All about cooking, horses, gun-fighting, cattle, building things and mending things with whatever tools were to hand. Couldn’t go wrong with that.
Memory flash … our own John Kenn … Remember him, Steve? He came out with ruddy great stuff didn’t he? For people who don’t know of him, he was member of the Cubase forum. Not seen him around. He had the ability to musically and lyrically open a wide and deep wound, then to turn the knife, if you like to be afected that way. My last memory was of him posting that his songs were being bought in Nashville … I don’t have details. Tones? Doug?
The thing in my mind about country music is that it seems to me to be the genre that is the closest to what I love: 2 guitars, a bass, a drum, and sure throw in a keyboard player - and with vocal harmonies. Stuff like Lynrd Skynrd, stuff that sounds awesome live, without loops and prerecorded backing tracks and etc., etc. It’s just so hard to find that around nowadays outside the country genre. The only thing lacking in my book is chord originality. Oh well, it’s all gone downhill since The Beatles broke up!
I grew up detesting the whole idea about country music, but have sort of migrated to it a bit more living down here. It’s great to listen to in bars!
I wouldn’t call Lynrd Skynrd, Dickie Betts, et al country. More like Southern Rock. Great stuff btw I was a huge Skynard fan and still got a few of their albums on vinyl in the loft somewhere. One More From the Road is excellent
Alexis … Hi … you’re in San Antonio, aren’t you? Texas Public Radio and lots of Texas Blues … had been listening to that last four years. My GF lives there. A pure power which I had thought was no longer around.
Paul - this is EXACTLY the one I had in mind when I typed that!! So understated in the beginning (but still so clean), then rising in intensity … and volume … AND SPEED … AND PITCH - all without one tiniest bit of sloppiness - pure AWESOMENESS!! Just did a youtube for old times sake - they’ve got a live performance of it (“1976” is in the title) - they played it just about note perfect from the radio … those guys were good!!!
Hi Glyn!
Yes, in San Anton’ (nobody, as you probably knows, says that except Yankees and song-writers!). You’re right, it definitely does have it’s own flavor, from San Antonio, up to Austin. Mandobilly lives up north, just between here and Austin, and I think I get the impression he is plugged into the scene pretty well (I remember hearing some live Mandolin, I think, by him!). The music is a mixture of country, some Mexican, and german in there too! I learned the other day that the signature sound of tex-mex down here, the accordion, was actually brought to the region by German immigrants in the early 1800s, and adopted by the “Mexians”. That’s probably a bit simplistic, but interesting none-the-less!
Here’s a link to a typical example of music here on the musical “third coast”: http://www.tcmnradio.com/
Do you ever come down and go out to listen to music? I don’t get out much (they’re pretty strict here at the State Home … just kidding!!), but I’d love to do some exploring musically if you did!
One of Johnny Cash’s last was a Nine Inch Nails track. Pretty good crossover I thought.
And it seems in my neck of the woods the old country players seem partial to a bit of Little Feat.
Depends what head you’ve got on if you approach it. You can go country jazz like little feat or lyrical like Chuck Berry. Although Chuck is regarded as Rock & roll his lyrics are firmly in the best country camp. Descriptions of what you observe around you.
Once you’ve found your roots then search for your leaf.
It isn’t a Rascal Flatts song … they didn’t write it, they only covered it … the song was written by Canadian artist Tom Cochrane; recorded by him on his 1991 release Mad Mad World.