Shane Caldwell -- Too Funny??

Taking the his comedy seriously, Caldwell packed up his montage of characters, and did what many of his country music counterparts had done when they found themselves sinking on the same boat. He started his own label.

The end result is a the release of one of the most hilarious comedy albums to come out of Nashville in a long time. With more inner child's than most of us would care to admit we have, Caldwell's 'comedy for the common man' will have you rolling in the aisles. Chances are, you'll catch a glimpse of yourself in some of his routines, or at the very least your Uncle Fred. Drawing on real life idiosyncrasies, Caldwell's been blessed with the rare gift of helping us laugh at ourselves.

Ironically, the highlight of the album is a sketch involving an irate country music fans whose had enough of the music his local radio station plays. (Sound familiar?)  Calling his local deejay and imploring him to play real country music, listeners are rewarded with "I Like Country Music Like It Was", the album's only musical offering.  Ringing true, with a light heartedness that only Shane Caldwell could pull off, the song  decries the loss of traditional country music, while leaving you with a smile.

""Listened to country music lately?" he laments "No? Well, neither has anybody else. Country music, real country music that is, is hard to find. In fact, it’s pretty much non-existent on Nashville's Music Row these days. Why? Because no one from the country is running the country music business. It’s being run by a bunch of city boys from New York and L.A. who wouldn’t know a sow from a sewer rat. Well, guess what boys? City can’t do country! Oh, you can sign a bunch of pretty boys and cover girls, put cowboy hats and boots on them, give them some sappy, toothless songs to sing and run 'em through a machine that makes caterwaulin' sound like Caruso and you can call it country. But calling a horse a cow doesn’t mean it’ll give milk. It just means you might get kicked in the head trying to get it."

"Well, what these bean counters really need is a kick in the ass. One that lets them know that focus groups and market research and all that other corporate nonsense doesn’t mean a thing if you don’t have a product that appeals to the record buying public. And by the way, if you haven’t noticed, they ain't been buying lately. Now, personally, I like country music like it was. Back when Merle and Lefty and Hank, Loretta, Porter, Whisper and the Possum sang songs they had lived (or at least made you believe they’d lived). Those songs had an innocence and a truth and a hard edge to them that only someone who had lived a hard country life could write and sing about. And that’s what’s missing from today’s country music. Does that mean every song has to be about drinkin' or cheatin' or cryin' in your beer? No. They just need to be sincere. And like the old show business saying goes, when you can fake that, the rest is easy."

Caldwell, a favorite of such artists as Emmylou Harris and Bob Dylan, is well known for his CMT comedy sketches. If you're planning on being in Nashville August 8th or September 28th be sure to take in Caldwell's show, complete with his self-made entourage of chracters, at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. "I like to present the familiar, and then twist it, so expect the unexpected."

Traditional country music fans have always known that there was no such thing as 'too country' and Shane Caldwell's 'Drive Time' demonstrates clearly, there's no such thing as 'too funny' either. Nuff said.

July 2001 - Laurie Joulie - Take Country Back

You can purchase your own copy of 'Drive Time' by visiting Shane's official site .