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Beth Nielson Chapman

SIL. After reading the first page in your CD booklet, I have to wonder how much more can one person take?

BNC. I feel like I’ve won the lottery. I was so lucky that the brain tumor was caught in time, because it had started to make inroads into being hard to remove. I feel like someone handed me my life back. It’s been an amazing year. 

SIL. How did you know something was wrong?

BNC. I got this weird ringing in my ears. That’s what prompted me to get my head checked out. They told me...

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larry may

Ashton Shepherd is new to the national country scene, but is making a lot of noise.  Her debut album, “Sounds So Good”, is gaining momentum on the album charts, and she has a tour planned through the summer. Country music is notorious for being a writers town, and most artists don’t get to write the music they play. Ashton is helping to break that myth, and her new songs would be superb efforts for any seasoned Nashville writer.  The thing is, she’s only 22 years old.  Outfitted with a great record, a dazzling stage presence, and Southern...

Each generation has its own lot of honest, sincere singer-songwriters. Most work in coffeehouses, and tour not for money, but for the opportunity to bring an audience to their knees with tales of heartache, loss and sometimes, personal triumph. They are not famous for stunts or for flashing body parts. They let their songs do their talking. Every so often, one breaks through to a national audience, and is recognized through record sales and better places to play. That is how I came across Caroline Herring. I was mystified with her “Song For Fay”, and have been...

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larry may

In the early 90s, before everybody was looking for the next Nirvana, rock radio was alternative radio.  Listeners could listen to grunge, Brit rock, singer songwriters, and classic college rock without turning the dial.  No one really wanted to hear a new Nirvana, because the old one was readily accessible.  The format was fresh, exciting and open to all ideas, from both artists and fans.  Buzz was created quickly, and no band benefited from a video as successfully as Blind Melon.  They had a certain amount of notoriety, no doubt because of singer Shannon Hoon’s association and...

As the lead singer and creative force of one of progressive metal’s bands, Geoff Tate both entertained and influenced rock fans in two decades. Queensryche made their luck, selling 60,000 LP’s without the benefit of a record label deal. Dropping those credentials on a record exec’s desk made their contract a no-brainer. They began getting acclaim with 1986’s “Rage For Order”. Opening for several established bands like Ratt and their compatriots exposed them to a wider audience.

Queensryche hit the proverbial home run with 1988’s “Operation Mindcrime”. Their videos and radio singles became staples in...