Guthrie Kennard, Winner 2012
Sorry so long, but now it’s about too late to try to catch up. So, here’s the pictures from the final Rusty Wier contest.
Winner: Guthrie Kennard pix
2nd Place: Brad Purdom pix
3rd Place: Mark Shelton pix
Finalist: Dave Thomas pix
Finalist: C.C. Cross pix
Finalist: Town Walsh pix
Extra pix, just for the fun of it
C.C. Cross, tweaking the sound a bit
Story and pix by Mary Jane Farmer
Well, by the time this is posted, the top 10 moving on up in the Rusty Wier Songwriting Contest will have been announced. Pity the judges in Round 2, which culminated Sunday night, (2/12/12) at Love & War in Texas, Plano, with the last group of seven songwriters vying to keep on going. They were all, in all three nights of this round, awesome! It had to have been tough for the judges.
Those competing Sunday night were Jason Horne, James Dunning, Mark Shelton, Danny Zagotta, Scott Sean White, Matt Nix, and Aubrey Lynn England. Each one brought a uniqueness to the stage that had to have complicated the whole thing for judges Chip Campbell, Chris Scholatzhauer, and Brett Dillon, who is coordinating the event for KHYI radio station, sponsors.
The promised list of prizes has, hopefully, finally emerged. 8 hours studio recording time at Bent Leaf Studio in Denison, guitar signed by Ray Wylie Hubbard, opening slot for a touring act at one of the summer’s Shiner Sundays, a season pass for two to all Shiner Sunday shows at Love & War in Plano, on-air interview and performance time during the Brett Dillon time on KHYI, introduction of a major performer at the March 10 Texas Music Revolution, and a weekend stay at the Doubletree Inn for two.
Uniqueness? Yeppers.
Jason Horne performed with his keyboard, turning it into an accordion image during his last song, about Mexico.
James Dunning, his joke-telling interspersed with new and familiar songs of his.
Mark Shelton, the Okie from Durant, presented a variety of subjects, from his song about a hillbilly girl to one about Jesus, and his own Mexico song.
Danny Zagotta, maybe the most animated musician in the line-up, introducing his songs with tales of his childhood in Wisconsin and how hard it is for him to name a new song.
Scott Sean White, switching from keyboard to guitar and back again. Makes great eye contact with his audience and presents a host of upbeat songs.
Matt Nix, who wore a shirt on stage which his students at a McKinney school where he teaches, created and were selling as a fundraiser for Relay For Life.
Aubrey Lynn England, who barely could control her tears when giving a tribute to Whitney Houston, who, she said, was her voice role model and idol. (Whitney Houston had died earlier Sunday.)
For more photos, click on link at the end of this story.
With the change of time for Sunday’s contest (Jan. 29), starting this week at 7 p.m. instead of the usual 4 p.m., the early-birds wondered if the usual crowd would show up at Love & War for the weekly Rusty Wier songwriting contest. But, as 7 p.m. neared, there was no problem — fans and supporters of the seven contestants filed in, enthusiastic.
At the stroke of 7 o’clock, KHYI’s adio personality Brett Dillon welcomed the group to the Plano venue’s patio, toasty warm with overhead heaters and surrounded by temporary walls.
The contestants this week, 7 of the top 21 vying to move on to Round 3, were Cole Risner, Saille Branch, Jake Bays, C.C. Cross, Jason Royall, Town Walsh, and Tyler Rogers. Their styles and lyrics covered the gamut of emotions — from humor to sorrow to lost loves and found selves.
Judges Chip Campbell, Chris Schlotzhauer, and Dillon listened intently to the lyrics and watched the demeanors and stage presence of each contestant, and at the end of the night added their scores to those earned last week by the first seven contestants. The remaining seven will perform at 4 p.m. the second Sunday in February — laying off this week, Super Bowl Sunday.
Chip Campbell
It’s going by quickly, the Rusty Wier songwriting contest sponsored by Dallas radio station KHYI (95.3) and Love & War in Texas. Last week (Jan 22) marked the first of three segments of Round 2. Seven of the 21 songwriters who advanced to this round performed: Nick Flint, Randy Hopper, Whitney O’Neil, Byron Dowd, Guthrie Kennard, Dave Thomas, and Brad Purdom. It was a strong mix of original lyrics, stage presence, voices as unique as each contestant, and more musical talent than the stage could hold.
Town Walsh, himself a contestant, too, is working the sound mix for the contest, and judges for Thursday night were songwriters Chip Campbell who, among other endeavors, produces the ChippyFest each year in Cartwright, Okla., and Chris Schlotzhauer (I hope I spelled that right), one of the top winners in last year’s contest, along with KHYI’s Brett Dillon, who is also coordinating the event.
Brett will announce who is moving on into Round 3 after the completion of Round 2 — duh!
Here’s about three pictures of each contestant, and a few other to boot. Click here:
Round 2 Week 2 will be at 7 p.m. Sunday (Jan. 29), then there will be a skip of one week so everybody can enjoy Super Bowl Sunday. Week 3 will be at 4 p.m. the second Sunday of February. Next week, maybe the list of prizes can be listed here, it’s been put off because it’s still growing!
Brett Dillon, host
Pix by Mary Jane Farmer
Round one of the 2nd Rusty Wier Songwriting Contest, (week 2) Sunday, Jan. 15, was a full four-hours of solid songs, presented three at a time by 16 songwriters. Each played solo, using acoustic guitars. Host Brett Dillon (KHYI on-air personality and organizer) brought each contestant out with individual and honestly-felt fanfare, making them appear to feel at home on the Love & War in Texas (Plano) outdoor stage. It could have helped, too, that last year’s winners, Chris Schlotzhauer and Michael Prysock, each did an introductory song to kick it off.
The list of prizes is growing, it seems, with each week., and last year’s winners commented that last year’s win gave them a chance to get some recording done. That’s with Bent Leaf Studios in Denison, who is again offering studio recording time. Maybe later I can get a full list of the prizes to mention here.
Perhaps the most popular song heard was Dave Thomas’ “Wal-Martians,” a song about the array of characters he’s people-watched at the popular nationwide discount chain stores. Brought a standing ovation from the crowd. The mixture of songs varied from, as Brad Purdom called his, “sappy love songs” to true-life tunes of life’s experiences, to hard country to soft country, to one from Lauren Walley who honored a fallen firefighter friend in music, to a cajun-sound from Randy Gartman about the alligators in the swamp, and quite a few in between.
Dillon announced the 20 who are moving into the next round: DANNY ZAGOTTA, WHITNEY O’NEIL, TOWN WALSH, DAVE THOMAS, BRAD PURDOM, BYRON DOWD, AUBREY LYNN ENGLAND, COLE RISNER, JAMES DUNNING, GUTHRIE KENNARD, TYLER ROGERS, JASON ROYALL, JAKE BAYS, NICK FLINT, SCOTT SEAN WHITE, CC CROSS, SAILLE BRANCH, MATT NIX, MARK SHELTON, RANDY HOPPER, and JASON HORNE.
The contest is being held at 4 p.m. each Sunday until there is a final winner. There’s no charge, and don’t worry about the cold weather — the outdoor patio is completely enclosed and now L&W has added overhead heaters. It’s toasty, and dry, and comfy.