The Feels

As a fiction writer, I have a love/hate relationship with my smart phone. The power of research is amazing, and I can't tell you how many times I have instantly looked up the info I needed. I can check out a street view to see exactly what my character would be seeing, or order sustenance to keep me hammering at the keyboard all from the same device. These are great things. But man, what a pain in the ass it is for my characters to have these same conveniences. No longer can I reliably have characters cut off from contact or rescue, or struggle for answers that are only a Google search away. Cell phones suck for fiction writers, and songwriters face the same dilemma. Think of all the classic songs that could never be written today. Sylvia's Mother - Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show Sylvia's mother would not have been involved at all, if little Miss Sylvia had her own damn phone. And in this day and age, our suitor would have his own cell phone as...

I am fresh out of stones so I'll throw one post at two birds. Or something like that. I've wanted to review this album for a while and since I had the privilege of catching Sean McConnell open for a band Called NeedToBreath the other night, I decided to tack on a concert review. I will admit I went specifically to see Sean and knew next to nothing about the headliner. My appreciation for Sean McConnell began in 2012 with the release of his album Midland . The Fox Theater in Riverside, California is a nice venue with comfortable seating and ample leg room. One of those places that doesn’t offer a bad seat. Capacity is 1600, but   the space feels much more intimate than that.  There is power in a talented singer/songwriter standing below the lights with only his guitar. McConnell wielded this power well. The emotion and history of every lyric floated straight from the stage into the listening crowd. Despite the sold out show, I suspect very few attendees ha...

Tom Russell does not get the credit he deserves. One of the true pioneers of Americana, Russell can flat out write, and his latest album, October in the Railroad Earth , carries an emotional punch that most songwriters can only aspire to deliver. Released on March 15th, 2019, October in the Railroad Earth opens with a nod to Jack Kerouac in the title track. From there, the album takes you on a 45 minute journey that never jumps the rails. Tom Russell's gravel voice sounds more like Johnny Cash than it once did, but how much of that is time, and how much intentional for this album is hard to tell with a master like Russell. The genius of Russell's songwriting shines in Small Engine Repair as he turns what could be the mundane, into a truly emotional look at life. My personal favorite track off the album is T-Bone Steak and Spanish Wine. Time of course marches on for us all, but who among us doesn’t long to hit that rewind button now and again? Both Isadore Gon...

I officially fell in love with music beneath the bright fluorescent lights of a Hastings record store back in the days when cassette tapes and CD's still battled for shelf space. The year was 1993 and the store had a display of music set up with a bank of headphones. I'd grown up listing to music, mostly country because I did come into this world in rural Texas, but yes rock, jazz, punk, zydeco, rockabilly, folk, and all other manner of assorted labels of   bands did and do speak to me. But I don’t think I had matured enough to stop and truly listen to music and put it all together until that day in Hastings, when I stepped up to that promotional rack of new country releases. Wynona, maybe Marty Stuart, Brooks and Dunn and possibly a Garth Brooks release made up most of the offerings. I can't remember for sure. Mark Chesnutt might have been in the mix, but what I can tell you, is there was one, and only one artist on that promotional end-cap that I'd never...