Nashville Hot Chicken Recipe

Like a lot of folks, every time I got to Nashville, I make it a point to stop by Prince's Hot Chicken and pick up a sack of their famous hot fried chicken to bring home!  I always wanted to know how to make it at home since I can't drive to Nashville every week to get some!

I had read on the internet that some who claim to know how to make it, said the ingredients were simple and it was easy....but they weren't talking!

I tried infusing the breading of the chicken with cayenne, black and white pepper, and although it heated the chicken up, it wasn't quite the same.

Then I read where the "heat" actually came from a "pepper paste," and THAT turned out to be the secret!  The first time I tried it....yep....that's it.  Sooooo, here's my recipe for Nashville style Hot Chicken.

First of all, you prepare the fried chicken, as you normally would.  That means soaking it overnight in buttermilk, then breading it with flour and frying it as usual.

The secret is the pepper paste.  Here's the recipe I use for it:  Equal parts lard, and cayenne pepper, along with 1/3 part salt, and a very small amount of minced or powdered garlic.

I heat this for a few seconds in the microwave to melt the lard, and then stir it together to form a thick paste.

When the chicken comes out of the frying pan, the paste is applied by brushing it on, or by spooning it on and rubbed in by hand (with gloves on...).

The amount of heat for the chicken can be altered by simply putting more on, or by using more pepper and less lard for the paste.

To complete the dish, serve on a piece of white bread, with pickles stuck into the chicken with a toothpick!

And there you have it!  Yum Yum!!!

About Playing The Bars....

Had a great show last night at Mr J's Bar and Grill in Murray, KY last night.  Great crowd, great food, lot's of fun!  I even did something I've NEVER done before.  I played the entire 3 hour plus show without taking a break.  Whew.  I don't know how Springsteen does it...

I don't play as many bars as I used to.  I don't think anyone does!  Part of the reason behind that is there just aren't as many bars anymore, and even less that feature live music, but thank goodness some still do!

A few things I've noticed about the patrons in bars these days, as it relates to live bands.

1. If the crowd hanging out there is older than 35, they tip better.  Much better.  They tips the bands, they tip the waitresses and bartenders.  Maybe that's because young folks haven't picked up on the habit of tipping. Maybe that's because younger people just don't have as much money.  I even had a 20-something guy tell me once while heading out the door, "Sorry, but I spent all my money on booze!"  The older crowd also tends to do less binge drinking but then again there are always exceptions.

2. Older patrons tend to be quieter and pay more attention to the bands than younger ones. With the younger crowd, many times, it's more about socializing and less about being entertained.  A fellow musician friend of mine who frequently tours Europe says the bar scene there is totally different.  The crowd, both young and old, are usually really into the music and listen intently.

3. Alcohol seems to amplify who people really are.  Sweet people tend to get sweeter.  Mean people tend to get meaner.  As for me?  I don't drink at all while I'm playing.  I want to make sure I give the folks the best show I can, and I can't do that unless I'm sober.  I'm STILL having fun though! Rest assured!

The Toughest Gigs Of All

Today was a tough day but a day to celebrate a life.  My Aunt Nell passed away at the age of 102 and we buried her in my hometown of Trenton, TN. Aunt Nell was something else. One of the most positive, happiest people I've ever known.  Maybe that's why she lived so long! She was also the first professional musician in my family.  In addition to playing the piano and organ for more than 50 years at Hickory Grove Baptist Church, the church I was raised in, she also played organ for many funerals at Shelton Funeral Home in Trenton.  Those are some heavy gigs.

I've only played at 2 funerals in my life.  One was a friend who was also the husband of a co-worker, and the other was the owner of Fat Moe's Bar and Grill in Paducah, where we frequently played and his widow said, we were his favorite band of all the ones who played there.  Both times, I was scared to death.

Now I rarely have stage fright and most of the time I relish the chance to get onstage and do our thing, but funerals are different.  I am SO SCARED of sending the dearly beloved out into the hereafter with a chunked note, wrong lyric or otherwise obvious mistake! They should be honored with perfection, and perfection is not my specialty.  If you've ever heard me play live, I'm sure you'd agree.  I never play the same song the same way twice and have been known to own my share of musical "train wrecks."

However, at both funerals, I DID play perfectly and sing perfectly.  Even when I never played the song perfectly while rehearsing.  The only thing I can figure is the hand of God moved my fingers, led my voice and allowed me to do something I never do...a perfect performance.

Maybe that's how Aunt Nell made it through all those funeral gigs herself...

How Santa Claus Changed My Life

Funny that in so many years as a journalist in addition to a meteorologist in TV news, one of the stories which affected me most was a silly little feature I did not long after I arrived in Paducah.  The idea was simple, put a wireless mic on me and have me play Santa Claus at Kentucky Oaks Mall for an afternoon.  I thought it might be cute!  The reality was, it touched me so much and filled me with a Christmas spirit I have til this day.

I thought it would be a goofy afternoon of having children sitting on my lap and listing what they wanted for Christmas, and for the most part it was, however, it was also an eye opening experience.  The look in the children's eyes startled me.  They really BELIEVED I WAS SANTA! Which for little kids, is one of the most important entities in the world.

Of course, a few kids were really bad seeds, asking for the world and telling me (Santa) not to bring their siblings anything!  But others truly were little angels.  They would ask for NOTHING for themselves, but rather ask for gifts for their brothers and sisters or for their moms and dads.  Sometimes they would ask for their moms, dads or siblings to get a new coat.  Some wanted food for themselves  and their families.  Sometimes they would ask me to get their mom or dad a new job because they had no money.  Sometimes all they would ask for is for their moms and dads to get back together so they could be a family again.  It was heartbreaking that that's ALL these children wanted for Christmas.  I wished so hard I could make these kids' Christmas wishes come true but all I could do is pray for them.

The truth is, we can all be Santa Claus.  We can pick those little angels off the Angel Trees of the Salvation Army.  We can donate to food pantries so families can have food at Christmastime and the rest of the year.  We can try to be better parents and love our children more and provide for them a warm, nurturing environment.  It's caring for our neighbors.  That's the true spirit of Christmas I learned from one day of trying to fill the biggest boots there are.  The ones which belong to Santa Claus.

Please Help Find My Puppy!

I need your help! My puppy, Psycho disappeared early yesterday evening and it's beginning to look like someone might have picked her up. She and my bulldog, Lilly were playing in my neighbors yard on State Line Road, 5 miles west of Fulton around 4:30PM Wednesday and by 6:30PM she was gone, while Lilly was still there, waiting for her. They are inseparable. If you know of someone who picked up a puppy yesterday afternoon in this area, PLEASE urge them to bring her back. Bridget and I miss our puppy and Lilly misses her best friend. No questions asked, just please bring her back to the same place. If you know anything about her whereabouts please call me at (270) 519-1788. Please share this, in hopes someone will see this who can help bring her home. Thanks!

How To Cube A Watermelon In Less Than A Minute!

I love watermelon! Andy Carloss from Mid Town Market in Paducah, KY showed me how to cube an entire wat4ermelon in less than a minute!

Running A Rockn' Company

For those who don't know, in addition to working as a multimedia consultant, I also "moonlight" as a Blues Guitartist and have fronted a Blues Band for almost 20 years!  I started in the early 90s because....it was fun and I enjoyed playing.  It still is and I still do, but it also grew into more than that.  It became a lesson in how to run a small business.  You might be surprised, but running a "conventional business" is just like running a band!

• Be Prepared:  For the band, this means practice, practice, practice until you have your songs down pat. Before the Beatles ever played the Ed Sullivan Show, they had played their songs thousands of times throughout England and Europe, mostly in small clubs. For every other business? It means practice, practice, practice until you have all your employees have all your procedures own pat! 

• Make Your Product or Service Stand Above The Competition:  When I get ready to record our first CD, I was going to record cover songs which we played during club gigs, but  a president of a nearby Blues Society convinced me to ditch that idea and instead write as many original songs as possible for the CD.  That way, we'd stand apart from the thousands of other bands.  He was right.  I also found I had a knack for songwriting which I never knew I had!  In regular business, you have to do something to make you stand apart.  Whether it's a better product, or service, or an aspect of how you do business which stands apart and gives customers a reason to choose YOU over your competition!

• Make Pleasing Your Audience A Top Priority:  For the band, this means playing the material the audience wants, if you can, and if you can't, try to give them something close to what they request!  Treat them with respect and let them know you have a genuine interest in them!  One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was "There are 2 types of musicians: Those who play for the people, and those who play for other musicians!"  Nothing wrong with the latter, but since I'm not that great of a musician myself, I choose to play for the people.  I'll never forget playing at a Festival and seeing a B-list star treating his own fans with distain at times. That's the reason he never became an A-list star, and in fact is now a C-list star! The same goes for any business.  Without customers, you HAVE NO BUSINESS.

• Be A Pro: I once had a club owner tell me he noticed my band never drank a lot and partied when we played there, like so many of the other bands. I told him, "We're not here to get drunk. We're not here to get women.  We're here to do the best show we can for your customers, and then get paid and go home!"  He laughed, nodded his head, and he got it.  We were just like him.  It's important for employees to have a good time at work, but it's also important to keep it professional!

• If They Do The Work, PAY 'EM: Good, dependable musicians are so worth keeping. It's a load off a band leader's mind to know that he doesn't have to worry about his own guys, and can concentrate on other aspects of running the band.  It's the same with regular business. Once you find good workers you want to hang on to them! Good workers are an advantage you can have over your competition!

•  Market Your Service: This means having the best publicity release and marketing plan to get your band noticed and get better shows, along with advertisements.  You'll want to know how best to place ads in conventional media and work your social media to deepen your relationship with your fans.  The same goes for regular business.  You have to treat your marketing just like another employee:  One whose job it is to spread the word about how great your product or service is!

• Take Care Of Business:   Make sure you maximize your profit while charging a fair price, and then add new revenue streams.  In my case, that meant sometimes standing my ground over a fee to perform, and making sure we were registered with performance rights organizations to get as much revenue as possible.  After all, if we didn't claim the money, it would just sit there, or go back to the performance rights organizations.  There are so many bands which don't go after this money, which is just sitting there. Sadly, many times, the best artist, are not the best business persons.  I'm happy to say, I've been able to mentor several to show them how to get this money.  After all, it's money they've ALREADY EARNED!  The same goes for regular business.  You have to maximize your efficiency to maximize profits and constantly look for new ways to increase revenue.

The music business is a fun business, even when it's a small business, but above all, it's just like any other BUSINESS!   When you're doing things right and getting your fair return, it's even MORE FUN!