A Symbol Of Hate

     Okay, what I'm about to say will probably anger some of my southern friends, but here goes...

     

     The confederate flag that you love to wave as a symbol of your heritage is actually a symbol of hate and divisiveness. You may not want to see it that way or admit it, but it is. Like the swastika before it, which was actually an ancient symbol of well-being before it was hijacked by Hitler, the confederate battle flag has become a symbol of supposed racial superiority and hatred of those who are different from you. From now on, it will never be anything but that.

     If you are more bothered by people who are offended by the waving of the flag than you are by the people who turned your symbol of heritage into one of hate, then you are part of the problem. 

     That is the sad truth.

Junk 'Em If They Can't Take Folk

"I've said it before and I'll say it again
Junk 'em if they can't take folk..."

I came up as a musician during a time when songs meant something, and they often had important things to say. Granted, some of my songs are just goofy little ditties of no social importance, but I also write songs that say things that I feel like need to be said. I have a hard time divorcing who I am as a person from who I am as a musician, mostly because I feel like I shouldn't have to.

I have been told that I shouldn't put "Jesus Wouldn't Do It That Way" on my new CD, or that it should be last, so that I don't lose people before the end of the CD. There were people who complained about "Not In My Backyard" on my "One More Night In Nashville" CD, because I castigated corporations who shipped jobs out of the country and big box stores that ran Mom & Pops out of business. I was told "If you weren't too lazy to cut your own grass, they wouldn't have had to shut the factories down and send jobs overseas" by someone who totally didn't get who the bad guys are. I have lost "friends" on Facebook who sent me requests because they liked my music and assumed I thought the same way they did, until they found out I didn't, and were mortally offended. I have received death threats from former "fans" because I supported Bernie Sanders.

I'm sure there are people who are upset that I encouraged folks to buy music from Bandcamp on August 4th because a portion of the proceeds would be going to help the Trans community. Too bad! I'm still going to write songs, and I'm still going to be me. Those two aspects of who I am are not mutually exclusive in my book.
If you can't enjoy my music because of who I really am, that's on you. If you can't enjoy my music because it sucks, that's on me.
Have a nice day...and listen to some music.

What Kind Of Tongue Is That?

     We got done with work a little bit early yesterday, so I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to check out a taco wagon that I've had my eye on. It showed up recently in the gravel lot next to the Supreme Choppers barber shop on Rosa Parks Boulevard, right on the edge of the "revitalization" that is overtaking the old North Nashville neighborhood of Germantown. I had noticed more than a few of my brown-skinned brethren picking up food (or just hanging around) there, so I had high hopes that this was the real deal, and not just another Trend Truck. The wagon is a little beat up, with "99¢ Tacos" emblazoned on the side, and a hand-lettered-on-cardboard sign. My interest was piqued.

     It turns out that only the "Tacos de Pollo" were 99 cents. All others were a dollar and a quarter, which is still a good deal if the tacos are good. They had all the usual options...asada, pollo, barbacoa, carnitas, lengua,...and two I hadn't seen...tripa and buche. Buche was translated on their sign as "throat", but a Google search tells me that that it is actually pork stomach (as opposed to "tripa", or "tripe", which is beef stomach.) I ordered asada and carnitas.

     While I was waiting for my food, another fellow walks up and orders. He was on older (well, it turns out he was younger than me) black gentleman who had grown up in the area pre-urban renewal. He ordered a couple of tacos, and then stood there reading the signs. He asked the girl at the "order here" window "What kind of tongue is that? Cow?" When she replied in the affirmative, he said "I've got to try one.", and fished some more change out of his pocket. He turned around to me and said "That's some good old-style food. My mama used to eat cow tongues."

     I told him "Tongue tacos are good."

     He said "A lot of young people today would freak out if you told them you were eating a cow tongue. Back in the day, we didn't have no Kroger in this neighborhood."

     "There's still places you can get it in Nashville."

     He nodded "Right down there at the Farmer's Market."

     I said "Yup, probably can." and then I asked him "How old are you anyway?"

     "55."

     "Heck, that's not old. I'm 60."

     "Dang, you look good for 60."

     "I keep after it. I do physical work, and I'll do it until I can't."

      He said "Yeah, a lot of people just give up and sit around. You've got to keep moving."

      I told him "I might be headed in the wrong direction, but at least I'm on the move."

     We got a chuckle out of that.

     My food came up, I bid my new friend "adieu", and headed for my car.

     This morning, I woke up thinking about those tacos (which were good, by the way) and our discussion about tongue. If people will eat meat from other parts of the animal, they shouldn't freak out about eating tongue. It's just another muscle, much like a leg or an arm, although a lot of folks seem content to exercise it more than their other appendages.

Texas Country Music Singer...or Nigerian Prince?

     It all started out innocently enough. I opened my notifications page on Twitter, and saw that I had a new follower. It was a relatively well-known musician from Texas (henceforth known as XXXXX). I don't immediately "follow back" every time someone follows me, but since my music is more akin to what's going on in Texas than what Music Row peddles as "country music", I have more than a few "follower" and "followee" relationships within the Texas Music scene. His name was plenty familiar, so I decided to "follow" him back, even though I had never really listened to his music.
     I received a private message that said "Hi Kurt, how you doing ? thank you for twitter my page , the support you show on me , I hope you never stop listening too my music....."
     To which I responded "My pleasure, XXXXX. I make a little music myself.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe13aMmxhylcmNwjZwm1J1mz48TMoe3E2"
(I try to never miss an opportunity to share my songs with someone who I think might like them.)
     His response was "i love your song and am listening to it right now
Are you in any record label or something"
     "Nope. Independent. Music Row doesn't know what to do with real country music."
     "Well you right about that but do you really wanna work with me Kurt?"

     I let that sit there for almost a week before I replied "Work with you? In what way?"
I was thinking that if he wanted to have me open some shows for him, or write him some songs, I'd be all over that like a duck on a junebug.
     He came right back with "Are you busy"
     "On my way to rehearsal right now."
     "which means you will not be able to chat right now or what do you think?
i really dont have much time thats why i need to tell you now
but if you can give me time when you will be less busy
or maybe send your number to me so i will send you a text that will be better/"
     I sent him my phone number. (You didn't really think I was going to post it here, did you?)
     "Okay I will send you text, when you see it text me back okay"
     He texted "Hello kurt it me XXXXX" (He misspelled his own name, but typos happen.)

     I was busy gigging and working all weekend, and didn't respond right away.
     He sent me another Twitter message "hello kurt are you there"
     I responded yesterday evening "Hey, XXXXX. What's up?"
     "How are you doing today"
     I didn't reply quickly enough, so he came back with "are you still there"
     "I'm doing alright. I was listening to music. Didn't hear the phone."
     "okay
      what is the name of the music you are listening to?"
     " I was watching a video of one of my recent performances at the Bluebird Cafe."
     "okay thats nice
       did you remember I wonted to tell you something"
     "What is it?"
     "I have been busy with shows and many more, traveling, thank you for all the support and love, I appreciate. I'm looking for for someone I can definitely trust cause i have got some few things I need to do and take care of without my management knowing about it so I need one of my loyal fan to handle this for me."
     "I don't know you from Adam, but this sounds very underhanded, which is not me at all."
     "okay
       are you trying to say you can't help me?"
     "Not if it involves deceit."
     "I got in touched by the security company where I have my brief case kept for a while which contains some huge amounts of money and some valuable documents that belongs to me
       They are shutting down in couple of days and it has been giving me some problems since I have been busy with my shows and concert i won't have much time to take care of these responsibilities, mostly I do not want my management to know about this, that's why i am looking for a trust worthy person i can talk to and give this project to take care of for me and in return i will give the person 20% of the money and this is 100% legal free."
     "And you're a Nigerian prince, right?"
     "Know am not
       Are you talking about Africa
       Are you saying you don't know my name XXXXX"
     "I don't want anything to do with this."
     "Calm down right
       Am not putting you into trouble or something
       It 100% legal free
       alright
       And you will have your own % when everything is done and I will come get it when you have it? That's all"
     "That's right. You're not, because I don't want anything to do with this.
       Please delete my number from your phone."
      "okay"
     Well, we'll see how that goes.
      Maybe I should have taken him up on it...naw!
      I may be crazy, but I'm not a fool.
https://www.PLe13aMmxhylcmNwjZwm1J1mz48TMoe

Send Us Your "Best" Song

     When someone asks for the "best song" off one of my albums, I never know what to give them.
Different people like different songs, and I like all of them, or else they wouldn't be on my album.
    For my appearance on "The Music Row Showcase" the other night on 650AM WSM ("Home Of The Grand Ol' Opry"), they asked me to bring a disc with three songs from my current release, which at this point in time is my three year old CD "One More Night In Nashville". It turns out that they already had the CD, and had three songs in mind, which were mostly different than the three that I had selected.
     I went for three songs with widely different themes and feels to them.
     My picks:
     "Dickel, Strait & Jones"
     "Inside That Box"
     "Better Hearts Than Yours"


     Their picks:
     "(A Man Can't Live On) Beer Alone"
     "Dickel, Strait & Jones"
     "You Done Done It Now"


     We settled on "Dickel, Strait & Jones", "Inside That Box", and "You Done Done It Now", which fall in that order on the CD, thus making it easier for the engineer. We used the intro and part of the first verse of "Better Hearts Than Yours" to come out of the commercial break, but by the time a bunch of talking, commercials, PSAs, and promos were done, and I did a live version of "My Dog Jesus", we only had time for "Dickel, Strait & Jones" in my half hour segment. Good thing it was a song that we all agreed on, although I would have loved to have played a couple more, their choice or mine.
     Have you got a favorite song (or three) on "One More Night In Nashville"?
     I'd love to hear about them...so I can be even more confused.

Another True Story (That I Made Up)

     "Imagination running wild ever since I was a kid
       I could tell you crazy stories about things I never did
       Spinning tires, breathing fire, dancing on thin ice
       You'd have thought I'd done it all and seen most places twice..."

     There is a great debate (often more like an argument) between certain segments of the songwriting community over "authenticity". One camp espouses the notion that any song that is not written directly from the writer's personal life experience is somehow flawed and "fake". There is another side (where I reside) that believes that as long as you can make it "real", it is a true story, whether it actually happened to you (or anyone for that matter). If I truly lived all the songs I wrote, I would have already been dead many times over. I'm fairly certain that John Steinbeck didn't live every page of "The Grapes Of Wrath", although he did a masterful job of making them come alive.
       Sometimes a writer will create a song based on a story they've heard or read, fact or fiction. Take the song "Taneytown" by Steve Earle. It's a compelling story song about a young black man who went to town "to see what I could see", and got jumped by some white boys. He stabbed one, and left his knife behind where someone else found it. That person got lynched in a case of mistaken identity, because he was caught with the bloody knife. You can be certain that Steve didn't live that story, but it didn't keep him from writing a great song about it in the first person.
       I'm sure it can be confusing to the non-songwriting community. If they believe that the writer is telling the literal truth about an event from their own life in one song, how can they justify another song that is written from a different perspective? A lot of people don't seem to realize that many country artists don't write all their own material. The listeners merely accept the character that is presented to them as realistic depiction of who the singer is, whether or not that depiction is based in factual reality. It seems to me that any serious songwriter should know better. I have written a dead Grandpa song called "Inside That Box" that would work for any number of different people to sing. It is not based on a true story that either my co-writer Dave Gibson or I have lived through, but it is colored by life experiences we have both had.
        A good novelist builds multiple good characters. I don't see why a good songwriter can't do the same. Presenting more than one point of view in a single song is problematic, but creating different characters to be the voices of different songs shouldn't be. Maybe I'm just trying to justify all of the different voices in my head, but I don't think there is anything wrong with writing songs that are not based on actual events in my life. I once had someone try to convince me that every song I wrote was about me in some way. I disagreed with that person, but there may have been a bit of truth in what they were saying. I'm sure that every song I write is colored by my feelings about the subject, but I don't think every song is about me or what I think.
     Don't get me wrong. I have written songs like 'The One Hundred Letter Word" and "(I Thank Jesus) I Married A Jew" that are based on my real life, but I have also written songs about things that I have not personally experienced. When I perform my song "I Recall My Daddy", people always feel sorry for me because my father died in the war...only he didn't. Somebody's (many somebodies') father(s) did, but not mine. If I can write a song well enough to convince people that he did, I feel like I have done my job.
       I have been sober for well over thirty years, but I can still write a drinking song like "(A Man Can't Live On) Beer Alone" or "Hard Times (Call For Hard Liquor)", because I did all that research. But because I did all that research, I can also write songs like "The Writing On The Floor", which is not a literal depiction of my battle with the bottle, but a true story nonetheless.
       I could go on and on with examples, but I guess what I'm trying to say is that I think a song can be valid whether or not the writer has experienced the events described in the story. And to anybody who would denigrate my writing as not being "authentic" because I make things up, I would truly say "I've got some nether regions you can osculate."
       Y'all have a nice day.

Where The Meat Is

     Yesterday I was at gathering of musicians and songwriters, a few who I knew, but mostly new faces. At one point, I was on the patio involved in a discussion about the pros and cons of music streaming services. One guy said "Nobody's going to buy an album unless they know they like it. I have to listen to an album all the way through about ten times before that sixth song becomes my favorite, because that's where the meat is."
     That's not the first time I've heard someone talk about artists only putting a couple of good songs on a record and rest just being fluff (or filler). I had someone tell me that when I was in the process of putting out "One More Night In Nashville". He said "Everyone knows that around tracks 7 and 8 is where you put the good songs." I told him that I had every intention of putting eleven (better than) good songs (out of eleven) on my record. He said "Nobody does that."
     Mind you, these were both performing singer/songwriters who have put out recordings of their own music. Either they: (A) have no faith in their own material, (B) don't mind putting out lackluster recordings, (C) have fallen into a trap of doing things the way they think they've always been done, or (D) all of those.
     Granted, I have always been an album cut kind of guy. The seemingly obvious pop hits either eluded me or bored me to tears. Sure, I like the Steppenwolf songs "Born To Be Wild" and "Magic Carpet Ride", but I'd rather listen to "Desperation" or "Your Wall's Too High". The same goes for just about any album of rock or country music that I grew up listening to. I guess I've never been drawn to the least common denominator type of songs. I like to think I'm a more discerning listener than that. Maybe I'm just a closet hipster snob.
     It's no wonder that people aren't buying albums. If they think there are only going to be a couple of good songs on a record, and those songs are going to be buried closer to the end of the album, I don't blame them at all. I would feel like I was ripping people off if I only gave them two (or at maximum, three) songs worth listening to.
     When I write songs, I try to start with an opening line that will make the listener want to hear the next line...and then the next, and the next. I put my records together the same way. Give the listener a first song that makes not listening to the second song a hard thing to do. Repeat as necessary.
     Back when everybody had vinyl albums, a smart producer would make sure that the last song on the first side made the listener want to turn it over and listen to Side 2...and the last song on Side 2 would make the listener want to play the album again. Maybe I'm old-school, or deluded, but I believe that if you produce an album full of top-notch songs, and present them in the proper order, people will listen all the way through...hopefully, more than once.
     So, I would prefer you listen to my whole albums, in the order that I put them together, but really you can start anywhere on them, because that's where the meat is.
     I hope you find it nourishing.