I'm Lucky

Because somebody called me out - I'm blogging. And this is a true ramble. I'm just going to write what's on my mind. Something self-indulgent. I usually talk about the "bigger picture" stuff or complain about the wife or something.

Music. Well....let's go deeper than that. I'm incredibly lucky. I am a white male with great parents growing up in the greatest nation in the greatest state amongst the greatest people possible. Seriously - all those matter.

I don't want to be a female. I know too many miserable females that have brains that work entirely too hard to figure out things that just don't matter. I get tired even listening to the logic pattern as to why the women I know are upset with certain things. I'm white. And everybody knows when your a white guy they just give you stuff for free whenever you ask for it. How lucky could I be? I live in Texas. Yeah - we Texans are way too proud of our state. We don't care what you think about it. People from Bangladesh want to wear a cowboy hat and say "yee haw". I should be proud of that. And I have both of my parents close by, my brother, in-laws, nieces, nephew, cousins.....I'm amazingly lucky that my wife LETS me be near my family.

But...moving here hasn't been all peaches and cream. It's been tough. Mostly through job stress. The ways of shaking that stress are few and far between in the country. There isn't a lot of distractions. I thought I was handling it well. But, a couple of weeks ago, my brother and I went to a concert. It was almost like an awakening for me. How lucky am I to live an hour from the live music capital of the world? A big star in our little country-state played a show about 15 miles from my house and I had a wonderful time. My whole attitude has changed over the last two weeks.

The little town of Holland, Texas, holds the Corn Festival every year (I swear it was the Corn Cob Festival when I was little). This year, they got a big name to come play - Jack Ingram. He was the CMA new artist of the year last year (he's been around for 15 years....why he was "new" last year, I don't know). He's had a number 1 hit and a few other big hits. For this little booger of a town, it was big.

The opening act was Honeybrowne, a local band from Austin who is on the verge of making it big. I hadn't really heard a lot of their stuff, but listening to them play, I realized that it had been a couple of years since I had sit and watched musicians play and just how much I absolutely love to do that. By the time they were done, I was a fan.

Then, Jack Ingram got onstage and blew everybody away. That's when I realized just how lucky I was to live in Texas. There is a genre of music called "Texas Country Music." Some call it "Outlaw Country" or "Americana" or "Alternative Country". But, the other terms for it bring in other kinds of country that don't really define "Texas Country Music." I was lucky enough to have a friend that was a Pat Green fan before anybody knew who he was. He convinced me I needed to listen.

I was just out my divorce and needed something to fill my lonely moments. What better way than music. I went to the store and picked up a couple of Pat Green CD's and on the way out a CD by someone named Bruce Robison caught my eye. I remember sitting in the car for about four hours that night listening to it in my car. It was songs I wish I had written. They were songs that I should have written. It was things I wanted to say. I was hooked.

Over the next three years, I became a fan. I bought a guitar and learned to play a few chords. I wrote bad country music with a couple of friends. The music was pretty simple but the lyrics were about places I knew. The themes were more honest than the country music I heard on the radio. It wasn't your typical "dog died pickup truck in the rain" country. This was "you dumped me and I slept with your sister" and "what was your name again" country.

Going to that concert a couple of weeks ago rekindled my love of this music. I'm lucky I live here because if I didn't, I probably would have never even heard of the people I listen to. I'd be just like 99% of America, listening to what corporate radio thinks I should be. I try listening to mass-market country and it depresses me really. So, for anybody interested (the zero to two people that will ever read this), if you have the ability, might I reccommend:

Jack Ingram - This Is It. His early stuff is dark and booding. His recent stuff is a little more commercial. But he hasn't totally sold his soul yet.

Bruce Robison - Country Sunshine or anything before that. His recent stuff has gotten a lot more "folky". But, he is my songwriting idol. Songs like "Traveling Soldier" and "Wrapped"

Charlie Robison - Beautiful Day. Charlie is Bruce's brother. He recently divorced that Dixie Chick. This album basically talks about the divorce. I also love Life Of the Party.

Roger Creager - Fun all Wrong. His first album is one of my favorites ever. The Everclear Song is well known around these parts.

Cory Morrow - His live album from Austin City Limits is amazing. Another songwriter who I admire.

Pat Green - Carry On. Pat Green has become famous and gotten away from his Texas roots. He re-recorded the Carry On song for his recent Nashville album and totally ruined it by taking out all the meaning and soul. He's got more fans than he ever had, but they don't LOVE him like his local fans did when he was on the way up.

Kelly Willis - What I Deserve. Kelly is married to Bruce Robison. She went to Nashville and signed a contract. Had one album. They wanted her to be "the next Trisha Yearwood." She's painfully shy and hated every minute of it. She came back to Texas and just sells thousands of CD's a year instead of millions. But - hands down the most soulful country voice in America. She really is amazing.

There are other forms of music that I love and play and listen to. But this group of musicians who live to play the live show more than they live to record a CD is what I love.

That it. I blogged again. I feel better now.