Me, Too!

By Scott Coner

Country Artist

            What's your earliest memory? How far back can you go? Mine is a hodgepodge of memory and weird dreamy thoughts. I think I may remember actually being in my crib. It was light blue, on the right side of my room, and there was one of those mobiles at the foot of the crib. I remember having some white plastic pretzel-type teething toy. It's strange to be able to go that far back. The styles and the sounds of the sixties were gaudy, yet cool. It's too bad that during the moment we don't realize what a special moment in time we are in. I was just a little kid though, and my whole world revolved around waiting for the next cookie or bowl of Quisp cereal. (Remember that little pink space guy? Me too!)

            I watched some of the very first "Sesame Street" programs along with "Captain Kangaroo". I remember all of the pretty girls in school. I remember wishing I was cool like the school jocks. I remember wishing school would finally be over forever so I could be an adult. But I don't remember ever considering how hard it would be to actually be a grown-up.

(Photo by Cynnamae Media Productions)

            The whole world was my oyster. I actually believed that I could do anything I wanted, and it troubled me that I couldn't do it all. I, honest to God, remember considering the pros and cons of being the president of the free world. Arrogant? Not really, just a little bit under informed about how the world really works. But the truth is, it is actually possible for us to reach our dreams or at least some version of the dream one way or another. Do you remember pledging allegiance to the American flag and praying in your classroom before you had your milk break? Me, too!

            Sometimes, the memories are warm and sweet. Sometimes, memories are just cold and dark. I don’t want to let any of my past go because each moment is a small piece of who I am. But, I know there are far too many people that would give anything to let some memories go. Just remember that wherever you came from, your life matters. Maybe you have some part of you that should be shared with someone else. Sift through some of those memories and share them with your kids and others that you care about. Maybe, when you weren’t looking, those memories morphed into wisdom. By the way, do remember that really cool red Torino on "Starsky and Hutch"? Me, too! 

Scott Coner (Photo by Cynnamae Media Productions)

         For more information about Scott Coner or to hear his music, visit www.ScottConer.com, www.Facebook.com/ScottConerMusic, or www.YouTube.com/user/ScottConer. Follow Scott at www.Twitter.com/ScottConer.

Where Do We Go From Here?

By Scott Coner

Country Artist

         Well, This year is nearly past, and I can't help but think about the following year that's just around the corner. Musically, as far as my career goes, we have covered a lot of ground. I have been inspired and truly touched by so many kind people out there that have talked to me through this "world wide web" contraption. It just feels personal and not so far removed when I can actually see the people that listen to our music and read the blogs and other posts. I never knew how my career would go. I simply jumped on its back and grabbed a hold of its mane as we took off together galloping wildly.

         I am different from so many other writers and singers out there because I put music on the back of the stove until I knew my kids, my wife, and I were ready for the changes that are required in order to attempt something like this. Of course, I have heard all of the advice everyone wants to give freely whether I ask for it or not. They like to remind me about the "odds" of making a dent in this business. I don't listen to them. I do not hear them. And I do not care what they have to say to me. I already know about the odds. I already knew the deck was stacked before I started. But it never was about the chances. It was about what I needed to do. I needed to do this one thing for me as well as for others.

         I have taken into consideration how blessed I am to have a beautiful, healthy, well-rounded family. My parents are both alive and happy and healthy. I can't help but feel like I am asking too much of the Universe to allow me to have a music career. But, I still ask. I still pray. And sometimes I think I might even beg a little bit. I am not complaining, but I didn't ask to be a songwriter, although I am happy beyond measure to be one. It's true. I look in the mirror sometimes and see a man who needs to be adjusted a little bit because he can't see the trees for the forest. He needs help in the fact that he has been blessed beyond his wildest dreams, yet he continues to come back to the trough complaining that his cup isn't as full as it could be. Sometimes I feel a little guilty about that.

Scott Coner (Photo by Cynnamae Media Productions)

          As we plan for the first quarter of next year, my publicist, my wife and I know we are about to swing the bat and aim for the lights in the parking lot. I find myself freaking out a little bit every day wondering if I have a better song in me than what I have already provided. I want everything to be perfect as label representatives consider my songs, my stories, and my life. I wish I could tell them all that my music is different because my values are a little bit different than theirs. But that sounds pretty drastic and full of itself even as I write it here. I want to promote stories from my past. I want to allow people to see into my life and understand that my life is probably very much like their own. I usually don't write about bar scenes or pickup lines. I write about love and loss, marriage, and life and death. I try to share my world with the listener in hopes that he or she can identify with that and maybe make it their own song. It matters to me that we can all be members of this small community of listeners, real-life people with real-life relationships and problems with answers. This is where I want to go from here.

         As we take this music on the road next year, I want to meet as many of these people as possible. I want us to have dinner together. I want to drink coffee and hear their stories. I want to be part of something that lifts "them" up, not me. I want the music to be more theirs than mine. I want us to have a revival of sorts. I want us to celebrate through music as well as laughter. I want the songs themselves to allow for real-life application. I hope that we can all grow a little bit together and build an internal relationship that matters. We have all seen the "dead-heads" and the "parrot heads". We can begin something together that promotes family and purpose, music and art itself, and the realization that our music represents our lives.

         At this current moment, I am open-minded about what the future holds. I am willing to follow the rabbit into the hole. But, what I believe in is people. I believe we still have common ground in the fact that we haven't fallen too far away from where I have always stood. I believe we still like loud guitars and big drums. I believe we still stand for what is right, and we will stand for family and life values. This is where we will go from here. We will go together. Maybe we can call ourselves "Life-ers"....

         For more information about Scott Coner or to hear his music, visit www.ScottConer.com, www.Facebook.com/ScottConerMusic, or www.YouTube.com/user/ScottConer. Follow Scott at www.Twitter.com/ScottConer.

If I Leave Here Tomorrow, Will You Still Remember Me?

By Scott Coner

Country Artist

         Putting everything into some type of perspective, I find myself troubled when it comes to my music. I'm pretty clumsy around the barn and a pretty bad driver to boot, so clearly, my days are numbered. I have songs lying around half finished. I have songs in my head that haven't seen the light of day. And I have songs that I've recorded that are important to me that haven't been promoted at all yet. What the heck is a man supposed to do about this? It's not like I can have a will written with specifics regarding my music.

         I think I write because I have something I want to say. On the other hand, maybe I write because I want my family and friends to remember me. I'm not even sure about it to tell you the truth. But, if you are reading this right now, and I happen to be dead already, go to my sock drawer and give my wife all of my unfinished lyrics.

         I realized early on that I could write songs and say certain things without certain people knowing the song was even about them. I mean, Paul McCartney wrote a song about his dog, so there really are no rules, right? I wrote "Put a Line in it" one day about the current administration that I have so much trouble enduring. But you haven't heard that song because I don't guess we want to make people mad. I wrote "Close to You" about my wife along with many others. I even wrote a song about one of my uncles when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. I have far more songs than I can promote, and I don't have enough time to get all of my work done. So, I'm a little bit freaked out about it all. 

Scott Coner (Photo by Cynnamae Media Productions)

         I have decided to begin releasing EP's every quarter or so along with full-length albums at least once a year from this point forward. The problem with this approach I'm being told is promotion. This is certainly a problem, but honestly, it is far more important to me that I finish this mess I started so many years ago. When I say I'm freaked out, I'm just kidding though. I have never been as happy as I am these days. My goal has always been to play and write full time, and it appears we are about to do just that.

         Now, I need to go find my algebra teacher and tell her once again how useless her class was to me and that I was right all along. Life ain't nothin' but a song.

         For more information about Scott Coner or to hear his music, visit www.ScottConer.com, www.Facebook.com/ScottConerMusic, or www.YouTube.com/user/ScottConer.

'I Didn't Lie'

By Scott Coner

Country Artist

            I have had a pretty good run as far as songwriting goes to this point. I’m not referencing commercial success. I only mean that the songs I have written seem to represent my life pretty much up to now. I know this is not everyone’s approach, but I kind of wish it was. I have been a part of the songwriting mill in Nashville. I have met a complete strangers, had a cup of coffee, and written a song. I don’t like this approach. It feels cheap, and it feels like I am cheating whatever potential listener is out there into believing some conjured up experience that never happened. For what it’s worth, only one of those songs was ever recorded by me, and I wrote most of the lyrics.

            I have always hoped and believed that the songs that I have loved all of my life weren’t just a collection of words that rhyme. When George Jones sang “The Grand Tour”, I felt like I was walking through an empty, lonely house full of memories. When Vern Gosdin sang one of his masterpieces, I felt like he was telling me about his life and not someone else’s. “You don’t know about lonely until it’s chiseled in stone” is a line that haunts me to this day. These men took the songs and made them their own.

            The song, “Maybe She Lied”, my duet with country legend Tanya Tucker, was written after a very good friend of mine went home from work and found his wife gone along with all of her belongings. He never saw it coming, and it shocked the daylights out of him when it happened. I thought quite a bit about his situation and probably thanked God that it didn’t happen to me personally, to be honest. But the song was from a very personal perspective. I sat down with a yellow pad of paper and an acoustic guitar and wrote the song complete in one sitting. At the time I wrote it, I never planned on Tanya Tucker singing with me on it. Honestly, I didn’t even write it as a duet. When she agreed to work with me, I took a green highlighter and pulled the song apart turning it into what you hear today. I knew the song was longer than what what most radio stations will play today, but the song was important enough to me that I couldn’t take that into consideration.

Scott Coner (Photo by Cynnamae Media Productions)

            Now, saying all this doesn’t mean that I take my music so seriously that each song has to be specifically about my life’s events. No, what I’m saying is that many of the songs I write have a distinct meaning. Some of them are about things I’ll probably never share with anyone. Not because they represent something bad, they would simply be impossible for me to try to explain. Other songs such as “Crimson and Clover,” for instance, were not written by me. But that song as well as the other “cover” songs I have done meant something. They represent a snapshot from a moment in my life, and I wanted to share those songs with others. I always look at those recordings like a kid bringing something to school for “show and tell”. I love those songs and I want to brag on them a little bit.

            There are many ways to write a successful song. Nashville likes to put prolific writers together and churn out hits. There are songwriting teams that strike gold with a certain rhythm or “feel” in their compositions. Nashville, L.A., and New York have all proved that the ultimate way to have a hit is to put big money behind a song, get heavy rotation, and the rest is history. I don’t disagree with any approach. After all, the business of music is about promoting the song and the artist. Remember “Achy Breaky Heart”? Oh yes you do! You only act like you didn’t sing along in your car. LOL!

            Listen, this business has always been about hits. There have been artists that could take a song and make it theirs. Elvis did a fine job covering Leiber and Stoller, and he was very convincing. Lennon and McCartney seemed to show up with a hit every now and again. Alabama dominated the radio for a very long time singing their own compositions, as well as songs written by others. And I have been told that George Strait could sing the yellow pages if he wanted and still have a hit. And the way that man sings I wouldn’t put it past him.

            What I meant to say from the beginning of this awful rant is that, although the other methods bring us joy, it is always nice to hear an artist talk about the importance of a certain song and why they wrote it. It just adds depth and meaning. I remember hearing Alan Jackson sing “Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning?”, and I thought it was one of the most important popular songs I had ever heard in my life. I still do.

            I have the lyric sheet from “Maybe She Lied” that Tanya used in the studio with me. On it, she wrote: “Scott, I didn’t Lie”. Now, I never dated Tanya Tucker. But, sometimes when I hear her sing my song, I swear I think she and I had a little something going on one time or other. Probably not though. I’m pretty sure I’d remember that, and I would have had a lot more to write about.

            Scott Coner is a country singer-songwriter who has worked with country greats such as T. Graham Brown, Charlie Daniels, and Tanya Tucker. Check out his latest videos and songs at www.Facebook.com/ScottConerMusic, www.YouTube.com/user/ScottConer, and www.ScottConer.com. You can follow Scott at www.Twitter.com/ScottConer.