And the following tale is one of those instances.  Enjoy…

Story of the Tune

"It's Golden Tee" by Ira Dean Band is the ass-kickin' new title track for Golden Tee 2010

Some time ago the marketing team got a call from a manager plugged in to the country music biz.  He said, “Hey, have y’all heard the new Montgomery Gentry song, One In Every Crowd?”  Not country fans by nature, none of us had heard the tune yet.  He replied, “Well, the first word is Gawwllden Tee and it’s climbing the charts!”  A quick Google search confirmed his claim and sure enough, Montgomery Gentry is HUGE!  So, what do we do with this?

*Phone rings…*

On the other line spoke a fella that it seems I’ve met a million times before – a friendly, fun, dude-who’s-got-people.  ”Hey, man,” he said.  ”This is Ira Dean and I’ve been waitin’ to talk to y’all…”  Turns out Ira is a singer/songwriter from Nashville who co-wrote the tune for Montgomery Gentry.  He  was also the bassist for the band Trick Pony, where he spent years touring to sold out crowds and stopping at Golden Tee havens in every city along the way.  A country star and longtime Golden Tee fan, Ira explained how he had written this little ditty a while back about the game he loves and how he was hoping the Montgomery Gentry song would finally connect us.

A professional song about Golden Tee?  I just had to hear this…

So when the demo arrived, I blasted it across the marketing department and smiled from ear to ear.  It really was a song about Golden Tee Golf and in the exact words of Ira, “It f***’n rocks, man!”

*Opportunity knocks…*

Hey, I’m paid to promote IT’s games and we just so happen to be working on our Golden Tee 2010 launch.  After working through some of the logistics to bring this song from “Tune to Tee,” a small video team from IT zipped down to Nashville to shoot a music video with Ira Dean Band.  For one day, I felt like I worked for MTV (or CMT in this case) – our video team and I captured Ira and the band in studio, followed by a Golden Tee shoot at Sam’s Sports Bar and Grill in Nashville – an amazing sports bar near Vanderbilt University that proudly boasts 4 new HI-DEF Showpiece Golden Tee machines (if you’re in the area, this is THE place to play).

The video is nuts and is currently in editing for our 2010 preview launch.  And the tune? It’s got it all – including a sick harmonica track and a billy-rock banjo on top of some heavy guitar, bass and drums.  The lyrics are about having a good time, livin’ life and playin’ Tee – something we can all relate too.

The Inside Scoop: GT 2010

I can tell you now, a shortened version of the video will be created for possible inclusion in GT 2010 and the full track will hopefully be featured in the new 2010 HitList.  Additionally, the team and I are working on the Golden Tee 2010 trailer and we’re using It’s Golden Tee by Ira Dean Band as the title track of the video.

We’ll release the video – which includes the 2010 course previews and feature announcements – in late July, so stay tuned to Goldentee.com and the GTB to not miss out.  And I promise you – you’ve never seen a game preview that rocks as hard as this…

Until then, here’s a GTB exclusive photo gallery documenting our adventure in Nashville with Ira Dean Band.  Click on the thumbnails below, then use the navigation to view the slide show.

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

Stay tuned to Goldentee.com and the GTB regarding the launch of It’s Golden Tee and our official 2010 preview site!

Good times,

- DD