PLEDGE MUSIC KEEPING ME GOING!

Aside from some small personal setbacks, it has been a great week already! It's been the best week of pledging already and it's only Tuesday! We have had 18 pledges so far this week and if we can keep that up it will probably be our biggest week so far!

   In a group setting, I wanted to thank everyone for your pledges! It's been a rough few years trying to get things going with my career again, since the label shut down. YOU truly are the only thing that has kept me from throwing in the towel. This business is not for the faint of heart, and I am learning quickly how much mine can take! I won't go into great detail but here is s small clip into my life since becoming an indie artist:

- "You are amazing and need to be heard!" (Radio Programmer)

- "You have one of the best and most powerful voices in Nashville!"
(One of the top 3 managers in Nashville...possibly in the world)

- "You are the next big thing" (Record label President)

   There were over a hundred conversations I had with people in radio and in Nashville just like this but you get my point!  It was all I heard for the first year that I was on my own, so I thought that surely someone was going to work with me! I don't think that highly of my talent personally, but to have these men and women say this stuff to me meant A LOT! I knew it could possibly take some time, so I waited for ANY of these people to make an offer to work with me. Fast forward to this morning......

   Nashville has an interesting way of telling you how amazing you are and then pretending they don't even know your name overnight! That can be pretty tough on your mind! I have showcased for several labels, had conference calls, emails, and everything else you could think in the last few years, and the response is always positive. BUT....I seem to either sound or look like one of their current artists or they just don't give a reason at all! Don't get me wrong, I hope to one day find someone in Nashville that I trust to work with again but as the months go by, there are a few that I wouldn't trust with my life or yours!

Basically this is to bring up to speed on my life behind the scenes of shows, cd's, and social media! It doesn't do me any good to vent it every day on facebook where everyone loves to blow everything out of context, but I feel like it's ok to tell you here! The fact that you believe in me enough to help my continue to make albums during this time, means that I should believe in you enough to share this part of my life!

I am VERY excited about this new project, about the upcoming shows, and 2013 in general! It's amazing what God can do in the midst of your struggles, and I can't wait to see what he has in store for me next!

If you are reading this and have already pledged, it would help me greatly if you would share my pledgemusic link on your pages (facebook, twitter, blogs, ect.) We raised $20,000 in 3 days on the last fan funded project but that was before facebook decided to charge to make ANYTHING visible!

http://www.pledgemusic.com/artists/bentonblount

If you are reading this and have NOT already pledged, check out the pledge music page and see if you would like to get involved! It would be great if one person wanted to pledge $50,000 and we would be on our way BUT.......... it would also be great for 10,000 people to pledge $10!!! Anything helps and I am thankful that you even took the time to read to this point!:) Have a blessed week,

Benton

LEAVIN THIS TOWN

   I have always loved country music.....well.....I have always loved music. My mom made sure that I was exposed to many different kinds of music. Rock, Pop, Blues, Country, and RAP....ok rap was me putting 2 Live crew into my tape collection without her knowledge! When I started writing music I realized that all of those were blending together into what I was writing. I had no idea what to do with some of the songs since I couldn't play them in church but I was about to find out.

   I moved to Nashville to see if my local fame was short lived and a fluke. I figured that I would just blend in or be covered up by the massive amount of talent that thrives in the city and quickly come back home with my tail between my legs. I saw men playing guitar on the street that were better than I will ever be. Bands playing in bars every night for free in hopes that someone will see them. I remember seeing several artists in STARBUCKS and feeling automatically inferior. As short as Tim McGraw is, running into him (literally) at smoothie king was intimidating. He was in line, turned around, and his nose ran into my left pec! I finally felt like I was in the land of the giants......no way I was going to quickly move forward like I did back in North Carolina right???

   Less than a year after moving to Nashville, I signed my first record deal. I was a now a country music artist. I played at the Country Radio Seminar with Zac Brown Band and Darius Rucker. I was at Country Music Association dinners with Rascal Flatts and Jamey Johnson. I was playing shows at the House of Blues in New Orleans with Edwin McCain (Not country but my favorite singer/songwriter). I was traveling the country to radio stations and taking them my new single that was set to be released that year. Sometimes we would go to 3 different states in a day. I was singing autographs for people in Salt Lake City, Reno, Seattle, and Dallas. I was recording radio spots for stations all over the country "This is Benton Blount and you are listening to WFRE"!

I would have never imagined that in less than a couple years, I would be on the edge of my big break! I remember when my single was getting ready to be released at radio...... In my head I was saying "Next week, it's all going to be different". If I had known how different, I may have stopped the whole process right there................

Various Artists | Standing United, Vol.1 | CD Baby

I just got this link. I knew it was in the works but I didn't know how long it would take to be ready. My song "Thats an American" is sharing CD space with Nickleback, Tim McGraw, Big and Rich, as well as other rising artists. This is a record to support our soldiers and I am very proud to be a part of it and proud to be an American!

Various Artists | Standing United, Vol.1 | CD Baby

WIDE OPEN

   So back to the story time line. After that show where we magically became headliners, it started to get crazy. From that show, we had over 100  bookings for the rest of the year. We were having to turn down more shows than we booked! We literally became a touring band overnight. Selling CD's, shirts, hats, and anything we could think of....we were a musical WalMart! The demand for shows allowed for us to buy a trailer, PA system, new instruments, ect. It was great......BUT.....I just had a feeling that there was something more.

   After a show one night, a friend who had brought us to play several times, took me aside and told me about a promoter in Nashville that put on a nationwide tour twice a year. I was kinda confused as to why he was telling me about him until he said "I am gonna call him and tell him about you".  I was thinking that it was probably going to be one of those calls where the promoter nicely explains that the tour is for national acts and maybe down the road we could do something together......that's what I get for thinking! Within 3 months, we were packing up the bus to go on our first national tour. Now let me back up for a second. I said bus......it was a church bus. No bunks, horrible seats that only people under six ft. can sit down without bashing your knees, and a not so great air conditioner. To top that off, this tour 40 or more shows, some of which, we had to drive 16 hours to get to the next stop!  We were about to get a crash course in road life!

I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I WAS COVERING UP WITH!!??

   Arriving to the first show we were not even sure where we were playing. A church? A convention center? Not so much....It was an arena! The only time I had ever been on the floor of an arena was to see WCW Monday Nitro and the Nature Boy Ric Flair.....wwwwhhhhhhooooooooooooooooooooooo! Needless to say....my butterflies we more like Japanese Hornets! How was I going to be able to get up on that huge stage and sing?? All of the lights, the huge sound system, the dressing room equip'd with a chef! I was so nervous that I had not even thought about the fact that it was only lunch time and there was no one there yet.

   Getting dressed backstage, I remember hearing this strange roar. It was kinda like when you hear a train coming but it hasn't blown the horn yet. After about 30 min it stopped, so I figured it was just pipes or  the air conditioning in the arena. We played first that night so when the stage manager came to get us we had no time to see what this was all about. We headed down the cement corridor to the curtain backstage. I could hear people but I still don't think it hit me. As they introduced us and the curtains opened I saw that the roar that I heard earlier was the crowd......all 10,000 of them!

   After I almost passed out from being so nervous, we finished the show......traveled the country......sold several thousand CD's....and had a great tour! The smallest show was about 3000 and the largest was around 15,000.  After the tour, our bookings extended farther than the Carolinas. We were traveling all up and down the East Coast and even made a road trip to South Dakota.  After all of this, I thought surely everything was going to slow down. I again was surprised to find out that there was much more to come!

MAMA'S FAMILY

    I remember watching that show growing up! I always thought it was strange that she looked like she was 40 in the face and 75 in the waist.....but it made for some good TV! I am sitting in the hospital room as we speak, waiting on them to take my mom back for surgery. She has a blocked intestine and although I have never had that happen to me, I can only imagine how much it hurts. She said it was worse than child birth (ME)! My "momma's family" consists of myself...well...and her dog Max. 

   Mom raised me all by herself, and at her own stress/expense, made sure that I always had everything I needed. I remember a period of time where mom would go teach school, leave to pick me up from school, drop me off at grandma's, and head to her second job. I just thought that was what parents did. It was years later that I found out that she did it to make sure I had everything the "rich" kids had! I didn't have to worry about clothes, food, or shelter. I got a car when I turned 16, had all of the coolest video games, and I even had Nike's (when that was a big deal). I never for one second thought about the fact that it was due to the extra work that my mom did. If I had known what she was giving up to make sure I had things, I would have never wanted her to do it. I would not have enjoyed the clothes that I wore or the car that I drove. Although I would never have wanted her to do any of that for me, she taught me a very valuable lesson. 

   When you give people things, the motive is what drives you! If you truly want to help someone, you don't ask for things in return. You don't hold it over their heads like they owe you something in return. The deed becomes an after thought. Your motive is to see that person be blessed and not feel like they needed to do anything to deserve it. When the motive is self gratification, there is usually more harm done than good. It causes relationships to crash, bridges to burn, and un necessary problems that could have been avoided easily if the deed had never been done. 

   I have been playing music a lot the past few years. Mostly to make sure that I want to do this. I have traveled many miles, played for very few people at a time, and made very little! A few years ago, I was traveling back and forth to the Carolinas from Nashville playing shows. You may not realize this but if you live in Nashville, you never want to play there. You can never make money because people are willing to play for free. I would make more in a weekend in the Carolinas than I would in three months in TN! While this helped me pay bills, it was a stress on my car!!! I had a Ford Expedition that my mother had paid for (go figure) and it was on its last few breaths when the engine blew. I was pretty upset about it since I needed it for transportation but I was not going to mention it to mom. I had realized by then, how much mom had done for me over her means, so I didn't want her to try and do the same thing again. I was at the time, signed to a record deal, and I wanted to make sure I was staying on the road to make them happy and hopefully set myself up for a long career that would them and myself money! Finding out what happened to my car, someone from the label (for now I will call him Jake), said he wanted to give me something. To my surprise, it was a car. Not just any junky old.....it was a just like new Chevy Tahoe. He then proceeded to hand me a large handful of money. Asking what it was for, he told me that he had to sell the car for tax reasons. The amount of money paid for the car, and gas back to Nashville. I was beyond words of gratitude. I felt so relieved that I would be able to continue traveling and playing music, and that my mom wouldn't have to go to bat for me like she has always had to do. Driving back to TN in my new car, thinking "there are actually more people like my mom in the world".  

   

   Its interesting to see how time brings all things to pass. Since then, my label has closed, my relationship with "Jake" has deteriorated, and I have been reminded more times than you want to read on a blog about the car being given to me. The exact quote was 

"In fact, I think you still owe me $500 for that $15,000 Tahoe I GAVE your ungrateful ass"

 (pardon the bad word)

GAVE.......when you give something to someone, can it really be for sell? Can you give them something but never let you forget that they are the ones who made it happen? That sounds more like a sale, a discount, or at least a lease! 

   My mom GAVE me everything. She never held it over my head.....in fact.....if she had known how, she would have done it all without me ever knowing where it came from. She has never asked me for anything in return for what she provided for me. That's what real giving is. The rest is motive wrapped up in even more motive. I attribute a lot of mom's problems she is having now to all of the giving that she did for me (30 years of it). I can't help to have a heavy heart as I watch her sit in this bed waiting for possible life threatening surgery. It even makes me feel like an "ungrateful ass" at times! But mom doesn't see it that way. She wouldn't trade a day of what she did for me and I only hope that I have the future years to show her how grateful I really am! No amount of money in a persons bank account, free cars, career, or person will ever show me how to give more than the woman that is laying in this bed!

If you get a chance, go leave my mom a get better comment on her facebook page! 

Mom's Facebook Page

As more people that mom has given to come into the room to visit, its getting to full to type! Have a blessed New Year!!

ITS NOT CHRISTMAS WITHOUT YOU

   I find it fitting that Christmas has come around at the same time that I am sharing my story with you. If it were not for every aspect of this season, I would not have a story to tell. So while this blog may stray away from my story line about success and failure in music, it should also fill you in on a very big part of my life......FAITH!


   I remember waking up as a kid to open all of the presents that Santa brought me. Santa was so busy in fact that on Christmas, he ran out of wrapping paper by the time he got to my house and just left the presents un-wrapped all over the living room! I didn't mind.....after all, it was much easier to get to all f my favorite toys without having to deal with wrapping paper!! My mother and I lived in a small apartment with very limited amenities, including the lack of a fire place. I always wondered of Santa was real because I had presents every year but he had no chimney to climb down. It was when I was eight or so that mom told me about giving Santa a key to the front door! I am so glad she told me that.....I almost started having doubts about whether he existed! I always tried to take a peek at Santa, and on may occasions, found Mom eating his cookies and Milk....I am surprised that he kept coming back. Regardless, Christmas was always a time that I knew I would get many of the things that I had asked for during the year.....providing that I was being a good boy!


   While presents were a big part of my Christmas, my mom always made sure to point out that it wasn't about that. We always made our way to church for Christmas Eve service, and heard the story about Jesus' birth. I can remember every detail of the manger scene.....and even tho I am still not positive  what "swaddling" means, I can picture in my head what that looked like to! It was clear to me at an early age, that Christmas was a time to celebrate the birth of Christ and what that meant to all of us.  I will admit.....I had moments where that didn't matter. I remember one year, mom let me open ONE present a day early. I looked all through the tree for the heaviest, biggest, and most fun looking present I could find. Pulling it from the tree, I found myself looking at a large picture bible! I did what any young church going kid would do..........CRIED LIKE A BABY. I wanted my Castle Grey Skull equipped with a real draw bridge......or even better......my Garbage Pail Kids trading cards!!! Looking back on that, I realize that we seem to do that still today. The greatest gift we could ever receive is Jesus, and while that should be all we look to in life, the other "Toys" are what we look forward to.


   "Toys" change as we grow older. The biggest and most expensive gift can't begin to eclipse the love that God has for all of us. If we REALLY felt that way, I believe that Christmas would be a time of great reflection, repentance, and celebration! My story would not be able to be told if it wasn't for the love of God. The birth of Christ is why I am able to do the things I do in life. It's why I can put my faith into things that others can't see. Most importantly......his birth, life, death, and resurrection is the driving force behind my faith. Not just faith in God and Heaven.....but faith that through God, all things are possible. Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me" is a testament to what Christmas means to me. 

• It is why I am at ease when I think about my future in music, even when people turn their backs on me.
•  It is the reason that I am not concerned when people try to harm me and my career. 
• It is how I get through days, months, and now years of waiting for another chance to move forward in an industry that  can be wonderful yet sometimes very cruel. 

   I told you that this part wouldn't focus on the story of my music career but as I continue to share, you will see why this part is so important to me. I have had a lot of things change in the past few years of my life. A lot of people that seemed to have good intentions were obviously great at disguising the fact that they had no intentions other than to serve themselves. I will be sharing with you EVERYTHING that they did and are continuing to do in an attempt to make sure that I do not make it in the business. I am sure that as some of them read this very blog, they will not hesitate to send vulgar and rude emails and messages......attempting to blame any of my failures and short comings in my career on me. I will continue to share my story with you and let you decide who can be credited for that. I will be the first to admit that I am not perfect. I make mistakes daily, but I can promise you that when it comes to music, I give it my heart and soul (Sometimes more than I should). The biggest mistake that I have made so far in my career is using Philippians 4:13  substituting "Him" for a person, a job, and a LABEL. 


   It is my prayer that you all have a blessed Christmas! Receive more gifts than ever before, eat all the food you can and not gain a pound,  and start 2012 with a new lease on life! Don't forget who made it all possible and thank God daily for the true meaning of CHRISTMAS!!!

SO IT BEGINS

   That first show was the changing point in my life! Imagine that you knew for sure what you wanted to do in life, where you would be in 20 years, how much money you would be making, and then in a flashes.....it ALL changes!

    If you ever played sports growing up, you will know what I mean by being devoted. I woke up and fell asleep thinking about sports. My life revolved around preparing myself to play football. I was in the process of picking the college I wanted to play for, doing my summer workouts to stay in shape, and preparing to leave my mom and home to attend college and play football. As prepared as I thought I was to leave home for college, I never looked back after that show. I knew after the first song, that what I was born to do was play music. The funny thing about it was........I wasn't that good!

   Maybe I was so impressed that I actually got on stage to perform or maybe it was because of the reason I was singing, but I thought it sounded great! I recently listened to the bands first recordings ...........WOW..........let's just say it wasn't record label material! Luckily I started in church so everyone had to be polite. All you ever hear is "you sounded so good" or "that was such a blessing". Regardless of how we actually sounded, something was working. After that show we were asked to play the following weekend for another youth rally. The following month we had three booked. Within several months, we had a calendar packed full of shows. Just a side note.....I stray away from discussing my love for football at this point because it become an after thought at this point in the story.

   So as summer ended, I found myself enrolling in community college so I could keep up with the schedule we had already began to develop. I was heading to band practice once a week to work on new songs, then heading home to practice by myself (I think I started hearing how good I DIDN'T sound). 

   It was about six months later that a signed group indirectly moved us into the next level of our career. We were asked to play for a large event at the baseball field in Hickory, NC. We were going to be opening for the group and we were very excited! So we prepared a 30 minute set of songs and felt pretty confident that we would be a great addition to the event. Arriving for soundcheck (the day of), we were informed that the group had to back out at the last minute for family reasons and that we would be "headlining"!! Needless to say, I wasn't about to speak for about an hour........stayed in the bathroom for another hour.......and.......ok, I went back to the bathroom. You see, this wasn't a show for a couple hundred of our friends and family. They had pre sold several THOUSAND tickets and all of those people were coming to see the group who had to cancel. Without going into detail aboutany more bathroom drama, we played the show.....and a month after the show we were booked for most of the following year and preparing to record our first album!

   I know it sounds like I am leaving things out. Like....how many years it took between all of these things, all the hours we had to practice, and all of the normal band problems we had. Truth is, I am trying to stretch the story out for cosmetic value. In one year we went from "lets try to play some music for our church family on Wednesday" to "We have a show every Saturday and Sunday for the rest of the year". We purchased our first sound system, trailer, and instruments because we were playing to so many people that the normal Church system wasn't enough. We had become a touring band!

   We blocked off several months so we could focus on recording a record when I realized something very important.....we needed original songs! Oh....I forgot to mention that I had no idea how to play guitar and the only form of a  song I had every written was poems that I use to write to girls when I was in the 5th grade, only to hide them in my sock drawer because I was to shy to give it to them! So my friend Wes and I sat down and he played chords over and over while I put words to them (Sorry Wes). After two songs and Wes' bleeding fingers, I bought my first guitar, taught myself how to play, and started writing songs for the band. This can't be good for the band right??