I am stunned. I am floating on air. I am moving to Nashville.

I met some very important people today. They did, in fact, convince me of something I've pondered for years - I need to give Nashville a try. One of the things that was keeping me from here was the political difference between me and the stereotype that's stamped on this city. The other deterrent was my hesitation to throw myself into the country scene without being entirely certain that I wanted to go the country route. Genre-wise, I will be fine. Nashville may be covered in a majority of country artists, but there is an entire area that caters to other genres such as progressive and alternative rock, and folk. I'm Folk Rock/Pop and occasionally country and blues.

A man named, Wood Newton, said something that marked a time that I will forever remember as the very moment I decided I needed to experience Nashville, and Nashville needed to experience me. He struck something in me when he started talking about the controversy of the Vietnam War and one of his #1 hit songs, "Private Malone." I'd originally planned to take one of the industry pros aside and ask them if I'd survive as a semi-political music artist in Nashville, but I couldn't pass up that opportunity to find out. Wood told me that I shouldn't assume anything based on stereotypes that I've heard. He asked me, "Did you know that Nashville is a blue city in red state?" That one line put me in another world. Suddenly, I was a balloon whose string had been let go of and I was weightlessly floating into the unknown - IN A GOOD WAY. He elaborated a bit before he played one final song, "Article One, Section 8," and afterwards, I walked straight up to him and shook his hand. "You just handed me perhaps the most prominent bit of inspiration I've ever received," I told him. Wood and I spoke for a few minutes and he genuinely seemed interested in my craft and my name. He reached into his bag and handed me a CD he just cut with another artist. " My website's on there, you should email me sometime." Yes. I will - no questions asked.

Tim Nichols and Craig Wiseman just won a Grammy for a song they co-wrote. We watched them on a panel today AS they were co-writing a song from scratch. I could barely contain my voice... as they were writing, melody ideas were racing through my head. I wanted to be a part of the process. Unfortunately, I'll have to wait until I have the clout to write with people like Tim and Craig.

Basically, I am on Cloud 9 right now. I know that I probably shouldn't be posting a blog when I'm on such a natural high, because I often regret things I say when they're said impulsively and emotionally. However, I need to record these moments of my life. Years from now, I will look back at this entry and re-experience the glory of this moment. Thank you for sharing it with me.

~Brie~