"Late for Church"

"A hundred eyes turn as I enter
Face burnin' as I walk past pews
I can tell they think I'm a sinner
Hear them whisper while I'm watching my shoes"
Adam Howell
Drive-by Truckers

This basically sums up what it was like for me through my early teens going to church. People have always been judgmental, especially when I had my long hair. I don't really have much to say besides that I have vowed to never judge people after going through all of that.

"Working This Job"

"Working this job is a kick in the pants
Working this job is like a knife in the back
It ain't getting me further than the dump I live in
It ain't getting me further than my next paycheck"
This F*****g Job
The Drive-by Truckers

This talks about the life of someone scraping by on minimum to near-minimum wage. The way things work nowadays, it's nearly impossible for someone who doesn't have a positiion handed to them on a silver platter to get anywhere in the dog-eat-dog job market. Due to this, people are stuck living paycheck to paycheck while they're tied to loans that the banks shouldn't have given them in the first place for things they didn't need to begin with. It's a sad fact when people who work forty hours a week at the local Wal-Mart or McDonalds are allowed to get loans or credit for big screen TV's or brand new cars while they have hungry mouths to feed at home.

"Shut Up and Get on the Plane"

"Living in fear's just another way of dying before your time"
Mike Cooley
The Drive-by Truckers

Ain't that just another cliche. But then again, what isn't these days. You just gotta' live your life the way that you need to. Don't worry about what your preacher or your friends or your bosses think, just do what you need to do to survive in this dog-eat-dog world. There is no need for fear; you'll just end up regretting whatever you didn't do.

"The Righteous Path"

"I got a brand new car that drinks a bunch of gas
I got a house in a neighborhood that's fading fast
I got a dog and a cat that don't fight too much
I got a few hundred channels to keep me in touch
I got a beautiful wife and three tow-headed kids
I got a couple of big secrets I'd kill to keep hid
I don't know God but I fear his wrath
I'm trying to keep focused on the righteous path"

Patterson Hood
The Drive-by Truckers

What are we trying to do in this life?
We go out and buy ourselves big, over-sized SUV's to impress our fellow soccer-moms and dads. We are told by the talking-heads on TV and by our families and friends that what we have isn't good enough. We don't let anyone in our lives, yet at the same time we let everything in. It is this prophetical "Righteous Path" that we are trying to stay focused on. We live in a world we have lots of debt and lots of fear. It's a scary life out there and even if it takes everything out of us we can still survive in this horribly beautiful world.

If it Wasn't for the Money

"All I need’s a drop of water
I’m a seed born on the wind
I was once a flower
And I’ll be a flower again"
Tea Leaf Green

Oh my goodness.
I recently attended a show with these guys and it just blew my mind.

This song seems to sum up life. I realize this is a rather bold statement but I believe it's true. The idea of a "circle of life" is laid out here perfectly...from birth, through life, to rebirth. This song also addresses other aspects of life including learning, love and money. The whole cycle idea really hit me once I read through the lyrics. Plus, the band can jam like no other, with their shows carrying on the idea of the cycle. They are able to flow through a full 2-hour set without stopping for a set break, with many songs going for more than 20-30 minutes.

Daddy Learned To Fly

"Daddy's gone away and no one can tell me why
Mommy's been so sad since Daddy learned to fly
Everyone brought food and everybody cried
Nothing's been too good since Daddy learned to fly"

This is seriously going out on a limb for me. I normally don't like talking about my parent's divorce, but I want to get it out a little bit.

Around 4th grade, my parents told me that they had filed for divorce. At that time, it hit me really hard, and I had basically no understanding of what was happening and why they did it. I was angry at both of them and also angry at myself, thinking I may have had something to do with it. Over the years, I have come to realize what a good thing it was. The horrible fighting has stopped and I have come to peace with many things that I probably wouldn't have been able to otherwise. This is somewhat of a short post but I can't really find the words to talk about these feelings.

About to Rage

"Hesitation is a hole in the head
And contradiction buys you time
A battle worth winning is a battle worth losing
Sometimes revolution is kind."
Gov't Mule





We need a revolution, and sometimes it won't be kind. The direction this country is going is like a storm, beginning to rage. It's going to take some standing up against the norm for any change to come about. With the state of the country and the world as a whole, people are being overcome with crazy BS from the media and other outlets. The truth about what is going on needs to come out, and it needs to come out now. If something is not done, I foresee some really bad things happening with the public.

"Fight"

"You gotta fight, fight, fight, fight all the way
You gotta fight, fight, fight all the way
You gotta set your sight on the lord in your life
You gotta fight 'till your dying day."
Ben Kweller

I need to stand up.

I've needed to stand up for a long time.

If I want to do anything with my life in music, I need to fight for what I want. It would be horrible for me to not be able to do something in music, and if I don't stand up and do something about it, nothing will happen. I am learning that I need to get my foot in the door, even if that foot is in torn shoes holding up a hungry, dirty body. Hopefully I can get my name into the industy at some point, no matter how. If I am insistent enough, I can become a part of a touring gruop or studio team that records. I am content not being up in the spotlight and just having my name in the credits of a few songs in the liner notes of an album.

I just have to fight

Bob

"Bob goes to church every Sunday, Every Sunday that the fish ain't biting
Bob never has to have dinner with the preacher,
cause Bob never bothered getting married
He likes to drink a beer or two every now and again,
he always had more dogs than he ever had friends
Bob ain't light in the loafers, he might kneel but he never bends over

Bob takes care of his mama, she's the only one he lets call him Robert
She don't drive anymore so he takes her to the store
and keeps her yard looking just like she wants it
Every week at the beauty shop Bob's mama hears
of another woman made another man disappear
Robert ain't exactly scared of women, he's just got his own way of living

Bob's still got an antenna on a pole
two channels come in, two more come and go
He used to watch the news but he don't anymore,
ain't none of it new it's the same as before
He figures all any of it's any good for is keeping every bored
till there ain't nobody like Bob anymore

Bob takes care of his mama
she's a mess but he feels like he oughta
How big a mess today? Ask Bob he'll say,
“She's a big one and she's gonna be a lotta”
He likes to drink a beer or two every now and again,
he always had more dogs than he ever had friends
Bob ain't light in the loafers, he might kneel but he never bends over"



We all know Bob. We all know that we need more people like Bob. Sadly, the simple people like Bob just aren't as prevalent in our society anymore. You might notice a trend in my posts about people who are are only focused on themselves and not worried about other people in their society. People like Bob are the sort of people we need. We need people focused on taking care of those who can't take care of themselves.

Rocking Horse

"Hard living be the death of me
Yes, lead me to an early grave
To die in the saddle, must be my destiny
But to ride this rocking horse I must be crazed"
Warren Haynes and Gregg Allman

Being a musician, one of my goals in life is to someday go on tour. What may separate me from the preconceived notion of a touring musician is that it wouldn't take a huge bus and selling out arenas to satisfy my goals. I would be perfectly content with sleeping in a 15 passenger van, showering in truck-stops, eating truck-stop food, and playing clubs and small theatres. I realize this is a hard life, but every musician has to get their start somewhere. This whole life after highschool thing is somewhat intimidating, but I want to go at it full force. I know for a fact that it's not going to be easy and there will be setbacks every now-and-again. Some people may call me crazy for wanting to spend months at a time in the back of a gross smelly van with a bunch of gross smelly friends eating gross smelly food playing music in front of gross smelly fans for next to nothing in return, but I want to experience what some of my heroes experienced as they made their way through the lower realms of the music industry. I feel like I would be doing a disservice to the musicians who came before me playing the style of music that influenced me if I wasn't to go through trials and troubles to get to the point that they are. This will most definitely involve riding the proverbial "rocking horse" that is life on the road and I will have to spend life in the saddle, but I know a love for music will bring me through whatever troubling times come my way.

Just another Drive-by Truckers song

"I'm never goin' back to buttholeville."
Patterson Hood



While waiting to see the second night of a two night run of Gov't Mule shows, my posse and I were perusing the streets of Cincinnati for a decent eatery to quench our hunger that had been growing ever since around the outskirts of Louisville as we had reached I-71. I am going to start off by mentioning how bitterly cold it was (only to be made worse by the wind-tunnel effect of the large buildings) as we walked up and down West 5th Street. I had spotted a Brazilian steak house as we had driven up which I thought might have worthy of checking out, but as we walked up to it we realized it was much to ritzy for us lowly hippies to eat at, then out of the corner of my eye I spotted/smelled what could possibly have been heaven incarnate. What we happened to stumbleupon (no, it's not a typo...google it and let your mind be blown) was Cincy's own Rock Bottom Brewery and Grill. Bill, Billy, Wayne, and I all thought our hunger saviour had been found. We walked through the revolving doors only to find ourselves among huddled masses attempting to shelter themselves and loved ones from the cold. We humbly walked up to the hostess table and patiently waited for an elderly couple to place their names on the waiting list for a table in the crowded eatery. As we approached the kind lady who appeared to be beyond stressed, I was rudely interrupted by the shoulder (which came to my waist) of what I can guess was a 3-5 year old child, followed by another 3-5 year old child, followed by another 3-5 year old child, followed by a lady in her mid-30's pushing a stroller letting everyone in her path know that she was "coming through!"

I was raised as a child to be polite to everyone, no matter what situation has befallen you at the time. I know to hold the door for anyone, not just the poor old ladies. I know to say sir and ma'am to anyone I assume to be older than me that I don't already know as a friend. And I definitely know to say excuse me if someone is obstructing my path as I'm trying to move. I may be stereotyping but this lady and her husband looked that they could have easily made six to seven figure salaries. They also looked like they had enough common sense in them to have the common courtesy to say excuse me when moving past me. This concerns me not only because it was a nuisance to me at the time but it is something I am seeing more and more often throughout the youth (sometimes adults as well) of America. People are only worried about themselves and capitalizing on the downfalls of others.

The point of this post was not to pigeonhole the citizens of Cincinnati as "buttholes" or the town itself as "buttholeville", I was only hoping to point out that people need to look back on their lives and open their eyes to the people around them. A simple "excuse me" would have put me in a much better mood for the wait before the show (Mule covered that up in a hurry, but that's another story for another time).

"Soulshine"

"Let your soulshine
It's better than sunshine
It's better than moonshine
Damn sure better than rain"
Warren Haynes

So I'm going to start out by saying that within 8 hours of typing this, I will be going to see Gov't Mule at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville (the church of southern music)...super stoked to say the least.

These lyrics have always stood out to me, ever since I was first introduced to this song by my dad "back in the day". It is so easy for humans to get themselves down and beat themselves up over the small things in life. But as Mr. Haynes states, just like his daddy used to say, you gotta' let your soulshine, until the break of day. This is the only song, out of the 5 times that I have previously seen Gov't Mule, that they have had in each set and each time it has been a magical experience.

"Let There Be Rock"

"And I'd like to say, 'I'm sorry,' but we lived to tell about it."
Patterson Hood

I can't stop listening to the Drive-by Truckers. It's turning into an obsession. Their lyrics connect with me in basically every one of their songs.

"Let There Be Rock" is basically an autobiography of Patterson Hood's (guitar/vocals) teenage years and how Rock-n-Roll saved his life. And I can truthfully say that if I had never listened to AC/DC's "Live" for the first time, I would not be the person I am today. Rock-n-Roll and music in general has opened my eyes to elements of my life and the world around me that I wouldn't have realized otherwise.

Moving on to the lyrics...

Over the past few months I feel that I have branched out a lot as a person and truly finding my niche. I am almost positive that I know what I want to do with my life and how I am going to do it. The problem I have come to face is that my choice of lifestyle, music, is not always the most profitable. Along those same lines, I might be disappointing certain people in my life. In the end though, I am going to live through it, and I'll be able to tell other people about and to paraphrase Mr. Hood, I'll live on to do a lot more crazy screwed up stuff.

Marry Me

"Just 'cause I don't run my mouth don't mean I got nothing to say"
Mike Cooley of the Drive-by Truckers

These past few days I've been thoroughly digging into some of the Drive-by Truckers deeper songs and trying to get inside the minds of the South's greatest storytellers. The song "Marry Me" includes some great insight on the expected life of a southern-gentleman. The line in the title really hit me in that I've felt the need to express something (I'm not sure what), but I haven't felt the need to dump my opinions on others more-so than they want. I have been dropping hints to certain people about things that I want to tell them but am too afraid to, and I worry that they may not be understanding the full meaning of what I am trying to tell them. But in the lines of Mike Cooley, I ain't gonna' run my mouth.