences starting with the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show (February 9th, 1964), and songs about playing shows in Nashville, writing songs, and how aging musicians are defying the odds of the music industry by recording and performing in their elder years (Stay Wild). From The Beatles to the Bluebird was done in a single rehearsal and recorded in the Sound Emporium Studio with the talents of Lee Francis playing bass and Kevin Murphy on drums. A few instrumentals were added later but the basic recordings were completed in one day. The last song on the album, Deeper Into You was recorded at The Church Studio in Tulsa.

From The Beatles to the Bluebird (tracklist)

1. February 9th, 1964 (Kent Blazy, Steve Allen)

2. Beatles to the Bluebird Cafe (Kent Blazy)

3. Just Writing Songs (Kent Blazy)

4. Die Young (Kent Blazy)

5. Birds on a High Line (Kent Blazy)

6. Stay Wild (Kent Blazy)

7. Young Man Living In An Old Man’s Town (Kent Blazy)

8. Not Really Living (Kent Blazy)

9. Love to Love You (Kent Blazy)

10. The Gift She Is (Kent Blazy)

11. Deeper Into You (Kent Blazy, Steve Allen

Kent Blazy talked about his induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Garth Brooks had called Kent via Zoom to ask him to accompany him to a special CBS was doing on songwriters, Kent Blazy declined due to a previous engagement on the same date. Garth told him he understood his reason but thought he’d be interested in going because Kent was being inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Kent was thrilled to hear that news, especially from Garth. The date had to be rescheduled and Garth and Kent performed together singing a couple of songs they had written in celebration of Kent Blazy's accomplishments. Kent Blazy was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2021 by his friend and co-writing partner Garth Brooks.

Kent is such an inspiring and humble man making sure to recognize other songwriters and artists that have been influences on him. This collection of songs is a tribute to those people, some of them are alive and some have passed.

Thank you Kent Blazy for your time talking about your career and From The Beatles to the Bluebird In A Country Minute. I truly enjoyed talking with you.

Rose

Girls Next Door 2.0, the next level

Girls Next Door have reunited after a long hiatus and have released their first single What’s This Thing (You’ve Got About Leaving) , with more on the way. The quartet singers - Diane, Cindy, Tammy, and Doris's lives look much different now than when they gave their music careers a break in 1991. Their lives moved into enjoying their families and events that have truly encouraged their faith and kept their friendships strong. During their music break, Diane and Doris were both diagnosed with cancer and conquered it. (Praise the Lord)

They had parents to take care of and children to raise. They kept trying to reconnect but life got in the way over and over. So they waited until they felt the time was right. In the Spring of 2022, Girls Next Door performed a reunion show, and the path to a return began to fall into place. They know it's God's timing and expressed how they are well aware of His blessing on them and their friendships.

Girls Next Door began touring together in the early 80s and their first songs were released in 1986. They first met as performers at Opryland Music Park. They were reminiscing and said that some of those days," it was like a BootCamp, dressed in heavy costumes doing the same performance six times a day all with the choreography in the heat". They all laughed saying "It taught you to smile when you feel like crap." Girls Next Door toured for two years before they were even ‘known’ opening for an impressive list of A-list artists. At that time, they were traveling in a 15-passenger van with a horse trailer in tow for their equipment transportation covered in garbage bags to keep everything protected. Girls Next Door paid their dues on the road in their earlier music days. They told me a story about a show in the 80s that the event host would only pay them if they sang despite the prediction of a thunderstorm. Girls Next Door found a (working) barn to perform in, filled with all of the hay you can imagine, animals, and all the scents that go with it to get that paycheck. Those character-building and humbling experiences are now humorous to recite.

Girls Next Door 2.0 are back together with their signature harmonies and energetic tempo with their new single What’s This Thing (You’ve Got About Leaving). The lyrics address the dedication it takes for a relationship to work. What’s This Thing (You’ve Got About Leaving) was written by TW Hale and Roger Murrah. Girls Next Door chose this song because of the relatable message and the harmonious chorus in the beginning. The songs they chose to sing are integrated with their faith, values and have separate parts for the four of them to showcase their talents.

Girls Next Door 2.0 - photo by Sarah Harrison

...What’s this thing you’ve got about leaving

Just when love starts gettin’ good

You’re up and gone without any reason

And that’s something I’ve never understood

If we’re ever gonna make it

We’re gonna have to make this right

What’s this thing you’ve got about leaving

You come and go and that’s not fair

But giving up I don’t want to go there

We’ve come too far to lose it all

People change fall out of love

A broken heart is that what you’re afraid of…

It’s time for us to talk"

Earlier this summer Girls Next Door enjoyed playing at the Opry House for Sunday Morning Country during CMA Fest. Girls Next Door has a few scheduled events this year including at the Ark Encounter in Williamstown, Kentucky on Aug 23rd.

Keep an eye out for their next single coming in early September- When the Water is Down.

The Girls Next Door are expanding their reach into Christian music markets to further share their faith and hoping to work into recording a Christmas album.

It was a pleasure to talk to the Girls Next Door and I look forward to catching up with them again in the future for In A Country Minute!

Rose