Why the switch from Sony in Nashville to Arista Records in Los Angeles?
I had been in Nashville for a long time. I wanted a new challenge and (to discover) different thinking. Nashville is a great music community but you can get into a mind-set if you dont watch it. I was in my 20s and I figured If I am going to (move) I am going to do it now instead of in my 30 or 40s. With my knowledge of country music, I figured I could keep one foot in the country music (world) and, if I went to LA, I could work in the Hollywood world too and make some connections. So I went out to LA and worked at Arista. You were responsible for getting several artists their first national network exposure, including Alan Jackson on the Grammys and Billboard award shows, Pam Tillis on The Tonight Show, and Brooks & Dunn on the The Arsenio Hall Show. Arista Nashville had just started up with (founder) Tim Dubois (in 1989) and everything was just exploding. We were popping Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, and Pam Tillis. Everything was happening. That created a groundswell of success for c
