Set Your Pace

It's a Marathon not a Sprint!

How many times have you heard that?

When I was younger I wanted everything to happen now!! I didn't want to wait for "the right time" We lived in a slower time then too. So it everything took forrrreeevvveer! Now we live in a "Now" world. It's all at our fingertips. So obviously we feel that life should be that way too. That we should get whatever we want when we want it. I used to run as hard as I could! I couldn't wait to catch the rabbit. Often times I was the dog in a race that chased the fake rabbit. I never caught it! Running for nothing!
I always felt that there should be a finish line for everything I got in to. Now that I'm older I don't feel that way so much. I've learned that there's a time and a place for everything we do. Timing has something to do with it and sometimes timing works in your favor. Other times it does not. Thats the moment where we need to stand back and look beyond the disappointment. Because there is always something better that we didn't know about around the corner. That always happens for me. I'm sure it's happened to you. If it hasn't, It will.
So keep your head up, take your time, you will get there when the time is right and...

Set Your Pace!

My American Music

Last summer I met a man named Captain Jack.  Captain Jack came by my office. He needed a place to set up his new internet radio station. He was looking for some space to lease. He had a location picked out on Music Row that had been leased out from under him while he was driving to Nashville from New Jersey. He was a little upset about it but not deterred. He was here to make a new mark, to start over, he needed to spread his wings and start a movement. After several decades in terrestrial radio he wanted out. He wanted out from under "The Mans" thumb. He was over corporate radio.  He came armed with his equipment and a vision. That vision is Renegade Radio Nashville.
I was immediately drawn to Captain Jack. He spoke my language. He was determined, focused and bold. He was ready to take on the big guns. Internet radio is still finding its place. But Jack's vision and determination allowed him to move faster than most. Bringing Renegade Radio to Nashville was the best thing he could've done to be taken seriously. And he was.
He wasted no time getting on the air and letting the world know he was up and running. He can reach the entire world. If you have an internet signal you can tune in. No limits, no rules, no FCC. 
RenegadeRadioNashville.com made history as the first Internet radio station of any genre in the world to receive trade magazine reporting status. Just six short months after their live launch on June 8, 2011, Music Row Magazine named RenegadeRadioNashville.com as the first ever Internet Radio Station to report their weekly playlist. As a reporting station, Renegade joins the Music Row Panel in determining the artists that will top the country music radio charts.

I've always wanted to be a part of  a radio show that highlighted great music not just commercial music. Renegade, but different from Captain Jacks vision. I've had different variations of the show in my head for a long time. I wanted to produce this show but not host it. I met a girl named Carli Mclaughlin at Renegade who's a music junkie like I am. We started talking about working together. I told her my idea and oddly enough she had the same thought. So we came up with a proposal and pitched the idea of specialty programming to Captain Jack. Specifically a show called My American Music. An NPR centric great music no borders radio show that highlights American Music. All Genres!
Captain Jack loved the idea. But he asked if I would co-host with Carli. Well I never intended to be on the radio but now I am. I'm co-hosting and hanging on for dear life. It's not as easy as it seems. It's a lot more work than I expected. I'm having fun but still a little uncomfortable about it. But I love the adrenaline that comes with going on the air. I never expected to be here but then again I never expected to do all that I've been blessed to do.
So here we go! Every Sunday on Renegade Radio Nashville from 4 to 6 pm CST (or until Capain Jack runs us off) you can hear Carli and I go thru our playlist that we methodically put together during the week.

So if you are a music junkie join us on.  My American Radio 

http://www.renegaderadionashville.com
https://www.facebook.com/
https://twitter.com/myamericanmusic

Somos Uno

Last night we had to take our 20 year old son Cooper to the emergency room of Vanderbilt Hospital. He was having a hard time breathing, his blood pressure was high for a young healthy muscular body like his. His head was hurting and his heart was racing. We knew all that going in. We didn't know what was causing it and honestly we still don't. They did the usual test as he lay in a bed that was in a curtained room that was about 8x15. We could hear other patients all around. Some good sounds, some not so good. They did an EKG, Blood work, Xrays of the chest, temperature checks, urine test, tick test, etc.
What we found out was not much. He has high blood platelets and high white blood cells that is probably causing this malfunction in his body. Not normal but not all unusual at the same time. They feel its a virus/ possible bacteria that will run it's course.  We all hope so.
In the meantime we wait and see. More test will be done and more follow up visits just to be on the safe side. They prescribed an anti-biotic that seems to be helping.
We never seemed to panic or freak out during any of this. The 4 of us, myself, Donna, Amanda and Coop just paid attention to the advise and information that was coming to us after each test and stayed calm. Amanda and I took advantage of our sense of humor and kept Coop laughing and loose thru the 5 hours or laying in a bed and doing test. His main conceren was...Is the Thunder winning?  We all took turns spending time with him and having to wait in the ER waiting room.

When you wait in an ER waiting room of a major hospital in a major city you will see all kinds. Most you would probably never speak to or hang out with if you were just anywhere. We all seemed to have the same looks on our faces, the same questions about how many visitors could go back and see their loved ones, how much were the vending machines, why did they not give out change?  Older folks, young moms and their babies, young adults holding barf bags, some in wheel chairs some standing so others could sit. All Human Beings, hurting, curious, worried, learning, waiting. Sometimes we have a hard time helping people in need. Sometimes we overlook these things. But in this place you are faced square on with it.
We all come together.
We all feel love for each other.
We all seem to care about each other.
We all hurt for each other. 
We all want to Live.
We all want to Love.
We just didn't know it until we are thrown in the same dire straits.
We are Hearts and Bones.
We have the same Flesh.
We have the same Skin.
We have the same Blood. 
We Are One - Somos Uno.

Bring On Your Wrecking Ball

Through the mud and the beer, and the blood and the cheers, I've seen champions come and go
So if you got the guts mister, yeah, if you got the balls
If you think it's your time, then step to the line, and bring on your wrecking ball

Bring on your wrecking ball
Bring on your wrecking ball
Come on and take your best shot, let me see what you got
Bring on your wrecking ball
(Bruce Springsteen)

I've been kicked around and knocked around plenty. I was bullied in school as a kid. I've failed more times than I want to remember. I've been hurt. I've been burned. But I never gave up. I kept swinging. They say for every 100 bad ideas you have. You may come up with 1 good one. You learn to forgive and forget and move on. I'm not afraid of risk. I'm not afraid to gamble. I'm not afraid to run against the wind. It was easier when I was younger and I had nothing to lose. When you commit to relationships and family then it turns into survival more than just running thru brick walls. You learn to maneuver a little bit differently. For me I still never lost that swashbuckling, bull fighting, jump on a rocket light the fuse and see where I end up attitude. Someday I'm gonna relax. But not now. 
Because..

I'm still having the time of my life.
I'm still enjoying my journey
I still love what brought me this far....Music!

So..

When your best hopes and desires are scattered through the wind
And hard times come, and hard times go
And hard times come, and hard times go
And hard times come, and hard times go
And hard times come, and hard times go
And hard times come, and hard times go
Yeah just to come again

Bring on your wrecking ball
Bring on your wrecking ball
Come on and take your best shot, let me see what you got
Bring on your wrecking ball
(Bruce Springsteen)

Artist and Repertoire

Artists and repertoire (A&R) is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artist. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label; every activity involving artists to the point of album release is generally considered under the purview of, and responsibility of, A&R.

Of all the post I ever held this is probably my favorite. The thrill of finding a song for an artist that millions of people will eventually hear is exciting to me. There have been moments in this process that I am literally the 4th or 5th person to hear a song that will be heard later on the radio.
I received my first A&R job in 1995 when Blake Chancey gave me a chance to do it at Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music. It was my responsibility to meet with writers and publishers and help in the song selection process of the next project for the potential artist. The hardest thing was not just hoping to find an amazing song, a HIT, but also find something that would help the artist grow in their careers. Something that would be completely different from the previous record but also stay in the vision of the artist and the message and torch that they wanted to continue to carry. You have to be able to sit and listen to thousands of songs. That's normally what you will hear in the length of time that it takes to find the top 10-12 that you eventually end up with. They say for every 100 songs you may find one you like they you feel will fit the project. I'm guessing I've listen to over 50,00 songs in the past 25 years. You either love it or hate it. I love it!

I feel that A&R started for me when I was young and would sit in my room and listen to my albums. I would try and figure out what the next single would be beyond that one that made me buy the record in the first place. I would more than likely be able to pick the next one. My kids do this now. It's like a game to them. They are pretty good at it too. Plus more than not I would gravitate toward the deep cuts that would never see the light of a radio dial. They were most times my favorite songs.
Some of my success stories as an A&R guy have been Rick Trevino's 1996 # 1 single "Learning As You Go".  "How Long Gone" a number 1 single for Brooks and Dunn in 1998,  "A Broken Wing" # 1 for Martina McBride in 1997,  The 2001 # 7 single "Some Days You Gotta Dance" for the Dixie Chicks, Top 15 Ronnie Dunn single "Cost of Living" 2011. I've had several others songs cut but they were just album cuts.

I also missed a few. I was pitched and passed on "Every Light in The House is On" and it was eventually cut by Trace Adkins and was a hit single for him. I also was pitched "Traveling Soldier" for Patty Loveless, she passed on it and it eventually became a hit for The Dixie Chicks. The other big one I had a shot at was "Its Your Love". I remember hearing it and loving it but didn't feel I had an artist for it at the time so I let it go. It of course was a huge hit for Tim and Faith. Thats A&R for you. You win some, you loose some.

Right Now I'm currently at the end of the A&R process for Tracy Lawrence. We have been looking hard for about 8-10 weeks. This is one of the most important projects I've ever worked on. He has had tremendous success the past 20 years and we're looking at this project for him as the most important he'll ever do. We will be responsible for taking him back to the top of the charts and keeping him in the game. I believe we will succeed. Tracy, Producer Flip Anderson and I have all been in this game for more than 20 years each. We know a hit when we hear one.

It's time to make it count.

Paying Your Dues Is Never Overrated

Paying your dues is what you do to get to your final goal.
Paying your dues often leads to heart break.
Paying your dues often leads to your dream job.
Whatever it takes right?

When I moved here in early 1986 I immediately got a job at Target on White Bridge Road unloading trucks. I also worked at a local mom and pop video rental store in Green Hills long before BlockBuster and all the other video chains. And I was also a bar back at Applebees on Elliston which is now a Hampton Inn. At that time my main goal was not to go running back home with my tail between my legs complaining that things just didn't work out for me. That's the last thing I wanted to do.
I was hanging with my amazing friend singer songwriter Kevin Welch who had introduced me to other amazing songwriting musicians like Gary Nicholson, Mike Henderson, Wally Wilson, Gail Davies, Pam Tillis and a few others. Kevin took me under his wing. It was amazing that I was able to hang in this circle. I took nothing for granted. I worked my shifts and went out where these guys were hanging, singing and playing as much as I could. I wanted to be in their world real bad. I eventually played with Pam Tillis in her band long before she got her Arista records deal that made her famous. That gig led to the Marty Haggard gig which started a snowball of gigs for me that would be my life until 1995 when I got off the Tracy Lawrence bus to work A&R for Columbia Records.
Kevin also introduced me to a new band at the time called Sweethearts of the Rodeo. 2 singing sisters that had just gotten a deal on Columbia Records. One of the sisters was married to Vince Gill at the time. They were having auditions to kick off their first tour to start promoting the new record. I managed to get in on it and went thru the process and got the gig. I quit my real job gigs. We rehearsed 2 full days at S.I.R. to get the show in place to hit the road. It was my first big time gig. They had just been offered 25 opening dates with Willie Nelson and the first gig was in Cleveland Oh that coming weekend. I was freaking out to say the least. Having grown up on Willie back home in Texas I couldn't wait to meet him and eventually tell him about all the times I saw him growing up. I told all my friends and family back home that I landed my dream gig.
So after our 2nd full day of rehearsal I drove back to my garage apartment to start packing. We were leaving that night at midnight. About an hour later there was a knock at my door. It was the Sweethearts manager Chuck Flood.  He had his hat in one hand and an envelope in the other. He asked to come in at which time he started to explain to me that the girls had changed their minds about me and had decided to take Vince Gills drummer out and didn't need my services. He handed me the envelope that had a check in it for my troubles of going thru the rehearsals and left. My world came crashing down around me. I couldn't believe this was happening to me. What was I gonna tell my friends and family back home? They were so excited for me. It was devastating to say the least. To say I cried that night is an understatement. I was heart broken.
I woke the next morning and drove back to the Target and asked for my job back. My dream was not over and I was not going to let that knock me down. Don't get me wrong. It hurt, It hurt a lot. I just had to learn to get back up after I got sucker punched and knocked across the room. That's what it felt like. The manager at Target said I could come back the next morning. I'm sure he had seen my movie before. I walked in the next day to my old gang and they were all cracking up at my misfortune as any guys would do. Since I was new again on the line they made me crawl all the way to the front of the truck and start throwing boxes on the conveyer belt.  We had some spot lights that we would hang in the truck so we could see up toward the front so I asked for some light up in there because I couldn't see way up there in the dark.  I'll never forget this as long as I live.  One of the guys said to me, "Here you go rockstar, this is the only spotlight you're ever gonna see!" I swear I felt an arrow ram though my chest but I sucked it up and finally made it out of that store and never looked back.
So how bad do you want it? Bad enough to hurt like never before? That's what its about because when you get what you want. When you get what makes you complete. Then...

Paying Your Dues Is Never Over Rated.

RAMBLIN' FEVER

Caught this ramblin' fever long ago,
When I first heard a lonesome whistle blow.
If someone said I ever gave a damn,
Man, they damn sure told you wrong.
I've had ramblin' fever all along.

October 1st 1971 I saw Merle Haggard the first time at the South Plains Fair in Lubbock Texas. My dad took the whole family to see him. Tickets were $2.50, $3.50 and $4.50. All reserved seats. I was 9 years old. I remember being there. I remember seeing him.
By 1971 he already had 11 number one songs.  He was already the CMA and ACM's Entertainer of the Year and was riding high on Album of the year with "Okie From Muskogee." I also remember how amazing that audience sounded. That's when I fell in love with the sound of applause. There's nothing like it.
When I was playing drums for Tracy Lawrence in '93 '94 and '95 and he was selling out 16 thousand seat areas, there was nothing more amazing to me than feeling the wave of applause noise that would wash over us as we kick off hit after hit. It was my job to count us in on every song and I remember waiting till the perfect time right before it dies down and then counting us back in and how it would literally start from the back of the room and come right over us on stage. Amazing feeling! I miss that so much.

They say you should never really ever meet your heroes because they will let you down. I was lucky enough to be able to meet Merle one time. Well I didn't really meet him but I was at his house in California with his son Marty Haggard when I played drums for Marty in the late 80's. We had been there for a while and Marty kept saying he was going to come down to the game room where we had all gathered and hang with us. We got to the house mid afternoon. It was way past midnight when he finally came into the room. He walked in with a guitar and sat down on some stairs that lead into the room and started playing for us. Literally a private acoustic concert with a Hall of Fame Country Music Legend. He played songs I had never heard before. Non of the hits. 30 mins later he was gone. No words were spoken. We were all in shock basically. We plugged the juke box back in and started shooting pool again. An hour later we decided it was time to go so we headed out. The sun was coming up and we had a gig that night somewhere outside of Bakersfield. We were all standing on the front porch waiting for Marty to say goodbye to him when they both walked out and stood on the porch with us.  He didn't say much but I do remember he was kind and cool and funny. We finally said goodbye to him and he smiled and flicked a non-filtered Camel out onto the driveway and slipped back in the house. When we all walked out to the Van we were driving I bent over and grabbed his cigarette and put it in a safe place. I still have it in a box put away.
I saw Merle a few night ago at the famed Ryman Auditorium in Nashville Tn. It was built in 1843. It was the original Grand Ole Opry from 1943-1974. The perfect place to hear a country legend. He was having fun. Sang all his hits. Looked great! He had his cool white cowboy hat on and his white ostrich boots. The band was perfect. The audience sounded like 1971 in the walls of the mother church. I was 9 years old again.
I miss playing music, I miss touring. I miss the sound of the bus tires on the highway. I miss the hotels. I miss the band. I miss the applause.

Ramblin' fever,
The kind that can't be measured by degrees.
Ramblin' fever,
There ain't no kind of cure for my disease.
 

Every Tom, Dick and Bubba!

Other than Music I love the game of Golf. I've been playing the game since I was in High School. I love everything about it. My son Cooper played a ton when he was a kid in many Jr. tournaments. We traveled everywhere to watch him compete. I taught him the game. I've seen him pull off a few hole in ones and some "Bubba Shots" that were amazing. I really believe it's what the new generation does more than just solid basic shots from the fairway. They are way more creative than the old school guys were. I used to watch all these kids Coop hung out with and they would try and out do each other with trick shots. Coop used to love to hit out of the woods and over trees and any obstacles. It was more fun for them.
I'm a Bubba Watson fan. More so now not because he won The Masters but because of the way he reacted to the win. No Ego, cockiness or arrogance. Just sweet surprise and humility. Plus he never took a golf lesson!
What I'm not a fan of is I get this bad feeling that everybody now is gonna think that they can play golf just because Bubba can. They will get in their heads that they do not have to take lessons and that someday they too will be able to win The Masters. That they can just step on any course and play. I can only guess what this will do to golf courses around the U.S. It's hard enough to play a decent round these days without being held up by the hackers. Now this! My big fear is now all golf courses will be filled with every Tom, Dick and Bubba that think they to can play.

FORE!!!!!

The Will To Win

The will to win starts long before you do. You have to set yourself up to win. You have to take chances, reach for the stars, go for the gusto. Its the steps you take that put you in that position. It's reluctantly, fearlessly, never saying never!

I've put myself in position to win many times. I didn't always win but I was in the game. Sometimes that's just as much fun. No matter what you do. It's fun to be in the game. I actually joke around my office about it a lot. I make fun of the fact that at my age I'm still in it. Still going for it. I'm still in the game.
Music is my game. What's yours?

I've been to The Masters 4 times in my life now.  Its supposed to be the hardest ticket to get. But yet I've managed to be there because I put myself in position to get there. Twice on Sunday!

I've been watching The Masters all weekend. It's my favorite golf tournament of the year. Just the pure tradition alone makes it fun to watch. Today a guy named Bubba won in dramatic fashion on the 2nd playoff hole. Bubba Watson never took a golf lesson. That's right,  he never took a golf lesson. He just put himself in position to win and had

The Will To Win!

What's Your MPH?

How many miles can you get out of your heart?
How fast and slow can you go?
What gets you going to the point you're not looking back.
You're not giving up!

In sports they sometimes say he/she won the battle because they had heart.
I think heart trumps guts and strength.
 
Where do you get your heart filled up? 
Who gets you going?
What gets you going?
What inspires you?
Do you go after it?
Do you conquer?
Are you scared?
Do you crumble?
Do you win...or lose?
Do you have what it takes?

So How many miles can you get out of your heart?

What's Your MPH? 

Liner Notes Were My Google

Produced by Chip Young! 
That's what I read on the back of the first Joe Ely album I bought the summer before my freshman year 1977. My good friend Kelly Turner turned me on to Joe. It changed my life. Every musician has their genesis moment. It's whatever initially inspires you to action. That was mine. The moment where I went from dancing to music to figuring out lyrics meant something. It turned me into a liner notes freak.


Liner notes varied from simply being advertisement to containing the lyrics (this was common from the late '60's on). Sometimes they contained basic recording information or messages from and biographies of the artist(s).  

They were my library, my Google!


Warning! This music contains no overdubbing, no electronic gadgetry, no gimmicks and no bullshit! 
That's what I read on the back of the album "At Last" by The Bugs Henderson Group.  It was 1978, I was 16 and a sophomore at Floydada High School in Floydada Tx. Bugs was a blues guitar slinger from Dallas that would come thru Lubbock at least 2 times a year. Amazing Texas Road House Blues.


Produced by Barry Beckett Recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios.  I read Barry's name on the back of The Jealous Kind by Delbert McClinton in 1980. Little did I know I would play on a Lionel Cartwright record years later in Nashville and Barry would be the producer! Are you kidding! These people are real? I couldn't believe it! 


Written by John Scott Sherrill.
Printed under cut # 1 "Wild and Blue" - On the Warner Bros Album by the same title for John Anderson. I worked with and pitched John Scott's catalog at Sony Tree Music Publishing years later. 

Piano - Byron Gallimore  
His name was included with the list of musicians on the 1984 RCA Charlie Pride record "Power of Love" that I bought 2 years before I moved to Nashville. Byron ran Charlie Prides studio on Music Row.
I did a session for a guy named Shane Decker in 1991 that Byron produced that also included Brett Beavers and Deryl Dodd on bass and electric guitar. Brett and I started our indie publishing company that day behind Pride Music Group on a hand shake deal.  Deryl and I later played in the Tracy Lawrence band. Chip Young also produced Deryl's record when I was at Columbia Records doing A&R. I revealed to Chip when I met him that his Joe Ely record had changed my life and eventually lead me to Nashville. He just smiled at me.  
Byron later cut the Beavers/Dodd co-write The Great Divide on Tim McGraw. Brett and I owned that song. Brett played me that song the day we met at Prides studio. 

My liner notes were coming to life!


Mastered by Bobby Hata at Amigo Studio
Recorded and Mixed at Pecan Street Studios Austin Texas - Joe Ely's Musta Notta Gotta Lotta 
Stevie Ray Vaughn - first guitar solo on Soulful Dress - Marcia Ball's Soulful Dress 
Liberty Devitto - drums  - Billy Joel's An Innocent Man. I've been working helping produce a film about drummers and we recently shot Liberty for the film. Crazy Surreal!
Caribou Ranch - Studio in Colorado where Chicago, Joe Walsh, Elton John and many others cut records.I wanted to work here real bad.
Cover illustration – Paul Milosevich - Joe Ely's first record.
The Power Station - studio on west 53rd in NYC. I later worked for Gibson Guitars and their NYC showroom is in the original building where this studio was.


I could go on and on and on. I have so many connecting stories with Liner Notes. It blows my mind.
I just literally read the liner notes and followed my dream.

Liner notes were my Google!

Just Be Nice

People always ask me. How did you get where you are? I'm going to start a series in April about that but I want to start by saying. "Just be Nice."

I'm very connected in my small world but more importantly than that is that I have amazing friends that help me when I need. I feel the biggest reason is because I am friendly. All doors that have opened to me have been because I've been polite and basically nice. My good friend/artist that I manage Lacey Brown recently did a series of Christmas shows and at the end of one of them she ask the crowd to love one another and be nice to each other. It's not that hard is it?

"Just Be Nice"

"There Is Just Doing It."

So a few weeks ago I went to my 15th SXSW in Austin Texas. It's a music conference like no other. Hard to describe. You just have to be there or go someday to believe what happens in that 5 day period.
This year was a little special to me because Bruce Springsteen had been chosen months before to do the keynote speech. He was also going to perform somewhere in town the day of his speech.
I'm a Bruce fan. His writing speaks to me. His interviews are intelligent, witty and humorous. He is very humble. He is the rock and roll voice for the common man. Just like Haggard is for the country folk.
His performance that night was amazing. He did exactly what he talked about in his speech. I've seen his show before but not before a pep rally. Which is what it felt like that day, a pep rally.  A coach telling his team what they needed to do that night to win then taking the field with no regrets and annihilating the competition!
In his world there's is no competition. Just him and his E Street Band. 62 years old and still rocking. I'm still high from his performance. It was simply amazing.

I'm including some key moments of his speech. If you get a chance please watch it here.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2012/03/15/148693171/bruce-springsteen-on-the-meaning-of-music

Bruce said....

"Its just what you're bringing when the lights go down. Your teachers, your influences, your personal history. At the end of the day it's the power and purpose of your music that still matters."

He went on to say...

"Rumble young musicians rumble. Open your ears and open your hearts."
"Don't take yourselves to seriously. Don't worry but worry your ass off."
"Have iron clad confidence, but doubt. It keeps you awake and alert." 
"Believe you are the baddest ass in town."
"Keep 2 contradictory ideas inside of your heart and head at all times. If it doesn't drive you crazy, it will make you strong."
"Stay Hard, Stay Hungry and Stay Alive and when you walk on stage tonight, to bring the noise, treat it like it's all we have."
"Then remember. Its Only Rock and Roll."
"There is no right way, no pure way, of doing."

"There is just doing it."

And he did! 

 

My view from the Balcony. 

Music Overload

Walt Wilkins, Reckless Kelly, Alabama Shakes, Kids These Days, Rayland Baxter, Kingston Springs, Max Gomez, The-Dream, Lionel Richie, Bruce Springsteen, Alejandro Escovedo. Just a few of the bands I was able to catch in between meetings, lunches, business dinners and private parties at SXSW 2012 last week in Austin Texas.
SXSW is five days of near 24-7 music, with nightly showcases and full-day parties and more than 2,000 acts. I've been to this event 15 years in a row. I absolutely love going. I could've seen more had I had the time. Please feel free to look up anyone on this list that you may not have heard of. Especially Walt Wilkins and Rayland Baxter. I'll be writing a blog specific to Springsteen's keynote address later this week. It was absolutely brilliant.
I look forward to next year again. I can't get enough.

If You Have To Ask

Should I Move To Nashville?

I can still hear the question clearly.

Every now and then we get a recommendation from a friend, a family member, an old band member from back home, a cousin of a cousin, my uncle's neighbor's 10 year old daughter....you get the picture. "I know a great singer, You need to hear this person, Can I get them to call you, Can I give them your email, your number, will you meet with them, will you listen to their music?
Of course we say yes, If you don't then you're too good or you got above your raisin', you've lost touch with where you came from etc, but again that's another blog.

It was somewhere between 1997 and 2004 that I was at Sony Music doing A&R for Hit songwriter/ producer Don Cook. My mentor. An amazing man. A total father figure to me. I can't say enough about what I learned from this man. At the time we were making records on multi-platinum artist like Alabama, Tracy Lawrence, Wade Hayes, Brooks and Dunn, The Mavericks, Lonestar, Joe Diffie, and a few others. To say Cook was the hottest producer in town at that time is an understatement. We were rocking!

So we took this meeting, a recommendation from a friend back home in Texas. This artist and her parents came to Nashville just to meet with us to see what we might think of this aspiring young 18 year old singer. The meeting was great. She nervously sang in front of us. Her dad backed her up on guitar, the mother listened proudly. It was a relatively good meeting. Nothing out of the ordinary. She was good but not great. Toward the end of the meeting the parents were asking the basic "how did you guys get here" questions when the young artist looked at Don Cook and asked.

"Should I Move to Nashville"?

I'll never forget his answer. It said it all. It was not hateful or mean. It was not cocky or arrogant. It was the truth. When you know you are meant to be somewhere and there's nothing else that matters and I mean NOTHING! Then you know. You absolutely know!

His answer was....

"If You Have To Ask Then the Answer Is No".

Heartbreak Town
I've seen 'em rise
I've seen 'em fall
Some get nothin'
And Lord some get it all
Some just run
While others crawl away
Hold my hand baby don't let go
I've got some front money
And I've got a next show
And i'm gonna need you
Down this yellow brick road

This ain't nothin' but a Heartbreak Town
Square people in a world that's round
And they watch you dancin' without a sound
It ain't nothin' no it ain't nothin' no
You take your number and you stand in line
And they watch to see how high you're gonna climb
Pat on the back 'n' better luck next time
It ain't nothin' no it ain't nothin'
But a Heartbreak Town
Songwriter: DARRELL SCOTT

You Can't Always Get What You Want

It was 1991 and I had been in Nashville for 5 years. I was coming off a 2 year tour with Leon Russell and Edgar Winter. Probably the most amazing tour (musically) that I've ever been on. It was very unexpected that I even ended up on that tour. I was a country drummer and all of a sudden I was in a rock band with 2 rock and roll legends. Still blows my mind.
When the tour ended,  we were basically let go as a band.  I took a few weeks off then started the process of finding another gig. I made the usual phone calls to my "hit list" to see if there were any auditions coming up.
To my surprise I learned of 3. They were Les Taylor (formally of Exile) who had a solo artist deal on Epic Records, Vern Gosdin who was coming off the amazing "Chiseled in Stone record on Columbia and MCA artist Lionel Cartwright.
Coming from Texas and having spent my early years in Honky Tonk bars I really wanted the Gosdin gig the most. It was in my wheelhouse. Perfectly taylored to my style of playing. I could play it in my sleep.
It turned out all 3 auditions were scheduled on the same week in the order of Gosdin, Taylor and Cartwright making it very difficult to prepare properly for the 3. So I made a plan that I would spend more time on Vern and honed in on it. That was my dream gig. I was so sure I would get that gig that I didn't spend much time on the other two.

My confidence was thru the roof when I sat behind the drum kit for Vern. He asked me to count off the first song which I did and about 15 secs into the song he waved us off and turned around and said to me "You're playing to F-ing Loud, back it down." My heart sunk to the floor and I never recovered. Totally bombed the other two songs and drove home confused and defeated.
I collected myself and went to the Les Taylor audition and was still so paranoid from the day before that I bombed that audition too.
I had to shake it off and luckily I had a few days till the next audition to get my mojo back. I walk into the rehearsal room never expecting to be there and nailed the Cartwright gig. Got the job on the spot. I was so relieved.
It turned out to be a life changing experience. Lionel was the best. An amazing musician, writer and person. The guys in the band are all still some of my best friends. My path was not chosen by me. I was not in control. I was not supposed to get the other two gigs. I landed where I was supposed to be.

Failure will happen. Don't let it knock you down. Don't fear it, Take it on, Shake it off. Learn from it and move on!  


"You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes, well you just might find
You get what you need" 
(M. Jagger/K. Richards)

Fall Forward

A few nights ago I was watching David Letterman as I always do to decompress and laugh out loud before heading to bed. I love to laugh out loud but that's another blog. Anyway, Denzel Washington was on the show as a guest and it was typical banter between the sarcastic host and the cool laid back Washington when Dave brought up that Denzel had just given a commencement speech. Denzel talked about how nervous he was and how he struggled to get thru it. He also talked about something that he lives by. "Falling Forward". How it never made sense to him that we should have something to fall back on. I have not been able to get this out of my mind since. It's my story. I never wanted to do anything other than be in the entertainment business. The drums were my driving force. They allowed me to think like no other in my family or my hometown. They were my ticket out. I never thought about what I would do if playing music didn't work out. Never! My dad and brother always said I could come work for them if things didn't work out and to be honest with you things didn't work out a lot. But I never thought about going back. And I never will. If things didn't work out I always found a way back in. I love what I do and maybe that's why.
Denzel said you should identify your particular gifts and to persevere in honing them no matter what.

No Matter What!

He said, “I never understood that concept…I don’t want to fall back on anything except my faith. If I’m going to fall, I want to fall forward.” You will fail,” he said. “Accept it. You will lose. You will embarrass yourself. You will suck at something. So you got to get out there and give it your all." I should know. In the music business, you fail all the time. If you don’t fail, you’re not even trying. 
"Taking risks, he said, is about being open to life, to people, to foreign ideas and new frontiers." He insisted that while that might be frightening at first, “it will also be rewarding. Because the chances you take, the people you meet, the people you love, and the faith that you have, that’s what’s going to define you.”
In the end, he charged the graduating class with a universally inspiring mission: “Never be discouraged. Never hold back. Give it everything you’ve got. And when you fall, fall forward.”

Dinner with Girls

Tonight I had dinner with Donna, Amanda and Amanda's high school friend Sarah.  I added nothing to the conversation or "convo" as they called it. They rattled off for an hour, laughed, made faces and giggled. I hardly understood a word. It's like they have their own code. "Girl code". Their own language! Plus I didn't know any of the characters that they talked about. I was completely lost. Maybe I need to get more involved in Amanda's life at school. Maybe I need to get to know her friends. But that's not easy either. At this age they don't allow dad's in their lives!  Especially at school. I'm not cool enough. It's not easy I tell ya.
Coop was easy. Coop and his buddies were easy. I had so much more in common with them. Guy talk.
I said 3 words all night. "Hello" when they walked in and "check please" when it was time to leave.

And The Winner Is...

Tonight I watched The Oscars which is my favorite awards show. Not sure why, I hardly go to the movies but there's something about the movie business that's so out of reach that draws me in. If I hadn't headed east to Nashville I probably would've headed west to L.A. and there's no telling what I would've done there.
I have this silly fantasy about the movie business. I want to be in it. I'll never be but it's fun to dream. Heck I dreamed myself to Music City and it paid off. 
In 2001 I tried out as an extra in DreamWorks "The Last Castle."  It was a big budget film that was shot at the Tennessee State Prison where they also shot The Green Mile. It starred Robert Redford and James Gandolfini. I made it on to the set, made the cut, went thru wardrobe, buzzed my hair, shaved my gotee and hung out in my fatigues (I was supposed to be a military prison guard) with all the other extras for 3 days where we did nothing but wait for our call. We were paid 125.00 bucks a day for hanging out. Finally at the end of day 3 we were called on to the set and directed to run across a catwalk several times then sent home. It was a box office bomb! The film scored a 52% rating at Rotten Tomatoes based on 113 reviews. 59 were positive and 54 negative. Regardless I was in the movies!!!! It was great experience. I'll never forget it. I did it!

A few weeks ago I posted this on FB and I got quite a bit of feedback.

"So I tried listening to Country Radio that past few days. Conclusion - The songs are terrible and tired. Nothing original. OK, maybe a few. "House That Built Me" is one. If you call yourself an songwriter of original material then stop writing the same tire ideas. Then maybe we can cut great songs and we can start listening to the radio again. Until then...thank goodness for NPR."

Tonight 'Man or Muppet' wins The Oscar for original song. Why? Because it's ORIGINAL!  Please writers let this be a lesson to you. Stop writing old ideas. Take chances, stop following, start leading and become great. We need leaders.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MFn8L9tIrg

Half a Century

That's Right! I turned 50 this week. 50 YEARS OLD!!!
I've never really thought about how long I'd live but 50 years is a long time. I plan on celebrating all year not just day of which was Feb 23rd. My birthday fell on Country Radio Seminar week in Nashville and I was really busy all day. I didn't really have time to think about my birthday. That's why I plan to celebrate all year. Why not huh?
I think about all the things I've done in the past 50 years and I must say its been a fun ride. Way too much to mention and I can honestly say I've have the greatest time of my life. For the most part worry free. I plan to write about some of the past memories and some present things that happen along the way. I just wanna write that's all. I'll try not to be to controversial but ya never know. You'll just have to follow along and see what happens.
Welcome to my blog. I hope you guys enjoy.