Gordon Kennedy, Wayne Kirkpatrick, Amy, and Phil Madeira perforning for Tin Pan South at 3rd & Lindsley. Vince stepped in to perform “What You Give Away.” Great night of music…
Blog
Tin Pan South
The end of an era…. and a new beginning…
Several people have emailed me asking questions about some rumors It all started with Dan Harrell and Mike Blanton, who shared a Chaz Corzine joined the team a few years later, bringing with him Through the years we have had the privilege to manage many incredible artists and our business grew into a big operation. But as much as we love and respect each other and as proud We are all going to remain connected on several levels - Although sad about the end of an incredible era and forever One of the hardest parts for me of the past few day was parting ways with my "right arm" – Amanda. For those of you who are members of FOA you know first hand what an amazing addition she was to Team Amy. I hope to be able to involve her in projects from time to time moving forward. I will miss working with her on a daily basis. Her smile, positive attitude, and efficiency made each day a better one for all of us. As always, more to come… Jennifer
they have heard about Blanton Harrell Cooke & Corzine closing down.
Well, as surprising as it may be, the rumors are true. Our company quietly closed our doors March 31, 2009 after an incredible 30 year
run.
deep belief in their founding artists, Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith, and a
vision for artist development and creative content that was not defined by any
particular genre but instead was focused on true artistry, sound business
principles, and communicating truth and faith in ways that stretched beyond the
status quo.
one of the sharpest marketing and promotional minds in the business (not to
mention being the funniest guy on the planet). I followed a few years
later, fresh from LA and ready to bring my own experience and perspective into a
team I already greatly admired.
We have shared countless groundbreaking experiences with our artists and have
had more reasons to celebrate and be grateful than most.
as we all are of our history – - the reality is that today's music
business and today's economy just wouldn't support the size of the machine we
had built over the years. So in a very quiet way, and with nothing but the
greatest admiration for each other, we came to a unanimous decision that it was
time to shut the big machine down.
professionally and personally – for years to come. Chaz is going to
continue managing Michael W. Smith and I will continue managing Amy.
Dan and Mike will both continue to work with Amy on key projects but not in a day-to-day management
capacity.
grateful to Dan, Mike, Chaz and Amy for welcoming me 20 years ago with open
arms, I am excited to be moving forward with Amy as she continues her own
artistic journey. I think some amazing things are still around the
bend.
Stars Go Blue….
Last night Amy and Vince were part of a benefit concert called "Stars Go Blue" held at the Country Music Hall of Fame. It was a laid back singer/songwriter sort of night and the money went to a great cause. Here is a picture and some additional information about the event. (I was not there in person. I can't keep up with all the benefits Amy and Vince do in Nashville! FOA'er John Lam appears to be much more dedicated than me, flying in all the way from the West Coast!)
The Stars Go Blue’ for Colon Cancer Is A Blue Ribbon Success – In celebration of colon cancer awareness, the Colon Cancer Alliance presented the inaugural ‘The Stars Go Blue’ for Colon Cancer event last night at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum® (Nashville, TN) to benefit both the Colon Cancer Alliance and MusiCares®. Hosted by Great American Country’s Nan Kelley, the evening featured some of Country Music’s finest; Vince Gill, Amy Grant and Hal Ketchum. Special guests Jamie O’ Neal, Ricky Skaggs and Grammy nominated accordionist LynnMarie Rink also joined the writers’ round to play a few tunes. This event was inspired and created by 4-time Grammy nominee Charlie Kelley who was diagnosed and treated for colon cancer in fall 2008. Before the festivities got underway, the generous folks at Gibson Guitar showed their blue support and surprised Kelley with a brand new guitar. The packed crowed of industry insiders, esteemed doctors and cancer survivors were treated to an amazing night of music. A post-show reception followed complete with delicious blue cosmopolitans and several selections of Kentucky wine courtesy of the Elk Creek Vineyards and Uncorking A Cure initiative. The funds raised by the Colon Cancer Alliance help support the services the CCA provides to colon cancer survivors; it’s public education and awareness campaigns and colon cancer related advocacy nationwide.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day (late in the day as it is!)
Just wanted to wish you all a very happy and safe St. Patrick's Day. I had good intentions about cooking corned beef, potatoes and carrots, but wound up eating left over chicken and rice. 
And I forgot to dress Braden in green. Not my best holiday outing to say the least! Hope you all were a bit more festive…
I know it has been a bit quiet on the blog front but there is good reason for that. The winds of change are blowing and we are regrouping a bit. But rest assured, new music, a new full site, and other announcements are all coming soon….
Blessings,
Jen
March???
Okay, I don't know about any of you, but for me I feel like I was just taking down my Christmas tree and suddenly, without warning, it is March…. the hint of spring in the air…March madness…St. Patrick's Day…and on those few warm days that sneak in between the cold, the age old question for all women — when can I start to wear open-toed shoes again…followed quickly by the realization that to do so I need a pedicure! (sorry guys!)
So here we are – March – and I feel like the year has just begun and that our 09 plan for Amy Grant still has plenty of time to take shape and be revealed, yet the calendar is reminding me that time is ticking by faster than any of us would want it to.
I know I continue to "hint" at big announcements…. and for those of you who have ventured a guess on the June 8th date being the concert for "Challenge America" at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C…. you are right. We will be announcing the line up of guests in the next week and when tickets go on sale but it promises to be an incredible night of music and message.
Another big "FOA" announcement is still pending while we work out a few details, but I can tell you that it is NOT the anticipated "Lead Me On 20th Anniversary" live dvd taping. As much as we would love to capture that show on film, the numbers don't make sense and so it is something we are going to have to put on the back burner.
So as we roll out the welcome mat for spring my hope for all of us is a renewed sense of passion for life and an appreciation of the passage of time and the changes it brings. As the saying goes, "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven." May we welcome this season of change with hope in the things to come…
Blessings,
Jennifer
I’m back…
Well, all vacations must come to an end…. unless of course you are rich enough to not need to work!
My glorious week in Snowmass/Aspen ended last Sunday and I've been back at the office all week trying to get caught up on emails and phone calls. I came back to over 1000 emails in my inbox asking me everything from "Is Amy available to do a concert on _____ date?" (answer – pending) to "Would Amy be willing to give free Philosophy products to all FOA members?" (answer – that would be nice but not feasible) to everything in between. I'm finally down to fewer than 200 emails so I thought I would take a break and say hello to all of you.
We are meeting next Monday with our webmaster to put the final touches on the full website. I apologize for the delay in getting the full site up and running and hope that our interim site with blogs, message boards and store has been sufficient. But the new site looks great and will have many fun and informational features. It should be launched soon.
The other thing I am going to say is that June 8, 2009 promises to be a great night of music and memories for many Amy fans. We will be announcing a special concert soon but wanted to at least put the date out there (especially for those of you on the east coast) so you could save it on your calendar. I should be announcing the event in the next two weeks.
But, that is not the BIG announcement I keep hinting at. We are making special plans for FOA members that I will be unveiling soon. Ahhh…. the mystery and suspense, right?
Well, off to more meetings and emails. Amy is still working in the studio on a handful of songs. She is also trying to spend a lot of quality time with her family after such a busy fall/Christmas.
Happy Thursday… .More to come…
Jen
Greetings from Snowmass….
Sorry no blogging this week but I'm on vacation with Braden and a few friends. I will be back to work and back to blogging next week. In the meantime, I'm going to relax and enjoy the week…
Jen
LA Recap and photos
Amy and I are back in Nashville after a busy and fun-filled couple of days in Los Angeles. The event was very fun and definitely star-studded. Amy performed "She Colors My Day" and talked a bit about the importance of cancer research from some of her own personal recollections of growing up with a father who was a radiologist/oncologist. If all goes as planned we hope to use this event as the launching pad for a big mother's day push for the "She Colors My Day" Philosophy products and song, with all proceeds going to the Women's Cancer Research Fund. More details to come on that one…
We also met with the producer of the Three Wishes about a new idea. Hmmm… Nothing to tell yet, but we are going to try to push a little idea down the road and see if something comes of it.
Amy also brought me up to speed on the production of some new songs. They have recorded 5 so far and she is excited to play them for management but wants to put a few more touches on them first. I'm anxious to hear them.
The flight home was smooth til we started our descent into Nashville and then it was like a rollercoaster. We actually had to abort our first attempt at a landing due to a strong crosswind. Scary. It made me extra thankful to get back home…
So here are some photos from the event. Enjoy.
Amy on the red carpet
Gwyneth Paltrow, Courtney Cox, and Rita Wilson on the red carpet
Gwyneth Paltrow accepting her award
Tom Hanks introducing Amy
Beyonce performing Crazy In Love
Jay-Z and Gwyneth Paltrow
Tom Hanks and Steven Speilberg
A few photos from the event
What a fun night and more importantly – what a great cause! I will post more photos this week once I can download them from my camera, but here are a few that I took with my phone.
Steven Speilberg introducing Gwyneth Paltrow as the "Courage Award Winner"
Amy performing "She Colors My Day"
Courtney Cox – "Nat King Cole Award" winner
Harry Hamlin and Lisa Rinna
Tom Hanks introducing Amy
Gwyneth Paltrow sitting at the table next to ours
