What's Cooke'n Blog

Friends of Amy Challenge America presale just announced.

An artist fan club pre-sale will be available via the Kennedy Center Box Office Instant Charge phone lines or in person (not via the Kennedy Center website) for one day only -- tomorrow (Friday) May 1st from 10am - 9pm Eastern.  Just log into your Friends of Amy account and click over to the Pre Sale Tickets link for all of the information on this pre-sale. 

This is going to be an incredible night of music.  I have lost count of how many Grammy Awards have been won collectively by this legendary group of artists.  To see and hear them together on stage is going to be a once in a lifetime chance for music lovers.  Don't miss out... get your tickets early.  And better yet, proceeds benefit an amazing cause - "Challenge America." 

The challenges are great but the possibilities are greater...

Jen

 

Amy is OFFICIALLY on Twitter...

I know we've talked about it for awhile, but Amy has finally figured out how to "tweet" (with some stellar help from our webmasters Dale and Don) and has already updated her twitter account several times.  Follow her @amygrant for her personal tweets.  For official Amy Grant news updates you can follow me @friendsofamy and @jencooke.  Also, Dan Harrell is also on twitter and can be followed @danharrell.  LOTS of good Amy related information will be coming your way via twitter as well as our BRAND NEW WEBSITE launching next week and updated blog information from me, Amy and road manager Justin.

More to come...

Jen

Amy Grant and Vince Gill to launch Challenge America at the Kennedy Center on June 8, 2009

AMY GRANT AND VINCE GILL ANNOUNCE June Musical Event,
LAUNCHING CHALLENGE AMERICA, Honoring wounded warriors
at THE John F. KENNEDY CENTER for the performing arts, Monday, June 8

With Special Guests Michael McDonald, Alison Krauss, Darius Rucker, Mac McAnally, Melinda Doolittle and NY Times bestselling author Stephen Mansfield

 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (April 28, 2009) – Amy Grant and Vince Gill recently announced plans to host an evening of music at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, on Monday, June 8, 2009, at 8 p.m., honoring wounded warriors and launching the nationwide Challenge America initiative. Challenge America will work with communities across America to support the development of recreational and occupational programs for returning injured military and their families. 

 

Special musical guests slated to join Grant and Gill at the Monday night Kennedy Center launch event include Michael McDonald, Alison Krauss, Darius Rucker, Melinda Doolittle and Mac McAnally with NY Times bestselling author Stephen Mansfield.  Tickets go on sale Saturday, May 2, and are priced at $50, $75 and $95 for general admission and $500 for Gold Circle Seating to include a post-show reception. Tickets are available at the Kennedy Center Box Office, via InstantCharge by calling (202) 467-4600, and online at www.kennedy-center.org <http://www.kennedy-center.org>.

 

“I’m excited about getting to play on stage with all of these talented folks and to share what we believe in so deeply. We want to make an impact on the individuals who have given to us in unimaginable ways.  Challenge America is our way of honoring the men and women who truly are heroes,” explains Vince Gill.

 

Challenge America is an outgrowth of Challenge Aspen, a non-profit organization that has provided adaptive recreation for people with disabilities since 1995.  Since 2000, Amy Grant and Vince Gill have served Challenge Aspen in various capacities, hosting golf tournaments, providing entertainment during fundraisers, and volunteering, raising more than $3.5 million. The Kennedy Center concert event to launch Challenge America is a natural progression for Grant and Gill and for Challenge Aspen.

 

“Amy and Vince have been among our most ardent supporters,” said Houston Cowan, CEO and Co-Founder of Challenge Aspen and Founder of Challenge America.  “What we hear from wounded warriors is their simple desire to find a new normal life---a job they can be proud of, a home, and recreational opportunities with their families in their own communities.  We are delighted that Amy and Vince are hosting an event of this magnitude to launch our organization to help provide access to these opportunities,” explains Cowan. 

 

“Every person in every community across the country has the opportunity to welcome home our wounded heroes with open arms,” explains Amy Grant. “Vince and I want this event at The Kennedy Center to be a special night for launching Challenge America, and to inspire us all to find ways in our own communities to serve the ones who have served us,” she adds.

 

Established in 1995, Challenge Aspen (http://www.challengeaspen.org) has provided adaptive recreational, cultural and competitive opportunities to thousands of individuals with disabilities from around the world. Based in Aspen/Snowmass, Colorado, Challenge Aspen is an internationally established charitable organization.

 

Challenge America (http://www.challengeamerica.com) is an outgrowth of Challenge Aspen that will be launched on June 8, 2009.  The organization will work with new and existing organizations for the development of recreational and occupational programs for injured military and their families. 

 

Vince Gill has sold more than 26 million albums and earned 18 CMA Awards, including Entertainer of the Year in 1993 and 1994.  He is a member of the Grand Ole Opry, with 20 Grammy® Awards to date (more than any male country music artist) and was inducted into the prestigious Country Music Hall of Fame in 2007.

Amy Grant has sold over 30 million albums worldwide.  She is best known for her Grammy® Award winning contemporary Christian and pop music, and recently received acclaim as a New York Times Best Selling author for Mosaic: Pieces of My Life So Far. Grant is a six-time Grammy® Award winner, 26-time Gospel Music Association Dove Award winner, and a member of the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame.

Tornado Damage in Tennessee

For those of you who live in the Middle Tennessee area you are well aware of the wicked storms that hit yesterday.  For those of you who aren't aware, there were several tornadoes in the Middle Tennessee area yesterday that caused tremendous damage and even loss of life.

As a board member for the Nashville Area Red Cross, I have been receiving updates on the damage and the recovery efforts.  Fortunately, the area is well served by several strong Red Cross chapters and there were people on the ground providing help within minutes after the tornadoes hit.

I know times are tough for so many of us.  Loss of employment, loss of home values, and loss of savings in stocks have created a time when many of us are having to pinch pennies.  But in spite of the hard times for many, most people have a warm bed to sleep in and a roof over their head.  Such is not the case for the many families in Murfreesboro and surrounding areas who lost their homes and all of their belongings yesterday.

If you are inclined to want to reach out and help, please go to www.midtnredcross.org and make a donation to the 4-10-2009 tornado.  Every dollar will help....

Blessings to all of you this Easter weekend.  Regardless of your personal faith or lack there of, I do hope we all take time to remember the one who came in the name of PEACE.

Jennifer

Hannah Montana Movie Premiere in Nashville...

Amy attended the Hannah Montana movie premiere tonight in Nashville with Corrina and one of Corrina's friends.  While walking the red carpet she talked to Access Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight, and a variety of other news outlets.  This picture was snapped of Amy and the girls. 

Amy is participating in GMA week...

You are invited to the GMA Community Gathering & Artist Symposium on Wednesday, April 22 during GMA Music Week 2009!

As a current member of the GMA, you are invited to attend the GMA Community Gathering & Artist Symposium, which takes place on Wednesday, April 22 at 8:45 a.m. in the Renaissance Nashville Hotel Ballroom during GMA Music Week 2009. As the Official GMA Membership Meeting, this event will get started with comments by GMA President/CEO John W. Styll, followed by the Artist Symposium with beloved and respected artist/songwriter/producer/author Charlie Peacock offering closing thoughts. The GMA Community Gathering & Artist Symposium is open to all GMA members.

This year's Artist Symposium, which is titled "Crossing The Border - Artists of Faith Making a Connection in the Mainstream," will be moderated by veteran freelance music writer Deborah Evans Price and will feature artist panelists Brad Arnold (3 Doors Down), Cedric Dent (Take 6), Amy Grant, Dan Haseltine (Jars of Clay), Brian Littrell (Backstreet Boys), Stephen Petree (formerly of Shiny Toy Guns) and Marty Roe (Diamond Rio). These artists will engage in a candid discussion of how artists of faith can both overcome the challenges of living out their faith in the mainstream and use those platforms to impact the culture for Christ.

Register now for GMA Music Week 2009 for the GMA member rate of only $299 through Friday, April 10!

Click here to register now, or call 615-242-0303 today!

Cleaning out my desk....

I found a few old photos in the back of my desk drawer.... thought I'd share them with all of you.

Amy and Michael W. Smith at a BHCC spring open house about in 2001

 

Amy,Vince and moi at a golf tournament benefit dinner in Palm Springs.

Same golf tourney - Vince playing "lead lines" while I strummed the chords to "Peaceful Easy Feeling."  I had been teaching myself to play the guitar for the past few months and playing with Vince was near Nirvana. 

 

Vince, Amy and MWS at one of the first Nashville Christmas Shows - The Opry House

New music..... coming soon....

Amy is putting the finishing touches on 5 new tracks.  In addition to recording these five new songs she is continuing to write new material almost every week.  She is very excited about this extended time off the road and being able to focus on writing and creating new material.  As soon as the first five tracks are finished she plans to go back in and record five more.  LOTS of new music will be coming your way in the months to come.

To start, we are taking one of the new finished tracks called "Unafraid" and releasing it on Itunes on May 5th for a special Mother's Day 4 song EP.  The other songs on the EP will be "She Colors My Day," "Baby Baby," and "Oh How The Years Go By."  We will also be premiering the "She Colors My Day" video in connection to the launch of the EP.  Philosophy has an entire line of "She Colors My Day" products that will be released as well and all the net proceeds will go to support the Women's Cancer Research Fund. 

More to come...

Jenn

Tin Pan South

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...

The end of an era.... and a new beginning...

Several people have emailed me asking questions about some rumors 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.

It all started with Dan Harrell and Mike Blanton, who shared a 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.

Chaz Corzine joined the team a few years later, bringing with him 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.

Through the years we have had the privilege to manage many incredible artists and our business grew into a big operation.  We have shared countless groundbreaking experiences with our artists and have had more reasons to celebrate and be grateful than most.

But as much as we love and respect each other and as proud 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.

We are all going to remain connected on several levels - 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. 

Although sad about the end of an incredible era and forever 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.

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