Truckin' Along
Story Of My Life: New Adventures
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Another week has passed with me being in Nashville, which means another 7 days filled with new adventures! This week felt like my new life really had begun. Instead of spending my Monday through Friday going to a public school 7 hours a day and then working for my dad at night.. I got to write music in the mornings and go to writers rounds at night. Being immersed in what I love is the greatest feeling in the world. On Sunday night, I literally couldn't sleep because I was so excited to get my week started! I ended up waking up in the middle of the night, running to the bathroom and recording an idea that I had thought of when I was sleeping. When my mom called my name and asked what I was doing, I didn't want to keep her up so I just told her that I was putting on chap-stick... Obviously, that wasn't an excuse she believed. Who puts on chap-stick at 3:00 in the morning? I just never know when an idea will hit me; and when it does - no matter what situation I am in I HAVE to write it down or I will totally forget it! Luckily, this is not one of those times. I DID remember it and it was the idea that sparked something great the next day while writing! I had 3 amazing writes this past week, with people I hadn't ever even met before! Luckily for me, I was able to click with every single person! YAY! Most of the time... That NEVER happens! I got to write a summer love song with Sammy Arriaga in the Big Machine Writers Room; dream about spring break with Molly Reed and Hillary McBride in room filled with chalk board covered walls and every color chalk crayon you can imagine! The joy and brightness in the room with those two lovely ladies would be hard to match! They can put a smile on your face from their beautiful voices, to their quirky lyric ideas! There was even ping pong table right outside! Word Music definitely was a friendly-fun place to be! Aside from 2 upbeat writes, I got the chance to settle down and reminisce in the past with Emily Weisband and Steven Dale Jones! If you haven't heard Emily's angelic voice before...Go check her out because she is crazy talented! Writing music on a daily basis is now my "job", but it definitely doesn't feel like "work". My mom has always told me that if you get to do what you love - you won't ever work a day in your life. That is exactly how I feel! This week wasn't all writing though... I got to go to some pretty amazing writers rounds that had talent after talent getting up to play and sing!
Page 3
Another week has passed with me being in Nashville, which means another 7 days filled with new adventures! This week felt like my new life really had begun. Instead of spending my Monday through Friday going to a public school 7 hours a day and then working for my dad at night.. I got to write music in the mornings and go to writers rounds at night. Being immersed in what I love is the greatest feeling in the world. On Sunday night, I literally couldn't sleep because I was so excited to get my week started! I ended up waking up in the middle of the night, running to the bathroom and recording an idea that I had thought of when I was sleeping. When my mom called my name and asked what I was doing, I didn't want to keep her up so I just told her that I was putting on chap-stick... Obviously, that wasn't an excuse she believed. Who puts on chap-stick at 3:00 in the morning? I just never know when an idea will hit me; and when it does - no matter what situation I am in I HAVE to write it down or I will totally forget it! Luckily, this is not one of those times. I DID remember it and it was the idea that sparked something great the next day while writing! I had 3 amazing writes this past week, with people I hadn't ever even met before! Luckily for me, I was able to click with every single person! YAY! Most of the time... That NEVER happens! I got to write a summer love song with Sammy Arriaga in the Big Machine Writers Room; dream about spring break with Molly Reed and Hillary McBride in room filled with chalk board covered walls and every color chalk crayon you can imagine! The joy and brightness in the room with those two lovely ladies would be hard to match! They can put a smile on your face from their beautiful voices, to their quirky lyric ideas! There was even ping pong table right outside! Word Music definitely was a friendly-fun place to be! Aside from 2 upbeat writes, I got the chance to settle down and reminisce in the past with Emily Weisband and Steven Dale Jones! If you haven't heard Emily's angelic voice before...Go check her out because she is crazy talented! Writing music on a daily basis is now my "job", but it definitely doesn't feel like "work". My mom has always told me that if you get to do what you love - you won't ever work a day in your life. That is exactly how I feel! This week wasn't all writing though... I got to go to some pretty amazing writers rounds that had talent after talent getting up to play and sing!
During this week when I was talking to some friends of mine back in Utah, they didn't understand what I was doing when I say that I was going to "writer's rounds"... Well... If you enjoy good music, good company, and great story telling; then this is the place for you! About 4 singer-songwriters get up on stage at a time and perform their latest/best song that they have written recently. Although, listening the the song itself is amazing; my favorite part is hearing the stories behind every song. It's amazing to hear the events that have happened to these people that have inspired these songs. Sometimes, they let the song speak for itself and they don't even tell the story before they play (which you would think would make it hard to know what happened to them) but the are telling you exactly what happened to them by the chords they play and the words they say. Being a songwriter, I know how great the feeling can be to finally put how you feel onto a piece of paper and share it with someone. So taking a step back and being able to watch others is breathtaking. Back in Utah, they never had anything like these; but in Nashville there is one every single night of the week and they are in numerous locations! There are so many that it would be impossible to go to every single one! It is so hard to sift through all of them and pick one that you want to go to. Sometimes however, you get lucky and pick one that you won't ever forget. Wednesday night was one of those nights.
On Wednesday night, the 29th; my mom and I were googling places around town to go watch and support some of the local songwriters when we received an email invite to attend "Pitch Please!" writers round at Soulshine Pizza Factory! On the invite, we saw that Laura Veltz and Caitlyn Smith were performing that night! I have gotten the chance to write with Laura a lot before and I absolutely adore her. She is one of my favorite people to write with here in town! Caitlyn Smith is somebody who is someone I have always wished I would meet because her voice is beautiful and she is a genius! I love, LOVE her songs. So naturally...This place stood out as the best option! We got to enjoy laughs and stories with some of my favorite people in town while listening to some of my mom and my favorite radio songs being played by the writers who wrote them. My mom and I definitely sang along with Laura as she sang and played "Drunk Last Night" by the Eli Young Band, the song she had written! This is one of my favorite songs at the moment, even though I am always changing my mind - but it was extra special to hear her sing it. Just as I thought that my night couldn't get any better, I looked up and saw Chris Young standing right in front of me. Nashville... The place where you can eat pizza and enjoy good music, sitting next to Chris Young. Obviously my night went from amazing to perfect in that one moment.
On Wednesday night, the 29th; my mom and I were googling places around town to go watch and support some of the local songwriters when we received an email invite to attend "Pitch Please!" writers round at Soulshine Pizza Factory! On the invite, we saw that Laura Veltz and Caitlyn Smith were performing that night! I have gotten the chance to write with Laura a lot before and I absolutely adore her. She is one of my favorite people to write with here in town! Caitlyn Smith is somebody who is someone I have always wished I would meet because her voice is beautiful and she is a genius! I love, LOVE her songs. So naturally...This place stood out as the best option! We got to enjoy laughs and stories with some of my favorite people in town while listening to some of my mom and my favorite radio songs being played by the writers who wrote them. My mom and I definitely sang along with Laura as she sang and played "Drunk Last Night" by the Eli Young Band, the song she had written! This is one of my favorite songs at the moment, even though I am always changing my mind - but it was extra special to hear her sing it. Just as I thought that my night couldn't get any better, I looked up and saw Chris Young standing right in front of me. Nashville... The place where you can eat pizza and enjoy good music, sitting next to Chris Young. Obviously my night went from amazing to perfect in that one moment.
Every time my mom and I have a little down time... It turns into a girls night unless we decide to go out on a little adventure. This weekend it was definitely an adventure weekend. We are both "foodies", so naturally our adventure consists of finding the coolest restaurant to eat at and try something new! Then afterwards we usually find a cute little boutique or antique shop to go to and spend money we don't have. Well, this Saturday we lucked out and got both in one parking lot. Wait...What? We read online about a food truck that sells gourmet grilled cheese. WHAT! I am a carb lover so of course after reading about this, we HAD to chase it around and find where it was going to be next! This Saturday brought us to "The Grilled Cheeserie".
YES. It was as good as it sounds. If you know me, you know that I am as indecisive as it comes... But after about 15 minutes of debating between the 3 gourmet options or whether I wanted to build my own, I decided on the "The B&B of Tennessee" which consisted of cheddar, bacon, caramelized apple butter on multigrain bread. It might sound a little crazy, but it was the perfect balance of salty and sweet! I don't even like tater tots, but apparently they are famous for their "Tot Sauce", which meant I had to try that too! I could very easily eat an extra large bag of their tater tots and a whole bottle of their Tot Sauce! Heck, I would spread that Tot Sauce on everything! Check them out at by clicking the button below!
Like I said before... That wasn't the only mobile business in the parking lot that day. There was a boutique on wheels. Yes, you read that right. When we turned around, there was the cutest turquoise old trailer that was a boutique that travels all around Nashville! It had the cutest clothes and shoes, to the most unique accessories, and everything in-between! I have NEVER seen anything like it before! When you walk in, you can't even decide what to look at first! I felt like a kid in a candy shop. I wanted to buy everything in there...I had already spent my money on the greatest grilled cheese I had ever eaten, but now I follow them on twitter so I can find the next place I will be. If you need to buy a Valentines Day gift or you are just wanting to buy a new little something to brighten your day - Go visit their Instagram to find out where they will be next and see new deals on what they have! You won't regret it!
P.S. To the friends of mine who are reading this blog post... My birthday is coming up and I definitely wouldn't mind a gift from here. It would make it a very happy 17th. Just sayin'.
Until next time...
Until next time...