So being Talk Like A Pirate Day... 

There has to be some jokes:

A few of you called in your favorite Pirate jokes... 

I remember Tricia's, What does a vegan pirate do in jail? Starrrrrve!

Always enjoy you weighing in and playing along.

Luke Bryan has many things on his calendar at the moment. By the picture posted, you can probably guess the first one I will cover is his Farm Tour. He kicked that off last week with a stop outside of Louisville,KY. Just a few more dates left on that before he moves onto the rest of his busy schedule.

I mentioned on my show last night that he and friend Peyton Manning are teaming up for a docuseries to air on Hulu called "It's All Country". It will take a look at artists that have made a great impact on Country music as a whole and even some individual perfomances that stand out. No word on a release date yet.

Finally, he and Peyton are also getting together to co-host the CMA Awards this year. That will air November 8th on ABC.

Somewhere in there, he'll have to find time to be a husband and dad, as well as keep crankin' out those hit songs! Glad my schedule isn't that crowded...hahaha

I love to fish, and yesterday I took my kayak to a little honey hole I know of to try to reach some areas I can't from the shoreline. It was raining a little bit at first, and I hunkered down in my El Camino to wait it out. As soon as it cleared up, I launched the boat and readied my pole. I'm an amatuer fisherman by all accounts but I am pretty sure it's a good time to go out, right after some showers. 

I did a little paddling and tried out this spot I have always had my eye on, to no success. I always see them smacking the top around there, but I suppose they weren't hungry for my nightcrawlers at that particular moment. I took my time around there and threw on an automotive podcast to entertain myself. 

I should mention that the lake I went to is the Nimisila Resovoir, my favorite local fishing place. I'll keep my little spot a secret, but there's hardly a bad place to go there. I've fished there my whole life and have caught some impressive fish over the years, but what always escapes me is a big bass. 

Well, I found out where they are at! After moving to a few spots with no luck, I made my way into a small cove with a bunch of weeds and algae. Looking towards the land, about a yard out from the shoreline I saw something BIG swimming. As I approached, I thought it was a snapping turtle or maybe even snake, but I soon realized there was a large tail pushing side to side. Not only that, but I saw two more of the same nearby and it clicked that I was somewhere special. 

No less than five enormous bass were feeding off the algae and smacking the top all around me. It was quite the spectacle. I was slightly uneasy on that little kayak thinking about what I'd do if I actually caught one, as I figured one of these monsters could just about pull me around the lake if my line didn't snap beforehand. My pole in general was another concern, as it was just my "old reliable" little rod and reel with a relatively weak strength of line. 

Of course I casted towards them, again and again. I've never seen fish so unresponsive to disturbances near them. I guess they were just too big to be concerned with predatory birds or just about anything, as they just kept munching on that murky green stuff. Now that I know where the hogs are at, I can't figure out how to catch 'em. 

Just like Hank Hill, I'm a diehard worm guy, but I think I need to switch it up. On the kayak I tried a lure or two but kept getting snagged, and I gave up quickly. I'm thinking some sort of weedless frog could maybe work. It's been way too long since I have shopped for some new supplies for my tacklebox, and I'd love some suggestions. 

Let's talk fishin' sometime, hit me up on the WQMX studio line! Call or text 330-370-2000 weeknights from midnight to 5am and let me know what's working for you; I'd appreciate some tips and advice. Remember: it's called fishing and not catching for a reason, and there's never a failed day out on the lake if you're soaking up the sunshine and enjoying nature. 

Get ready for the "Ahoy's", "Shiver Me Timbers", "Matey" and "Scallywag"....

Tomorrow is Talk Like A Pirate Day...  My Family is so happy the day has finally arrived.   I have been talking like a pirate for about 4 or 5 days now practicing.   I am a method actor pirate.... So you can imagine the frustration of my family living on the high-seas with a pirate talking matey like me.

I believe my son's exact words were "Can you stop!  "Yar" pirate talk is terrible."   Haha!  He gets it honestly.  Enjoy the fun tomorrow!  "Yar" welcome for the reminder.

This past Saturday evening, Hardy played a sold-out show at the Covelli Center in Youngstown and blew the roof off the place! The energy between the artist and audience was unlike anything I have witnessed before, and I can now say that I get Hardy. I've always loved his music, but I get it now. I don't know if that makes sense, but I'm not sure how else to describe it. Lainey Wilson compared his performance to a WWE event and at first I was confused, but not now. 

Hardy's fans seem to be as intense as he is, in the best way. Every song was a jam, and his setlist impressed me in that he was able to sample his diverse catalog seemlessly. To play tunes like Radio Song and One Beer within the same act and have an equally warm reception from the audience is a feat. I still can't get Unapologetically Country As Hell out of my head, which was probably my favorite from his performance. 

Of course I can't talk about this concert without mentioning my favorite female country artist, Lainey Wilson. (Megan Moroney might be tied with her, but I digress.) I've been a huge fan of Lainey since she first hit the limelight, and fondly remember meeting her for the first time at our Bossom Buddies Benefit Conert 2022. She was just gaining traction in the charts at that point, and soon after exploded in popularity (rightfully so). She's just amazing, and her story of perservearance is inspirational to all. I love her Bell Bottom Country style and attire, and on Saturday she wore this super-cool hat with a feather coming out; it was a certified 'fit.

My favorite song of hers is a little ditty called Those Boots, off her latest album. She unfortunately did not play it, but I can understand why as it is one of her less popluar tunes and may not have fit in so well with the rest of the show. She did play all my other favorites however, and she even did a striking solo version of Never Say Never. It was so good. 

To see Lainey Wilson glow up from where she began to selling out huge venues touring with Hardy makes me so happy. I was content to see she has mantained the same band she toured with on the smaller stages. Her producer/guitarist dude with the bowler hat is a whole vibe; he and the rest of the band are quite talented. Just like Hardy, Lainey Wilson did not miss a beat and put on a stellar performance. 

I unfortunately did not catch the opener Dylan Marlowe, but it was a sort-of funny story why. I never drive out to the Youngstown area, and I'm not sure if I've even been there once. With that, I was unfamilar with the map and ended up going about fifteen minutes in the wrong direction once getting off the highway. Let me tell you, it was weird. There was a single road with no outlets for miles, with woods and industry on either side. Traveling down it I thought, "there's no way the tour busses went down this road: something's off," yet I proceeded still. 

I should have trusted my gut, as I ended up in this weird little town that seemed like the setting for a horror movie. There were a ton of houses, streets, and cars; and aside from a resturant/bar we passed on the outskirts of town, there was literally no activity. It was uncanny, and I could smell bonfires but saw none and nobody. I joked that the whole village must be at the Hardy concert, but seriously it was strange. I'm still a little creeped out from it. 

I did hear Dylan Marlowe perform a Jon Pardi tune he wrote, and Hardy sang a Morgan Wallen tune that he penned. Scott Wynn once told me that Hardy is an incredible songwriter who has had a hand in many a hit song, but I had no idea just how much he has written. He wrote every one of my favorite Wallen songs and so much more, and I bet you'd be shocked as well to discover the depth of his discography. I'd venture to claim that Hardy is the best country music songwriter of this era. I'd love to hear a rebuttal for that, but personally I can't think of anyone comparable. 

To wrap this long blog up, I just want to express how thankful I am to have my job here at WQMX and for all the experiences it has afforded me. It's not always glamorous, but there's no where else I'd rather be in my professional life right now than at the best dang radio staion in the whole wide world, Your Country 94.9 WQMX! Attending events we put on and interacting with listeners is one of the best parts about what I do, and if that sounds like something you'd be interested in, Rubber City Radio Group is looking for enthustiatic individuals to work part-time on our Street Team in promotions. I'll drop a link for more info on that below, and thanks for reading!

https://rcrg.net/street-team/

Thank you for coming out to the charity shows on Wednesday & Thursday with WQMX! Three words to describe them - A. MA.ZING.!!!! We raised a lot of money for both Bosom Buddies and NEOPAT. As always, this money stays local here in NorthEast Ohio! Beyond that, the shows the artists put on were A+!

Wednesday with Hannah Ellis at the beautiful setting of 1875 Winery was such fun! It got chilly after the sun went down, but who cares?! The music was great, and I hear the food and drinks were top notch as well.

Then on Thursday at the Dusty Armadillo, Frank Ray and Michael Ray blew the roof off the house! Frank was fantastic, and Michael put on a show that was one of the best I have seen in a long time.

It was great seeing everyone at both events, thank you so much fo helping charity, and I hope you enjoyed the shows as much as I did! See you at Bosom Buddies Oct 18th. Get your tickets now!!!

There is a lot of new music available today that you should know about!

Let's start with the singles:

Maren Morris "The Bridge"
Nate Smith "Chasing Cars"
Ian Munsick "Long Live Cowgirls"
MaRynn Taylor "In My Head"

Here are the new albums available now:

Jon Langson Heart On Ice
Dan + Shay Bigger Houses
Brothers Osborne Brothers Osborne
BRELAND CROSS COUNTRY: THE EXTRA MILE
Justin Moore Late Nights and Longnecks Deluxe
Tyler Booth Keep It Real

Make sure to pre-save/add these:

9/22
Carrie Underwood Denim & Rhinestones (Deluxe Edition)
Parmalee For You 2

9/29
ERNEST & The Fellas Unplugged

10/6
Darius Rucker Carolyn's Boy
Reba Not That Fancy
LANCO Run, Run, Baby

10/13
Riley Green Ain’t My Last Rodeo
Kylie Morgan Making It Up As I Go
Charlie Worsham Compadres

10/20
Restless Road Last Rodeo
James Barker Band Ahead of our Time

10/27
The Cadillac Three The Years Go Fast
BMG presents A Tribute to The Judds
Robyn Ottolini Growing Up To Do EP

11/3
Jason Aldean Highway Desperado

11/10
Chris Stapleton Higher

11/17
Dolly Parton Rockstar

Here are my articles this week from WQMX.com in case you missed any of them. Thanks for reading and thanks for listening every morning!

Grab a coffee and earbuds and enjoy!

My Sunday Morning Song

BROWNS - Playing In The Neighbors Yard

50 Favorites From 40+ Years #14

Forgotten Jukebox GS-82

Country Music Memory Lane - Trisha Yearwood (Birthday Revisited)

Wynn At The Movies

Box Office Results -   The Nun 2  -  (15 Million)

#2 A Haunting In Venice  -  (14 Million)        #3 Equalizer   -  (8 million)

New This Week - Expendables 4 / Dumb Money (Trailer Inappropriate For Here) 

Deal? - Actor-turned-mogul Byron Allen has offered $10 billion for ABC, which Disney is intent on selling by the end of the year 

Word Is  - Good progress is being made in the writers strike and a resolution is possibly near 

Drew Barrymore - Has shut down her talk show after blowback of starting it up during the writers strike

After September 29^th - Netflix will no longer rent DVDs by mail -- and will be winding down that part of its business altogether 

This Weekend – Check out my Country Music Memory Lane -  (link)

Also - My 50 Favorites Over 40+ Years This Week #14  - (Link)

Plus - My Sunday Morning Song -  (Link)

I love all things fall, and one of my favorite things to do during the season is to have a big fire under the stars at night. The heat from the flames mixed with the cooler air is just blissful. Whether it's at my place or elsewhere, aside from attending concerts there's hardly anything I would rather do on a Friday night with friends. 

There are at least three fire spots on my property, with two of them being in the yard and one in the woods. When we're having a decent sized get-together at the house, we tend to use the closest one which lies in the middle of the backyard. It's an awesome spot to watch the sunset and the stars at night, but I prefer my pit in the woods. It is as close as can safely be to my treehouse, and there is just a cool vibe back there. We'll ride tractors and four-wheelers back there and do some ripping if we're feeling the need to get up and move around. 

Not only am I the overnight host for WQMX, but I am also a huge fan of the station and all the music we play. You already know I'm cranking my speaker up as loud as it goes, streaming the station from my phone whenever I'm having a bonfire. You too can stream live any time anywhere here on WQMX.com, on our app, or with your Amazon smart speaker-just say, "Alexa, play 94.9 WQMX." 

This weekend, I hope you have a lot of fun and enjoy this pleasant weather while it lasts. There's fun stuff going on at the Dusty Armadillo with Sarah Kay, both Friday night and Sunday. Three big concerts are happening Saturday with sold-out Hardy/Lainey Wilson at the Covelli Center, Chris Cagle at the Dusty Armadillo, and Brandi Carlile at Blossom. Jason Aldean will also be hitting the stage at Blossom on Sunday evening, back again after his last show was rained out a few months past. Whatever it is you're getting into, live it up!