Brittany Reilly Journal

So we just got back into Western NC after quite a week in Nashville!

We were pretty excited to be able to play at Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge down on Broadway…it’s such a historic venue, and you can feel it all around you.  To think that’s where the legends use to hang out and sing and have a beer before or after a show at the old Opry in the Ryman!  They really liked our sound, and invited us to come back the next day and play a 4 hour set!  So we came and did it up, and had a great time.  Vince Gill was actually playing in the Ryman later that night, and the sound guy saw him walk past the window behind us when we were playing!  Pretty neat.

Brent had gotten me tickets for my birthday to go to the opry on Saturday night, so we got an extra ticket and brought our daughter Grace and our friend/babysitter Sarah with us too!!  We got there almost 4 hours early and hung out at this thing called the ‘Opry Plaza Party’ out side the Opry, where they have bands, and food etc.  It was pretty great.  We got to meet Elizabeth Cook’s (one of the ladies that played the Opry that night) husband and Father and give them C.D.s.  Brent sat and talked with the people from WSM for a while, and we just took in the whole experience in awe!  They added Jean Shepard and Connie Smith last minute, and it was just so incredible to see 2 of my heroes up there like that.  I was so excited!!!  I tried to leave C.D.s for the performers, but they really just didn’t let me!  I did manage to make eye contact with Jean Shepard though, and tossed a C.D. up on the side of the stage to her…who knows where it ended up, but I sure did my best!

We got to go to the Midnight Jamboree afterwards, and it just topped off the night!!  I can’t wait till we get to play on those stages!! 

Grace had so much fun in Nashville, she kept her boots on the whole time, and kept saying that she’s a honky tonk girl!! She wanted to wear a honky tonk skirt everyday and go out dancing!  So she did!!

Can’t wait to go back in October!!

Allright, so we are back up in Ohio, and feeling good to have a little time to get back down to earth after all this driving!  We had a great time pickin’ up in PA and WV, and Billy and Steve are now out in Colorado doing some festivals and shows with the Hickory Project…We look forward to linking back up with them here in Cleveland and heading to WI, NC, and TN with them.  We’ve got some fun stuff coming up and we’re here booking away, so keep your eyes peeled for more dates along the way! 

While in WV at The Purple Fiddle, I picked up a copy of one of my favorite papers to get while traveling, ‘The Hillbilly Holler’!  It’s a compilation of tons of funny jokes, largely relating to hillbilly folk-quite entertaining.  Already on the first page I have a few to share…no doubt there will be more coming!!!

Dealing With Telemarketers

* If they start out with, “How are you today?” say, “I’m so glad you called, because no one these days seems to care, and I have all these problems…my arhtritis is acting up, my eyelashes are sore, my dog just died…”

*If they say they are John Doe from XYZ Company, ash them to spell their name. Thn ask them to spell the company name.  Then ask them where it is located, how long it has been in business, how many people work there, how they got into this line of work, if they are married, how many kids they have, etc…continue asking them as many personal questions or questions about the company for as long as necessary.

*If the company cleans carpets say, ” Can you get out blood? Can you get out Goat Blood?”

*Tell them that you are busy, can you have their home phone number so you can call back later, and when they say no, say ” Oh, you probably don’t want anyone bothering you when you are at your home right? Me either…”

*After everything that they say, say “Can you repeat that please?” and then for a 2nd time every now and then, “Can you just repeat that again for me?”

* Tell them to speak very slowly, because you want to write everything down.

I thought those were pretty funny, but it’s funnier when you actually think about using them in context when people call your number!  Anyhow, just thought I’d share it with you all, whether it’s more for my own enjoyment than anyone else’s, or not! 

Well here we are, heading north after a great Florida run.  We had some good shows in South Florida, and just closed it off with a great weekend in Alachua and St. Augustine area-thanks to all our friends in both places for such warm welcomes and good times!  We were soooo excited to have our guest Dave Cook come up at Farm to Family in Alachua and play pedal steel with us-I said it that night and meant it-I don’t ever want to play without pedal steel again!! It was incredible!  I was also excited to play music for the first time with Bass Player Scott Gorman of Stonehouse-pretty great to have so many guests up with us!

While we were in Florida we helped Billy pack his things into storage, and he’s officially moved out and on the road with us fulltime!  We’re really excited about that, and are going to be playing a ton of dates with him and Steve this year.  This weekend should be a fun one in PA-my birthday is on Thursday, and Steve’s is on Saturday, so we’ll be doubly celebrating!  We love spending time in the Wellsboro area and are looking forward to some pretty hikes and hopefully bring Grace down to the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon!

Please check out our dates and hopefully we’ll see you all out at a show soon, and if not, send us a message or drop us a line on the guestbook!

Take care,

Brittany

We had a great time at Suwannee Springfest 2008. These festivals are always a great time and filled with great music. There are many bands we got to see for the 1st time this year and some that we make sure to catch every time we are there…. Our set on Thursday afternoon was at 4:20 in the direct FL sunshine out at the Dance Stage and we were also thrilled to have David Gans come up and sing “Pancho & Lefty” with us. The Infamous Stringdusters went on after us and we got to see them for the 1st time. These guys are friends of Billy’s and he always spoke highly of them and told us we needed to check them out. They were dead on! A really great band with good energy and a wholesome sound, definately recommend seeing them when you get the chance.

Friday night we played at 10:30 PM in the Music Hall. This is the 1st time that we have closed this stage and it was a blast. The Line-Up for this set was:  Brittany Reilly (Mandolin,Vocals), Brent Hopper (Guitar,Vocals), Billy Gilmore (Banjo,Mandolin,Fiddle,Dobro,Vocals), Steve Belcher (Bass), Corey Dwyer (Drums), & Sue Cunningham (Fiddle,Vocals). Not only did we have the full band with us but we joined by a few friends for the set. A very talented young fiddler by the name of Matt Miller came up and played twin fiddles on “Banks of the Suwannee” with Sue and he nailed it. He is a great musician and has a bright future ahead of him… Thanks Matt! Check out his myspace page at the link below. We also had Michael Payton come up and sing a Vince Gill tune “The Key”. Just Brent & Michael stayed on the stage for this song which was very moving. If you haven’t heard this song before look it up on youtube. It is one of my favorite songs, and the way that Michael sings it sends chills into your bones. Thanks Michael, we look forward to many more of these times!

Sunday Afternoon is always my favorite part of the Festival. As things begin to wind down and tensions begin to lift with the passing of the weekend, the sets are more relaxed,  fun and innovative. More guest performers join in on the sets and the crowd has more room to get closer and have a more intimate experience with the musicians. The have dedicated this day and made it a day to remember and honor Vassar Clements. Peter Rowan does his bluegrass set and usally has a few friends/guests come up to join him. Sue Cunningham played fiddle for the whole set and Brittany got up and sang “Blue Kentucky Girl” with him. A pretty amazing moment for us and we were excited to see Brittany up there with those great musicians. Well post some photos on the Gallery soon…. We look forward to Magnoliafest 2008 and even though it seems impossible, it gets better every time! Hope to see ya there!

B-

Matt Miller’s Myspace Page - Check It Out!!!

Big thanks to the folks at WRUW 91.1 FM in Cleveland, OH for their support and airing tracks from all of the CD’s they have received from us! It is a great radio station and very supportive of live & local music. Check out their website & request a song from ”Good Old Country Sound”….

www.wruw.org  

www.brittanyreilly.com

We are happy to say that “Good Old Country Sound” is officially now available! We are leaving next week to begin an extended tour that will go through April promoting the new release. We are excited and looking forward to getting back out on the road and coming to some new areas. We hope to see you at a show soon!

Brent-

A few songs from the CD are up on Brittany’s Myspace page: www.myspace.com/brittanyreilly

 New Journal Put Up During Website Revamping Process, Updates & Entries Coming Soon!

B-

www.brittanyreilly.com