UP ON THE RIDGE - BUD'S REVIEW

Many of you have read with emotion the tales of Dierks Bentley and young Bud. So what does Bud think of the new Up On The Ridge Album? MOM-NOS gives us a glimpse:

Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Bud goes Up On the Ridge
It's June 8: Do you have your copy of Up On the Ridge yet?

In case my early praise wasn't enough to sway you, I've asked an uber-fan to step in as guest blogger today to offer you his own review. I gave him the template, but the assessments are all his own.

Ladies and gentleman, I give you - Bud:

I like Dierks Bentley's CD Up On the Ridge because it makes me happy.

My favorite song on the CD is "Up On the Ridge." I like it because it's very awesome.

My second favorite song on the CD is "Fiddlin' Around." I like it because it makes me good.

Some other songs on the CD that I like are "Rovin' Gambler" and "Fallin' for You."

The instruments that I like hearing on the CD are a guitar and mandolin.

I think people should listen to Up On the Ridge because it's nice.

The best thing about Dierks Bentley is (he's) the best man ever.

Check out the MOM-NOS blog for the hand-written version of Bud's review!

DIERKS' CLEAN UP SPURS BUD'S 'HAIR'STORY

After Dierks Bentley published his recent teaser of a photo on Facebook/Twitter, MOM-NOS blogger found herself thinking two things: 1. Did Dierks Bentley cut his hair again? and 2.If he did, how is Bud going to react?

Many of you recall that Bud is MOM's 10-year-old autistic son who had some trouble understanding how Dierks could be long haired in one video and short-haired in the next. We also told you about the day that Dierks and Bud finally met here.

Read MOM's most recent blog, explaining the 'hair'story, here.

BUD AND DIERKS FINALLY MEET!

Get your tissues ready! This is THE most incredibly touching Dierks Bentley Meet and Greet story you will ever read. For those of you who have been following the MOM-MOS blog and DB related stories about her 10-year-old autistic son Bud's response to Dierks from afar, you'll appreciate this.

I can barely type this through tears, still blurring my eyes...tears are runnin', yeah that's kind of the way I'm feelin'...

The part that really got me all choked up was when Bud was invited to eat with Dierks and the guys at catering and Bud wasn't quite sure about the food. So mom ran to the car to get Bud's peanut butter sandwich and Dierks offered for just the two of them and mom to eat on the bus together. Priceless!


Read Every smile a memory: Cassidy, Dierks, and the transformative power of friendship here.

Thank you MOM-NOS for emailing me with this "knock your socks off" story!

~Ronna

#18 -- AND A LULLABY?

To celebrate the entrance of "I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes" into the Top 20 this week, Ronna and I are excited to share a story and different perspective of the song with our fellow Congress members.

Most who read this are familiar with the story of honorary Congress member Bud, and familiar with his love of our President, Mr. Dierks Bentley. Recently, his mom (MOM-NOS) wrote a blog about "Close Your Eyes" and Bud's interesting take on it. As she writes:

Bud actually has a different vision for "I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes." Last week as he was getting ready for bed, we were talking about songs and the emotions they convey. (I've found that this is an especially useful tool to help my little music fan try to adopt another person's perspective to sort out how that person feels and why s/he might feel that way.) We were making our way through Feel That Fire tracks ("Life on the Run" is angry and maybe afraid... "Sideways" is happy, but the "HEY! now" in the lyric might be a little surprised...) when Bud asked "And what kind of song is 'I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes?'"

"Well," I said, "It's a love song."

"No," Bud replied. "It's a lullaby."

"A lullaby?"

"Yes," he said. "Dierks sings it to Evie when she needs to go to sleep."

I reviewed the lyrics in my head - the ones that, up until that moment, could only be about one thing - and suddenly I could see how, when taken from Bud's perspective, they could also be describing a daddy getting his baby ready for bed:

Girl I've been waiting on this long hard day to get over
So I can rest my head right here on your shoulder
I just wanna lay here and feel you breathe
Listen to the rhythm of your heartbeat ...
We're wide awake but, girl, I wanna make you close your eyes

What a fabulous, refreshing, and heartwarming take on the song! I should mention that Bud is, so far, 2-for-2 on "his" songs from "Feel That Fire" going to #1 on the charts, and 3-for-3 for choosing the singles from "Feel That Fire." It's a good thing he likes "Close Your Eyes" so much, because he's sure to hear a lot of it in the near future.

IWMYCYE is currently 4th in increased spins, both for the published (charting) stations, and all country stations. It's just about doubled it's spins from where it was just one week ago, up nearly 800 new plays! It is 4th on RateTheMusic.com in the "People 25-54" demographic (the largest demographic). It is 7th in overall audience gain (which you'll remember is what the charts are based on). With the amount of plays it's picking up, that audience number is sure to follow soon.

Based on that information, as well as at least one song moving to recurrent status next week, it appears IWMYCYE will move to #16. That's a conservative estimate ~ it's highly possible that it could be as high as #14, though quite a lot of things would need to fall into place for that to happen. Regardless, our Prez has a bona-fide hit on his hands -- not that we're surprised!

For those of you heading to Nashville this weekend for Miles and Music, I hope your travels are safe and your times are good!

~ Carrie S. (DBC Rep/Chart Reporter ~ NC)

BUD SINGS SIDEWAYS TO PEERS

Our friend MOM NOS posted another blog about her autistic son Bud's Glowing Report from his 3rd grade teacher. I think we could use such a great Dierks promoter in the DB Congress! What do you say Mom?

EVERY STYLE A MEMORY

For those of you following Mom and son Bud in the MOM NOS blog, this is really cool! Here's an excerpt:

"We spent the whole afternoon on a long hike in the woods, the sun shining through the branches, the breeze blowing through our hair, and not a bug in sight. And though I wore shorts and Bud wore pants, we were both comfortable and we didn't spend another minute discussing wardrobe. Instead, we hiked and climbed, while Bud listened to Dierks Bentley on his iPod and I listened to Bud sing along. Then we played a game that Bud developed that I like to call "Every Style a Memory," in which Bud names a Dierks Bentley track and I have to guess whether Dierks originally sang it with long hair or short hair - which may sound tedious, but was actually a welcome relief given the conflict of the day before."

I think we oughta play that game at Last Call Ball! What do you think, DB Congress?