PRESS - READ ALL ABOUT IT!
Nashville Star Search
Hollywood style
By PETER GILSTRAP
Wednesday, March 26, 2008 - 4:55 pm
Once upon a time, a star in Nashville was a great big glittery thing. A thang, to be precise, that meant block-long Cadillacs in custom colors with the horns of bulls mounted on the front and your Big Name painted on the side. It meant garish rhinestoned nudie outfits. Most of all, it meant good music — real music — that thwacked and twanged and carried distinctive voices straight from the heart. Those voices broke and cried and sang of times good and bad, the universal human condition of The Hurtin'.
These days, a Nashville Star is a generic item featuring backward baseball caps, T-shirts and jeans and sterile, too-trained voices that belt out bland, uniform music — essentially bad pop-rock with a pedal steel thrown in to let you know that, hell yes, this is country music.
In fact, a Nashville Star has been reduced to something you allegedly get to be on a TV show of that name, yet another network notion of entertainment where viewers watch the freak show of people trying to get to be something — a millionaire, an idol or the biggest loser. Which is exactly what has attracted 700 hopefuls to an open-casting invitation at the Marriott Hotel in North Hollywood to fill the sixth season of the seductive NBC cattle call.
By 10:00 a.m., the line snakes around the building like a Disney ride, a line filled with foxy blonds who look like news anchors, guys whose fashion ideas seem to be derived from Criss Angel, goth types sweating through black clothing, people in wheelchairs, a blind man with a Seeing Eye dog, and a drag queen in a towering Wynette wig. But few are the Western outfits, scant are the ten-gallon hats.
"In L.A. they're actors, in Chicago they're DJs, in Nashville they're pretty much singers," confides a production manager about the participants from the three audition cities. Some hold guitars, some vocalize, lines about Jesus and drinking waft in and out.
Nashville Star officials won't allow reporters into the actual auditions, but in the crowded "holding room," the cameras catch singers as they emerge, triumphant or shamed. Either way, producers goad them into big reactions. The doors burst open to a woman's painful scream.
"I did a fantastic job singing 'Proud Mary'!" bellows Christy Eidson, a fireplug in a thrift-store dress, kind of an angry Minnie Pearl. "Evidently they did not agree and they asked me to leave. But that's all right. I guess they were just looking for something else, like blond or pretty or vocally talented!"
Outside, a big man with a deep baritone waits his turn. Michael Austin runs the third largest berry farm in Missouri. He says he loves classic country and he's "livin' the dream."
What, I wonder, would Hank Williams say about all this?
Austin looks around, pushes his cap back and speaks his mind.
"I think Hank would be rolling over in his grave."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Interview with a Comedian Christy Eidson December 18th, 2007 Written by: Matt Hansen •
MH: You may or may not be wondering just what goes on inside the head of a comedian. In my personal experience it can be both a dark and scary place; or a colorful and hilarious new page on which to draw from. As luck would have it, today we found a happy place. I’m sitting here with up and coming comic, Christy Eidson, from Millersville, Tennessee, who also happens to be a personal friend. Christy is 35 but if anyone asks she’s 27, pasty white don’t crack. She’s been doing Comedy for several years now and was influenced by Eddie Murphy, Andy Kaufman, Bill Cosby, and SNL. Plenty more but I won’t list them all. So let’s get down to it…
How does being a female affect your comedy?
CE: I don’t think of myself as female comic. I don’t know why we separate male and female comedians. Can’t we all just be equal? My material isn’t female oriented. The main selling point of comedy is connecting with the audience. I’ve done well with all types of crowds.
MH: Your accent clearly gives you away as being from the South. How does that play into your act?
CE: People from the south are different; we say what we mean. We live in a society where everyone is trying to be Politically correct. I’m proud of where I’m from. I won’t try to offend anyone on purpose, but when I’ve got something to say, it’s going to get said.
MH: You and I share a favorite club, care to comment?
CE: Yes, the Improv. There are a couple of reasons for me. It has the best atmosphere, best name, best reputation, and it seems like the audience is always rooting for you. I also like when the Celebrity comics come in unannounced. Just tonight, Joe Rogan and Nick Swardson stopped in and had the crowd rolling with some great stuff.
MH: Just for you, what are some pros and cons of being a comic?
CE: Well, I love the instant gratification. Making an audience of unknown people laugh is indescribable. It’s like a really good drug that you can take over and over again, without any bad side effects. On the other hand it’s a tough road. I think of comedy as a really long college program. You think that you’ll never graduate and most of the tests just don’t make sense. You just have to keep plugging away.
MH: Not the club, but improv itself is really in right now. What’s your take on it?
CE: I wouldn’t say I’m particularly good at it. But it’s definitely a valuable tool to have. One of my best shows ever, I only did about three minutes of prepared material. Some girl’s cell phone rang, and I totally called her out on it. The audience loved it. Then some guy in the back of the room dropped his drink, and I called him out, too. The rest of my set was just me improv-ing off those things, and the crowd loved it.
MH: What’s the worst show you ever had?
CE: I walked out on stage one night to do a sketch show, and there was only one man sitting in the audience. I tried not to let it get to me and treat him like a bigger audience, but that was pretty rough.
MH: Ok final thoughts. What does the future of stand up hold for you, and in general?
CE: Hmmm, (pondering). For me personally, I just want to start getting paid more. With the Internet and Myspace, self promotion is becoming a lot easier. It’s good because people all over the world can get exposed to it. However, there are a lot of people who think that they’re funny and are making it difficult for the rest of us. I think society as a whole is trying to be way to PC. In the end that will come back to bite us, if it hasn’t already. Stop worrying about hurting every little group or organization’s feelings. You can’t keep track of them all, so stop trying. I also believe that since parents have stopped disciplining their kids, trouble has tripled. These kids today are just out of control. When you were whupping your kid, ADD didn’t exist. Now don’t hear me wrong. I’m not saying it’s ok to beat your children. But if the little suckers are acting stupid, don’t be afraid to Karate chop’em in the throat. Trust me; they’ll stop misbehaving so much.
MH: There you have it folks, Christy Eidson says it’s ok to spank your kids.
CE: Damn right.
MH: If you would like to hear more from Christy or just want to drop her a line, you can reach her out at christyeidson.com or check her out on MySpace. Just for the record, this interview took place right before Christy went on stage. Also for the record, she killed em.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Radio Interview:
I had a really great time talking to Shawn and Sassy on the Showcase Comedy Radio show. It's a great program that's out Atlanta.
Check it out at: http://www.showcasecomedyradio.libsyn.com/index.php?post_year=2007&post_month=01
The Heckler's Hotseat was a blast! I won a coke and an ashtray!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Buy my stuff!
Check out my new merchandise: T-shirts, mugs, clocks, and more!
At: http://www.cafepress.com/christyeidson
Mama Said...
And I also have a NEW book! Yes, I wrote a book! Mama Said...is a collection of old Southern sayings and expressions. It was a good walk down memory lane writing it, and I hope you'll enjoy it. You can buy it here!