Nashville

I thought I would like Nashville but I also thought, as more than half of America's record labels have their headquarters here, that it would be a corporate town... Much in the way that those who expect glamour in Los Angeles are disappointed. But it doesn't feel like that at all, it doesn't work from the top down but from the roots up; don't get me wrong this is a big destination for American tourists.


They head for Broadway, home of Honky Tonk and Honky Tonks, the music which introduced steel guitars and drums to Country Music and the bars in which the music is played. In the bars you will never hear a song you haven't heard before, it is all covers of Hank Williams, Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard etc etc. But as John Sebastian pointed out in the lyrics of "Nashville Cats"

Well, there's thirteen hundred and fifty two
Guitar pickers in Nashville
And they can pick more notes than the number of ants
On a Tennessee anthill
Yeah, there's thirteen hundred and fifty two
Guitar cases in Nashville
And any one that unpacks his guitar could play
Twice as better than I will

Even though it could be a depressing experience, it's not. In bar after bar you find singers and bands who have obviously missed the chance of stardom but still enjoy playing the music.