"Whiskey and Wine"

When I first hear a song, the producer part of me goes first to musicality and production quality. If I like it enough, I will go back and listen to the lyrics and the vocal quality.

The first time I heard "Whiskey and Wine" by Rugged Grace on Chasing Your Dream Radio, I thought, “This is worth another listen.” The production quality is very evident, and it sounds like true red-dirt country music. So much so that I thought I must be listening to (at least) a regionally known duo. Little did I know that they had less than a hundred followers on their Twitter account.

Therefore, I went and found their music on SoundCloud.com, and found another song I was hooked on called "Kiss You All Damn Night." Now I am hooked on this song was well.  In fact, now I am hooked on the entire Rugged Grace EP, which I just bought on iTunes, and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.

By the way, the couple is getting married next Saturday, September 20^th, and I’m sure they would appreciate a music download purchase as much, if not more, than a dollar on their wedding tree.

On their iTunes debut, the lyrics are real, funny, and as down-to-earth as country lyrics come.

“Let’s go rob a bank.” “I love you baby.”  - Rugged Grace

Chasing Your Dream Requires More Labor Than You Think

In honor of this Labor Day, I wanted to pay homage to six people.

The first two are my father and father-in-law, both of whom are veterans, came from very meager beginnings, and labored for fifty-plus years to support families, provide college educations, beat cancer and heart disease, and provide consistent unconditional love to their “not-so-always-perfect” children.

The second two (and not necessarily in that order), are my mother and mother-in-law who stood by their man, in a time when marriage vows actually meant something, and who supported the efforts of their “not-so-perfect-husbands,” and also labored away themselves to make sure that the entire family’s American Dream came true.

The fifth is my wife, a retired Navy Commander (yes, I’m a Jarhead that married a Squid – get over it), who, while battling chronic Lyme disease, labors every day along side me to make sure our family’s dream also comes true.

Finally, there is Tom Kelly, owner of Chasing Your Dream Radio. I love the name of his radio station because it reminds me that we all have the right to life, liberty, and the PURSUIT of happiness.  We all have the God-Given right to chase our dreams, but we are not “entitled” to them – success falls squarely on our own shoulders.  In the entertainment business, the odds are stacked against us – that simply means we have to labor harder than the average person to achieve our goals. If that is not attractive to you as an artist, now would be the time to exit the business.

Because of Chasing Your Dream Radio, my pursuit is becoming a reality. However, like most of you, there is still a long way to go.

Most important, however, Tom Kelly has introduced me to some of the finest rising stars in country music, including:

Lance Stinson

Temecula Road

MersiStone

Kalli Ashton

Ricky J. Nichols

Brad McKinney

The Shane Howard Band

Katie Perkins

Rugged Grace

Tune in, crank it up, and support these rising stars who are mixed in with all of your favorite national country artists at ChasingYourDreamRadio.com.