Nashville anyone?

urinalcakemix

man who plays drum
Jun 7, 2003
1,773
2
38
35
Wallingford, CT
Visit site
Anyone here from Nashville, spent any substantial time in Nashville?

I'm planning on going down to check out the city a few days over X-mas break, with intent on moving there Summer/Fall '09 if I like what I see. I know the music scene is huge there, although it seems like theres little to no metal scene out there (oh well). Anyone with any insight as to the ongoings of nashville would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 
I love Nashville and have considered moving there in the past. What were you wanting to know, exactly? I haven't delved too much into their music scene because it is predominately country. I typically go to see friends or if a band is playing up there, but it is a nice place to visit and seems like a nice place to live as well. They have a location of McKay's up there, a Tennessee-based chain of used book and CD-stores. That place is awesome. Oddly, they don't a really stellar "general" new CD store.
 
I'm just kind of wanting to know what the city is like from someone who has been there or lived there. I've never visited, and reading and perusing the internet only goes so far as to telling me just how great the city is. I'm looking to move in 09, with hopes of landing some work drumming - either session work or live work, or even better, both. I have a job lined up down there, possibly a 2nd one too, and am really serious about the move if things work out for me in the coming months.
 
I currently live in Johnson City, which is about 3 1/2 hours away from Nashville. My wife recently ran the Country Music Marathon in April, so we visited then. I really liked the city for several reasons.

1. It seems to be kept up well, modern and clean
2 Music is huge there, which is a given. There's a lot of history there as well. They also, have their share of metal shows believe it or not. At one time, I didn't buy that they did either.
3. They have several really good colleges ie Belmont, Lipscomb and Vanderbilt
4. Nashville has an abundance of conservative thinkers, which appeals to me.
5. They have professional football and hockey. They need to move in a pro-baseball team at some point though.

~Brian~
 
They have a location of McKay's up there, a Tennessee-based chain of used book and CD-stores. That place is awesome. Oddly, they don't a really stellar "general" new CD store.

Derek, there's a McKays location in Knoxville as well. My wife has to stop there ever so often to stock up on books when visiting my parents.

~Brian~
 
5. They have professional football and hockey. They need to move in a pro-baseball team at some point though.

~Brian~

They've got the two best sports! And both are good teams which always helps... Sorry my Sharkies have been delivering the pain on the Predators year in year out, that is if you're a fan.. :lol:
 
Yeah, McKays had a presence in Knoxville before anywhere else...hard to believe it started off as a storefront in a strip mall anchored by a a Kroger's. The Chattanooga location is right up the road from me. They are cool stores - sometimes hit or miss, as is the nature of that business, but always worth a trip.
 
Anyone with any insight as to the ongoings of nashville would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I lived in Nashville for 10 years and loved it…I only left because the local job market pretty much tanked in the late 1990s when the country music scene started to implode.

Home prices are very reasonable, especially if you are willing to live in one of the surrounding areas.

They get the four seasons…with stunning scenery in the fall…but the winters generally aren’t as brutal as other parts of the country.

People are very friendly…although I find that it’s easiest to meet people if you have some sort of common interest. (Take a class at a local school, do some charity work, join a recreational sports league, etc.)

Yes, the music is predominantly country, but check out the “Tennessee Metal” thread over on the main PP board for additional info on the local scene.

If I ever leave Phoenix, going back to Nashville would be my second choice to relocate. (Hawaii is first, but I would have to win the lottery to afford to live there :lol:).


Oddly, they don't a really stellar "general" new CD store.

Tower Records *used* to be a great place to buy new CDs in Nashville. :cry: Also check out The Great Escape, which has a pretty decent selection of used CDs.
 
Actually, Nashville will always be best-known for country, but music in general has a sizeable presence there. I remember walking down the sidewalk to go to a show at the 321 Performance Hall (it is now kaput) and seeing a music store. Instruments, etc. No big deal. But then you see that they also carried and displayed full lighting rigs, trusses, movers.... Truly your one-stop shop, and it wasn't the only one.
There are a lot of recording studios there that don't do just country, and several firms that handle CD pressing and packaging, that do it well, and at a decent price.

And besides, the city also has the tower of Barad-Dur! :lol:




(What is that structure, the AT&T building or something? You can't miss it, especially if you're a Lord of the Rings fan. It cries out for some sort of holographic image at the top around Halloween. :))
 
Tower Records *used* to be a great place to buy new CDs in Nashville. :cry:

Yeah, don't remind me. I had a day of mourning when they finally closed. Sure, the prices for their catalog items were steep, but they generally had good sales and were likely to feature CDs that I liked in those sales. Plus, Tower had a great magazine collection and cool "stuff" besides music. FYE actually moved into the West End Tower store space.
 
Wow, sounds like no one has much anything bad to say about the city. Excellent. I've been looking at some places down there, and real estate is a LOT cheaper than anything in CT. Very exciting.
 
Wow, sounds like no one has much anything bad to say about the city.

Of course, nobody mentioned that every year, the people who live there sacrifice one of the "newcomers" in order to appease the dark gods who keep it a "nice city" on the outside.
 
Of course, nobody mentioned that every year, the people who live there sacrifice one of the "newcomers" in order to appease the dark gods who keep it a "nice city" on the outside.

See? SEE??

barad-dur.jpg



http://www.kunstler.com/eyesore_200210.html

http://jim100bg.deviantart.com/art/NASHVILLE-NIGHTS-44223310?offset=10


No-one listened when I told them about Barad-Dur being relocated there!!!

:lol:






Oh, and people walk around downtown Nashville carrying guitars seemingly at random. Ruthven and I noticed that, too.

It's probably one of those "Crossroads" make-a-deal-with-the-devil things.

But, don't let any of this alarm you. :lol:
 
And besides, the city also has the tower of Barad-Dur! :lol: (What is that structure, the AT&T building or something? You can't miss it, especially if you're a Lord of the Rings fan. It cries out for some sort of holographic image at the top around Halloween. :))

LOL - I hadn't thought of that! The building was originally constructed for Bell South, but everyone referred to it as the "Bat Building".

Wow, sounds like no one has much anything bad to say about the city. Excellent. I've been looking at some places down there, and real estate is a LOT cheaper than anything in CT. Very exciting.

OK, in the spirit of full disclosure:

1. Expect about two miserably cold weeks a year each winter, with wind chills in the -20 range. And one year when I was there, they had a brutal ice storm that knocked out my power for 2 days.

2. Find out what year the cicadas will be hatching (I think it's every 9 years or so) and WAIT until the season is over to move to Nashville. I lived through one cycle and thought I would go *insane* from the chirping. It's so loud, you can hear it inside. GAAAAA! :zombie:

3. Whatever type of musical event you attend -- country, rock, classical, etc. -- someone will always request "Freebird."

4. No liquor sales on Sundays.

5. Some of the streets wind around and change names. Unless you have a good GPS system, expect to get completely, hopelessly lost at least once.

6. Stopping at red lights and using turn signals are considered optional.

7. If there is a *hint* of three snowflakes in the forecast, expect your local Kroger to look like a freaking war zone.

8. Tornadoes. (OK, only ONE bad one during my 10 years there...but that was enough).

Still, I would go back...just not during cicada season. :)
 
LOL - I hadn't thought of that! The building was originally constructed for Bell South, but everyone referred to it as the "Bat Building".



OK, in the spirit of full disclosure:

1. Expect about two miserably cold weeks a year each winter, with wind chills in the -20 range. And one year when I was there, they had a brutal ice storm that knocked out my power for 2 days. Actually our winters aren't bad at all compared to most places.

2. Find out what year the cicadas will be hatching (I think it's every 9 years or so) and WAIT until the season is over to move to Nashville. I lived through one cycle and thought I would go *insane* from the chirping. It's so loud, you can hear it inside. GAAAAA! :zombie: I like the cicadas...and that's anywhere in the south.

3. Whatever type of musical event you attend -- country, rock, classical, etc. -- someone will always request "Freebird." Freebird is an American anthem, what do you expect? :)

4. No liquor sales on Sundays. That's a little of the conservatism that I spoke about, but that's not a bad thing at all.

5. Some of the streets wind around and change names. Unless you have a good GPS system, expect to get completely, hopelessly lost at least once. That goes for any large city that a person is new to.

6. Stopping at red lights and using turn signals are considered optional. I believe this can be applied anywhere these days.

7. If there is a *hint* of three snowflakes in the forecast, expect your local Kroger to look like a freaking war zone. It's like this anywhere in the south...people panic at the first sign of snow. :lol:

8. Tornadoes. (OK, only ONE bad one during my 10 years there...but that was enough). Middle Tennessee is flat, so it's more prone to tornadoes for sure.

Still, I would go back...just not during cicada season. :)

My replies are in red.

~Brian~
 
Urinalcakemix, Tennessee is God's country baby, but I'm biased. :)

~Brian~

Excellent. I'd say I'm about 99% certain I'll be in Nashville this time next year.

CT has some disgusting winters, and I can drive in snow, so I'm not really all that worried about a dusting here and there.

I'm usually the guy that yells FREEBIRD at concerts, when the band completely sucks. Or Slayer.

CT has no liquor sales on sunday.

Never heard of a Cicada, but Im sure it can't be THAT bad...... Can it? How long does the hatching last?

Tornadoes, kind of scary, but I think I can handle it.

I got a letter from my college the other day, saying my Financial Aid package basically got borked, and they're looking for full tuition payment from me within 2 weeks. Now, any other day, I'd have been in the office within 10 minutes trying to straighten things out, but I'm taking this as a good omen. Thats 4k of debt that I have been wiped clean of, and I can pick up a 2nd job and start socking away some money for my move.
 
I have no idea, but honestly it isn't an issue. You'd think we were Egypt being plagued by locust from some of the posts here! :lol:

~Brian~

Yea, seriously.

So whats the music scene down there like other than Country and Christian? I'm not really a fan of either, although I do play in a country band (no, I don't know how that works out either).