gherm
Definition: (verb) to try to get favors from musicians more important than you in a socially unacceptable way
Example: Michael’s career was over when he ghermed Dolly Parton on live television outside the Country Music Awards.
Quote:
“The term ‘gherm’ is an expression used in Nashville. You can meet hit songwriters very easily in Nashville. Going up to them and shoving CDs and tapes in their face is the last thing that you want to do to these songwriters. You will never talk to them again if you do not know the rules.”
If you pay attention, you can find interesting slang words anywhere. Last week, the instructor in my guitar class mentioned her dream of having a well-known singer record one of her songs. The students had several suggestions for bringing the song to the star’s attention, most of which were fairly aggressive, and all of which horrified the teacher.
“Oh, you can’t just go up and ask someone like that,” she said. “That would be gherming!” Based on what she rejected, examples of gherming include asking a famous musician to co-write a song with you (when you are a nobody), cornering them in an elevator, and throwing your demo tape over the fence into their yard. Presumably, it is also not advisable to serenade such a person with the song you feel would be “perfect” for them if you happen to see them in the shower at the gym.
If you’re wondering what to do instead, you can ask Barnette, who wrote a book of advice for new songwriters called Freshman Year in Nashville. He also offers tours of Nashville with networking meetings as an alternative to making yourself unwanted in Music City
A. C. Kemp | July 13, 2006
