Long before the Titans, Predators and the push for Major League Baseball, Nashville was still trying to prove it belonged on the big stage. Few people watched that transformation closer than Jay Grider. The longtime Nashville Sports Council executive shares hilarious behind-the-scenes stories from nearly three decades of landing the city’s biggest sporting events, including frozen bowl games, stadium power failures, marching band mutinies, and the organized chaos that helped turn Music City into a major sports town.

AMONG THE TOPICS: THE BIG ANNOUNCEMENT THAT THE SECOND UP IS MOVING, BUT STAYING PUT, THE COLDEST MUSIC CITY BOWL EVER PLAYED, THE NIGHT HALF THE STADIUM LOST POWER, HOW A WISCONSIN MARCHING BAND ALMOST STARTED A MUTINY, WHY KENNY CHESNEY NEARLY GOT DROPPED BY BARRY TROTZ

What does it take to create a New York Times bestseller? Jonathan Merkh would know. 

The longtime publishing executive has helped launch more than 100 bestsellers, including 13 that reached #1, and now he's turning the publishing world on its head. 

Growing up as a missionary kid in France, Merkh shares how an unlikely path led him to Nashville and a career working with everyone from Brad Paisley and Mike Rowe, to Joan Lunden. 

He also explains why authors today don't necessarily need a
traditional publisher, why AI has every publisher paying attention, and what separates a good book from one you simply can't put down.

AMONG THE TOPICS: WHY HIS FIRST RIDE IN A FORD F-150 HAPPENED IN FRANCE, THE $40,000 QUESTION EVERY ASPIRING AUTHOR SHOULD ASK, WHAT AI CAN'T WRITE (YET), WHY A GREAT BOOK IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PUT DOWN, THE DANGERS OF 120 MPH ON THE NATCHEZ TRACE, AND THE ONE WORD EVERY DAD SHOULD SAY MORE OFTEN.

This show is brought to you by Two Rivers Ford: The South's Most Trusted Ford Dealer. tworiversford.com

This show is produced by DEADLEG Media
www.chaseakers.com

#podcast #fyp #Nashville

Usually, people work in the Nashville restaurant business to launch into an entertainment career. This Music City native
did it backwards and after 13 years on Music Row as a talent booking agent, opened the original Corner Pub in Green
Hills. Find out how this family-owned business survives in an ultra-competitive market and what’s behind a 105-year-old
recipe. A frequent YMCA visitor, the Father Ryan high school product reveals how he met his wife and why he should
have died 15 years ago. AMONG THE TOPICS: WHAT WILLIE NELSON, RHETT AKINS AND THE DIXIE CHICKS HAVE IN
COMMON, WHAY AMERICAN BEEF TALLOW IS THE BOMB, HOW CUSTOMERS TREAT CELEBRITIES AND SEEING SPUD
WEBB IN HIS DREAMS.

She’s a college communications Hall of Famer while he spent nearly four decades covering Nashville area sports for the
Daily News Journal, City Paper and Sports Illustrated among other publications. Married 31 years, their walk down
memory lane contains why they kept their romance a secret, the time she gave a ride to Shaquille O’Neal, his winning
the approval of a Veterans Stadium hot dog vendor and why a Houston Oilers memory ruins her day. Also, they weigh in
on why they foresaw Vanderbilt University baseball greatness and why the Titans can’t get their act together. AMONG
THE TOPICS: CLINT BLACK THE MATCH MAKER, FAVORITE BEDROOM POSTERS, WORLD CUP FEVER (OR SICKNESS),
AND WHY THE TITANS HAVE A COACHING CAROUSEL.

Building a recognizable audience with more than 34,000 Instagram followers, Alex continues her varied professional
journey posting quick-witted random thoughts of the day while walking in her East Nashville neighborhood. The
Brooklyn native’s resume begins with modeling, speaking candidly about the one job that helped her but also led to
typecasting. With twenty-seven music videos to her credit, along with TV shows and commercials, the former Nashville
Model of the Year details her most memorable movie role appearing in The Wolf on Wall Street. Add stand-up comic
and animal rights activist to her long list of accomplishments and you’ll learn how the actress landed in Nashville and
why the pandemic almost killed her. AMONG THE TOPICS: HOW 9/11 CAUSED HER FAMILY TO MOVE, POSING FOR
AN ICONIC BRAND, WHY SHE’S A VEGETARIAN AND HOW INJURING HER KNEE CHANGED HER LIFE.

Anachronistic (Google it. It fits perfectly), Watterson explains how he was able to not just survive but thrive under six
Titans head coaches in four different decades. Coaching wasn’t even his first career choice for the Newport, Rhode Island Native and he reveals how a failed physical, of all things, led him to the NFL. Watch and hear who this ringleader of team pranks believes is the toughest Titan, the one who got the most out of the least effort, and why he had no posters on his bedroom wall growing up. You’ll enjoy getting to know the guy who knew the players best. 

AMONG THE TOPICS: OCEANOGRAPHY TO THE GRIDIRON, THE PRANK WHERE A TURKEY WASN’T REALLY A TURKEY, PLAYING
CHRIS EVERT, AND LOVE IS IN THE FRONT OFFICE AIR.

Don’t throw a pity party for Chase, because he’ll just stand you up, even though he has a “dead leg” (Deadleg Media is
the name of his company). Born with cerebral palsy, this Nashville native leans into his disability with humor and
strength, explaining why he chooses confrontment vs. conformity. Breaking the social media code with recent YouTube
videos going viral, this son of a musician chronicles his motorcycle life on the road with relatable tales. You can almost
feel the wind in your face, while absorbing a life lesson or two from this likable young man (and this podcast’s longtime
producer). Also, I bet he can bench more than you. AMONG THE TOPICS: A REAL PAIN IN THE LEGS, REMEMBERING A
FAMOUS DAD, GLOBETROTTERS TO THE HOLY LAND, THE LONGEST THREE MINUTES OF A WOULD-BE STAND-UP
COMIC.

You are hard pressed to find two words in Nashville more identifiable than “Thanks Paul!” Watch and listen as
the Pennsauken, New Jersey native explains his journey to the Bridgestone arena microphone. A day one
season ticket holder in 1998 tells how he met his wife as a nightclub DJ and what he does for a day job. 21-
years and counting, he reveals a few rare slip ups and his most scared moment in his center ice seat. You
don’t have to be a Predators fan to enjoy the insight of what it’s like to be “The Voice” known instantly to so
many. AMONG THE TOPICS: PHILLY MEMORIES, PASSING THE AUDITION, A BIG AND RICH
MISTAKE, WHAT HE WOULD TELL IS 18-YEAR OLD SELF.

Hollywood royalty is alive and well at the Franklin Theatre where Patrick reigns as Artistic Director of the Studio
Tenn Theatre Company. Second of three sons of Broadway star Jack Cassidy and Oscar-winner Shirley
Jones, the former high school quarterback (he once led the nation in passing) delves into what it’s like growing
up along teenage heart throbs brothers David, Shaun and Ryan. This California transplant also explains how
Covid factored into his growing love for Middle Tennessee. AMONG THE TOPICS: A ROGUE SHOPPING
CART, BEING JACQUELINE BISSET’S LOVER, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, DTF ST. LOUIS AND HIS
ALTERNATE UNIVERSE CAREER.

Aside from Pro/College football games and the occasional NASCAR race, the biggest one-day sporting event
is Nashville’s spring marathon event. Now in its 26 th year, more than 25,000 participants are expected to flood
the city streets, not to mention thousands of volunteers and bystanders. Watch and listen to the guy who
helped launch the extravagance back in 2000, learning all the logistics it takes to pull it off. The co-hosts have
a combined 25 appearances (John 25 times /Joe 0 times) offering differing perspectives of being a participant
and spectator. AMONG THE TOPICS: WORLD MUSIC EXCLUSIVE ANNOUNCEMENT, ULTIMATE
DINNER GUESTS, GO-TO RUNNING SONGS, A DOGGY DASH MESS, AND CIGARETTES AT THE 23 RD
MILE.