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