Jamie Moyer
N/S Stickist & Bassist
San Diego, Ca.

The Journey

Part IV- The Nashville Years

My first day in town, I went out and listened to Jonell Mosser & Enough Rope.She had a bassist named Michael Rhodes, a top Nashville session musician – I later found out that Michael replaced another pretty good bassist named Victor Wooten when he left to join Bela Fleck & The Flecktones. That was also the night that I stood next to this red-haired girl at the bar. At the time, I didn’t really listen to country music, but she looked familiar. Then it hit me and I asked a simple question - aren’t you a Judd?It was Wynona … Next I found that many of the top LA session players had moved to Nashville during the late 80’s to escape Tinseltown, and that a handful of musicians on each instrument play on 95% of the recordings in town. That included one of my bass heroes, David Hungate of Toto. Leland Sklar and Jim Johnson were a few of the other bassists in that loop. Then I set about to find live work, which I did at approximately $25 per night. So many mediocre to poor musicians flock to Nashville that they gum up the system. If I didn’t want to play for the meager wages, someone else would jump at the chance. Next, I auditioned at the now defunct Opryland USA. I made two cuts and lost the final audition to a kid straight out of college that read music better than me. I often wonder what would have happened had I won the audition and played country covers for $250 per week. Would I have gone broke entirely or picked up by a national act for touring- who knows?

After settling in Nashville, I shined up my resume, put on a suit, grabbed the morning paper and sat down to enjoy breakfast. Imagine my surprise and disappointment when I opened the paper to find that the two largest banks in the region gave pink slips to 20% of their workforce. Although I had an accounting degree, a Big Eight background and five years experience, I could not get a better job in my field. That is how I ended up working for Alamo Rent-A-Car. I tried to make the best of it and it certainly was an interesting year. I rented cars to Steve Winwood, John Hiatt, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and several other established and rising stars. I even incurred the wrath of John Hiatt (a story for another day!). I met an aspiring Canadian singer/songwriter named Lee Dinwoodie.As a reward for giving him a Cadillac for just a little more than a compact, he rewarded me with a night at The Grand Ole Opry.That night a rising star that would go on to sell more records than any solo act in history – yes even more than The King - made his debut on the Opry. I was blessed to see Garth Brooks’ first Opry performance – invaluable!

Although I struggled during my year in Nashville, I am a big believer in destiny and I believe that I was there for a reason. I met a singer/songwriter named Gary Ward and we formed a band named Shapes.While Shapes never managed to play a gig, we did record some superb music written by Gary and a keyboardist named Tom Whittle.Through the beauty of the Internet, I found Gary’s website in 2005 and was able to reconnect with him. He had returned to Florida. I am absolutely thrilled to be working with Gary on his debut solo gospel CD to be released during 2007.