JOE and JOVEN'S Pick of the Day!

JOE (left) and JOVEN (right)...

As I sat around my living room with about 12 teenagers asking them for ideas, for my show...things to talk about, etc. Someone came up with Joe and Joven's Pick of the Day, for the Cafe'... sounded good to me, so here they are!

It started as a joke because Joe and Joven weren't REALLY country music listeners, but now they are listening to country music along with all of their other types of music!!
(I've even gotten Joven to go to 2 country concerts now...AND HE LIKED THEM!...he'll deny it..but it's true! ) Yep, the secrets out!

They call with a pick of the day everyday for the EAGLE Country Cafe'. They are two really great guys...being converted to country!!

JOE DIFFIE- Another Hit Maker Hits Astoria

JOE DIFFIE...another great show at the Libery in Astoria..

Joe and his crew were great and put on a great show...It was an honor to open for such an incredible player and artist.... - Sonja

"No stranger to the top of the charts, Joe Diffie is enjoying yet another out-of-the-box hit with the title track of his new album, Tougher Than Nails. But this collection, his first for Broken Bow Records, is about more than another round of commercial success for a performer with 10 No. 1 records and six million in sales to his credit."



Early hits including "Home," "If You Want Me To, "If The Devil Danced In Empty Pockets," and "New Way To Light Up An Old Flame"

As his career progressed, Joe began flashing a more playful side on up-tempo smashes like "John Deere Green," "Third Rock From The Sun," "Bigger Than The Beatles" and "Prop Me Up Beside The Jukebox (If I Die)."

Over the course of the nineties, Diffie used his steady radio success to build a solid fan base while notching his belt with 17 top 10 hits, two platinum albums and two gold albums.

www.joediffie.com

The Eagle's SONJA - Opens for Joe Diffie!

DREAMS DO COME TRUE!!
When I got asked by our General Manager to open for Joe Diffie...I actually found myself saying to him, "Can I think about it?" Paul said, "sure."

I walked 3 steps down the hall...stood there for a minute and thought to myself, "what are you thinking! Sonja this is something you've always loved doing...you have the opportunity to sing, stupid.." So, I turned around and told Paul, I would be honored and thanked him for the opportunity.

See, 3 weeks before that, I literally broke the guitar I had been carrying around for 15 years... sounds nuts... but I was tired of the 'you failed' ghost following me around, when it came to my music... so I threw it away and "let it go"... I felt I was in an awesome job, why cry about not being out there singing?

I learned a great lesson...let it go. Things will work out, not always how you think, but they do. So, the joke was, I went home that night and had to ask my husband, Jerry, if I could borrow HIS guitar!!

I got home and got on the phone. I hadn't had a band in years! I called my dear friends, Michael and Lisa Kohlmeier, who had been my biggest supporters for years...they were rock and roll, but I'd have to turn them a bit country!! When I asked them if they'd be willing to help me out they said absolutly. I put Mike in charge of the band... We ended up with a great crew...Mike on Lead & Vocals, Lisa on Bass, My husband on guitar, Chris on Lead guitar and my buddy Jesse Cain on guitar www.jessecain.com , with Arbie on drums. We practiced every weekend, in Centralia, WA, for 3 months! An hour and a half drive each way, but it was so worth it. Mike, lisa and Jerry knew how important this was to me!

Below:Jodi & Jessi during 'Jodi's Song'

Below: Couldn't have done it without them-
Michael,Lisa,Me,Jerry,Jesse,Chris & Arby
The night of the performance felt incredible...I was too excited to be nervous! (Although, I sing barefoot, from the fear of tripping on a cord and falling on my head in front of everyone!!)

The audience was SO supportive and interactive! We had the time of our lives and can't thank you EAGLE listeners for being SO kind!! We sang cover songs, and I sang a few originals too...my favorite, "Jodi's Song"... a song about my daughter and her sister..I brought them on stage during part of it and the response was very touching.. After the show My GM and OM Paul and Tom Freel came back stage and were so kind...Paul told us that we were opening for Dwight Yoakam if he came to town... Now that's a compliment! I had a blast and so did my dear, dear friends.. it was such a special night...

COLLIN RAYE- He releases it...it goes to #1

COLLIN RAYE...

Collin put on an incredible show at the Liberty and we were SO honored to have this calibur of artist come through EAGLE Country... Husband, Father, Singer, entertainer...the list just continues...

Collin treated the audience with hit after hit, but also, treated our General Manager's wife, Joyce, to a bit of a surprise... Joyce, being a huge fan of Collin and having met him before, was just thrilled to see him in concert again ! ... but her husband, our GM, Paul, had something in store for her. He had a small request of Collin. It was their Anniversary that night and he wanted it to be very special for Joyce so, to Joyce's surprise, Collin dedicated Joyce's favorite song to her, Wished Her and Paul Happy Anniversary and they danced. An audience, some with tear filled eyes and all others looked on with smiles. It was Great! To share such a wonderful moment....

(I KNOW , at least a FEW men had elbows in their ribs from their spouses, that night oooh-ing and ahh-ing about the romance of it! Wondering aloud why their husbands never did anything like that for them!!!)

23 of Collin's 25 singles went top 10, FIFTEEN of these going all the way to #1!


#1 Titles
"Couldn’t Last A Moment”, “Someone You Used To Know”
“I Can Still Feel You”, “What The Heart Wants”, “On The Verge”, “The Gift”, “I Think About You”, “Not That Different”, “One Boy, One Girl”, “My Kind Of Girl”, “If I Were You”, “Little Rock”, “That Was A River”, “In This Life”, “Love Me”


Top 5 singles
“Somebody Else’s Moon” “Every Second” “Man Of My Word” “Little Red Rodeo” “I Want You Bad” “That’s MyStory” “Love Remains” “Anyone Else”











#1 Videos
“All I Can Be”“Love Me”“In This Life”“I Want You Bad”“That Was A River”“That’s My Story”“Little Rock”“My Kind Of Girl”“One Boy, One Girl”“Not That Different”“I Think About You”“On The Verge”“Anyone Else““I can Still Feel You”“Couldn’t Last A Moment”


CMT top 100 videos of all time
“Love Me”“Not That Different”“Little Rock”“I Think About You”

www.collinraye.com

BUDDY JEWELL-A jewel of a guy!

BUDDY JEWELL...
The first winner of the popular show, “Nashville Star” proved to put on another great Eagle Show at the Liberty!

Lewis and Clark’s- Fort Clatsop had just, tragically, burned to the ground right before the bicentennial celebration. So at the last minute, we turned this concert into a fundraiser to help out where NNB Radio could.

We had a very successful auction. (Thanks to all of you who bid, donated and participated) We auctioned Phil Vassar’s jeans that he wore at his concert here, a guitar signed by buddy, the shirt he wore in concert that night, other memorabilia and all kinds of other really great auction items. www.visitftstevens.com


Buddy’s crew was great fun and really great to their fans. Buddy’s song ‘Lacey’s Song’- or a.k.a. ‘Help Pour Out the Rain’ has touched so many hearts…mine included and keeping a dry eye when he sang it live was hard! He's seems to be a dedicated family man who has a great faith in God. I was so impressed by who he is as a person. Kind, talented, humble.


www.buddyjewell.com

With the collection titled Times Like These, Buddy Jewell steps into the ranks of the truly world-class country singers.His nearly platinum-selling debut CD and hits like “Help Pour Out the Rain” and “Sweet Southern Comfort” introduced millions to his warm, expressive voice. But the performances on Times Like These are something else. These are the vocals of a man at the top of his game -- muscular, emotional and awesome in their impact.

TERRI CLARK- Funny Girl!

TERRI CLARK!
What a great show. She was at the Tillamook County Fair in August 2005. A girlfriend and I took the drive, something 'girls' need to do sometimes, just...Take a road trip!! :)

I met Terri and her manager, soon to be husband Greg. All the while I marveled her BIG WHITE buses.. And SO many of them!

Terri was funny in concert, with quite the sense of humor! She played all of her hits, told stories about the songs and was just a great entertainer....BUT....
I went to take a picture and the dreaded, 'battery depleted' shows up on my camera screen. Yep, happened to me...Not realizing how fast digital cameras go through batteries, I ran out! However, one of Terri's band members saved the night and grabbed me some off the bus! I was extremely thankful! Let's say I learned my lesson about digital camera's !!!

So, the road trip with my friend was awesome and we rocked to ,"Girls Lie Too"...Among other Terri Clark hits!!

Reigning Female Vocalist of the Year Terri Clark
13-time Canadian Country Music Award winner and reigning Female Vocalist of the YearTerri Clark scores four nominations to this year’s awards, set for September 11. The Alberta, Canada native is again up for Female, as well as CMT Video of the Year (“She Didn’t Have Time”) and Album of the Year (for her acclaimed 2005 disc, Life Goes On). Clark is also nominated for the Fans’ Choice Award, a fan-voted honor she’s won five times previously.

www.terriclark.com

PHIL VASSAR-The crowd goes WILD!

PHIL VASSAR! Our first concert at the beautifully, renovated Liberty Theater. Phil and his crew were so much fun to hang out with and were crowd PLEASERS! People went nuts and it was a great time! They all enjoyed out community and raved about it's beauty!

I interviewed Phil a few days before the show and then right before he went on stage, he is fun, personable AND called me ‘honey’! (Ya gotta love that!!) After the show we all hung out on the bus and I had the, very cool opportunity to see his unreleased video for “ Good Ole Days”. Jerry was one of the drivers that night for the band, so we both had a great time with all of them.

I have to be honest though, I hadn’t realized just how MANY songs Phil had written for other artists that became hits, then his album ‘Shaken Not Stirred’ had taken off the way it did. It’s one of my favorite albums to date. You won’t want to miss him when he comes back in Nov of ’06.

“ On Greatest Hits, Volume 1, Phil reconnects with those songs that first made a name for him in Music City, USA. You know the songs—chart-topping hits made famous by the likes of Tim McGraw, Alan Jackson, Jo Dee Messina and others. But for the first time on CD, you can hear them the way they were originally written and conceived…in the voice that first gave them life and breath. Phil sees his new album as a chance for him to do what some of his favorite composers have done. “I always like to hear the songwriter do the song. Nobody does a song better than the songwriter. Especially if they lived it and breathed it. That’s where the best songs come from.” Call it “Phil Vassar: In His Own Words”—in a more complete volume and form than he’s ever created before.” www.philvassar.com


“ On Greatest Hits, Volume 1, Phil reconnects with those songs that first made a name for him in Music City, USA. You know the songs—chart-topping hits made famous by the likes of Tim McGraw, Alan Jackson, Jo Dee Messina and others. But for the first time on CD, you can hear them the way they were originally written and conceived…in the voice that first gave them life and breath. Phil sees his new album as a chance for him to do what some of his favorite composers have done. “I always like to hear the songwriter do the song. Nobody does a song better than the songwriter. Especially if they lived it and breathed it. That’s where the best songs come from.” Call it “Phil Vassar: In His Own Words”—in a more complete volume and form than he’s ever created before.” http://www.philvassar.com/

STEVE AZAR Our 1st EAGLE Show

Our first EAGLE show!

STEVE AZAR!

Steve Azar at the Clatsop County Fair! We had a great time and it was a great show, well attended by our community!

On a personal note, it was fun for my husband and I because during my interview with Steve, I found out how close he was to Jerry’s family in Mississippi. Then Jerry found out that Steve attended the same college with some of Jerry’s cousins. Steve and Jerry were all Mississippi when they got to talking! I was a great time and we feel like we have made some great friends.

During the Show, Steve had been calling Jerry his Mississippi Brother…and from the stage pointed and said hello. We were side stage and Jerry was on Duty that night, so he was in his Deputy uniform. Well, Sheriff Bergin was attending the show. Twice already, Steve had joked with the crowd about not even being able to get arrested! Sheriff told Jerry that if Steve said it again he was under orders to go on stage and “lock him up”…Well, Steve said it again! To even my surprise and the crowds laughter, here comes Jerry with handcuffs out and walked right up on stage. He told Steve he was under direct orders, to 'lock him up', from the Sheriff, pointed him out and it was just something you couldn’t have planned better! The crowd laughed and Steve and the band loved it.

At dinner that night, they talked all Mississippi and when Jerry gets around fellow Mississippian’s…the ‘speak’ starts and it’s catchy!! We have kept in touch with Steve and his manager/brother Joe. Along with Mark and Jason, other members of the band, they are all some of the most down to earth, nice people that you’ll ever meet.











Steve and the guys...






"Steve Azar launched a radio phenomenon with I Don’t Have to Be Me (‘Til Monday) and a video sensation with Waitin’ on Joe. He is creating music for movies and narrating a documentary. But the busier and bigger he gets, the more his thoughts have turned homeward to his Mississippi Delta roots."

www.steveazar.com

Eagle Concerts!

Thanks SO much to all of you who have been coming to the shows! We have had amazing talent come through Eagle Country. I'll be posting pictures and comments about our concerts, so come back often! It's been great seeing all of you and meeting Eagle listeners. I appreciate your support and as a community, we've been so lucky to have the caliber of talent we've had come to our area! Platinum album, gold album artists, artists with tons of #1 hits, entertainers of the year award winners and the list goes on...

This is the place to ask questions and chat about YOUR favorite things country, songs, ideas....it's great to have you stop by! - Sonja