Monday, September 10, 2007

Monday news: Power Picks, release day fun, reviews and more (updated)

By request, Bucky Covington and Don Medlock (on bass) hit a soulful note at the State Theatre in State College, Pennsylvania, 8/11; photo by the very generous Happydays. Click the image to enjoy her Photobucket album of shots from the show. Thanks again, Happy!
Bucky Covington's debut CD is in stores now, and his music video is available for online viewing at CMT.com and Yahoo Music. You can buy Bucky's album at Amazon, Best Buy , iTunes, WalMart Music and Target, hear the full version of his single "A Different World" at CMT and GAC, or enjoy samples of songs from the CD at Bucky's official MySpace. A copy of Bucky Covington can be ordered through his official site or via his official fan club.

Bucky's video for "A Different World" will face a head-to-head challenge on
today's CMT Power Picks, which begins at 12 noon ET; click here to go directly to the Power Picks main page. Bucky's matchup happens during the first half of the show (third challenge), so at noon, hit the "Vote Now" button, keep that voting window open and get ready to mouse-click away...(Thanks to Laurianne for the reminder!)

Although it's been on Mediabase (and if you've got a hip local country station, on your radio) for a little while now, today's the official release day for "It's Good to Be Us"--and it really is good to be us, if the charts are any indication. Bucky's second single officially starts its chart climb at #52 on the weighted Mediabase chart, and #51 on the Top 500, and it's extremely safe to bet he'll hit the Top 50 in short order. For those who are blessed with stations who got on board early, a celebratory request is in order.

And for those of us who are not yet hearing Bucky's new tune on the radio, mentioning that you enjoyed it on the GAC special this past weekend or at a recent station-sponsored concert (hello, Sacramento and Cleveland!) is a gentle but effective way of letting them know that you're aware of the song, you like the song, and you'd be happy to hear it on the airwaves! (Just passing through and not familiar with it yet? Feel free to check it out at Bucky's MySpace or snag Bucky's excellent album at BuckyCovington.com...)

Photo by Buckybaby 01-- click the image to view her Indiana State Fair gallery. Thanks, Buckybaby!

If only our local Plain Dealer concert reviewer had stopped in and checked out Bucky Covington a little earlier, he might have avoided the big boo-boo in his review of the WGAR Country Jam. (I don't want to embarrass the poor guy with a link, but you can find it through our Google News link on the sidebar.) "It's Good to Be Us" and "A Different World" are the ones Bucky introduced as his singles, but they're not the only original songs Bucky performed from his CD that Saturday evening--the crowd also got to hear "Empty Handed", "I'm Good" (a big hit with the audience), "Back When We Were Gods", "American Friday Night", and an excellent "Hometown", which had a line of cowboys in front of us arm in arm, swaying reverently to the gentle gospel-style rhythm. That's a lot more than "a couple of originals"!

The moral of the story-- always listen to the artist's album before writing a concert review. (I know it's tougher when there are multiple acts on a festival bill, but it's still a good policy.) To my mind, Bucky's covers weren't excessive for an artist with only one album's tunes to draw from--both the originals and the covers were very much enjoyed by the crowd, and that's the main thing when all is said and done.

Bucky's got a few days off--wonder if he's working on that new video out West?--but your next chance to enjoy him live is coming up soon. Here's the scoop on Bucky's next date with Sawyer Brown:

Thursday, 09/13/2007 7:00 p.m.
Kansas State Fair (with Sawyer Brown)
2000 N Poplar St.
Hutchinson KS 67502

Website: http://www.kansasstatefair.com/
Ticket info: "Ticket price is $10 and does not include gate admission. Tickets are on-sale now and can be purchased on-line at http://kansasstatefair.tix.com, by phone at 1-800-362-3247 or 620-669-3618, by mail or in person at the Kansas State Fair Ticket Office, 2000 N Poplar St, Hutchinson, Kansas."
Directions: Available at Fair site.


Updated to add a link to CMT.ca, the site for CMT Canada; there's a Chevy Top Picks ballot there, featuring videos from Canadian and US country artists, including Bucky's "A Different World". No word on whether votes from the US count or not, but Canadian votes sure do--and this blog gets plenty of traffic from Bucky's loyal Canadian fans! Bookmark that page, vote, and stay tuned. (Thanks to Lisa/letusjudge for the heads up.)

We'll be back later with much more--including (we hope!) some new photos and recaps from Bucky's exciting shows in Kentucky, Ohio and California this past weekend. Until then, have a magnificent Monday!