Happy Thanksgiving to all my Dierks Bentley Congress friends! I am so thankful for the friendships and the memories. Have a blessed holiday!
To Dierks, Rod, Robbie, Steve and Tim and all the crew--thank you so much for all the beautiful music and memories in 2009!
~Ronna
With all I've got to be thankful for I should be doing so much more I know
A Better Believer would look to the skies And shout "hallelujah" with tears in his eyes Open his heart and start givin it all away When I take a hard look at myself And count my blessings I can't but help But wonder if there's been some kind of mistake This life of mine should belong to a better believer
Attention DB Congress! If you experienced the Dierks Bentley concert at the Berrien County Youth Fair last night, I want your stories! Email to me your experience and pics at ronna@dbcongress.com.
In the meantime, here is a video I found on You Tube of Better Believer, and an interesting article from heraldpalladium.com from yesterday, with lots of Dierks quotes. Listen closely at the beginning of the video, where Dierks talks about playing The Tabernacle.
=================================================== Dierks Bentley, one of the most consistent country hitmakers to emerge this decade, will headline the grandstand entertainment Thursday at the Berrien County Youth Fair.
Singer-songwriter Dierks Bentley performs at Berrien Youth Fair tonight By JEREMY D. BONFIGLIO - H-P Features Writer Published: Thursday, August 20, 2009 1:09 PM EDT
BERRIEN SPRINGS - Dierks Bentley could easily be considered the poster boy for the alternative country movement. The T-shirt-and-jeans-wearing singer-songwriter has pop star good looks; his high-energy live shows often land on the rock end of the spectrum; and his current studio album, "Feel That Fire," has been lauded for its eclectic mix of rockers and ballads.
Still, Bentley insists, every tune he writes is steeped in country music's rich tradition."Some of the record is progressive, and there's more of a rock energy to the live show," Bentley says by telephone during a tour stop in Charleston, S.C., "but at the heart of it all is a love of traditional country music. To me being aware of that tradition is the cornerstone of a good country songwriter."
The Arizona native, who headlines tonight's grandstand entertainment at the Berrien County Youth Fair, grew up on a hybrid of honky tonk, bluegrass, classic country and modern rock 'n' roll. After moving to Nashville, Bentley spent his nights singing for tips at Second Avenue bars and his days working in the video tape library of the now-defunct Nashville Network. He soaked up everything he could from watching those historic performances and even sought out George Strait and George Jones to autograph his beloved 1993 Martin D28 acoustic guitar.
By blending old country sentiment with new country sound, Bentley has become one of the most consistent hitmakers to emerge in the genre this decade. Last year, after only three major label studio albums, he was able to release a greatest hits package, "Every Mile a Memory 2003-2008." With "Feel That Fire," his fourth studio album released on Feb. 3 by Capitol Nashville, Bentley has now had 12 songs land on the country singles chart, including seven that reached No. 1.
"I love the feeling of combining the best older stuff with the edginess of newer, more progressive sounds," Bentley says."I try to take the real life connectedness of the stories and songs of Hank Williams and Buck Owens, and then try to put a modern sound to it. ... As a songwriter, you're always trying to get better. For me, I just try to write songs that are going to reach out to as many people as possible, and I think we've done that with this record."
Bentley's 2003 self-titled release earned the 33-year-old his first No. 1 single, "What Was I Thinkin'." "Modern Day Drifter" (2005) included the No.1 singles "Settle for a Slowdown" and "Come a Little Closer." "Every Mile a Memory" and "Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go)" off 2006's "Long Trip Alone" both topped the country singles chart, and "Feel That Fire" already has two No. 1 singles, the title track and "Sideways," which was co-written by long-time collaborator Jim Beavers.
The third single off the album, "I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes," debuted at No. 51 two weeks ago and has since climbed to No. 38.
"I'm not the kind of guy who wants to go into the studio every two years and just keep putting out more of the same because it has worked so far," Bentley says."I really wanted to change our approach ... do it in more of an old outlaw kind of country way. Use your guys; go in the studio; take the clock off the wall."
Bentley spent more than two years writing, road testing and recording new material for "Feel That Fire," a wide-ranging album that opens with a slide guitar rampage on "Life on the Run" and closes with a Ronnie McCoury duet in the bluegrass jam "Last Call." Bentley also added a Spanish groove to "I Can't Forget Her" (recorded by Clay Walker in 2003) and teams with Americana icon Patty Griffin for "Beautiful World."
Bentley understands why some traditionalists might think he's pushing the genre too far, too fast, but his reasons are nothing if not pure country.
"As a songwriter and a human being, I want to experience all that I can in this one life we are given," Bentley says. "It's all about moving forward but remembering where you came from."
When the trivia was almost over, Coop said Dierks would be out in about 17 minutes, but I don't think it was even 5. Dierks just came walking out like he was part of the production crew--no introduction, no announcement, just him and his guitar. "Hey guys how ya doin?" Caught me by surprise. I thought I was gonna have a few minutes to eat, but forget that!
Of course the place went wild. Rod and Tim and Dierks played acoustic the whole set--no Set List--all songs were pretty much on request. Robbie and Steve came out and made an appearance before they started. A man of his word, Dierks had promised previously to sing "Don't Leave Me In Love" and he did it beautifully! His voice the entire 70 minutes was at his ultimate best...the words though...he sometimes changed up...uh...for effect, right?
That's what I love about Dierks--he's NOT perfect--that's how he stays down to earth with his fans, who are not perfect either--at least I know I'm not. He laughed it off and at one point even apologized and said he was embarrased for forgetting the words, but dude--no need to be sorry! We were the one's throwing out requests that you probably hadn't sung in forever. We totally love you for trying--just hearing your voice was enough! Our love in unconditional.
So, without further rambling, I have a few videos for you below. The complete set list is here, too, and Nid has the entire audio from XM Radio for you on dierksfans.com.
Don't Leave Me In Love (video) Wish It Would Break (video) Distant Shore Life On The Run Come A Little Closer So So Long Hey Jordan (video--highlight of the evening) I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes Free And Easy (Down The Road I Go) Better Believer (video) Cab Of My Truck What Was I Thinking?
Dont Leave Me In Love:
Wish It Would Break:
Hey Jordan:
Better Believer:
End of What Was I Thinkin' and final comments before M&G:
Not only is Dierks Bentley one of the feature articles (Life Has Just Exploded) in the March 9th issue of Country Weekly magazine, but his Bentley-blues shine brightly behind the Table of Contents, and one of our Wisconsin DBC reps-Alicia-secured a spot in the Stars Up Close section! Make sure to pick up your copy of the magazine and send thank you's to letters@countryweekly.com for all the Dierksness!
There's been no mistake, Dierks! You are truly deserving of the great blessings in your life. You work so hard and are doing so much more than you think. You open your heart and give it all away every day--to your family, friends and fans. We are all better believers because of you! We are proud to promote you every day!
If you're watching (or listening to) ESPN2 right now, you may notice that in between the rounds of the Nationwide Series race at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, you hear the sounds of Dierks Bentley! Every time they cut to commercial, they play a 3 second Feel That Fire, Sideways, Life On The Run, or believe it or not, Better Believer! All new songs from his Feel That Fire album, released 2/3/09. Curiosity got the better of me, so I googled ESPN, Motorsports, and I searched for "dierks." Here (in part) is what I found:
Sights and sounds from Daytona Saturday, February 7, 2009 | Print Entry
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- A few sights and sounds from the Sprint Cup garage after a crazy night at Daytona International Speedway:
There's Tony Stewart talking to Hendrick Motorsports management about the engines they supply him at Stewart-Haas Racing, the ones that helped the two-time Cup champion to a third-place finish in the Budweiser Shootout.
There's fourth-place finisher Jeff Gordon giving advice to runner-up Jamie McMurray about the final two laps of the green-white-checkered finish, won by Kevin Harvick after a last-lap push from Denny Hamlin.
There's team owner Jack Roush walking past the NASCAR hauler, probably wondering whether there's something he could question officials about on the finish that saw McMurray's attempt to block Harvick fail.
There's country music star Dierks Bentley giving a postrace concert to the thin crowd that, for a cool winter night, forgot the tough economic times to watch the NASCAR season unfold.
And, ESPN.com blogger Marty Smith added a side note after his "A big Daytona Letdown?" blog: Song of the week: "Better Believer," Dierks Bentley. I feel like that a lot. Listen to it, you'll understand.
With all this dierksness in NASCAR, can't you just see Dierks singing, "...gonna get a little bit sideways" with NASCAR cars sliding sideways in the foreground, and Danica Patrick, with her long, dark hair (like all the leading ladies in DB's videos), "...I can see you came to rock in your blue jeans and white tank top...", (I know, I know, she's an IRL driver, but it could happen!). Sounds like a video in the making for Dierks' new single, Sideways, doesn't it?
I don't pretend to know anything at all about playing guitar, but I am guessing there are a lot of Dierks fans who do! So I hope you will be interested in the new tabs for some of the songs from the new album like, Better Believer, I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes, Pray, Sideways and Life On The Run. Click here two full pages on CountryTabs.com of Dierks song tabs and lyrics!
